EBay : 7 Questions with Linda Lightman of Linda’s Stuff

As a 'self-confessed shopaholic fashionista,' Linda Lightman's fashion business has allowed her to follow her passion. More than that,Linda's Stuffhas grown from a 'one-woman show' in her home to employing a 'village' of employees in a 100,000 square-foot warehouse.

Here, Linda shares tips for success that can power any seller.

7 Questions with Linda Lightman of Linda's Stuff

1. How did you start selling on eBay?

Linda's Stuff started 21 years ago, which is so crazy!

I started the business selling my kids' video games when I was still an attorney. It was kind of like a Christmas-vacation project. They wanted new video games, so I said to them, 'If you want new games, we have to sell your old games.' We went to the game store, and they were giving us five bucks for these games that I paid $60 for. My older son said, 'Let's put them on eBay.'

eBay was a brand new thing. I didn't know anything about eBay! But we came home and took pictures of the games, created the listings, and put them on eBay. It was kind of like fun to do with the kids. And the games were selling for far greater than the $5 that the stores were willing to give me.

And I kind of became hooked on this process. I decided to start selling my own designer clothing, shoes, and accessories. I'm a self-confessed shopaholic fashionista, and I was selling my own clothing, shoes and accessories. I really connected with the people in the eBay Community, and friends started to hear that I was selling my own clothing and asked if I would do it for them. And so a business was born!

1. What's your favorite quote?

I've always said, 'Love what you do, and do what you love, and you'll never feel like you're working.' Because when I was a lawyer, it was drudgery and I always felt like I was working.

The Linda's Stuff store displays their breadth of inventory and huge feedback score.

1. What does a typical day look like for you?

What makes my job so fun is that every day is different. The minute I walk in the door, I don't know what I'm going to get.

We get hundreds of boxes a day delivered from all over the country. So it's Christmas here every day, which is really exciting. Not only do we get product from individuals like you and me, we get product directly from retailers, manufacturers, and designers.

When I started the business, it was mostly pre-owned. That's evolved to now getting a lot of new product from stores. During the pandemic, retailers were in a sad state and couldn't open their doors to customers. We were there to help them sell their last season's product when people weren't going anywhere. So it's all new product for all of us right now!

Every day is different and every day is exciting. I could be meeting new staff here at the office or opening, processing, and pricing new product. I could be helping style something for a photo shoot or changing the way we ship product, although my husband and my son deal with that more than I do. Or I could be working with our client services team to think of ways we can reach out to our consigner community.

1. What's your process for sourcing merchandise?

We're so fortunate that word of mouth has been the biggest part of our sourcing. Word of mouth has been the most powerful marketing tool for us.

21 years ago, friends told friends about what we were doing, and that's how our business grew. And that continues.

We now also work with large manufacturers and online retailers for merchandise. And it's word of mouth with them too! They're telling other businesses that they're selling to Linda's Stuff and about the return that they're getting. That's pretty wonderful too.

1. What's your top productivity hack?

I set internal goals for myself.

I set goals for how much product we're going to list and how much product we're going to photograph in a given day. I don't always hit them, but we try to get there.

1. What eBay tool do you find most useful? Why?

I remember over 15 years ago, I was at an eBay event and 'best offers' were being introduced, which is the ability for a buyer to make an offer on an item.

Say you're asking $100 for something. A buyer can say, 'I'll pay $75.' What great negotiating power that gives both the buyer and the seller to make that transaction happen!

So best offer is amazing, but then eBay went even better. Now sellers have the ability to send offers to buyers who are watching their item, with 'seller initiated offer.' As a seller, you can decide what percentage off you want to offer a buyer for that item. It really converts into sales. I never saw a better conversion than I do with seller initiated offer.

1. Where do you see your business in 1 year? 5 years? 10 years?

Honestly, the sky's the limit.

We're selling women's clothing, men's clothing, kids clothing, home goods, and accessories. The resale business has exploded. Linda's Stuff is in the right industry at the right time. So check back with us.

Check back for more seller stories and tips throughout the year on ourAnnouncements board, theeBay for Business Podcast, and our eBay for BusinessFacebookandYouTube.

This interview has been edited for concision and clarity.