CHOOSING YOUR EBAY ID

You registerd on eBay and found an ID that you could use that hadn't been taken. But now you want to change it to something more appropriate for you.

First, you can only change your ID every 30 days. If you are a buyer your ID is only needed to buy of course and so there is no concern about how your ID is perceived by others. Unless of course you call yourself something like i_ain't_gonna_ pay, in which case if you bid and the seller spots it quickly enough you may find your bid cancelled and your ID blocked. So pick something that won't set off alarm bells for sellers.

Or maybe you started out as a buyer but now you want to sell and you think you ID of cutesy_tootsey_and_the_red_bandana is somehow an ID that won't be taken seriously. Possibly not! :)

So how do you pick an ID - If you know that you will be selling only the one type of item forever (and how does anyone really know that) then you could try and get an ID that reflects what you sell. I was lucky when I chose my ID of thecountrybaker. No one else was using it. Just as well for me because this is actually our off line dba (doing  business as ) name for our bakery.

But before I started selling bakery here almost exclusively on this ID, I had other IDs. The first one was an email address I was using. When I know longer was using that server I shortened the ID down and luckily again it was still available. I was selling collectibles and handmade items on the ID so memoriesgalore served the purpose.

Then however I switched to primarily selling postcards, and other ephemera so the name was changed to reflect that.

I suppose if I ever stopped selling bakery, I might change the name again - but I don't foresee that happening.

So rule #1 then - Have an ID that reflects what you sell and don't make it too cutesy. Businesslike is best.

What if the ID you want is taken?  Say you want ID frankm but frankm is taken. Is it a good idea to become say frankm90210 if that is your zip code.  That might work - as long as it isn't too close to the other ID.

It does seem to be getting harder and harder to get a good ID on eBay. All the good ones are taken! folks moan.

I have another selling ID and I would have to agree that it does sometimes seem like all the good ones are gone. It took me quite awhile to get an ID for it. I must have tried 20 or 30 variations until I got the one I have.

Don't despair though. A unique ID with a little bit of patience and creativity is available to you.  And if you decide you don't like it, you can start the process over and change it..... after 30 days.