My husband is BidMentor. He sells a lot on eBay. I call him my eBay Maniac.

   For years I knew nothing about eBay. I didn't know how to buy or sell on eBay.

   His eBay ID is BidMentor because he, Greg, writes a lot about eBay, teaches others how to buy and sell, as well as run our family eBay business. Once Greg began showing me how simple it was to buy, I was hooked!

   eBay has a PowerSeller status for high-volume sellers. I thought I deserved a PowerBuyer status!

  Greg once asked that I help him sell some things. His eBay business was steadily growing and he could use the help. I was hesitant. I knew nothing about the selling side. I wasn't all that thrilled to learn. I figured it was tough.

   But then, a funny thing happened one day... and it was sweet!

Don't Drink the Kool-Aid!

   One day I had offered to help Greg's mother clean out the cupboards above her oven.

   When I got up there and saw all the things in that cabinet, I was taken aback. It was obvious to me there were things there that had been put in that cabinet when they first moved into the house 30 years earlier! Most of those things hadn't seen the light of day until I pulled them out.

   One such item was an unopened packet of Funny Face powdered drink mix. These cost a dime when I was a kid. I don't believe they've been sold for many years.

   When I saw the drink packet, I saved it to show Greg how long things had been in the cabinet. When I saw him, I greeted him with a 'You won't believe what I found today!' and presented him the drink mix packet.

   'Cool,' he said, 'let's put it up on eBay!'

   I should have known what his response would be. It was his response to everything! After all, he is an eBay Maniac.

   I told him nobody in the world would look at an auction for a 10-cent pack of drink mix from the 1960s. My curiosity was piqued, however, so later I searched eBay for anything related to these Funny Face items. I found some. I found a lot.

   I couldn't believe it - a packet somewhat like the one I found had sold for over $20!

   I decided research was called for. I scoured the Internet for information on the drink mix and was able to determine when this specific packet was produced. I wrote up a description, Greg added to it, we took pictures, and we got that drink mix listed. I was thrilled when we got our first bid, because until then I still doubted that anyone would even look at the auction.

  I watched with growing excitement as the 10-cent packet of drink mix slowly crept up. There was real interest in this outdated packet of powder that I had nearly thrown away.

   The auction ended with a winning bid that surpassed $100.

   My life changed.

   I suppose my husband might say that was the day he saw I'd become an eBay Maniac too!