The Wonderful World of eBay Thoughts for New Members from an old member. When I first became a member of eBay in 1999, I placed my very first bid on a limited edition Winnie-the-Pooh doll. A very mean seller blocked my bid because I had no feedback history. That experience was the extreme exception to the rule. Now, after more than 2000 transactions, I'm celebrating my 10th year on eBay, I want to share some of my feelings about the Wonderful World of eBay with new members. On eBay: You can be your best and enjoy the best. You can present your talent, imagination and creativity, your business sense and ethics. You can share what you know and enjoy with millions of people around the world. You can build your own unique business entirely your way and in a matter of minutes and hours you can compete, on a level playing field, with the largest companies in the world. You can find, cultivate and share your passion for collecting the elegant, the rare, the silly, the fun, the classic, the useful, the stylish and the best of nearly everything --from every nook and cranny of the Earth--and with eBay charities you can give back by supporting worthy causes at the touch of a button. You can feel the thrill of anticipation in the final seconds of an auction and the rush of excitement when you've won! You'll also train yourself with the good discipline to forget the ones you didn't win, to avoid over bidding beyond your budget and to save your money so you can build collections, within your means and at your own pace. You can expand your horizons and get different perspectives about things you already know. You can also start with no knowledge at all, educate yourself and gradually become an expert. You can learn about the great periods, influences and distinctive styles in art, music, literature and explore knowledge from each age of civilization, as objects from many ages and cultures surface on eBay. The best thing about this is that unlike a museum collection, you can actually buy as you learn on eBay. Through the wonderful descriptions of subjects provided by eBay Sellers and EBay Guides you will find knowledgeable reviews and learn details you may have been shy to ask about in a store with stuffy or busy sales people. No matter what you collect from billion year old trilobites to exotic frame-up restored hot rods, shipwreck cobs to baseball cards, D-flawless diamonds to organic seeds, Graffiti art to cuckoo clocks, Parisian runway gowns to Medieval shields, Georgian sterling to Kachina dolls, cameras to theatre silks, there are millions of objects to delight your imagination on e-Bay. If it's not available in stores, you'll probably find it on eBay along with something even better –especially the latest international styles and trends that seem to hit eBay before the shops receive them. At any hour, day or night, you can take a virtual trip on eBay to different countries and get the feeling of different cultures as you shop for collectables from around the world--You can learn to read key words in different languages from the descriptions of International EBay sellers who publish their items in their own language. If you've lost or broken something you adore, look on eBay or take a tour down your own personal memory lane to find objects of your childhood desire and feel the secret sense of satisfaction when you buy it and finally own it. Of course there will be some disappointments or mistakes to learn from along the way and you will encounter a few phonies. But phonies don't last long on eBay and insurance is designed to protect you against them. eBay will give you the power to create a niche for yourself, build a great reputation and the sense of accomplishment that comes from succeeding your own way. It will also give you a passion for learning and the unique opportunity to see and own some of the most remarkable things humans have created from antiquity to now. When you receive money for your first sale and send out your first package. When you carefully wrap it with a handwritten card --or when you receive the first treasure you've won on eBay, only after you’ve paid for it in full--you may realize, as I did, that "We the People" are a great, hardworking and genuinely gracious society. It's only the few noisemakers and advantage-takers that create most of the world's conflicts and problems. Please Enjoy EBay.