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Do you remember the first item you ever sold online? Let us know by sending an email to ina@auctionbytes.com and we may publish your story. Today we hear from Tracy, who fell in love with online selling over Bruce Springsteen's Tunnel of Love.

I was looking at my feedback and I went to the first page of sellers comments and I noticed that the first item I ever sold was on February 20, 2004.

I went to a local bar to see a Bruce Springsteen Cover Band with my sisters. We had a lot of fun that night, dancing to the music of the Boss. The band was raffling all sorts of prizes if you stayed until the end. My sisters and I were game - our chances were good since the crowd started thinning out around 12:00. At 1:00, my name was called for the Framed Bruce Springsteen Autographed Tunnel of Love Album Cover.

My next door neighbor was at the bar that night and offered me $25 for it. I told him that I think I'm going to sell it on eBay and try to get double that amount. I never sold anything on eBay before, I only bought a few small scrapbooking supplies. The next morning, I started researching that album.

"Tunnel of Love" is the eighth studio album by Bruce Springsteen released in 1987. In 1998, Qmagazine readers voted Tunnel of Love the 91st greatest album of all time. In 1989, it was ranked #25 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s. In 2003, the album was ranked number 475 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatests albums of all time.

I took a long time trying to find the right words to describe my Signed Springsteen Album Cover. My description told about the night in the bar and how I came to own this magnificent autograph. It also gave the facts of the album, the size, condition and that it was just the album cover - no record. I took great pictures of the framed album cover and close-ups of the autograph. I can't remember the price that I started the auction at - it was low because I didn't have it authenticated and I won it for free.

I kept checking and rechecking my auction. I was gleeful when the auction ended. My first item sold! I made $89 on the Framed Bruce Springsteen Autographed Tunnel of Love Album Cover. My first feedback comment as a seller read "+ Great transaction, fast delivery, very well packed. Thanks." I wonder if that cover band is still playing and if I could win other autographed items?
Tracy Shaffer
Visit Tracy's Nook your eBay Store
http://stores.ebay.com/Tracys-Nook

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About the author:

Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). Follow her on Twitter at @ecommercebytes and send news tips to ina@ecommercebytes.com.

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