Posts Tagged ‘gadgets’

In my last post, you got to watch the interview I had with Jack Sheng, a remarkable eBay seller who reached a milestone of one million positive Feedback. Now, I want to show you some of the interesting items his company Eforcity sells.

Check out my new favorite pink pal, Bei Bei. This small baby pink toy instantly becomes an FM radio once plugged into your USB port. Its squiggly tail controls the volume and her ears control the stations. She also comes with an audio jack, so you can use her as a speaker for your iPod. Check out the video of me opening her up!

To see all the electronic accessories you could ever want, check out Jack’s eBay store.

Imagine what it would feel like to receive over one million positive Feedback ratings on eBay. Now, imagine you’ve reached this milestone four times over.

Last week, I was lucky enough to interview a man who has done both - Jack Sheng, co-founder of Eforcity, a successful eBay store specializing in consumer electronic accessories. In total, Sheng has four eBay IDs, which have all reached the one million Feedback milestone.

Personally, as an eBay user and electronics guru, talking to Jack was extremely insightful. Listening to him describe his path to success demonstrated how his hard work, determination, and faith in eBay have transformed a home-based business into a facility that ships over 30,000 units out the door each day. Pretty amazing!

My Video: How to Sell Gadgets on eBay. Everyone’s talking about refurbished gadgets now-a-days and what better place to find them than eBay. Here’s a step-by-step video that I put together. Check it out…

I hear a lot of people are currently buying refurbished items. Here are a few tips on why buying pre-owned electronics and gadgets is a great investment:

1. Find used gadgets and toys in time for back-to-school season: Use search terms such as “refurbished,” “pre-owned” or “used.” You can find great deals on items like first-generation iPhones, MP3 players, HDTVs, laptops and digital cameras.

2. Read the full description: Be knowledgeable about the item you’re about to purchase. Read reviews online, compare pricing and gather product details. Any questions? You should always contact the seller to fill in the blanks.

3. Search for “lots” of toys or items for children. When parents get rid of everything from one stage in their child’s life, they tend to sell the items in lots. You can often score more than 50 products at a time that are perfect for your child and priced for pennies on the dollar.

Little Jack is turning two next week and is in love with a few fun things. Right now, I’m paying close attention to what he’s into now to try and figure out what to get him for his birthday.

Currently, he gets really excited when he picks up his little man MP3 player. The Playskool Made For Me Digital Music Player has the engine of a creative MP3 player and the body of an easy-to-operate gadget. It has nice big buttons that are intuitive for Jack to push. The forward and back buttons live on its feet and a big play button is front and center. It comes pre-loaded with 50 different sounds and tunes and has storage to upload Mama’s voice as well as his favorites. There’s also a soft jacket that can be placed on the player to transform it into a furry animal friend. He gets it, he likes it, and it makes him smile.

Next up is this very simple water toy from Step2 called the Fun Flow Play Sink. I’m so into this toy because it’s basic yet he plays with it for hours on end. It’s simply a sink with a working pump that circulates water – that’s it! A big red button on the top of the faucet allows him to turn it on and off, and on and off, and on and off. The tub of the sink is large and deep, allowing a few kids at a time to enjoy. I’m telling you, if I had to pick one water toy, this would be it.

Another one that’s had amazing longevity is a toy that’s been around forever, yet keeps the kids entertained. It’s called the Playskool Busy Ball Popper and it’s just great! The toy has a really easy to activate “on” button that sets into motion five lightweight, colorful balls that circulate through the toy and then pop them up into the air. The top platform then catches the balls on their way down then repeats the fun over and over by sending the balls down a slide. Slam dunk.

The funniest thing he plays with, though, is this small sheepskin rug that I got at Ikea. He calls it his “Kitty” and literally thinks it’s his cat. How cute is that? I’ll let you know what I end up getting him next week!

I’m thinking that I need to start being more friendly to our eco-system. Sure, I know it sounds oh so 2007 to “go green,” but I’m going to do it and I’m starting with my gadgets.

A great way to help on this green mission is to use eBay to buy refurbished gadgets. I buy about 20% of my gadgets refurbished at this point, but am going to aim for at least 50% from now on.

Not sure how to buy refurbished? Here is a great tip that can help you with the process: Try out solar power. The simplest gadget for this has to be the Solio Hybrid 1000. This little device really packs a powerful punch. It can fully charge your cell phone after you’ve left it in the sun for just a few hours. It will also hold that amount of stored up energy for one year! Looking to use it on a computer or MP3 player? No problem, the device comes with a number of adapter tips.

Another totally rad solar-powered device is the Iqua BHS-603 SUN-Solar Powered Bluetooth headset. This baby chargers as you yap. There’s 200 hours of standby time that constantly charges off the sun. It had me at hello.

Now on to much bigger gadgets – cars. Sure, you may think you’re helping by rocking a hybrid, but if you really want to give mother nature a green love hug, get yourself a Triac! This tiny, three-wheeled, highway capable car packs a 144V lithium ion-powered battery capable of going 70 mph with a 120 mile range. Plus, it starts at just $19,995!

Lots of people on eBay Motors are already saving the environment by using greener transportation. For instance, Bio Diesel Conversion Kits are up 600% from last year! These puppies transform diesel vehicles to consume vegetable oil. This is an awesome trend that you should definitely be a part of.

Video Diary: My Trip to New York

I take Jack to a daycare here in LA that I LOVE! The lady who runs it helps me test out gadgets on all the different age groups in her care. She recently asked me for a gadget to help her with a VERY fussy baby that cries all day long. I offered her The Why Cry Analyzer gadget and she laughed. She thought the concept alone was hilarious. It’s a device that has five expressive baby faces on it and a “cry analyzer” inside that’s activated by a child’s cry. The analyzer then lights up the descriptive face based on why the child is crying, which lets you know if the child is hungry, bored, fussy, needs new diapers, etc.

After testing it she was still laughing, although she did say that her husband liked it. She asked to try out another gadget and this next round of research lead me to a winner! TheSweetPeace Newborn Soothing Center by Graco ended up doing the trick. Basically it’s a swing, but the thing that’s unique about it is that it swings from side to side, not back and forth! Not only that, but the chair is a super cushion of comfort that allows the baby to fall into deep relaxation with the help of hanging toys and a shade helps the baby fall asleep. Want more? The music on this thing is really good! It’s not just mini-tunes of kid’s songs; it’s actually stereo-tunes of popular classical music that can be played to help relax the mood of an entire room of hyper kids. Try it out!

*Photo licensed to: Graco

This will be my second Mother’s Day and I want it to be even better than my first. Here’s the short list of what I’m planning on getting to treat myself:

SleepTracker- I just don’t sleep anymore! To get a really accurate reading of just how little I actually sleep (so I won’t feel so bad about taking a nap once in a while), I’m liking this watch that you wear at night then hook up to your PC to get a visual read out of your REM sleep.


AeroGarden - I know these have been out for a while now, but I REALLY want one. They smell great and have new packets that grow mini roses or tomatoes!

Sirius BackSeat TV- I want Jack to watch as much TV as his brain can possibly take! Just kidding. I do however want him to be relaxed and happy when we’re in the car so I’m looking at the new Sirius satellite TV set up as the key to my success. He’ll have his own little remote that allows him to access his favorites from Disney, Nick, and Cartoon Network in the back, while I’m listening to NPR in the front.