7 Questions with Katy Zilverberg and Vikki Eagan

Katy and Vikki each started connecting with the eBay community for tips on running their reselling business-and some human connection. Little did they know they'd find each other. Their love for eBay is strong-they got engaged at eBay Open- but their love for each other is stronger and only continues to grow.

Shop Vikki's selection of all things vintage at LV Pink Peacockand Katy's stylish A Boutique for Him.

7 Questions with Katy Zilverberg and Vikki Eagan

1. What does a typical day look like for you?

Vikki: I get up between six and seven. I check my messages, then I pull my inventory and get it ready for shipping. I package everything up, ship it out, and put it outside for my mail lady to pick up. We're lucky we get daily pickups. Then I'll settle into my tasks for the day. Sometimes that's going to be sourcing. Sometimes it's making new listings, and sometimes it's just answering questions, helping in our Facebook group, or doing our YouTube show.

1. What's your process for sourcing merchandise?

Vikki: I go to estate sales and garage sales and thrift stores. I also source from other members of the community through my Facebook group. People have things they wanna sell, and I have things I wanna buy. That's probably my most effective way to source lately. Social media is a great way to expand your resourcing capabilities.

Katy: I actually depend a lot on other sellers, too. I've come to the point in my game where I'm not going out to thrift stores. I'm going to other sellers and buying from them. It's definitely something you have to build up to. You have to know what you're doing, what you're buying, and be ready to pay up, but for me it makes sense as a way to get higher quality, better pieces on a regular basis.

Vikki, aka Boss Lady, gets down to business at her pristine desk, where she also records her YouTube shows.

1. What's one thing you would tell yourself when you first started your business?

Katy: Hmm. I already knew everything when I started. Just kidding! Ha. Let me think. If I could tell myself one thing, I would say be open to new ways of doing things, because there's no one right way.

Vikki: One thing I would tell myself when I first started my business is to take more chances. I was very hesitant when I first started and afraid to make mistakes or waste money. I think that the best learning experiences happen by making mistakes and taking chances.

1. What's your selling superpower?

Vikki: My seller superpower is that I have a lot of knowledge about vintage clothing in my head. It's very difficult to teach. People ask me all the time, but it's hard to teach. It's hard to articulate. It's something you either know, or you don't.

Katy: My secret selling superpower is having a routine, having a schedule. I have a way that I do things every day, every week. It might sound boring, but I find comfort in it. And I find that I'm able to reach my goals because I have my certain things that need to be done at a certain time, and I just gotta get it done. Is that a superpower? Maybe.

1. Where do you see your business in 1 year? 5 years? 10 years?

Katy: In one year I'd like to see myself getting rid of a lot of the old inventory I've had around for a while and really focus on bringing new, fresher items into my store so I can have an overall higher quality batch of inventory.

In five years, I would like to hire somebody to help me out because it's very hard for me to let go of control of the things that I do in my store. I like to be in charge of everything. I'd like to figure out a way to at least get a little bit of help from somebody else so that I can grow faster.

In 10 years, I'd like to maybe have my own brick-and-mortar store. I don't know. I just said that. I don't even know if I wanna do that! Do I? Maybe! It's 10 years from now.

Katy shows off some of her vintage merch-and her inventory organization.

1. Who inspires you?

Vikki: I work a lot with the burn community, and the burn community is full of people who inspire me. That's my inspiration-watching people who could give up, finding strength and courage within and becoming better and stronger.

1. What's your favorite quote- motivational or otherwise? Why?

Vikki: My favorite quote is tattooed on my arm: "To whom that much has been given, much will be required."

Katy: Let's go with one of the greatest of all time: "Do or do not. There is no try."

Check back for more seller stories and tips throughout the year on our Announcements board, the eBay for Business Podcast, and our eBay for Business Facebookand YouTube.

This interview has been edited for concision and clarity.

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