Persona’s / Scenarios

Katie Age 47

Buy low, sell high Katie is a guidance counselor in an upper middle class high school in Long Island. She loves the snow and every weekend in the winter she and her husband drive their Audi up to Vermont to go skiing. Her techi friend from work recently helped her buy a new computer with a flat screen and a cable modem. Kathie also loves photography and recently bought a digital camera. In the winter Kathi’s husband works for the resorts ski patrol so she can buy equipment at an employee discount. She’s never bought or sold anything on eBay although she has heard of it. Goals To have the latest ski gear To make the most of her salary

Richard Age 33

Motivated seller Richard is an out of work production assistant from LA. His grandfather died recently and left Richard the house. As he was cleaning out the basement Richard found a huge collection of old children’s toys many still in their wrappers. On a whim he looked up a few on eBay and was amazed how much they were selling for. He’s been slowly selling the collections and learning the market. He now spends his weekends at garage sales and thrift shops looking for hidden treasures. Richard connects to eBay with his four year old computer on a dialup through AOL. Goals To find a source of income To be a ‘smooth operator’ who turns what others think is junk into cash.

Roger Age 61 primary persona

Collector Roger retired from his job as a pediatric physician in a small rural town in upstate NY three years ago. Since then he’s been playing golf, gardening, and working on his sandwich glass and stamp collections. Roger loves candlesticks and oil lamps made by the Sandwich Glass Corporation between 1825 and 1860. Before he left New England he was able to find pieces at local auctions but since leaving the area it’s been more difficult. Last year he started using eBay and was trilled at the selection. He searches the site every two or three days and has bought a number of pieces, but he can’t stop talking about the ones that got away. “I was bidding on this one of a kind pair of 1835 dolphin candlesticks and I was the high bidder at $235 dollars with a max bid of $250. With 18 seconds left some son of bitch went on there and out bid me by 2 dollars! I would’ve given my left arm for that piece, I’d have bid 500… no $1000 dollars for it. It just kills me.” Roger uses AOL to send mail to his kids and to search eBay. Although Roger frequently bids, he’s never sold anything. He’s also never talked to anyone else online about his interests even though he’s given lectures at the local museum and consulted for antique dealers. Goals To own the best sandwich glass collection To talk and learn from others who share his passion

Will Age 19

Unload unwanted Will is a college sophomore who lives in a 10 by 10 concrete cube of a dorm room. He and his friends live on instant messenger and the web. After ripping everything to MP3 he sold his CDs on eBay. Will and his friends have LiveJournal weblog and know some HTML. Every few years he likes to sell his computer and buy a new one with the university discount. At the beginning of spring semester he sold most of his old books and an unwanted electric razor from his aunt. Last month Will helped his sister sell her laptop b/c she couldn’t figure out how to make to do it herself. Goals To have the latest gear Collects things he likes Get rid of things he doesn’t

Negative Persona

Keith Age 43 negative persona

Power Seller Keith is a clothing wholesaler who’s moved much of his business online. He had hundreds of auctions going at any given time and uses powerful auction management tools like Turbo Lister and Seller Manger to control his inventory, invoices, shipping, and customer service. Goals To continue to grow his business though increased volume, integration, efficiency

Roger was selected as the primary persona because if he is satisfied everyone else will be satisfied. He is already familiar with eBay and has a lot he could contribute if he could get past the fear and complexity of the seller interface.