It’s time to take customer service to the next level.

Here’s the scenario. You’ve been contracted by a bride to provide music for her ceremony and reception. A couple weeks before the wedding date, she calls and requests that while her guests are being seated prior to the ceremony, you play the instrumental version of the opera "Carmen."

Being one who snarls in the face of a challenge, you scour your resources and find there’s only one CD available of "Carmen" in an instrumental version: Carmen Without Words conducted by Andre Kostelanetz & His Orchestra.

At this point you have several options. You could either:

* Ask the bride to buy the CD and borrow it from her for the day. From the messages I’ve read on bridal bulletin boards, I believe this practice is tacky.

* Borrow the CD from a colleague. But then, what are the chances of him or her having Carmen Without Words?

* Show up with something completely different and tell the bride the CD wasn’t available – although your good conscience tells you that lying is unethical.

* Spend between $7.99 (www.tower records.com) and $9.49 (www.amazon .com and www.cdnow.com) for the CD and provide the music your client has requested. "But," you say to yourself, "I’m only going to play it once."

You select the final option: fork out the $7.99 plus shipping & handling for the CD and the bride is most appreciative of the service you’ve provided. Now, the question becomes: What to do with the CD now that the gig is over? Let it take up space and collect dust?

Not in my office. My philosophy is, if the music is available, provide the client with what they ask for, no matter how obscure it is. If I feel I’ll never use the CD again, the CD goes on the auction block. Welcome to the world of online auctions – an opportunity for you to recoup anywhere from 20- to 100-percent (or more) of the money you spent on your client’s requests.

There are dozens of online auction houses on the Internet. Undoubtedly, eBay (ebay.com) is the king. At the time of this writing, there were 3,883,301 items open for bidding on the Texas-based auction site. Getting started is easy and it’s fun to watch the progress as people bid on your item. To submit an item to eBay, you need to register a "user name" and a password. Once you’ve registered, let the auctions begin!

You’ve decided to sell the Carmen Without Words CD. On the eBay home page, click on the "Sell" icon to list your item for auction. The Sell page will have a detailed form to enter such detailed information as Item Title, Item Category, Description, etc. Be as descriptive as possible. List all the song titles. If possible, give some background on the CD. The more information you provide, the better your chances are of selling your item at a higher price.

Here’s an example of how I would submit Carmen Without Words on eBay:

(1) Title: Carmen Without Words CD

(2) Category: Music, CD, Classical

(3) Description: Andre Kostelanetz – Carmen Without Words CD, Composed by Georges Bizet, Track Titles: Act 1 Prelude "Les toreadors"; Avec la garde montante "Children’s Chorus"; L’amour est un oiseau rebelle "Habanera"; Pres des ramparts de Seville "Seguidilla"; Les tringles des sistres tintaient "Gypsy Song"; Votre toast je peu vous le rendre "Toreador Song."

Act 2 Prelude "Les dragons d’Alcala"; La fleur que tu m’avais jetee "Flower song."

Act 3 Prelude "Intermezzo"; Suite no 2 - Marche des Contrebandiers; Melons!

Coupons! [Card Scene]; Je dis que rien ne m’epouvante "Micaela’s Aria."

Act 4 Prelude "Aragonaise"; March of the Toreadors; Les voici! Les voici!;

C’est toi! C’est moi!...Carmen, il est temps encore.

This CD also contains: Ravel: Bolero; de Falla: El amor brujo: Cancion de fuego fatuo "Ritual Fire Dance"; Glinka: Capriccio brillante on the theme "Jota aragonesa"; de Falla: La vida breve: Spanish Dance.

This used CD is in brand new condition and includes jewel case and original materials. The buyer pays $3.75 for shipping. Immediate shipping with your money order or cashier’s check. USA only.

(4) Picture URL: If you know how to upload graphics and have access to a scanner, you can scan the cover art and post it on the site.

(5) The Gallery, Featured Item, Great Gift Icon: eBay offers some eye-catching features you can attach to your listing (for a fee). Keep in mind, if you’re selling a 10-dollar CD, you’re probably not going to buy these features.

(6) Item location: Sunny San Diego, Cal.

(7) Country: USA

(8) Payment Methods: Cashier’s Check, Money Order, Personal Check

(9) Where will you ship? USA only.

(10) Who pays for shipping? Buyer pays shipping.

(11) Quantity: One

(12) Minimum bid: Start low. If you’re listing a 10-dollar CD, start the bidding at $1.99. Don’t be discouraged by lack of bidding the first few days. As bidding reaches its close, you’ll see more action.

(13) Duration: your choice of three, five, seven or 10 days (I always go for seven days).

(14) Reserve Price: This is a feature usually used for high-ticket items. It allows you to set a minimum amount for which you want to sell your item. For example: You have an Elvis Presley on black velvet painting you feel is worth a minimum of $500. You list your item with a minimum bid of $20 with a reserve price of $500. If the bidding doesn’t reach $500 by the close of the auction, you are not required to sell the item.

(15) User ID/Password: Enter your ID and password, reconfirm your listing, click OK and sit back and watch people bid on your CD.

So what does it cost to list your CD on eBay? A basic, bare bones listing can be as low as 25-cents and as much as $150 for all the bells and whistles. At the close of the auction, eBay also takes a percentage of the final sale. This is called the "Final Value Fee." Take the first $25 of your final value, and calculate 5-percent of that. If your item sold for $25 or less, this is your Final Value Fee. If your final value was more than $25, take the additional amount, from $25.01 to $1,000, and calculate 2.5-percent of that. If your final value was more than $1,000, take that additional amount and calculate 1.25-percent of the remaining amount. Add these amounts together and you have your Final Value Fee! eBay will invoice you via e-mail.

You’ll also need to take into account the cost of shipping. A padded envelope and four first-class stamps is what you’ll need (about a buck and a half).

If you think Carmen Without Words won’t sell, you’re wrong. The scenario at the beginning of this article is a true story. I bought Carmen Without Words for $7.99, which provided the music that the bride requested, and I then sold the CD on eBay for $5.75. Total cost to make my client smile – $2.24.

You can do it, too.

 

Steve Cosio, owner of First-Dance.com and an 18-year mobile music veteran, lives and vacations year round in sunny San Diego, Cal.