Meet Dave

This Volunteers’ Week – Meet Dave. He’s been volunteering in our eBay team for seven years, photographing and packing donations of vinyl, tech and rare coins.

How did you start volunteering in our eBay team?

When I retired I was looking for something different to do and came across an advert for an eBay volunteer online. I’ve been here seven years and volunteering in eBay keeps me fit and gets me out and about.

What does a typical day volunteering in eBay look like?

When I first started I was mainly packing up the items that had sold on eBay. Now, I spend 50% of my time sorting through vinyls and photographing them and 50% doing the same with job lots of stamps, coins, phones or books. I also work with the tech that comes in as that can be valuable.

What’s the most exciting item the team have sold?

We once had a box of Queen albums sell for around £1,000 – and this month we had two rare vinyls both sell for almost £500! I’ve always liked music and that’s really evolved since volunteering in eBay. I now have too many Vinyls at home… (For the music fans out there, the two valuable vinyls sold this month were Still Life (1971) by Vertigo Swirl and The Magic Shoemaker by Fire)

What’s one thing people might not know about St Oswald’s Hospice’s eBay shop?

How hard the team work. They are always busy sorting through donations, listing items and answering customers’ questions. The team has grown four times the size in the last few years. We’ve had great growth over the past couple of years. The growth is because we have more staff members and the shops know what items to look out for and send our way.

What would you say to someone thinking about volunteering in the eBay team?

Come along and give it a go – it might just click with you.

Excitingly, our eBay team are currently expanding and are looking for new volunteers to join them!

Whether you’re a keen photographer, enjoy hunting for hidden treasures or are looking for desk based volunteer role, there are lots of different ways you can support the eBay team.

Interested? Email Rebecca Robinson, E-Commerce Manager for more information on RebeccaRobinson@stoswaldsuk.org