The spring game has passed, as has the analysis, recruiting news, and general media attention that immediate follows it. As a Hokie football fan, you've probably exhausted most of what's out there. Things are about to get real dry in terms of Virginia Tech sports in the coming months. In fact, we are moving into the Dead Zone for sports in general, as Jim Alderson calls it, a time when its a bit of a lull in sports in general.
Of course in modern American society, with its entertainment and news thirsty consumers I don't think there ever really isn't anything going on, but I'd agree the NBA and NHL playoffs, NFL training camps, early stops on the PGA tour, and other stuff happening right now don't exactly make me change a lot of plans to watch sports. Around my house, its more a time for spring cleaning, preparing for summer vacations, and shopping. With the economy the shape its in, I'd say many of pretty nervous about some of those activities too.
In this post, I'll share with you one often overlooked place for finding great Virginia Tech merchandise and gear, especially in a down economy.
If you read a blog like this one, you've probably been on eBay, and likely bought and sold on it as well. Hokie fans often buy and sell Virginia Tech tickets to each other or with other alums on eBay. And why not, as its the world's dominant online marketplace, the place people often go to first when looking for virtually anything.
I have too much Virginia Tech apparel. I hear it from my wife all the time, especially during 'spring cleaning' time of year. The problem is 1) I like all of it and 2) most of it is in great condition and in no shape to be thrown 
out. But when I'm forced to face getting rid of it, or the scorn of my better half, I usually sell it on eBay. Selling it to another Hokie gives me some satisfaction knowing they'll get good use out of it, plus they get a great deal and I'm not coming away totally empty handed. I often use the funds I accumulate from selling 2-3 year old stuff to buy.....more Virginia Tech merchandise.
I notice that often times the buyers of Virginia Tech sweatshirts, jackets, jerseys, etc. are students. But that's not always the case. For example, someone like me, who likes to 'turn over' my Hokie stuff a lot, buying it new from the bookstore or an online retailer isn't always best. Sure I buy my share of new stuff in Blacksburg and from retail, but you can get great Hokie gear that's virtually new on eBay for far less.
Just recently, I needed a new Virginia Tech golf shell. I found someone selling an officially licensed Virginia Tech Nike Dry-fit Golf Jacket, easily $70 new, for $16 on eBay. It wasn't new, but when I got it in the mail, it might as well have been straight from retail because it seemed barely worn.
Remember, people get gifts from friends, corporate gifts, duplicates, or just stuff they won't use all the time, and want to get it off their hands for a profit. They often turn on eBay. If they paid little or nothing for it, selling it to you for cheap is a win-win.
Products on eBay are organized into categories, and if you start surfing you can get lost and waste serious hours buried in millions of listings. You can use eBay's search capabilities, but they are only as good as how sellers have categorized and described their items. Plus if you are Hokie shopper, you don't want to enter search after search just to look at Virginia Tech eBay listings.
However sites like this one have special software automatically search, filter, and display eBay listings that meet certain criteria. In our case we want to look only at Virginia Tech related items in certain catagories. This makes it easy for Virginia Tech fans to get the benefits of shopping the 1000's of Hokie related eBay listings without having to do all the manual searches.
You won't find just tickets and apparel, in fact you'll be surprise all the variety of Hokie merchandise on eBay. Virginia Tech memorabilia is a popular category, especially for collectors, and you'll also see many listing in Home & Garden, Sporting Goods, DVDs, and Jewelry or Watches.
So are you looking for some new Hokie gear? Don't forget to check out eBay!
Go Hokies!
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