HOW DO YOU DECIDE?

How do you decide what to list?

I've been following Pam over on her blog. She had decided to list $200 in sold value every day. Wow, that is ambitious. She recently scaled back to just listing every day.

That got me to thinking. (I know, that is a dangerous thing!!) I try to list at least 5 things every day. To me that is a lot. Some days the $$ amount is $100 and other days it is a lot less. For example, I just sold another Christmas applique fabric panel for $4.99. I purchased a whole bolt of these panels and listed them as per panel, figuring no one would want an entire bolt. If I had followed my new, self imposed rule I would not have listed these.

What is my new rule, you ask.

I was going through my ebay stuff and trying to sort out things. I had just made my end of the year haul and desperately needed some space to store the stuff until I can take pictures. What to donate and what to list. Big questions that need fast answers before I drown in ebay stuff. I decided to not list anything that I couldn't make at least a $10 profit. Sounds easy? Not really. Like the fabric panels. They cost me about 25c each and I can sell them for $5 each. I can't list them for $10 each, they won't sell that high. Well, they might but it would take a few years. So I listed at $5 each and I have already recouped my original investment and the rest is pure profit. And since I made the rule, I can adjust it whenever I want. The perks of being "the boss".

But for most things I have tried to abide by my new rule. We'll see how it goes. Over on the Ebay  Entrepreneur Tristen had some good ideas for staying more productive and efficient. Auction Calc is one of the aps available that will help you calculate your profit. When you find an item and are trying to decide whether to purchase or not, you can plug in the cost and it will calculate what your sales price would have to be to reach your profit level. I think this is something I will be checking on in the very near future.

How do you decide what to keep?
Remember the free stuff that I picked on New Years Eve? I don't know what I was thinking. I really have more to deal with than I know what to do with. I should have looked more closely at the books. Most are too young for my granddaughters. So I got to thinking what I should do with them and I decided to take them to our town library. It is a very, very small library and I am sure that they could use some new books. If they can't use them they can sell them at their spring book sale and use the money to purchase ones they do need.Personally,  I wish they would get more audio books. I have "read" all that they have. Also, a few of the things were broken and I couldn't sell them for parts so I tossed them. Anything else I think I can donate to a place where it will do some good will be taken there. And of course I will sell some of it, mostly the NIB. After all I have bills just like everyone else.

So, how do you decide?

THE NEW YEAR IS HERE

Did everyone have a good New Year's Eve and Day?

I was a good girl and stayed in after I got home on NYEve. Not a big party person. And we have been sick since Christmas so no one was in the mood for partying. SweetiePie even went to bed before midnight. I was still working on inventory and watched the local festivities. No, not the possum drop, the acorn drop. After all Raleigh is the City of Acorns. Makes sense because it is the state capital, home of the state legislature and political stuff and acorns are nuts.......

I had one last coupon for $10 off at my favorite thrift store and I just couldn't bring myself to let it go to waste. So off I go to cash in the coupon. My first stop was the newer thrift store that is in an upscale neighborhood always rewards me with some goodies. NYE was no different.  Thanks to some thrifting blogs that I read, I picked up a couple of good things.
A Wearever Super Shooter, a Laural Birch coffee mug, a PC Gingerbread House Stoneware kit NIP, a make up mirror and an Andis Air Styler.
I think I remember reading something about this Andis thingy. It heats up air and blows it through you hair that is wrapped around the curling iron. I can't find any on ebay right now, but I will keep looking for more info on it before I list.

I also picked up a Goofy huge mug, 15 skirts, 22 blouses, 1 dress and 10 different sheets, some sets. Care to guess my total expenditure?  A whopping $48.71.  I think that is a pretty decent haul considering that I can almost make that back with the super shooter alone. Everything else is just gravy.

And I am saving the best part for last. The second thrift store I went to is the one with the free stuff area and the outside bins for 25 cents. I went back to the free bins and it looked like a garbage dump. Broken this, broken that and just plain junk in the bins. Then I decided to check out the books on the other side and when I walked around the corner what did my "wondering eyes behold" but boxes and boxes of toys. There was a guy bringing out boxes of toys, some new some old, but boxes of stuff. This was stuff that they had no room for inside, which I found out when I went inside. So they literally took it out of your vehicle into the back door and brought it back out in a few minutes to the free area. Now, I don't want it to look like I was greedy and took all of the free stuff, not by any stretch of the imagination. I took two hauls to my truck and this is what I got.



This is the majority of the free stuff. From left to right. A Pampers box with mega bloks Dora Explorer house, assorted mega bloks and a bunch of little action figures. Sitting on that box is a Disney castle, next LPS stuff, Mermaid keyboard, a NIP Ariel doll, a stack of books and games (mostly new),  TMNT figures, Hot Wheels play set, Tonka helicopter (no sound), new fairy wings, 2 Buzz Lightyear, BABW purple slumber party bear, and all of the stuff piled up on the right is new stuff. There are 5 new pair of children's slippers, a fleece throw, new lipstick, nail glitter and boxes of crayons. The other stuff in the front is just a mish mash of stuff. Oh, on the rocker behind the books is a new winter tek jacket NWT and a Harley boys fleece jacket.

On the corner of the couch are a bunch of Lego sets, NIP and a bunch more PC games. Some of the PC games are the original case with a copy disc inside. Can't sell those, but there is a stack of instruction manuals on the left that will sell just as well. And a group of 12 Disney princess vinyl figures that were in the castle.

Think I took more than my share? When I left there were about 15 huge boxes full of the same sort of stuff that I picked up. I got one large box and two smaller boxes with stuff. So I did leave lots for everyone else.

CHRISTMAS AND SICK DON'T RHYME

Merry Christmas everyone...is it here yet?

That's what happens when you get sick at Christmas. You just want to sleep your way through it.

For our little family we have the grand kids, and the adults that go with them, over on Christmas Eve to do the food, gifts and such. This year I had a project I was working on for my oldest daughter and I spent last weekend trying to finish. I've had this idea in my head for a while to make a storage/drying unit for her etsy shop. She makes colored doilies here and when she gets a big order she has doilies spread out all over her kitchen and dining area. No way to dry them but lay them flat and let them dry. So I had a plan.

It was her big gift for Christmas. I got all my tools from my youngest daughter's house where we have been working on a window seat ...forever...and cleaned off my tool bench in the garage and went to work. Last Sunday it was almost 80 here. So I was outside working away when the battery in my drill went pffffft. I reached for the back up one, that was charged and ready to go...not. Two dead batteries for a willing to work drill/screwdriver and a deadline.  It was dried, vintage wood and no way was I going to put a gazillion screws into the wood by hand. The project didn't get finished and I got a head cold from it all. I ended up giving my daughter a gift certificate for the storage unit. I did show it to her and ask for suggestions for improvements. I've taken pictures and will spill the beans when I finish. I think it will be kinda neat. A vintage porta crib, plastic totes  and window screens turned into a drying/storage unit.

And now I feel like warmed over spit (blame that one on my grandmother).

Hope everyone had a wonderful and busy Christmas with family and friends.

And don't forget to eat black eyed peas(coins), greens(bills) and corn bread (gold) on New Year's Day for good luck. Go stuff yourself all in the name of good luck!!!

SANTA MADE ME BUY THIS

I just had to. I finally get to buy an American Girl Doll!!!....well sorta.

My two sweet Princess grand daughters are 7 3/4 and 9. The nine year old Princess is a great artist and dolls have never been a favorite of hers. She had rather dress up or draw and now she has discovered Mine Craft. The 7 3/4 year old Princess loves little things. Polly Pocket, Pet Shop and anything little and lots of them. So I was surprised when her mom said she was getting the American Girl (My Life) Doll type doll from WallyWorld. She had 5 different ones on her list. Santa is getting the mermaid and I got this one.
I can't wait.

My two daughters never really liked dolls. My oldest wanted a horse and she and her best friend, John, played soldiers, cowboys and boy games. My youngest loved books, and books and books. One year she asked for a front end loader to dig in the sandbox, and she got it. So I never got to make doll clothes.

Well, when Cabbage Patch Dolls were popular I had a friend who repaired dolls and she needed costumes for her booth at craft shows so I made 100's of CP doll clothes. (I never want to see another CP outfit.) Even though I made great money.

Now I get to make some American Girl doll clothes. I have a huge stash of fabric, (doesn't everyone?) so I don't need to buy any fabric. Maybe a few notions, and I am good to go.

I hit the $ store today for dog leashes and harness' for belts and backpack straps. I bought one pattern at WallyWorld. But there are lots of free ones online. I just needed a pattern to make sure of the size. And shoes to match, and jewelry and accessories and someplace to store it all. My mind is going crazy....crazier.

I hope that I can take a full day next week to knock out a few outfits. I'm so excited. I loved making doll clothes when I was little. My grandma let me use her treadle sewing machine.

This time I'm going electric!!!!

DOES YOUR BRAIN WORK THIS WAY?

I was searching the big linen bin at the thrift the other day. I have a habit of grabbing a good sheet when I find it and then keep looking until I find a matching one or the pillowcase or just toss it back in the bin if I don't find a mate. Sometimes I will keep a single sheet if I think I can make enough profit.

So, I was checking out the sheets and saw this:
Sesame Street, a newer design because it has Elmo and it is still colorful. Not big bucks, but an ok find. Note to self:  find the mate to blue Sesame Street fitted sheet.

So I keep looking and don't find anything on this side of the bin and I move to the other side. First thing I see is a blue sheet and Big Bird peeking out at me. Yeah a fitted sheet to match the one I already found.

See what I did?

I didn't until I got home and was getting everything ready to go in the wash. TWO fitted sheets and no flat sheets and no pillowcases.

Bummer

Does you brain work this way? I hope not.

THRIFT SCORE!!!!!?

I hesitate to say I made a thrift score, because it usually comes back to bite me....somewhere. But I think I did on my thrift trip this week.

The first thing was a Tommy Bahama embroidered silk shirt.
It seems from the current listings that this blue is a more popular color than some of the others. This is XL, silk, and embroidered, ka-ching. One is listed for $39, $49 and $69. The blue one is the $69 one.

I hit the housewares section and found zilch, that is until I got to the plastics section. I had no idea what this was but it looked upscale.

Turns out is is ZOKU, the instant frozen pop thingy. The latest yuppie thing to have, I guess. This does not make the frozen pops, it stores them in your freezer. There are six pop sticks that fit into the red base so you can store them in the freezer. Fancy, smancy. Whatever happened to dixie cups with a popsicle stick? The other stuff is baby alpaca yarn. 10 balls of 50g each. A nice neutral color and sealed in the factory bag. And the triangle on top of the yarn? That is a bakelite and wood belt buckle. Love it

Moving on to the men's shirt section I found two Orvis trout bum shirts, two more men's silk camp shirts, and this "lovely" sweater. Well made, but  not the style of anyone in my family

Handmade intarsia, for what its worth. I can see some other grandpa sitting around the club house with this on, not SweetiePie.

Linens yielded this. At first I thought it was a full size, but tag says queen. Yes, I did see the gaping hole and it won't be gaping for much longer. There aren't any listed on ebay, at least at a reasonable price, so I can  maybe get a little more than I paid ($1).

Never leave an area that is not thoroughly scoured. Case in point.  I saw a Pentax camera in the "showcase" at the register. I had good luck with one in the past, $85 for a K1000, and I saw one sitting there just begging for a new home. But it won't be mine. They wanted $25 for the camera body with no lens. Camera just sitting there with no cover over the lens mount with who knows what getting in there. No thanks.....but wait....what is that stacked up on the other end of the shelf? Calculators? Let me see those.....

Wow they look interesting. That is $5 each with the gray one going for $2 (after I pointed out that there was no battery cover!) These look nice....let's see what is under that cover 

 Graphing calculators? Why, I believe I'll just take all of them. Thank you very much. I found a battery cover for the gray one online for $6 and bought fresh batteries and tested them and they WORK. I hope to make $200-$250 off of this lot if I time it right.

 And don't forget the free section. It was raining and one of the stores I went to had a big rolling cart outside under the entrance with free books. Most were paperback romance novels but I did find these

The cookbook is empty and is one of those that you write your own recipes and has envelopes to put clippings in. I have an orange one I got for a wedding present that is crammed full of stuff and I keep all of my family recipes in there.

The other store I went to has a huge area outside that is covered. The building was once a Southern States farm supply and they stored all kinds of animal feed in that area. They have lots of bins with everything you can imagine and some things you don't want to imagine. At the back they have about 9 bins with free stuff. You can find everything from broken mugs, toys, stuffed animals, tents, and lots of books, magazines and just stuff. I really didn't take long to dig through the bins because it was getting late and I wanted to have time to check out the stuff inside. I picked these up for free.
The Mister Rogers is kinda rough (inside is fine), but I'll ask $9.99 and it may take a while to sell. The Iceland Fisherman is a translation from a 1896 French book. The spine is in rough shape and the next to last page is torn. Currently listed, cover not like this one, for $1 to $40 for newer editions. Again, $9.99 and let it sit for a while.The practical mathematics, 7 total, I'll probably ask $9.99 for them also. And they will sit also. They aren't a complete set so I'll sell individually. So I have 9 free books that I'll list for $10 each. Not bad for free.

I spent about $80 total at both stores and hopefully I'll make between $500 and $600 on everything.

Have I mentioned how much I love to thrift?
I LOVE TO THRIFT!!!!

I CAN'T BELIEVE I DID THAT

Do you ever do something not realizing that you are really doing something?

Well, it would probably be more accurate to say that I didn't do something.

I forgot to go thrifting in November!!

I know, I can't believe it!!!

When Halloween was over I had a bunch of stuff that I wanted to get listed for the holidays. Some for Thanksgiving, some for cold weather and some for Christmas.  That took a couple of weeks.

On Halloween my brother called and said they were coming the week of Thanksgiving. They come back every year or so to spend Thanksgiving with my SIL's family and we get to see them at the same time. But the kicker this time was that my niece and her family were coming. She has twins that we had never seen. Yeah!!  But something had to be done about all the mess that is associated with ebay selling, or my particular style of ebay selling. My ebay selling style is borderline hoarder, or maybe not so borderline. Maybe just across the border, or close to it.

So I spent the first two weeks of November sorting and organizing and removing to the foyer upstairs and my ebay room lots of stuff. Mountains of stuff. I also had to keep up with listing and shipping.

Then I had cleaning to do. Boy did I ever. But I got it done in time for their visit on Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Everything went fine. Just a few things left undone. An only one spider web in the bathroom that I missed. And 14 people for dinner that night. Two desserts, a meal and entertainment for 4 kids. Piece of cake!? Chocolate Bavarian Torte please!!
I remember getting that garland and then something interrupted me and I never returned to fix it. The lights are laying right there and the glass tree top also. I noticed it the next day. Oh well. I had better things to do. And it is still sitting there just like that.

Then Thanksgiving at our house. Only 10 people for the big dinner. And I thought I would pass out I was so tired. Why did I bother to clean the kitchen floor before Thanksgiving? It looked like a dirty plate after dinner.

Only took me two days to recover from it all. But then I decided on Monday I was due a nice mani and pedi. Ahhhhhhh it was really nice. And I went with cranberry red toes, complete with sparkles. The manicurist said I should have sexy toes. Whatever!! The massage on the legs was like heaven.

Then after the pedicure I felt like going thrifting. I only hit two stores in town. It was late and I just wanted some down time. Didn't find much, one or two good things and some mediocre stuff. All will bring in a little profit and will add to the eclectic feel of my store.

Denim napkins, green tiki mug, pink suede girls boots, pink flamingo sugar and creamer, nesting dolls and a barbie "laptop". I also found a collapsible plastic crate for shopping, yard sale-ing and moving stuff around. A good variety. I found the boots in the linens bin, the laptop in the shoe rack and the tiki mug and nesting dolls were sitting side by side on the shelf. Maybe from the same donor? A trip to a tropical island?
The tiki mug is so cute. He even has a little butt crack! The flamingo sugar and creamer are perfect, still has the sticker on the bottom. The nesting dolls are really different and still had the original price tag, $32. The face looks like a Samoan warrior. I can't find anything like them online.
I am thinking Samoan because of the face tattoo but the third one from right looks like he is holding a boomerang. I don't know. Anyone know anything about these things before I list? All I have been able to find out is that nesting dolls that are men are pretty rare and these are some kind of warrior or tribal or something.

So, when I got all my goodies home I was logging them into my thrift log when I noticed that my last entry was 10-31-13. And today was 12-2-13. What?? It had been a month since I had been thrifting!!! I think that is the longest I have been without thrifting since I started up my ebay store full time.

I have vowed to be a better buyer and seller. I want to buy then list and then, hopefully, sell. In keeping with that vow, I have already cleaned everything up and it is photographed and edited and now I have to do my actual listing. But the hard part is done. I also grabbed at least 6 things out of my stash and added them to the box to get them listed. The goal is to nibble at the big pile until it is all gone.

I've been so good I think I need to go thrifting!!!