Nostalgic Find

When I was out on New Year's Eve looking for free stuff I ran across an old friend.

Carrie Keeper, missing her bonnet, but still a
place to store a girls hair bows. 

About 25-30 years ago I was a stay at home Mom with two growing girls and looking for an outlet for my creative juices, and extra money. I had always sewn and enjoyed making clothes for my girls and myself. I ran across a pattern for a "Carrie Keeper" ($3, check or MO!) in a craft magazine, ordered it and made some for Christmas gifts and then made some for a friend that ran a doll shop in town. I was hooked on crafts. I probably made 300+ during the frenzy of less than a year. That got me hooked. I stayed at home, created AND made some money.

Carrie Keeper originally had a round bonnet that covered the back of her head and a bone ring for hanging. The pigtails were for clipping hair bows. Hair bows were all the rage, still are. Her face is hand painted, lightly stuffed, and stretched over a cut salt box frame. Reduce and reuse even back then.

Next, my doll shop friend convinced me to make Cabbage Patch Doll Clothes. That's a whole other story.

She looks pretty good for a gal her age. Aged well and I don't know if some little girl used her for hair bows or just on her wall. I remember painting those faces and how to assemble them. (I probably could make them in my sleep, even now.) I see the fabric I used for her hat every day. I used the scraps from all of the fabric (available in pink, peach, lavender, blue!!) I used for the hats to make a quilt that I have on my bed right now.

Somehow I think she has found her new forever home.

It's Always the Season...Selling Season Hopefully

Happy New Year to everyone. Here's hoping to a more prosperous year than the last. I know everyone is ready to settle down from the holiday season and.....list, list, list.

It's no fun being sick at Thanksgiving. Especially when the family comes to your house for dinner.

It's no fun being sick at Christmas when everyone comes to your house on Christmas Eve.

It's just no fun being sick.

But I survived two rotten colds with lots of congestion and mucus...lots of mucus....and aches and pains. Now everything can only get better.....right?

I missed the blog world but believe me I was busy in the "real" world. I'm running out of storage room for listed items. I have been trying to operate out of a single room at home with listed items on one side, in totes and on shelves and unlisted items on the other side hanging on a rack and on shelves. And on another wall my photo set up. I need more room. So I am taking over another room in the house. Thank goodness there are only the two of us in our "nest" and I have the room. I can't wait to get all of my unlisted stuff in one room, take photos and then move it to the storage room.

I hope this change means that I will be able to have my dining room table back, my sofa back and a place to put my stuff inventory. But I just can't keep from acquiring more stuff inventory.

Last year I visited my favorite thrift store on New Year's Eve and got a huge free haul. Same thing this year? Nope. They must have learned the error of their ways and decided not to give away so much stuff. I got a handful of free stuff and only spent $15 on everything I purchased yesterday.

I ventured out to see what I could dig up. I haven't been thrifting/sourcing very much since Thanksgiving (sick/busy/sick). My first stop they had three matching recliners on the sidewalk with free tags. Don't need a recliner, don't need three recliners. Not much else. I spent $13 in the store. $13...I can't remember when I spent that small an amount on inventory.

My next stop is where I usually find all of the free goodies. Bins were almost empty. And they didn't bring out any new stuff. And I only spent $1.78 in the store. But the line of incoming stuff was long and they had lots of stuff stacked at the back door.

This is my $15 haul. John Meyer of Norwich embroidered jacket, chicken scratch apron, vintage linens, cast iron door stop, straw trivets, 3 free milk glass cosmetic jars, pancake molds, 5 printed fabric panels, Baby Einstein (no accessories) and free books and magazines for the grand kids.

This is additional free stuff. Two Lalaloopsie dolls, one missing an arm, Fisher Price Nativity figures, wood toy, cassette tapes and the box is for the dolls.

Now the big move into the new space. Of course I would love to paint the room before I move everything , but I don't think I want to take the extra time to paint. My SweetiePie can't help and I just don't think I want to tackle it by myself and keep listing and selling. I just want more space.

Now get out there and list for the New Year...list...list...

So Much for Cyber Monday

Well, I have a new phrase that I'm sick and tired of hearing.

Cyber Monday

Apparently buyers in my store think that Cyber Monday is a day to ask questions. I have had questions all day long. Not interesting questions, dumb questions. Someone asks me the standard shipping cost of an item when it is plainly visible in the listing. Kinda like what color is that blue sweater?

 Another customer wants to return an electrical item that they purchased. I tested when I purchased and before I shipped and IT WORKED.

Do you see a battery? No!!!

 When they first contacted me and said it "wasn't functioning properly" I asked if they used a fully charged battery to test the vacuum. No response. Now today they open a case saying it is defective. I sold them a Dyson DC16 without a battery and charger. Plainly stated in two places that the battery and charger not included. I have a sneaky suspicion that they thought it had a battery when they purchased. They looked at the cheaper cost and didn't look at the description. I don't mind taking back the return, but damn if I want to pay return shipping when it works and they are too stupid to see that it needs a battery to work.

But things did get better today. I sold this item to a gentlemen in England.
It arrived today and he sent me a nice message to say that it is the best thing he has purchased on line. It is a cast aluminum pepper or herb mill, Perfex brand made in France and apparently cost over $100 new. I picked it up for 25c and sold it for $35 because it had some light spots on the top that I didn't know if they could be cleaned off or not. I didn't have any luck getting them off.

Someone tell me when things are going to be normal again so I can come out of hibernation and join the human race.

Enough with Black Friday already

I am just about fed up with all of the hype about Black Friday.

What about Thanksgiving?

Do we just forget Thanksgiving and go shopping? Some workers can only afford to take two holidays off a year. Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. How would you like your holiday time cut in half?

Think about it.

I know it's nice to have a job, but someone has to pull those early hour shifts. I know they offer overtime and extra pay.

But enough is enough. Stop pushing shopping on Black Friday.

I went shopping once on Black Friday, back in the 70's, before it was officially called Black Friday. Didn't find anything spectacular, didn't find a parking space. Long lines, frazzeled clerks, grumpy shoppers.

Count me out.

I choose to spend the time with my family.

How did you start you ebay journey?

I've been snowed under the last few weeks. No, not actual snow, the ebay kind. I am slowly digging my way out of the piles of stuff. Just in time to be the hostess for Thanksgiving for the family.

October sales were just average. But only slightly above last years sales. I have almost twice as much inventory this year as last year. Should that make me have twice as many sales? You would think so.

November has been super good. I have sold a lot of items that have been listed for a while, some over a year. I really think that Good Till Cancelled is the way to go. Why did I put it off so long? So, it really is true that anything will sell eventually.

That got me to thinking about August, 2010. That's when I lost my medical job and just couldn't find another one as good. No one wants an "older lady" CMA. Funny, while I was in school my instructor kept saying "you won't have any problem finding a job" Yeah right. Well, after I left that job I decided to give ebay a full time tryout. I had been selling off and on while I was out of work and in school, selling stuff around the house, leftover craft stuff and textbooks. I convinced my SweetiePie that I could make a REAL profit from ebay and I wanted to take a chance. He supported my efforts by not complaining about the lack of household organization or clean underwear. Thanks SweetiePie!!

So I took $100 from my "secret stash/mad money/emergency funds" and went to purchase my first real inventory. I remember planning my trip to make the best use of time and gas. I took some granola bars and a couple of bottles of water, some IKEA bags and off I went.

 Who knew that 4 years later I would still be going strong. I don't remember much of what I purchased that first trip, but I do remember going the cheap route. I purchased a ton of men's polo shirts, children's clothes, women's clothes and vintage glassware the first few months. Looking back on my logbook of inventory makes me laugh. I learned lots of lessons that first holiday season. I no longer buy men's polo shirts unless they are big name brands. I don't buy children's clothes unless they are Halloween costumes or fancy dress outfits. I don't buy anything that needs major repair. And at first I wouldn't purchase any shoes. Now shoes and boots are a major seller. In women's clothes I have stepped up to higher prices and better quality items and don't sell much vintage glassware.

But I am grateful for that first learning year. I wanted to argue with every return. I didn't want to deal with customer service. I learned how to pack everything correctly. I learned where to get boxes, tissue paper, packing peanuts, labels, tape and just about anything else I needed. But most of all I learned the most important thing...RESEARCH.

That first year I relied on the old gut. Well, the gut wasn't right enough of the time to suit me. So I started looking things up. Duh!! Why hadn't I thought of that before. I started reading blogs about people doing what I was doing, making the same mistakes, learning, and moving onward and upward. I started to make some money. I was happy, SweetiePie was happy, the cat was happy, everyone was happy!!!

So I'll share some of the things I've learned.

**Don't buy junk. If you buy something damaged, realize that it will take time to fix it. Time is money and if it takes too much time you don't make any money.

**Learn how to clean....everything. I don't like to scrape old gum or horse poop off of shoes. Who does? But sometimes it just has to be done. I bought a pair of Ariat boots for $4.59 and the soles were covered in dried poop and straw. I cleaned them and made $50. That's what gloves are for.

**Learn how to take good pictures. I'm still working on this. My camera hates me. Really. Black items come out green or blue. Red items come out pink or orange. Its still a work in progress.

**Learn how to write a good description. I cringe when I see items listed with one or two pictures, and the only description of the items is "good condition". How do they ever sell anything? Maybe I over describe, but at least I am familiar with my items and that helps me find little flaws and any issues with the item.

**Don't argue with a buyer. It's just stuff. Return it, refund, and move on. It's not personal unless you make it personal.

**Buy a  mannequin. I haven't done that yet. I have those plastic half people that really aren't all that great, but they are cheap and will do until I find a mannequin that I can afford. I do have Emma, a vintage sewing mannequin that my aunt gave me, but she is dark and doesn't adjust anymore and not really clean looking for good photos. I'll keep looking. There is one out there with my name on it. I just know it.

**Research everything. Twice. You won't be sorry. And you learn so many interesting things.

**Be thankful for all of the nice people who write blogs about the same things that you enjoy and are willing to share their successes and failures with the world.

**Don't believe everything you read on the internet. All of those youtube videos about such great hauls of stuff. It's nice to see what you bought but I would really be interested to see what sold and for how much. I don't really need to know the profit margin, just that it did sell

OK.....whew that was a lot of words. Now how about some pics of recent good sales.

 Raccoon collar and cuffs picked up at estate sale sold for $50 plus shipping
A yard sale find for $2, ordered the safety harness, sold quickly for $25 plus shipping to Brazil
Found at a thrift store and sold within a week for $75 plus shipping to Australia

Found at the same estate sale as the fur collars. Purchased 3 for $10 and have already sold two for $35 each. These were really damaged with some blocks  with chunks of fabric missing. Nothing that couldn't be fixed, by the buyer not me!! 

Found these at a yard sale for $2. VTG 70's with almost no wear and the original gold logo. Others online were selling for $60-$75. I wanted more, not greedy but I knew I could get it because of the condition of the logo, so I listed for $125 and free shipping and I shipped them out today. Only listed for about a month. Ask higher and you can always take less.

I sometimes sell items for my daughter and split the profits 50/50. She picked this Maya Wrap up for fabric and decided it was too nice to cut up. She is really happy that she didn't cut it up. Purchased for $1, sold for $50 plus shipping. A nice little profit for Mother and Daughter

So get out there and find something great, take great pictures, write a great description and sell it, and tell us. And share with me how and why you got started.

 

Is it a coincidence or conspiracy?

I don't know if anyone out there watches "Bones" on Fox, but I love it. She is a forensic anthropologist and is so funny, blunt, brazen and adorable. Well, anyway there is a character on the show, another scientist, Dr. Hodgins, or just Hodgins, who is always attributing anything that happens to a conspiracy plot. I don't think that everything is a conspiracy but some things make you wonder.

The bay has been after all TRS to opt in to the 45 day return policy to take effect after Nov 1. I planned on doing just that since I have been able to hold on to TRS since the "big change". I just hadn't opted in yet. Well, this week I received two messages from ebay about how they were looking out for my welfare with all of the wonderful ads they had on TV and cable. Both had sections to opt in to the return policy. I didn't respond. I decided to wait until the end of Oct, thinking that it would change my current listing to 45 days.

Duh!! it didn't, but hey I'm a procrastinator at heart.

So, the moral of the story is don't wait. Why?  Because I have had absolutely no store activity for the last two days, except for one nice person to point out an error in my listing, no sales, nada. Then I get back from errands today, with still no action, and decide to go ahead and opt in. Just to see if it would make a difference.

I opted in to the 45 day returns at 3:24 pm. At 3:32 pm I had my first sale in 2 days.

Coincidence? Maybe, but just let me wallow in my conspiracy theory for a while, OK?

On another note, thanks to all of the lovely blogs that I read I picked up an old Nintendo 64 system and 20 games at a church sale a couple of weeks ago. I picked up the bag, and since it was just after 8 and the sale had just started, not everything had prices yet. I asked and the volunteer said 25 and put a sticker on one of the game cartridges. I thought $25 but was pleasantly surprised to find out it was 25 cents when I checked out.I got the original game console, all the wires, 4 controllers and 20 games for 25 cents. Oh how I love church sales and volunteers who don't have a clue!! Everything works and I'll probably make close to $350 with everything.

 Now that is an ebay religious experience!!

Go where???

I was busy listing away for ebay the other day when my phone dings that I have a message. I went over to messages and checked to see if it was a question about a listing and got this "lovely" message about an item I have listed:

"IN OTHER WORDS YOUR(sic) SELLING JUNK YOU EITHER GOT AT A GARAGE SALE
ORSTORAGE LOCKER AUCTION. I HOPE U BURN IN HELL"

I thought it was nice of him to be concerned about my soul, so I called ebay to share the information with them.

Granted, he only had a feedback of 3 and he didn't appear to have ever sold anything but this jack-ass needed to learn a lesson, and stop yelling. I hope ebay taught him something!!

The customer service person I talked to said that ebay would send him an email and they "may" restrict him from buying or selling. They couldn't tell me if that happened or not. I don't really care what they do to him, probably nothing, but I don't think he should be able to pick an item at random and just rant to the seller.

The item he was so upset about? A Panasonic VCR player/recorder. There are currently about 250 listed for sale on ebay. Not the best or worst item in the world, but if you haven't upgraded to blu ray, it may be just what you need. In any case its my store and I have it listed

SO THERE!!!!

And you butt is blocked!!!