My Pages

Monday, November 21, 2011

Not the best news from UPS...

Effective January 2, 2012, UPS rates will increase as follows*:

UPS Ground services will increase a net 4.9% through a combination of a 5.9% increase in rates and a 1 percentage point reduction in the UPS Ground fuel surcharge.

UPS Air and International services will increase a net 4.9% through a combination of a 6.9% increase in rates and a 2 percentage point reduction in the UPS Air and International services fuel surcharge. Rates for UPS Next Day Air® remain up to 4% lower than our largest U.S. private competitor for similar services.

UPS Next Day Air® Freight and UPS 2nd Day Air® Freight rates for shipments within and between the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico will increase 5.9%. UPS 3 Day Freight® rates will remain unchanged.

Friday, September 30, 2011

Quick Trick on Facebook

I've been busy listing mugs on eBay today.  But, I thought I'd take a peek at Facebook to see if my friends were doing anything interesting....and there was a note from my daughter Samantha, who lives in Colorado.

Sam wroteSo I put in my search box "mom" because I wasn't thinking and it actually came up with you. Odd. But the reason I am writing on here because you are never going to believe what I got...

Wow--I guess I didn't realize you could do that!  I tried it myself:  I typed  "daughter" in the search box, and there are all of my daughters listed!  How neat!

All that fuss over $10...

Yesterday morning my email box had a note from a customer who thought the book she bought was "not as described," so she was asking for a refund.  I thought I had described the negative parts of the item well enough, but in the interest of customer service, I agreed to refund her money--she even asked me to refund the amount it was going to cost her to send it back.  I don't usually do that, but didn't want to spend time discussing it with her, so I also agreed to that.  After sending that information back to her, I received another note--this time she said, "I would be happy with half the purchase price refunded. 10.99/2=$5.50.
Does this sound fair to you?"

Yes, it sounds fair to me!  I immediately refunded the $5.50 and wrote her a quick Thank You/apology note and forgot all about it until later that afternoon.  I was checking my sold lists looking for an item I needed to leave feedback for....and, I discovered she had left a neutral feedback for the transaction!  Needless to say, I was not pleased since I had tried to accomodate her earlier in the day.  The one neutral did not affect my 100% feedback, but still I didn't want it there for everyone to see!  So, I went into eBay where you can request a revision of feedback (feedback forum/request feedback revision), filled out the required information, and where I could leave her a note, I wrote:

I tried hard to fix the problems in our transaction per your wishes.  I was willing to pay your postage to return the book to me, but then you said you would accept a refund of ½ the original price- I immediately did that.  In many people’s eyes, a neutral is just like a negative. Could you please change the neutral to a positive?  Thanks so much!  -Rae 

Originally I had written a longer note, but eBay only lets you use 500 spaces. I wanted to include the entire story so eBay would understand the details in case I had to discuss it with them....

So I went about my business for the rest of the afternoon, hoping for the best outcome...a couple of hours later I got another email from eBay saying she had agreed to redo the feedback!  Whew!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

A New Site to Watch

Check out Craftgawkers.com....

This site has so many great ideas--all in small pictures that are linked to other individual sites that give more information or instructions on how to make the item yourself. 

As an example, these cute decorated pumpkins are found in the blog Glorious Treats, written by Glory, a housewife in northern California.  (She's got other great ideas, too!)

Monday, September 19, 2011

I Changed My Mind!

This is a "Heads Up" notice for all my former eBay students....


Previously I always told you how I like to make my titles in Capital letters--I told you it was just my personal preference, and you could do it any way you like. 


But now I have found that if you use all caps your items will not show up in the Google products search for fixed price. Google disallows all listings that do not use standard capitalization.

So now, I'm going through my listings, changing titles that need to be upgraded.  And now that we're allowed the 88 spaces, I can add to some of them, too. 

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Keyboard Shortcuts

Sometimes the keyboard is faster than the mouse. If you know a few simple ways of using the keyboard instead of the mouse, you will greatly enhance your computing experience, but you will also amaze some of your friends!

Right Click
Before we get into the keyboard shortcuts, here's a tip that will open up a completely new world of ease of use and power to your computing experience and mark you as "in the know:" Use the right button on your mouse. The right click offers you extraordinary possibilities most people don't know exists. The next time you want to do something and it isn't obvious how to do it, try right-clicking and see what happens. You will be amazed. Experiment with this at other times, to see what you might want to do later. Now let's discuss the keyboard itself...

Enter
It is extremely easy to spot a neophyte with a computer. They use the mouse when they shouldn't. And the most frequent misuse of the mouse is to click on the Enter button on the screen instead of touching the Enter key on the keyboard. In either case the function is the same: to get the computer to accept what you just typed. In a scenario which happens countless times on a computer, you have just typed something on the keyboard (your name, a word or two you want to do a search on...) and now you have to tell the computer to "Go do it". Almost always there will be a button which can be clicked with the mouse make the computer go do it. This means you need to take your hand off the keyboard, position it on the mouse, determine where the mouse shows up on the screen and then move it over the button and click. Or, you could simply touch the Enter key, usually the second biggest key on the entire keyboard.

People have been conditioned into thinking that they have to use the mouse for everything.  But now you know, and now you can start building a new, more productive and very professional habit by using the Enter key more often.

F1
Most people know about this key, but they don't use it when they need it most!
Hit Function key F1 to get help in almost any windows program.
It's amazing what you can learn when you use the F1 key.

Ctrl-W
to close the current window works in MSFT Explorer, but use "Esc" in Outlook

Alt-F4
This immediately quits the current program.
It's a whole lot faster than clicking on that little box in the upper right!

Esc
to Escape from the current document or window without updating or changing anything.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

More Facebook Changes Coming

Beginning Wednesday, Facebook will make it easier to share photos, posts and links with smaller, isolated groups of people. While the site has allowed users to separate their friends into lists since 2007, this option took quite a bit of work and only a small fraction of Facebook users took advantage of it.


Now, Facebook will automatically group your friends based on whether they live near you, went to your school or work with you. You can read posts or share updates with specific groups instead of dozens, or hundreds, of "friends" at a time. Facebook will use the colleges, workplaces and geographic locations that users share on the site to organize people into groups. Called "smart lists," the feature is optional to use, and the lists are customizable.


In addition, you can create your own friend groups with as few or as many as you would like, based around hobbies, work projects or relatives, for example.


Listing people as "close friends," will let you see the posts and photos from the dozen or so friends you care about the most. Updates from these people will feature more prominently in your news feed and you can opt to receive email notifications every time they post something on Facebook.


Conversely, those categorized as "acquaintances" will feature less prominently on your Facebook page, and you will see just big news, such as marriages and new babies.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Life Lessons


1. The first pancake always turns out badly.

2. You don’t have to get along with everyone, or make everyone like you.

3. Love makes you stupid.

4. You always have at least 2 choices, even if you don’t like your choices.

5. When people show you who they are, believe them.

6. Most people operate out of selfish motivations.

7. It’s rarely about you.

8. Soda is evil.

9. It’s okay to break the rules, as long as you are good enough not to get caught, and you aren’t hurting anyone.

10. “Be kinder than necessary ’cause everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.”

11. There’s three sides to every story- his, hers, and the truth.

12. Time doesn’t heal anything- it’s what you do with that time.

13. Complaining and blaming other people  doesn’t help anything, and makes you miserable company.

14. Everything in your life is your responsibility.

15. You train people how to treat you.

16. There’s always hope.

17. You can always be grateful for something.

18. If you aren’t making mistakes, you aren’t trying hard enough.

19. You never really become an adult. You just get more responsibility, and become wiser.

20. Showing emotion is not a sign of weakness. Knowing when it is appropriate is a skill.

21. Google can answer anything.

22. Being silly is one of my favorite qualities in a person.

23. Honesty is always the easiest route. Even if it’s not in the short term.

24. You should never stop learning, or trying to be a better person.

25. Worrying is useless, unless it motivates you to take action.


Begin your day on a positive note

Find a few minutes each morning to clear your mind and then think positive thoughts about the upcoming day. Focus on the people and events that bring you joy or a sense of satisfaction. 


What’s your favorite part of the day going to be? Take some time to look forward to everything that you will enjoy. Now carry that feeling with you all day long, even during the less enjoyable activities. Let your optimism flow into your entire day.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Where is Your FB Phone Book?

Facebook automatically creates a phonebook for you, which lists the phone numbers of all of your friends who listed their number on facebook.

You can find your facebook phonebook here:
http://www.facebook.com/friends/edit/?sk=phonebook

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Have You Looked at G+ Yet?


Well now that G+ has been around for a couple of months (give or take a week or two…), what do you think? 
I jumped in and set up a G+ account right away just in case it turns out to be a big player in the social media picture, but I’m just too busy to keep up with it….I tend to turn to Face Book first…
And, as usual, if anyone wants a G+ invite, send me a note with your Gmail address.


Tuesday, July 19, 2011

My Multiple Personalities


Sometimes people roll their eyes when I tell them I have two different eBay IDs….but after a quick explanation they understand.  I have my “store” ID (rae.on.the.bay) and then I have another that is exclusively auction style listings (ask.rae). 
Almost everything in my eBay store is listed as “buy it now”  and I use the “ask.rae”  site for auction listings, and for teaching purposes.   When I teach it is good to be able to show the exact steps needed to list an item.  I also use this alternate site when I am at my California home--I can still sell on eBay--I put the main store "on vacation" while I am away from my inventory... 
Sometimes people use two different IDs for another reason:  one for buying and one for selling.  Anyone else have two IDs? 

Friday, July 8, 2011

Four Mistakes

If you’re doing any of these things, you’re probably leaving money on the table with many of the items you sell.

Listing an item at the wrong time. It is said that more buyers browse Internet auction sites on Sunday evenings than any other time during the week. If your auction is scheduled to end at any other time than Sunday evenings (specifically between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Eastern time), you’re not getting the maximum exposure for your auction at a time when people are most eager to buy.

Not giving your photos the attention they deserve. One common mistake that people make with the photos they use is not having enough pictures to accompany your item’s description. Over the years, I’ve learned pictures of your item are one of the most important components of your sales page.  Multiple pictures from various angles will ALWAYS help you get higher bids for your products.

Using flashy listings. These listings use all kinds of flashing animation, multicolored text and other bells and whistles in an attempt to entice bidders. In fact, it does just the opposite. Listings like these are distracting, hard to read, and will always discourage people from bidding, resulting in a lower final sales price. The descriptions that you give of your item on your sales page ARE NOT designed to get a buyer’s attention (you already have that if they’ve clicked on your listing in the first place). They should be designed to get someone to actually place a bid.

Using a reserve. Using a reserve to guarantee that you’ll get a minimum price for an item can kill your auction. Nothing scares away potential bidders more than seeing the "Reserve Not Yet Met" tag. If you’re truly concerned about a minimum price, just set your starting price a little higher.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

I Should Have Known Better

Well, I had my “duh” moment for the week (I hope it’s for the week—I’ve got too much to do to waste my time like this).

Anyway, for the past few days I’ve been doing battle with my computer speakers.  This morning for what I vowed was the last time, I unpluged and replugged in all the sound wires and restarted the computer—still no sound!  I figured it was time to break down and buy new speakers. 

Then I thought to check one more thing…the volume control on my desktop.  Yep, there it was: set to mute!  Boy do I feel dumb—that’s the first place I should have checked! 

My computer cords really don't look this bad, but when I'm trying to find the right one, it looks like this cord jungle to me!
It kind of reminds me of the old story about the blonde (yes, I am blonde…) who called the computer repairman when her computer wouldn’t turn on.  It turned out that she hadn’t plugged it into the wall outlet. 

Saturday, July 2, 2011

New Shipping Fees

A couple of months ago, I started offering “Free Shipping” on a few of my items. As anyone with any common sense knows, “Free Shipping” is nothing more than increasing the price of the item to cover the shipping expense. I knew at the time that eBay would benefit by being able to charge Final Value Fees (FVF) on that increase in sales price, but I have found that the sales psychology of offering “Free Shipping” to customers has certainly more than made up for the increase in fees.

So now that eBay will be implementing the new fee policy (FVF will be a percentage of sales price + shipping costs) on July 6, it might be a good time to rethink your own shipping policies. 

Saturday, June 25, 2011

New sizes for eBay pictures

FYI: Larger pictures are available on eBay Item pages now. Because photos are so important, larger pictures are now available on Item pages.

The display size of the pictures at the top of listing pages has increased from 300 pixels on the longer side to 400 or 500 pixels (depending on the buyer's screen resolution). That's 25% more space to show your items.

Later this summer, the size of pictures displayed in the Enlarge and Zoom features will also increase to approximately 1000 pixels on the longer size.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

My Facebook was slowing down!

In just the last couple of days I noticed Facebook was so slow!  I couldn’t scroll down without waiting a few moments for it to catch up with my mouse and if I tried to close it, the site took forever.

It seemed like nothing else on my desktop was affected.  Hubby thought it was my browser (I like IE, he’s a Chrome fan).  He said I could use FB with Chrome and still use my other sites with IE, but that really wasn’t a good answer for me, so I went looking for a solution. 

And I found it!  Would you believe it was my AVG antivirus scanner that recently upgraded.  I found a discussion that pointed out the AVG Link Scanner was the culprit.  So I went in and disabled just that part and everything on Facebook is back to normal—whew!

So, if you use AVG and are experiencing serious slow-downs on Facebook, open the AVG application and double click LINK SCANNER.  Then uncheck the Enable Search Shield and Enable Surf Shield (they are right together).  Click Save, and restart your computer. 

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Promoting next week's Blogging Class

This was on NTV's early morning (9am) show today.

eBay has a One-Day Listing Sale - Today

FYI:  eBay is running a 1-day promotion today, June 14. Sellers can list Auction-style listings for a 5-cent Insertion fees no matter the auction starting price.

The promotion applies to both eBay Stores subscribers and sellers who do not have an eBay Store subscription. Sellers who do not have an eBay Store subscription are still eligible to list up to 50 listings Auction-style listings for free per month. Once the free insertion fees have been used, the 5-cent promotional rate will apply to eligible listings.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

More new Facebook changes

Facebook has turned on On Facial Recognition For Tagging for some people.  Is it you?

To Disable:
1. Go to your privacy settings.
2. Click “Customize settings.”
3. Scroll down to “Things others share.”
4. Find “Suggest photos of me to friends.”
5. Change to what you want (mine is on disable).

Friday, May 20, 2011

Books I do NOT sell

In my years of looking for old books, I have discovered there are a few catagories that are NOT considered valuable, and therefore not worth listing on eBay (or any other online venue):

Bibles
No other book has been printed more often than the Bible. Because they are so common, most Bibles have no significant monetary value. Certain important editions of the Bible, however, are collectible: the earliest printed Bibles dating from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the 1611 printings of the first authorized English (King James) version; and a variety of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century oddities such as the "Breeches" Bible, the "Vinegar" Bible, and the "Wicked" Bible, which have some misprint or peculiar wording. Bibles that contain handwritten genealogical or other family information do not have market value, unless the families or individuals in them were famous.

Sermons and Religious Instruction
Like Bibles, many other types of religious books, such as hymnals and other worship books, collections of sermons, and books of religious instruction, were intended for wide circulation. Great quantities were printed as cheaply as possible, making them both less scarce and less attractive to collectors. There are some exceptions. Early Shaker tracts and the first Roman Catholic Bibles printed in the United States, for example, are considered important and may be quite rare, resulting in greater demand and higher prices. Still, there are some people who collect old hymnals, so be aware of some of these smaller niches.
Collected Editions of an Author's Work
When authors become popular and well-established, publishers often issue collected editions of their works. Such editions may be offered in special bindings and may even be limited and signed, but they are seldom rare. Exceptions include editions published by fine presses or historically significant editors, which may be valued by collectors or libraries for that reason. (Reader's Digest Condensed books fall into this catagory).

Encyclopedias
Since encyclopedias are published and purchased for the currency of their information, obsolete editions of modern encyclopedias have little monetary value, whatever the historical interest of their articles. The eleventh edition (1911) of the Encyclopedia Britannica may be one exception. Complete sets of encyclopedias published before 1800 also have some market value. Single volumes are worth hardly anything.

Textbooks
Old schoolbooks and college textbooks typically fall into the category of second-hand books. There is a market for early American primers in very good or fine condition. The Eclectic Readers of William Holmes McGuffey are favorites among collectors, for example, though prices vary considerably depending on the edition and condition. Illustrated textbooks printed before 1850 are also sought after, as are early examples of textbooks that instructed students about topics now studied, like the place of African-Americans, women, or immigrant groups in society. But then again, some current college level text books are worth selling, but make sure the edition is still in use.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

OOPS!

I was listing a men’s tie with a novelty cartoon character on it; and as usual, I list information from the label, which this time included that it was made in Myanmar. Frankly, I’d never heard of Myanmar—but I soon found out about it!  When I got the last page of my listing, a big square note popped up that said:

Embargoed Goods!
eBay prohibits all sales of products of Burma (Myanmar) origin that were imported from Burma (Myanmar) after August 27, 2003.
If you list such an item in violation of this policy, we may remove the item and may revoke your trading privileges on our site.  

If you list an item of Burma origin that was imported prior to August 27, 2003, we encourage you to explain in your listing the circumstances and timing of its importation from Burma.
More information on the current restrictions may be found at the following site:
http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/programs/index.shtml
All I can say, is check your labels!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Little Golden Books

I don’t usually deal in children’s books, but I did list a collectible Little Golden Book this week.  I needed to do some quick research before pricing it and thought I’d share a bit of what I learned.

Everyone remembers reading the Little Golden Books as a child--Little Golden books were first produced in 1942.  Twelve titles were sold that year. They were an immediate hit with young children and their parents, who loved the 25¢ price.  These older books are quite collectible. If you have an old one in good shape (no scribbles, no missing pages, etc.) you might be surprised how much it sells for. 

One thing to remember:  Never date your book by the copyright.  Copyrights seldom changed and the book that says 1942 just might have been printed in 1980!

For books published in 1947 – 1970, there is an easy way to tell the edition: Look on the last page of the book in the lower right hand corner by the spine. There will be a letter and this letter tells the edition. For example A=1st, Z=26th, AA=27.

For books published between 1971 – 1991, on the bottom of one of the first two pages you will see something like A B C D E or a b c d e. The first letter to the far left is the edition.

For books published after 1991, besides having the copyright date, the book will also have a printing date in Roman Numerals. If a book from this period does not have a Roman Numeral date it is a first printing and it was left off by mistake. If the letter "A" precedes the Roman Numerals the book is a first edition. If an "R" precedes the Roman Numeral then the book is a (R)evised edition.

It’s a complicated system, but good to know if you think you’ve found a valuable book!  Go look in your shelves to see if you have one of the older books!

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Facebook Friend Requests

Something new for Facebook: When users include a personal message with a friend request, that message will now also appear in the Messages inbox of the recipient. These messages, which allowed users to add a short note to a friend request, only appeared in the Requests channel. This made them easy to miss, especially since once a request was answered, the message was permanently deleted.

By adding these friend request personal messages to the Messages inbox, users are much more likely to see them and users will always have them, significantly reducing the chance of these notes being lost.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Flush Left

Centered text is harder to read than text that is flush left.  (quoted from Griff who was on eBay Radio yesterday)  Go check some eBay descriptions—you’ll see what he means! 

I really never gave it much thought before since all my eBay descriptions are flush left (also known as aligned left or justified left).  But now that he mentioned it, I think that’s an important point—almost as important as not making your description look like a rainbow. 

It’s all about making your listing easy to read.  If at first glance it looks hard to read, many people will just go on to someone else’s eBay offering.  If you want to make a profit, you have to pay attention to small details!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Selling Barbie Dolls

Do you sell Barbie Dolls on eBay?  I recently acquired a few copies of Barbie Bazaar—a Barbie Collector magazine.  These are from 1989 and beyond (first published in late 1988—I do have the premier issue, too!)—I just about have them all listed.
One issue has an article on selling guidelines.  Remember, this was 1989 when there was no eBay and very little internet.  Some dealers would sell Barbies and accessories by mail.  This article gives suggestions for uniform grading of collectible Barbies.  The purpose was to grade the dolls & clothes; and to list the flaws any item might have.  (Kind of sounds like how I talk about descriptions on an eBay listing to my students.) 
They suggested that these acronyms be used for descriptions:
NRFB - Never Removed From the original Box
MIB - Mint in Box
MINT - Unplayed-with condition.  Doll may have been displayed, but never played with and looks like it just came out of the box.
EC - Excellent Condition.  It may have been played with but has no flaws.
VGC - Very Good Condition.  A nice doll that may have some minor flaws.
GC - Good Condition. This may make a decent display item, but has some major flaws like cut hair, green by ears, fingers missing, etc.
Fair - Item could be dirty, buttons missing, or may be torn or stained.
Interesting list, isn’t it?  I personally would combine the last two.  And, remember to list (and photograph) every flaw that you see in your listings.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Outstanding Customer Service

Part of my recent trip to California included a stop in Las Vegas for eBay sellers’ convention—eBay on Location.  I’ll be telling you about it in bits and pieces, but today I want to talk about Customer Service. 
Marsha Collier, author of the many eBay for Dummies books, was there. She talked about the importance of connecting with customers, making them feel important, and offering top-notch customer service.  Her presentations have motivated me to do better in the communications department (I think I do OK now, but there’s always room for improvement). 
But, let me tell you about an eBay seller who excels in the area of customer service—their eBay ID is sleepymountainmattress.  Granted, they are a company and not an individual seller like myself, but their attention to keeping me informed about my purchase has really impressed me. 
I ordered a memory foam mattress topper from them (I discovered I could get one for soooo much less on eBay than from my local big all-in-one store) a few days ago.  They have sent me at least 3 emails thanking me and telling me that the order was shipped, how it was sent, and when it would arrive. 
This morning my phone rang—I almost didn’t answer it because it was a number I didn’t recognize.  It was sleepymountainmattress, thanking me again and telling me the package ought to arrive today!  Wow!  What outstanding customer service!  I will certainly look to them the next time I need any of their products!
 (And if you have been thinking of buying one of those memory foam toppers, they have great prices—check them first)

Monday, April 25, 2011

Look in your junk drawer!

Don’t discount some of those junk-drawer items as being just “junk.” I have been going through my folks’ house and selling some of their items that my brother and I don’t want to keep. I found this old beer opener and thought it might have some value.

And it did! Even I was surprised! It turns out that the advertising on it was from an old California brewery that no longer exists. I started the auction on eBay at just 99¢ and I was thrilled when it went up to $8, and then a few days later it was at $20. It sold at even higher! 

Check out the completed auction HERE--You will hardly believe the final selling price! Do you have any old beer bottle openers to sell?

Thursday, April 21, 2011

There's That LIKE Button Again!

I’ve noticed something new on eBay--there’s a Facebook LIKE button on some of my listings. When I click on it, that listing is posted on my Facebook page!

These Facebook Like buttons appear at the top of the page, directly under the listing title. The buttons do not appear in all categories yet, but are starting to show up on a few of my own listings--mostly those with free shipping.

I had heard a little bit about it at the eBay convention in Las Vegas last week--eBay told us that "We're actively working on putting more "Like" buttons on the site."

I, for one, "Like" it.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

eBay + Facebook + twitter

I really like the way I can import specific listings from eBay to my Facebook page. Do you use that function? Just click on the little Facebook icon on the lower right of your item’s description and it will let you put it on your Facebook page for everyone to see. It also puts your item picture with the listing.

But eBay tends to constantly fiddle with its settings. A couple of months ago I found that when I tried to send one listing to Facebook, the picture didn’t appear with the description. After two weeks, it straightened up and the picture was back. And, just this morning, it started doing that again! I certainly hope it doesn’t take another two weeks to get back to normal.

There’s also a twitter icon you can use (right next to the FB icon). When you choose that one your title goes to twitter along with a shortened URL to your listing. I often joke that twitter users will click on anything--if you have a lot of twitter followers, your viewer stats will go up immediately!

Sunday, April 17, 2011

4 Silly Questions

Here are 4 questions--you may have seen this test before, but do you remember the answers?

1.  How do you put a giraffe into a  refrigerator? 
Stop  and think about it and decide on your answer. 
 
The  correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in  the giraffe, and close the door. This question  tests whether you tend to do simple things in an  overly complicated  way.



2.  How do you put an elephant into a  refrigerator? 
Did you say, "Open the refrigerator, put in the  elephant, and close the  refrigerator"?

Wrong  Answer.

Correct Answer: Open  the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in  the elephant and close the door. This tests your  ability to think through the repercussions of  your previous actions..


 
3.  The Lion King is hosting an animal conference.  All the animals attend.... Except one.   Which animal does not  attend? 
Correct  Answer: The Elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. You just put him in there.   This tests your memory...

Okay, even if you  did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to  show your true  abilities.
 

 
4.  There is a river you must cross but it is used  by crocodiles, and 
you do not have a boat. How do you manage it?
 

Correct  Answer:? You jump into the river and swim  across. Have you not been listening? All the  crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting.  

Sad to say, I missed them all...I wonder what the psychologists would say about that? 

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

EBAY ON LOCATION

Planet Hollywood Las Vegas
I'm  about to leave for the opening of this year's eBay convention: eBay On Location.  It's being held in the convention center at Planet Hollywood on the Vegas strip. It's just a short walk from where I'm staying (Imperial Palace). 

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Postcards on eBay

These are very basic hints for selling postcards on eBay--they are just some ideas that will help you form general framework to build on as you start selling in this niche.)


Buy postcards in large lots, so you can get them cheaply.


List them individually with a scan of both front and back. That way most questions a collector will ask you will be in the listing. Like "is the card postmarked? How old is the card? Who sent it?" and etc. They will be able to see for themselves.


Start with a relatively high opening bid and then reduce the price of those postcards that don’t get any bids on the first try. I usually go with $9.99 then cut the price to six or seven dollars when I relist them.


Rather than relist them as auctions, use the eBay store format to save money on listing fees, and offer a "best offer" option. This way the collectors can decide for themselves what to pay.
Set a time limit on your relists, so you don’t pay over and over again for cards that are slow sellers. I sometimes move cards off eBay to a free or inexpensive alternative site after a few months have gone by. And of course I reduce the price to $5 or less.


I mail the cards in clear plastic sleeves that give them protection, and are less expensive (lighter weight) to mail than the cardboard mailers many dealers use. The savings in postage is almost enough to pay for the holders, so it’s not expensive. Collectors like them too, to store or display the cards in.


For more information on how to figure out the dates on some postcards, check back to my September 2010 posting  Selling Postcards.


Are you a postcard seller? 

Monday, April 4, 2011

Blogging

The first blogs were all about sharing. In fact, many were simply lists of cool links. Sharing links and ideas is one of my favorite reasons to blog.  Most bloggers share in one way or another anyway, whether it’s their blog’s intended purpose or not. We share content, tools, job opportunities, tips, tricks and, even, friends.

Bloggers teach others how to blog, go green, cook, identify good products, make money, and more. Some people just like to write or share photos or comics. Many bloggers simply want a place to show off their artistry. Blogging is perfect because it’s a free platform that can reach so many people.

Do you teach or share using your blog?

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Facebook Graph

This graph was emailed to me...thought I'd share it!

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Free Sample Trashbag

I came across this offer of one free Trash Bag from the Saket Company--go to their website to request one.  It's just a simple form to fill out. They only ask for your email address and your mailing address.

Friday, March 25, 2011

eBay on Location in Las Vegas

I just registered for eBay on Location—in Las Vegas next month.  It’s being held at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino…

Anyone else going?  I’d love to connect with you when I’m out there!
  
I am so excited—I’ve been wanting to go to an eBay convention for years now.  And, since I’ll be traveling out to California in April, this is just on my way! 

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Thursday, March 17, 2011

I think I'll be asleep then....

PayPal is in the process of facilitating a data center move to a new facility with improved hardware infrastructure. As a result, some merchants will be unable to process live transactions for approximately one hour, beginning March 18th at 2:00 am PDT (4am Central time). PayPal has notified affected merchants via email and through alerts when they log in to their Manager accounts.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

New eBay Fees on April 19

On April 19 new Standard fees for Auction-style listings on eBay will take effect, including Final Value Fees extended to cover the total amount of the sale—including shipping.

This has both positive and negative impact on sellers. In our class discussion about selling fees, we talked about how some sellers would circumvent final value fees by having a low selling price and very high shipping charges.  This is eBay's way of handling the problem...just charge a percentage of the entire amount a seller receives.  Many sellers are unhappy with the new policy, it's eBay's and there's not much we can do other than find creative ways to deal with it. 

eBay told sellers it would begin calculating Final Value Fees (FVFs) on the total price buyers pay at checkout, less any sales tax. Currently eBay charges FVFs on the selling price, not including Shipping and Handling or other charges.

eBay clarified, "The Final Value Fee will now be charged on the total that the buyer paid at checkout less any sales tax - except if the buyer selects 1-day or International shipping."

If a 1-day service is selected by the buyer, the least expensive of either the 1-day service or the first domestic shipping service offered other than 1-day will be used to calculate Final Value Fees. And the same goes for international shipping services. If an International service is selected by the buyer, the least expensive of either the International service or the first domestic shipping service offered other than 1-day will be used to calculate Final Value Fees.

 You can find the entire chart  explaining the new fees on the Seller Update page. 

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

MAKE A LIST

I like lists—but I like to keep them simple.  I found a fun one this morning. I knew it would be fun as soon as I saw its name:  TeuxDeux.   I ask you--Is that not the neatest name for a to-do list?
 Another good thing—it’s Free!  And, it is online, so I can pull it up from anywhere…If you have an iphone (which I do not…) there’s an app for that!
Another thing I like is how I can “cross off” an item when I’ve completed it….go on over to TeuxDeux to check it out!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

This will make you smile.

Mary Poppins was traveling home, but due to worsening weather, she decided to stop at a hotel for the night. She approached the receptionist and asked for a room for the night.


"Certainly madam", he replied courteously.


"Is the restaurant open still?" inquired Mary.


"Sorry, no," came the reply, "but room service is available all night. Would you care to select something from this menu?"


Mary smiled and took the menu and perused it. "Hmm, I would like cauliflower cheese please," said Mary.


"Certainly madam," he replied.


"And can I have breakfast in bed?" asked Mary politely. The receptionist nodded and smiled. "In that case, I would love a couple of poached eggs please," Mary mused. After confirming the order, Mary signed in and went up to her room for the night.


The night passed uneventfully and next morning Mary came down early to check out. The same guy was still on the desk.


"Morning madam...sleep well?"


"Yes, thank you," Mary replied.


"Food to your liking?"


"Well, I have to say the cauliflower cheese was exceptional, I don't think I have had better. Shame about the eggs tho....they really weren't that nice at all," replied Mary truthfully.


"Oh...well, perhaps you could contribute these thoughts to our Guest Comments Book.


We are always looking to improve our service and would value your opinion," said the receptionist.


"OK, I will...thanks!" replied Mary....who checked out, then scribbled a comment into the book. Waving, she left to continue her journey.


Curious, the receptionist picked up the book to see the comment Mary had written.


"Supercauliflowercheesebuteggswerequiteatrocious!"

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

New Starbucks Logo

Old Starbucks Logo
Starbucks is turning 40 and getting a face lift! Have you seen its simplified new logo (the siren without the words)?
2011

That makes me think that all the older Starbucks items with the words will be worth a bit more now in the future!  Keep an eye out--you may discover a treasure!

Mark Zuckerberg adopts a puppy

In the news:  Mark Zuckerberg (founder of Facebook) made a page for his new puppy is named Beast.  Hmmm…well, I suppose that’s not so bad, considering I have a page for my Smart Car (as well as a blog by the car—have you seen it?)
My Little Smart Car would appreciate some more “LIKES” on it’s page if you’re so inclined.  Oh, and I suppose you could go look at Beast’s page, too.