Post Office Prices

A new USPS price list was announced yesterday....check it out here:
http://pe.usps.com/Notice123_June_24_2012.pdf

I've Been Planning New Classes!

This morning I've been working on my Fall Classes at our local Central Community College...it just doesn't seem possible--I'm still in the middle of summer!
 
Looks like I'll be busy in September & October, and a bit into November! 

I'll be offering a new class in September:  Thrift Store Shopping (we will take an actual shopping trip the second night!).

My basic computer series, Fearless Computing starts September 14 and continues every Friday for 6 weeks.  It's an afternoon class--seems like many people enjoy coming out during the day.

Two other new classes will debut in October:  When Junior Returns Home (October 1 7-9pm) and How to Organize your House in One Easy Book (October 15/22 7-9pm).

I'll offer my 2-night  blogging class again in late October & early November.  I'm calling it Blogging Your Days, it will be on October 29 and November 5 at 7-9pm.

My eBay Beginner Class this time will be a Saturday afternoon in a Seminar style--date to be announced.

Free Shipping Options for your eBay sales

eBay's new Fast 'N Free lets buyers know at a glance--in search results and on the Item page--when an item ships for free and, based on their shipping address and the item location, that it will arrive on their doorstep within 4 business days.

The eBay Fast 'N Free logo appears on listings when all the following conditions are met: •Both the buyer and the item are within the 48 contiguous states.

•The listing includes a free shipping service and offers 1-day handling.
•Based on the buyer and seller’s geographic location, seller’s past delivery performance and the carrier’s performance, eBay can estimate with a high level of confidence that--using the free shipping service--the item will be delivered in 4 business days or less.

eBay says their statistics show that listings enhanced with the eBay Fast 'N Free logo sell better than those that don’t.

I found this on Facebook...just had to share!

Newest Pinterest Feature

Pinterest has released a much-requested feature: the ability to choose the pin that appears on the cover of your boards.

The update gives you greater control over the appearance of your profile page:
You can now edit a board cover by hovering over it with your mouse. An “Edit Board Cover” button will appear (see below, left); click on it and you’ll be able to rotate through all of your pins to select a cover image.

It’s also possible to adjust the position of the thumbnail for a better fit, although you can’t crop or resize it. Click “Set Cover” to finish. And you can choose board covers within each board by mousing

Social Media Explained in Simple Terms

I found this at ThreeShips Media.

Searching Craigslist

Do you have something you constantly search for on your local Craigslist? Well, I've just discovered a great FREE Craigslist searching tool - CLGenie.com. It’s easy to do: you save specific searches, and whenever there are new listings that match your saved search, you get an email - how great is that? Did I mention it’s Free?

Print postage online

Starting January 22, USPS will be offering free Delivery Confirmation on First Class postage purchased online, so that's one more reason to ship using eBay Labels! It's built into the eBay selling process, so paying for postage, adding insurance and printing shipping labels is very easy. Plus, USPS tracking numbers are automatically uploaded to My eBay and emailed out to buyers.

Completed Listings

Attention Students:  One of the more important things I taught in week 1 of the basic eBay classes was how to use “Completed Listings.”  (If you want to see what an item sold for, you can search for completed listings. Completed listings are listings that have ended within the last 15 days, whether or not the item sold.) The information you get from reviewing closed listings goes a long way to help you price your own items to sell.

Remember, do not assume! Completed Item data is more reliable than active listings - if you're looking at a current listing and assuming the item will sell for a certain price, you may be sadly mistaken! Listings can end without being sold or can sell at a different price than currently listed (for Auction-style or Make an Offer listings).

Last Fall eBay announced it was extending Completed Item data for Collectibles from 15 days to 90 days in certain categories.  

  And now, more good news—now the look-back time for sold items has been increased to 60 days (up from 15) for sellers in the Art, Antiques, Coins & Paper Money, Dolls & Bears, Entertainment Memorabilia, Sports Memorabilia, Stamps, and Toys categories. Sellers in the Collectibles category will continue to have 90 days of information on sold items and 45 days for unsold items.

Happy New Year!