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.

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. 

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.

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).

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.

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!