Showing posts with label etsy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label etsy. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Lots of Little Things


This week is flying by and here are a bunch of little things I wanted to talk about......

* I have hit 50 miles of cycling for the month as of last night.  My goal for April was 30 miles, as I got in 22 miles in March so I thought that was a modest increase.   I am really going to have to think about what to "up" the target to for May.  Considering we'll be traveling for half the month and I'll be getting other kinds of exercise, plus probably won't have access to an exercise bike I don't know if I should change the goal.  Maybe just play it by ear and get in as much cycling as I can will suffice for a goal next month?

* I went ahead and did some grocery shopping the past couple of days on May's food budget money.
Since I won't be able to drive starting tomorrow for about a week I went ahead and got my food money cash at the bank and picked up some deals.
And speaking of eye surgery......

* I am a tad annoyed at this eye doctor thing.  It's a massive operation that he runs.  When I was giving all the forms and info about this surgery last month they wrote down all my follow up appointments but did NOT give me a time to report for the surgery, just the date.  The form said I would be called "a few days before" that date with what time to arrive for surgery.
Well, I am suppose to go in tomorrow, Thursday but as of yesterday Tuesday I still hadn't been contacted with the information.  Plus I keep getting forms in the mail from them the past month that need signing and returning, with notes attached that this dept. or that forgot to have me sign something.
This gives me NO FAITH that they will call or something else will happen to screw this up.
So I had to end up calling them yesterday asking for my surgery time.
Hey! I am suppose to put expensive drops in my eyes starting on Wed. and if everything wasn't in order yet and they were going to cancel this surgery date I wanted to know BEFORE I started using those drops.  Plus rescheduling this procedure anytime soon would be problematic as we are going away next month and I couldn't fit in follow-up appointments at appropriate intervals, etc.
Ugh.

I ran some errands and while I was gone I got two, COUNT 'EM  TWO phone calls from different people at the doctor's office about my surgery time.  So as of now, we are still on for this cataract surgery.

I must say that I am a bit scared about it all.  Anything involving my eyes freaks me out.  Heck, I have a real hard time putting drops in my eyes, what am I going to do once they come at me with scalpels?! 8-(
I hope they have a real good sedative for me, and maybe a straight jacket.
Don't expect to see me post much if anything in the next couple of days since my eyeball will be out of commission for awhile.

* I got a food bank donation up to the local church.  I put the stuff in my car which made me remember to take it all over while I was out bopping around town.

 That's 10 jugs of laundry detergent....

And 4 jars of peanut butter

Since I no longer extreme coupon my donations are a tad more modest.  But I still pick up extra when I find a really good deal.  I get to give without it costing me lots of ca$h and the food bank gets supplies.

* I got my new Rite-Aid card in the mail last week.....

It came in a big fancy envelope with all kinds of information.
Between the +Ups Reward program going away AND now the Video Values Program has been discontinued(!)I have serious doubts about what kind of savings I can see with this new Plenti deal.
I won't be able to drive mostly next week so I don't know if I'll even go in the first week the new program is in force.  I may just sit back and wait until I hear back from others who it's working for them before I venture out into uncharted waters at Rite-Aid.
Except.....

* There is one deal I want to do at Rite-Aid next week and if you have a Rite-Aid in your area Rivulet, you may want to get there and pick this up since you use Dawn.

Next week Rite-Aid has DAWN dish soap on sale, 3 bottle for $3 and buy 3 and earn 100 Plenti Pts.
There is a .25¢/1 Q on Dawn on Coupons dotcom.  Print 3 Qs(using 2 different computers since you can only print 2 per computer).
$3-.75¢=$2.25 OOP and earn $1 worth of Plenti pts.  So effectively $1.25 for 3 bottles of Dawn.
And remember to get a rain check if they are out!

* I sold another piece of fabric on Etsy this week. rah. 
That makes 7 pieces sold since I relisted a bunch of fabrics earlier this month.  Once August gets here and they all expire I'll see if I want to relist any of the 60 or so fall/winter fabrics I still have.

* I am slowing getting through my daughter's things she left here when she moved to Louisiana.  They are still all strewn about my living room but the piles are getting smaller.  I've bagged up 3 more piles of stuff for Salvation Army and thrown away another bag full of old worn out clothing.  Some of the items I was going to bring to her(clothes and toiletries)I had bought for her, she now can't wear(underwear) or doesn't need(tampons). So I guess I'll be putting that stuff up on eBay once my Summer traveling is done.  Or if I just don't want to bother it can go to Salvation Army(underwear) and the food bank(tampons).  Thankfully I no longer have need for tampons.... ;-)

* I am chomping at the bit to do my Savings Challenge numbers for April and my May 1 net worth.
We had a third paycheck this month and kept our expenses low, so the savings will be MASSIVE!
Can't wait to post that one since it will be a big kick in the pants toward our goal.

* I found my phone charger cord!  It has been missing for ages......I hardly ever use my cell phone.  I just turn it on to make a call or if I am anticipating receiving a call.  Last week I used the phone quite a bit and the battery died, so suddenly, finding the charger was a big deal and on my radar.
I dug through the bookcase by my desk where I shove stuff like that and found it.
I also found the plastic casing piece for one of the end of it that came off in my car last Summer(while traveling)so was able to duct tape that back on as well.  My phone is now fully charged and I know SONYA ANN is ruing the day I found that charger.  Maybe I should prank call her while she's in Vegas.  I should wait until 7am tomorrow when she is hung over and trying to sleep, right? ;-)
And speaking of Sonya Ann.....

* Sonya is having a $25 Amazone gift code Giveaway on her blog while she is partying hardy in Vegas.  So go on over and enter it HERE and tell her I sent ya!
Oh, and you have to split the winnings with me if you win it. 8-)

And speaking of giveaways--don't forget that my Sluggy's Boring Blog Box Giveaway is open until May 10th and you can enter every day on that one too!

Sluggy
 

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Holiday Buyers, the Good & Bad

Well I have had another run-in with a customer, this time on Amazon.
I have had a few books for sale on there since forever.

Last week I sold one of those books which would have net me $33.  I paid $2 for the book when I bought it.
Sounds good right?

It's an out of print book and quite sought after by chess aficionados for teaching kids out to play competitive chess.  It's especially a good book because it was the edition that came with a chess "self" timer.

This is my last copy of the book and it was buried under a stack of other books so when I pulled it out I saw it had some cosmetic issues......a dog eared corner and a dent on the cover of the book, but it is unread and the timer is still sealed under plastic.
So not wanting any problems I wrote to the buyer and attached photos of the issues to make sure they still wanted it.

They answered me and thanked me for being forthcoming with the information and then said it was for a gift(grandchild)but the child wouldn't have a problem with the condition of the book.

THEN.....they went on to say they would have to "think about this" for a day before deciding if they still wanted the book......and mentioned that they could get a "new" condition book from a different seller on Amazon for $18.

I went and looked at the other identical books like mine on Amazon.
Then I cancelled the transaction with that buyer.
Why you say?

Because the $18 copy was NOT new and most probably in similar condition to mine except that it was also used.  Besides this $18 seller I was the lowest priced seller of a new or used copy, with most copies being sold for around $100 or more.
PLUS, NONE of these other copies was the edition that included the Chess Timer!  This timer makes my copy a STEAL at $33!

Yah, this guy was trying to get me to sell this for a lot less than what he was paying and lying about my competition......like I wouldn't have gone and checked. Ha!
I hate sneaky people like this.

So now if he wants this book he can buy a used copy for $18 or spend about $100 on it for a "unused" copy.....and ALL of them do NOT have the timer.
8-)
And I'll just tuck this book back in case any of my grandchildren(when I have some)want to learn to play chess like their grandpa does.

But on the other side of selling at the Holidays--I woke up this morning to find an Etsy sale in my account.
Among what this person bought was that remnant I posted a listing for, for that cheap buyer who then disappeared and didn't spend a whole $1 on it. lolz
So the .20¢ I spent on that listing isn't a total loss.....ho ho ho!

Have you ever sold anything at the Holidays and had a problem with the buyer?

Sluggy

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

How's the Sell Off Going?



I'm referring to "The Great Fabric Sell Off of 2014".
If you don't know, I've been selling off my stash of mostly vintage fabrics on Etsy.  (If you are in the market for some great fabrics at even better prices, check out the link in my side bar.)

I started last October 30th and even though you would think it was too close to Christmas to sell much in 2013(for gift making/giving)I sold 38 separate pieces goods before December 31st, a high percentage of those lengths were Christmas themed too.

So how is it going in 2014 at the halfway mark of the year?

It's been slow and steady thus far.
I've sold 46 pieces of fabric in 35 separate orders(meaning some folks buy more than one length of fabric in an order).

April was the worse month for sales with only $48 brought in.  June was the best with $114.50 in sales.  My next best month was February at $93.00.  There doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason to sales.
Go figure.

I've grossed $494.00 in sales in 2014.
That's not counting fees(Etsy and Paypal), ink and paper(for enclosures and postage printing)and the cost of goods sold(the fabric cost when I purchased it).
I charge $6 for flat rate envelope shipping and most orders fit into that size, so I get a small bit of "profit"(between .30¢ and .95¢ depending on which envie(flat rate or flat rate padded)is used.

Between all the fees and costs I am not making but a small amount net profit on each sale.
But that's ok.

I didn't set out to undertake this as a money making proposition but rather as a way to get rid of LOTS of fabric without just giving it away and losing all those sunk costs.
And Etsy is serving that purpose.

I have 6 months left in this project as I will shut down the store in 2015.
Any fabric that is left at that time I'll divest myself of in other ways.

I'll be hauling out more tubs of Fall/Winter fabrics to start listing those in August.  Yes, the hottest month of the year and I'll be knee deep in wools, flannel and corduroy.
Oh goody.....I can't wait......*insert eye rolls here*.........

The problem with Fall/Winter fabrics however is that they are bulkier and heavier and most of them won't fit into a flat rate envie.  So I'll have to charge approx. $12 to cover the postage in a flat rate box, yet I won't be able to fit much more yardage in it than I fit into a flat rate envie(again, due to the bulkiness).  So while wools are costlier than say most cottons, I won't be able to charge what they are worth comparatively because of the higher shipping they will incur.

I have about 6 more tubs to go through and list, most of that Fall/Winter fabrics, plus what I have organized on shelving is down to 2+ tubs worth.  I'll need to make room in the spare bedroom where I keep my fabric for another étagère so I can access these Fall/Winter yard goods easily once I get them listed for sale.  I don't relish the thought of spending hours hunting down fabrics I have sold, so I get it all organized as I list it.  It helps that I have a staging area for it all.

I am hoping to gross another $750 in fabric sales before 2014 is over.
I currently have $1090.50 worth of yard goods listed with more stock coming online next month.
If my Etsy store gets any kind of traffic in the Fall months I should be able to meet that goal.

Selling this fabric off is just one of the many ways I have been downsizing in anticipation of selling and moving out of this house in a few years.
By the time we leave here, I only want to bring the fabric I still love and plan to use with me, to our next address.


Sluggy

Friday, November 15, 2013

What's Been Happening at Chez Sluggy

Frankly, most of what's been happening is quite boring so I don't mind if you just skip over this post. 8-)

This......

 
 
....is now firmly secured back into place in my mouth.
A big shout out to my Awesome Dentist!
She responded to my emergency call within the hour and 2 hours later I was in her office getting my crown but back in.
And she didn't even charge me anything. 8-)

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It's been a week now and still no word from the contractor about a new compressor for the HVAC system.
Sigh.
I am guessing this lack of information means we are going to have to wait for something to be shipped from overseas.
Sigh.

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And while I am sighing.....lol.......let's discuss eBay sales.
I am just gob smacked at how anemic eBay sales have been.  It's so slow I just cant' even get up enough enthusiasm to finish listing the entirety of my 50 free listings!
I finally sold 1 item this week!
Then I had put an item on auction instead of BIN and it ended last Sunday for a very disappointing amount.  Even so, it DID sell, but as of this morning the buyer/winner has NOT paid me for it.
So frustrating....

And the other HIGHLIGHT of my eBay week was a potential buyer who wanted to buy a pretty rare NIB old Power Rangers toy I have listed.
It's so rare I have it listed for $175.
Gulp
And that price is very reasonable compared what others have sold for.
My target buyer is an adult collector, not someone's mom or dad buying this for Junior to play with.

Anyway, I get someone emailing me about the toy.
There are 3 possibilities on who this buyer is....either a collector, a dealer who wants it for pennies to resell it to a collector or a kid using his parent's eBay account.

Potential buyer says they really really really want it and to make HIM an offer.
What???   This person has it all backwards.....he's suppose to offer ME something.  lol

As for how much I want for it?
Duh....$175.

They go on to tell me they can't afford that.
So I retort that I have "Make an Offer" feature enabled on the item so they can offer me less.
(I also have MAO set up to automatically accept offers of at least XX$s so serious buyers aren't waiting around on me to respond when they make an offer.)

So they go and make me an offer.....guess how much this clown offers me?

$11

And when I rejected it I enclosed a note like this....
"$11?  Seriously dude??
Yah, I'm probably dealing with a kid here or someone pretending to be a kid so I take pity on them and sell it for nothing.

"$11 Man" has now been blocked from buying/bidding on my crap.

As of now I am up to 3 items sold(2 paid for)on eBay in the last 14 days.
Pitiful......

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In better news, over on Etsy I have now sold 21 items in the 19 days it's been open.
I have over 1000 views in my shop so traffic is building.
One thing I don't get over on Etsy is this "favorite" feature.  Someone can "favorite" an item in your store.  What significance does this have?  Is it making me money?  No.

If they like something so much, why don't they BUY it?? lolz
Someone buying one of my fabrics is the only true indicator of "favorite" I care about.  8-))

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And since eBay seems to be rolling over and playing dead and the local Fire Dept. lady who asks for donations for their raffle each year never called me this year, there is all this that went to the Salvation Army last weekend.....

 





And there is all this that is going there later today.....

 







And today I am collecting more items to ship off to Sallie's.  If we go out Sunday I might have another load full by then to drop off.

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I went to the Podiatrist earlier this week as well.

The verdict is that my feet are too small.
Earth shattering I know......lolz

Add in that my legs are not straight so when I step my feet roll to the outside and then to compensate, the feet roll to the inside, which puts stress on certain muscles and joints, which makes my feet hurt like a sonofabitch sometimes.
Ok, so he explained it differently but that's what I heard.

Otherwise my feet are normal structurally, nothing broken or severely out of place, and I have good range of motion.
So the only thing that will help me at this point is to continue to lose weight(duh)and to wear diabetic shoes with good insoles or some other custom made footwear, since my feet are oddly shaped(wide as they are long.....I have cubed feet).

The sound of "Ka-ching" is ringing in my ears since this doesn't sound inexpensive.
Heck, I am really going to have to get $175 for that Power Rangers toy now to pay for these sort of shoes! ;-)

The only other thing the podiatrist can do for my feet if icing, resting them and pricey shoes doesn't help is to give me cortisone injections where the pain is located every few months.  But we aren't looking at that yet.

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On the Turkey Day grocery tally to get to my gift certificate front......went to that store earlier this week and I am $6.48 from having spent enough to trigger the cert.   So Saturday we'll be picking up about that much in groceries and then I am DONE.

I've got my menu made up for Turkey Day too.  Now to make sure I have everything I need to cook it.

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Can you believe that November is half over already!?!?
Dang.

The first paycheck of the month flew into the account yesterday so now I can start paying bills.
Goody! lol

I sent off a check for Daughter's next 6 months of rent yesterday and then transferred that amount from the college account back into our checking account.

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I did a little genealogy work for someone this week.  Found them some goodies they didn't have.
I really need to email a couple of folks who contacted me from Ancestry and a post I did on Philip Packer a few months ago.  Might be that we all are related.

The tests came back from my son's Y-DNA sample last week too.  Very curious findings on that and not at all what my Hubs thought his DNA is/was.  More later on that.

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Speaking of living rooms......when I went to return the wheelchair we rented in October I stopped over at Big Lots since I was in that area.  They have a sofa advertised that I think might fit in the living room plan.
It's a small chaise sectional like the one we found at Just Cabinets this Summer......

It's a better maker than the other one at Just Cabinets and they want $100 less than JC for it.
Comfort is comparable to the other one too.
In person though, this one had this green cast to the color.  I am thinking it was because of the fluorescent lighting in the store but can't be sure.  Maybe I'll go back with Hubs and see if they'll let me take one of the pillows(the backs are the same fabric as the upholstery on the sofa)outside to see it in natural light.  I didn't think to do that yesterday.

Here is the other sofa contender.....


What I REALLY want is a leather or faux leather chaise sofa in this color and small size/style.
If anybody knows where they sell that, please let me know!  I hate to have to settle this time.

Here's the co-ordinating accent chair.....



Only thing is this chair is for looking at and not sitting on.
Very uncomfortable so I think I'll take a pass on this.

They also had this recliner that I think my Daughter would just ADORE for her Birthday.......


Now how to get it to Louisiana is the problem! lolz

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This weekend I need to get out into the garage and do some organizing and cleaning since the temps are going to get into the 50's(and maybe 60's)here.
It's a disaster out there....again!
Too much hauling stuff into the garage and NOT putting it away in the correct spot and not enough hauling stuff OUT of the garage.
Plus we still have boxes out there from cleaning out the dining/living room so those need to be dealt with.

And Hubs and I have been on a liquor bender of sorts.  The last few months have been a Spending Spree of adult beverages.  And as I don't NEARLY drink the stuff as quickly as Hubs seems to be going through it my stuff is all over the place.  Add in that some beer I bought this summer for #1 Son for part of his Christmas present he doesn't want.(He is uber picky about not letting beer sit for 2-3 months between when you buy it and you consume it)  I now have about 3 6-packs of microbrewery beers I can't give him and I don't drink beer! lol  I'm going to try to get Hubs to drink it instead....I don't think that will be a hard sell. ;-)

And the bbq smoker & wood chips needs to be unearthed out there, so we can use it soon.

Otherwise this weekend we don't have much planned.  Cleaning, Salvation Army, a quick trip to the grocery store, maybe cleaning out the roots from the garden beds but no other outside work as the leaves are all raked and hauled off already.  I could get Hubs to rake the leftover leaves into the back garden bed though to decompose there.  Yep, I think I'll do that.

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Ok, I have stuff to do.....more fabric to photograph and measure for Etsy, toys to list on eBay, a garage to organize and on and on and on.

So what's going on at your place this week/weekend?

Sluggy
 

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Oh Goody! Problems Already....LOL



It never fails.
I try to sell somewhere and the "problem folks" find me immediately.

I was/am a magnet for crazy buyers and scammers on eBay so why did I think Etsy would be any different? lolz

The first email I get a few hours after opening my store yesterday was someone wanting my phone number and mailing address so she could buy something over the phone or by mail from me.

I take Paypal, Etsy gift cards, Debit and Credi cards.
Sorry, no personal checks/mail orders and I can't take/process credit cards directly over the phone, just through Etsy.

Ugh.

Second up is a potential buyer in Japan who wants a shipping quote.
Though I DO ship most anywhere in the world, I doubt she is going to actually buy a $4 piece of fabric that costs $23.95 to ship to Japan.
It isn't spun gold or anything.....


Sluggy