In eBay Purgatory & My Paycheck to Paycheck Guilt

*  First let me say that I have sold/bought stuff on eBay off and on for more than 13 years now.
I am so OVER eBay already it's not funny.
I am so glad my eBaying days are coming to a close.

In the past, I would dabble in eBay enough to get fed up with dealing with the stuff that happens there(sort of like Vegas but without the booze)and then I'd quit. 

But I wouldn't get fed up enough not to go back....either that or my memory is now so bad that I'd forget the stress and aggravation and just mosey on back during the HIGH SELLING DAYS at the Holidays....sort of like swearing off having another baby but after a few years the memory of those horrible labor pains dissipate and you find yourself back in the delivery room with your legs up in the air and your HooHa smiling out at the room.

In the last week I got 27 new listings up.
I wanted to have 70 new listings up in that time frame, or 10 per day.
Didn't quite happen, did it?lol

This was crunch time for listings since CyberMonday is tomorrow.
You are well aware that Online retailers get slammed tomorrow with orders but eBay also gets slammed on CyberMonday and I sure hope I am one of the lucky Slammees! 8-)

I did sell 5 items so far this weekend so I've got lots of packing/shipping to do today.
Then it's back to trying to get more listings up.

Later this week, I start discounting prices a bit since everyone loves a sale!lol 

I didn't get any atrocious buyers this week.  I did get a MAKE AN OFFER on something but it was a reasonable price so I took it.  And I have 1 potential Deadbeat right now.....and still lots of French folks wanting shipping quotes.....and I fielded a quote question from a new place-someone in Mauritius.  I bet you have no clue where that is either and you have to go mapquest it like I did. ;-)

*  I also relisted all my local Tag Sale site items again on Saturday, hoping some folks would look there for Holiday gifts when they weren't out cruising the mall.
And I have $138 in promised sales and I might have another $15 in possible sales for my efforts.  8-)

I did finally figure out that I need to run the Tag Sale items on either payday or the day before payday.
It appears everyone who uses that board to buy stuff lives paycheck to paycheck.
When I run the ad on weeks/days that aren't pay days I get people wanting to buy stuff but they want to wait to pay me on the 1st of the month or on fridays or whenever they get paid.

It shouldn't surprise me really and you would think I would have figured this out long before now.lol

It sort of makes me feel bad selling stuff to people who are living this way with their money.  I feel guilty that they are spending money they really can't afford on this crap and then when their car breaks or some emergency happens, they won't have the funds to take care of it, because they spent it on toys and dolls and stuff!
I am enabling and not helping them and I feel like a bad fiscal neighbor leading them astray.

But then again, if they weren't spending the money on my crap, they'd buy crap from somebody else, right?lol

So what are you up to today?

 Sluggy

Rite-Aid Deal for Anyone Who Spends $ at Home Improvement Stores...Hurry!

I forgot to mention this Deal earlier....duh!
If you are a home owner you probably end up spending money on your property at those big Home Improvement stores....you KNOW the ones I mean!lol

If you have spare cash to tie up until your next trip to Lowe's and/or Home Depot, head over to Rite-Aid TODAY.

One of their Black Friday Weekend Deals is this.....
Buy a $50 "Do It Yourself Home Improvement" Gift Card.
It looks like this....

Don't buy the identical one that you can put a range of cash into, buy the $50 one.  You pay no fees and it looks like it's a prepaid Discover card thing.  But you don't have to have a Discover card account to use this....sort of like prepaid American Express cards you can get but don't have to have an AmEx card to spend them.

Anyway, buy this card and you'll get $10 in +Up Rewards "money" for each one you buy.  There is a limit of 2 per Wellness card.

This is a great deal if you can afford to "tie up" your home repair/improvement funds in a gift card until you need to spend them at the store.
Or if you like someone you give gifts to at the Holidays $50 worth and they want this kind of thing, buy it for a gift and keep the $10 in "free" Rite-Aid script.

I went out on Black Friday(the ONLY shopping I did!)to Rite-aid and bought 2.
I'll be borrowing the BIL's card to get 2 more since he won't/doesn't need to get any of these.

This Deal ends tonight so get to Rite-Aid today.

Now I want to hear all about all you folks who rode the Crazy Train and hit the stores on Thursday and/or Friday.....insanely early wee hours of the morning or not and whether you get a buzz hitting the stores with your friends, if you go Holiday shopping on those days, you ARE riding the Crazy Train!lol

Me?  I went to Rite-Aid, grabbed my gift cards and was out of the store in 3 minutes.  No crowds, no lines, no sleep deprivation and no fist fights with coked up "people of walmart" types. 
Yes, I am boring but hey!....you knew that already. ;-)

Sluggy

The Darkest Day of the Year is Here!

*It's 3 am and I am headed to bed after staying up too too late to pack up things that sold on eBay and need to ship out today.  Don't make too much noise and wake me as y'all head out the door to shop, if you are so inclined.
Here's a repeat of my teeny rant last year on Black Friday.
The clip at the end is funny yet too close to the truth sometimes to be hilarious.
Enjoy!

Sluggyzzzzzzzz
***************************

Will you be out with the Shopping Fanatics on Friday morning?
Or will you be snug in your bed or headed to work at that early hour?
Me?....I don't 'do' Black Friday.

Besides the fact that I don't have many people to buy "stuff" for during the Holidays, it's rare that I want/need something so badly at an insanely low price that I'd brave the traffic headaches, go out into the Chaos of Crowds and stand in lines a mile long to pay in order to save money on an electronic/appliance/toy/article of clothing/etc.
But that's just me I suppose....
Hey, I am all over a great deal but even I have my limits.

If you do have the "Shopping Monkey on your back" and you'll be hitting as many stores as time will allow in a Shopping Bachanalia, remember that all that "stuff" you buy needs to fit into your already crowded with "stuff" home and once you are done with the new "stuff", it will most likely end up clogging up a landfill somewhere....and we are fast running out of places to dispose of all our unwanted "stuff" on this planet.  Consider these points and buy judiciously if you have to purchase "stuff".

The teens mostly want cash or gift cards and Hubs and I don't need more "stuff". I'm going to try to find ways to support local businesses this year when I do buy.
I'll try to find gift cards/certificates to buy off of local small merchants(for consumables or experiences mostly)and try to stay out of the big box stores.

Speaking of big box stores and Black Friday, have a lookie at this SNL skit and tell me that this isn't where we are headed.....



Since I sold a few things on eBay on Thanksgiving(bless all those cyber shoppers with nothing to do but watch football on Thursday!lol) I'll be packing and shipping when I'm not strolling down the aisles at Rite-Aid on Friday seeing what food/HBA items I can bring home for free(or close to it).

Whatever you are doing on Black Friday, stay safe, stay sane and stay warm!

Sluggy

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

I've been up since 5am.
Seriously, who in their right mind gets up that early if they don't have to?!?!lol

Judy may have the Battle of the Thanksgiving Salt & Pepper Shakers but I've got Kermit Pilgrim.....

Now if I can just keep him out of my homemade Salted Caramel and Apple Pie, we'll be good to go.

And for Practical Parsimony who asked me what in the world is Bell's Seasoning, this is it....

It's just a pre-blended mix of herbs for stuffing....you know, sage, rosemary, thyme, that sort of thing.  It's a tradition for us.
Not frugal at $3 an ounce, but a tradition.

The pies were done yesterday, as was the stuffing.
I've got the roll dough rising, the rutabaga in the crockpot, the dip made and the turkey just went in the oven.
I've got time for a 2 hour nap now before I have to start drinking. ;-)

Hope your Thanksgiving is safe, comfortable(put on those fat pants today!), and surrounded by those you love(if not in body, in spirit).
Thanks for being my readers and my friends. 8-)

Sluggy

Turkey Day Prep is in Full Swing!

The photo above is for SonyaAnn.  It may not be a naked Santa but it's pretty racy, funny and a tad bit irreverent just like you.lol

Daughter is home and we are in full swing with the Thanksgiving meal prep.
*Turkey marinating...check.
*Cranberry glop in the fridge to chill...check.
*Pie filling made.....check.

Now I'm off to deal with the pie crusts.
Also on deck is toasting bread, chopping aromatics and sautéing them for stuffing, making a salted caramel apple pie(nomnomnom) and cubing the rutabaga for the crockpot.

I'm just hoping I can get all this done without having to run to the grocery store again. ugh

Here's hoping your meal prep is going well!

Sluggy