creating a facebook page

Yes, I have finally started a facebook page for my business. I love catching up with everyone and have alot of requests - "When are you open?" , " Do you take consignments ?","What do you have new?" that I think this will be a good way to post for everyone. AND, best part facebook friends will get advanced notice of sales and extra $avings!
Can I keep up with this? We will see, I am so not technically motivated.

The dilemma of the day- Feedback on Ebay

I have something I am trying to sort in my head and take my emotions out of.
I bought a tray on Ebay from another seller.
I purchased and paid for it on May 21st.
The sellers details said she usually ships within 3 days. It was supposed to go by UPS. Okay, fine..
On June 1st, (11 days later) she sent me a note saying that she had shipped it that day. I emailed her asking why it had taken so long. She stated her Grandbaby was sick and she was doing alot of running back and forth to the hospital. I told her I was sorry to hear that and hoped that they (she didn't specify whether a boy or girl) got better soon. I also asked her why she didn't send me a quick note and just let me know. She said she had very limited access to the computer.
On June 7th when I still hadn't received the tray, I sent her a note asking for the tracking number as I should of received it by then. She then sent me a note on the 8th saying she hadn't actually shipped it yet! Needless to say, I was a little upset at her lying to me and wrote her back saying that. I also checked her buying and selling activity and she had purchased over 3 dozen things and sold over 80 items in the same time period. No computer access huh??
She replied that this was very difficult for her with her grandbaby being ill and she was shipping this UPS and had to go there etc. She could of shipped this parcel post or called for a UPS pickup. This lady is not a Newbie on Ebay at all. She has almost 2000 transactions. She also stated that she hadn't lied. Well, what is saying you shipped on June 1st and then on the 8th, saying you hadn't shipped at all??
I asked for her to just refund my money and not bother shipping. She said she would. Well, now almost 2 days go by and no refund yet. I put in a complaint with Ebay seeing as how I am getting nowhere with her. She replies that people owe her money and she is waiting for them to pay. I didn't have to file with Ebay. Long story short- another 2 days go by and I finally get my refund.
My dilemma is -What kind of feedback should I leave this lady? I truly believe that she was lying to me the whole time. With all the transactaions she had, she obviously had more than limited access to a computer. She has had 7 negatives and 8 neutral in the past year. Most of them are slow shipping. There are also quite a few positive that mention slow shipping too. Maybe she should take the 3 day shipping off her listings if she can't fulfill it. Heck, I am human too and know how things can pop up but you suck it up- apologize profusely and do whatever you have to to make the person happy if it is your fault. She obviously hasn't learned that yet or just doesn't care.
Right now part of my emotions are saying- she lied and tried to deceive you- stick it to her. But another side is saying- she has had it hard lately- give her a break. What is the right thing to do? Something I have to sit on and think about before posting.

where have I been?

It has been almost 3 months since my last post. Time has flown by.. Where have I been and what have I been doing?

- I have taken in some more internet consignments. Neat stuff- autographed sports memorabilia,advertising pieces ,movie posters and recently French cats.

-Working on Etsy. One of my items was featured on the front page. That one sold and I picked up a few people who marked my store as a favorite. I really like that site. There are so many interesting things to see and ideas to form. I only wish I were more Artsy with my photo sand text. Something to work on.

- The kids were finishing up with school for the year. Along with that is everything little thing that you have to run and get and go to school for. Kayden graduated from K-4. Camden finished up 4th grade. And, we were lucky, we found out that we received financial aid to send them to the same school next year. That was a big relief as we really want our children to get a Christian education.

- Estate and Yard sales. I have been hitting up alot of them lately. Even though I spent a lot of time driving around, I found a few really neat and hopefully money making items. That is what I am here for right? A few items have already made some important money for my family.

- Painted my bedroom ceiling. We had some storm damage and a water leak. It left a spot on our ceiling. I wanted for my hubby to work on it (because he said he wanted to ) and that never happened so I decided to do it myself. This is easier said than done, my ceilings are 12 ft high. I was hoping to just cover with sealer and touch up the spots. Well, that didn't work. I ended up painting the whole thing. I had to strip the walls, move the furniture and cover up the hardwood. After 2 days of priming and painting that was done. Then I got rid of some items and rearranged my bedroom. I have to say- I really like it!

-Just the normal things, playing with the kids, cleaning house and trying to relax. Right now, Kayden is listening to her Chapel cd ,dancing and singing and Camden is playing Nintendo quietly. Life is good right now and I am trying to just keep it that way.

waiting for dinner to get done..

What to do while you are waiting for dinner to get done? Why, write on your blog of course. Today has been a cold and rainy day. Perfect for a run to the thrift store and staying in and working on the computer.
First up, pick up Kayden at school and then stop by Goodwill. As I walked in, I saw a man looking at a light up Globe. It was very intriguing and I kept him in the corner of my eye while I was looking around. He played with it for about 5 minutes and then walked away. The perfect time for me to swoop in and buy the thing. Score! 1980's Fisher Price Discovery globe. That will go on Etsy very soon. I also found a NWT Disney Purse for Camdens Teacher who loves everything Disney, a walkman and a doll for Kayden and some vintage State pennants. A olive green wool skirt and my shopping was done there. Home for lunch and computer work.
I was trying to look up some information and values of items that were consigned to me on Saturday. I found one of the pieces was an advertising figure for Mothers Oats from the 1930's. This company was bought by Quaker in 1911 and made them the owners of 1/2 of all milling operations east of the Rocky Mountains. This figure is made of chalk and has a dog on a pillow. It is in excellent condition with the original box!
Another neat item is a baseball uniform shirt from the 1920's. It is for a team called Lenoir. The condition is good and sports collectibles are hot and especially baseball with the season coming up.
I also have a monogrammed corkscrew, early 1900's Saturday Evening posts and a photo from the 1920's of a womans basketball team. Cool stuff! It is exciting to be able to sell such neat pieces of history!

where has the time gone?

Wow, it has been a while since my last post. Where has the time gone? Last time I wrote, I was upset and disappointed with the dealer agreement at an antique mall where I have some of my items. I have heard from other dealers and a rival mall owner and they think Evelyn is off her rocker. She has already lost a bunch of dealers and a few that I know of are leaving too. She will learn. Oh well! I know I said I was going to give my notice but I haven't yet. She hasn't asked for the agreement back either so we will see.
I have been keeping busy. I went to a few yard sales ,thrift stores and an rummage sale yesterday. I haven't found anything spectacular just a few things to make a little $$ on. I found some Visions cookware, tupperware cake carrier, couroc glasses with owls on them and a few other items. The glasses were posted on Etsy and sold with a few days. The lady was thrilled to get them. Her Mom has some matching ones but had broken most of them. I am glad to make her so happy and for me to make a few $$ too.
I have been deciding whether to spend more time on Ebay or Etsy. Ebay is changing (again) their listing fees for stores. They make it seem like a great deal, as low as .3 but you have to sell over 50 items a month using this format. I have never sold that many a month thru my store. Auction, yes but not fixed price. Currently, I pay .5 for alot of my store items and I believe it will be going up to .25. Now, you may think this is a still a great deal but I also pay $16 a month to have a store and the final value fees are more when you use the fixed price format. I have to look at that more closely. Etsy doesn't have as much traffic but it is just as easy and the listing and final fees are alot less. Something to look at more closely.
One great thing that we (the kids and I) found on our travels was an air hockey game at the rummage sale yesterday. The man who loaded it said" I hope you have hours of fun". We got it home in one piece and the kids couldn't wait to play it. They played for a few hours and my son, who is 9 , said" that man was right, it is hours of fun!" . I am glad that he could be so happy for $12.00.
It is 42 degrees out, the birds are singing and the sun is shining brightly. It looks like it is going to be a great day. Off to enjoy it!!

The Unusual and Odd

If you have been following my post, you see that I have been selling some items from an old funeral home. There was a bunch of items that ended last night on Ebay. It is interesting to me to see what people buy, collect and pay for items that they want.
I sold a couple of embalming bags. One of them had 4 bottles in it and the other 1. They sold for a bit over $100 and $60 + respectfully. I also had the rolling coffin stand. That sold for a little over $100 and then I had a great pair of mortuary drapes that sold for app. $125. I asked the lady who bought the drapes what she was using them for. She already had a pair and was buying these for a spare for show setups. She actually sells all kinds of odd and unusual macabre items on her website- WWW. MadameTalbot.com. I looked at it briefly for the poison bottles(which my hubby and I collect) but will be going back to look at the rest of the items. Another item that sold better than expected was a half dozen Funeral directors magazines. I feel grateful that I have another dozen or so to sell.
I also picked up an interesting assorted mix of items on consignment to list. They include Vietnam Jungle boots, an old doll, 2 postcard albums and old card games. I will get those listed this week so if you have a minute check them out- Alongthelineantiques.com and send me your comments.

Dreary Saturday work on Ebay

Today is a very dreary Saturday. There is not much going on as far as garage or estate sales. There was one estate sale in Winder and one in Athens. (These are in totally different directions.) The kids each had a friend sleep over last night so it was a slow start getting ready this morning. I have been cold since I woke up. Needless to say, I was not very motivated to get out. Kurt, my hubby got ready and left to go to his shop. I called him and let him know about the sale in Winder as it was close to his work. He called me back and asked me where it was again. I guess they decided to cancel because of the weather as he couldn't find it. Well, glad I didn't get the kids ready and out for nothing. I decided to skip the one in Athens and work on the computer listing things for sale instead.
I spent an hour on facebook catching up and playing Mafia Wars. Yes, I am addicted to that game. I guess it helps me get some frustrations out in an innocent way!
Then, it was on to Auctiva to list some things on Ebay. I had some photos that I bought from the same sale that I got the mortuary items from. There are 3 great lots with some pictures hsown here. One of them is Nascar photos from the 1960's with Cale Yarborough (not shown) and others. The other 2 lots are WWII Army lots. One is from Germany circa 1945 and the other misc with some MP's from Fort Benning. I am hoping these will do well. They are interesting to look at. I also listed a grouping of lighters. Nothing that is a wow, just a group of regular lighters in used condition. A low starting price and no reserve should send them on their way.
The kids are getting restless being inside all day. We all need SPRING so we can get out. I need the sales to replenish my inventory and they need to get outside and play. So, I am off with visions of flowers and long days in my head.