This is our first podcast after the election that has made Donald Trump the President of the United States. We clearly remember what it was like during the eight years of George W Bush: the expensive, devastating war that we’re still fighting and one of of the worst economic crashes this country has ever seen that we’re also still getting out of. Mismanagement, corruption and incompetence were the trademarks of the Bush administration. The most recent evidence doesn’t make us feel any better about a Trump administration and a deeply Republican Congress who claim to hate government but now own it. The new enthusiasm around White nationalism is a scary and real thing. The screwy logic of dismantling the progress we’ve made on renewable energy and pollution reduction is difficult to understand. But here we are. Hello.
Who knows will will happen over the next four years. The Affordable Healthcare Act will most likely be dismantled so we’ll need to figure out how to get healthcare again. There’s a clear sense that everyone is waiting to see what happens with the economy. We’re hoping for the best and planning for the worst. We hope our fellow Americans remember that we are at our best morally and economically when we are fully inclusive. The US is at its greatest when we govern from a belief that we live in abundance that we can all share in, and not scarcity that we must fight over. Instead of our leaders forcing us to choose who among us we must hate and feel superior over, we each must personally decide to embrace and help each other. We’re all in this together.
After the shock and disbelief wore off, we talked about it and agreed that we must be ready for anything. What else can we do as Scavengers? We started our eBay store almost exactly eight years ago when banks were failing and we were surrounded by evidence of impending doom. Selling online was a way for us to seek some amount of safety and control. Rather than put our fate in the hands of an employer, we felt better waking up each day and working for ourselves. We moved to a more affordable part of the country and cut out any unnecessary expenses. We carry no debt (except our mortgage), and keep a little cash nest egg if we need it. The idea that there’s a safety net in the US is an illusion, so we live each day as if there is not one. Let the adventure continue!
eBay was steady for us this week. Lots of low dollar sales which we were happy to have. We’ve been putting all our energy into filling up our store with new items.
You can see photos of the renovation we’ve been doing on our second rental on our other podcast Shampoo and Booze. Also, remember that the holidays and new year are the best time to cut down your bills. We love TING phone service for doing just that. And if you want to give us a little holiday tip, use our links here.
And if you haven’t already, we invite you to our new forum where we can now better share and archive our knowledge. See you there!
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Our Store Week Nov 13-19, 2016
- Store #1
- Total Items in Store: 4538
- Items Sold: 37
- Cost of Items Sold: $40
- Total Sales: $1,200.77
- Highest Price Sold: $100 (vintage sweater)
- Average Price Sold: $29.78
- Returns: 1
- Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $39
- Number of items listed this week: 200?
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Bonanza:
- Sold 2 items for $50
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- Store #2
- Total Items in Store: 1019
- Items Sold: 6
- Cost of Items Sold: $25
- Total Sales: $246.46
- Highest Price Sold: $40 (Vintage glass drink mixer)
- Average Price Sold: $41.07
- Returns: 0
- Number of items listed this week: 0
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