Home › Forums › Buying and Selling › Selling on eBay › Trash Elf Twins Challenge 2018 Thread #3 From Week 31 August
Tagged: Twins
- This topic has 206 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 2 years, 7 months ago by
Amatino.
-
AuthorPosts
-
-
08/06/2018 at 10:43 am #46910
Reached the point where we need a new thread again.
For those who want a quick reference what TETC is about: we have piles of stuff that aren’t listed. Piles of stuff is “dead money” because if they’re not listed, they’re not selling; ergo – Death Piles. The goal of this thread is to motivate you to list every week so that you:
(1) don’t add new purchases to the Death Piles (DPs) and
(2) clear the DPs that you already have.We pair up as “Twins” to create a more personal challenge. Listing trends reveal the best pairs. For this reason, twins might be reallocated down the line if the trend shows a bad pairing.
If you wish to join the Challenge, you need to post your listing numbers every Monday. If there’s no single for a new Challenger, s/he will join a pair and they become a triplet.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! And we’d love to have new Challengers! 😀
-
08/06/2018 at 10:49 am #46914
Listed only 5 items, new purchases. Hoping for better this week.
Also, someone asked about Facebook selling. I think buyers have become more flaky on FB lately. I did sell several items from our kitchen – heavy Williams Sonoma mixing bowls, Nordicware pans I picked at garage sales, dishwasher faded vintage Pyrex lot, etc. Things I didn’t want to list or ship but made less $ than Ebay of course. I just have people pick up on the porch but it was still a little annoying with the flaking. We have some furniture and lighting going due to the remodel. Lots of lowballs on that – like $250 offered for a Pottery Barn 7 piece dining set.
-
08/06/2018 at 10:54 am #46915
It’s a zero for me again this week. One of the most WTF? weeks this year! Lots of minor issues, but my major ones formed a Trouble Trifecta:
– a dog got into a tussle with our neighborhood coyote pack. Fortunately, guns have not yet been outlawed and any country dweller will tell you the first rule of any fight is to bring the biggest gun. 2nd rule is to bring more than one, in case your primary jams – which mine did. All living critters were unharmed in the making of this whackumentary, but the gun is going to get stripped and oiled.
– the same dog decided it would be a grand idea to eat a porcupine. I spent 4 hours pulling quills out of her mouth, embedded all the way to the back of her palate, under her tongue, around her teeth, and all around the outside of her jaw. I’m alone at home at the moment, so it was a wrestling match worthy of WWF. The next day my neighbors came around to help get the last few ones, and it took 3 of us to hold her. She is now on antibiotics and painkillers and appears perfectly happy.
– and I got stung by something on the tip of my finger of my right hand (yes, I’m right handed) and the swelling was so bad, my hand was a club for a couple days.
Life on a Texas ranch – never short of shits and giggles!
My neighbor thought my bad luck this week was so funny, she made me a t-shirt. It is SO apt! 😀
Before you think she’s being nasty, this same neighbor sat with me for an hour and a half in the middle of the night when I got stung to ensure I didn’t go into anaphylaxis. She just has an awesome sense of humor!
-
08/06/2018 at 1:21 pm #46936
One more thought. I still allow myself a little bit of picking during this process after having taken a big break in 2017 with the other challenge. Now when I’m evaluating an item, I take a minute ask myself “do I really want to get involved with this thing?” I think about how it will be in my space, packing and shipping it, and all of my backlog waiting for me. Not too many vintage items are making the cut, which is good.
-
08/06/2018 at 1:47 pm #46940
This week was a cluster of issues that ate away at my time. College son came home to get his 4 wisdom teeth extracted. You would think they removed all of his internal organs by the way he’s reacting. I’m tending to him constantly. I also have two other kids (teens) home who I am a taxi cab driver for.
All excuses to say that I didn’t get a lot done this week.
50 new listings and about 6 which were deathpile (out of about 150ish to do).
I’m going to a fashionista’s estate sale this Friday and I expect my deathpile to at least double. But I’m ok with that as designer is my love language.
-
08/06/2018 at 3:07 pm #46959
Amatino – Your stories about this week are hilarious! Love the T-shirt! Of course, the things that happened wasn’t necessarily good things, just funny looking back.
I was a listing train the previous week, but this past week was mostly just finishing up what was left over. I listed 10 items, one was from death piles.
Apart from my kids, the other item taking away my attention from eBay is hopefully a fun project. A friend of mine is planning to sell her house next year, so she wants to downsize. Originally, she told me she had some Legos left over from when her kids were young (her youngest is a sophomore in college). I was going to sell them for her on commission. When I went to her house, I realized that she had WAY more Legos than I was prepared to deal with plus she had all this other stuff that she needed to get rid of.
I convinced her to use an online auction company I buy from called Maxsold. I agreed to do a seller managed auction instead of having Maxsold do it for her. That means, I take the photos, do the write-ups, and get it online. I’m also bringing over some of my own stuff that I don’t want to sell on eBay and adding it to the auction. I’ll be doing more work on it the week of Aug 20.
I don’t expect to be listing much until September when my kids get back into school and most of the auction is set up and ready to go.
-
08/07/2018 at 1:10 am #47005
Amatino—Mother Nature was not your friend last week, but the visuals are great. It’s good that you can laugh about it afterwards at least. I was a little worried when I didn’t get any emails today but I should have figured it was only time for a new thread. Whew!
Sharyn–sounds like a fun project, and we tend to do that, don’t we? Take on one more fun addition to our already full lives. I certainly can relate.
I wish I could report that there were important reasons why I didn’t get too much listed last week, but the truth is that it was just normal stuff getting in the way.
I listed 27 items.
I am leaving tomorrow (Tuesday) for a full week of picking my way south, all the way down to the Sacramento Antique Fair on Sunday. I always bring my van home full of goodies, and stories to tell too.
So put me down for zero for next Monday. -
08/07/2018 at 11:13 am #47021
Welcome, Atomic Star! So good to have you here. I’ve added you to the Triplets for now until we get a trend for your listing habits, then I’ll split the quads back into Twins.
Folks, you’re very welcome to laugh at my troubles. I do. Ain’t nothin’ gonna get me down!
ChristineR – I asked about FB. I’ve had a lot of flakes too, so basically gave up on it apart from the odd large item, but a fellow Group member posts weekly with tons of stuff. I bought something from her and she said she quit her day job to sell on FB. Her stuff looks like junk yard pickings, though, so I don’t really want to follow her lead.
Nice of you to help, Sharyn. I didn’t know you could create your own sales on Maxsold. When you have time, I reckon we’d love to hear more about how that works!
Vintage Lacy, you have my dream life! Lots of travel, and a business you can run on the road. I reckon you should also do an article about how you manage it!
Hmmm… perhaps I should start a TETC spin off called “Interviews with Elves” and write you guys up! 😀
Vintage Treasures, I got you girl! You’re included in the schedule, I found you on the last thread. Looking forward to hearing some feedback from the Open from you.
-
08/12/2018 at 3:35 pm #47314
Hey Amatino – thank you so much for finding my listing # last week on the old thread. I thought it seemed strange that I was the only one to have posted when it was already Tuesday morning (I think?) but my brain was so fried with the house stuff I never got back to figuring it out.
My listing number is the same this week as last: 5. And even that was a struggle. Besides all the stressful house stuff, we are on our first of 4 sets of houseguests visiting us within the next 4 weeks. The timing isn’t great for guests since I’m trying to clean up, pack up and move at the same time, but it is what it is. So it’s probably going to be quite awhile before I’m able to get back in the groove as far as listing, unfortunately…
Amatino’s week sure made mine look like a cakewalk though, OMG what a week you had!!! Wishing you a peaceful and uneventful week this week Amatino – you are certainly due for one!
Anyway, we do have a contract on our house but it has to pass inspection before it’s a done deal so it’s not quite a fait accompli yet. Fingers crossed!
-
08/13/2018 at 11:35 am #47354
Listed 20 items, 8 items from DP. Few items pick up this week and listed first. I sat down to list 4 times, so happy with that. I also cross posted a few items on Mercari (so quick!) and did sell similar to anything with a 16 month banner. I had about 12 of those. Good luck to all with non-Ebay chaos this week!
-
08/13/2018 at 6:36 pm #47427
Hi Vintage Treasures, you’re very welcome. There’s no way for me to advise folks, so I’m careful not to leave anyone behind! 😉
Listed only 5 this week, and I was planning to do more, but obviously my bad luck didn’t end last week. I crushed my knuckles in a freak accident and have been one handed since. Of course, it’s my right hand, same hand as got stung last week. Typing left handed takes forever… Sigh… But, on the positive side, I have learned that an espresso machine under pressure holds about the same amount of force as an airbag! Awesome tidbit, if I ever need it for a trivia question! 😀
-
08/13/2018 at 10:05 pm #47431
Oh, Amatino, that hurts just reading about it. Again, not good stuff, but terribly funny the way that you put it. Keep up the positive attitude!
I did better than I thought and listed 13. Nothing from death piles.
I might have finished a few more listings, but life intervened. My parents were coming back from a vacation in Russia. Quite a wonderful trip from what I’ve heard. Anyway, their St. Petersburg to Moscow flight was delayed and they missed their connection to Miami. They were rerouted to JFK. After arriving at JFK, their flight to Miami was cancelled. I live in NJ, so I made the drive Saturday evening to pick them up and bring them to our house (about 1 hr 15 min each way). Their rescheduled flight wasn’t until Sunday evening, so we were able to spend some time with them.
They were tired, and the change in schedule was a pain, but we made it into a good thing! Since my husband was born in Russia, he was particularly interested in their experience.
-
08/13/2018 at 11:41 pm #47433
Back in this evening after a 10 hour drive from Sacramento. Drove through the horrible brown hazy smoke in Redding and felt HORRIBLE for all the people there…I have never seen smoke that thick and choking covering an entire city. It was like driving through brown fog. Crossing the bridge over Lake Shasta the smoke was so thick you couldn’t see the lake below. Further north there’s a 15 mile stretch where it’s burned to a crisp right along the highway, with burned out houses and metal scraps of cars and the occasional miraculously unharmed house here and there. Very sobering to see in person.
I had a grand time picking and did especially good at the Sacramento Antique Faire, where I scored a fabulous garden cart and proceeded to use it to haul the rest of my finds around, and yes people stared. 🙂 It will be a perfect Harvest display at my fall show. My van was filled to the brim for the drive home!
third load to the car
-
08/14/2018 at 8:17 am #47441
Vintage Lacy – You can use imgur.com to post photos.
Instructions are here:
https://www.scavengerlife.com/forums/topic/how-to-upload-a-photo-to-your-forum-post/I’ve heard about the fires. I understand these are the worst ever.
-
08/14/2018 at 8:26 am #47443
Listed only 65 items this week because I am now cross posting all fashion to Poshmark. It’s killing my productivity. I will say, I’ve had 7 sales this week on Posh and I’m very new. Super promising.
Of my 65 listed, 0 were from my deathpile. Matter of fact, I went to an estate sale comprised of mostly designer goods and I added to my deathpile considerably. I did list about half of the stuff I purchased which has already made me half my investment back, so there’s that. 🙂
-
08/15/2018 at 1:50 pm #47521
Sorry for the late post, folks. It’s a major PITA working with only one hand.
-
08/15/2018 at 10:29 pm #47551
Thanks Sharyn…I thought I was doing it right. Let’s try it again. I am copying the link from imgur.com, direct link. Is that the right one to copy?
So sorry for your poor fingers Amatino!!!
-
08/16/2018 at 7:08 am #47555
You got it! Photos came out great!
What a haul!!!
-
08/16/2018 at 1:16 pm #47582
Holey Toledo, Vintage Lacy! It’s hard to believe you managed to fit that into the car! I think we should change your moniker to Mary Poppins! 😀
As Sharyn said – nice haul!
-
08/16/2018 at 4:39 pm #47594
Thanks Sharyn and Amatino! I call my car Stella and she’s a beast. It’s astonishing what I can fit in her, especially when I tetris it. God bless those stow and go seats…makes all the difference in the world. My boyfriend was so impressed he went last week and bought himself the same model. He was thinking about a truck but he’s in the picking business too and Stella won him over. 🙂
-
08/20/2018 at 9:50 am #47731
Hello Twins,
Only 2 new listings for me last week. Still super busy, but our second round of houseguests leave today.
Hopefully this week and next week will be better for listing. Hope you are all doing well and Amatino is accident free! -
08/20/2018 at 9:51 am #47732
Oops, that should have been 3 new listings!
-
08/20/2018 at 9:51 am #47733
Vintage Lacy you can really handle quantity! Hope everyone is having a relatively calm week outside Ebay. I listed 20 items, 7 from death piles. Sat down 5 times to list this week.
I did some very focused RA summer clearance and hit one grand reopening sale at my favorite thrift for vintage items – that was fun but backpedaled a bit.
Kids go back to school this week and I love Fall. It’s making me feel some urgency to list. The pile categories I’ll be working are cookie cutters, Christmas, and tablecloths. I can’t bring myself to say flatware or vintage fabric but makes sense to tackle those this time of year. Have a great listing week!
-
08/20/2018 at 10:23 am #47738
I had 14 new listings this week, none are from death piles.
This week will be busy with non-eBay stuff, so I’m not sure how much I will be able to list.
-
08/20/2018 at 7:50 pm #47766
I had 30 new listings this week. Was hoping for more but you know how it goes.
Gearing up for our biggest antique fair of the summer this Sunday in Oregon City. They shut down Main Street and line the street with booths. It’s huge fun, even though we have to be there at 5am to set up. The diehard collectors are there by 5:30, with their flashlights, poking around as you unpack your stuff. It opens officially at 8am, but they don’t care. We don’t either, since we usually have several good sales while still setting up. I save my truly quirky weird higher end items for this sale as it attracts the bigger spenders. They will drop $50, $75, $100 on an old book.
Hope everyone has a great week!
-
08/21/2018 at 6:46 pm #47824
Thanks Vintage Treasures, I did remain accident free. Probably because I couldn’t do much! 😀
Only listed one. Working with my left hand was beyond frustrating and they don’t make left handed cameras! Gaaaah! Gave up and worked on non-eBay related stuff instead. The splint came off this week, so I’m hoping to do some more listings, but my knuckle is still swollen and tender, so I’m taking it easy.
ChristineR, I’m working on fabric and linens. I have an awesome vintage knitted afghan that looks crocheted. It’s gorgeous! Any tips on listing? I’ve got to clear a huge box of linens and figured this is the time of year to get it down. Glad to see my hunch is right.
Dang, Vintage Lacy, I want to shadow you and just bask in the joy that’s your life! LOL
-
08/21/2018 at 7:03 pm #47825
Atomic Star hasn’t posted, but it’s Tuesday already, so she’ll be updated next week
Well done, ChristineR. You’re almost double my score!
-
08/21/2018 at 7:55 pm #47828
Thanks! I wish my YTD total listed was bigger. I think it’s probably a good time to list your afghans and linens. I don’t think I have any selling tips, but personally I’m only picking up going forward if a really cool pattern or color scheme I think.
-
08/22/2018 at 12:55 pm #47857
Amatino you are too funny! It may sound like fun, and it is, but it’s also just plain hard work. Just like the rest of us who do this for a living. Someone years ago made the unkind statement to me that my life is basically packing boxes, unpacking boxes, and moving boxes. There’s a grain of truth in that, which made it smart a bit. I have come to accept that this lifestyle means living in organized chaos.
And I embrace that.
-
08/22/2018 at 5:34 pm #47865
@ChristineR – I know. I look at Sharyn’s YTD and that’s more like the number I was aiming at this year. Can’t believe how badly off course I’ve gone this year! And now my car went in for an urgent recall that “only takes 2 hours” and they can’t get it back to me until tomorrow or maybe Friday. Seriously? I’m going to turn this house upside down and find that freaking imp that’s plaguing me! Gaaaaah!
@Vintage Lacy – yes, I’m coming to that realization as well. My biggest problem… hmmm… my biggest 3 problems are the huge Death Piles, which will translate at some point to a huge storage headache, and the time it takes to get it all listed. Plus… those Death Piles are giving ME piles, I tell you. All that money just lying there! Gaaaaaaaaaah!
On the positive side, I’m having a better day than this guy!
-
08/22/2018 at 8:32 pm #47877
It’s all relative, right? (I hope no injuries)
Thanks for the compliment on my YTD. I actually did get a good deal accomplished on my death piles, but now I have to work on the tough stuff – the things that need repair.
Like you all, life keeps intervening.
-
08/27/2018 at 9:38 am #48033
Hope you all had a good week. I didn’t do well this week with 3 listings, none from DP. Kitchen reno, company, back to school, work. Onward! It’s Fall and time to list!
I did consolidate a couple more boxes of vintage stuff, so happy to see some space continuing to open up.
-
08/27/2018 at 9:56 am #48036
I did manage to get 16 items listed, no death piles.
My parents are in town, so I don’t think much will get done this week.
-
08/27/2018 at 10:59 am #48041
Reporting zero listings for the week.
My 12 year old nephew spent the week with me and we did lots of auntie/nephew fun stuff, going to the beach, going to the Tillamook cheese factory, going to OMSI, going to estate and garage sales (cause gotta train them young), movies and so forth. Building lots of memories, but no time to list. All my free time was spent getting ready for the big antique outdoor show yesterday in Oregon City.
-
08/27/2018 at 11:04 am #48043
Zero for me too.
I’m ready for Fall, cooler temps, and some dedicated listing time. My husband is starting a new business and I’ve spent the last week creating business cards, getting him up on Google, setting up his paperwork, etc.
-
08/27/2018 at 10:30 pm #48085
Oops! I almost forgot to report my listing #, it doesn’t feel like Monday to me! I had 8 for the week. Mondays are my “free” day, no volunteer work or other set obligations, but I was rushing around all day today shopping for the new house. Usually I use Monday as a listing day so today was different.
We finally have our closing dates and have almost finalized our move in date, moving day will be around September 20. But we have 2 more sets of company coming before the move.
So glad to see you not reporting any more accidents Amatino! And Vintage Lacy, we just had our nephew as a houseguest too! Our nephew is 21, but now that I’m older 21 looks pretty similar to 12 to me 🙂 We did the same kind of stuff we’ve always done with him, bike riding, minature golf, arcade games, hiking. The only difference from when he was 12 is that now I need to sleep for 10 hours after he leaves!
Wishing everyone a wonderful week!
-
08/28/2018 at 5:10 pm #48119
Hi!! I want to join up. I need motivation to tackle my death pile badly. I recently… I mean a couple of… I mean several months ago brought home a Uhaul filled with 26 Rubbermaid tubs full of my husband’s grandparents’ things. They threw away nothing. The tubs are staring at me in the bonus room. I’m considering putting googly eyes on the front of them to really put the pressure on me.
Do I need to post by a certain time on Monday? And do I just put it here on this thread?
Thanks!
-
This reply was modified 3 years ago by
bingbong.
-
08/28/2018 at 9:14 pm #48133
We post by Monday. There isn’t a time constraint. Amatino gives out our “scores” a day or two later.
A few of us started the year by taking photos of our death piles. If it would help your motivation, you might want to do that since you have so many bins.
-
This reply was modified 3 years ago by
-
08/29/2018 at 11:40 am #48157
Hello bingbong, welcome to Trash Elves Twins Challenge 2018! You would post each Monday on this thread (until this thread is too long and Amatino starts a new thread, the next thread will have the same title but with Thread #4 at the end).
You don’t have to post photos of your deathpile to participate, I didn’t, although photos are probably a good self motivator. I also don’t count how many of my listings each week are from my deathpile. I just give the # I listed. I’m not currently buying any inventory (well, maybe a few things here and there to be completely honest:)) so at this point I consider everything I list as from my deathpile.
Please join us if you want motivation to list; I find it really helps my motivation to know I’ll have to report how many new listings I put up every week!
-
09/03/2018 at 1:37 pm #48304
Quieter week for me overall so I was able to do 47 listings. oh…so…close…to 50! My goal. Ack! Just couldn’t quite get there….but this week I am determined to do 75. This is my last month before the insanity of 4th quarter begins…so must take advantage.
Hope everyone has a great week and Happy Labor Day!
-
09/03/2018 at 1:55 pm #48306
I get to report 0 new listings this week. My parents were visiting, so I took the week off.
I did do some photography yesterday, so I will have something to report next week. However, I will be working on my friend’s online auction for two days, and the kids don’t go back to school until Wednesday, so the numbers won’t be high.
-
09/03/2018 at 4:07 pm #48311
Listed 2 items – RA that just arrived. Stressful week outside Ebay and I’ve been having a really hard time sleeping lately, so not in a good listing head space at all. Hoping this week goes better though I have some of the same remodel and kid issues to deal with. Hope you all have a good listing week.
-
09/05/2018 at 10:27 am #48382
Sorry I’m late reporting, packing to move is in full swing! 9 new listings for me.
Amatino is everything okay? Hopefully I just missed something since I haven’t had a chance to read posts but you seem to be MIA?
-
09/05/2018 at 1:27 pm #48394
I second Vintage Treasures. Amatino, hope everything is okay with you..a bit worried since you didn’t post numbers last week and haven’t written this week. Sending good thoughts your way.
-
09/09/2018 at 7:47 pm #48537
Amatino I’m thinking of you and hoping all is okay…
I’m at zero listings. Between our third set of house guests and packing to move I’m not finding any time for listing lately.
Wishing everyone good sales, time for lots of new listings and fun treasure hunting!
-
09/09/2018 at 9:19 pm #48542
Yeh – Amatino – I hope all is well. We haven’t heard from you for a while.
I managed to list 9 items. I consider this to not be too bad since I spent two days categorizing and photographing for my friend’s online auction.
-
09/10/2018 at 12:02 pm #48567
Hey, folks, thanks for all the good wishes! Zero for me for the past, what? 3 weeks? Once everyone has posted numbers, I’ll collate the spreadsheet for all the missed weeks, with apologies!
Make yourself comfortable for the story of “why?” aka “Where has Amatino gone?” LOL
In hindsight, August has to have been my Unluckiest Month of 2018. Over the weekend I had a sore spot on my left thigh. As I’m not from Texas, I tend to react to Things That Bite, so the hubs and I thought it was a bite reaction. By Monday Aug 27 the thing had grown to the size of a quarter and was blistered. It itched in a stinging-ivy kind of way, so around mid-day I trotted to the doc, who diagnosed Shingles. I’ve had several outbreaks over the past half-dozen years, always on the same spot on my right butt cheek, so this was new. I was not allowed to get the Shingles vaccine before as I was “too young” but there’s a brand new vaccine out that is really powerful and effective and I *just* scraped into the age allowance. Well, “brand new” to health insurance = experimental drug, so there was all sorts of clearance checks and etc. to ensure that I could have it. A rather painful jab in the left bicep, and I was done.
Couple hours later, the pharmacy called me to say that I had to come back. I had also been prescribed an antiviral to treat the Shingles. They asked how my arm felt and I replied “like you punched me there!” Couple hours later, it felt like I’d been hit by a sledgehammer in that arm. Some hours after that, like I’d been hit by a Mack truck! I woke in the night, crying from the pain, and eventually got back to sleep after taking painkillers (and waiting for them to work.)
The next day I was man down as if I’d been the warm-up round in a Mike Tyson match fight. I was sick and miserable, my head ached, I felt awful! Any attempts to get up resulted in severe nausea. Over the next couple days, the blister on my leg grew and spread and I developed more blister-spots up my leg onto my stomach, around the back of my leg, down to my knee, and along the underside of my left forearm. They all itched and stung. Cold helped. Heat drove me crazy.
By day two of this, I researched side effects on this vaccine. In this article, the say the side effects are “substantial” – and how! I lost my appetite, couldn’t even sit up in bed to work as it was too nauseating. My poor hubby had to fetch and carry parcels for eBay sales. I would totter out of bed to pack and print labels, then stagger back leaving him to do the rest. A parcel would take ages to complete as I had to bend over and breathe really slowly waiting for the nausea to abate.
Now, in all the brouhaha of getting the vaccine, all the Medical Professionals Who Know Best kinda forgot that I actually had Shingles! The Shingrix vaccine specifically states that you do NOT take the vaccine if you have Shingles. First you wait for the Shingles to entirely clear up, wait a couple weeks, then you get the vaccine. I suspect that, by giving me the vaccine in the midpoint of a full outbreak, they forced me into a full chickenpox infection. I’m not sure the doctor was to blame. She prescribed antivirals to treat the Shingles, and the vaccine. The Pharmacist, who actually inspected my Shingles blister, did not read up on the specs.
Fortunately, while I’m not a Medical Professional, I do have some common sense and I worked out that if I take an anti-viral with a vaccine, they cancel each other out. I called the Pharmacist to check and he, sheepishly, admitted I was correct. I suspect he then read up the paperwork to discover his faux pas. Which didn’t help me in dealing with my Shingles, as I couldn’t take anything to clear it up, I had to struggle with the actual Shingles outbreak as well as feeling foul.
After a full week of this, I started feeling a little better, then was suddenly hit by a severe vertigo. The room was spinning violently around me, even though I was lying still in bed. Monday was Labor Day, so I had to wait until Tuesday to get help. This time a phone call to the doc (I was too ill to actually go there) and I was prescribed a treatment. This stuff was like Mike Tyson, annoyed that I got up after being knocked down in the warm up round, came back and knocked me cold. I slept from about 3PM on the Tuesday until Wednesday morning! I’d love to say I felt better after that. Unfortunately, it is a week later and I’m just up and about. Yesterday I managed to stay up all day, but my brain is foggy and I am struggling to process, focus, and concentrate.
Here’s the kicker to my tale. You know everything happens in threes, right? #3. The vaccine is a twofer. I’m supposed to go back for Part 2 within the next six months!
All together now… “Oh HELL no!” 😀
-
09/10/2018 at 12:56 pm #48569
Amatino, my skin was cringing in sympathy as I read your story….I am so so sorry you have been through and continue to go through such a nightmare!!! You deserve only GOOD things to happen for the rest of the year, or at least an uneventful next three months. Sending you healing thoughts and best wishes for only positive events from here on out.
I should have never set a goal of 75…wishful thinking. I had forgotten that I was going to the beach for the weekend. One last hurrah before the insanity of 4th quarter begins. I listed 29 items this week.
-
09/10/2018 at 4:19 pm #48574
Amatino, that’s so awful. After all you’ve been through I hope you are sailing through the rest of the year without incident.
I listed one RA item that was back ordered and just arrived. My kiddos are struggling a bit and everybody’s stressed. The kitchen reno has pretty much taken the time I had for ebay, and I took a few hours of mental health breaks chillin’. Fingers crossed that this week is better for listing.
-
09/10/2018 at 5:52 pm #48577
UGH! I had just a small patch of shingles on my stomach at the end of one of my years at college. I still remember how painful it was. I can’t imagine what you had to go through. Feel better soon.
-
09/11/2018 at 9:45 am #48604
Oh Amatino my heart goes out to you, nobody deserves such bad breaks coming all in a row. Very upsetting also to hear that a lot of your continued issues are the result of uninformed medical professionals. I hope there is a different pharmacy you can go to, I hate to think of you trusting your health in the future to a pharmacist who caused you such misery.
Sharyn, I also had shingles when I was about the age that you had it. I was told it’s very rare to get shingles in your early 20’s and I was misdiagnosed several times due to the fact that every doctor I went to had never seen it in someone so young. My outbreak was above my left eye and if hadn’t been for my husband calling our friend who was in medical school (who figured out that had shingles) I would have ended up blind in my left eye according to the optomologist I went to. Shingles was one of the most painful things I’ve ever gone through; Amatino I really feel for you! Wishing you a speedy recovery and only GOOD things for the rest of 2018 and beyond!
-
09/11/2018 at 5:22 pm #48625
Yes, it jumps from Week 33 to Week 36, and I know it’s because I’m sick, but my OCD is like “wait… you’re missing three weeks!” 😀
AtomicStar appears to be AWOL and BingBong never came back, so it’s just us Core 5 again.
Thanks for all the encouragement, guys, much appreciated. I’m not back at full strength yet, so dunno how my listing is going to look this week, but at least I relisted all my ended listings. I’m below 500 now and that’s my cut off point. Never let myself drop below 500! LOL. Not much below, so it’s not much of a motivation, but I’m going to try to start listing this week. So! Much! Catching! Up! to get through, though – and taxes. EEEEP!
-
09/17/2018 at 9:01 am #48788
Zero for me this week. I’ve still felt a bit wobbly, and standing for long periods is not good. So instead, I worked on my listings where eBay lost the photos. Also, the hubs reminded me that our taxes are due, with the extension coming up next month, so I’ve been working on that.
So much to catch up on!
-
09/17/2018 at 12:10 pm #48807
Nose to the grindstone time for me now….I wish I could say my death piles are getting smaller, but I am picking more than I am listing right now. I did get 51 listings done and that felt good, but it’s just a drop in the bucket. Glad to have the inventory, no complaints there. My bf is going to start helping with taking pics and that should speed things up.
Hope everyone has a great week!
-
09/17/2018 at 12:50 pm #48812
Feel better Amatino.
I listed 20 items on Ebay, at least 10 of those from death piles, plus 4 on Mercari. I listed three times, so not too bad but hoping for better this week. Incidentally, I get up really early and like to burn a nice candle while I sit and list. Our weather here is almost always the same but we do get foggy mornings and it’s a little bit crisp in the air lately.
-
09/17/2018 at 4:35 pm #48839
I managed to list 28 items to eBay last week.
I also listed to Mercari for the first time. I took several jewelry items off eBay and re-photographed them for Mercari. These were listed about two years ago, and the photos were terrible. I felt embarrassed every time I saw them come up. I might list them again on eBay, but, right now, I’m just leaving them on one site.
Amatino – up to you whether you want to count the seven Mercari listings since they are items I’ve had for some time. I have several more to do, so tell me whether I should mention them or not.
And, I’m glad you are up and about, but I hope you feel more normal soon.
-
09/18/2018 at 12:33 pm #48888
@Sharon, I’ll be interested to know about your experience on Mercari. I’m really happy with it so far, but I haven’t tried selling vintage yet.
-
09/18/2018 at 8:33 pm #48911
The jewelry I am listing is vintage, but not that old. Several people have liked my store or a particular listing, but no sales yet. I see that there are ways to promote a listing. Perhaps I will try that in a week or two.
As far as the app goes, it has been a bit buggy for my iPhone 5c. I’ve been taking photos right to the app, but it keeps crashing. I also tried to create some drafts and finish them later, but not all the photos were there the next day. I also couldn’t access them from the website.
Next time, I think I will try just taking photos with the regular camera app and then loading them into the Mercari app.
-
This reply was modified 2 years, 11 months ago by
Sharyn.
-
This reply was modified 2 years, 11 months ago by
-
-
-
09/19/2018 at 12:00 pm #48922
Thanks Sharon. I haven’t had any issues with my iphone8 other than sometimes the suggested category is off base and I don’t initially see the two levels of subcategory. I don’t seem to be able to find drafts on the desktop, only the app. I know Mercari has some functions on the app only so far, as they added the desktop fairly recently. I read online that some people had their accounts closed and money frozen, so I’ve been emptying my account pretty frequently just in case.
-
09/19/2018 at 1:26 pm #48928
Really? What was the reason for their accounts being frozen? Or where can I read about it?
-
-
09/19/2018 at 1:37 pm #48929
When I saw that Vintage Treasures hadn’t posted yet, I thought I would give her a little extra time… then I totally forgot to log back in last night! Oops! 😉 She was moving house, so I guessed it was zero for her. VT, if you have a number, let me know and I’ll update you.
Here’s this week’s totals. Christine, you are so far ahead of me, I have no idea how I’ll ever catch up! However, we’re on week 37 out of 52. That leaves 15 weeks. I can still beat you! (Hope beats eternal…)
And now, for your viewing pleasure – must get one of these!
-
09/24/2018 at 9:43 am #49083
Good morning all and Happy Monday!
Zero for me again last week, but that will change this week. I think my husband was very worried about me being so sick and actually spent last week helping me clean and test stuff for the shop. He doesn’t do that usually, so it was a great surprise and I jumped on the opportunity. Now that it’s all clean and working, I have stuff ready to list this week. Also, was still working on taxes. Yes, it has taken weeks, but I have to compile five different businesses and we were affected by the hurricane last year, which complicated matters. I’ll be finishing this week, so this is going to be an awesome week! 🙂
-
09/24/2018 at 12:50 pm #49099
Happy Monday to everyone! I listed 26 items last week. Starting to get into show mode, but hoping to get two more weeks of decent listing in before the madness begins.
Hope everyone has a great week!
-
09/24/2018 at 1:11 pm #49103
Oops, I totally forgot to report my new listings last Monday, but Amatino you guessed right, I had zero. Amatino I hope you are feeling much better now. I wouldn’t wish shingles on my worst enemy, and I consider you all friends 🙂
It’s another zero for me for this Monday. The good news is that we’ve moved into the new house; I’ve made really good progress with unpacking and setting up the place, and we absolutely love it!
I’m hoping that next Monday I’ll have more than zero new listings to report, and that I’ll have found time to catch up with the thread posts.
Hoping you are all doing well and wishing everyone a productive week!
-
09/24/2018 at 4:48 pm #49125
I listed 5 on eBay and 6 on Mercari.
I am continuing to work on my friend’s online auction this week, so my numbers will continue to stay low.
After ChristineR mentioned some fishy stuff about Mercari, I fell into that rabbit hole of reading reviews online. It doesn’t sound good, and now I’m a bit concerned about listing too much there. Maybe I’ll finish the jewelry, or maybe I’ll relist it with better photos on eBay. Not sure.
I hope everyone is doing well!
-
09/25/2018 at 10:51 am #49150
Hi Ladies:
I would like an accountable twin!
Here is my story: I have been selling on ebay for 20 years. I have a niche item store that has done well … especially for a very part timer. Last January I opened another store of which I sell everything I can. It is doing well for me so I plan on retiring from my job early to sell on eBay almost full time. With that being said, I will still be a part-time lister until June/July of 2019 listing 10 – 20 items per week.
Is anyone available to be my twin?
Molly -
09/25/2018 at 11:14 am #49153
Hi – crazy outside ebay couple of days. I listed only twice unfortunately. 4 items on Ebay, 9 items on Mercari. None from death piles this week.
Sharyn, I think there are a lot of inexperienced and sloppy Mercari sellers, so some haters. However, I’ve had really good experiences so far. And Mercari is doing a big advertising push in cities. Like I said, I clear my balance pretty regularly and don’t list really expensive items (my cost or asking price) just in case.
-
09/26/2018 at 12:23 pm #49197
Sorry I missed the upload yesterday. Was helping my daughter with a very important document for a special school for my autistic grandson.
Hi Molly! Welcome to the Twins! Here’s how it works (or is supposed to work, depending on the week I’m having! LOL)
Post your numbers every Monday. I’ll collate them each week into a spreadsheet like that ^ one. In the beginning, you’ll get tagged onto the end of the Triplets until we have a sense of which one would be your perfect match. Then I’ll separate the Quads into Twins and you’ll be competing against your twin for the rest of the year. The points were introduced at some point in order to try to make the competition “fair” as, with so many different join dates, I can’t use overall numbers or number of weeks. So the points work from the first week of the last twin to join. I do hope you stay with us for the rest of the year, we have become a firm group of friends here, offering much encouragement and quite a bit of motivation.
Looking forward to seeing your numbers every Monday!
-
09/26/2018 at 12:24 pm #49198
Oooh oooh oooh… just noticed! Sharyn and Vintage Lacy – there’s SIX listings between you! SIX! Whoooweee…. The tension…. 😀
-
09/26/2018 at 4:10 pm #49207
Yes, I just noticed that as well. I’m pretty busy with my friend’s online auction, but I might be able to get to listing next week. And Vintage Lacy said something about some upcoming shows, so maybe I have a chance to catch up?
-
09/26/2018 at 6:59 pm #49212
I noticed it too! Certainly is motivating…but you are right Sharyn, I do have a show coming up and I will be out of commission for a couple of weeks. Hopefully only two. So I have this week and next week and then showtime. And once I get into November my Amazon store takes up the majority of my time, but we’ll see if I can’t do a little listing then also. I have a whole bunch of cool vintage Christmas that will need to go on Ebay so I will be concentrating on that primarily.
You are so funny Amatino! 🙂
-
09/27/2018 at 2:05 pm #49252
Amatio and friends:
Thanks for allowing me to be part of your group. I am here for the loooong run! Although I have been selling part time for many years, I don’t know / or communicate with any other sellers. I found Scavenger Life podcast a couple of months ago and have listened / watched every one of them. I would love to have an accountability partner…or two!
Molly -
09/28/2018 at 11:30 am #49299
Awesome Molly. We’re thrilled to have you. Post your numbers on Monday and, after a couple weeks so we get an idea of trends, you’ll be paired. I’m sure the Triplets will be thrilled to be Twins.
-
09/30/2018 at 5:20 pm #49363
Wheeeeeeeeee! Broke the listing drought! Okay, granted, not by much, but it’s still BROKE! 😀 Relisted 390 ended items and 4 new listings. So 4 for last week!
I also completed, submitted, filed, and archived all my tax papers – before the end of September, not just before the cut off date! So I’m feeling VERY good about last week.
Only odd thing is… I discovered my desk is wood. First time I’ve seen the surface of my desk in….
😉
-
09/30/2018 at 5:50 pm #49364
Too funny, Amatino! My listing number is close to yours – I had 3 new listings.
I spent three days at my friend’s house taking photos for her online auction. She is still finding things to sell, so I’m not at all finished. But, progress has been made, and the auction should start either the end of October or beginning of November.
-
10/01/2018 at 9:58 am #49393
Amatino, it feels good to get a project done. Glad you are doing better.
I listed only a couple of times, 1 Ebay item and 15 items on Mercari. I’m really enjoying listing on Mercari as it is so fast vs. Ebay. Hope to unload some of my clothes I don’t wear anymore and keep my closet lean and mean. I’m willing to promote and go lower on these items so I have had some sales there. I’ve also sold a few coffee mugs and things that were listed on Ebay for a while but I haven’t really tried Mercari out for home and vintage yet.
A lot of life going on outside reselling. I’m hoping to get a school day off and just sit and list in peace and quiet. We’ll see.
-
10/01/2018 at 1:46 pm #49422
Hi to all the Scavenger Twins (or triplets) and welcome Molly from Itemsfromthesouth!
I’m sad to report that I’m at 0 listings again for this Monday. I’m going to stop jinxing myself and not write here that I hope to report more than zero next week…
This week I’ll just work towards improving my productivity with blocks of time carved out for doing different things. We’ll see if that works or not!
Wishing everyone a great week!
-
10/01/2018 at 11:55 pm #49450
Welcome Molly and hello to everyone!
Last week before the madness hits and my to-do list for the show is growing, not getting shorter, so I will try to get some listing in this week, but no hopes for a high number. Any number is a good number since the next couple of weeks will be zip for me.
I listed 25 items last week.
Have a great first week of October!
-
10/02/2018 at 1:49 pm #49479
Molly? Hello Molly! I pulled your listing figure off the podcast page for this week, but please post your numbers here each Monday in future if you’re planning to stay. Thanks!
Good luck on implementing the new routine, VT. I’m probably the worst for zeroes over the past year, so I definitely empathise!
-
10/08/2018 at 10:52 am #49756
Hey folks, hope everyone had a good week.
I managed 15 listings. Would have made 20, but the last five the photos were so abysmal, I couldn’t color correct enough and will have to redo them. I bit the bullet and bought a lighted soft box. It is supposed to arrive tomorrow. It’s one of those small tabletop ones that has the lights built in. I have a ton of smalls, and if this could work, I’ll put it on my desk right next to my computer and pound them out. Fingers crossed it works! I really need a miracle to turn my year around.
-
10/08/2018 at 11:01 am #49757
This week was ok on sales. I sold 14 at $552.50. I had company from out of town staying with me so I only listed 2 items.
I work full time in the school system and we have Hurricane Michael coming our way so I’m thinking schools will be closed for a couple of days and IF I keep power…I will be listing while on hurricane days.
I hope everyone had a good week! -
10/08/2018 at 11:39 am #49767
Congrats Amatino. I only listed one item this week and never got back to it. I had friends in town to celebrate my birthday so really nice reasons keeping me from listing this week. I did get out of work early one day and went to a couple of thrifts. It has been weeks so it was a nice mood lifter but I have about 8 new items to list now. Oops.
-
10/08/2018 at 2:30 pm #49783
Crazy week for me getting prepped for the show. I managed only one listing. I have several vintage Halloween items and it’s driving me nuts that I don’t have them listed. However, we load two 26-ft trucks tomorrow for the show and then we deliver them to the Grange Wednesday morning and then the madness begins.
Happy Birthday CristineR! Congrats Amatino and welcome Molly! Sharyn…here’s your chance!
Hope everyone has a great week ahead!
-
10/08/2018 at 3:39 pm #49787
Hey Scavengers!
Like Amatino last week, I broke the new listing drought – finally! I did 12 new listings last week.
My new routine went great for 3 days and then fell apart, but I’m going to keep working at it since it really helped while it lasted.
Not listing anything new for the last month has affected my sales in the worst way! I’ve had zero sales for the last 3 days and so far nothing today either, which will be day 4 if nothing sells again today. Ouch!
Wishing everyone a wonderful week!
-
10/08/2018 at 3:42 pm #49788
Happy Belated Birthday ChristineR!
-
10/08/2018 at 9:39 pm #49807
Happy birthday, ChristineR! Hope you had a fabulous day!
-
10/08/2018 at 9:58 pm #49808
I just got back from a short visit of two colleges in Virginia that my daughter wanted to check out.
I’m still working on my friend’s online auction, but I managed to list three items.
I was going to list a bunch more, but I ran into an issue with the phone app where the photos don’t have enough pixels. So, I had to open a listing on the computer, delete the photos, pull them down from the cloud, and then upload them for the second time. I’m hoping the bug is fixed, so I’m going to go back to the phone app and see if I can delete and re-upload there.
Oh, I almost forgot, the three were from death piles! It’s been a while since I’ve worked on old stuff.
-
10/09/2018 at 8:58 am #49837
Congratulations everyone! I think this is the first time in ages we have had no zeroes at all in a week. Even if you listed one thing, you still listed. Feels good, eh? 😉
-
10/09/2018 at 11:17 am #49857
Amatino – You missed the count for Vintage Treasures in your table!
-
10/09/2018 at 11:45 am #49862
Thank you all for the kind birthday wishes. We are doing a group celebration couples weekend away this coming weekend. So much for listing but you only turn 50 once! Hopefully I can manage to have an ok 4th quarter after all of this life stuff getting in the way. The kitchen is in the home stretch. What a PITA.
-
10/15/2018 at 10:42 am #50155
Hello Everyone!
I posted 26 new listings last week and things are finally starting to look up, thank goodness. I’ve had eBay sales for the last 4 days in a row.
My goal is to have a higher # of new listings each week for the foreseeable future, fingers crossed that I meet that goal at least for the month of October…
ChristineR how was your couples birthday weekend celebration? I’m super envious that you’ve just turned 50, I’ll be leaving that decade in December 🙁
Wishing you all a profitable and productive week!
-
10/15/2018 at 11:28 am #50160
Sharyn – no, she’s there! 12 items listed.
ChristineR – OMG! We’re more twins than I realized! We’re both 50 years old this year! 😀
My listing total is only 16. I had a short week as I attended a Bellydance Camp for the weekend. What a range of dance styles! From classic oriental, to Saidi, to Lebanese, we pretty much covered the Middle East! Exhausted but happy. Oh… and I’m going to see the chiropractor this afternoon. I very wisely made the appointment last week! LOL
-
10/15/2018 at 4:46 pm #50203
Amatino – Ah, I just saw all the zeros and missed the latest column!
I ramped up a bit this past week! I listed 28 items, about 7 were death piles.
I’m slowing down now on my friend’s online auction. Just a few hours ago, I photographed the last of her lots, and now I have to submit the draft. For some reason, the auction company’s app won’t let you edit listings that are more than a few hours old. So, when I get the draft file, I’ve got some editing to do. After that, and my friend checks it out as well, we’ll submit the final and schedule the auction!
I’m glad to move forward on this project so that I can get back to eBay!
-
10/15/2018 at 5:06 pm #50204
Thank you ladies for the birthday wishes. The long weekend in Scottsdale was great, except for my Ebay business and it was splurgy as we were traveling with spendier friends. No listing, no purchases. Life is so very busy. It’s kind of tough because I know I have holiday stuff in the attic that should get listed and there is a rummage sale at the end of the month. I really hope to get back to listing soon.
Amatino, we may be mainly twins but I’m not a belly dancer. 🙂 What a fun hobby. My mom totally did that in the ’70s.
-
10/15/2018 at 6:36 pm #50210
ChristineR – we’ll have to give you a whirl one day! 🙂
-
10/16/2018 at 1:25 am #50222
Zero for me…show opens tomorrow!!
-
10/16/2018 at 7:32 pm #50280
Molly hasn’t posted here or in the weekly thread, so she’s zero for now. Molly, I’ll update your numbers if you’ll let me know.
Look at how tight this race is! Whoooooowheeeeee! Getting close to the finish line here folks!
-
10/17/2018 at 1:16 pm #50332
Hi Ladies:
Had a MAJOR hurricane just one county over and have been doing relief work. I had several drafts in so I posted them. That gave me a total of 8 last week. I will be spending every weekend in Panama City FL helping with debris clean up but I will try to get 8 to 10 items listed per week.
Molly (Itemsfromthesouth) -
10/17/2018 at 9:56 pm #50376
Hey Molly! Sorry to hear that, but how great of you to be helping out. You’re awesome! Were you impacted at all, or only your neighbors?
Will add your numbers to the sheet, it will show up next week.
-
10/21/2018 at 10:55 am #50455
Phew! What a week! The new lightbox is awesome and I’m thrilled. Hasn’t entirely resolved the photography problem, but it has made a huge improvement so listing is faster. Also, this week I did a lot of smalls that were very similar, as in just change color or size, which meant I could whack ’em out! Thus one of my best listing weeks ever! Total of 51 items listed, all Death Piles.
Actually, most of my listings for the year have been DPs. I’ve not been shopping for new stuff bc my DPs were so big. I’m making a considerable dent, but it looks like I won’t clear them this year, unfortunately! If I can keep up this pace, I’ll probably be ready to hit the Yard Sales in the summer!
-
10/22/2018 at 9:38 am #50509
Congrats Amatino on the win with 51 listings! I didn’t have a prayer this week. LOL
-
-
10/21/2018 at 11:01 am #50456
P.S. I might have managed a couple more listings if I didn’t have so much help!
-
10/21/2018 at 11:41 am #50459
I listed 12, three of which are from death piles.
The death pile listings are clothing that a friend of my parents gave me to sell (maybe a 100 pieces of clothing!). I had washed them and placed a large number of them in a big box, and then went to the Swap.com website in order to send them in. However, Swap stopped accepting new shipments because they have too much inventory. I kept clicking on the site over the spring and summer months, but looks like they’ve stopped accepting shipments for a long time.
I didn’t want to list every item individually. I did list a few that seemed more sellable. I tried bringing in bags of fall/winter clothing to Plato’s Closet, a thrift store near a friend I was visiting. They took three things and said that they might take other stuff after they sold off more inventory. Well, I wasn’t about to come by the store every month to see if they would take more, so I decided to list.
I broke down the clothing into about 9-10 bundles of 9 or more pieces of clothing. I gathered them by size and further broken down into colors or styles. I’ve listed the first three bundles, and the remainder will be completed this week. I’ve priced them based on a $5-10/piece price, and then added Make Offer. I want these bags of clothing GONE!
Here’s an example:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/183495720188 -
10/21/2018 at 5:31 pm #50465
Nice, Sharyn! I was actually thinking of doing something very similar with my donated clothes, but was going to put the words “capsule wardrobe” in the title. You’ve grouped the colors really well!
P.S. Your kitty is so cute! I just want to give it cuddles!
-
10/21/2018 at 6:25 pm #50469
Thanks! I forgot to congratulate you on 51 listings! That’s amazing. If you could maintain that for a few weeks or months, think of the size of store you would have!
-
10/21/2018 at 8:39 pm #50478
LOL. Thanks! The size of the store would be great, but the biggest celebration would be the Hubs doing a Snoopy Happy Dance at getting his garage back! 😀
-
10/21/2018 at 9:13 pm #50480
Sharyn- great idea,
-
10/22/2018 at 7:46 am #50499
23 death pile items listed! I finally did it! I wanted to start participating in this challenge several weeks ago but then a tree fell on my house during Florence. No one injured fortunately but my ebay storage room is pretty much destroyed.
I’m slowly but surely working my way through 26 Rubbermaid totes of my husband’s grandparents’ estate. I have them stashed all over the house now which is stressful but temporary. My goal for this week is 10 items a day, but I’m guessing my 2yo and 4yo might have other ideas. We’ll see how it goes. Good luck to everyone.
-
10/22/2018 at 9:35 am #50508
Ugh. My work schedule has changed and life is pretty hectic this Fall. I really haven’t had much time at all for Ebay unfortunately. I guess the good news is watching old items sell off and space clear out. Haven’t had time for sourcing either. I listed two of our costumes on Mercari this week.
My office moved and we remodeled, so I have acquired quite a bit of odd shaped boxes and bubble wrap. My husband finally complained about it and the stock in the garage because he loathes getting up into the attic to get the holiday stuff. So, there’s some extra incentive to not shop. Ironically there is actually 30% less inventory on hand but I do need to consolidate some boxes. I probably can give away some of this packing material. Too bad no elves are close.
I also missed an awesome Halloween / Fall special sale at my favorite indy thrift because I had to take my reluctant (major understatement) daughter to get a flu shot instead. Have a great week ladies.
-
10/22/2018 at 9:51 am #50514
Yesterday was the last day of my vintage show and it was a really good show all in all. Great weather, great sales, happy customers. Today is the dreaded tear-down and we are already tired. Bringing in 2 26 ft trucks to load this morning, after my crew spent 5 hours yesterday evening sorting and packing and it still isn’t done. Wish I had a magic twinkle nose to whisk it all away!
No listings for me, but plan to get back to it by Thursday.
My bf used his drone to create a magical video of the show, inside and out. When I get a chance I will post a link.
Have a great week everyone, and congrats Amatino on your listing feat!
-
10/22/2018 at 10:16 am #50525
Hi Ladies:
Do drafts count? I listed 15 drafts because I am at 350 (.25 per listing x 100 hurts). I plan on purchasing the next level of store next month. Sales are decent so I’m going to bite the bullet and expand / increase.
Molly -
10/22/2018 at 10:24 am #50526
We haven’t been counting drafts at this point. However, I thought that eBay will often include a partial month for free if you commit for a year.
Confirm that before you sign up. I’m just going by vague memories from when I signed up for a store.
Of course, Amatino is the big boss here, and she has the final say on the drafts.
-
10/22/2018 at 11:48 am #50537
Sharyn:
Ahhhh, that would be nice. I will call ebay and see if they “give” in the middle of the month on upgrading store subscription. Yes, I plan on using a yearly subscription.
Thanks! -
10/22/2018 at 12:46 pm #50546
Sharyn – LOL. The big boss, eh? 😀 😀 😀 😀
itemsfromthesouth – No, drafts don’t count, unfortunately. Drafts don’t always make it into listing, and it just makes things that much murkier to keep track of. Items are listed to count. Sorry! But… you don’t have to wait for any “start date” to upgrade your store. I upgraded mid-month for mine and eBay just made a pro-rata adjustment.
bingbong – great to have you with us! Welcome!
-
10/22/2018 at 1:10 pm #50550
bingbong – meant to say … sorry to hear about your tree! So glad nobody was injured and I hope the damage isn’t too bad. We had a heck of a time dealing with the aftermath of Harvey last year. Insurance shortfall was in the region of $40,000 and it was both stressful and time consuming to get everything done and fixed within the timeframe mandated by TWIA. Hope your insurance is going to cover you!
ChristineR – you know you’ve won already, right? The best I can hope for now is a draw. If I miss just one week, you’re outright winner. I’m aiming to whup you on numbers instead! 😀
VintageLacy – can’t wait to see the drone report!
-
10/22/2018 at 1:25 pm #50551
Hello All and Welcome bingbong! It’s great to have more people participating!
I had 33 new listings for the week. I’m keeping up with my “more new listings every week in October” personal challenge so far. Things are finally back to normal after moving house for me. And eBay is heading towards more normal for me too. I’ve had sales every day for the last eleven days. But no great shakes, tiny $ amounts, and absolutely nothing like it was for me in July before the house change. But I’m still plugging along, hoping for better.
Amatino you knocked it right out of the park – CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Vintage Lacy, I’m really looking forward to seeing the drone footage, how cool!
What great cat photos, she’s a gorgeous kitty! Cats always love a warm spot so I’m not surprised she’s in the light box…
Wishing you all great sales this week!
-
10/22/2018 at 5:30 pm #50571
Good week, folks, good week! Thanks for all the congrats. Wish my sales matched my listing. I’ve had the slowest week in months!
itemsfromthesouth – I uploaded your six into last week’s numbers.
bingbong and itemsfromthesouth – you’ll stay in the big group for a couple weeks until we find your listing trends, then I’ll start splitting ya’ll up into Twins and Triplets.
-
10/22/2018 at 6:17 pm #50574
Amatino – I had a very slow week as well. I had NO SALES on eBay for three straight days; Wed, Thurs, and Fri. That just doesn’t happen that often with a 1100 item store. Then, I only sold three things over the weekend.
I did have my first two Mercari sales, but that didn’t make my week that much better! (Did cheer me up, though).
-
-
10/22/2018 at 10:57 pm #50580
Trucks are loaded and the Grange is clean and empty! Wooooohooo! Now all we have to do is unload the trucks into storage in the am and WE. ARE. DONE. There’s a hot bath calling my name…..
What’s the best way to post a link to a youtube video on here?
-
10/23/2018 at 8:32 am #50583
I think that you just post the link, and then it will open YouTube to show the video. I don’t think there is any way to embed a video like Jay & Ryanne.
Looking forward to seeing the drone vid!
-
-
10/23/2018 at 10:32 am #50604
Here’s the link to the video…let me know if it works! He shot it about an hour before we opened for our preview night a week ago Monday.
Brookhaven Vintage Marketplace Fall Show 2018
-
10/29/2018 at 8:36 pm #50925
Hi Vintage Lacy,
Thanks for sharing your video, it sure looks impressive! How many different vendors were there? Hope you are happy with your results! 🙂
-
-
10/23/2018 at 10:38 am #50605
Awesome! Played perfectly for me! How wonderful! Wish I could come to one of your events.
Sharyn – I usually sell 2-3 items per day. I’ve sold only one item since last week, despite heavy listing. I need the cash this year, so it bites!
-
This reply was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by
Amatino.
-
This reply was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by
-
10/23/2018 at 10:53 am #50610
P.S. Your bf has mad skillz flying a drone around in a space with so many wires, lights, and breakables! Respect!
-
10/23/2018 at 9:28 pm #50635
I was going to say the same thing – I’d be nervous that the drone would hit something fragile.
How many vendors were in there? I assume that your stuff is vintage, not the newer craft things.
I caught a few sayings while flying around:
When I’m queen, cupcakes will be free
I was born free, now I’m expensive
Drunk on Junk -
10/23/2018 at 10:56 pm #50639
Thanks! I agree…he did a wonderful job. I tried not to think about all the breakables while he was flying the drone around…and trying to stay out of camera range. We have around 40 vendors each show. Two thirds are vintage dealers and the rest crafters and local food. I bring a lot of vintage myself but I also bring new retail that has a vintage vibe, and some hand-crafted items too. Several thousand people attend the show and I personally sold over a thousand items in the six days Brookhaven was open.
It’s a lot of work but very rewarding too. It’s been a part of the community for many years and lots of customers tell me that they enjoy having the show be the start of the holiday season for them.
There’s always something that goes wrong each show too and I have learned to crisis manage…something small or something larger, like a power outage from a storm. This show…this morning… the workers I had hired to help unload the two huge trucks into storage didn’t show up. I had to really scramble and do it shorthanded, which meant a 2 hour organized process became 5.5 hours. Argh.
But it’s done and over with and now I can concentrate on my online businesses.
-
10/29/2018 at 11:44 am #50876
As a lover of vintage and retro items I enjoyed the marketplace video. Thanks for sharing. Last time I went to an event like that I was looking to pick, but next time I will know to just look and learn vs. looking to buy at those prices. It’s fun to see items in complete sets or staged and grouped skillfully.
Amatino, thank you for keeping track of the numbers all year. I don’t really feel like a winner since I still have quite a bit of piles to get through. I’m focusing on listing Christmas this week. I only have one and a half boxes since I liquidated last year except my new items. I listed 6 items this week, two from death piles.
-
10/29/2018 at 4:30 pm #50913
Hello All!
I listed 46 items – so I met my personal challenge of listing more items each week in October. Sadly my sales have not reflected the effort, it’s been very rollercoaster with multiple days of zero sales. I’m glad that my October personal challenge is over since I find it difficult to keep listing with such poor sales. I’m actually experiencing monthly sales totals that are about the same as my weekly sales totals were back in July. Sigh.
Also for those of you who sell on etsy: how are your sales there? Mine are absymal. I’ve pretty much given up on selling on etsy.
I have been listing a lot of Christmas stuff on eBay, hopefully it’s just too early for that stuff to sell and things will pick up. Fingers crossed!Hoping you all are having better results for your efforts and great sales!
-
10/29/2018 at 5:43 pm #50917
Greetings fellow elves,
Working on the bookkeeping for the show and winding down peripheral stuff but I did manage to list 3 items. This week it’s all about 2 things…listing and shipping to Amazon FBA.
Congrats on the listing Vintage Treasures. I am sorry you aren’t doing well on Etsy. I’ve actually had great luck on there with my 2 shops. Both are up over 100% from last year. It helped that I really got a great deal more listed on there this year versus last. I don’t ever expect them to reach the volume I have on Ebay but they are nice little specialized niches, where I can get more money for certain items than I could on Ebay. I do quite well with books, for example and they are quite easy to list and go for decent money.
Thanks ChristineR. We always get a few dealers on our opening night because there are some good picking prices on certain things. I have one vendor who only shops at the bins and her prices are ridiculously cheap because she doesn’t want to take any of it home. Her things usually fly out the first day. Like you, I do like to go to other shows…it’s fun and you can learn a lot about going prices and trends. I always like to watch what people are carrying out the door to see the hottest items.
Hope everyone has a great week!
-
10/29/2018 at 5:57 pm #50918
I did pretty good this week. I listed 23 items and 14 were from death piles.
The death pile items were all the clothes I talked about last week. Most are being sold in bundles. So, if I had 10 items bundled in a listing, I only counted that as 1 death pile item.
My sales had been pretty bad, but the past week and so far this week, things are looking up.
My goal for listing this week is for items that need to be tested or repaired. Obviously, this means about 80% death pile because these are the items I put aside “for later”. It also means that I’ll probably not list many items, but I’ll be very happy to get them off my plate.
-
10/30/2018 at 10:39 am #50946
ChristineR – aaaaand… we have a winner for our Twin. Only listed 2 this week as I was very busy working on my husband’s business. So you’ve officially won the challenge in terms of points. There’s 143 items between us, so I might be able to take you on numbers, if I can get my listing up to last week.
Vintage Treasures – I’ve never had such a slow sales week in all my time selling as this last period. Even when I was down sick for an entire month, I sold more per week than I have in the last fortnight. Distressing, when I really need the income ATM.
Just waiting for bingbong and itemsfromthesouth and I’ll upload the spreadsheet. I’ve got a bunch of stuff to do out today, so it will probably only be very late today or tomorrow morning.
-
10/30/2018 at 12:02 pm #50960
Sorry for the delay ladies. I thought I posted last night but I must not have hit the submit button…argh.
Anyway, I’m at 6 this week. Next week I will do quadrupedal time!
Molly -
10/31/2018 at 11:06 am #51005
bingbong – if you give me your numbers, I’ll include them in next week’s spreadsheet.
-
11/01/2018 at 3:22 pm #51080
Just a note – as of today, November 1st, I’m laying down my King and admitting defeat.
ChristineR, you’ve been terrific. You’ve won for the year and I heartily congratulate you! Please email me your address at snratoni@yahoo.com and I’ll send you your token prize.
I’ll still participate and monitor the spreadsheet, with all the weekly updates, but I can’t prioritize eBay numbers any more this year. I have only 48 days left until I’m scheduled to leave for my Christmas trip overseas and have been stressing myself out over how to get everything done that needs doing. It dawned on me during meditation this morning that I’m creating my own stress. I decided to work on what needs to be done, rather than what I want to achieve. It would be great to have both, obviously, but perhaps I shall set higher goals and be better at planning in the New Year. Expect my listing numbers to be single digits for each week for the rest of the year, with no listings from the week starting Monday, December 17.
It’s been fun, folks. I have sincerely enjoyed this Challenge!
-
11/01/2018 at 3:56 pm #51083
Amatino – The challenge is for inspiration, not stress! Please, take care of yourself!!
I agree with everything you said, but one “perhaps I shall set higher goals and be better at planning in the New Year.”. The point is to set do-able goals, maybe low or just reasonable. When you meet those goals, you feel like you’ve accomplished something.
I set my goal this week to clean up and test some of the typewriters I have. I was able to do about half, I just took photos of those and some other items, and I hope to list most of them by the end of the week. I may not get there because I’ve got other things going on, but I met my goal. I feel really good about it because at least two of those typewriters are from last year’s deathpile.
Aggressive goals are for when you are trying to build up a big business, like T-Satt. Or when you work for a company, and they are trying to get every bit of energy out of you (or maybe you want to climb up the ladder). You are in a different situation where you have other obligations. You own your own time.
Who am I to tell you what to do, but I would try baby steps that build into bigger and bigger accomplishments over time.
Just my 2 cents and something about coffee …
-
11/02/2018 at 9:04 am #51112
Thanks Sharyn.
Meet you at Starbucks in an hour! 😀
-
11/04/2018 at 7:36 am #51159
@Amatino Thank you for all of your hard work keeping the numbers and threads up. I have to say I’m proud of myself for curbing the shopping habit this year. I’m also excited to see some room opening up, slowly but surely.
I’m definitely a bit disappointed in my number of listed items, but it just makes me realize that I don’t have a lot of time in my life for this, so I need to be very, very careful picking going forward. I still have a significant backlog to work through, plus some items from my parent’s house. So, I’ll keep on truckin’. I should take new death pile pictures after I finish consolidating. It will definitely be an improvement over last year when things were kind of spilling out of boxes.
Perhaps we can just have a death pile support group thread for next year and throw a little party on here for people who clear the piles and graduate. No need as far as I’m concerned to keep tracking if you don’t have time. Good luck packing for your trip.
-
11/05/2018 at 9:02 am #51188
Thank you Amatino for all the work you’ve put in for thinking up, organizing, promoting, keeping track of and compiling the numbers for this challenge! Your effort has helped me to push myself to list and I appreciate that immensely! That being said I’m sour on eBay at the moment and have decided to take a serious break from it. Hopefully I’ll get back to it since I still have a lot of stuff to sell… But it’s always just been a hobby for me and I’ve cycled back to sewing again which I’m finding a lot more creative and fun at the moment:)
ChristineR: great idea! I am all for just having a death pile support group thread for next year where Amatino would not have to do any extra work keeping the numbers for us.
So since I started my complete break from eBay on October 30th I only have 4 new listings to report this week. I anticipate lots of zeros for the rest of the year, but that’s okay. Life’s too short to spend time doing things that aren’t enjoyable!
-
11/05/2018 at 9:35 am #51195
Hi Ladies:
I went to the next level of store (1,000) so I listed all my drafts and continued to list. I got 32 in this last week. I am up to 340 items and would like to be at 500 before the end of the years. I don’t know if that is possible with a full time job and other responsibilities but I will give it a try.
Molly -
11/05/2018 at 9:42 am #51196
You’re welcome, guys! It’s been fun and the motivation has made a HUGE impact on my death piles. About 90% of my listings this year were DP items – bc I constantly had this group in mind I didn’t arbitrarily shop for stuff!
LOL. It’s really funny – I was thinking for next year I’d make it a pure listing challenge, with “Just list, dammit!” being the slogan. I figured, if you list, doesn’t matter what, you’re either listing new stuff, so it doesn’t add to death piles, or it clears death piles, so you win either way!
It wasn’t a major hassle doing the numbers, it became a routine. Only problem was juggling the “new” twins coming and going, which is why I ended up implementing the points program, so that the final is weighted to be fair.
But while I’ve acknowledged ChristineR as the winner in our Twin, that doesn’t take anyone off the hook for the rest of the year! Send in your numbers! I have a couple prizes to hand out at the end of the year and you’re soooooo close! If you like, we can close the Challenge with the last set of numbers on Monday, December 10. Or we can go all the way to the end of the year. I really don’t mind. We are going to keep on listing though! Even me. I may have lost, but I’m not quitting! 😀
This last week, after taking the pressure off myself, I sorted out a ton of stuff and ended up cleaning, researching, and creating drafts for 14 items. Didn’t make it out of drafts, unfortunately, so my listing for this week is zero, but I’m going to have good numbers next week! LOL
-
11/05/2018 at 11:50 am #51214
@VintageTreasures hope you get your Ebay mojo back!
-
11/05/2018 at 2:38 pm #51229
I listed 22 items this week. Four were deathpiles.
Two of the deathpile items were typewriters I bought last year and was too lazy to clean and list. I actually took about three days to clean and list those plus two others I bought recently and to test two electrical typewriters. (Note: I had other non-eBay things going on as well).
One of the manual typewriters has completely stuck keys, and my husband wants a chance to repair it himself (rather than me sell it for parts or repair). That one didn’t get listed (and will probably sit around for a long time). Also, one of the electrical ones didn’t work, so I listed the case, the instruction book, and the spool cover in separate listings.
The last two deathpile items were parts of an older printer. I wanted to test the printer, so I bought cheap ink, but the printer wouldn’t recognize it. The vendor sent me a new one, but the printer has been sitting around in the den, and I just never got to testing it. I listed the power cord and the instruction book, and I’m throwing away the rest of it (or, at least, bringing it to the recycling center).
Just making some lemonade.
And trying to be realistic about my time constraints.
-
This reply was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by
Sharyn.
-
This reply was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by
-
11/06/2018 at 1:23 am #51264
I listed 19 items last week and I am actually pretty happy about it since I was out of town for a wedding for part of the week.
I have really enjoyed this challenge and it certainly has inspired me to list more than I would otherwise. I hope you do the “Just List” challenge next year Amatino and keep the momentum going. Count me in!
I also have truly enjoyed hearing from all of you each week and what is going on in your life. Big thanks to you Amatino for keeping track and inspiring the rest of us. End the challenge whenever best works for you and your upcoming travels.
Sharyn, I didn’t think to even piece out typewriter parts, so thanks for the idea. I’ve seen where people sell the typewriter keys for art projects and jewelry but I hadn’t thought about the rest of it.
Vintage Treasures, I am so sorry to hear about your Ebay woes. Maybe step away for the holiday season and start out fresh next year?
I had lofty goals this year of listing 50 items a week and working up to 75 a week. I fell far short but I am trying not to beat myself up over it. Life does get in the way and I do know that I have been listing far more this year than ever before and also know that I can do even better next year. Every one of us in the challenge has a lot going on in their lives and I am proud of all of us for our hard work this year.
-
11/06/2018 at 11:45 am #51291
It looks like bingbong has dropped out. Next week I’ll split the Quads into Twins.
Vintage Treasures – after I took the pressure off myself, getting sales in was an exciting update, rather than a stressful concern. I really could use the extra cash, but everyone’s complaining of bad sales, even brick & mortar stores, so I’m not going to take it to heart. IMHO, eBay has been doing too much tweaking and buyers don’t like it. But… I have just over 500 items listed, and probably another 500 in death piles, so I’ll just plod along. I’ll plod with you – while we’re sewing! I’ve created one Twin quilt, one King quilt, one Full quilt, a tablerunner with matching placemats, and a bellydance costume – all in the past six weeks. eBay until 8PM, sewing until I fall asleep or sew over my finger. 😉
-
11/12/2018 at 10:29 am #51513
Oooh ooooh oooh – listed…. ONE! 😀
-
11/12/2018 at 11:35 am #51522
I only got 3 listed. Chaotic week.
-
11/12/2018 at 12:25 pm #51532
This is almost embarrassing, but I got 46 items listed! One from last year’s death piles.
Part of the reason I got so much listed is that all the cleaning, testing, and prepping happened the previous week or weekend. The other reason is that many of my items were similar enough that I was able to copy a listing and only have to make a few changes.
For instance, I had three incomplete dish sets. I start with a listing I already have up, upload the new photos, and change the title to the manufacturer, pattern, item (lets say 3 Dinner Plates), etc. After I post it, I “sell similar”, change three dinner plates to four salad bowls (or whatever), and I just need to update part of the title, weigh, change the price, etc. The research I do for the first one is still up, so I can determine the new price quickly. Easy Peasy!
I realized on Saturday that I had listed like gang busters, but they were all recent purchases. I noticed a Sega Genesis game system on the bottom shelf of our coffee table waiting to be tested. I quick got it out, tested (boy, have video games changed), photographed right into the listing, and then listed so that I could report at least one death pile!
Right now, I have a pile of maybe 15 items to photograph. After that, however, it’s test or fix or wash, so I won’t be as efficient this week, and my numbers won’t be so high for my next report.
-
11/12/2018 at 7:11 pm #51588
Hello Fellow Challengers!
I have zero new listings to report but my mood is much improved; thank goodness!
Amatino, I concur with you 100% on your statement: “after I took the pressure off myself, getting sales in was an exciting update, rather than a stressful concern” – this was completely true for me this week. I had $30 more in sales this week than I had for the week of October 21st, which was the week I listed 46 things. So this week it was a pleasant surprise to get sales. I expected zero sales because I put zero work in. I don’t have a large store (less than 200 items) so I don’t expect it to keep paying off without constant effort on my part. I did get the urge to list towards the end of the week but we had a long weekend trip out of town and I ran out of time for listing before we left. I’ll see if I get the urge again this week but I do have a pretty busy week ahead so it may be zero again for me for this week.
Amatino, I’ll stick to the listing challenge, I’d have no chance against you on the sewing front, you must be a super accomplished and fast sewist! I’m a pretty pokey seamstress, but I love the creativity of it.
Lastly, thank you for all the kind words Amatino, VintageLacy and ChristineR: you really boosted my spririts!
Wishing you all a wonderful week!
-
11/13/2018 at 3:47 am #51613
Sharyn you are a rock star! Congrats on all the listings! I did 11 listings this week and probably will only be a handful each week until the end of the year. Too crazy, just like everyone here.
I have a Christmas booth show this weekend, and am burning the candle at both ends trying to get several thousand items into Amazon FBA for cyber Monday. UPS loves me these days!
Hope everyone has a great week!
-
11/13/2018 at 11:27 am #51632
ChristineR – you beat me. Again. 😉
Sharyn – don’t be embarrassed – it’s terrific! That’s pretty much how I got my big listing number couple weeks back. Congratulations. Keep going! We’re into the home stretch!
VT – easy pattern + deadline. I don’t usually do so much! Glad you’re feeling better about the business. I’m working on a deadline to get everything done before I go overseas, so I’m not putting myself under any more pressure on either side – listing or selling. If I list, great. If I sell, whoopee! If not, well… I’ve got other things done that really need to be so I still consider it a win.
VL – you’re an Energizer Bunny on Crystal Meth, you know that?
Giving itemsfromthesouth today to post her numbers before I put up the spreadsheet.
-
11/13/2018 at 12:25 pm #51636
I worked my tail off this week and sited 50 items. I went up to the next store level and now have 439 listings. I’m working on that magical 500+ number!
Itemsfromthesouth
Molly -
11/14/2018 at 9:18 am #51664
Holey Toledo Molly! Well done!
Split the Quads into Twins, reworked the points. Tried to match y’all up as well as I could. Your numbers have been all over the place lately! LOL. Next year, for the Listing Challenge, I’m going to work out how to create a weighted average, so that it’s an even playing field and I don’t have to rework points. I’ll be posting a notification of the new Listing Challenge soon on the main thread.
While ChristineR has roundly beaten me on numbers AND points, itemsfromthesouth and Vintage Treasures could swing either way. VT has said she doesn’t anticipate listing much, so IFTS could catch up those 2 points and hurtle into the lead… or …. VT could get a new wind and the two could race neck and neck down the finishing straight.
We’re down to only 7 weeks left, and Sharyn, you’re in the lead on numbers, but there’s one teeny point between you and Vintage Lacy. Ooooh… I love me a nailbiting finish! 😀
-
11/14/2018 at 9:54 am #51668
Amatino – I’m lagging on points because of my war on death pile items earlier in the year, which included throwing out or donating a bunch of stuff right off the bat. This left me with not so much stuff left for the rest of the year. What I do have left requires repair and/or testing, so I can’t do more than one or two items per week.
So, I can chug on the stuff that’s recently purchased and ready to go, but last year’s stuff gets done just little by little.
I am getting better on not holding on to stuff that is low value or too difficult to test or repair. I sort through right away and get that stuff out ASAP! I think that this challenge has helped me with that.
I recently purchased some sockets and cords to rewire three vintage bar signs that have been sitting in my basement for over a year, maybe close to two!! If I can get my ass in gear, that will help me get some extra points. Otherwise, Vintage Lacy may pull out!
The race is on!
-
11/19/2018 at 10:04 am #51926
Listed 22 items but some multiples. Happy Thanksgiving ladies.
I started cleaning up my garage. There are quite a few boxes that are almost empty. It will feel really good to consolidate and I’m happy to see the piles going down, even though there is much more to go. In January if we have a new post. I’ll take pictures and compare to last year. Definitely a big improvement in 2018! I’ll have to settle for that.
I’m also hoping to try vintage on Mercari and see if I can move things out faster.
-
11/19/2018 at 11:17 am #51940
Another gang-buster listing week! I managed to list 42 items. No death piles.
Similar to last week, I was able to copy and list quickly because of breaking down sets. This week was antique flatware where 4 or 5 like items would go into one listing; like knives, forks, serving utensils, etc. This morning, someone bought four listings that totaled up to a little over $100! I had accumulated all my silver plate from the past few months and polished them up earlier in the week.
I initially use Tarn-X and then will get out the regular polish if I don’t like the way something looks. Tarn-X is not good to use when something just needs a little shine up, but most of what I buy is very tarnished. I think people pass those up thinking that they will be polishing for days, but you put stuff in a bowl, pour Tarn-X over, pull the stuff out and wash real quickly, and then reuse what is in the bowl until everything is shiny.
-
11/19/2018 at 12:18 pm #51950
Listed zero for this week, but I have a good excuse. Well… two of them, actually.
#1 My husband’s business took up a huge chunk of time. I had to clear out the garage to make room for his new stock. 102 machines, plus boxes and boxes of parts, spares, manuals, etc.
#2 My belly dance troupe was entered into the Holiday Lighted Parade and there was a lot of work putting our costumes together. We were a hit!
-
11/19/2018 at 1:25 pm #51961
Holy cow, Amatino!
Does your husband also sell online, or does he have a brick & mortar store? How did he buy so many sewing machines?
For the belly dancing costumes, did you just add lights onto what you already had? I’m assuming you didn’t have to create new ones. And … which dancer were you?
-
11/19/2018 at 1:49 pm #51963
LOL. No, my husband doesn’t sell at all, he is a sewing machine technician. A shop in AZ went out of business and we bought it out – everything except the building. The machines are not new, they’re all service machines. Some of them he will rebuild and sell as refurbs, others are only for parts. The parts and spares will be sorted into those items he needs to keep for repairs, and those that were stocked as sales items in the shop we bought out – things like feet, accessories, and needles. The refurbs and sales items will go into my eBay store to get rid of them. He has no interest in dealing with the public. I do all the marketing, admin, customer contact, bookkeeping, etc. He just does the repairs. When your husband retires you get twice the husband and half the money. Now he’s too busy with this stuff to bother me, and we have extra money. *wink* It’s a truckload of extra work for me, though – I obviously didn’t think this one through far enough! LOL
About half of the ladies just added lights. I’ve spent the last 10 days consulting individually with each one about how to put it together and coordinating the final results. Some of the ladies purchased new clothing especially for the event and then added lights, some purchased lighted items. I am the one with the lit up skirt after the big “wings” about 8 seconds in. I had a lit up top and skirt, but passed on my top to one of the others (further back in the troupe) who did not have enough lights. For my outfit, I actually sewed a new tulle skirt made out of two full circles, then sewed about 120 feet of LED lights into it. I created special pouches to hold the battery packs, then created a belt light system for the hip belt. Over that I sewed a chiffon full circle skirt, so that the “hardware” was hidden and only the lights shone through. I also made a lighted headpiece. I bought lit up fingerless gloves.
One of the ladies heard from a friend that we won first place, but I’ve not had official notification yet, so I’m waiting to find out if it’s true.
-
11/19/2018 at 7:25 pm #52001
Hi Twins!
We’re all really twins now, that’s great! Itemsfromthesouth: you may beat me even though you entered so late in the game – I am at zero new listings again this week. But I’m okay with it, I had a busy week and I just didn’t find the time to list. I sold some stuff anyway and I’m good with that.
Amatino, the video is fabulous, thanks! You deserve first place for sure, those lighted costumes are wonderful and make lighted floats look old school and dull in comparison.
It’s so cool to see all those sewing machines! Our stories have some parallels perhaps: My husband started out as a vacuum cleaner repairman at age 18. When I got $3,000 from my Mom to start college we instead spent it on opening a store selling and repairing small home appliances. My husband made that store into a much bigger business by selling appliances on the internet (he started that before most people knew what the internet was) and we sold the business 27 years later and retired in our late 40s.
But he didn’t sell sewing machines – much to my dismay! It’s interesting that in some parts of the USA sewing machines are sold in stores along with other appliances (usually vacuum cleaners), but other parts of the US have stores that JUST sell sewing machines. Where we lived sewing machines had their own separate stores. Okay probably boring to non-sewers, sorry!
Wishing everyone a great week – Happy Thanksgiving!
-
11/19/2018 at 11:38 pm #52016
Gosh, where to begin! Sharyn, you are doing amazing with your listings…I am very impressed. Congrats on getting so much done again, and thanks for the heads up on polishing silver. It always ends up low on the list for me for just that reason. I listed 12 items last week, but for me that’s good. Last year I don’t think I listed 12 items in the last quarter of the year so I certainly am doing much better this year, in part because of this challenge, and for that I am grateful.
Amatino, so much fun to see the video! Thanks for sharing! I loved all the costumes, especially the big wings…so spectacular. And with all those sewing machines to deal with, no wonder you were super busy.
I had a really fun time at the Plucky Maiden Holiday Fest and sold a lot of vintage Christmas. Still plugging away at shipping to Amazon warehouses. The clock is ticking on getting my merchandise in before the mad rush truly begins so I have been staying up REALLY late, and getting caught up on Scavenger Life podcasts as I work away.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
-
11/20/2018 at 11:18 am #52049
-
11/20/2018 at 1:49 pm #52067
Yes, I realize that Tarn-X is caustic. I open up a few windows and make sure air is moving. I hope that helps a bit. I do realize that it isn’t good to use numerous times on silver plate, and I only use it on stuff that is very tarnished and needs extreme help.
The baking soda and aluminum foil is also very easy and effective, but I was finding it difficult to use on large items. So, it’s very good for flatware, but not so much on large bowls and trays simply because the whole item has to be underwater. Perhaps I should have used it on the flatware I had to minimize the amount of Tarn-X I used. I’ll try to remember that for next time!
-
11/21/2018 at 9:19 am #52097
Still waiting for Molly. I’ll give her a couple more hours…
-
11/22/2018 at 2:33 pm #52182
-
11/26/2018 at 10:41 am #52266
Hello All!
6 new listings for me. I’m still sewing and I’m also working on a jigsaw puzzle so I’ve been putting more effort into having fun instead of listing. The plus is that while I’m unmotivated to list I’m also unmotivated to buy inventory, thank goodness!
Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
-
11/26/2018 at 11:05 am #52273
I listed 23 this week. No death pile items.
These were items I already had photographed the previous week. I have maybe 5 items left to list from those photos. I don’t think that I will be doing much more this week except for repairing some death pile items plus some non-eBay stuff. My next week report will definitely be lower.
-
11/26/2018 at 11:10 am #52274
Hi Ladies:
I am going to try this again.
The week before, I listed 22. I posted my listing number 5 times but my posts were not getting uploaded. I talk to Jay and Ryanne but they did not know why either. So, needless to say, my numbers did not show up from then. Last week I listed 32 items. I’m almost to my 500 listings!
Cheers,
Molly
AKA Itemsfromthesouth -
11/26/2018 at 11:38 am #52282
I listed 8 items this week. Not spectacular, but certainly better than the zero I was doing last year at this time. It’s cyber Monday and my Amazon sales are about to go through the roof, so we’ll see if I have time this week to do more listing. I have 43 sales to pack up and ship out today and that number is going to at least double each day this week historically.
Hope everyone has a great week!
-
11/26/2018 at 1:12 pm #52289
Hi I listed 24 items this week. I might catch a break from work this week and was surprised that I have a couple of bins of puppets and Christmas so want to get on that asap.
I spent about half a day consolidating my inventory and boxing up some loose items in my garage. Still plenty of piles, but I did clear some space. Our guest room closet is half cleared out and half with listed inventory. The dwindling new inventory area in the garage takes a lot less space and I can move listed items onto some of those shelves. A pretty good dent all in all. My store is down by about 50 items since I haven’t had a good listing Fall due to outside issues and busyness. Also organized my boxes and need to break some down and move out. Not really the right time to be doing this vs. listing but it feels good to me right now. I hate clutter.
Have a great week!
-
This reply was modified 2 years, 9 months ago by
ChristineR.
-
This reply was modified 2 years, 9 months ago by
-
11/26/2018 at 1:41 pm #52293
Hey Molly, no stress. I updated your numbers for last week and, with those and this week, you’re now level pegging your twin for points. You’re quite the listing demon, aren’t you! 😀 You go, girl!
I managed 5 listings this week. Tried out a borrowed DSLR camera to see if it improved my photos, but not only did it not handle the lighting better, it took me longer to edit bc it didn’t have a 1:1 ration option. Gave it back and reverted to my Coolpix. I have about 3 listings ready to go, but they need shipping information, and one has a blurry main photo, so I have to redo it.
Three weeks until I depart for the UK. Three WEEKS! Yikes!
I will try to update the post for those weeks, but am not sure of my access capabilities. I’ll definitely log in and follow y’all, but I might not be able to put up the schedule.
Oooh, this is such an exciting race! I see numbers in the 700s, 800s, and 900s, with only 125 listings between the top 2. While ChristineR is the hands-down winner for our Twin set, the other twins are in a nail-biting finish! Such fun!
-
11/27/2018 at 11:38 am #52348
How very odd! When I posted yesterday, neither ChristineR’s post nor Vintage Lacy’s were showing. Yet today they’re posted above mine!
Congratulations folks. Into the home stretch!
-
11/27/2018 at 12:01 pm #52351
Thanks Amatino for posting my numbers from last week.
I posted my numbers 5 times but none of my posts showed up and I did not know how to reach anyone to tell you ladies I was trying but it was not working. Ryanne and Jay said they have heard this from a couple of people but they don’t know why this is happening.
Have fun in the UK! You will have to tell us about it when you get back. Are you going to put your store one vacation or extend your handling time?
Molly -
11/30/2018 at 5:39 pm #52510
Hi All!
Posting super early because I’m leaving town until Tuesday night, and I know I’ll forget to post on Monday.
13 new listings for me. I suddenly realized that the listings that I’m paying for with my store subscription would go unused unless I stepped it up a bit… I did have a few pretty good days of sales, with sales for 9 straight days. Is it looking up for everyone else? Did 4th quarter finally kick in with only 1 month left to go?Wishing everyone a great week!
-
12/03/2018 at 9:38 am #52567
Hi Ladies:
I reached 500 listings yesterday! Although sales have been slow, I am listing, listing, listings!
I was able to list 32 items last week. I’m going to slow down now that I reached my first goal and we are in the Christmas season so I need to get other things done.
I hope everyone has a great week!
Molly
AKA: Itemsfromthesouth -
12/03/2018 at 9:56 am #52572
I listed 8 items this week. This was expected given the crazy listing sprees I have had the past several weeks.
VintageTreasures – yes, I’m definitely seeing an uptick after a very slow October, but sales aren’t as high as last year. Enjoy your trip!
-
12/03/2018 at 11:27 am #52583
It was an ok week for me. I have noticed some nice sales in the first two weeks of January, but I had more new items available in the past. Then it gets very quiet after that. I was messed over two years in the past by having Fed Ex on my items, only to have someone order at the last minute. Ebay lets the buyer pick Fed Ex but then won’t let the seller print a label. Then you have to either cancel or go to the store and pay outrageous fees and I sucked it up and paid the retail rate. So, I’m thinking of turning my store off during the few days before Christmas once the cutoffs happen.
I listed 19 including a high dollar group of items I’d love to move out of my garage. Pain to pack. I have two more boxes of Christmas stuff and puppets to list. Really hoping to get to that this week! Pricing to move the xmas and will try some on Mercari. Some of it is pretty low dollar unfortunately.
-
12/03/2018 at 12:34 pm #52587
I twinned Sharyn this week and also listed 8. I decided that a minimum of 2 per business day is my goal for the foreseeable future and hit my target. If you tell me I’m 2 short *wink* I’ll tell you I only had 4 business days last week. I’ve started a new series of treatment on my knee and Fridays are now ‘weekend’ as I’m either in doctor’s offices or laid up after unpleasant treatments. I’m supposed to stay entirely off the leg for Friday and Saturday, and Sunday I’m on crutches, so I have a 4-day work week for the next 3 weeks. Worst time of year for this, but as the aim is to be pain free for the next 6 months, I’ll take it!
Molly – I always catch folks up if they post missed numbers. Nobody gets left behind in the Twins! 😉
While I’m away, I’m going to put the store on extended handling time. J&R have had multiple discussions on the perks of doing it that way rather than vackay mode, so I’m going with Community Wisdom.
-
12/04/2018 at 2:05 am #52621
Hi Ladies!
I listed 11 items last week. Cyber Monday and the next few days weren’t as strong for me this year as they were last year but I have a new lowballing competitor in one of my categories which made a big difference, so I am going to have to readjust my strategy. I did have a really big weekend and have been shipping like mad…up to 2am last night and at least midnight tonight. It’s about 80% Amazon, 12% Ebay, and the rest split between my two Etsy shops.
Amatino, I am so excited for you and your trip to the UK. England is my most favorite place in the world. Care to share any details? How long will you be there?
Good luck everyone this week….may the sales be with you!
-
12/04/2018 at 12:49 pm #52654
Wow, what a week! Molly made 500 listings – CONGRATULATIONS! It’s a heady feeling, isn’t it?
And Sharyn hit 1,000 here in the challenge! HUGE CONGRATULATIONS! What an achievement! You’ve rocked the challenge this year!
Only 4 weeks to go.
Vintage Lacy, I’m going to Reading, Berkshire for 17 days to visit the kids. The Bratness has been threatening to drag me all over to view all the gorgeousness of this more than 1,000 year old town! We’re also planning a day trip to Oxford just to explore. I really wanted to add in a trip to Ireland or Scotland (which is MY favorite place! *wink*) but I don’t think we’ll have the time or budget. Sales have been lower than anticipated, so I don’t have the $1,000 spending cash I was hoping to have. Still, it will be beyond marvelous to visit the kids. I booked an extra luggage piece so that I could go over there loaded – I’ve sewn the quilts (mentioned earlier) and have a bunch of other goodies that I’m going to haul across the pond. I’m allowed my 2 checked luggage, plus two cabin baggage, so I’m going to look like I absconded with Santa’s sleigh. Perhaps I should put one of the luggage items into a sack, paint the other to look like a sleigh, and add reindeer horns to the cabin baggage?
-
12/04/2018 at 7:51 pm #52668
🙂
What is the Bratness?
-
12/05/2018 at 11:10 am #52713
LOL. I like the way you asked. Can’t wait to tell her she’s an “is”… but I guess I set myself up for that one!
For privacy, I don’t name any of my family online. My husband is Himself. My daughter is The Bratness. My grandson is Squiggles (or Squiggs, for short.) So, for example, a blog post about a family outing would say “Himself announced we’re all going to Six Flags for the day on the weekend. As I suffer badly from motion sickness and Squiggs is too short for most of the rides, Himself and The Bratness spent the day developing shades of green and scream, while Squiggs and I did the kiddie rides and waaaay too much cotton candy!”
-
12/10/2018 at 9:49 am #52995
Hi Ladies:
I hope everyone had a great week!
I listed 15 items and am still hovering around the 500 item mark. I’m just trying to keep up that number for a while as this time of the year my time is pulled in many directions. -
12/10/2018 at 11:11 am #53013
Hello, listed 26 items this week! Packing is annoying this morning so I don’t even have time to post numbers before going to work.
-
12/10/2018 at 12:09 pm #53021
Hello Twins!
I had zero new listings for the week. I was out of town for 4 days and then recovering from being out of town for four days 🙂 I had a great time, it’s always wonderful to get away to the: hotel, shopping, eating out, drinking beer and spending time with my sister life!
Hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead!
-
12/10/2018 at 12:50 pm #53028
In total, I listed 37 items, no death piles.
The big listing number was greatly helped by another large set of dishes I purchased last month. I was able to list the whole set in 19 listings.
I continue to put off the hard, death pile stuff that need repairs or testing. There aren’t any auctions left for this year, and two I know of in January are days that I can’t go. So, maybe? I hope? I still have stuff left from more recent buys that I’m sure I’ll list in the next two weeks.
I will taking off the week between Christmas and New Years to visit family.
-
12/11/2018 at 9:31 am #53098
Wow, numbers are all over the chart this week! LOL
Listed 9, so I hit my goal +1 and I’m happy. Just as long as I’m listing my minimum of 2 per day, I’m not going to put myself under any more stress. That being said, I have only 4 days left to do anything before I depart for the UK, so I may be all zeroes for the rest of the year. I’ll see what I can do this week, but next week Monday will be the last one I can participate in. You guys can see out the year, though. I’ll still log on and update remotely.
Vintage Treasures – what a great way to spend a week! Glad you got to visit with family.
-
12/12/2018 at 10:45 am #53182
Ok, Vintage Lacy is in at zero. I’ll update next week if you let me know what your listings were.
-
12/17/2018 at 9:44 am #53499
Had some time off my job and listed 38 items, mostly Christmas that I really want to move out. Yeah!
-
12/17/2018 at 9:56 am #53502
Wow, ChristineR, you rocked it this week! Well done!
I’m zero this week. I started working on listings, but then realized that I was just so short of time to get everything done before I leave that I should better spend my time paying bills, clearing desk and space, sorting out stuff that needs to be done while I’m away, etc. So I did. I leave tomorrow, so I’m going to be zero for the rest of the year. Will still check in remotely though!
-
12/17/2018 at 10:13 am #53506
I listed 14 items this week.
I’ll probably list about the same next week. I’ll be out the last week of the year, so that one will be zero.
-
12/17/2018 at 10:28 am #53507
thanks, I don’t have much control. This is why I don’t like to set goals.
Sometimes I have less contract work and if the kids are in school, I can get to it. Should really be exercising too though… -
12/17/2018 at 11:21 am #53516
Hi Ladies:
I should be exercising as well Christine. With a full time job and eBay on the side, sometimes we have to give up some things up in order to do both. It’s amazing I can get anything listed this time of year but I took on some really nice consignment things and felt like I had to get them listed so I have given up some of my time for listing…but I do enjoy it.
I listed 26 items. -
12/17/2018 at 1:47 pm #53531
Hello All:
Just got back from a 3 day weekend in Toronto with my husband, it’s so lovely there, we had a great time! I managed to list 5 new items before we left and I’m hoping to ramp up the listings a bit from here on out. BUT we just returned from Canada, my birthday is this week, plus our nephew is coming to stay with us for the 4 days before Christmas. So I doubt I’ll be ramping up this week!
I’m with you ladies on working out, I need to do that more. I’m shooting for the gym on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. But I probably won’t get serious with that until 2019.
Wishing everyone a great week!
-
12/17/2018 at 8:09 pm #53565
Posting the spreadsheet early as I’m leaving before dawn tomorrow.
Congratulations everyone! Please continue to post your numbers for the next two weeks. I shall be monitoring remotely but won’t be able to update the spreadsheet until I get back in January.
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
-
12/17/2018 at 8:31 pm #53567
Sorry for being so quiet the last two weeks. My dad has cancer and had emergency surgery the weekend before last. Scary stuff and I have been spending every spare moment at the hospital. I did manage to get 14 listings the week before last and 2 listings last week. Don’t worry about doing any updating.
Amatino, I hope you have the most amazing trip. I have been wanting to write to you about it! You are going to be there a nice healthy chunk of time. The first time I went it was 2.5 weeks and it was all the more amazing for it. I hope you do get a chance to make it to Oxford, and if you do, try to make it to the Eagle and the Child pub, the hang-out of Tolkien and CS Lewis. Apparently Tolkien would bring drafts of the Hobbit and read tidbits of it out loud! Can you imagine what a thrill that would have been? A pint (or two) is great fun there. Also, Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill is just a short bus ride from Oxford or you could drive there as well. He’s a major hero of mine and the palace is magnificent, as well as the vast park grounds that surround the palace. Absolutely stunning. Have a wonderful time!
I hope everyone is doing well!
-
12/18/2018 at 8:54 am #53600
Vintage Lacy, so sorry to hear about your father. I hope that the surgery is successful and that he makes it through healthy.
-
-
12/23/2018 at 10:02 pm #53921
I was very surprised to look at my account today and find that I have 42 new listings this week!
I guess that I found time in between non-eBay stuff this week to get them all in. I don’t think I did anything different, and I didn’t have a big load of similar items (although some were).
I have a couple of days at home, and then I will be visiting family for a week. I will probably be at zero next week, but this week was big enough for two!
-
12/24/2018 at 2:42 pm #53960
Happy holidays death pile elves. I only listed 2 items this week and I’m not really feelin’ it. Plus, lots of trouble sleeping. I’m working part of this coming week and I’m taking my daughter to see Wicked in LA next weekend. Sooo…we’ll see.
In the new thread I’ll post new death pile photos. No items spilling out this year. Still a ways to go but I made good progress this year.
-
12/24/2018 at 3:02 pm #53963
Vintage Lacy, my heart goes out to you regarding your Dad. My thoughts and prayers are with you both for a speedy and complete recovery.
I had just 7 new listings this week, but otherwise it was a great week filled with celebration and love, so it’s all good here.
Amatino, I hope you are having a wonderful time in England!
Happy Holidays to everyone!
-
12/26/2018 at 5:12 pm #54023
Vintage Lacy, so sorry about your dad. I hope he’s doing better since the surgery. I will update the numbers when I get home. I’m going to Oxford tomorrow, only one afternoon, a night, and a morning could be squeezed into the schedule, to my dismay, and I have to include visiting a family member while I’m there, but I will do my best and give you a report back!
No listings for me, obviously, but my awesome husband is shipping for me, so I didn’t have to put the store on holiday mode or delayed shipping! Woot woot! I have the best man in the world. 🙂
This is the last week for this challenge, final numbers to be posted on Monday 31st. I’ll kick off the new 2019 TELC (Listing Challenge) on that day for folks to start racking up numbers. I will also start the new Death Pile Support Group thread. I probably won’t get to log in again until next Monday, so I hope you’re all well until then. I missed sending you Christmas wishes, so I will just wish you all happy holidays and a wonderful New Year!
-
12/29/2018 at 11:51 am #54102
Thank you everyone for your kind words about my dad. The cancer is terminal but we are hoping the surgery bought him another 6 months to a year. He’s recovering well, very strong, and in great spirits. It’s the best we could hope for. We are just happy to have whatever time we have left with him.
I am sorry for posting so late recently. I promise to post on time from here on out. I did 3 listings the week before Christmas and will post my listing numbers for this week tomorrow night. Sharyn you did so well! Congrats on the win, but do know I am gunning for you next year!!! (grin)
I hope that everyone is having a wonderful holiday season.
I have been very inspired by all of you and already am planning how to make 2019 even better. My goal is to astonish myself with all the listing I get done!
Cheers!
Lacy
-
12/31/2018 at 1:26 pm #54234
I posted 15 listings last week. Looking forward to doing even better overall in 2019!
Thanks everyone for being part of this challenge and being such an inspiration. Special thanks to you Amatino for all you do and hope you are having a blast on your trip.
Wishing all of you a Happy New Year!
-
12/31/2018 at 2:08 pm #54240
Vintage Lacy, I missed the comment about your dad earlier. A girl and her dad is special and I hope that you enjoy your time with him sharing some good memories.
I need to do some more reorganizing and then take pictures of the piles in the new thread.
-
12/31/2018 at 3:00 pm #54246
Happy New Year Twins!
Vintage Lacy: I’m so sorry to hear the news about your Dad. I hope he has had a joyful life up to now and may the rest of his time here be full of love. My heart goes out to you and your family.
On to business matters: I managed 12 new listings. But I’m pretty sure I’ll do better for the first week of 2019, I did 10 yesterday 🙂 I’m off of my hating eBay phase. I wouldn’t say I’ve moved on to the loving eBay phase yet, but I have sold at least one thing every day for the last 2 weeks and that helps!
Thank you everyone who participated in this thread in 2018, especially Amatino for creating the challenge and doing all the work to run it. You’ve all inspired me and kept me going during the times when I’ve felt like eBay sucked. I’m in for next year!
Wishing everyone a great 2019!!!
-
12/31/2018 at 6:33 pm #54266
I listed one item for this week before we left for Pittsburgh.
My sister lives in the same town where we grew up. We’ve been visiting with family since the 26th, and we’ll be driving back tomorrow. I’ll most likely be packing and shipping on the 2nd. Maybe I’ll get some listing in during the rest of the week, but it won’t be a really strong start.
Looking forward to next year’s challenge. Happy New Year everyone!
-
01/04/2019 at 2:45 pm #54511
Well done everyone for your stellar performance and for sticking it out! You guys did a great job of listing and listing and listing.
The final spreadsheet! Molly didn’t post numbers for the past two weeks. I can update if I get the numbers.
Twins Winner: ChristineR is the clear winner with both numbers and points. Sharyn squeaked a win with points and numbers. Our final twin set is a head scratcher. itemsfromthesouth took it on points, but Vintage Treasures listed just under four times more items on numbers. However, I was working with points to create a “weighted average”, recalculating the points every time I created a new twinset so that it would be even for the period of the twinning, rather than overall numbers.. For that reason, I’m going to award it to Molly, if everyone agrees. Vintage Treasures, you did an awesome job listing over 800 items!
Would the three winners please email me your addresses at snratoni@yahoo.com so that I can send you your goofball prizes? I genuinely do have prizes for you, so please email me and I’ll pop them in the post. They’re silly little items that will give you a grin and a giggle and hopefully remind you to list like crazy every time you see them. If you do like them, share a photo to the group of where you’re going to keep yours. If you don’t like them – just list them! 😀
Congratulations again. Now… go to the new thread for 2019 and
JUST LIST, dammit!
-
01/15/2019 at 2:29 pm #55197
As requested, some photos of my trip.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to travel as much as I’d hoped. When you have a large family and haven’t visited for a while, they’re kind of … demanding… yeah? The weather was abnormally warm, as it usually is when I visit, so that was good, but most of the time was taken up in homes drinking tea and eating large quantities of mince pies!
My visit to Oxford was unexpectedly brief, but I spent the most glorious couple hours in the Market – and didn’t think to pull out my camera once! Such quirky and fun items everywhere, I went nuts buying almost everything I needed for gifts and trinkets for the folks back home. My weight allowance was maxed out before I packed a single clothing item! LOL I also managed to visit the old prison. It is the biggest, most imposing place! And they’ve converted one wing into a hotel. Of course, my next visit HAS to include a night there!
The thrift stores were, for the most part, utterly depressing. Prices were high and the stuff uninspiring. I think that the gems in thrifts are very location based. In other words, a small town thrift in a mid-range community is not going to have much to offer, while going to a large town or an affluent part of town, will be more fruitful. By that same token, I visited a couple of the charity shops on the High Street and was surprised to discover they were actually charity shops. They look like standard retail shops from the outside. Some of them had great pricing, and some of them had Goodwill Mania. It was an interesting exercise in frustration. My notes to me are to go in summer, when my bags are light and I am not expected to return with gifts, and spend some time being selective in my shop choice. That being said, with the forex rates not being in our favor, I’m not sure that it’s even worth dragging stuff back. I’d have to find something really special.
Overall, it was great to meet up with family again and, of course, visit my kids. It felt like a long trip, and too short, all at the same time. I have already advised everyone that the next trip will be three days after school starts. 10 hours on a plane packed full of children is not happening again! 😀
-
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.