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Also agree with Sonia and Jay but with a slight twist. Most cell phone cameras have gotten sophisticated and have many adjustments even in automatic mode. Most, including ours even switches over to “manual mode” which it then works just like a 35mm SLR camera which we used to use.
While you don’t have to go as far as manual, controling the shutter speed, aperature opening, knowing to watch for depth of field, adjusting the ISO and white balance setting, it does not hurt to know about these.
So the point is, we do no editing at all, both myself, Susan and one of our helpers can take photos as we go and they come out pretty well. Good enough for both Ebay, etsy and our own store.
Like Sonia we do have a quick grab shelf with a few props that Susan throws on the first photo to dress the item up for Etsy, and several rolled up backgrounds we can drop down in 3 seconds along with photo lighting around our photo table. This gives “stable” lighting rather than natural light which causes some color issues for many products and with clouds passing over, causing brightness changing constantly.
So learn a little about your camera settings, get a few backgrounds, use proper stable lighting and shoot the items so that you don’t have to come back and edit. Some sellers even shoot using a wireless connection to their computer so that as they shoot photos, they are sent directly to their photo storage area, ready to be attached when you create your listing.
Just some food for thought. Shoot to use not to have to edit.
mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art
Hey DT. May I make what I would think would be an obvious suggestion? Try just bidding on the good stuff. You may only win 1 out of 50 bids but at least the trip would be for an item that would be worth the trip. 🙂
mike at MDCGFA
Congratulations guys. Good job! Now you want to come visit Atlanta and help me on the next two spec houses. Bet you guys are old hands at the scheduling subs and dealing with city and county officials by now.
When are we going to see Luray tourist guides having entries like “visit the Jay and Ryanne Valley”, or “visit J&R Estates while touring the Shenandoah Valley”. Hey that sounds like a RANCH.. J&R Cattle Ranch. Maybe get a local blacksmith the make you guys iron branding rods and burn your J&R logo into local wood products like rough sawn round stake platters, wooden coasters, screen print the J&R Logo on BBQ aprons. A whole line of self made products based on the J&R Branding. Soaps, mugs.. etc., etc.
Build your rentals around the “Alpine”, “Farm”, “Small Town, and “Ranch” themes and offer discount coupons to area activites that tie into those themes. Let a local farmer have some land beside the Farm House and plant a large garden and in return guests to the Farm House get to help plant, weed, pick some veggies, City folk get coupons to local events, music, visit town hall, city court, whatever and whatever. 🙂
Strike while the “iron is hot” 🙂 [sorry about that, couldn’t resist]. LOL
All kidding aside good job. Onward and upward.
Mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art
I agree 100% with Temudgin: We also use Worthpoint and see the exact images and listings for the NASA Lunar Lander. You state you see them on Worthpoint and state prices so I assume you may have a subscription.
Our approach is to take the highest price sold on Worthpoint and then mark that up even more so you can run a few Sales from time to time and also take offers and give Free Shipping and you will still come out just a little underneath the higher price tiers you see on Worthpoint.
ALSO if you have a Premium Ebay store and above you get a FREE Terrapeak.com subscription. TP shows what has sold on Ebay over the past 12 months where as WP is anything older than a year back to about 10 years +/-.
TerraPeak shows 14 have sold in the last year, the highest being $2,050, the top 8 of those 14 have sold for all above $700 and the remaining 6 sold for between $675 to $265 all selling from Jan. of this year up until a few months ago.
You just need to “grade” yours as far as condition, flaws, what is included like original box, tags, paperwork, etc., etc.
Hope you have one of the $1,000 and up priced ones.
Hope this helps and Good Luck.
Mike at MDC Concepts, Inc.
MDC Galleries and Fine Art
SmartParts Small Equipment divs.Sonia: We lived in CT for 22 years and my wife susan worked at the competitor store Sage Allen for many years. The G. Fox and Company was on the opposite corner of main street. You notice the pendleton has the label G. Fox and co. in it. Google G. Fox and Company and then click on the Wiki link and read up on that company. It was almost a founding company of Main Street in Hartford. Very well to do family owned business. Any G. Fox and Co. labled items will draw a collector group of former employees and family friends whom were very wealthy for many generations.
I have an old friend, he is about 92 years old now. He was the son of one of Mrs. Auerbachs friends and she gave Robert a job in her store. To show the influence of Mrs. Auerbach Fox,she was having some kind of an big, wealthy shin-dig in Hartford during the war back in the early 1940’s. Robert had been called into the service. She wanted robert at her event so she called up some general Robert said, 2 MP’s came to the place he was stationed, they got him, placed him on a plane back to a base in Mass. somewhere, I don’t recall and the Army then drove him to the event. Robert said the first thing she said to him after how glad to see you Robert, was now go clean up yourself and polish those boots, we musn’t be seen in company without a finished look. he said he said yes ma’am’ and did so. Then she proceeded to introduce him around to guest. After about 3 hours, Robert said he had to leave and the driver who drove him from the base, took him back, got him back on a plane and he was back at his station and regiment. His commanding officer asked if he enjoyed the event and stated who ever that lady was that arranged all this knows some serious people in the right places.
But all said the G. Fox and company was well known in New England and anything associated with the company is still desirable.
Just thought I would pass along a little info. to make the Pendleton with that “private label tag” a little more interesting.
Mike at MDC Galleries
@ Amatino: Yep pretty much as Sharyn states and some of the older posts I made previously.
When we use the triangular boxes, we also use standard calculated size and weight. I take the widest side of the tri-angular box and treat the whole thing like it was a long rectangular box,
Example: If the widest side of one of the 3 sides of the triangle box is 4″. I enter 4″x4″x22″ inches [or whatever length the box comes out at]. When we splice two boxes together, the same applies, 4″x4″x whatever length it comes out at. That will give you your shipping costs when put into the Ebay calculator.
Also, on very long items we also do 2 other things. If the Priority costs are too high, due to the zone, or the new dimensional weight, we also click on the Parcel Rates. If they are less costly, we then just wrap the long box in the Home Depot black and now light blue construction plastic we have on rolls and tape up heavily. The plastic is opaque and between that and the ton of tape it hides from view anything inside of the box, print a Parcel label, slap it on and there it goes.
The second option before you do the plastic cover-up wrap is to check what the FedEx charges are for Home delivery. If FedEx is our best cost, we don’t even wrap the Priority box, just print a FedEx label, slap that on the long box and take it to a FedEx store. We have one just a few miles up the road.
Funny thing numerous FedEx stores have said and confirmed, they take anything and don’t care if it is in a USPS box, their boxes or a plain vanilla generic box. But if you feel funny about that, then still go ahead and do the opaque plastic wrap, then do the FedEx label and take to FedEx.
Also try pricing out the thin walled PVC plumbing tubes in 8′ lengths at home depot. We buy a few 8′ lengths, cut then to 4′ have them in a corner of our office and cut them to needed length with an old hack saw we have over by them. Cheap tubes and thick enough to ship by themselves. Cut, 1 inch longer than your print on each end, smooth the rough edges with sand paper, stuff the two ends with tissue paper, toilet paper or Kleenex [opps hope no VERO will come from SL= :-)] and tape over the ends with several layers of tape. Then slap a label on the PVC and place a piece of clear packing tape over that to make sure the label stays in place.
Shipping a rolled item in a tri-angular box or a tube is no different than if it was a long rectangle with straight sides.
Don’t’ forget the slip sheet and rolling of your poster to a smaller diameter than the inside of the tube. It is extremely easy to tip the tube up and let a smaller diameter rolled up poster slide out than having it unsecured inside, have it unroll and become very tight inside the tube. It is then very hard to get it out and the buyer may damage or tear it trying too. So, slip sheet and roll, making sure to securely tape only on the slip sheet material and not the poster, roll and secure smaller than the mailing tube.
P.S. The PVC tube is very strong. Takes a lot to bend the plastic PVC tube.
Good luck..
Mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art
Another thought is the tracking number may not be something that is real. Ebay may not be able to see it and verify if it really got to the final destination.
On a personal note, I don’t careful for people telling me how to run my business. But will try to provide flexible services, but this seems it may have red flags on it.
So as Sharyn says, call Ebay and ask. The only dumb question is the one you don’t ask. In this case just call and ask Ebay.
Let us all know the outcome.
mike at MDCGFA
Ceramic oil lamp. Fill the orb with pure, clear lamp oil available at some grocery stores. do not use kerosene or non-refined oil.
Then trim the short end of the wick evenly across with scissors and then pull the wick from the bottom so that not much more than a 1/16″ to 1/8″ tops is showing above the top of the ceramic stopper.
Then push the long end of the wick down into the filled orb and let the wick sit in place for about 30 minutes +/-. The reason for the short wick is to keep any smoke to an absolute minimum and letting a fresh wick sit for 30 minutes lets enough oil to soak up into the wick to also keep black smoke to a minimum.
If their is any smoke at all after the wick is fully saturated. Snuff or blow out the flame, gently lift the wick stopper-holder up and pull down on the wick so that it is even shorter. Closer to the 1/16″ sticking out. Then your lamp should burn for hours smoke free,
The pure lamp oils come both scented and unscented.
Good luck with it.
Mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art
I believe Jay is correct on the days you allow them to return it. But where the 5 days comes in is 5 days after the shut off date is when Ryanne says you can then contact Ebay and ask for them to close it.
But things have been changing so much the last two years with almost quarterly Ebay updates who knows. Since we don’t get many returns it is sort of just out of sight out of mind for us. Plus Etsy is really throwing curve balls at all the sellers which compounds the confusion.
It is getting to a point where Ryanne says to just call Ebay and ask. You would think after 17 years we would all have the Ebay thing done pat, but not any more. Hate to say it, call, ask, then close the cases as quick as they tell you that you can.
Funny that we give the buyer 30 days to decide if they want to keep our purchase or not, BUT THEY ONLY Gave me 2 days to provide the refund to the buyer. But never cry “Unfair” in today’s world of the “Online-o-sphere”.
We had a discussion last week with our helper and the topic came up about what customers “Expect” these days and how much of that is more about younger buyers thinking the world revolves around them, it is all about them, what they “deserve” and are “entitled” to and how they have been raised on the “I want, therefore I deserve to get” mentality.
Ebay and Etsy say, buyers have come to expect Free Returns, Free Shipping, a lollipop, and pink ribbons, etc., etc. Well no wonder everybody almost since the sixties have been raised on the “I want” syndrome.Our daughter had to request by saying “May I have, please” and expect the answer to possibly go 50/50 either way. Any time she uttered, “I want” she was told the answer was an automatic no because of the way she asked. She is 40 yrs old now and still will say “May I have….” and always a “thank you” at the end.
Thanks RTWV for the segway into another “MDCGFA mini-blow off steam” opinion and as always, that along with $.30 will get you a third of a cup of coffee. 🙂
mike at MDCGFA in ATL
Jordan I see Ryanne attached a photo from a previous members post. Yep , just like that but also include the ceap to make plywood and saw horse table underneath the part that is showing on the floor.
If you look closely you can see in the photo a tall piece of white material on the wall. Bet she uses that in conjunction with a table butted up to it with a white table cloth for hard goods.
If you check out YouTube videos their are several good ones under the search term basement photography studio setup.
One that I also really like uses a translucent table top with milky plexiglass for the top and adds an extra light under the table to direct light upwards. It makes the whole table top light a light box.
You can modify the above directions I gave by taking the plywood and cutting out the center and only leaving about an inch and half rim all around. Still set that on the saw horses and you will have to buy yourself an 1/8″ thick piece of milk white TRANSLUCENT plexiglass for the table top. You can still lay a thin white fabric sheet over the plex to give a nice texture and cut down on the glare from the underneath light stand.
There is a video somewhere of a set up like this but you will have to research it. And of course the extra light and stand for underneath and the plexiglass sheet will drive the costs up.
Are there chaeper ways, yes, hand work lights about but they get hot, throw the color and white balance way off and you will spend a ton of time adjusting your photos without having the proper balanced lighting.
mike at MDCGFA
Jordan:
Years ago, I started out in my basement. Down there you need to do a complete set-up. Here is a link to some of the cheapest sets around. Cowboy Studios. Several SL members have lighting and backdrops from them.https://www.cowboystudio.com/category_s/311.htm
Amazon also has these same types of kits and many times both Cowboy and Amazon run Sales. We have had posts here on SL by members who have gotten 4 light, quad bulb stands with out the backdrop pole for $70 to $90 bucks.
We now use 8 of their spiral fluorescent bulbs on tripod stands that are 5500 degrees kelvin. We use a wide “felt cloth” background we got at Hobby Lobby for $.99 a yard. We got several pieces at 60″ wide x 3 yards [9 ft.] long
Here is the basic set-up. Go to Home Depot and buy a 4′ x 4′ 3/8″ inch thick pc. of plywood. Only need it to be smooth one side [cheaper] and 2 plastic sawhorses.
Now go to whatever wall you want to make as your photo space. Place the two plastic sawhorses one against the wall and the other in front of it about 2-1/2 to 3 ft. Now lay the 4 x 4 sht. of plywood on top of that. You now have a 4×4 tabletop butted up against the wall.
Next, Tack, staple or Velcro, which is what we use because we can easily pull off the white and replace with a darker gray or blue piece for white, lighter or clear items. $ ft. above the table, then let it hang down and across the table and then hang off the front lip about a foot = 9″ +/-
Now place one light stand on each corner of the square table. the back two should be all the way back toward the wall and close to the table edge. These back two stands of either a 2-bulb ea. or 4 bulb ea. unit should only be used to light the back white felt and BEHIND your object. This will eliminate many shadows form your item, and still reflect softer light forward to your item.
Then place your last 2 [out of the four you bought] at the front two edges. These will light the item all around.
Now for placement, try to always place your item in the center of the 4×4 sq. about 2 feet away from the backdrop and about 2 feet back from the front lip. This set-up will allow for the best overall lighting, keep shadows in the crevices of your item well lighted and not cast shadows on the background. To eliminate tabletop shadows, have a clear plastic or make a wooden stand to hold your item about a foot off of and above the tabletop. We use a 12×12 white wood prop and have 3 various size clear acrylic stands.
Some here that photo clothes either take their mannequin off the stand and just set the torso up on a table, or do this exact same set up only have a longer back drop piece and let it roll out on the floor and shoot directly down from overhead by standing on a short ladder at the front edge.
But using felt you eliminate ugly creases; it has a soft texture. Raising your item eliminates cast shadows, and having light stands all the way around prevents the white balance being thrown off and producing “grey” back grounds and eliminates almost all after the shot photo editing from having to be done. You can go straight to uploading without extra work in most cases.
Also, we would recommend a chair in front of the table because sitting for a whole day of photography can be a strain on your back.
All in all this will run a few hundred bucks but will in essence provide the closest to a complete studio setup for the least amount and provide all the blanced lighting you will need for any type of item. If you ever quit you can always sell the complete setup online and recoup some of your money back.
Good luck
Mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art in Atlanta
Here you go Sharyn:
Sold for $200.00 Sold Date Feb 03, 2017 Source eBay
Worthpoint Category Furniture & Furnishings
Original Category Collectibles : Decorative Collectibles : FramesThe spirit of postmodern design shines in the bold geometric patterns and vibrant colors of this frame by Fujimori for Kato Kogei Ceramics. Fujimori was born in Japan in 1935 and won the National Art Award when he was just 19. He would go on to win many major awards including the Grand Prix at the Nitten Exhibition (a major Japanese art organization). He worked in Chicago as a ceramics designer before returning to Japan in 1963. He was named Art Director for Kato Kogei Ceramics, where he oversaw the design and distribution of his signature line.
In excellent vintage condition. Dimensions: 7.5″W x 3.0″D x 8.375″HMike at MDC Concepts, Inc.
MDC Galleries and Fine Art in Atlanta
SmartParts Small EquipmentI agree with History Nerd. Cheap price and no but high price yes. We use our cocoon method on all items large or small. A $20 tea cup will still needs to puncture, vibration, pressure, drop protection of “Floating” the item inside.
So to help you out a little further here is a link to one just like yours [an 18″ one] that sold for $129.00
https://www.worthpoint.com/inventory/search?query=Kato+Kogei+Japanese+Fujimori+Alpha+3+Pottery+Vase&category=Now, using our pricing strategy, we would price this at $185.00 with make an offer. Especially since you will be putting time into the packaging. But maybe a little more research on your part may find a higher price still. But we always find the highest price we can and put a 40% mark-up on above that. So, we can run a sale or take offers up to 40% and not drop below what it last sold for.
This all may sound overly difficult but we do this to almost every item we ship because all of our invertory [about 2,000 pieces] are all porcelain, china, crystal, glass, pottery and most the size of a shoe box or larger. It is like a vacation to me when I get to ship something small and made out of wood or metal. Yippie, quick wrap, box with 50# brown kraft void fill and go.
Mike at MDCGFA in Atl.
Good Morning: We would list and ship it. For us our largest box and usually our cut off point is 24″ x 18″ x24″. We could ship 2 or these easily in one shipment.
We use our custom “cocoon” method of 7 layers of protective wrapping material and then that complete box would certainly go into a second outer box [double boxed]. But the key is as I just happened to outline here on this forum the other day.Search Cocoon shipping method and you can see the 6 to 7 layers we use.
This size is most likely a candidate for FedEx also.
Ryanne has shipped large lamps and rolled and folded up rugs before.
But in some cases [ a few-not many], no matter how careful and over protective you are, some things just don’t make the journey to their new home despite all your efforts. If it falls off a conveyor belt or a fork lift and the forklift runs over it, it will be toast regardless. The good thing is the buyer gets disappointed but you get photos from them and file an insurance claim. The buyer gets their money back and you still get paid. A shame, but still you and the buyer are whole.
10 x 8 x 18 is a medium-large size to us, not a “huge” package by any means.
And lastly as Jay has said many times, just get a cost for the FedEx store to pack it for you and build that cost plus some mark up for your time and trouble into your shipping cost.
These are unique items and for the right buyer and or collector the cost of shipping is what it is and are willing to pay for it. You have a very nice vase and will support the costing you place on it.
A simple cocoon process:
2 shts of newsprint wrap, 1 small bubble wrap layer, 1 stretch wrap layer of 4 to 5 winds over the whole object, 1 cardboard rolled sleeve made by cutting a sht of cardboard and pre-rolling it then roll and tape around the object, then a layer of 50# brown kraft paper wrapping it like a Christmas present, then 1 layer of large bubble wrap. It is now looking and feeling like a cocoon at this point of 6 layers. Now place this “cocoon” inside of a box, any box, flat rate, priority, plain generic, it doesn’t matter. Give it 2″ all around and stuff all 4 sides with 50# brown kraft paper. and tape this box up. Now lastly take this box and float it inside a even larger box repeating what you did on the inner box. 1″-2″ space all around and stuffed and supported by 50# crumpled brown kraft paper for dunnage void fill. Tape this outer box up good and tape all box seams. Label it, place on fragile stickers. This now puts you at about 7 to 8 layers if you count the brown kraft dunnage void fill paper, and you are good to go.We pack better than any of the UPS or FedEx stores we go to. We have shown our process to several FedEx stores and they are amazed at the process.
Caveat’: It does add a little more weight to the overall package, thus the cost somewhat, but worth it to us.
This process has allowed us to ship breakable items up to the size of a small chair through the years. Large lamps, large diameter Tiffany style glass lamp shades, complete dinner sets of 50, 60 pcs and more, and we used to ship pinball machines but that gets into crating and using a furniture carrier, but with a $3,000 machine, as I said, a buyer doesn’t mind $250 to $375 shipping costs.
We have only had about 6-7 or so + breakages since 2002.
* Extra tips to add variation to the packing process.
– Use styrofoam sheets to pad around the voids with crumpled brown kraft as a extra safety barrier against punctures
– Buy 1×2 furring wood strips at HD and have them rip it in half [long ways] into 3/4″ x 3/4″ pcs. then to add resistance against top loaded crushing, bowing or deflection issues just hot glue a piece into each of the four corners of your outer box. Keeps your box from crushing under a lot of weight piled on top
– For very expensive items, use a can of spray foam [open cell] which is soft foam not the brittle type, spray a layer on the bottom of the box, put in your inner box, spray foam fill all 4 sides on the interior, then a layer on the top and close and tape your box.
– Lastly you can also fill void spaces with styro-foam peanuts, but make sure there are no voids where the peanuts can migrate or settle into. After 10 of thousands of bumps and bounces on a road in a truck, peanuts will and do settle on their journey. Years ago we used a vibrator plate to vibrate boxes as we filled them in order to get the peanuts to settle in before closing the box. Personally we no longer use peanuts for several reasons we have previously discussed here on SL. J and R do use them.Good luck and make sure you search the forum here for the “cocoon” method of packing for maximum protection. All the members have discussed their various packing methods. Also check out the Shipping section of the Forum.
Mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art in Atlanta
