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Sonia: Years ago we had a lot of questions about fluid ounce capacity that those details are automatically part of our custom specifics. We always state the physical dimensions, height, dia of item, etc. but also in the next file down we state the ounce capacity of all cups, glasses, pitchers, anything that holds something we state it.
we keep a gallon jug of water, a measuring cup and a funnel here in the office and will fill, measure a lsited item then just pou the water back in the jug.
This pretty much stopped all those how much does it hold questions EXCEPT for a couple of DxxAssXX that I suppose caught read are were too lazy to go past the title.
One that takes the cake was just about a year ago we got 3 laboratory beakers and measuring cups made in the 30’s / 40’s out of colored depression glass. So not only did we put the ounces they held in the description, but the photos clearly showed the ounces, milliliters, etc. right on the side of each item and we still got a “how much does each of these hold” question.
From my few years of teaching at a college and from a long time of selling online, I can officially state with all confidence, there is no medical cure for stupid and there are a lot of sick people out their.
Every time I get tickled about a stupid question and read it to Susan, about all she replies these days, is “DumbAss” and not a word more.mike at MDCGFA
As I have mentioned numerous times about our “cocoon” method of wrapping. we also keep a stack of 30×36 flat sheets of corrugated sheets in a ready stack.
So plates: If I have just one type say 4 to 8 dinner plates only, or a stack of salad plates, I put a thin bubble sheet down on the table, then a small square piece of thin cardboard, then a small styrofoam plate we use as spacers, then a thin sheet of bubble again and again a thin sq. pice of cardboard, etc., etc. until the “stack is completed. One stack all with cardboard, bubble wrap cut to size and a small styrofoam plate spacers.
This whole stack then gets a 360 degree tape band vertically in several directions. This tight stack is now, stretch wrapped with with 3 to 4 winds of stertch wrap from my hand held dispenser. At this point I have a solid block of tightly held together plates. I probably could stop there, but nope.
Now I take that tight stack and set it on one of the flat corrugated sheets and quitly cut a4 sided box shape and tape that over the stack, or if I already have some of my hand made rolled corrugated strips, I wrap that around the stack of plates and tape that in several directions.
Lastly I neatly wrap that whole hand made container inside of #50 lb. brownkraft to make it look like a wrapped present. Then this gets a complete wrap of thick bubble.
I would then do this for each of the other types of plates I may have, salad, bread, saucers.
Then using the same 5 to 7 layer “cocoon” method I would roll wrap cups, juice glasses, sugar, creamer, tea pots, etc. All with the paper, thin bubble, stretch wrap, brown paper and then cardboard roll wrap [which is our hand made “quick inner box” as we call it] and then the large bubble wrap skin, this is usually about 6 layers in all that goes internally.
When done all of these separate boxes get placed in the larger outer box with crumbled brown kraft dunnage as fill on the bottom, then intertwined with brown kraft ropes zig zagged in between each inner box to keep from touching and then finishing off with the last layer of brown kraft dunnage on top and a packing list.
The outer box, is almost always USPS Priority except of fuller dinner sets with many pieces and extra serving platters they go FedEx and at times in two boxes. The outside box is always taped on all seems and where the box is glued together also. Extra heavy boxes get a Ryanne nylon strap around it.
17 to 30 pcs can take an hour to an hour and a half to do completely.
The pay off since 2002, we have only had 6 packages that arrived with damage goods and 2 of those looked like a truck ran over it. Our guess it fell off a conveyor or forklift and the forklift ran over it. The other 4 were crock pottery bowls, but was before we developed to 6 layer “cocoon” method. Now I would feel safe shipping a funner set of dinnerware up in the 60 to 100 piece range but I have told Susan, i will shoot her if she buys full sets any more.
But just within the last few weeks we have thought about going back to full sets but listing each type of item, plate, cup, saucer as a separate listing and doing just like Replacements.com does and sell everything 1 pc. at a time.
But that would limit the buyers to only those who already have the pattern and only need to replace a missing piece or expand an existing set.
We do the same for rocks, high ball glasses, coffee mugs, Paper wrap, thin bubble, stretch wrap, cardboard roll around, brown kraft, thick bubble, outer box. BUT< BUT on thicker glass or coffee mugs usually just slip the 6 layer “cocoon” into a bubble mailer since the inner layer is so protective.
I would guess that about half of our 1093 feedback says something positive about how well our items come to them, how well wrapped and packaged they are. We invite you guys to go look and then just scroll down, page by page and count or search on packing and you can see for yourself.
Six damaged packages, 1 neutral feedback and 1 negative feedback in approx. 16 to 17 years. We must be doing something right! 🙂 🙂 🙂
MIke at MDC Galleries and Fine Art in Atlanta
Old Dad: In the 2nd link above about Dunnage and Void Fill options they also list Bogus paper as an in between weight. But the 50# #60 brown kraft is very good at void fill and for support without flattening.
I think the 36″ wide x 900 ft long roll we got was about $37 and when we ordered 2 rolls from Staples it was Free Shipping which was delivered from the closest store at the Mall of Ga., six miles up the road from us, so was delivered the next day, if I recall.
That is 5400 square feet of brown kraft. We also use it to wrap anything flat, like records, books, items that are still in the box, along with loosely basketball size balled and loose rope shapes for bottom, top and side fill and support.
A trick I used to use but not any more just because it didn’t look very well. But I have been known to crumple up brownkraft and put around an object then use our stretch wrap to cocoon secure the brownkraft in place instead of using bubble wrap when I was in a pinch or out of bubble wrap.
Old Dad: Plotter paper. Never thought of that. I will research that out, didn’t think the pund weight was that heavy on plotter paper I guess. But almost anything is cheaper than peanuts.
And, brown kraft crumples easily into “paper ropes” for intertwining between indentations on odd shaped breakables.
Here is a link for a desktop unit. We don’t have or use one, but we just make our paper ropes-snakes by hand. It is quicker for single boxes. But if doing an assembly line type of work this would be useful.
Also here is a link to a good break down of “Void Fill Dunnage Options”, and peanuts are not a good chocie.
https://www.ecoenclose.com/Definitive-Guide-to-Void-Fill-and-Cushioning/That is why last year I was surprised that Jay & Ryanne went to peanuts, based on the fact they got a good dispenser cheap. Peanuts are very expensive, no body likes or wants to recieve them, they are a hard sell to recycle. In my opinion now, for what that has been worth here on SL we all know is worth a third of a cup of coffee along with $.50, is that if I would start to use peanuts, I would be doing my customers a dis-service and certainly not helping the environment. But just my opinion.
We get some good prices on boxes [cheaper than the Ebay store] and on occasion the heavy brown kraft rolls at Staples. Check them out.
Mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art
Jay: It depends on what pound paper. Brown kraft is heavier than newsprint. Newsprint is usualy 30# or 40# and is book page weight called “text weight”. Brown kraft is usually 50# to 60# Lb. Cover stock weight. A large difference in the overall thickness, and ability to support objects without flattening.
We bought 900 to 1,000 ft. rolls of 50# Brown Kraft paper and have it on a 3′ wide dispenser that holds the roll. It is heavy to load but spins ok on that dispenser which also has a tearing blade to effectively tear-cut the paper at lengths we want.
Crumpled that brownkraft up and make it thick and loose and it will not settle out flat. We buy it online and it is delivered to our door. Just a heavy mofo to lift and carry upstairs to the office and get on that dispenser.
Much less costly than peanuts.
But their is research on “DUNNAGE” paper and the articles will tell the story.
mike at MDCGFA
Good morning:
Lisa came into the office this morning and took a look at the extra photos.About the only extra thing she said that she didn’t say yesterday was, yes, it is handmade and the back shows that, and she also agreed with Sonia, that while not as neat as a machine, which was what she was looking closely in the enlarged views at, that it is very neatly done. The person who did this took time to back trim all the threads very neatly, evenly and tightly to the canvass surface.
The small open pattern border that is closest to the image area is probably the drawn thread technique and if done by hand takes time to pull back the thread in both the warp and weft directions.
The outer edge border was done separately. The border is a double crochet technique then small loop thread wwork to attach it all the way around.
Lisa mentioned that some Aida cloth-canvass can be bought with the drawn thread borders already done and the artisan creates the image within the existing border.
All in all she thinks it is a more current piece and is probably not an antique but not being and expert, she thinks it would show more age if it was of antique age.
Hope all of this helped shed some light on your item. If it was just me all I would have been able to say is, “That’s Nice!”, HaHa LOL :-).
Lisa is here today so I will tell her, thank’s for the input.
Mike at MDCGFA
Hey Sigilini:
Have some info. for you but it is from one of our helpers, Lisa. Knitting, needlework, crocheting, etc., etc. is her wheelhouse not mine or Susan’s.First Lisa said, if you can get a much closer [close-up] she can find out more because she can count the stitching and can also see if multiple stitches were intermixed. Also if you can show a photo of the back also. From the back photo she can tell if it was hand made or machine made or a combination of both.
From what she could see and count on this one photo, it is done on Aida Cloth 28 count and done in a 14 count pattern. That is where the “crosss-stitch” goes corner to corner in a square and is called a 4 count on the square. Then the count can double up or increase if the maker wants to span larger distances in one color. From what she can see without being closer up this seems to be mostly in the 14 count.
The thread seems to be a DMC Floss [a thicker, fuzzier thread] instead of a traditional needlepoint thread, which is thinner and each thread can be seen. The floss [fuzzier-fatter thread] is good for blended together and using over large areas.
She said if you take a photo of the back [close up] and of the lower front corner of the pattern she will be able to do a count for you to be more accurate.
She is coming back over tomorrow and would be glad to take another look for you and see if she can shed any more light about it. Also she may be able to cross reference a few older pattern sites she relies on the identify the over pattern.
Hope this helps somewhat and if u post any more photos before 8 am tomorrow I will show her when she comes into the office.
Good Luck:
mike at MDC Galleries and Fine ArtHey: I would also recommend some reading on a couple of books by the Kovels. For decades have been the go to place for all things antique and rare. We have a book they published on foreign glass pieces.
Looking at these figures the word Murano would not have even entered our minds. Many artisians and founderies have certain styles that are associated with their brand and these stick figures would not have filled that vision of Murano Glassworks or any of the artisans whom filled thier stalls in the foundry that we can recall.
The kovel books also have a beautiful full color book on Depression glass. But those books, which may be in your local library contain colorful photos and the styles of glass pieces.
But when thinking of Tiffany, Limoges, Murano, Rooseville [pottery], et. al. these types of figures would not have jumped into our minds.
Also I would suggest trying a search on Worthpoint.com and just use glass mexican figures and see what you get.
Good luck. If I get time after my wife’s treatment today I will see if I can find anything for you also. You can also check our online store and look at a few Murano pieces we have. May help get a lock on Murano styles for you.
Mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art in Atlanta
Boy did I dodge that. I saw the Ebay statement about going stale [like we all have discussed in the past] and had on my To-Do list to discuss with you or Dustin, Steve, etc. about setting the custom time frame to end just a day or two before Ebay hits that mark. But with everything else I had going, it was still on my To-Do list.
I also still have about 600 or so listing that I need to clean up from the way we had them set up on WonderLister. Those do not have a SixBit wrapper on them yet, but do have an “Allocation Plan” on all of them.
That is why I am wondering why SB is not ending a few items here and there on the opposite platform when sold. The Allocation Plan should handle that.
But in any case, I think I know what you did. You got all those listings down and with you saying you use an hour I recall between listing, was it the scheduled listings and hour apart that took 48 hours to relist?
Right now, we are scrambling on dealing with the “FREE SHIPPING” Push Etsy is throwing on everyone, you guys included.
In short, Offer Frre Shipping IF YOU WANT, but if you don’t you won’t get any push in the searches. Those who do will be rewraded with higher placement and being included in advertising and Etsy promotions. Don’t do it and you will just be left to trail in the searches and rankings behind those that do offer FS.
So trying to figure out how best to do this, use SB to batch edit our decision and think about if we are just going to do it on Ebay as well.
Uggh..just not enough hours in the day. Got to go vacuum for Susan.
later,
mike at MDCGFA in Atl.Welcome back to the Forum buddy. Missed your inputs.
Thanks to everyone, for the thoughts and prayers for Susan. She had her first Chemo treatment Thursday and her next one is coming up Wed. morning. She will have 6 chemo [one per week] then 6 weeks of radiation 5 days a week, then ending with the once a week chemo again for the final six weeks.
I sat with her last Wed. and Thurs. Wed. they put a “port” into her upper right chest-collarbone area. This is so they can do all the connections, disconnections and draw blood through out the chemo. That was 4 hours. Then the very next morning [Thursday] they did the first chemo and that lasted about 5 hours but had an hour of orientation and 1/2 hr. with the doctor. Going forward about 4 hours of the drip chemo.
So far she has been tired mostly but no sickness. She spent the first part of last week finding a wig and style that she liked. It will most likely be total hair loss in a few weeks with about a year to year and half of grow back time frame. She also got some scarf like head covers that everybody says are cute.
Attitude wise, she says it is what it is and will just take it one day at a time. I am doing a larger portion of the house and kitchen stuff along with the Ebay and Etsy stores. She hasn’t been in the office to do any help in 2 or 3 weeks and may be until Dec. before all treatments are done.
One of our helpers left and moved to San Diego. Husband is military and got transferred but still have Lisa, our long time friend who helps me Fri.-Sun +/-.
Having a little bit of an issue with SixBit skipping on deleting some of the solds from the non-sold platform and contributed to me selling an item that had already been sold. I am working on a ticket request from the SB team now. Need to find out how is the best way, en mass, to cross check and find any strangling listings on both platforms that got sold and were missed by SB. Wish they were faster on their response time.
But thanks for the help offer, very kind, and I too will just be taking it day by day.
Thank goodness those 2 house got finished, closed and the new owners moved in.
catch everyone later
mike at MDCGFA in Atl.
Jay: I take all of the boxes I get from incoming purchases and bust them open at the seam, lay them flat and then cut them into long, narrow, strips. I use these to roll up and place around cups, tea pots or anything cylinder shaped for protection. The corrugated and scored rolls of cardboard is pricey so I make my own roll strips.
Then after I get enough to last a while and or out strip my storage capacity, I do throw away the over stock for awhile until I need to collect some more.
TIP: The USPS Large Game Boxes are great for just tearing them open and cutting them into strips to roll round and cylinder objects with. We find it better than the box within a box method for certain items.
Wrap item in newsprint, roll wrap with cardboard, bubble wrap that roll, then place 6 glasses side by side inside your bigger, outer box and u are good to go.
Thanks Steven, good tip on the styrofoam sheets from “fish containers” and the Sunday morning time slot. It just never crossed my mind that would probably be the day and very early that no one else would be around to hassle you about being ther or a cop driving by.
We have two Pet Smarts not too far from us, each in opposite directions. I have been buying a 24″ wide x 8 ft. long 1/2″ thick insulating blue board from Home depot and just cutting it up as needed. Will check out the Pet Smarts this weekend and see what they may have.
TeamViewer is free. Has been for many years. The only paid version is the Commercial version. The Commercial version is used by companies who do remote in service on their customers computers. If you ever had a technician do a remote session then they use the paid versions and it is also more robust.
But for small guys like us, a version can be on each computer for free. Just download the APP [make sure it is the free version] and install on your rig. Do that all on your devices. Each install has a separate pass code to access but it also allows a setting to be able to let anyone connect any time based on a single master password the main computer user sets. That is how we do it.
If you had TeamViewer on your rig right now and I gave you the master password, you could log onto my computer and have full control of all functions on my computer.
They even have a TeamViewer for cell phones. When I am sitting and waiting on Susan at times, I open TeamViewer on my phone, log in and then I am in full control of my at home office computer.
I like doing this instead of using like the Ebay pr Etsy apps separately because my office computer uses the desk top seller hub and that view and functions much better, has more control than using the cell phone Ebay APP which is truncated for the cell phone.
OK, a draw back is that doing this you will be looking at the larger monitor that is on the home office rig, but you can do the finger spread and enlarge the image, but you may have to scroll sideways a little bit.
But bottom line FREE to access your main computer remotely from anywhere.
There are competitors out there, one is called “Log Me In”, and others. I found after trying several TeamViwer is the fastest of all at the time I was comparing.
Take a look. Here is the link:
https://www.teamviewer.com/en/credentials/free-for-personal-use/mike at MDCGFA
Yep.. you hit the nail on the head as far as how to do it.
Go to your business policies preferences, then when there, click on the heading above the Type field to sort and they will align alphabetically and all you shipping policies will be right together.
We have 5 policies that cover all 1,200 + listings. Click on the blue edit and you will be able to change the handling time. Do that just 4 more times and you are done.
Ryanne and Jay held out on Business Policies for a long time. It was discussed here on SL numerous times, think it was a year or more ago, but finally one day she posted, WOW! Love Business policies and the rest is History LOL 🙂 Yeah one of the better things Ebay changed for the better.
