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Rest, caddy.. Tomatoe, Tomahtoe one in the same.. but what I find interesting is how quickly you found a slew of solds and on Ebay at that.
So, moral is to try to use a main keyword in the Ebay, etsy or Google search box, in this case Tea since they are tea kettle shaped. Then, get that longer list, start adding words to it [econdary keywords] like tea dish, tea bowl, tea holder, then viola tea spoon, then possibly tea bag and there you go.
Searches can be tricky at times, and we groan when we use a major keyword and get back a ton on results. We then know we are not going to scroll through that many listings, so a “manual filtering” process comes next.
Usually narrows it down enough to find out what something is.
Susan and our helpers some times use the Google Voice and Image search which helps also. And using the Google Image search also brings back images from Pinterest.
Mike at MDCGFA in Atl
01/14/2019 at 8:40 am in reply to: Art experts, MDC Galleries or others, please advise me on Wyeth print #55049Oh.. AF.. most hand drawn stone lithography [limestone] are drawn on with either liquid or crayon form of Tusche. It is a wax based product that comes in abottle that can be used like paint on the stone and diluted for various shades and puddling effect or in sqaure crayon sticks or litho crayon pencils of varying hardness to achieve varying gradations of color. All of these are black in color and painted and drawn on the stones.
The reason they are wax is that the process of stone lithography is one of etching the drawn images into the stone surface with acid, then removing the wax images after the etching, the using gum arabic or baulm to cover the non etched areas. Then the stone is flooded with water using a sea sponge and ink hand applied using a roller which will only stick to where the wax once was and which is now the etched raw stone surface.
This whole process has to be done for each color. The stone has to be passed through a hand crank press and reinked after each sheet is printed. A 22 color print [most I have ever done for a client] that was 20×24 in a limited edition of 250 1/250 to 250/250 took 5,500 inkings and 5,500 passes through the press. I can [or used to could in my youth-LOL] re-fresh and re-prep and ink a stone in about 5-10 min. per sheet or about 650 hours or about 4 months with out overtime or weekends.
That same edition in our plant at the time of my retirement could be printed as a Giclee edition, archival everything in about a week with ink refills and substrate replacement [rolls of canvass]
Aaah …. these last posts remind me of being just like back in the University Classroom.. BTW I taught print making [etching, stone lithography, serigraphy [silk screening=out dated name], figure drawing, mechanical drawing and contemporary abstract painting back in my early youth.
Mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art in Atlanta
01/14/2019 at 8:21 am in reply to: Art experts, MDC Galleries or others, please advise me on Wyeth print #55047Yes AF, this is certainly something to look for and especially in today’s world with the advent of the Giclee. A multi-color high end ink jet printing process. The one we had in our plant had 26 Piezo ink jet nozzles that were connected to 26 1-gallon containers of color. So, we could apply 26 colors per pass of the print head. We then could raster those heads so the ink jet spray patterns were over lapping and even experts could hardly tell if the print was an original or not. Add to this the inks were archival quality with a life span against fading of 100 years or more. Then applied to archival canvas, paper or board, we could produce museum quality reproductions of original work. Then when we completed an edition, we would give the prints to the artist to pencil sign, number, date and title.
Then to your point, in some cases, artist did want to go back over the top of the prints and do hand drawn embellishments or hand done texturing. That is why when we did what we contracted for as an “edition” of prints, we required in our contract that the artists had to come to our plant and do the signing in our artists lounge. We had a “day room” set up for them with tables, rolling carts, pencils, electric sharpener, slip sheeting, snacks, coffee and drinks and supplied an assistant to help the artist. Without this control we could not provide Certification of the edition.
But today’s variation of the ink jet Giclee is the “print on Demand” concept. This allows the artist, once his piece has been scanned and stored in the main computer, to request and have printed, art prints “one at a time as needed” and thus a single repro can be produced “on demand” and shipped to them. By allowing this we had no control over the integrity of the edition, could not stop the artist from creating over runs. And the point you make, from re-working the surface with additional media, markings.
That is not necessarily a bad thing. It just makes the print into what is called a “monotype”. Many artists, including myself do this. I will create an original series of serigraphs [say 20 prints], then go back and re-work them one at a time and end up with 20 individuals, similar yet different pieces all of which can technically be called “originals” because each one is worked over differently.
It is this new approach that allows artist to sell “originals” on both Ebay and Etsy, by scanning their original and storing with a printer. Then post the original on Ebay and Etsy, title it as a “Custom” original acrylic or oil abstract, modern painting and list it with a 2-week handling time. Now when the Sale occurs, the artist orders just one repro on canvass. It ships to him in couple of days, he then stretches it on stretcher bars, puts it on his easel or work table, then he re-works over the surface changing some areas, covering others, adding transparent tinting over large areas is very popular. This now makes this one piece unique and different from the original, then lastly with clear brush texturing going over the whole surface with a clear varnish in turn hiding the process you talk about, being able to see re-worked areas by holding the work at an angle. Also, if an overall texture is added by using a smaller brush, it will make it look like it was made all at one time as a single original painting.
This also will fill in or level out any high and low spots, making the surface more uniform in height. Museums can detect this process by using black lights on the artwork in a dark room and by micron measurements of the artworks thickness overall. But this would never be done on the many what is being called, original acrylic artwork, in the wild, being sold on Ebay and Etsy. Too costly.
America is full of “wall decor” repro prints. And if not, then China has an art district [look up China art factories] and watch the videos of Chinese artist knocking out “originals” repeatedly by hand.
But yes, one can see things on the surface or artwork, but to the average layman at an estate sale or auction, without being able to get the piece out of the frame, out from under the glass and giving close examination to both paint, ink or paper it is hard to tell.
I approach most art we buy out in the wild as it is all a cheap repro and has a value of the frame and glass only, until I take a very close look at it. Then at our local auction house I do occasionally find a piece worth paying a little bit more. At estate sales, buyer beware of paying high dollar for “wall decor”.
Tip for those shopping at local thrift stores, flea markets, and supposedly antique malls. A tip to be able to tell a cheap litho reproduction from 25 feet away. If you ever see a framed piece of art that has an overall blue, [cyan], purplish look to it. Keep walking. It is a 4-color process litho print done in CMYK inks and the red is the most unstable color and next is the yellow. The reason the framed print looks over all purple-bluish is that the red and yellow has faded due to sunlight hitting the surface. Those cheap litho inks, like the ink and presses used for magazine publishing will be gone in 12 to 24 months, especially if subjected to sun light. I see these all the time and they stick out from yards away from me.
Oh, and any print that has two signatures is usually a repro. The original signature on the original painting is copied when it is scanned to reproduce, then after a cramp load are printed, the publisher gets the artist to pencil sign it. That falls into the category, for me at least, of buying a poster at a concert, then getting one of the musicians to autograph it for you. Well it may become valuable, then maybe not. Does anyone have a signed poster by Milli Vanilli [ugh], and if so, who cares!
So, yes, there is just a myriad of things to know and watch out for when buying any type of art. And I really don’t call what I see art by a technical creation term, but I use repros, wall decor, house pictures and therein lies the value… as a pretty picture, if you like the subject matter, you want it in your home, then buy that pretty picture and hang it. But to think that most pictures will be valuable art, is not the case, in most circumstances, but it does happen.
Stick to original old oil paintings, look at the back for brown old canvass edges, look for nails not staples, no tape and surface condition. A 20 x 24 or larger original oil of a pleasant scene can go for several hundred dollars. And of course, if it is a known artist then more because of the reputation, name and original signature [autograph] on the work.
Aaahh, I just love the first hour of the morning with my two cups of coffee. Gets my mind flowing…
Make it a great day all…. π
Mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art in Atlanta
I believe they are called tea bag or tea ball caddies. If a metal tea ball is used with tea placed inside the ball, it is placed in a cup of hot water. When the tea is finished steeping, you lift the ball up with the metal chain that it has and place it on one of the caddies you have. It can sit there until taken away or if you want a second cup, you get another cup of hot water and then lift the tea ball from the caddy and replace in the water.
Research also says if a “bag” is used, you can place the bag on the caddy, but also place the rounded back side of a spoon over the tea bag, pick the whole thing up and press down on your spoon so that you “squeeze” the tea bag and let it drip back into your cup to get that last few drops of stronger tea out of the bag.
Oh and on Worthpoint there are some described as Tea or Coffee spoon holders
Oh course Jay or Ryanne are probably going to hit you with Gee Gaws, or tea thingy,Goo gaws, and the like. π
mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art
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This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by
MDC Galleries & Fine Art.
01/13/2019 at 8:27 pm in reply to: Art experts, MDC Galleries or others, please advise me on Wyeth print #55030My wife chimed in a little while ago, and said but what if that is an original opaque tempera painting framed up. So look closely and if no dots, then maybe take it to a local art gallery [not a hobby Lobby frame shop] and see what they say.
Or you can send a photo of it to Sotheby’s in NY. They have a website where you can submit photos, then they will ask a few questions, be ready for the, “Do you see dots” question. And from there they will provide more info or maybe want to see it directly.
Good luck and who knows, like Jay said, maybe you have a found treasure worth thousands. Good Luck!
mike at MDCGFA
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This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by
MDC Galleries & Fine Art.
01/13/2019 at 6:28 pm in reply to: Art experts, MDC Galleries or others, please advise me on Wyeth print #55028Ok WBird: I am going to skip the ‘wall of text” on telling the difference between an “offset press lithograhic reproduction” and a real art print whether it be a real hand drawn stone lithograph, etching aquatint, serigraph [silk screen], lino cut, wood block. All of these having identifiable characteristics to them. But please search this site for lengthy discussions on offset repro’s.
But the first thing to do is to use a loupe, hand held magnifyer, anything that will give you a magnified view. Usually 6x power and up, preferably 10x power. Search linen testers on Ebay, Amazon and buy one. Many plastic ones only cost a 4 to 6 bucks. Now look at the print and if you see small round dots it is an offset reproduction. I bet dollars to donuts that is what it is.
The name on the back, the fact it is stamped and not pencil signed on the front in the margins I also bet that is nothing more than an inventory control number and the artist name just for the store personnel. A stamping like this adds no value. If a reproduction then not much value either.
If I had it I would first throw my loupe on it and if a “repro”, I would take it apart and either use the frame myself or sell just the frame. A repro that size with nothing on the margins or written in pencil, a real signature, date or title has no more value than framing up an over size post card, which BTW, many framers will do all the time, or they take pictures of famous artist and cut the pages out of large art books, mat and frame them and sell them as home decor. Remember they are framers! But if that is masking tape of that print on the back, then not much of a decent framer either.
Without close examination of the matting, if straight or bevel cut, French matting, double matted, linen surface, and the quality of the mitered corners, are nail holes filled with framers putty, proper wiring on the back, non-glare glass I can’t tell you if the frame is of a high quality thus price. But some moulding contours [and yours seems to be tri-level like triple crown moulding in a house] can run at a high price per linear inch and linear foot. My father in law was a professional framers and he had moulding 8, 10, 12 feet long [called lineals] that he paid $6 to $15 per foot for, especially if they hand done gold leaf on them.
So dig out that magnifying glass and take a look.
For fun, as you look at those dots [which I still bet dollars to dounuts] you will find, think about this. You will only see the dots printed in Blue, red, yellow and black [CMYK] and if so, then ask yourself how are you seeing greens, tans, browns, purples, when there is no ink used on the print that are those colors. LOL :-). That too has been discussed at length in one of my previous posts.
I could be completely wrong.. but remember I have a lot of donuts [plus about 50 years as an artist, master print maker and commercial printer] riding on my guess you will just find a bunch of dots.
Now if there is a real pencil signed Wyeth either Andrew or some of his family members, then Bingo! Also Andrew did his works in watercolor and egg tempera. There are no dots in any of those mediums again LOL π and the only way to get prints is to litho repro them.
Think of this as far as value goes. A hand done limited edition takes weeks or months to do a small amount of prints. Usually 250 to 500 signified by the numbering system of 1/250 to 250/250. Huge editions are very frowned upon in the real art community. Not even 1,000 print editions are of much interest unless the pencil signture is there, and then you are buying, collecting or selling and autograph.
A big thing to think about. American offset press run at speeds of 750 to 1,000 impressions per hour. If you print a run of repros to make any money, to offset the cost of set up, proofing, ink mixing, break down and clean up that is going to take a days worth of work. That time frame will produce an edition of over 5,000 to 7,500 prints. With every print over 500 the value starts to dimenish on top of the fact it is a repro. Modern repros don’t have much more value than a printed poster. $5 to $15 tops and then a old 60’s poster will be more value than a repro by a known artist.
All of this is based on a thought the artist is involved. Have you ever seen a reproduction of the Mona Lisa. I have. Plenty of them. All a publisher needs is poermission from the owner of the original, usually a museum of high end art, and then take a good photograph of the original in the museum ot in a studio [under security of course] and Bingo agagin. Another 10,000 prints of the Mona Lisa is created.
Most framed art we find at auctions and estate sales are not woth too much. I bought about 10 framed works about two weeks ago. The seller asked where I was going to hang all of them and I answered honestly, I am not, I just want the frames and glass, I am going to throw the repors away. Junky European harbor and village scenes.
So there you go, a lot to think about, some home work to do and of course search and check out the terms, art repos, half tone dots, fake art, color theory and a few other terms here on SL and take a read. I think the SL members have accumulated a fair amount of information about repors’ limited edition prints, wall art and the such.
And always remember a phrase I took from the Danbury Mint [and others] and added the Mike touch.. Limited edition plates, coins, medallions..yeah, sure, limited to everybody that wants one. as long as orders are coming in they are printing, pressing, pouring, casting and moulding. But funny thing, when the sales drop out, then the manufacturing of slock art stops and they come up with another limited edition, limited time only, scam to run on the American public.
Hey another Wall of text, mixed with a Dennis Miller rant at the end. I love it when I have a few minutes to spare. Keeps my juices flowing. π π
Mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art in Atlanta
Thanks Troy. But for 3 days in a row now, I have had to hit the road around 5 AM drive 30 miles up the road and be at the job site. With permits in place, it is time for the rubber to hit the road. Spent 5 hours today just being their for a front loader to clear the more wooded lot. It was freezing cold, sleet coming down and my phone kept going off with Ebay questions, offers and cha-ching offers. The bulldozer guy was on break when a cha ching came in and he asked what is that? Funny.
I turned 70 years old last month, I would just rather have been back in my office, coffee in hand and dealing with the Ebay stuff than what I was doing.
When I get through with these 4, I may not do any more, but by the end of April, atleast I would have made some good ROI.
Jay you were prying loose tile, I was digging holes with post hole diggers yesterday and today shoveling out dirt away from the storm drains and placing new, fresh sand bags to catch the silt run-off before it got into the drains.
When I dashed out this morning I had 2 small hand carved wooden figurines which sold for $90. I had to leave them unpacked. Luckily they dont have to ship until Monday. But I really like to ship same day when I can.
My helper ran out of stuff to do yesterday because the house pulled me away so much this week I didnt get done what I needed to do in the Ebay process.
Mike at MDCGFA
The figures above are fairly close to a ballpark net because I do have some “soft costs” included such as an amount we are contributing to closing, the lot-land of course is included, the real estate comm. of 6% is included, builders risk insurance, a 2/10 Warranty for the buyer, Gen. Liability all are already figured into the “building costs” Actual building and labor costs is lower than shown.
But the figures are before taxes. What will be left the GC and I take our shares out.
The Georgia Registered and Licensed General Contractor is my partner and i do the admin. side of things, read and sign documents, pull the permits all as a registered agent for his company, which is an LLC corp.
But I can see how much time is starting to be involved and I may just be on board for these 4 projects-houses, then cut bait. I want to double the Ebay listing, then install and learn SixBit then get everything listed on Etsy. Then run those two online businesses then get into my art studio and start creating larger abstract original paintings and also limited edition prints and smaller sculpture. That I would rather do, than do more houses, as you have said Jay, it is not all about how much money. If that were the case why did I stop the mid 6 figure a year job. It was about shutting that darn alarm clock and not taking phones calls to come into the plant at 3 am.
Mike at MDCGFA
Well Mark hit that right on target. The cost is one reason years ago I went with WonderLister. It was when I had jsu had enough of TurboLister. It “sucked” even before Ebay abandoned it, but I could manage with it, but when Ebay announced to no longer support it, that’s when I started searching for months to find an alternative. WonderLister did the trick as a replacement for TurbolIster and offered more to boot. BUT as they progressed, it was mor a matter of discovering that while it could do what TL did and promised more, it did so slowly and had it’s own issues, though no where near TL. TL was free, so at that time $15 a month was no problem. Then I had to go to SILVER level at $25 a month. Still no problem and got a few more bells and whistles. But then the Shopify and Etsy thing just dragged out over two years.
During this time was when I did the trial period using SixBit but balked 2 times at the cost.
In hind sight, both require a learning curve to some degree and the more a user understands relational databases, how fields work and how they are searched makes it easier on both platforms. An inventory management system is built into both by way of understanding inventory control parameters and build a few custom fields and creating your SKU numbering system to contain a few hidden codes to cover several functions. Our SKU number just by itself tells us, the item number, how much we paid for the item, the date we bought it, what building or room it is stored in what shelf it is on and what bin it is in. Troy has even added codes at the end to tell him what platform[s} he has it listed on. This mehtodology is nothing more than knowing how to organize and not the software. You can do that by using the Ebay Custom field just by itself, alone.
But WL and SB also has all the features built into them that Ebay has, photo zoom, attachment, ability to add HTML code to customize, custom your view, create templates, financial reporting, etc., etc.
But here’s the thing, if you are not ever going to post on two platforms, the same items or not, you do not need the Duo edition or level that Troy uses for $99.00 per month UNLESS you want the additional reporting that comes with that level. I use Quicken for business and that provides most of the P&L data I need for myself and our CPA as well as sale and expense tracking.
But if you DO THINK you may list on two platforms then SB is ready with Etsy and a conversation I had some time back with JC at SB I had him getting fairly interested in adding the Shopify interface module.
Here’s my opinion based on if knew then what I know now, I would go with the $34.99 plan on SixBit. I wish I had spent all that learning time, emailing back and forth [learning curve] on just one program and that should have been SixBit. troy can tell you that I have personally verbalized that error in hind sight. Spend the first month or so, just customizing your home page view, creating your custom fields, especially setting up your SKU inventory system. That will give you several months of work to do. Then as you learn where everything is located, and can navigate fairly quickly through listing and have a work flow like Troy and I do that follows your customization listing view, THEN you can upgrade to the next level. That will give you the Allocation Planning section. Troy will have to explain this because I haven’t used it yet, and I wrote this morning on another area here on the forum [look that up], a problem both [WL & SB] programs have had by WL & SB ending listings at the 30 day mark when they were on Sale and then getting those items re-listed back at the correct original price. It is an Ebay glitch that takes the re-list command from WL & SB but inserts the last known price of your item and that would be a lowered price due to the Sale that was in effect when the item was ended. It is connected with the issues of the Old Marketing Manager which has since been replaced. But my point is learn the first part of what i said by using and paying for the cheaper level. Then when you are more experienced, move up to the $70 and get the auto end and relist ability, the advanced analysis tools which Troy loves, and the advanced database automation which you indicate you have the knowledge and skills for.
But as my mantra here on SL goes, “that and $.50 will get you a partial cup of coffee”.
But start lower level, go slow, take your time, learn, [you will probably move quickly through the learning curve] and just upgrade as you go.
Mark and I are on WL, and both of us have been sort of let down by the speed at which WL is progressing. SB ceratinly has more and better training videos, operators manual and Q&A response teams.
It is funny but if you would look through the WL training manuals, most of the screen shots are from my store. That did ask my permission, but the screen shots show all of the issues I ran into using WL and then showed what the afetr the fix was applied screen shots [before and after] and they are “my” shots.
That made me ask them, does anyone at WL even have a store or list on Ebay and they said no!!! I will ask SB that question in the future. How can an engineer troubl shoot listing issues if they don’t even have a store and gone through what we go through using their software. Man oh Man. I think that is why Ebay, I believe, wants their employees to have a small store and sell things on Ebay so they have first hand experience.
OK another wall of text as Jay calls my replies-posts. Wonder if Jay will ever apply a word limit to my posts.. LOL π
Mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art in Atlanta.
Same for us. We have had a subscription for many, many years. Worthpoint also has a section that identifies hallmarks [stamped symbols found on the bottom of items], a research library and other articles some do not know about.
We use it almost everyday and as Almasty said not on all items but on most since we try to target more unusual pieces at times.
Each day when we start to list we open an Ebay tab, a picclick.com tab, and a worthpoint.com tab in that order. Then we use them as needed.
Jay says he is not interested in a price of something that sold 5 years ago, well if only a few have sold on Ebay solds it is good to have a back up, and a description of something that sold for a very high price 5 years ago and you cant find any sold since then is still a good description today and at times we also find good keywords from knowledgeable sellers in those older descriptions.
Mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art in Atlanta
Quick update on the “4 New Homes Real Estate” venture.
Due to holidays and rain we had to go with a later start than originally planned. AND another “Good” hold up.
We got plans for 2 of the 4 lots and were prepared to build them doing self funding. We posted the first two on the MLS listing service and before we even got a shovel in the ground we have got both houses sold, based on the lot location, the house design and pricing level.
So, two have signed agreement to purchase on them. Then we also got an investor to “invest” in the first one for a percentage return after the closing. Then from what is left [our profit] that will go for the second house expenses. We are going to build both at the same time. They are only 3 lots apart.
Rough numbers and targeting a 4 month build time … lot 15 sold for $188,900 and the lot and building costs [estimated] $116,081 = $72,819 gross profit and lot #11 sold for $198,000 with $121,860 lot and est. building costs for a rough ball park of $76,140 gross profit target or roughly ball parked at $148,959 after both are closed at the end of April.
2 lots are surveyed, boundaries and set-back lines marked, the house boxes are stacked and I met the grader out there yesterday. Permits went up yesterday and we will start clearing and pushing dirt probably Monday.
So.. that’s it for now. We will see how this goes.
Definitely taking a whole lot of time away from Ebay, Etsy and the start of the transition to SixBit. I may not go forward with this partner after these four because even though the money will be good, it is not my passion and I have a complete art studio I have waited 40 years to get into. I will have to decide on the quality of life vs. the money and tight scheduling thing that has been being discussed here on SL the past few weeks.
Mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art.
Amen RTWV: I am hearing all the Six Sigma guys saying, you go man! and remember “KAIZEN”. Always, always be targeting “Continual Improvement”!!! π π
Mike at MDCGFA
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This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by
MDC Galleries & Fine Art.
Hi Ashana… I am sure T-Satt will add to this, but I am currently in the transition to go from Wonderlister which we have used for about 4 years to SixBit. Why is a whole other story that I have mentioned here on SL. But we also used SixBit years ago before locking into WonderLister.
Troy does have all his items set to end and then re-list at the 30-day mark. It is done by using the “Allocation” tab function within SB. But it does take some work and understanding. Also, Ebay can and has thrown a monkey wrench into the mix for both WonderLister and SixBit. Both programs gather data FROM Ebay and when Ebay transmits wrong info. the both WL & SB will pick it up and it becomes embedded into the WL and SB inner workings.
One example, and this has happened 3 times over 4 years, when we ran a Sale on our items, and then the 30-day ending kicked in while the Sale was active, then Ebay would report back to WL and SB both, the lower Sale price as the regular price. Then when WL & SB did the auto relist, bingo, in went the 20% lowered [or whatever your sale price was], as the new regular price.
We caught this after a couple of Sales and we had items that had originally listed at $30, after 3 10% off Sales were now listed at a regular, no-sale price of $21.87. This issue hit both WL and SB. They worked with Ebay for months and months and still 2 years later I don’t trust eBayβs API and reporting procedure.
I talked with Troy [aka T-Satt] about this as well as the WL and SB team, and WL and SB said they were having a dickens of a time trying to work with Ebay. You would never get this type of issue to get corrected by going to Ebay reps. Only by way of WL and SB engineers working directly with Ebay engineers did I see the issue dwindle.
My solution was I went back to GTC and stopped ending items at 30 days. Troy and Veronica still do, and he does it through the use [I am fairly certain] using the Allocation Plan functions in SB.
There are a few SB videos on using the Allocation features and Troy can explain, but I wonder if SB and Ebay has had this glitch hit home again recently? I hope they have it fixed. But as we transition over to SixBit I am going to stick with GTC for a while until I trust that Ebay and SixBit are playing well together on the playground before I start ending and relisting items every 30 days and especially if I have a currently running Sale in progress. Maybe ending the listings automatically in SixBit, then BEFORE letting SixBit auto relist, I would check and end any Sale that may be on those ended listing, kill the sale, then let SB do the relist, but that sort of defeats the auto relist function.
We lost a lot of many due to those auto discounted items relisting at the lower sale price as a regular non-sale price. Of course, nobody offered to reimburse us because both WL and SB engineers were pointing fingers at Ebay and Ebay was saying we have known about this for a long time, and it is a complicated fix that required re-writing code and had no idea when they could have it fixed.
I would suggest until you have talked directly with SixBit and got assurances that you can use Allocation, auto end and relist every 30 days and if any of your items are on Sale, that when items are relisted, they will be priced BACK at your original prices jut stay with GTC.
I had the WonderLister time create a new field called maximum Price column. This column can never be edited by anyone, ever. This way if an item gets relisted at a lower price, I can see the original higher price I listed at and quickly correct it. But that is a work around not a fix.
We’ll see what troy says about the auto end and relist while on sale and if the Ebay reporting is throwing back lower numbers to SixBit? Hope he has been checking this if he is running any sales on his store?
Mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art
Hi Antarestar:
One thing to also remember. While yes, as you state, RR boxes do offer a little break on items shipped a zone or two out from your location, unlike Flat Rate, reg. Rate boxes can be used for regular priority.If an item fits in it and you want to use it to ship 3,000 miles away Priority, just make sure you print yourself a “Priority” label, pay the “Priority” rate and slap the label on the box. USPS doesn’t care. BUT-BUT- Those Reg. Rate boxes are much thinner walled and have a lower burst- crush strength because of it. We use the Reg. rate boxes for the inner box many times when we need to double box. We pack the RR boxes just like we are prepping to ship but then put that inside a thicker walled box, either a USPS box or even one of our generic brown boxes, but we always put the USPS Priority label on it and slap a few USPS Priority decals over all 4 corners.
If you didn’t already know any plain brown box can be made into a USPS Priority box, by putting Priority decals on it and then making ABSOLUTELY sure you print out and use a “Priority” label.
On Flat Rate, sure, only use those for Flat Rate shipments. I hardly ever use a flat rate anything because our TRS plus discount makes every package we ship less costly. And hardly ever to we get real heavy items that will fit in any FR box.
So, bottom line the RR thinner boxes are good for stuffing, tearing up and wrapping glasses in, etc. and using as the inner protection. But if a seller doesn’t get the discounts we get then RR may have an occasional value, but for us, it along with flat rate boxes are mostly scrap wrapping cardboard.
Mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art.
And don’t forget that a box resizer is a very good tool to have. We use ours a lot. After stuffing our box if it is more about an inch taller than where the stuffing comes up too we resize using the tool.
Cutting 2 inches off the height of a box can bring it back down under the dim. weight area. Also it will reduce the overall weight by just a little bit and on marginal weight boxes that are just an ounce or two over a given pound, taking a couple inches off of the box size and reducing the packing will bring the box down into the lower pound weight. After resizing boxes many times when a box was, say 5.1 lbs, it becomes 4 lbs. 15 ozs after resizing and in turn you pay less for shipping.
Something to think about…
Mike at MDCGFA
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