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Happy Birthday Ryanne and Happy belated Birthday to Jay. [we have been out of pocket for 3 plus weeks].
Ryanne, [u may be too young to know this], but 39 was the age that Jack Benny always stated. At this point he never went any higher. It became almost a trade mark statement for him.
For Jay [the numbers guy], I have bad news for you. I hate to be the bearer of bad news and the glass is half empty guy, but you like the numbers so here is a few truthisms.
At 45, if u calculate 90 +/- years of life these days, you are at the peak. I want to be the first to welcome you to the down side of the slope. Forget all the sayings, like I am only as old as I feel, etc, etc. From this point on, you will have less time to live than you have already lived, you will get slower in motion, slower in thinking, able to lift less, able to do less, your bones turn from rubber whereby you bounce to brittle whereby you break, you will ache more, sleep less, do bedroom stuff less, your skin starts to sag more, facial lines become deeper, bags increase in size and quantity, the whites of your eyes start to turn yellower, hair lines start receding, dark color of your hair starts to be peppered with white areas, joints begin to ache, stuff accumulates, sclothes seem to shrink for some reason, the scale seems to be always out of calibration and the needle always goes way too high, belts start to get shorter and, and.. so Jay Welcome to the backside of the slope!!!!! LOL HaHa 🙂 🙂
Ryanne, how about a game of tennis or a long jog!! 🙂
Just a joke guys… At 67 and 69 we just keep going the best we can each day and try to enjoy our Vintage Buying and Selling life.
Mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art in Atlanta 🙂
Liz, we follow pretty much what you outlined. Even have a short blurb about it that we cut and paste to the buyer saying we noticed two purchases and will combine if the objects and sizes make sense. If not then they will arrive in separate boxes. Then a short sentence or two that shows them how to request a combined shipment invoice if they so desire.
Mike at MDCG in Atl.
Pretty much the same for us, only I had moved away from corp. some time earlier, then did s remodeling business on my own but 2008 put that down. So started the Ebay thing with a neighbors stash of items while my wife still worked as a dental assistant for a few years. I got the Ebay going but found Scavengerlife a few years after I started, but early in Jay and Ryanne’s starting SL when they were back with Mikey and Wendy.
I think I recall SL having a dozen or so people that watched and no call ins in those days as well as Jay asking on several podcasts “Come on people, post something on the Blog and ask questions”. Now.. have plenty of things to talk about and many SL members who reply.
But glad i found SL and learned week by week from all the experiences shared here on SL. Also funny to listen to the old podcasts as compared to now. J&R have changed their minds on some things, their approach has changed and Ebay and policies have changed, but it all falls into the category of evolution. SL has evolved, the members posts have evolved, issues, how to handle them and the Ebay platform all have evolved. SL gives me atleast a more of a stable platform whereby topics can be discussed in a rational [most of the time LOL] manner and just worked out to a solution – conclusion that helps us function, grow and succeed. Not a lot of ranting and lunacy here.
Mike at MDCG in ATL
RTWV: Same for me as T-Satt on the hours. T-Satt and I have a similiar background in the corporate numbers and operations arena.
As salaried and head officer it was 24/7 for me for years. I usually worked about 2 years for year year of time span. My employees worked 2080 hours, me well over 4,000 hours per year. But I did get paid the big bucks and percentages of profit bonuses. But at some point it just no longer mattered. Time to get off the merry go round. Wife was worried it would kill me eventually and I couldn’t argue. Yes things got much tigther but we still make it, just with a lot less, which is OK. Just getting a little extra sleep every morning is very satisfying. 🙂
mike at MDCG in ATL
Julie B: I side with Adventure E here. Do a slow throttle down. Work the work side numbers as a gradual back off. We all know that corp. will try the hard court press but hard to push a player who has a minor injury. So to speak. So come up with your own “minor injury” that allows you to start the back down or roll back.
Then work those extra hours on your own business. Yes it will still mean 60 hrs. maybe even 90 hours a week, but you will be at home, in place with the family and can do it own your own schedule.
And as AdvenE says you can get away with your resume intact, a good reference if you need it.
Now according to new trends, a resume should only show your last 10 years of work experience [give or take what and where you read], but as you put distance between you and this last job, at some point down the road, it may be the only thing you have listed on your resume and you want it to be an OK reference. In my case my resume would be blank based on the 10 year rule of thumb, despite running multi-million dollar companies as Exceutive COO, been own my own long enough for a new company not to care what I did 15 years ago. But in my case I moved into retirement. HaHa LOL.
In your case, not knowing your age, you need to look ahead and think if you would ever need to re-enter the work force [corp. or not] and think how your resume and a background check would go. If you are older, then do as AdvenE suggest, get everything paid off, back down slowly and if the boss then decides to “let you go” for whatever reason you can also collect unemployment insurance for a period of months. Have your online selling platforms hitting on all cyclinders, then just “Do It” for the remainder of your life.
I have no idea what my resume looks like now, when it was last updated, or what it even says any longer and don’t care.
We all know it is a big, big, step.. and wish you all the luck..
Mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art in Atlanta
Tina: T-Satt uses SixBit because he basically likes the way it looks on his screen. I use WonderLister because it costs less. Both owners came from the Blackthorn Team and were Ebay employees for years and also worked on the Ebay Turbo lister program before Ebay stopped supporting and writing code for it.
John and Chavi were former project partners. John owns SB and Chavi WL. Both of these companies came about because they wanted to build and market a platform that was better than Turbo lister and Blackthorn combined. Both of them succeeded. I have used both. They both have Ebay send every bit of data that is available to them directly and they store it in their programs. Both will do everything Ebay does, plus cross post of other platforms. SixBit got Etsy going first but WonderLister got Shopify going first. Etsy will be coming out this fall. Also WonderLister automatically posts Tweets for us and InstaGram and FaceBook Market is on the agenda.
Also both have strong sorting, filtering, cutomized views that you control how you want to see the data. SixBit and what T-Satt likes is they also let you custpomize the data entry fields a little more than WL.
Finacial data goes back for years and is always there. Email programs are available. Sales reports by state, consignors [if you have any] and just so much more.
Both have 30 day trials. both will import your Ebay listings so you can try it and by the way, they don’t destroy your Ebay dashboard data, they import not delete things so if you dont like either of them. Abandon and go right back to using your Ebay interface.
We have our Shopify store just about set and will be moving about 900 plus items over to there this weekend. Then we will do the same when WL gets the Etsy interface all worked out.
Using either of these programs is like NASA’s Command Central. Everything you need to do right in one place. And with both, if you build a relationship with the team, they will also design and build in anything you want to have your version do thngs that the public versions won’t. MY WL has custom code written to allow me to have a lot of custom data fields to hold data about my listings that Ebay doesn’t have a space for.
Go to both web sites, open up two browsers at the same time, reduce your screen size or use two monitors [that’s what we do] and place each side by side and compare what all they do.
Then call them and talk with them personally. I did that years ago and also think T-Satt has also. Then ask them all your questions, tell them your fears, ask them can they do this and that for you. They are designers and love a challenge. Also they may share what is already on the drawing board. I know certain things that WL is going to be doing but that has to stay in the bag until release time. Don’t want SixBit to get hold of some information and certainly I am sure John and his team at SB feels the same way. Competitive advatge things I am sure you understand.
If one is serious about running any type of online business as a full time business, then as the CEO and CFO of your company you deserve to have Enterprise wide type of software to help you drive your business and achieve the level of success you aspire to.
Good luck in your hunt…
Mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art in Atlanta
[it’s good to be back from vacation and back online.. missed all of this]
Yeah.. agree and also the payers will get their “special tools” which will help to grow their business. Well then I guess those who do not pay, will not get those tools. And if you DO HAVE those tools then I suppose Etsy imagines that you will out perform your competition. If you out perform, then you will, I guess make more Sales and Make more Money.
Sure, maybe they won’t mess with the search results, but what will those “special tools” do for you if you have access to them as opposed to those who don’t? Hmm…
Haven’t watched the video yet, but will after we return from some errands.
Mike at MDCG in Atl.
I feel for you buddy. When our daughter was in high school she was on a field hockey team, soccer and a fast pitch softball team which she also joined a summer travel team. All of that sports equipment really added up. Body protection and use gear.
We finally sold the last of it a few years back. It took a long time to sell but eventually it was all gone. I still found a sack of about a dozen softballs a few weeks ago and a metal bat. But think I will just donate those to be rid of them.
She is 40 years old now, but still complains when she saw something of hers she left at our house listed in our stores. She was still thinking she could move on with her life for 20 years and leave all that stuff back at our house for FREE Long term storage. She soon got the message. HaHa LOL 🙂
Mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art in Atlanta
Yep.. Got it on and off all day yesterday.
None so far today.
mike at MDC in Atl.
Well, well, well… Here is a copy of the exact Email we just got. Note what they also saved for the “last paragraph”. They have implemented a 2 tier store level subscription. You can continue to use your store as is or upgrade to a subscription – membership.
Now I wonder what they are NOT GOING to do for the basic level sellers that they WILL DO for the Subscribers? Do you think maybe more juice, more exposure, more specialized placements, more tools, more analysis, etc., etc.?
You bet cha’. You pay more you get more. Just like all the other platforms.
Here is the email: …
Dear Seller Community,We’re writing to tell you about some changes at Etsy. We’ve been helping sellers on their creative journeys for 13 years now. We’ve focused on making Etsy the best place to run your creative business, and we’ve listened to sellers like you to learn more about what you need from us.
Now, we’re planning to invest even more in bringing buyers to Etsy, building seller tools, and improving your seller experience. To help make this happen, we’re updating our fees, and we’re adding some new features.
Effective July 16, Etsy’s transaction fee will increase from 3.5% to 5% and it will also apply to the cost of shipping. All other fees, including listing fees, will remain the same.
We’re also introducing new optional feature packages designed around the needs of sellers at different stages of growth, so you can access the right tools at the right time for your business.
If you’re happy with the services you currently use on Etsy, you can still access all the tools that are currently available to you without paying a monthly subscription fee. But if you want to do more, we’ll be offering two new plans: Etsy Plus, with tools to help businesses grow and express their unique brands, will be available in July. Etsy Premium, with more advanced tools for larger-scale businesses, will launch in 2019.
Explore our video and website to learn more about what’s changing and look for more information in the weeks to come. We’re excited to see what’s next for all of us as we continue to invest more in growing your business, together.
Mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art in Atlanta
Hey Retro WV: We have friends who are Mormons and they [and Mormons] are big preppers. When I asked how long they could go, they said about 7 years. They have metal shutters that go over all windows and doors from the inside and screw into place. Have 7 years of stocked food. Collect rain water in several 250 gallon tanks, eat from their own inventory to deplete older stock and replaces that with newer stock [first in first out method], has plenty of guns and thousands of rounds of ammo including automatic weapons [or semi auto] inclucing assault rifles, has flares, generators, basement panic room, cars with custom options built in like armored car [customized Escalade] 55 gal drums of fuel stored and all within a surburban sub-division. It is all hidden in special storage spaces and is totally inconspecuous.
Some people will be around long after you and I are gone after several weeks. he says the biggest threat will be the civil unrest, anarchy and total riots when those of us run out of everything after 2 to 4 weeks. That will be when I will be watching carefully. He said after several months we will be all dead or gone and his exterior surroundings will be less hazardous.
He sounded like the old Charleton Hestom movie Omega Man and a newer Will Smith movie called “Alone” [I think].
So even after diaster strikes, he says there will be “haves” and the “have nots”, but you will have to protect what you have if you are one of the “haves”.
Interesting to say the least.
Mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art in Atlanta
We certainly would buy into this. As you already know we build the shipping cost for Zone 8 into all of our Free Shipping items, which is mostly First Class but some are heavier. We have some 4 and 5 lb. items as Free Shipping and we have a $15 to $20 shipping charge built in. On top of that we also pad by another 30% to allow for Sales and Offers either singularly or combined. So correct… No such thing as Free Shipping.
But if Ebay showed the Total Price to the customer, these dollar amounts “would still be added in” because “There is no such thing as Free Shipping”. All of us and Jay can say this over and over and it is correct. We buy for a dollar amount, mark that up 5 to 10 times [depending], then add a 40% mark up on this so we can do a 20% off Sale and also take a 20% lower price offer at the same time the Sale is running, then add zone 8 shipping on top of that. Seems to not bother those who really want our more unusual, rare or unique items.
But having Ebay roll all this into one lump sum for the buyer doesn’t remove the labor burden for a seller that should be weighing, measuring and calculating freight costs at the time of listing.
We have a system that has allowed us to only miss the real shipping costs a few times over the past several years.
Mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art in Atlanta
OK.. Wife and I are Back from putting in 117 man hours since last Friday of packing and moving our daughter back from Orlando to Atlanta. She is temporarily back with us in guest rooms and balance in storage. Man what an ordeal. Never again. But it was for a promotion, new position and a big, big salary increase. But we told her we are just to old for this.
She will be buying her own home over the next few months.
So back online but have to catch up on over 60 Scavengherlife posts and need to review the last two podcasts.
So, T-Satt: I told you to hold the thought on the two week dwell time before a relisted item can go on sale.
So with us and you using SixBit and WonderLister, we now have all of our items converted over to the 30 days, the cancel and relist automatically. What is your take on the 2 weeks dwell time that Ebay won’t allow Sales.
My quick view is since we spread our converstion of the 970 items in our store out over the whole month, we have items that end everyday and relist, but we also have items that are hitting the 15th day-30-31st day each and every day. So I think what will happen is if we highlight all listings [970] and put the whole store on Sale for say 15% off, then Ebay will automatically filter out the newer ones and just not allow those to go on Sale and the older ones will allow those. So, in summary, any time we want to create a Sale, then about half of our items will be allowed and half will not? Is that the way you see SixBit working it?
As our store grows, to Say 1500 items, the same will happen. 750 items will go on Sale and 750 will not depending on how many relists with WonderLister each and every day.
We usually run a Sale starting every Wed. and let it run through Sunday night. Then wait two days, rinse and repeat. So with our 3rd party app always ending and relistings daily I assume we can never have the “whole store” on Sale, only half of it, give or take?
Am I seeing this correctly?
Thanks,
Mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art in Atlanta and GLAD TO BE BACK!!!!
