A Doctor in the House has moved to www.beatricebanks.blogspot.com: 03/01/2010

Friday, March 26, 2010

Picture shopping for Easter....

Posting to How Sweet the Sound Pink Saturday

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Our Founding Fathers would have gotten on their knees and prayed to determine how to vote on an important issue like health care and since it is Sunday, this would have been the most excellent day to pray, instead of using Sunday as a voting day.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Find me on Polyvore
I really don't need another hobby, project or web site to give me something to do. In fact, I'm drowning in the stuff already. But..I recently found a blog called The Old House in Texas owned by Necel. She gave a great ~~addiction~~ tip. Polyvore.com. A site where you can click and drag all sorts of art and fashion to make collages. If you need retail therapy but can't afford it, this is for you. So fun! Scroll over the above collages and you'll see my first set, "Paris." Paris is a dream trip which hubby has promised me when he finishes school/residency. You can click on each individual item to find out its source and price. Like the $1,435 purse from Barneys. (cough, choke) But the camera is only $140 at Wal Mart. I liked the color. Go over to Polyvore and try it, you'll love it!

Also want to mention a fab giveaway over at Always Nesting- a $25 TJ Maxx gift card. Boy, wouldn't I like to win that! If you haven't met Marla yet, go visit her blog. She's one of the sweetest and wittiest ladies I've met in blogland.

Friday, March 12, 2010

To Ebay or Not to Ebay, Spring

How do I know it's Spring? I just made over $600 by selling my sons' spring clothing from last year on Ebay! I buy my kids clothes from consignment, yard sales, clearance in dept. stores/ boutiques and even ebay. I look at it as an investment. Friends ask how much time it takes to sell on ebay. Broken into segments- taking pictures, listing and then packing/shipping, approx. 3 days worth of work for 80 listings, 65 sold.

For Pink Saturday, here's a sampling of what I sold -

The RL shirt was purchased on clearance at Dillard's last year for $9.99. Sold for $7. Some other shirts bought at the same price sold for 9.75.

The Abercrombie set was purchased at a yard sale for $5 and sold for $22. Not a bad return. Maybe I'll even have a little left over to buy these cute tennis shoes found at .Zazzle.

Well, not really. They're cute but not $60 cute. The only place I'd probably wear them is to the kids' Egg Hunt. Come to think of it, it's the teacher in me who's really attracted to them. Where else would you hear, "Oh, Mrs. W, I love your shoes! They're beautiful. Can I try them on? Hey everybody, look at Mrs. W's shoes!" and then immediately be swallowed up with oohs, ahhs and giggles. I love kids!

Thanks to Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for hosting Pink Saturday!

Are there any fellow Ebayers out there who sell/buy kids clothing or other items on Ebay? Share a tip if you have one. (This is not a promo for Ebay and sadly, I don't even get paid for advertising.)

Top 10 things I have learned, still have a lot to learn!

1. Always list the size in the title. Some newbies forget that. Everyone searches by size first.
2. Name brands sell best. Gap, Gymboree, Ralph Lauren, Abercrombie, Tommy Hilfiger, Strausburg, if you buy kids' clothing, you know the hot brands. List it in the title. If you have something which isn't name brand, pair it. Circo shorts suddenly look different when paired with a RL shirt. A sure sell every time? Smocked clothing. Never listed one which didn't sell.
3. Sell seasonal items. Winter items won't sell well in the spring. Put them in a box and save them for early fall. The later it is in the season, the harder to sell, or get maximum amount. ***Only sell very clean, spotless clothing. If there's any imperfection, disclose it.
4. Don't overprice items. Search to see what the average price is going for. I do better selling individual items/sets vs lots. Just a personal preference. I do lots when I don't think the items will sell on their own. Auction style, 7 days, seem to work best for me. You limit yourself with "Buy it now" and a set price.
5.. Buy a pair of scales. Worth every penny. This is a must if you're going to sell more than a few items!
6. Pay postage through PayPal. It saves money and time.
7. Use Avery shipping labels to print out address labels/postage via PayPal. Another fantastic time saver! (That option is right on your ebay listing at the time customer pays.)
8. Items over 14 oz. must ship priority instead of first class (the cheapest way to mail.) The USPS has free priority mail envelopes which are thick enough to not tear during shipping. Pick up as many as you need in your USPS lobby.
9. If you mail in a brown envelope (my preference), put the clothing in a gallon zip lock bag or some kind of plastic. Otherwise, it can get damaged or wet. I once received an outfit where the red ink from the postal stamp bled through the package and damaged it.
10. Courtesy goes a long ways. You want to receive positive feedback to build up your rating. Otherwise, buyers will not buy from you. Work with people when they're not happy even if you have to give a refund. Just like anything in life, communication is key.

I know there are many of you out there who are probably pros. But for anyone just getting started, I'm happy to help you if you need it. Just email me.
Happy Ebaying!
tAmMy

Friday, March 5, 2010

Cottage Inspiration

My idea of the perfect decor is forever changing. Wish I could own a home to reflect every single style I love. An urban loft in the city, a ranch in the country, a cottage near the beach, an arts and crafts in the burbs, a Victorian or Tudor in historic downtown, a Georgian on lush acreage and a farmhouse near the lake, just to name a few. I have H.I.C. (aka House Identity Crisis) But for today, I am inspired by my new Cottage Style magazine. Have you got a copy yet? Oh, you must! Here's a sampling. The photos are all so luscious. (The pink decor is for Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound, check out all the pink loveliness over there. And of course, the inspiration is my contribution to Friday Inspiration over at the Inspired Room, a beautiful blog!)

On a tech note, can anyone tell me why some of my photos come up as a blank square and why some photos do not show up on other blogs on my screen? Thinking maybe I did something wrong with one of my settings? Any help is greatly appreciated as I'm also C.I.C. (aka Computer Intellectually Challenged)