Deja Vu - Ebay Style

On Ebay Underground, Ryan from Terapeak was asking for an Australian Ebay member to help a colleague with their talk in Australia, at the Professional eBay & eCommerce Sellers Internet Conference on the Gold Coast.   My store would be used during the Terapeak presentation.   I was excited, and it put a little zing in my step.

So I contacted Ryan at Terapeak, and we hit a snag - I actually had to be a Terapeak subscriber for them to be able to use my store.   So I signed up for the free 1 week trial, I was able to see what I would get for my $29.95 USD per month.

The software is great, but with this awful economic climate, I am unable to even afford that much extra a month, when I can't even pay all my bills.   I had to turn the offer down, and miss a great opportunity.   I was waiting for the words "free" and "1 month" but they never occurred.  Oh well.

The software was helpful, but I could also see where it would help when I was "on the road" in the op shops looking at merchandise.

You see I do not have a smart phone.  Mine is the dunce in the class, it is ancient.   It takes ages to even log onto the internet, so I stopped trying.  All I use it for is phone-calls, text-messages and taking rude appropriate photos.  I can't even get my email to work on it properly.

So looking at Terapeak, I would like to get it one day, but should probably think about upgrading my phone so that I can get more business use out of that.

I have paid off my phone, and it is no longer on a contract - so I looked at the phones I could upgrade to.  I am currently on a plan that is about $33 a month.   When I hit the Optus website I saw that I could upgrade to a new Nokia Lumia 800 for $35 a month.   *Scream*   It has FREE unlimited access to eBay and Facebook.   Whoohoooo!   

So that is my new plan, whenever I can drag my sorry carcass down to the local shopping centre to the Optus store. 


I know that I can do all this on-line and get the phone mailed, but I'm very dense when it comes to phones, and I need to ask lots of stupid questions to the salespeople.  In this way I give their eye-balls some exercise as they roll their eyes behind my back at my utter stupidity.  But wow, a smart phone - I'm excited.   I will be moving into the Noughties phone-wise!!!

The title of my blog comes from the fact that from my limited time on Terapeak, I sold the same book 5 times.  

Here's how it happened.   I did some searches of books I'd had sitting around, I came across this little book.   

Yes, it's a diet book, don't worry it can't hurt you!!!!   You're fine, this is only a photo of it.  There are no photos of healthy meals or exercise plans on here.

There is also a Book 2 in this series, and I had been waiting to get copies of that to sell as a 2-book deal, as the postage of $10 was the same for one book as for 2.  In the meantime I had 4 copies of this book sitting around gathering dust.

Then I saw on Terapeak that this book by itself was selling for $11.   What, really?   

So I put one up.   Fifteen minutes later it sold.   I was a little surprised.

So I put the next one up.   Within 10 minutes there were 2 watchers.  Sold within half an hour.   I was *quite* surprised.

I put the next one up.  It sold within 20 minutes.    I was getting excited.  I put some depends on as emergency backup.

I put the next one up.  It sold within an hour.   I was getting to the point of gob-smacked.  I don't really know what the word means, but I *felt* that way.

I'm not sure if a rumour had gone around that these books had special pages that would get you high if you sniffed them or smoked them, because this was crazy.

So within the space of 3 hours I had sold the same book 4 times.  The reason I didn't put this up as a multiple copy listing was because these books were not all the same condition, and I like to have a photo of the actual book I am selling on the listing.

I went on the hunt for more.    I found another copy on my bookshelf.   I remembered thinking "one day I'll go on a diet".  I read the book and it said, lots of vegies, lots of exercise and no wine, so I screamed and hid it in my bookshelf.   That was a VERY close call, there.    

By now it was 5PM,  I put my copy up, and raised the price.   It sold within 2 hours.    I was now swinging off the roof and singing "Danny Boy" in an atrocious Irish accent

Yikes, I need to find a nest of these diet books and stock-pile them.  I have never ever had anything sell like this book.     (Mental note:  must sniff the pages of the last book before I post it, and see if I get high).

So this was an example of where Terapeak was very useful for me.   I also used it to get rid of some  useless older text books that were taking up space.       I dropped them off at my local op-shop this morning, and now have some lovely empty space.

Ebay sales have picked up a little in the past week.  I have sold a few videos and books and some board games.   The items worth mentioning

Videos:

Aussie Fit Low Impact Aerobics  $9.99

6 x X-Men Videos    $14.99   (not yet paid)

6 x VeggieTales Videos   $18

Wrestle War 1989    $9.99

6 x Winne the Pooh Videos   $16

Games:

Great Australian Gambling Game  $15.99

Rex Hunt Fishing Game  $15.99    (this sold within one day of listing)

Books:

2 x Vintage Patons Knitting Booklets @ $6.50

On my last blog, I mentioned that I had posted a huge box of DVDs/CDs/PC Games to Fishpond so they could sell them for me.    There were 78 items in the box.    They finally put the items up, and I had dabbled with the prices (up and down), and changed all the things they had described as New to Like New.   So far I have only have sold one DVD for $7.50 but that was a week ago, and the person has still not yet paid.  If they ever do, the payment will go toward my $15 postage cost for the box rather than into my empty wallet.    

I also noticed that not all the items had been put up on their website initally.  Finally the last 15 or so items appeared.   Obviously the box had been thrown around a bit.  These last items were listed with "lots of scratches" and "broken cases".   I also had an email from Fishpond saying that I could no longer list any more items on the website unless I posted them in to their warehouse.

So in the end, I think that Fishpond is a lost cause, and the end of another potential money-maker for me.   :-(

On Quicksales.com.au  (aka pissweaksales.com.au), I have copied over 170 items over from eBay.     If only they had a nifty download from ebay option.     I have gone through board games, children's videos, music videos, Mills & Boon bulk lots and am now half-way through sports videos.  There have been lots of clicks on my items, one query on combined postage cost, and absolutely no sales.  But I am going to keep plugging items up on there.

So always remember - Humility, Comity & Farternity.  That's my motto, especially after a few glasses of *medicine*.   

Where is my cleaning fairy god mother ?

In my childhood home where I lived from babyhood until I married at 23 years of age, I had the pleasure of having the bedroom that was next to the toilet.   I still haven't figured out whether that was a subtle indication of my importance in the family structure.


In a household of 6 - the bog-house got a good workout.  


This wonderful bedroom was where I spent my childhood hiding from the world, obsessively *rating* the same songs every weekend, inhaling books by the hundreds and writing atrocious stories and poetry.   
All this to the soundtrack of toilet sounds from the room next to mine.


No wonder I have a warped sense of humour.

Because of the stunning location of my bedroom, I am quite frankly, chuffed, to announce these defining moments in my childhood.   I submit these to the Head Shrink Doctor as evidence :


* Listening to my little brother, proud to now be house-trained, loudly counting the number of turds he was depositing in the thunder-box.   Let me tell you for such a small boy, he had a production line going there.


* Gasping in awe over the thunderous farts emitted from a tiny, 100-year-old lady who stayed with us for a few months.   Was my little brother hiding around the corner, sniggering into his grubby little fists.  You betcha!  


* The same little old lady was let loose in the house at night.  She would wander around in the wee dark hours, scratching the walls with her fingernails like something in a horror movie; drawn to the siren call of the dunny.      I would lie there in terror with the blankets pulled up to my neck.   Then one night, it happened!!    The door swung open - and there she was, silhouetted in the doorway.  As I lay there quaking in terror, she shot over to my bed at great speed, propelled by machine-gun-like farts.     Then she tried to get in the bed with me.     I think it's the only time in my life I have ever screamed.     Once that happens to you, the sight of a big hairy spider holds no fear ever again.  I promise you this.


*  Before the interruption of puberty, I slept with the door open.   Every morning, at about 6am, I would watch my mother backing out of the toilet on her hands and knees.    Much as I'd love to say it was because she was driving the porcelain bus, and hung-over from partying the night before - sadly, this is not the case.   Every morning, my mother would SCRUB the toilet and kitchen floors - on her hands and knees.
I would watch in awe, because it was kind of like something out of a Catherine Cookson novel.   She did this for years.   There was no mop and bucket until many years later.

I bet you're feeling all warm and fuzzy now.




I don't even know how I got onto this subject.   Oh yes - cleaning.  

The other day I did my bi-yearly vacuum of the flat.   I felt virtuous afterwards, I could look at my carpet without shuddering.   The dust bunnies were no longer breeding in the corners.


But the thing is, the only reason I did this was because I'm expecting *visitors* this week.   


Before I go further, I should explain that I never have visitors.  Apart from a few ebay customers who want to pickup items, the only people who have been to my flat are my parents, my sister, my younger brother and my friend Sue, who I sell items for on Ebay.    For me having visitors is as rare as a UFO sighting  (actually, perhaps rarer).

My ex-in-laws visited once - a couple of years ago - just after I moved in.  I felt I should invite them then because they had helped me find the place at a time when all I wanted to do was curl into a ball and stay hidden from the world forever.     I never saw them for two years after that.   This was because I felt guilty, and I felt like I was a disappointment to them because I had not managed to 'do my duty' and pump out any grand-children for them.


About six months ago, I learned through another source that my ex-MIL was sick.  So I rang and found she'd been diagnosed with breast cancer and had gone through a horrible time.  So I began visiting and taking her books and DVDs and flowers.    She was lucky enough to have a husband who looked after her, but I felt sorry for her, as her only child was living the life of Riley in the US and didn't care to interrupt his fun long enough to come home for a visit.   


Bottom line, we see each other regularly now, and I'm happy about that.   I always go to their house, because I'm not very proud of mine.


But now they say they might *pop-in* to drop something off.   Scream!  

My flat has not changed since the day I bought it.  The walls are still empty of pictures or decorations.  The garden beds still lovingly grow weeds.   The entire 'decorating' theme of my unit is called "Ebay Stock".   I have no knick-knacks, no cushions or throw rugs - I have towering piles of dusty videos, board games, books and cardboard boxes of misc.   I don't think that I could get away with saying that the new 'look' is rummage-sale-chic.  (Believe me, I've tried)


So I vacuumed, and I hung one small picture on the wall.  Then I got bored with it all.

I thought, sod it.  I'm trying to impress my ex-MIL who has a fantastic sense of decorating.  Everything matches in her house and it looks like a photo from Better Homes & Gardens magazine, but this is not me.


Everything does match in my place.    It's fairly clean, a bit neglected, and a bit of a mess - but then so am I.     Ergo ... my flat = me.


Done.   


Oh and my toilet, it's not next to the bedroom.  But since I'm the only one who gets to use it, whilst in occupancy, I throw caution to the *wind* and hum a jaunty tune just in case any nasty toilet flashbacks pop up from my childhood.  


Yes doctor, I'm quite sane.  Really I am.

No, that clicking sound is not my knees ...

Ebay sales are plummeting.  I know from my Ebug friends, that it is the same all over the world right now.   We have started a "clicking" campaign - where we form groups and click on items in each others stores because it has been rumoured that this will somehow push you up in the search listings and boost your sales.    So far - still crickets for me.  


Having said that, I love looking at my fellow groups items and seeing what they are selling.  I wish I could find the range of awesome items they have (and get the prices they are asking).   I hope that my clicking helps their sales.  I think it's awesome that we can help each other out in this way.   I think the jury is still out on this one, but it costs nothing to try, right?


These are my sales for the past week:


May 1st - Tuesday - $25.98
May 2nd - Wednesday - $28
May 3rd - Thursday - $14
May 4th - Friday - $35.22
May 5th - Saturday - $3.79  -    woohoo!
May 6th - Sunday - $17
May 7th - Monday $7.12


Giving a grand weekly total of $131.11


My weekly goal for sales is $300 - with this I barely scrape through - and some of the utilities bills get put on the credit card.


For a while there, a couple of months ago - I was up to $500 a week which allowed me to eat/drink and pay my bills.

Now that my ONLY income is getting sucked into the great Grimpen Mire - I need to find more sources of income.     Much as I'd like to join the fetish club and sell items of my used underwear and socks on fetish web-sites, I think I'll hold off on that for the moment. 

I have not yet given up on the idea of selling a fart in a nicely wrapped jar.  The cost of outlay is minimal, but I'm just not sure what ebay category to put it under.

I have 2 other sites where I sell items.  I use the word *sell* loosely.   On one of the websites I only had a few items up and it has sold one thing in the last year.     This is Quicksales.com.au - a site similar to Bonanza in the US.    No fees to put the items ups - low final sellings fees, but not many sales.   I have spent the last week copying and pasting like an insane beast on one day, and then taking photographs the next.  I managed to copy over my board games (about 20), and also my bulk lots of books (about 30).   Next, I hope to start adding my videos.   Whilst I'm doing this, I'm not managing to put much new stuff on Ebay - but considering I now have 1,000 items and am making diddly-squat, I'm really not that fussed right now.  I'm just relisting items that end.

I'm interested to see if Quicksales lives up to their name, now that I've got more items up, but I think in my mind I'm already calling it Pissweaksales.    I keep plodding along and adding more stuff up - once it's there it can sit there for ages, so the effort is worth it (I hope).   I'll let you know if anything happens.


The other website is Fishpond.com.au.      They used to sell mainly books, and then added an option where you could sell your second hand books through the web-site.   Since then they've added DVDs, CDs, Video Games and many other things.  A couple of years ago just before my marriage went tits-up, I was making $600 a month on this web-site.  I had so many book sales, I couldn't keep up with posting them.    Of course, then everybody else jumped on the bandwagon, and now my sales on there are ---- WAIT FOR IT .....   $6 a month.    Yep, that sucks big time.     Especially when it takes them about 3 weeks to pay you for the sale.


Then the other day I got an email about their new thing called "Smartsell" - where you send them a box of books/DVDs/CDs/Computer Games.  They store it in their warehouse, put the items up and take care of posting them out for you when they sell.  The good news is they pay you in 2 days (after taking their cut of course).    


I dithered over this.   You had to pay $15 per box of goods to get them sent to their warehouse.   I sent a message to them asking what the limit was on the box size.


The reply I received was "just a normal-sized box."

I considered that one for a while, and wondered what they'd think if my idea of a normal-sized box was one that a new refrigerator came in.   I stamped down on my snarky inner voice, and considered my options.    


The boxes I had (whoops, are they are all ones that have held bottles of wine, how interesting), were quite small.   I couldn't imagine fitting much in them.   I finally bit the bullet and got a decent-sized box, but I had to BUY the darn thing at the post office for $4.50.


I couldn't fit many books in it still.  I needed to maximise the amount of items I could squeeze in to justify the $15 postage.    I looked at the CDs and DVDs and computer games that I still hadn't put up on Ebay (and my own that I didn't want).  I could fit a lot of these in the box.   So I stuffed it full - and managed to fit 78 items in the box.  It bulged at the edges, so I taped it to within an inch of its life.

The courier picked it up yesterday.   So they're winging their way off to Sydney and should get there tomorrow.  Fishpond should have the items uploaded on their website by early next week.    All I need to do is check that they aren't giving the items away at way too low prices, and sit and wait and see if this will generate me any money.   


I have my fingers, toes, and eyes crossed.


In my last blog, I mentioned the two prints that I was selling for a friend.  These two auctions ended over a week ago.


They didn't go for the high price that we had hoped, going on past sales, but I needed the money at the time, so we can't be too greedy.  (or can we ???)  - *hint: I certainly can*


These are very collectable, so keep an eye out for these by J H Lynch.

Another Source Of Income - Paid Surveys $$$

First of all - here is a big bunch of flowers for my followers.    Thanks for your kind words.


I'm kinda embarrassed about my dark post yesterday, but it was cathartic - and it did help, as did all my lovely messages.    I slept well last night and today I feel better.


I bought myself a bag of kiwifruit - and I will try to eat one a day.  I'll probably just end up feeding them to my parrot, but at least I tried.  Right?


When I get down, I get really down - but then I bounce back like a rubber ball.


Today is a new day.  No more moaning for another month.




If you haven't already discovered the world of Paid Surveys, you should give it a go.   Here's a small glimpse into what appears in my In Box.


Yesterday, my sales were in the toilet, I hit my inbox to give it a clear out.


I received a new email from one of my many Paid Survey websites that I belong to.  It offered me this:

I nearly swallowed my tongue!  Get paid $50 to listen to 360 music tracks and give my snotty opinion on them?   Yes please!  I hit that Survey button as quick as I could, sure that I wouldn't qualify.   But I did.

So the rest of the afternoon, in the foul mood that I was in, I swapped between listing ebay items and listening to tracks.  In the end I found it quite relaxing, and very satisfying.


For each track, I had to select whether I:  a) had never heard of it,  b)  liked it   c)   Hated it.
If I chose a) - I had to choose whether I actually like the song or not.
If I chose b) - I had to choose whether I LOVED the song, or just LIKED it.
If I chose c) - I had to choose whether, I was just plain SICK of the song, or whether I HATED it so much, I would change the station.


This was a survey from a radio station obviously.  It was the easiest $50 I ever made.

The only downside - with this company I can only spend the money on :  Ticketek vouchers, online Magazine Subscriptions or Cinema vouchers.  Given I never go out, options 1 & 3 are out.    I now have $80 worth of Magazine Subscriptions sitting there waiting to go.   Hmmm, Mother's Day is coming up, I might use it for that.


I am signed up with lots of survey companies.  Most of these are Australian.


Opinions Paid
Cafestudy
globaltestmarket.com    (this is US based)
My View
Valued Opinions
What Do You Think
Your Opinion
My Survey
My Opinions
Pure Profile
Survey Village
Your Voice
Nine Rewards
Aussie Think


I have my In Box set so that any emails from these go straight into a folder entitled "Opinions".   I check that every day and go through the ones there.


This is my Opinions folder at the moment.  There's a few for me to go through.

Given I have already cleared out a few of these, I still have a lot to go through.  Because I belong to so many Paid Survey companies, I can get anything from 10 to 15 (even more) surveys sent to me a day.


All these companies are different.  Some offer points to be accumulated.  When you get enough you can redeem them for things.  Some offer cash incentives, also to be accumulated and redeemed.  Some give you an entry into a monthly prize draw.


The items that you can redeem points for are varied - usually gift vouchers at various stores.  Some will transfer cash into your bank account, others into your Paypal account.   Some will have options where you can donate your money to charity.  


Other companies pay you for reading emails - these are only small amounts (usually 10 to 30 cents) - but it all adds up in the end.


Here's a look at at one of the emails in my in box:

This is my newest company.  This one is nearly $5 for a 30 minute survey.  That's pretty good money.  The hint with these is not to just sit down and do them all in one go.  I have them open on a different screen and between ebay listing, I swap between them and do a few questions and then go back.  Otherwise I would get bored.


Especially if it's an a$$-rippingly boring survey on credit cards or mobile phones (my two most hated ones).


Surveys can be anything from 5 minutes to 30 minutes on average.  Some can go as long as 3 hours (taken over a few days).


If you want to find some paid survey companies to join, just google the words "paid surveys" and see what comes up in your relevant area/country.


My hints for joining are:


1.   NEVER pay money to a website to get the names of paid survey companies.  These are rip-offs.  You can get this information just by searching the net.


2.   If you have children you will get into a lot of surveys.   I don't, so I get kicked out of a lot of surveys for that.  :-(


3.   I list myself as a small business owner.    I get a lot of high-paid surveys because of this.  Even though I'm only a sole-proprietor company, my opinion is still wanted on many business decisions I make.


I currently get inundated with surveys.  I browse through them and choose the shorter ones and do them as soon as they arrive.  Anything with an interesting subject or a decent reward goes next.  All surveys have an expiry date which could be from 3 days to 2 weeks from the time you receive it.


RADIO STATIONS


Your radio stations want your opinion.  They will put you in prize draws or give you rewards to rate their music.   Just find the websites of your radio stations that see what they have on there.


This is one I joined last year.  Every week or so I get to "Rate the Hits" - they play me 20 of the new/popular songs and I have to rate them.   I wade through the current crappy music and give them a rating.   With only 20 songs, it only takes about 2 minutes.   I have to rate the songs on a meter that goes between  *This Song Makes Me Want to Vomit*  (just kidding) - to *I love this Song!*    Easy as pie.


This is the email I received yesterday from one of my stations, FOX FM:

This station has different prizes on offer each time.


In the past year, I have won:


~ 5 x DVD Pack
~ 2 x CDs
~ a $50 gift voucher for Coles-Myer
~ a $200 gift voucher to a shopping centre.  This is nearly an hour from where I live.  It's still in my purse, and I will get there sometime when I can afford the petrol.


In this email I've just received, the prize is some concert tickets.   If I won those puppies, I would fling them onto Ebay ASAP.


So once I've vented my spleen on such ultra-crappy music as "Puff Daddy Mo-Ho Featuring Miss Pooh-J Versus Bunghole Gang - and rated them as *this song makes me want to eat my own head*, I feel virtuous.

 I'm having a hand in trying to save the world from crap - sorry, rap music and possibly winning something - this is a good definition of a win/win situation.


The other side of survey companys, are ones where you get the chance to try new products and give your opinion on them.  Either you go to the survey company's office - or they post it to you at home.  You try the product and then after a certain amount of time, they send you a survey and you complete it.   You get the product for free, and sometimes you get sent a gift voucher, or get allocated points as well.


The last product test I did was in February, and I got sent a huge bar of bath-soap.  I did the survey, and then they sent me a $10 gift card as well.


I have also tested at home :  canned soup, panty liners, face moisturising cream, body moisturising lotion, tissues, Fish Oil capsules, herbal tea bags, fly spray and household cleaner.     There are others that I can't remember right now.


That's a pretty good service.    If you haven't done Paid Surveys before, I suggest you give them a try.  I find them very worthwhile.  Let me know if you do to.   Mention me as the person who referred you.  *wink*


Oh, this is the other bunch of flowers pictures I wanted to post.

Bwahhhhaaaa,  I wonder where they stuck the flowers???


Hope it made you smile.   :-)

In a Black Hole with a Black Dog ....

It's been over three weeks since my last blog.  Naughty me.


The past two weeks have been school holidays here, and also the Easter break.    My sales plummeted to the point where I didn't even need to go to the post office everyday, and on the days I did, I was posting no more than a $6.00 sales.  That is very bad.   No only my sales, but my life is disappearing into a black hole.


At the moment I have $15 in my bank account, and my amount of money waiting to go from Paypal to the bank account won't even cover the postage costs that I have put on my credit card.


I'm going backwards.


It's very scary.   It's very demotivating, and I feel deflated and useless.   The Black Dog is beginning to circle me again.

I know the sales can get lower during the school holidays, but this is the worst they have ever been.


For the past 3 weeks I've been eating packaged frozen meals, which are much cheaper than *real* food - and drowning my sorrows in chips and my *ahem* grape juice.     So now my weight and my digestive system have suffered.    I haven't done any exercise for over a year, I haven't eaten any fruit for ages, and any vegetables I buy shrivel in the fridge before I get around to cooking them.     I can't seem to get myself out of this rut.


I haven't been to an op shop for 3 weeks - I don't have the money to buy petrol or afford any new stock items.  I have spent the time going through my piles of stock at home and getting them listed - so seeing the piles go down and my flat looking a little cleaner is a good feeling, even if I'm getting no buzz from shopping and no sales.


I don't even have any sales from the past 3 weeks worth mentioning on this blog - or anything new that I've picked up or learned.  I am a big fat empty space.


I'm finding every tiny little setback is affecting me more than usual.  I've been worried about my Dad's health, and ferrying him & my Mum around to various medical appointments.  He's 84 in a couple of months, and is seeming to age suddenly now.   We were worried he was getting dementia.    (Personally,  I'm not surprised - living with my mother would drive anybody insane).    But after the tests a couple of days ago it turned out to be just a lack of Vitamin B12.   The doctors were very pleased with his *ahem* insides, and said he had the stomach and bowels of a man 20 years younger. 


Now we just have to worry about whether he needs a hip replacement or not.    Tests for that next week.  


I wish I was like my Dad.   He does not stress.   He lets everything wash over him like water over a duck's back.   I am a worrier.   At the first sign of things not going well, my stomach instantly produces enough acid to eat through steel and my bowels turn to water.   I am sure my insides are not in such a fine state as my 83 year old Dad's.


I just don't know how to relax, and *chill out*  Maybe I should start smoking pot.

A couple of weeks ago my friend Sue brought over a couple of pictures for me to sell.


These should go for nice prices at auction.


The first is called "Nymph" by J H Lynch

Here are the completed's.


The second is called " Woodland Goddess " by J H Lynch


Here are the completeds for this one.

They are retro and more than a little garish and tacky and quite large at over 1 metre in height.   But hey, they have titties on them.  :-)
I have put off listing them until the slump on ebay finishes.  Even this week after the school holidays have ended the sales have been appalling - I guess everybody's $$$ are still recovering from the holidays.


Sue now rings me every week asking "how things are going on ebay."   I told her I wouldn't put them up until after the holidays.    Now, because they will be Pickup Only, I want to list them so they finish around lunch on a Saturday.  I don't want them finishing on a weekday, because people will want to visit my house at night.  No way Jose!!   So I won't be listing them until this Saturday.


She rang 3 times in last few days and left messages.  One time I was out, one time I'd just sat down to eat my tea, and the 3rd time I was in the bath.   I didn't answer the phone.   It's beginning to stress me out.     I hate my home phone - I hate the sound of it ringing.   I don't like phones, and won't ring somebody unless I REALLY have to.   I guess it's just the way my brain is wired - or just the fact that I'm an anti-social old bag.


I need to get a life.  I haven't gone out in over 2 years.  I've lost interest in all the hobbies I used to have, except reading books.   I haven't seen a movie in 3 years.  But the sad part is, I don't want to go out amongst people.  I'm content on my own.  Yet still I feel empty and hollow and lonely.  I wake at 3am and start worrying over things I can't control : my aging parents, thoughts of me dying alone on the kitchen floor because nobody cares, thoughts of spending the rest of my life alone.


I'm a 64 year old invalid living in a 44 year old's body .  


My next book to read will be "How to not Sweat the Small Stuff", but I fear my inner cynic will just sneer at the words of wisdom.


With any luck by next week, I will be out of the doldrums, and not such a sad sack.  Until then, I had to check in and let you know I'm still alive, and barely kicking.


Until then the Black Dog is howling for a feed ......

Update - I found the culprit

Of course I couldn't let it rest.  I wanted to know what I had done wrong.  I spent my whole afternoon using eBay reports to hunt the culprit down who had caused me to lose my Top Seller Rating.


I went all Sherlock Holmes on her arse, and the butler did not do it.   I was, quite frankly, shocked to see who the guilty party was.


The culprit contacted me on 10th March asking me about combined postage for 2 books.  I informed her that the postage for 2 books was the same as for 1 book.  She was happy.  She purchased the said books.
I sent her invoice with a happy friendly message (as usual) and she paid for them on 12th March at night.

I posted them on the 14th (as I do my packing the night before, and her payment came very late at night.


Postage was $6.50 for a 500g satchel with parcel tracking.  The normal cost - nothing nasty added here.
I emailed her with the tracking details and a nice message.    Tracking shows the parcel arriving on the 19th.  (Don't ask me why it took that long to get to New South Wales)  ????


Then on the 25th she left me this sterling feedback:

   Because she bought 2 books from me, she had the pleasure of giving me :


*   a Rating 2 in Communication + a Rating of 2 in Postage Charges for "Shattered"


AND


*  and a Rating 2 in Postage Charges for "Dewey".


What the heck?   Was she just randomly pulling ratings out of her bum?     Although I wasted my day doing this I feel better.   I had other ideas of who the culprits were, and I was completely wrong.  My apologies to them.   I now know I didn't deserve those ratings.   I have a very thin hide, I needed to know the what-fors and who-bys.   I am sated.


Needless to say this person has been blocked.


I have her address, and I'm sending around my new boyfriend (tee hee!) to rip her a new one:

This article was of great help to me.   I will set up a template of a report where I can quickly pinpoint any future culprits.   (please, nooooooo)


I ache all over, I need a hot bath and a bottle or two of wine.


Cheers!

Shoot that poison arrow .... through my TRS ...

Yes, shoot that poison arrow through my Top Seller Rating.


Nothing gets me scooting off to write a blog quicker than being shafted.  In fact, I think I got a bit of whiplash getting to my computer so fast.
So be warned: there is whining ahead with some lashings of sarcasm - but there are also some book BOLO's at the end to keep you reading.  :-)


I have never been a cup-half-full kind of person.  I go around with a permanent look of the downtrodden, constantly waiting for somebody to kick me in the teeth.  I think that doesn't help - I think sometimes that encourages the bad karma.


This morning I got up, made my morning cup of tea and turned on my computer to read my emails.   I feel like crap - my sinuses hurt, my eyes itch and my fingers have swollen into sausages.   Already a pretty nasty sight at this time of the morning, today in particular, I was enough to make the milk sitting in the fridge begin to sour just a little.


I click through my emails with an indifferent finger -


CLICK


No new eBay sale notification emails.   *sniff*


CLICK


I've won that $250,000 Reader's Digest prize AGAIN!!!!   *bwahahhah*


CLICK


Your seller status is no longer Top-rated.      *hmmpphhh*


CLICK


Brain starts to catch up.    Screaming backtrack.   What !!!????


I'm not ashamed to say that I cried like a baby.

I pounded my chest.  I tore at my hair and I wailed like a banshee.   Why meeee?   The world hates me.   I don't know why I even bother anymore....   I'm a fat ugly failure ......


Etc... Etc... you get the idea.


I hit Facebook and eBay Underground and got some much-needed support and advice from my on-line friends.  I really appreciate their help at times like these, as I have nobody else to turn to.  


Things weren't that bad.  The world wasn't going to end.   The milk in the fridge heaved a sigh of relief.   The wine began to shiver in anticipation of the evening ahead.


I looked at my DSR status and found that somebody had jumped in and given me a rating 1 or 2   - 3 times!!!.   No wonder my rating did a belly-whacker.


All my feedback has been glowing.     I have my suspicions on who did leave me these dings - and I'm not sure if they did it out of spite, or just because Ebay lacks any kind of education to buyers on this thing.    I know I provided a good service - I know it wasn't because of anything I have done.  I need to stop kicking myself up the arse and move on.


So I decided to have a look at what I was missing out on by losing this Top Rated Status.  Surely there are lots of huge benefits, discounts and bonuses for having this high standing (other than having a pretty little badge next to my user name) - why else would I be flogging myself over losing it?


I go to Ebay information and find this listing of the huge benefits that I had been awarded for being a good little girl.

Wow - look at that long list of benefits and discounts I was being awarded.   I'm SO PRIVILEGED !!!


Just for a hoot, lets look at the information on what bells & whistles I get for my "improved search standing".   

Do note the note.  The note is very note-worthy.  It's basically telling me that I get bugger-all.   I would get better increased exposure by taking ebay photos like these.

I am now better educated on something that I valued, because I thought it was a reward for my good work.     


The DSR rating system is a farce.    My DSR page noted that I could look at what my low ratings were for and use it to improve the way I work.    How can I friggin' do this if anybody can ding my stars without me getting any communication on what I have done wrong, (if anything).


~~~~~  END OF RANT  ~~~~~~~~~~


In my last blog, I promised some BOLO's  for books.   There's only a couple here, but these are things to look out for.


Cowboy Books.

No no - not THOSE kind of cowboys. 


I mean the real ones - the manly ones with hair on their chest.  They smoke cigarettes, shuffle cards,  and tote guns.  They love fast women and drinking whiskey.  They're so tough, they probably fart bullets.

When I had my book exchange - the men would come in rabidly looking for these books.  I used to call them "Mills & Boons for Men".


Here in Australia, they are rare as hen's teeth.   My friend Sue rang me one day and said she'd just bought 230 Westerns at a garage sale for $20.     


I looked them up and saw that one lot of 20 had sold at auction for $25.   Really?  That's crazy.  These aren't even full-length novels.  They're just little books and they only have about 95 pages. 


I sorted through the books and threw quite out a few that were water damaged.    The remaining ones were not in great condition, and I made sure to mention that they had a slight musty smell.
I put up 9 lots - BIN at $26.   I still have enough for 2 more lots and maybe a couple of lots of more damaged ones at a lower price.


They sat for a couple of weeks so I did a 5% off sale. 

So far I have sold 5 of these lots and still have 4 left.  So that's $130 so far (even sharing half with Sue) - still a good profit.

The other BOLO is Weight Watchers books - especially the supermarket guides that allocate points to different food items.


When someone goes on WW, they want all the bells & whistles to help them achieve their goal.  Those books are expensive to buy brand new.


I found my first one a couple of weeks ago.  This book is not a ProPoints book (which is the current WW Points program), but I checked the completed's and decided to give it a go.  This book costed me 25 cents.  It sold within an hour.

Then last week I found these two.  These are current ProPoints books.   They costed me 20 cents each.  These also sold within an hour.

So now I make sure to keep an eye out for these.


Do you have any quirky little books that you have any BOLO's for?


Now I've got all that off my chest, I will go and have a nice cup of tea - using my new fresh bottle of milk.   :-)