Climbing the Family Tree

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to reluctantly part with my genealogy microfiche collection.     I started buying these about 20 years ago when I  ~  a.   had a life /   b.   had money to spend.

Researching the family tree became my passion.    It was a grand mystery to be solved - link A to B, and track the trail further back.   It suited my nerdy/Aspberger's personality  The funny thing about genealogy - to get extra information about your ancestors - to put meat on the bones, so the speak - they had to have either been rich or naughty.

I'm very lucky that mine were naughty (I would have been luckier if they had been rich).   Yes, tragedy, naughtiness and poverty abounds in my family tree (and still does!) - which is chock full of coal miners, factory workers, servants, labourers and farmers.   Yet sadly, none of them were convicts that were sent to Australia!!   (This would be due more to their cunningness at not getting caught, rather than having never committed a crime).

Yes, I found out some things that weren't meant to be known.

I found out my mother was # 8 of 15 children.  I didn't know that.  Mum wasn't too happy when I found out, and I was questioned sharply on exactly why I had to do the family tree anyway.    I had only met two uncles and one aunt, and knew of two other uncles that I'd never met, and one who had died when I was young.   I only know that because when I was a child (about 10), I opened the front door one night in my PJs and dressing gown, and found two policemen standing there.   Later I quizzed Mum about why they were there, and she finally admitted that my Uncle John had died.   Uncle John?  Who? I'd never heard of him ...   That got quickly swept under the mat, but those two policemen stayed in my child's mind, because I had been in awe of them - so tall in their smart uniforms.

Having never known any of my grandparents -  and my parents,  aunts & uncles being of the era where children were seen and not heard - none of these things were talked about.  

I got the genealogy bug when I was about 25, and never stopped from there.   I had to visit my parents with a bottle of wine and get them half-cut, before the stories came out of their loosened lips and I would sit there scribbling in my notepad.

Anyway, searching for something to make some money so I could pay my mounting bills, I found my plastic container full of microfiche and decided to let them go.   I didn't even have a microfiche reader - that got sold 3 years ago when I was forced to move, so they were of no more use to me.   I had gleaned all the information I needed from them already.  

But I had no idea if there were of use to anybody else.  Surely all this information was now available on CD, or on the internet?

I searched for previous sales in the "Genealogy" section of eBay, but there was just so few microfiche that had been for sale, that I had no prices to go on.  My microfiche contained censuses, and baptism/marriage/burial registers for certain counties in Scotland and in England, and few from Australia.

I put most up for auction, and the single ones up for BIN prices.    There was interest from all over the world - and they ended up being sent to Scotland, England and the US (and within Australia).
Every single one of them sold - and my total sales in the end was just over $600.   I had been without the pleasure of watching a bidding war for so long, these ones had my granny undies dancing with joy.

Here are a couple of the sales, so you get an idea.   Lots of people bought multiple microfiche.  Or microfishes - as one customer hilariously called them.   ;-).

I still have a few left - some of them I don't know what to do with, as I don't have microfiche reader any more, and they have no title on them - I basically have no idea what is on them.

So, if you ever see some microfiche (or microfishes) lying around your op shops - be sure to pick them up if the price is right.     Then somebody else with a microfiche reader can get motion sickness like I used to - scrolling through the pages.   Happy days.

22 Hours Later ....

I can honestly say that was one of the worst 24 hours of my life.


Where did you go in that time, Dad?    You don't know or won't say.   You turned up home at noon yesterday (Thursday) looking like a grey, gaunt ghost - totally unsurprised to see your entire family at home at midday on a Thursday.   Unsurprised to see me bawling my eyes out, and nearly faint with relief.    When I gave you a hug, you felt like a frail shell of my father.   You left when the sun was high one day and got back home the next day when the sun was high, and to you it was still the same day.  You hadn't eaten or drunk anything for 24 hours.

You drove to a medical centre 20 minutes away to pay a bill at 2:30pm on Wednesday, and then disappeared.  We know you you made it there because we rang the receptionist.   It was on a very busy road, and you don't know the area very well. But the exit from that medical centre only lets you turn one way - but that wasn't the way you needed to go to get home.

So you kept driving - in the wrong direction.  Away from us.


You are 84 years old.  You have been blessed with good health, but after being rear-ended in a car accident a couple of years ago you have declined in health & mind.   You have lost weight, and grown vague, and you have lost interest in the world around you.

My mother, frustrated with the way you have declined has responded to this by nagging you 24/7, and calling you names liked 'useless' and 'pathetic'.   You don't know how sad that makes me.  I know it hurt you inside.  You have always been quiet like me, but now you stopped talking at all.

But then we got you a plethora of doctors, and you were responding well -  a cause was found - anaemia from the kidneys not working properly.   The last few weeks you had started to put on weight, your hands have shrunk back to their normal size, and you have taken an interest in your hobbies again.   Just last weekend, I was talking with you & Mum, and a holiday to Queensland was mentioned.  I saw your eyes light up, as you discussed where you would stay on the 4 day drive up there.  You don't know how happy that made me.


What happened on that drive?   You mentioned driving in the night, and not remembering how to put the headlights on.  I am horrified.   You have no idea where you drove to, but you do remember stopping for petrol & a toilet break.

Yesterday, after the police & everyone had gone - and it was just you, me & Mum left.   You said that you'd "gone to do your job, to go and make some money.  To make some deliveries."

You used to be a courier, and your job was making deliveries in Melbourne and beyond.  You didn't retire until you were 75 years old.   You did this job for about 20 years and you loved driving your car.  

You want to go back to a time when you had a job and a purpose to life.  When you were earning the money.   You don't want to be 'useless'.  

My Uncle Fred, did something similar when he was 75 years old. I was only seventeen at the time.   He disappeared for 2 weeks, leaving my Aunt frantic with worry.  It turned out he had gone fruit picking up north. Took off without a word.  When he returned, he said he wanted to "earn some money, and feel useful again."  I see a common theme here, with retired men.

When the two police officers turned up yesterday to cross you off their 'missing persons' list, we all talked about how you will no longer be allowed to drive.  You took no notice, and chatted how you were going on a driving holiday to Queensland soon.

Sorry, Dad.  We are hiding the car keys.   Mum can't drive, so I know this will affect your independence, and will be a big blow to your self esteem.  It kills me to have to do it, but it is for your safety, and all the other people on the road.


I am thankful that my Mum still has her health.     I am thankful that I have 2 brothers and a sister to help share the burden of this.    I am thankful for my friends - both real life and on-line who have helped through this.

I am thankful to my ex in-laws who were the ones who spotted his car and gave me the call that found him.


Dad, the next few weeks are going to be very hard for you.  Please don't disappear into your own world again.  We are here for you in this one.  

Missing :-(

I  had a blog all lined up, and then Boston happened, and I put it on the side-burner as less important and trivial at the time.

But now my father is missing.

He left yesterday afternoon at 2:30pm to go and pay a bill at a medical centre about 20 minutes from home.  He took off before my mum could get in the car with him.   He is 85 years old and starting to get a bit vague.

It is now 8am the next day and nothing has been heard of him.

The police have been notified, and we have done the rounds of hospitals, and places he might be.

Now it is raining for the first time in ages, and all I can think about is my Dad out there somewhere in the cold.  He doesn't even have a warm jacket on.  I hate not knowing where he is or what has happened to him.

I feel so useless.

The Beast Within

You know some days when you shouldn't get out of bed?   You are in a mood as soon as you fall out and everything seems turn to poop.

Well, this was last Saturday.

I was itching to visit my local op shop - I'd missed it my last two Saturdays because of a public holiday, and a tiler coming to fix my living room floor tiles that decides to do a tango.

Ebay sales had been absolute crap - only $30 made in 5 days.   I was depressed and angry and generally should have been locked in a cupboard somewhere.     

I was also a super-PMS monster, and had been alternately blubbing/getting rabid over the silliest things for a few days already.

My purse only had $10 in it.   I was not happy looking in my empty purse.  I had just enough petrol to get to my Mum & Dad's for lunch that day and back home again.

I was walking past the bric-a-brac shed, ready to spend my puny $10 on kids clothing to re-sell.  As I passed, I saw there was two large trestle tables out the front with about 10 plastic bags of books on them.  My tongue lolled, my eyes glowed like something unearthly.  Books!    (Completely ignoring my promise to myself, to buy less books).

I started rifling through the bags - there was lots of good titles there - but I only had $10, and I still wanted to buy a bag of clothes.    Then a man working there approached me.  I go to this op shop nearly every week and I'd never seen this man before.

I knew from his first words that he was one of those over-hearty annoying old-man types.    

He followed me around the table babbling at me about "how GREAT these books were, and how EXPENSIVE these books had been to buy.   How these were SO WONDERFUL and in SUCH GOOD CONDITION. "   

*My fangs began to emerge from my gums*

 I heard another lady look in a bag and say "ooh there's lots of good books in here!"

He bellowed at me "Get over here and look in this bag.  There's lots of GOOD BOOKS in here!"    

*My hands began to pop out into long claws.   My breathing changed into something non-human.*

The bag was full of historical romance.   "You read a lot of historical romance, do you?" I heard the animal within me say.       ( Down, girl. )

"Ermmmm, oh no.   My eyesight you know.  Prefer to watch car racing on the telly."

I actually Harrumphed.  I never thought I could do that.   But STILL he didn't give up.

"Wonderful BOOKS.  You'll never see any in this FANTASTIC CONDITION again!"

*A growl emerged from me, and my feet started to split in my shoes as they elongated into hairy paws.*    I wisely ignored the sudden urge to see if my fist would fit in his mouth.

I finally threw about 10 books into a bag, and asked "How much?" around my fangs (i.e. ha mush).

"$5.  How's that.  That's a good price isn't it.  That's FAIR."

I knew the books were sold for 50 cents each so I agreed, and handed him my precious $10 note.  

He took it and went to get the change, then he stopped and turned back to me.   "Do you want the change?"   

"Ermmmm, yesh, " says me, ever-so-nicely (and very carefully, my teeth were VERY sharp by then).

"It's just that they're SUCH NICE books.  And $10 is still a GRAND PRICE for all the ones you've chosen!"

I didn't think they were worth a life-sentence for murder.

I gave him my stink-eye, with a hint of extra feral.   IT DIDN'T WORK!!  The gormless twit stood there like a half-wit, resembling nothing more to me than a man-sized punching-bag.   

*My bones began to pop and started to shape the rest of me into something not-quite-right.  I think the tips of my ears grew hairy and pointy*

I opened my purse and showed him the empty interior.   "That is all the money I have left.  I need that $5," I managed to say.

He finally got the hint and brought me my change.


Being the spineless wonder that I am, I was overly-effuse in my thanks, even though he was in the wrong for suddenly doubling the price that we had agreed on.

I walked to my car, and put the bag of books in the boot.  By then I had changed back to pathetic fully-human again.  I pretended to re-organise the things in my boot whilst I shed a few boo-hoo tears at being forced to show my empty purse to a stranger.  Is this what my life had come to?

Only two weeks until I can drink wine again.  Hurrah!

Men ...  I can do without them .....

Ooh, Professor Lupin.   Lovely.

:-)

Road trip !

I started this blog entry over a week ago - it's time to send it into the ether.

Whilst the other side of the world is sighing over snow, here in Melbourne we have broken a weather record - the past 8+ days have been the hottest group of days since temperature started being recorded in Melbourne (early 1850s).    I am so over it.   I have got NO work done.  It's been a week since my road trip described below, and I have done nothing but lie around the house, draped over furniture that I then have to peel myself off of - leaving a layer of skin attached.

Stinking hot nights where I get no sleep means I am super dopey all day.   

Very few new listings for me, no op shopping for new stock at all, and a terrible week of sales.  I've only really left the house to post my measly few sales.

The tiles in my living room popped up overnight in the heat, and I had to fork out $300 to get them fixed, as I kept tripping over them.

The 3M hooks that I use to hang the classy black fabric on my back sliding door (which gets the afternoon heat), totally came away from the wall, and are hanging by a thread of useless gummy stuff.

Then I'm wrangling huge spiders that come into my house to get out of the heat.

Let me tell you, the panicky dance I do when I spot those hairy freaks certainly gets my temperature up !!!

Today it is currently 37 degrees.   

I AM OVER IT.  RAIN PLEASE.   SOON.     Any more of this and I will just be a puddle.  My brain is boiled, my hands and feet are swollen.

So if you see a few eBay items from Melbourne appearing in the last week that have shiny reflective surfaces on them - don't be surprised if your eye is poked out by a nipple or a nasty body part.   Clothing is just too much right now!!!!

And On To The Road trip ....

Now recently I've discovered a couple of shows - American Pickers & Salvage Hunters.  In these shows two guys drive around and find stuff and sell it in their shops.   Of course they fork out amazing amounts of money - such as forking out $500 to sell a toy for $600!   Not for tight-wad me.

But it gave me itchy feet.   I go to the same op shops on the same days of the week, and I got to thinking that I'd really like to get in more of the high profit items in my eBay store - for me this is usually Board Games and Videos.

In other people's minds - a road trip means hours of driving to far away places.

For me a road trip means driving half an hour away to somewhere I haven't been.


3 things spur me onto a road trip:

~ I need more stock, need to hit different stores to get it

~ The petrol gauge on my car is not nudging the "I'm thirsty, feed me!" red line  (very rare occurrence)

~ I actually have more than $10 in my purse  (another rare occurrence).


Ding, ding, ding!   I loved the hit over the last couple of weeks when I sold some higher priced items.   I wanted more of those!   I really wanted to find some cool board games.

I was stoked!     Off I chugged down the new freeway just opened near my house which would take me to my destination (Mornington) with less traffic lights.   I had my GPS going because I always miss street turnoffs.   As I drove down the freeway, sun shining brightly, lovely new road with little traffic - I looked at my GPS and it showed me as driving through nothingness.    Had I entered the Twilight Zone?  No, I just haven't updated the maps on my GPS for nearly 2 years because it's too friggin' expensive.   Luckily, I didn't need to rely on it on the freeway.

I had planned on taking photos and making a whole blog out of my road trip.    Then the temperature rose, there was roadworks on all my turn-offs and parking spaces were few and far between.    I was foaming at the mouth like a feral dog by the time I reached the second op shop.   I lost the urge to document my journey pictorially, and concentrated on not throttling anybody.

My first op shop is situated next to a garbage tip.   Items are "reclaimed" and sold.  There is some rusty old crap there - but lots of stuff is donated as well.      

Board games were a loss.  So I left with 30 video-tapes.  At 10 cents a video, I couldn't say no.  

The Salvos were next.  I pounced on a game of Atmosfear DVD Board Game marked at $5, with a caw of delight.     But shuffling through the innards, I noticed the DVD was missing.  Snort!  Honk!  Left empty-handed.

St Vinnies was next - I got some videos at 50 cents each and a Compatibility Board Game for $1.  (Board game has already sold sold for $14.99 - but I'm STILL waiting for payment).

A little church op shop was next.  Their videos were 10 cents each too, so I got 30 more!!! And a board game at $2  (the game turned out to be a dud).

The final op shop I planned to visit had closed down so I drove home with a boot-load of videos and very few games.  



A couple of days later, I visited the animal shelter op shop which is only open a few days of the week, and I never have the petrol to get there.   They had lots of interesting board games.  

I got all these for $9

My favourites among these are:

This gorgeous vintage game of Mix 'N' Match.   I've never seen this before.  The colours on the cards are so vibrant. 

This one is dated 1962.  Not all the sheets are left in it, but it was too cute to leave behind.

A cute Australian Board Game from 1985.

My favourite find - Squatter Board Game - *scream* - yes, they wrote the price in texta on the lid.   What I did was put some Orange Power on a tissue and rub at the price.  It fades the texta, and yes it also takes a layer of the print on the lid as well.  Then I wrote a fictitious surname over the top in texta.  It's better to have a name written on it, than a $2 price!!!!

Game has already sold for $24.99.   I wish I could find more of these.


Whoah - that was too much effort!   I'm off to flop uselessly around the house again, and hope that the supposed cool change will arrive sometime tomorrow afternoon.

Heat Wave !!!

I'm finding it VERY hard to get any work done during this heatwave.   After more than a week of 30+ Celsius temperature, I am grumpier than the Grumpy Cat.   I hate you summer - go away!

No sleep, water from the cold tap comes out boiling, and I have absolutely NO will to do any work.

I have no cooling in my flat.   In December, I bought some black fabric from the local op shop, and hung it over my living room and kitchen windows.   These two rooms now look like a Goth wonderland, but it keeps the blasted sun out.   Maybe one day in another destiny, I will be able to afford outside blinds.

Because I'm not getting much new stuff listed, I'm forcing myself to update my ebay items with adding lots of item specifics.    Great information on this on Tina's blog here.      This allows me to feel like I'm getting work done without having to move around too much!   I'm going through my videos at the moment  (not even a quarter of the way through yet!), and it's also allowing me to find videos that have slipped through the "sell similar" cycle, and are just sitting there languishing on my shelf taking whatever substances videos take to get themselves high.  I cleaned up their act pretty quick smart.

Only 920 items in my shop to update with the specifics, but I think it's already having an effect on my sales.



If I could pull my finger out and blog more often, I wouldn't have to try to fit so much in each one!!!


Some of my purchases from my last blog have sold.

These blank videos:

Cost :  about $2
Sold:  $23

The Betty Neels books:

Cost:  $2
Sold:  $30

I still haven't put up the Pyrex, mug, doll or bowl.  :-(

Did I mention this calculator I had bought about 6 months ago.   I dug it up last week in and looked up the prices again.  They hadn't looked so good when I first got it, but now it is the beginning of the new school year.  The high school students were now looking for them, and it has pushed the price up.  Sometimes it's just all about the timing.

So I listed it at a cheeky price near the upper end of the selling scale, and it sold a week later.  Now I'm looking everywhere for calculators, but I will never find another one.

I had also decided to stop selling the children's clothing bulk lots because they weren't moving.   I used to sell them in lots of the same size, but to get rid of them, I mixed the lots across 2 sizes and lowered the price a little.  Suddenly they started flying out of the store.   The last couple of weeks the money from these sales helped a lot, and having that few larger amounts put into my Paypal account *really* helped to lift my spirits.  

So yes - now I'm selling them again - but now I'm merging sizes, and dropping the price a little.    They still make a nice profit for me.   I'm keeping away from baby clothes, and sticking to the Size 2 and up.  ( But the baby clothes are SOOO cute!!!)     Lessons learned.

I go to two libraries a week - my local one and the one near my parents.   I love my libraries, and I don't know what I'd do without them.  I need my books to read!  I need to avoid reality as much as possible.

 Last week my local library had some good books on their For Sale table.  My eyes fell on lots of V C Andrews, and I swooped them up along with a lot of Buffy and Friends Forever books.  It was "fill a bag for $5" - so I got over 30 books.

The V C Andrews were two entire series.  I know these are good sellers, so I put them up ASAP, and they both sold quickly.   Still haven't put up the other books yet.   *guilty face*

It's funny, when I had my bookshop I would hate the sight of V C Andrew books.  I couldn't even sell them for $2 each.  If only I'd know then that I could have been selling them as sets on eBay for a good price!


Phew, it's 30 degrees now.  The forecast is for "storms" this afternoon.  What that means is lightning and thunder (no rain) which will do nothing but create more horrible grass fires, and cause the humidity to rise.

Waiting for a change.

Until then - like the wicked witch of the west - "I'm melting!"

Buys for This Week

I'm still trying to get out of my comfort-zone of books, videos & board games.
Still struggling with that - but managed to pick up up a couple of items I know nothing about, so I'm getting there!


I went to my local St Vinnies, and checked out their hideously over-priced books.  Then I spotted these 4 lots of books - in bundles of 5, all done up with a ribbon for $1 a bundle!  (Apologies for the blurred photo!)

I instantly spotted the name Betty Neels, and grabbed them.   Betty Neels is the most collectable Mills & Boon author.   She was a prolific writer - in most of her books, the male love interest was a Dutch doctor with an amusingly unpronounceable name.     Good on her!

I remember squillions of years ago when I had my bookshop, a lady came in specifically looking for Betty Neels and *only* Betty Neels.   Although there were numerous collectors that visited my shop, this lady told me that she only bought Betty Neels because there was no sexual content in the books, and these were the only romance books that were approved by her religion (not sure what faith she was of.)

I remembered it all this time.  A few years ago, I picked up a few vintage Mills & Boons of the 60's era - with gorgeous retro covers.   Much like these:

I decided to read one.  The story sounded sweet and  there was no man on the front cover looking like a skinned animal, and with no visible body hair (like the modern ones).  There would be no playing hide-the-sausage at all, let alone before Chapter 2.

The book started off predictable for that era.  She was 18 years old, and an air-head.  He was her boss, early 30s with the personality of a mushroom.    They got married and the inevitable spot of how's-your-father never occurred.      But get this - the best friend of the groom told her after a month of marriage that he *could tell by looking at her, that she hadn't done her wifely duty*.    So she let hubby get the leg-over and all was happy & bluebirds were singing.

I nearly gagged.   I'll never fall for those sweet front covers again!     Romance shmo-mance.  


 Back to the books - there were others in the bundles that weren't Mills & Boons - I peeked into the be-ribboned bundles and saw these were amongst them.

I know by trolling other book-sellers that Iris Bromige is a rare author, that people are on the look-out, so I snapped up all of them.   I put the 3 x Iris Bromige up for $7 each and this lot of Betty Neels for $29.99.

I love any of these Nightmare/Atmosfear games as you know.   I picked this up at a local church op-shop that only opens on Monday mornings.    It was $5.  The tight-wad in me nearly swallowed my tongue, but I knew I could get at least $25, so I reluctantly pulled the last amount of money out of my purse, releasing a flurry of hungry moths.

When I got home, I opened the box, and found all the pieces were still in original shrink-wrap.  Hurrah!

I put it up for $35 - and it sold a couple of days later.

This pyrex dish was $2.50.  It has no chips or marks.  People are always raving about Pyrex, so I picked it up.   It's pink with white flowers.  I guess if I can't sell it, I can keep it for myself.  I know absolutely *nothing* about Pyrex!

There is a Salvos that I recently discovered that sells their videos 5 for $1.  I go on a Tuesday morning, flash my low-income card and get 20% off - so that's 5 for 80 cents.  Woohoo, I am the last of the big spenders!

I was excited to find 5 blank video cassettes still sealed.

I added 3 others that I had at home, and put them up for $23.   


A Far Side mug that I got for 50 cents.  Haven't tried selling a mug before.   Yikes!

A friend wants me to sell this for her.   It is an Arabia Finland plate.  New ground here.

She also wants me to sell this Punky Brewster doll.  No comfort zone here.

This video re-winder is for me and my eBay business.  I often put videos in my VCR to test - press rewind and then I get distracted by something shiny.  My TV turns itself off in disgust at being ignored, and I have to turn everything on again.   Rinse & repeat.    So this item is fantastic!

I bought it on my Saturday morning op shop before I have lunch at my parents.   I plugged it in at their place and asked if they had some videos I could test on it.   My Mum found a couple and it seemed to struggle rewinding them.     I was disappointed, but at $3, it was worth the chance.

When I got it home, I sprayed WD-40 on the cogs, and now it's working perfectly!  Hurrah.  It makes testing of my videos so much easier when they are already rewound.  It's only one step taken out of the process, but it makes a big difference.


What is interesting is the video that my Mum had handed me to test.  It was a recorded video - when I looked at the title it said "Karina & Jonathan's Wedding."   I know it is a very amateur video that my cousin's wife took on her video camera on the day.  We had no professional videographer back then!

It was a poignant moment for me, because the other week I had been thinking of the videos I donated when I moved house three years ago.  I was thinking how much I could sell them for now - and then my mind slid sideways to the wedding video.   Mine was inexplicably damaged three years ago when I accidentally dropped it to the concrete, stomped on it ten times, and threw the pathetic remains in the rubbish bin.

I might just get the video off my parents and look at the me of 20 years ago.  Did I look happy?    Was I excited at what lay ahead?   Was I ever that young and innocent?    It would be nice to see the people there who have now passed away, those I'd like to see again - and those I hope never to see again.   I won't be looking at it until my 3 months of no-alcohol is over - there is still 7 weeks to go.

Oh and more importantly, did my wedding dress really look like a toilet roll cover?    Bwahahhaa!

Ah, memories ....

I've got a free ticket to ride !!!!

Ebay - Feebay  - this week I have given it another name - FreeBay.

It started last Thursday.    I was doing a "sell similar" on some products that had ended.

At the end of it all, a screen came up with the price crossed out and the total cost of $0.00 shown.

I shook it off as just a silly quirk of eBay.  I relisted 30 items as 'Sell Similar' and got the same message for all.    Just for a hoot, I looked at my eBay account, and it showed no listing fees for that day at all.

I was intrigued.  On my 12 years on eBay, I have NEVER HAD ONE SINGLE FREE LISTING.  I read on eBay Underground about people getting offers of free listings, so I assumed I had come up in the lottery for that day.

It was like my pants were on fire.  I was determined to list my items that cost a lot more per listing (ie. games, clothing, toys) at 20 cents a pop, rather than my usual media items (videos, books, magazines) at 5 cents a pop.  I went crazy.

Just to mention, I was very depressed that morning, because my sales had been so terrible.  We're talking $100 a week.  Not even enough to buy my food.   I was in tears.

This pulled me out of my blue funk and got me working hard for the rest of the day.   I listed another 20 new items, and listed some 10 others clothing and games that I'd been putting off.

That night the items were still coming up free, so I ended 30 items that were finishing the next day, and relisted them - just for a hoot!   I was squeezing that free listings day until it had no air left in it!!   I *throttled* it to death!

The next morning, my sell similar's came up free again.  I couldn't believe it - I spent another day slogging through listings.  When I ran out of puff, I ended the items finishing the next day and re-listed them for free.  I was on a roll.

Then it happened the next day, and the next, and the next.  It is now Monday.    I did a 'sell similar' on 10 items, and got charged for them.  My luck had run out !!!!

Oh well, it was fun whilst it lasted!!!   I'm still waiting for a huge fee to suddenly get dumped onto my account.  For the moment it is showing this new information in my Account Page:

I mean - wow!  It almost makes up for the horrifying $20 hike in my eBay store fees.   Almost.  Well kinda.  Well - no, not really.

I had a terrible run of 3 weeks with half the amount of sales than usual.    Then it was like the lights came on.  I had 4 sales within an hour at 10pm which is unheard of.  Then some more sales the next morning - and then it slowed to a trickle again.  


Sales This Week Worth Mentioning:

This was my only auction this week.  I was selling it on behalf of a friend, where we go halvies.   Car memorabilia is VERY collectable.   I watched the end of the auction, so I got my ONLY thrill in a long time.   (note:  don't have enough money to buy new batteries  *wink*)

I don't know what my friend paid for this.  Probably not much.

A basketball fan bought both this game & video:

Video: costed 20 cents
Game :  costed $2 ??

This Target ladies suit, I've had in my closet to sell for over a year.  What put me off, was the jacket and skirt were different sizes.    Free listing made me rethink it and realise, that we can be a different sizes top and bottom.  I made it clear in the listing.  This sold the next day.  

Total cost:  no more than 50 cents

Hurrah! Another pull-my-finger-out-of-my-bum free listing.  This will help pay for my food this week!

Total cost : about $7

Even though the free ride has ended, I'm inspired to clear the clothes in my wardrobe, if only to get the wardrobe space back!

Picked up some interesting items at the op shops this week.  Hopefully I will blog about them tomorrow.

I'm shrinking - but so are my sales !!!

Yes, I know it's nearly the end of January - but Happy New Year!!

Lucky I didn't make a new year's resolution to blog more.  Naughty me!

I did make a new year's resolution - to lose weight and to not drink alcohol for 3 months.

Bottom line - my doctor will be taking a blood test at the end of the 3 months to check certain levels in my blood.    That is the thing that will stop me from cheating.   Not one glass of wine, she said, or it will affect the test results.    It will also be nice to see my cholesterol, which is a little high, go down to a  healthier level.

I figured, seeing as I wouldn't be forking out the money for the plonk.  I may as well use that to re-adjust my diet.

I chose Lite'n'Easy.  With this great diet, they deliver ALL the meals to you - breakfast, lunch & dinner.    I only have to buy milk.   No more wandering around supermarkets at a loss at what to eat, and buying junk food.

I have even been eating ~  *shock* - fruit and vegetables!!!!

I am happy with the results so far.  

At the end of week 3 -  I have lost a total of 4.8 pounds / 2.2 kilograms so far.   I'm taking measurements too, for the weeks when I don't lose as much - so I can hopefully see that my thighs are getting smaller.   :-)

Only 9 weeks to go.  *SIGH*

Of course the last two weeks, my sales have been atrocious.

Total cost of Lite'N'Easy for the one week - $131

Total sales on eBay last week - $120.   And the previous week was no better.

Not even mentioning all my other bills.     I'm not paying off the postage I put on my credit card, and the balance is beginning to grow.   I'm finding it hard to get that extra money in my Paypal account to cover the $20 per month rise in my eBay shop fees.

I made the tough decision to cancel my Quikflix membership (my only treat that I give myself) to try and cover that.

I had a serious clean-out of books over the Christmas break - and got rid of about 200 the ones I was sick of the sight of.  I am over books.  Only sure sellers and bulk lots from now on.

In an effort to shrug off the doldrums, I decided to sit down and scrutinise my competition on the videos side of sales.   I scrolled through the videos sold and saw that the major seller was selling the same videos that I had up for double, sometimes triple my price.   My jaw dropped.

He had one photo of the video, with a generic description that said nothing about the condition of the video.   Lots of his titles were wasted with the words "a rare find' in all of them.   Most of the videos were described as "Like New".    I sneaked at look at his previous sales and couldn't believe the prices he was getting.

My listings have photos of the video - front and back, and of the video itself.  It has a detailed description of the video and it's condition.

We are both Top Rated Sellers, and Power Sellers.  His rating is at 100%, mine at 99.9%.   My postage is cheaper than his.  I don't get it!   Colour me confused!!

What the hell am I doing wrong?

So I jumped into my store, and  on my categories for the videos.  Some of them I raised the price, and added a Best Offer accepted at my previous selling price.   I added a special offer of - Buy 5 Videos - Get Free Postage.

So far it hasn't helped much.  It's still school holidays here, so perhaps everyone is spending their money on keeping the little monsters amused.   I could find excuses until I'm blue in the face.

In the meantime I try very hard not to get discourage, and keep my head down, and my (hopefully slightly smaller) arse up, and just keep listing, listing, listing.