We listed 43 damaged postcards today on Etsy. They weren't ours; they're a commission item we're doing for a friend.
All the postcards are in some way interesting, but, boy, have they been mangled! Bends, creases, stains, rips, tears, dog bites, staple holes to name a few.
So why will anyone want them? Well, crafters can use them. So can scrapbookers. Anyone who wants old, interesting bits and pieces. I hesitate to call them "ephemera", but I guess they are.
Someone will enjoy the multitude of possibilities at a wonderful price!
View at http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13618439 or click the title above.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Camp Devens Day Ayer, Massachusetts
We listed a lot of Camp Devens at Ayer, Massachusetts, postcards today. A lot as in "a bunch", not "lot of ...". Each is individually listed, that is.
Well, back in the day, Leo was stationed there for three months. He was in Intelligence School. While we were doing the cards, he'd mention "I remember that - it looks exactly the same". Or "I don't remember the hospital looking like that".
Some of these cards are in extraordinary shape for being World War I vintage. They look like they were stored away upon purchase and never used.
Take a walk down memory lane and visit our store to look at Camp Devens!
Well, back in the day, Leo was stationed there for three months. He was in Intelligence School. While we were doing the cards, he'd mention "I remember that - it looks exactly the same". Or "I don't remember the hospital looking like that".
Some of these cards are in extraordinary shape for being World War I vintage. They look like they were stored away upon purchase and never used.
Take a walk down memory lane and visit our store to look at Camp Devens!
Monday, July 21, 2008
RepXchange for eBay Sellers
RepXchange's title says: "Are the eBay feedback changes making you worried? Proactively defend yourself against bad buyers – Join our growing community of sellers sharing blocked bidder lists today!".
Well, that fit my needs to a tee! I signed up and used the service to download a list of blocked buyers to add to my eBay site. In this case, I can take advantage of the experience of others with bad, non-paying or just downright nasty buyers without having to go through all the heartaches myself.
The signup process was easy and the site is very easy to use. Click on the title above to access the site or go to http://repxchange.com.
Well, that fit my needs to a tee! I signed up and used the service to download a list of blocked buyers to add to my eBay site. In this case, I can take advantage of the experience of others with bad, non-paying or just downright nasty buyers without having to go through all the heartaches myself.
The signup process was easy and the site is very easy to use. Click on the title above to access the site or go to http://repxchange.com.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
No price increase since 2006
Just getting attention! Well, not really. Everybody knows prices have sky-rocketed on things.
Truthfully, we've not raised our prices since we started selling them in 2006. Now, I don't know if that's a good thing or not. Good for you, bad for us?
Actually, we have some of the best prices I've seen on all three sites we sell on. Our shipping covers our shipping and handling - we don't try to make a profit on it.
So, please come in to any of our stores. We're featuring Etsy in the link today.
Truthfully, we've not raised our prices since we started selling them in 2006. Now, I don't know if that's a good thing or not. Good for you, bad for us?
Actually, we have some of the best prices I've seen on all three sites we sell on. Our shipping covers our shipping and handling - we don't try to make a profit on it.
So, please come in to any of our stores. We're featuring Etsy in the link today.
Friday, July 18, 2008
The Unpaid Item Dispute Questions
Sometimes you wonder why you bother! We sold a card at auction for $.99 plus s/h of $1.25 - $2.24 total. The person who bought it did so willingly. He deliberately bid on it and confirmed that he was responsible for buying the item.
That was mid June! The 10th! We sent him an invoice that day and a payment reminded on the 20th when he had not paid. He responded with an email saying he was having PayPal problems and would send a money order. Weeks pass. Finally in mid July, on the 10th, we filed a Unpaid Item Dispute and received our Final Value Fee back.
Now, eBay tried to contact him that whole week to let him know that there was a dispute. He had an additional week to pay. So from June 10th until July 17th - almost five weeks - he had plenty of time to pay.
So, finally, on July 17th he sends us another email - he is irate that we filed an Unpaid Item Dispute for $.99! How dare we! WE never contacted him (not true) and he thought he'd paid already ... wah, wah, wah!
Then he sent another email - please send our address again and he'll send a money order right away. He's having all these problems with PayPal. (same old story!)
Well, what we did was this: We cancelled the UID and ate the final value fee, then blocked him from further auctions and blocked his email from our email.
Is this the right way to handle it? I don't know anymore. On the one hand, he cost us the FVF and we got nothing in return. We'll just relist the item and hope it sells again.
On the other hand, a really lousy customer is out there most likely going to do the same thing to other sellers. Maybe a few of them will have the guts to follow through with the Dispute process and he'll be blocked for good.
All this said, I like eBay and will stay on it. One bad apple doesn't spoil the whole crop.
That was mid June! The 10th! We sent him an invoice that day and a payment reminded on the 20th when he had not paid. He responded with an email saying he was having PayPal problems and would send a money order. Weeks pass. Finally in mid July, on the 10th, we filed a Unpaid Item Dispute and received our Final Value Fee back.
Now, eBay tried to contact him that whole week to let him know that there was a dispute. He had an additional week to pay. So from June 10th until July 17th - almost five weeks - he had plenty of time to pay.
So, finally, on July 17th he sends us another email - he is irate that we filed an Unpaid Item Dispute for $.99! How dare we! WE never contacted him (not true) and he thought he'd paid already ... wah, wah, wah!
Then he sent another email - please send our address again and he'll send a money order right away. He's having all these problems with PayPal. (same old story!)
Well, what we did was this: We cancelled the UID and ate the final value fee, then blocked him from further auctions and blocked his email from our email.
Is this the right way to handle it? I don't know anymore. On the one hand, he cost us the FVF and we got nothing in return. We'll just relist the item and hope it sells again.
On the other hand, a really lousy customer is out there most likely going to do the same thing to other sellers. Maybe a few of them will have the guts to follow through with the Dispute process and he'll be blocked for good.
All this said, I like eBay and will stay on it. One bad apple doesn't spoil the whole crop.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Selling, Selling, Selling
Leo and I have been trying hard to promote our online stores this week. So check out some links to the right.
Also, we've boosted our Cornerstone Antiques sales by moving out of Myra's. We hated to leave in some ways, but it was time. Profits took a nosedive.
So, we have a new booth at Cornerstone Antiques, 100 Main Street West, Valdese, NC. Stop by and enjoy your shopping experience in person!
Also, we've boosted our Cornerstone Antiques sales by moving out of Myra's. We hated to leave in some ways, but it was time. Profits took a nosedive.
So, we have a new booth at Cornerstone Antiques, 100 Main Street West, Valdese, NC. Stop by and enjoy your shopping experience in person!
Monday, May 5, 2008
Death of a small town newspaper
In April 2007 Cuba Ford Lowman started publishing a small-town newspaper in Valdese, N. C called Voice of Valdese (later changed to Voice of the BlueRidge). My husband, Leo, and I were contributing free-lance writers. We also did distribution and I did sales to start out the paper.
The initial publication was of 4,000 copies. During the Waldensian Festival in August 2008, 7,000 were printed and distributed.
Cuba told me last week the April 2008 issue is the last one. She's not making enough revenue to keep the free paper going. Ads are the only revenue, as there is no subscription base and no charge for the monthly paper.
It is sad to see a paper come and go when the community has lost it's voice. Sure, people can read the Morganton Herald for daily news, but it's just not the same as reading a monthly POSITIVE news bulletin about your own community.
So, who failed? Why didn't local merchants back the paper? I'm not sure.
But, thanks, Cuba, for the effort! You tried and it was a success in my mind. People will look for it and wonder what happened.
The initial publication was of 4,000 copies. During the Waldensian Festival in August 2008, 7,000 were printed and distributed.
Cuba told me last week the April 2008 issue is the last one. She's not making enough revenue to keep the free paper going. Ads are the only revenue, as there is no subscription base and no charge for the monthly paper.
It is sad to see a paper come and go when the community has lost it's voice. Sure, people can read the Morganton Herald for daily news, but it's just not the same as reading a monthly POSITIVE news bulletin about your own community.
So, who failed? Why didn't local merchants back the paper? I'm not sure.
But, thanks, Cuba, for the effort! You tried and it was a success in my mind. People will look for it and wonder what happened.
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