ebay Lessons

Yesterday, I listed my first ever items to sell on ebay. There is definitely a learning curve to be negotiated! It took nearly an hour for me to work through the finer points of entering an item that I hope to sell for just $35.00! Practice, practice, practice! The second one took only 30 minutes. I suppose my photography didn’t need to be quite so precise, but I do so dislike trying to figure out the details in a poorly taken photograph!

At first, it was difficult to decide WHAT to sell. Certainly we have no shortage of nicknacks in our home! I decided to start with a few of the Wade porcelain figurines that we have collected over the years. Boo and I always had fun trying to find a new character or animal that we did not already own. The majority of what we collected will be “off limits” for my current needs, but some are definitely worth offering as research “sacrifices”!
Less than 24 hours since I posted this little tray, and I already have two people “watching” it and an opening bid! It’s going to be hard for me to wait the whole 7 days! Hubby has even offered up some trinkets from his side of the garage for me to practice with! What a sport!

Only The Shadow Knows

There are shadows lurking in the "followers" block on my blog!  Some wise person once told me that putting my picture on my blog was good because it made it more personal.  I would love to see YOUR smiling faces!

My Green Soapbox

We do our fair share of donating useable clothing to charities like Purple Heart and Goodwill.  There are also large, sometimes overflowing, yellow "dumpsters" in the IGA parking lot to make it easy to drop off unwanted clothing items for Planet Aid. I'm always very careful to sort through the items that I donate to make sure they're not so far gone, that someone would be able to actually wear them.  I imagine the people at the Goodwill store holding up some raggy 'ol T-shirt or sunscreen-stained blouse thinking "They think just because we're poor, we don't have any pride?".  So, "undonateables" go to the rag bin.  Still recycling, still good, but not all old clothes make good rags. Ever try drying a car with an old pair of bluejeans?   Inspect no more! Goodwill recycles the unwearable textiles that are donated.  Apparently, it's a big deal.  Why hadn't I realized that before?  I have always been curious about what they did with all the stuff they couldn't sell...

Books today

What have I done today?...I picked up three rather large boxes of books from a fellow freecycler.  I think Hubby thought I was just a little touched when I told him of my plan.  You know, after we cleaned out his mom’s house and got rid of donated all those books to the  Bryn Mawr book shop, it does seem a little weird to go out of my way to pick up someone else’s castoff books!  However.  I have to develop a new mindset and think it is actually going to help me get rid of sell some of the kind of things that I have been accumulating the last few decades.  Back to the books, though.  Three not-so-large boxes contained a few paperback best sellers , at least 75 “Harlequin-type” romance novels (have YOU ever read one?) a book on  Easter craft projects, another on carving Jack-o-lanters, and a Richard Scarry children’s book on Christmas.  Sorting them became a mental exercise in merchandising.  I do not intend to have shelves of books (not that they won’t evolve) but I can envision using them to create interest in other items and support holiday-themed sales.  No, I did not keep them all.  I re-posted the ones I did not want and another freecycler picked up two very full boxes two hours later.  Easy come, easy go!

In The Shop

The landlord gave me the combination of the lockbox this morning so I could go in and look around on my own.  I did not expect anything more than what I had seen when I shopped at Garden Decor.  What I did not anticipate, was the excitement I felt at looking at empty rooms that have limitless possibilities.  Spaces that had been closed off that I had never seen.  I started looking at each small room thinking about what purpose it would serve.  

The large room at the entrance will be the most exposed and should be the display area for new, larger, higher-priced items. The back corner room can be a "boudoir" space with bedroom accessories.  The center back room is the study, and the right, back room will be the shop for lamp repairs and touchup work (I'll need to ask about a ventilation fan).

There's a small kitchenette with plenty of wall space to hang kitchen gadgets and cabinets that can be used to display dishes.  Hmmm...I wonder if I can take the fronts off the cabinets???  

Around the corner from the kitchen, I was amazed to see an anteroom with countertop

space and shelves on two walls.  Perfect for packing items for shipping when I get my ebay business moving!  And last, but not least, the large front room in the center of the building.  I had 

really underestimated its size.  Getting out my trusty tape measure, I found it to be 23 ft. long and almost 12 feet wide!   Where's the lease?  I know this is the right space.  

I have moments of doubt, moments of fear, moments when I wonder if I've simply lost my mind... at this moment, I couldn't be more sure that this is what I really want to do.

Startup

Where to start?
Ideas are swimming around in my head; planning, marketing, legal issues, merchandise, time management; the list goes on and on...
The following logistical items need to be addressed ASAP:

1. Establish a business identity
2. Apply for a county business license
3. Apply for an EIN with the IRS
4. Rent a location from which business can be transacted (or is this number 2?)
5. Begin to collect merchandise (fliers, emails to friends)
6. Buy a computer for business (Mac or PC???)
7. Tag printer
8. Set up Bank account (BB&T)
9. Credit card processing?
10. Trade Association Membership (NARTS)
11. MARKETING
    
12. Learn more about blogging
    
13. Learn more about ebay
    
14. Sign for Muddy Creek Rd. 

The list grows as if it has a life of its' own!  Have I left out something important? 

Someday...

I found this handwoven basket in an antique shop in West Virginia.  I was so taken with its simple design, I took a picture so I could make one like it.  I haven't made the basket yet, but I have saved the picture to remind me to do it "someday".  When is "someday"?  Someday is the day that anything will be possible.  Someday, I will travel to Venice.  Someday, I'm going to have a big sunny garden and grow so many flowers, I'll be able to cut a bouquet every day. Someday, I'm going to have my own business and wake up excited to go to work.   Someday may be just around the corner...