Summer Lov'n.. Selling's ah blast...

PURGING, PHOTOGRAPHING & SELLING YOUR HIDDEN TREASURES.

 

Post title in the tune of Summer Loving (GREASE).  Did I get that stuck in your head?  It's stuck in mine.

I am downsizing yet again. With all my DIY projects & no time to do things, I am finally purging out things that I don't use or want any more. What a great way to find hidden money.

 

 

SAFETY

Any time you are selling & meeting someone, play it safe. Have someone with you & if that is not possible, take the item outside & do the transaction outside. I like to meet them at a public location.

 

 

PHOTOGRAPHING YOUR ITEM

 

Have you ever tried looking for an item online & the photograph with poor lighting & awkward positioning makes you say, NEXT?

IF YOU WANT TOP DOLLAR FOR YOUR ITEMS- You have to, HAVE to, absolutely have to take GREAT PICTURES. Show details, especially if it has flaws. Use natural lighting to show the true color. Don't underexpose it.  STAGE IT. Sometimes a lot of times people don't know how to place/use it. Give them ideas. MEASURE. This keeps you from wasting your time on answering questions that could have been answered if you put all the information correctly in the first place.

Ask yourself; what would you want to know, as a buyer, about the item? Original owner? How old is it? Any defects? Size? Weight? color? Can you utilize it any other way? 

 I despise measuring & writing details I find it so tedious & throwing tantrums has not worked in my favor. If anyone owns a magical wand that will miraculously do this for me, can I borrow it?  Though it's not the best part of selling (in my opinion), it must be done. You don't have to do this all at once & you can break it down & do a little at a time.

ONCE YOU HAVE YOUR ITEMS YOU WANT TO SELL, PHOTOGRAPHED & MEASURED, NOW IT'S TIME TO CHOOSE WHERE YOU WANT TO SELL IT.

CRAIGSLIST
About 80% of my hidden treasures, I sell on CRAIGSLIST. Dan has a great how to video about scammers. I don't allow sellers  to respond to my emails. For contact information I write the following. 

 

  call or text for faster response.

 (AUSTIN AREA CODE)eight six 7 - 5 three O 9.  

 

Of course this is a Tommy Tutone song & this is not my phone number. But you get the idea.  Since I have done it this way I have not had any issues with any scam artist. AS OF YET.  There is still a possibility.  

 

Items that sold quickly that I never thought they would; selling it in bulk... makeup (scraped, cleaned & wiped with alcohol), half bottles of nail polish, perfumes. Even if you sell them for $5 it's  FIVE more $$ in your pocket then what you had before.

 

ETSY

If you have vintage, handmade or supplies then this is the place for you. Now just selling random things on Etsy can be a down fall too. I learned that your Etsy store should be cohesive & makes sense. Like a store. Make it interesting & fun. Now this will require some work, but once you set everything up it is the most inexpensive way to sell vs Ebay.

HALF PRICE BOOKS

Books sometimes can go for a great deal. For instance I purchased a box set of books for the kid about a few years ago, box set is still brand new and in good condition. I thought maybe $ 20  NOPE the darn thing is worth well over a grand. $1000 seriously?  That's crazy. Who knew anime is worth so much. I couldn't stand the stupid books in the first place & now I am thinking, ehh not so bad. However, if you really want to make money, this may not be a way to go. They can sometimes only up to 10% of what the book is worth. They have to be able to sell it & make a profit as well. Half price books also will buy movies, electronics, games & game consoles.

eBAY

In order to sell on eBay & actually profit, you have to make certain that you price your item correctly. You have to consider fees for your listing, percentage fees (after item sold), shipping & paypal fees. It's also a great idea to wait for a promo sale when they are waiving listing fees. eBay also has a valet service where they will sell the items for you. I DID NOT have luck with this. The person that sold for me took terrible pictures & my $200 dress that I sent in only sold for $7. No need to ask what I received. Also time your item to sell at a decent time. You do not want a listing to end at 3am. Though as a buyer it has worked in my favor.

AMAZON
I don't know much about Amazon. I am still learning how to sell on Amazon & only sold one item. It isn't as user friendly as I would like it to be, however this could be user error. There fees for selling is a flat rate & this feature I do like.

 OTHER PLACES TO SELL
Varagesale.com is a new place to sell, however I DO NOT LIKE that it is attached to my personal facebook. I know this is for safety reasons, but  there is a reason why my personal fb is private. I don't know if this app will still allow me to keep my facebook private or not. I will find out & if you know the answer let me know.  Virtual swap & yard sale FB pages, allow you still keep your FB page private, using online swap & local garage sale FB pages. However, I do not like that it  from buyers, but I don't like that it shares what I sell on my friends news feed. Who wants to see that? This being said it is free from extra fees.

Which ever way you decide to sell, remember, just because someone else is selling the exact item for a certain price or its worth a certain price, it doesn't necessarily mean that you will get it for that price. So be flexible, research & know what price you are willing to take for it. You could be sitting on a gold mine, or maybe not. But spending a little time researching it could be worth $$ in your pocket book.  

So get off your bum, start purging, take pictures, be safe & go $ell.  Don't wait for spring or fall. Summer needs some Lov'n too! 

IS THERE A WAY YOU PREFER TO SELL? WHAT HAS WORKED FOR YOU? Like to hear about it.

 

 

Warning, selling items can be addicting! Not responsible for your sanity or lack of sleep.

Spooning since....Frame project.

I saw a blog, who saw a blog who got an idea to SPOON!!! and I was inspired.

I wanted to make one for myself. Spooning Since .... I went to a local thrift store & there they were, a pair of spoons with the letter R on the handle. I had to buy them. Then I was thinking oh great, how am I going to find the perfect frame.  Then like fate kicked me in the guts, said here is the perfect frame to go with your perfect spoons, to make an anniversary gift for your awesome friends. The rest was history.

So the person who saw this blog on how to spoon gave me an idea & I saw, I bought, & I did. 

I love me some thrift stores. I think they are the bomb. Where else can you buy silver spoons for $0.29 and an ahh-mazing frame for $2 to make a nifty anniversary gift ?

HOW I  MADE THIS.

•  Need 2 SPOONS -mine had letter R's on them. Perfect for my friends last name. 
•  frame or you could use molding or anything you want.
•  board for the back. You could use the frame, but I find it's not strong enough.
•  super glue or epoxy glue. Super glue worked fine for me.
•  decorative paper,  paint, stain or spray paint

Cut a backer board to fit the back of the frames parameter and nail or glue (depending on material you are using). Nailing is ok, ONLY if the frame itself is made of real wood & is in  sturdy condition. Glue if you are using a thin piece of board (I used a underlayment).

4Select your background - paint or decoupage. I chose a simple blue style & decoupaged the wood.

 Dry fit your spoons & then glue the spoon where it touches. I chose super glue.

 

 Choose your lettering. Stencil, free hand or stickers. I chose puffy stickers from Hobby Lobby & used a coupon . I dabbled a couple drops of glue to stick down

Now all you have to do is sit back & wait (see instructions on the glue) &  enjoy your pretty project. Might as well open up a bottle of wine while you are waiting. OR MAKE ANOTHER ONE FOR YOURSELF

******NOTE****** if you want to print your lettering, do so before you decoupage the backer board. This way you know its aligned.

and that's it. TWO pinterest projects completed, filed and done. NEXT!  

BELOW ARE A  FEW SPOONING PROJECTS FROM OTHER FELLOW CRAFTERS.

VERY CUTE & DIFFERENT WAY. theletteredcottage.net

I LOVE ADDING THE NAMES TO THE SPOONS
www.thistlewoodfarms.com

       THIS PROJECT IS SIMPLE YET SUPER CUTE.
           www.culdesaccool.com










Caring is sharing! Feel free to share your spooning projects or ideas.

Danger, spooning may lead to lots of late night projects. Make sure to drink lots of caffeine.

Blog Love -

I talk to myself a lot, more so then I care to admit. I am constantly writing a blog or doing a how-to tutorial as I drive, cook or make a project. If you were a fly on the wall, you would probably have me condemned.

 

I am still wet behind the ears when it comes to blogging, but  I love sharing my DIY's and how-to idea's with everyone  & anyone that wants to learn or do. Now how can I share my DIY's, Positive thoughts, my trials & tribulations  & share this with someone else who could benefit from it?

 

I joined several  meet up groups that I knew would be beneficial for me, my business & my creativity. In January I attended a meetup "getting started right" with Austin Area Bloggers. The organizer Joey McGirr invited Cris Mueller to be a guest speaker & at the time, a contributing editor to Austinnot. Cris was posed the question "what would you do different if you had to start your blog all over again".  Wozer!!! This meetup was for me.

 

I was every sponge's wet dream. Excuse the pun. I absorbed everything & wrote down everything that she could possibly contribute. I listened to all the other blogger's as well. Some were  seasoned & other's new; their opinion's, thoughts,  dilemmas, and everything they shared was taken to heart. I started to understand what I needed to do, what I needed to change & how I needed to start - somewhat over.

 

My first problem that I encountered was time. I started my business & my blog at my busiest time in my life and though I want to continue my blog, nursing school has to come first if I really truly wanted to finish before I reached my death bed. I need to

 

Another problem, I needed to focus. Haha - that sounds funny for someone with ADD. Focus, if only it was that easy. Before getting started you must have a subject, theme & objective. Makes sense- even for my miswired brain.

 

My  co-worker, Laura, told me about bloglovin so I decided to check it out. I found that this was my new black hole. So many ideas, inspiration, direction and great place to meet some pretty awesome bloggers.  

 

 Is there such a thing as addiction to creativity? Because I think I have it. SIGH!

 

Eventually I will get the hang of this blogging stuff, eventually. Right now I'm just going to write, share  positive things, projects & laugh at all my mishaps.   

 

 

 

 

 

Just bag it!

   

  

       When I was younger I wanted to save the world; I was anti tuna, wanted to join green peace & travel the world telling people the rain-forest was disappearing and you must recycle, EVERYTHING!!    Boy, have times changed, I recycle items for craft purposes, I eat Tuna like it is going out of style & I don’t chase dolphins or dream of working at sea world anymore. (SIDE NOTE: MUST SEE, DOCUMENTARY BLACK FISH).

 

       Austin legislation has passed a no bag ban on for all  stores, both local and big chain, will no longer be allowed use plastic bags. I have found this to be somewhat of a nuisance, especially since I have a cute little plastic bag holder that I upcycled & now it sits empty & sad looking. (update, it’s now a toilet paper holder)  At one point I would have loved the whole no plastic bag idea, but the options of handing out paper bags still hurts the environment. Lots of tree’s die for the sole purpose of humans having the capability to carry items from one area to the next. I know, plastic bags are awful too. I don't like plastic bags either, HOWEVER, this being said...

        I refuse to spend a quarter or 2 for the purchase of a paper bag just to carry my items. I refuse to give a quarter or 2 to a large corporation when clearly they are profiting from this & they should be able to give us bags like the dollar tree does.  I feel that we are giving money to a company that doesn't need it because it profits over $34,000 a minute. Now don’t hold that # against me, it could be less or more, but this is where I found the info. It could be wrong or it could be right but nonetheless they make a crap load of money & they can spare us a few cents here and there by giving us the darn bag. Now Lord knows that it wouldn’t hurt us if we  spent a few cents, but it kills me to see people struggling to buy food or essentials & they have to pay.

       I have to figure out a way to remember to bring bags with me. I keep bags in my car then I bring them in and then I forget to bring them back out. Seriously I need a little automated sensor that says DON’T FORGET THE BAGS, as I walk out of my front door. (FREE MONEY IDEA – YOUR WELCOME)  Seriously one day I am going to video tape the cashier’s face when I say no bags thank you. I am that anal about giving someone any extra cash for no good reason, especially when it’s killing trees.

 
 

 I need a cute up-cycled paper bag holder. I use my paper bags for recyclable's 

 Just think, if you had 25 people at ea. register every minute buying one bag at $0.25.  That will equal $6.25 per minute, $375 per hour, $9000 in one day for a 24 hour period.  That’s for just ONE bag. Most customers’ buy more than that so I say, No thank you! I will literally shop, pay for my items, put them back in the cart and walk out the door as if I tried to flee with unpaid merchandise. The security guards don’t know if they should chase after me or let me go. I am secretly waiting for someone to tackle me so I can own the store.  JK.    

Great free organizer idea from How sweet this blog.

Another great idea from everyday organizing

Aunt Peaches teaches you how to use paper sorters & lid holders for all sorts of things.

 What are your thoughts about no plastic bags / using paper bags ? Any thing you do to remember bringing your bags with you ? Do you have a cute bag holder? I would like to see it.  I need to find a better system.