These Are The DSRs Of Our Lives

Christmas in July at Online Business Success

2017-07-13T17:43:00.000-07:00

Ho, ho, ho! It's that time of year again ... Christmas in July. Our Online Business Success family has been busy decking the halls of our shops, finding some treasures to share, and coming up with some great sales this July.

Here is what you will find if you visit our online shops:

Birdhouse Books
http://stores.ebay.com/Birdhouse-Books?_dmd=2&_nkw=Christmas
Christmas items - 50% off
7/14 - 7/31

Depression Glass Warehouse
http://www.depressionglasswarehouse.com
50% off
7/15 - 7/31

Gingergirl's General Store
http://stores.ebay.com/Gingergirls-General-Store
15% off

KDMore Crafts and More
http://stores.ebay.com/KDMORE-CRAFTS-AND-MORE/KDMORE-CRAFTS-AND-MORE.html
Christmas items 20% off
Now - 7/31

My Moms Books
http://stores.ebay.com/MY-MOMS-BOOKS/Christmas-/_i.html?_fsub=10292015012
Christmas items 50% off
Now - 7/31

Superjunk
http://www.superjunque.com
7/20 - 7/31

This-N-That-Freeland-Enterprises

http://stores.ebay.com/This-N-That-Freeland-Enterprises/_i.html?_nkw=christmas&submit=Search&_sid=118139732

Christmas items 10% off

Now till July 31st

I hope you'll take a tour through these stores and see the vintage goodies there. And remember -- soon (July 25) it will be just 5 months till Christmas!

So Why Do Buyers Always Buy The Things I Can't Find?

2016-01-16T04:35:00.001-08:00

I know I know - if it I can't find it, it should not be on eBay. Got it...it's why I like Amazon FBA so much. I can list it, send it in and never have to look for it.

That said, it happened again this week. A bowl, one I hated because it was so big and took up so much shelf space, and was not well shaped for "stacking'. And of course, since I couldn't find it, it sold.

SO...what to do?

What kind of inventory system are you using because mine is not working 100% and I'm looking to tweak it.

Please us the comments to speak about how "you" control your inventory.

Meanwhile, this is what I do, because maybe you'll have some suggestions for tweaking this too! .\

First I buy things..auctions, fleamarkets, thrift shops, stores..

Bring it home and clean it. (YES! I wash everything or at least run it thru the dryer..)

Then photograph, identify and measure... and LIST! eBay, Amazon, Bonanza (I'd put it on ecrater but that's whole other episode...or mini-series in the drama of my ebay life).

Two years...four years... (Ok 7 years later), it sells... WHERE is it?

Back in 2012, I was facing surgery. My husband as convinced I would be disabled, mentally and physically for months and so he took every box of inventory, checked to see if it was listed and put it on a shelf (yes, he built the shelves too). He marked each item, in the ebay listing form with what shelf he put it on. In the custom label field.

So now, in 2016 when/if something sells, we are supposed to be able to go put our hands on it immediately. Yeah not so much...

Two things happened... first of all, let me say that 90% of the time he shelves things. BUT both of us must have gotten sloppy (see how I diffused that blame thing so superbly? 40 years of marriage there... LOL). So things didn't get put on the correct shelf.................a lot..

AND things "fell off" ebay and didn't stay listed so the shelves are over loaded with "unlisted" items and then the listed items, there are abour 20% of which that have the wrong shelf in the inventory location. (It's called a "snipe hunt" when we have to go look for one of them).

SO what do you do to make sure everything stays listed and you have it in the right "location" physically? I'll be waiting here.

10 Things I Love About Turbolister

2015-12-02T03:15:00.001-08:00

Last night I was a guest for a segment on That Kat Radio.   Kat and I discussed these 10 things. Well, I think we really got thru 6.. but here are the whole 10 for you to check out. Includig links to my Facebook page for Turbo Lister.

MY Top Ten Reasons that I love Turbo Lister
1.    Its FREE

2.    Can be used off-line – like when Comcast sabotages me during my available work time

3.    I can have all my ebay listings safely stored OFF ebay. Useful for instance when they take down a listing for some reason (like a duplicate or a policy violation..) or when they “disappear” one of my listings

4    Makes it very easy to list similar items by setting up a template and then duplicating it 100 times and just changes phrases and prices etc.

5.    I can change the format to relist something from Auction to Fixed Price or vice versa with 3 clicks

6.    I can search and replace –like when they did away with accepting cash payments..or when I changed my store name or my user id and it was in the description text of 2500 listings

7.    I can import listings from ebay or from another site (as a backup or as a way of flooding ebay)

8.    I can export via TL for adding listings to a different website or as back up or for accounting purposes (you can then import them to say Excel as a spreadsheet.

9.    Synchronizing - lets you keep ebay and TL working seamlessly

10.    To revise or reprice without ending or using bulk editor (I love bulk editor but it has eaten a lot of my listings and duplicated many more of them with resulting violations

IF you like this you can follow me on twitter @BethCherkowsky or @depressionglass

Reciprocity

2015-03-20T03:30:00.001-07:00

Reciprocity

Search Results

rec·i·proc·i·ty

ˌresəˈpräsədē/

noun

noun: reciprocity

the practice of exchanging things with others for mutual benefit, especially privileges granted by one country or organization to another.

So do you have reciprocity in your life? I do you a favor and then you do me one?   I thought I did. I spent years encouraging and promoting friends as they "grew" and expanded their businesses. I put contacts and opportunities I saw in their path and pushed them to use them.

Now I have a new venture of my own and asked two people I most trusted to endorse it. One did. (Thanks Kat Simpson of ThatKatRadio.com ) and one didn't (nameless, you notice?)

Don't be that dork person - the Lame Person ala Rob Lowe in his new tv commercials. If someone endorses you or promotes your business, return that favor somehow.   Don't say "oh I can't" and then promote someone else offering a lower quality service.

And I've said this before - Be Careful who you follow and/or endorse. Watch their public behavior and how they treat people that can't do them favors.   It's the best indicator of a genuine person

What's In a Name? The Shops of Online Business Success

2015-02-11T08:22:00.003-08:00

We are a group of eCommerce sellers - eBay, Etsy, Amazon, eCrater, Bonanza, and more. We have been friends for years now, and enjoy sharing advice, friendly conversation, and writing this blog together as well.

One of our group members, Carol of Abby's Attic, recently noticed that many of our store names involve a location:

"Trish's are in a Birdhouse
Deb's are in a corner cafe
Carol's are in an attic

~Trish's~ Upstairs

Kat's are in a Kloset
Sharon's are in a General Store
Videotown's are in a Town.

Beth's are in a Warehouse

Arrrans are in a corner

Suz's are in her Mom's Attic "

I thought this was very clever, and wanted to share a little post about our store names with you.

Elaine shares the story of her her store name, PhoenixRising2000: "Named after the Phoenix, a mythical birdlike creature. 'a mythical bird of great beauty fabled to live 500 or 600 years in the Arabian wilderness, to burn itself on a funeral pyre, and to rise from its ashes in the freshness of youth and live through another cycle of years: often an emblem of immortality or of reborn idealism or hope.' I adopted the Phoenix as my symbol after surprisingly surviving a bout with Cancer."

Pat shares the story of her store name, Nicalucks: "When Scott was in a coma/paralyzed/intensive care a college friend of his handed me a small stuffed reindeer and said he had brought her tons of good luck with her exams. She said another girl, whom she didn't know, had given it to her when she was in the bathroom crying over her upcoming exams. She aced her exam(s) and passed the little stuffed animal to me for luck for Scott. It was the week before Christmas and a group of Scott's friends and I wanted to give him a name so we came up with nicaluck.....nic--short for St. Nick and luck because Scott needed so much of it. It worked. I should have passed it on to yet another person but I didn't--he has been sitting on my desk with me ever since."

Marion shares the story of her store name, This N That Freeland Enterprises : "My "This N That" store goes back to many years ago when I did loads and loads of crafting when I was a kid. When my children were young and I wasn't able to go out for a full time job I still did the crafts and carried the name thru. I was fortunate to be able to stay home with our children but I just needed to keep busy doing something so I did many kinds of crafting, hence the "this n that"....(This N That Handmade Craft Gifts). I still like doing my crafting, but rarely find free time to do it. Now-a-days, I sell a little of this and a little of that which is why I kept the same name.....:-)"

My store, Birdhouse Books, was inspired by my favorite song, "Birdhouse in Your Soul" by They Might Be Giants.

You will find more great Online Business Success (OBS) shops to visit:

Katarina - Very Desperate Housewife
Meryl - Elisia at eCrater
Stacey - StaceyK's Collection
Cheryl - Electric Avenue

Have you tried selling on Facebook Groups?

2014-12-24T08:03:00.000-08:00

Online sellers have long known that selling on multiple venues helps keep a steady income coming in. We sell on eBay, Amazon, Bonanza and many Facebook groups. Each venue has it's pros and cons so you need to look at and weigh your options to see what is best for your business.

There are 2 kinds of Facebook groups local ones and then special interest groups. We are lucky in our area there are 18 local groups that we list and sell on. It is just like having a yard sale online instead of your yard. List the item and once someone wants it make arrangements for pick up.

The other type of online selling groups are special interest groups to join and sell on. There are groups for many vintage items like Christmas, Pyrex, Toys and many more. We also have sold many items on these group. We list the item with a price plus shipping. So then someone wants the item we would get their zip code and give them a shipping price and then send an invoice.

Selling on Facebook has helped improve our sales you should try it.

Nancy Drew and The Case of the Missing Listings

2014-11-16T11:28:00.000-08:00

It was a dark and stormy night. Thunder lit up the room as I peered at the computer. While pricing items on eBay, I discovered two of my items were not appearing in search. They were in Turbolister, and I could pull them up with "View Listing" from that program, but no assortment of keywords pulled them up on eBay. Both the missing listings were children's books, listed as fixed price (Good Till Cancelled), with nice big photos and item specifics. They were listed on the same date, September 17.

I called eBay and a customer service representative told me I should just end and relist the items. I still wanted answers, and was puzzled by the mystery, so I did what any good eBayer would do ... I called Nancy Drew.

Before I knew it, Nancy was pulling into the driveway in her jaunty blue roadster. She came in for a cup of tea, and I told her about my dilemma. "I'll be right on it," she promised. "I'm sure there is a solution."

One day went by, and then another. Before I knew it, a week had passed. Then, just when I thought the case had gone cold, the doorbell rang and when I answered, I found that Nancy Drew had come to call.

She pulled a stack of photos out of her satchel. As she spoke, she showed me the photos she had taken. "I'm so sorry it's taken a while. I've looked everywhere for your missing listings. They weren't in the old clock. They weren't on the steamboat. They weren't in the crumbling manor. Finally I paid a visit to eBay headquarters. I searched high and low ... but your missing listings weren't anywhere to be found. I am so sorry this happened. I never have been stumped by a case like this before. It's like they just vanished! I'll continue looking, in case I find them in a treasure chest, or tucked inside an old book. But -- in the meantime, I guess you should end the items and relist them." And with those words, Nancy walked out of my house and into the night. I went back to work, still puzzling over the strange and mysterious disappearance.

Sourcing for eBay Year Round -

2014-11-09T15:30:00.000-08:00

This subject comes up all the time. Where do I find more stuff to sell on ebay??

This is my segment on ebay radio on November 4th discussing where to get more merchandise.

http://www.voicemarketingradio.com/vmr/content/ebay-radio-show-575-segment-7-top-rated-seller-hour

Come see some of the stuff I am selling - http://www.depressionglasswarehouse.com

and http://www.superjunque.com

Kathy Simpson Interviews Greg Jameson and Karen Locker

2014-11-06T14:01:00.002-08:00

I don't normally do this or haven't lately but I thought this interview which my friend Kathy Simpson, one of the founders of this blog just did, with Greg Jameson is full of so many good ideas that we have to get it out there and have all of us be more successful.

THAT KAT RADIO

And then she interviewed Karen Locker of BusinessSolutions4You.com who helps folks get approved for gated categories on Amazon (Karen's another one of our founding bloggers)

She has a business helping other businesses get set up right on Amazon.

Ok I'm off to do some work. Carry on!!!

Another Wrinkle in the Ebay Selling Experience

2014-10-24T00:30:00.001-07:00

I am not normally considered an ebay cheerleader so it will probably come as no surprise that I'm already fed up with their most recent round of unannounced changes.

Remember back in August when they announced that, indeed, Buyers would now be able to cancel a transaction without asking the seller to do it, as long as they changed their mind in the first hour?? Yeah well not so much actually. If a buyer makes a best offer?? well that buyer is not allowed to change their mind. So here's the backstory.

Buyer makes 2 offers on Sunday morning, my husband's items so I wait for him to wake up and decide. He takes both offers. Buyer pays for one almost immediately but...sends a note saying he looked at the pictures again and doesn't want the 2nd one. It's more than an hour later so I send him a message saying, Ok, this is what's gonna happen. I'm going to send you a cancellation request, you agree and we're both off the hook and because you didn't even pay for this yet, No harm No foul. Yeah well again Not SO MUCH.

Buyer must have left immediately after paying so I didn't hear from him til the next day. Then he tells me he followed my directions but the system won't let him agree to cancel. He's being told to pay.

What happened next is 5 days of dealing with the bureaucracy from hell. Multiple calls to ebay with hold times in excess of 60 minutes. (I did finally figure out what to click to get them to call me back about it but that took 4 days too). OH and ebay itself opened an unpaid item case again the buyer, who was actually, seeminly cooperating with me and actually apologized to me for causing so much trouble. Knock me over with a feather.

Finally yesterday - day 5, I got an reasonably intelligent and certainly above-standard, English-speaking, CSR, a miracle in itself, who took control of the issue, sent the buyer exact instructions, called the buyer multiple times and was able, finally overnight to get the cancellation request to go thru. HURRAY for Jonathon!! I'd personally authorize a raise for him if I could. Why?

Well one, he explained what was happening, clearly, he attempted to call the buyer while I was on the phone. He did call the buyer several times and he called me back to update me on not being able to reach the buyer.

HALLELUJAH, just what I expect for my $500 a month in fees. But here's the lesson, DO NOT LET BUYERS cancel if they make a Best Offer and you accept. Tell them it's much easier if you pay, we wait an hour and I cancel this and refund because you "changed your mind". Saves us both 5 days of bureaucratic red tape.

Now you and I know buyers use Best Offer a lot and a certain percentage never pay. I assume they changed their mind and don't bother to tell us. BUT the ones who do change their mind? well that's not allowed any more. Probably a "buyer-side defect" in ebay's score book. Talk about a bad buying experience, just in this one transaction of mine, ebay has created 2 new dissatisfed users. BONUS Points for the ebay.

Are You Ready For The Fall Holiday Selling Season?

2014-09-29T05:56:00.000-07:00

After reading the Fall Post from My Moms Books I realized how right she is and fall is here. That means that Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas is right around the corner and are you ready? In fact are you ever truly ready for the holiday season?

Are you going to be like Snoopy this year looking at all you need to organize and list? I am hoping to be more like this Snoopy.

He has the tree decorated and is all ready for Christmas. So what do you think? Now is the time to put your holiday plan in action.

A few months ago I wrote a blog post on my blog about scheduling my day. Now it is crunch time and I know I need to really focus. How about you? What is your plan for the holiday selling season?

Fall is Here!

2014-09-13T11:14:00.001-07:00

Morning OBS, chilly start here 43 when I let the girls out.

I've decided fall is here. Time to fall clean and change house decor up a bit to reflect the season.

Fall cooking is in the air too! Yesterday I made roast chicken, stuffing, potatoes, peas and homemade chicky gravy. (love wondra flour) Talk about comfort food.

Yum!

So I've decide since no cooking needed today with tons of leftovers...

List, new stuff with auction special on attic id

mymomsbooksattic

Clean & decorate as I go to make fall house

Throw in some laundry since hubby said hamper is full, heavens knows we still have many clothes.

Nothing to ship today although week has been steady after summer dry spell.

Hopefully all will be in shopping Fall change mood.

Here's my Saturday link, thanks to all that play the link game!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Football-Superstars-of-the-70s-HC-1975-Manning-Harris-Simpson-/151409056159?ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

What Do You Think of When You Hear Labor Day Weekend?

2014-08-29T05:39:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that this weekend is Labor Day weekend. That spells the end of summer and back to school routine for many families. Even when the kids are grown and out of the house this weekend still means the end of summer fun and hot sunny weather. Around here many schools start before Labor Day but when I was growing up this was our last fun weekend before school started.

I also think of fall with those cool crisp days and nights getting darker earlier. There are many people that don't like the fall and nights that get dark so early are you one of those people? I love all the seasons and enjoy the changes that each one brings. When the nights get dark early it forces us inside as a family to enjoy an early dinner and a relaxing evening together.

It won't be long and we will be seeing the leaves turning colors and what a beautiful time of year this is in PA. I call this sweater weather when they days are still warm and the nights you need a sweater. This time of year also has people thinking about the upcoming holidays since Christmas is not far off.

Speaking of Christmas we sell a variety of collectible items that make great unique gifts for that special someone on your list. So if you want to get a jump on your holiday shopping stop by The Book Corner Cafe at eBay and check out items.

Tips on Talking to Ebay Customer Service

2014-08-21T11:11:00.005-07:00

by Leslie Hope

Tips on Talking to Ebay Customer Service
Keep a notebook or spreadsheet of your conversations for EVERY TIME you call in to Customer Service.
If the CS Rep has given you information on the call such as, "Call us back when you return the item and at that point it will qualify for defect removal" -- Then ask the CS Rep to make a note about their ruling on your account.

Once they've made their notes, ASK THEM TO READ THE NOTES BACK TO YOU. Nine times out of ten the conversation will NOT be recorded properly. (You will shake your head at what they did record in the notes, and wonder if the two of you were having the same conversation.)

At that point, tell them that there is missing information, and tell them what needs to be recorded in the notes. Such as "You said it would definitely qualify for defect removal. But you did not write that. Please write the exact words that this qualifies for defect removal."

Or when ebay CS says, "We've descored the case and removed the defect." If their notes do not accurately reflect what they have done....insist that they write word for word what was done, and for the item number it pertains to.

Then ask them to read it back to you word for word. Keep going over this until you are sure the notes in your account correctly reflect the information you were given by the rep or that the notes accurately reflect the action that was taken. Is this tedious? Yes. But it is super important. Do it. Every time.

VERY IMPORTANT -- Record the name and last initial of the person you are speaking with. Record the date of the call, the beginning time of the phone call, and the end time of the phone call, in case they must pull the tape for review.

VERY IMPORTANT -- When the conversation is over ASK FOR THE REFERENCE NUMBER of the conversation. YOU MUST GET THE REFERENCE NUMBER OF THE CONVERSATION.
Be sure to get this reference number EVERY TIME. If you have to call ebay back, and you have to refer back to a conversation with a different CS Rep, "but this other rep told me something completely different," they can refer to the reference number and see the notes of the conversation.
Note: The notes of the conversation are not always on your account.
But they CAN trace the phone call via the reference number.
I just got a defect descored/removed that the rep argued was not removable. But because I had the date, time, and reference number of the previous phone call telling it was removable and the reasons why, the ebay CS Rep apologized that she had made a mistake, and she was able to remove the defect, and she congratulated me for being so organized and making the conversation much easier by having all the evidence lined up for her.

Of course, I asked her record that action taken on my account....asked her to read the notes back to me. Asked her to make some additions to the notes. Asked her name and last initial. At that point she said to me, "And you want the reference number, too, right?" I told her, "You betchya. You know I do!"
I have been following this procedure for years. I ALWAYS get the reference number of the call, and make sure that the notes accurately reflect our conversation. I cannot tell you how many times this has rescued me from problems in the past. But especially with the new defect system, I highly recommend following this procedure for logging your phone calls to ebay.

2014-08-06T10:21:00.000-07:00

Ok,
we are in the summer duldrums for many people, some people are talking about sales slowing down with the heat of Summer. Mine are however, going up nicely! (I am glad)
My Amazon FBA business is doing fantastic.

And I have a very busy schedule come up.
I am speaking at SCOE/Seattle next week
"Sourcing for Amazon & FBA"
along with many others, like Skip McGrath & Kat Simpson who will also having speaking sessions.

After that the first week of September I will be speaking at CES/Dallas Consult Expand & Sell by Jim Cockrum
You can see the Live Streaming here:

About 500 people will be descending on Dallas for this event, and tickets sold out withing 24 hours, just WOW!!!
And a fantastic group of people to network with.
I am really excited.

Now to keep my business going and growing with all of this going on... Will be a challenge.

And of course my Seller Coaching is growing and keeping me very busy.

Deep breath, and continue forward!!

Bob Willey
Here is my YahooGroup FBAForum with over 5,000 members strong and over 6 years old.

Back To School Already ??

2014-08-02T17:47:00.000-07:00

Just in passing conversation the other day with some on line friends, I realized that other parts of the country ( I`m on the East Coast ) start the new school year very soon like within 1 week..

And to think I used to complain when I was in school ( many many years ago ) that the school year started right after the Labor Day weekend was over

I can remember the last picnics and BBQ`s of the summer being sort of meloncholy because it meant early to bed nights, homework and very early mornings to get ready for school

For me anyway the BEST thing about the new school year meant seeing friends that I haven`t seen since the end of the previous school year and being 1 step closer to graduating :-)

This new school year is Special to me though because my oldest Granddaughter is NOW a Senior in high school and will be graduating in June and headed for college to pursue a degree in Music and Journalism ( at least that`s what she says she wants to do lol, )

So as we close out the summer and hit the stores for Back To School Clothes and shoes and bookbags and essentials for the new year, if you are looking for bargains on jeans or shoes take a peek at my ebay store http://stores.ebay.com/KDMORE-CRAFTS-AND-MORE

or my Amazon store http://www.amazon.com/gp/aag/main/ref=olp_merch_name_4?ie=UTF8&asin=B00GCG62VM&isAmazonFulfilled=1&seller=A3VD9F1KQOKW2U

Happy Shopping :-)

A Gaggle of Friends

2014-08-02T11:25:00.001-07:00

So the original point of this blog was supposed to be to promote my friends and family who sell on ebay. And to vent about ebay's stupid management decisions. Well that's a waste of my breathe so I'm back to promoting the friends and family.

To wit, here are a few of my friends and their items they have listed right now:

Cranberry Frosted Art Glass bowl

Now would that not make a wonderful wedding or anniversary gift?

And my friend Suzanne has these great coffee or hot chocolate mugs..

Corningware Coffee Mugs - Dusty Blue

You better bid on these before I do because I love all things blue.. (and I sure need some pretty mugs..)

Of course, if you're a baker or a grandmom (or a cookie store) THIS is just perfect (ok you can put cupcakes in it too if you want... )

Cupcake Cookie Jar

Don't ask me why they are different sized pictures cause I've got NO clue.

My very good friend Debbie has a lot of hardware in her listings... NO I mean real Hardware - check out these door handles. Here's the picture

Are they not great??

Then there's a favorite of mine (new favorite..) This seller has some vintage stuff and says he's adding more..

VHS Rock and Roll Music Videos Lot

And my friend Kathy has a Build-a-Bear lot for sale here (her store is great!! )

Build a Bear Candy

And my friend Angela has these awesome men's silk suspenders (braces)

Men's Burgundy and Cream Button Suspenders / Braces made in England.

And not really last or least are my two friends Trish who is having a 20% off sale on everything in her store.. Birdhouse Books

And Suz who is have a 15 % off sale and offers free shipping. MyMomsBooks

LAST of all is me - my store is Depressionglasswarehouse Where I have a lot more than Depression Glass. So come on in and browse. We do combine shipping and we also have a sale running but mine is 25% til tomorrow

Everyone Loves Christmas in July

2014-07-17T06:20:00.001-07:00

Christmas is one of my favorite holidays and I love thinking about Christmas in July. This is a great time to find deals and even do some of your Christmas shopping to avoid the holiday rush in December.

We are having a Christmas in July sale this week and one of my favorite items are Vintage Tree Toppers. This cute angel is just one of the items that are on sale. She brings back memories since growing up we always had an angel like her as our tree topper.

We have other kinds listed like the star that lights up and we will be listing more in the upcoming weeks. So stop by today at the Book Corner Cafe n More store and check out our sale.

Birdhouse Books Loves Vintage Books and Pretty Paper

2014-06-12T09:04:00.001-07:00

Hi vintage friends!

I would love to invite you to visit my eBay store, Birdhouse Books. You can also find me at my blog, View from the Birdhouse.

My name is Trish. I grew up in a family that went antiquing on weekends for fun. Road trips always involved a stop at a little antique store in an out of the way location. From childhood, I was fascinated with vintage paper - especially vintage Valentines and Christmas cards.

My special favorite, though, is vintage children's books. I love them! I have a small collection of vintage picture books featuring dachshund dogs, and some favorite Little Golden Books. I especially like Little Golden Books with dog stories, Christmas themes, and Eloise Wilkin illustrations.

You'll find all of these things - and a little more - in my shop on eBay. I've sold since 2003 at eBay and have recently opened a shop at Etsy as well: Birdhouse Books on Etsy.

Here are a few photos of things you will find at Birdhouse Books:

Vintage Children's Books like this one. Pictured, Riddles Riddles from A to Z by Trina Schart:

Fun and unique vintage cookbooks, like 75 Glamorous Rice Dishes. (Yes, rice can be glamorous!):

I love Roadside Americana and always have a selection of vintage postcards featuring motels, restaurants, amusement parks, and old fashioned tourist attractions.

Vintage Valentines! Don't they remind you of childhood Valentine exchanges at school?

And of course there are vintage Christmas cards that evoke nostalgic holidays from the past:

I've enjoyed chatting with you here and sharing a peek inside my shop. Hope you have a great day with some fun retro finds!

Sharing my links with you:

Amazon why do you confuse me so ??

2014-05-12T18:07:00.000-07:00

About a year ago I took the "Amazon FBA plunge " and started sending in multiple boxes per week of inventory

When I first started I was very hesitant because of the learning curve. But I caught on fairly quickly in learning how to create and ship orders and soon began shipping 6-8 boxes at a time several times a week.

I was enjoying the "hunt" for products that would have a very lucrative ROI, and definitely was enjoying the $$ payout checks every 2 weeks

THEN oh boy THEN Amazon decided they were going to change the shipping procedure and threw a Monkey wrench into the works that definitely has FRUSTRATED me to NO end !!

What I want to know is HOW Amazon came up with this new plan and HOW does this make things easier or better for the seller ??

To create a shipment with 30 - 40 items in it ( many are multiples ) get everything ready to pack and ship, then have AMAZON tell me I NOW have 3 boxes with 10 items in each or worse than that, that I have 4 or 5 boxes with 7 or 8 things in each !!

This is NOT easier Amazon and definitely NOT " enjoyable " anymore

This is gonna be a HUGE learning curve for me..

One of The Most Beautiful Places I have Visited

2014-05-12T17:47:00.004-07:00

Recently my husband and I drove from CT to Reno Nevada..One of the places we stopped at on our way, is Sedona AZ
Gorgeous Terra Cotta colored plateaus and buttes and rock formation are all around you as you drive through the city along Rt 89
The scenic drive along RT 89 will take your breath away with its beauty and splendor of just a little Piece of " America The Beautiful "

If you have been to Sedona, you will know exactly the feeling I`m talking about !

If you`ve never been there, put it on your Bucket list to see. Surely

one of the Most Beautiful Cities in the Southwest

Your "About Me" Page is Going Away and YOU need to do this!

2014-01-28T09:46:00.003-08:00

Announced last year, eBay profiles are the latest—and best—way to engage with other members, share your collections, and showcase your expertise and business.
Starting June 2, About Me pages will be no longer be available—and as of February 17, creation of new and editing of existing About Me pages will be ended—so if you have yet to complete your new eBay profile, now’s the time!
You can access your eBay profile either by going to ebay.com/usr/eBayUSERID, or by first clicking on your user name that appears in the top left-hand corner of your home page, then clicking on your user ID that appears in the first section of the drop down menu. Learn more about completing your profile, as well as everything the page has to offer.
We hope you update your eBay profile, and as always, thank you for being a part of eBay!
Sincerely,
The eBay Social Commerce Team -

You need to fix up your profile page to replace it...

Here's how you find it...

You can access your eBay profile either by going to ebay.com/usr/eBayUSERID, or by first clicking on your user name that appears in the top left-hand corner of your home page, then clicking on your user ID that appears in the first section of the drop down menu. Learn more about completing your profile, as well as everything the page has to offer.

So the next big question is: WHAT do I put here??

Well a Profile Image - and a Cover Image (ala Facebook)

Your profile image dimensions should be 150 pixels wide x 150 pixels tall and your cover image should be 1200 pixels wide x 270 pixels tall. Each picture file can be as large as 5MB. Note that you can upload an image with larger dimensions and it will be cropped automatically. You can move the image within the space provided to your liking.

From the ebay announcement details, here are some suggestions to make your profile more entertaining and appealing:

Social sharing widgets. These enable you—and other users—to share your profile on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest with just a click. Learn more about sharing via social media.
Cover Image. Upload a custom cover image that reflects you, your brand, your inventory, or special offers. If you choose not to upload your own image, a default background will be displayed.
Key information. Showcases the profile image you upload, a description of you or your business, and your feedback and detailed seller ratings (DSRs). It also allows visitors to follow you, quickly contact you, and get one-click access to your eBay Store.
Items for sale. 'Items for sale' displays items for sale, based on how recently they were listed. For sellers who subscribe to an eBay Store, a link to your eBay Store also appears prominently in your new profile.
Collections. Showcases the collections you've created and made public.
Following. Displays the collections, members, and interests/searches you are following.
Followers. Shows users who are following your profile.
Reviews. Highlights your expertise by showcasing your three most recent reviews.
Guides. Complete with a ratings section, this area shares with visitors the buying guides you've created.

To build a compelling, engaging, and informative eBay profile, follow these top tips:

Upload compelling, high-quality profile and cover images
Give members more reasons to follow you: write an informative blurb that highlights your expertise and your business. Be sure to use spell check!
Publish reviews and guides that illustrate your expertise
Create great collections, as they will be showcased on your profile
Follow other eBay members, collections, and interests so users can see what interests you have in common

Check back with us later and see if any of us did this...

Upcoming changes to About Me pages—personalize your eBay profile today

- See more at: http://announcements.ebay.com/2014/01/upcoming-changes-to-about-me-pages-personalize-your-ebay-profile-today/#sthash.UPf8GWGP.dpuf

Upcoming changes to About Me pages—personalize your eBay profile today

- See more at: http://announcements.ebay.com/2014/01/upcoming-changes-to-about-me-pages-personalize-your-ebay-profile-today/#sthash.UPf8GWGP.dpuf

More Fun - Bigger Profits - starts in May 2014 in Las Vegas!!

2014-01-25T11:42:00.000-08:00

My friend Danni Ackerman has planned a STUPENDOUS Learning event for May in Las Vegas.. And YOU are invited!

Registration is live now and I forgot to tell you all (DUH) Here is your link to sign up For the More Fun, Bigger Profits TrainingConference!(get the code below to save $50 on the registration price!!

HERE is what Danni told me:

“I think this event will be amazing! I'm focusing on individuals who have an eBay business, getting them through the rough times and obstacles that pop up out of nowhere as our business grows and changing some mindsets that stand in the way of success. Success shouldn't be that hard to attain, and I think this event can make a real difference.

For the past 2 years I have been mentoring and coaching others how to build their dream business, reach their success and be a thriving eBay seller! This year I am on track to have a six figure sales year while running the Danni App as well. I want to help others do the same, “

Now I've known Danni for about 10 years. She's been in Yahoo groups with me and I, once a long while back, kicked her out of my Yahoo Group for being so negative and downhearted. But I let her back and she's upped her game immensely. And now she has THE DANNI APP group on Facebook and her APPSTERS group where she offers training but really THIS is for everyone even if you're not in her appster group. And I'm learning stuff from her every day.

So here’s the link to sign up for The More Fun Bigger Profits Conference - what are you waiting for?? Come on! http://morefunbiggerprofits.com/ and here’s the Facebook group to read more about what it is https://www.facebook.com/MoreFunBiggerProfits

So if you sign up using that code right there > BC50MFBP YOU get $50 off the price and I get a referral fee – so please use MY code to sign up… it is

My unique coupon code BC50MFBP, and you get a $50 discount off the ticket price

Hotels and airfare etc are Not included…

Now if enough of you sign up and I make enough in referral fees even I will be showing up!! Please come, I think you'll learn a lot!

Beth

http://www.depressionglasswarehouse.com

Love a Sale? Check out our eBay Store Sales

2013-12-28T04:26:00.000-08:00

If you are like I am you love the word sale and my some of my friends are running an eBay sale this week. Did you get Christmas money you want to spend on yourself? Well today is good day to check out our sales to save you money on items you really want.

We sell a large variety of items in our stores from vintage collectibles to new items so take a look. We also offer free shipping on some of our items to save you even more money and a nice sale discount.

Here are a few of us that are running sales today.

Book Corner Cafe is filled with all kinds of vintage collectibles and racing items.

Very Desperate Housewife is filled with beautiful clothes and many other unique items.

Birdhouse Books is filled with wonderful vintage books, cards and paper items.

Finally if you are in need of any packing materials of any type at great prices check out www.bubblefast.com and use discount code YearEnd to receive a 10% discount until 12/31/13.

Stop by today for great items, great sales and great customer service.

The Printer In Your Life and How It Drains the Bank Account..

2013-12-18T04:48:00.000-08:00

I'm not going to recommend any printer (I have a love/hate relationship with them) but my current one is about 10 years old and it's an HP. It's ok...(although it's crunching a fair amount of innocent paper lately so it might be having cardiac arrest soon.. )

The thing is, the darn thing sucks up ink like a lush on a bender. Cartridges, at K-Mart/Walmart etc are $15. ON ebay I can sometimes grab them for $10 . at one a week?? not doing either of those. So???

So I buy the black ink in a kit and refill those myself. Have the printer set to only print black and in FAST DRAFT Mode.

Why FAST DRAFT?? cause it makes my ink last 2x as long. So here's how you get there. Go to the control panel on your PC (Mac folks?? I have no CLUE but it can be done by you too cause my kid did it)>>>

Anyway Go to the Control Panel, open Devices and Printers, Find your printer, open Settings or Adjust Setting and find Print Mode or style and select FAST DRAFT

It's way way way way way more economical. An 8 oz bottle of ink cost me $16 plus shipping and will last me a year almost. Instead of 52 or more cartridges. I do buy 5-6 cartridges a year because sometimes they just can't be reused any more but that's minimal compared to buying new ones...

Share the post, we all need to know these "tips". someone told me, pass it along!

(and please feel free to share your money saving tips... either ask to be an author, or put your tips in the comments section)