Reasons for doing time away? (Other than illness and vacation)
Just wondered if anyone else did time away for reasons other than vacation and illness (it's kind of obvious if those things happen you would do time away, I was trying to think of other circumstances).
I have one coming up. There's going to be reno work done on my house and I have to move all the furniture around and some of my stamps on shelves are going to be covered up by other furniture, and closets holding packing supplies will be blocked. Seemed reasonable to do time away for the week (and hope they're done in a week). My big drama is I have to uncover every electrical outlet in the house for inspection, and those who don't pass have to stay uncovered for another week until they get fixed.
Fortunately anything that's in good working order (which is probably the entire basement) will be able to be put back the way it was the very next day. It's tough having lots of stuff, good thing I'm not a total hoarder with floor to ceiling piles of stuff. My big complaint is some of the furniture (like beds and dressers) are excessively heavy and I can't lift them even with help. (In Canada workmen don't lift house furniture, it's a liability and a possible way to be injured on the job).
Anyway if I can pack it while on time away, I will pack and ship, since my laptop and printer will still be working, if I can't pack it because there's a dresser in front of those boxes of inventory, it will have to wait until I'm back.
C.
fullers_uk
·8 months agoAlways cautious about advertising things like being away, kinda makes your home a target.
evry1nositswindy
·8 months agoI use Time Away every December once the date for shipping passes. A few years ago, I had so many packages shipped priority that were taking much longer. Several didn't arrive until after Christmas. I had a lot of angry messages that year and vowed to never do that again. You really don't need a reason. It's there for you to utilize.
lloydsteventaylor
·8 months agohi all, you don't need a reason to do time away. I am on time away right now because I am having all 3 bathrooms redone. It is supposed to take 3 weeks. I might start up again after that. Oh and the NFL playoffs start this weekend. I cant think of a better reason than to watch some "feetsball" as my wife used to call it. I don't want ebay to get in the way of "feetsball"
vintage-camerastuff
·8 months agoIf you are doing time and incarcerated would be a good time to do time away.
stephenmorgan
·8 months agoWhen I leave the country I do not use time away. I turn it all off just encase I do not return.
squinkercat59
·8 months agoI've used Time Away several times, when I moved. It takes time to move everything, especially halfway across the country, then find it all and organize it again. And not just my Ebay stuff!
stainlessenginecovers
·8 months agoPower out- not an issue; Laptop with hours of life or generator
Internet out- use the Cell Phone
Different Carrier?- go to the Post Office
Only REAL good reason; I was moving from one state to another and had to shut down the entire machine shop operation for 3 weeks while closing it down, packing it up and setting it back up in the new location.
And when I had a stroke- but that's 'medical'.
gloryglorygifts
·8 months agoI had the store opened/closed for 7 months of renovation in 2024. I used to have the entire first floor of the house as our headquarters/warehouse/office and lived in the top two floors. We literally gutted every single floor and I actually lived here while it was done. It took 2 weeks to convert half the first floor into a mil apartment and the rest of the time was spent completing the top floors and remainder of the first floor. I mentioned it in the auto message that we were undergoing renovations and that I would get back to people as soon as I could. I shipped what I had access to, which was extremely limited. It was supposed to be all done in 6 weeks, but those 6 turned into 7 months of h e l l, with me in a one room apartment with a yappy senior dog (adopted that January) that barked all..... day..... long. Good times. LOL
I've also closed the store for a little break here and there in the Summer months, but I still allow sales. Takes the pressure off for shipping on time and responding to people.
Good luck on your renovation! I hope it goes very smoothly, under budget and on time!
jdbelt1960
·8 months agoYou don't need an excuse to take time away. You can close your shop anytime. You do not work for EBAY.
golfingaddict
·8 months agoI use Time Away for vacation but I also use it a lot in the winter to give myself extra wiggle room for weather issues.
I used it quite a bit last month because of flooding and postal issues.
If we are expecting snow, I also put in on time away.
I usually still ship in my normal time, but I have the PO pick up my packages and I never know for certain if they can get here if it snows. If they miss the pick up, it is not a crisis.
onlinecentral
·8 months agoI moved my merchandise in a rented storage unit into my house. I put my store on Time Away and rented an Econoline size van from U-Haul.
Workers could be hired. Some were through an Uber or Lyft type of service. Others had their own website. They might pay U-Haul a fee or commission to get on that referral page/list. That might have been online or an in-store kiosk computer.
Check the websites of moving companies in Canada and try to hire workers to move your furniture. Then come back later to move it back into place.
sin-n-dex
OP8 months agoThe biggest furniture problem is my bed, and I can't move it without taking it apart and it weighs over 200 lbs. We just need to move it 2 feet from the wall but the room isn't so big. Things might be disrupted for a week or so (although we'll try to deal with the electrical in the areas where it's most disrupted to go back to normal as quickly as possible).
I have left over storage bins in my garage from having moved in (because I bought bins for a lot of stuff instead of using boxes). I'm going to pack DVDs and stuff like that in bins to move them out of the way easily enough.
My roommate is not too happy about moving stuff around his rec room in the basement. The couch barely fit down the stairs and it took over an hour to move it in, so we're not about to move it out to get it out of the way. My plan is to have someone here the day they inspect to move things around as needed (and we're moving anything that has lots of stuff on it, like book cases, this weekend so they're out of the way).
It won't be too bad, it's just annoying that every outlet has to be checked at the same time, it's not like I can worry about one room at a time.
C.
skatefool
·8 months agoThe biggest furniture problem is my bed, and I can't move it without taking it apart and it weighs over 200 lbs. We just need to move it 2 feet from the wall but the room isn't so big. Things might be disrupted for a week or so (although we'll try to deal with the electrical in the areas where it's most disrupted to go back to normal as quickly as possible).
* If you have an tool rental business nearby, ask them if they have a "desk jack" or "furniture jack" and whether it would fit under the dimensions of your bed. They work like a charm.
gurlcat
·8 months agoI've seen a few sellers state they take December off because they don't sell items that would get a sales increase from holiday shopping, only risk INR's from holiday postal traffic.
ten_o_nine
·8 months agoI do it often to take a break and enjoy life.
fern*wood
·8 months agoI used it one time that I can remember. I lost power/internet for nine days.
caldreamer
·8 months agoThe only time I use "time away" is when my kitty demands all my attention. He is a very needy boy and rules with an iron paw.
wastingtime101
·8 months agoWeather.
Power outage.
Internet outage.
Temporarily extend handling time with Time Away because your shipping supplies restock was delayed.
Regular carrier is off that week and you're uncertain how sub will perform, so you use Time Away to have a cushion.
gurlcat
·8 months agoI've never done time away (can't afford to) but if this were Family Feud, I'd slam the buzzer and say "mental health break." -Pretty sure that would be on the board, maybe not #1 survey answer but there nonetheless, unless they decided to merge it with "vacation". I think that's a whole other thing though.