Each month, we all try to set goals, make plans, or just put together a quick list of the things we want to accomplish, resolve, achieve, or finish during that month. This thread has been a tradition of the Building/Starting An eBay Business boards for as long as I can recall. It's also a chance for those participating to socialize a bit without violating board rules.
So...
- Christmas shopping is beginning. Do you have 4th quarter plans?
- Covid-related shopping seems to be slowing as more businesses continue to open/get closer to normal. What impact do you expect from this?
- How do you plan to accomodate the annual shipping rate increases? Do you think they will be just seasonal or will some part or all of the increases become permanent?
Welcome to all our newest posters! If you have a specific question, try using Board Search to see if it's been discussed, or is still currently being discussed. If not, why not start your own discussion and see what the group can come up with? Remember, no personally identifiable info, for yourself or any other member involved, and not all problem will have reasonable solutions.
So let's take on October 2021 and make it our own!!
-Bob.
@bauble-babes wrote:My Goal?
To PRAY to the Gods that eBay will FIRE their Management Team and get a new one that has enough common sense to know how counter-productive it is to change so many categories, etc. during our most profitable time of year! Sales have tanked to near nothing for many since Oct. 14 and the once-profitable Holiday Season is proving to be a loss as Buyers flee eBay to purchase elsewhere.
While God may hear you, I think he had an easier time with the Egyptian Pharaoh than he would with eBay C-level execs. They see only the monthly numbers - nothing else much matters. Otherwise their plans would have accommodated their own peak season (4th Qtr) and set more realistic goals. They don't see the problems caused, only that the money keeps coming in. And that only happens because, IMHO, there are too many newbies who believe everything eBay tells them about how to make a sale, ignoring the fact that these newbies are losing money on every transaction (but making up for it in volume!!) and will eventually become bitter ex-sellers who spread information that will eventually slow the influx of newbies/chum that keeps the site afloat.
Newbies don't often realize what their real expenses are, or how much of their personal income is used to generate a lesser amount of eBay income. Or that the eBay income is not yet taxed and will be even less when that occurs. By the time they learn, it's too late - so much money has been lost that they can't help but view eBay as a hopeless and heartless operation. And as any experienced retailer knows, one AwS**t erases at least 10 AllRight's. One disillusioned newbie will 'share their experience' with many of their friends, who will then gravitate to other venues that are perceived as more selller-friendly, or at least not as uncaring of sellers.
-Bob.
Hi everyone!
Thanks for the warm welcome back...I appreciate it. Had another sale yesterday so 3 for October...I only started listing again a few weeks ago after shutting everything down in late July so am trying to get used to all the changes. I HATE the new categories....so many are missing, it doesnt make sense but the powers that be, need to keep making changes to justify their jobs I am sure. Also the specifics make no sense, as soon as I list something I have to go in and click the dont remind me again button...if I had something to enter I would geesh...truly is crazy but my store subscription goes through April so I am here for a while.
DRSK, I think the trees are late changing because it was such a warm September. When I pulled out of the driveway in NY just after Labor Day, the trees were starting to change which was normal but down here the maples are just starting to change although my walnut tree lost all its leaves a month ago.
Yes, all the horses, dogs and most of the cats made the trip. 4 trailers full of horses, a vanload of dogs, 3 moving vans and me with the horse trailer filled mainly with feral cats...I couldnt catch them all but I told the buyers of the place that I left a few behind and they were OK with it since its a farm, they actually had hoped I would leave them all ...no, I liked getting the tar scratched out of me while I trapped them 🙂 Yes, we sold the place in NY for 20% less than asking price and then they still nickle and dimed us at closing to get even more off! Crazy but we were already living here so didnt want to worry about that place...never looking back now ..loving KY.
I actually have to drive in to work tomorrow...1st time since last december..its a 2hr drive so I am not looking forward to putting on clothes, makeup and driving in to the big city hahahahaha...I have gotten lazy at the walk to the dining room table and wearing PJ's most of the day.
Here's to a great end of October for all of us. 
@downrightspecialkids wrote:Whew, I had a lot of catching up to do again.
Bob, The pinned post hasn't worked for me in a long time.
Are you talking the scrabble letter holder little wooden things? If so, I have a bunch.
I think FB buyers are worse. I get soooo many people who don't read the description, just like here, but also then get so many people who ask questions, ask about availability, say they are coming, and then, nothing.
Last Christmas DH bought me a new camera. One of my main requirements is it has to have a rechargeable battery, so I can use one and switch out to charge it and have another. He bought me one that needed like 4AA batteries, and it was big and heavy. He bought it here because seller had free returns. As soon as I saw it, I knew it wasn't for me. We sent it back. Seller charged an 80.00 fee saying we opened and used it. I didn't even open it. They clearly just wanted to get their free and return shipping back. Ebay refunded it to us, but it made me wonder how many offering free shipping do that. Oops, off on a tangent...
FBM is as much a flea market as eBay -- people wander by, ask all kinds of questions, monopolize your time, then just walk on and by from someone else for a couple bucks less without asking a single question. I did the math once on my PC listings on FBM ... it takes like 30 "is this still available" contacts before you'll get one who actually, truly wants to know. Then another 30 or so of those folks before you find the one who's actually going to show up.......but doesn't always make the purchase. It's frustrating, at best.
On the camera - I've got one like that. I like the SLR-style frame, moreso since my display screen on the back is on arms that let me tilt it so I can see the image properly when holding the camera down by my waist to get a better angle on the pic. Or when I'm holding it up-n-out to get an overhead shot...just tilt the top of the display out and now it's facing the same way as the bottom of the camera - easy to see!!
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Youngest finally did my oil change and some minor repairs on my 16.5yr old Expedition. She's still got the tapping in the motor (we know what it is but just haven't gotten around to fixing it in 15+ yrs), but it's amazing what a fresh 7qts of oil does for your acceleration! 🙂 I might even be able to step back to mid-grade gas for a while....premium prices are killing me!
I'm up to SIX (6) sales for the month!! This month I posted everything as GTC and they will all end a week or so before Christmas (SixBit lets me set an 'early termination date' on fixed price listings), so I'll have a week or so of vacation before starting up again after New Years.
At least that's what I tell myself... usually I start posting again the day after Christmas...AFTER we get the house cleaned up and the last load of dishes run thru the dishwasher. 🙂
-Bob.
@bokhoma wrote:I was going to post on the board here how I got around the loop that kept just reloading the page and would not give us access to this forum. But then I thought about it. If someone could read my solution they were already on the board. And If they could not get to the board they could not read my solution. So, what was the point of posting that?
I think I have an opportunity to spend a night 40 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico on a 36 ft boat this Winter. There would be a group of 5 guys plus the captain. We would fish, eat, drink and have a good time. But the best part would be watching the night sky that far out. We would be far away from the city lights and the normal pollution is not nearly as bad down here as it is up North. Winter down here is the calmest weather and best time to go. I just may do it.
Onward and upward....
Joe
Uh... we can find the discussion be entering "What Are Your Goals" into the Search box for the board... just type and wait and a list of discussion threads with matching titles will show up. Select the one you want and away you go. I'd be curious to hear how you got it to work again....
The boat trip sounds interesting, but I'm more of an ice fisher than an open water fisher. When you can drive your car on the water, you're pretty much guaranteed that 'falling overboard' won't be an issue. 🙂 But at least you're heading west.... there's no 'Bermuda Triangle' west of Floriday. 🙂
Interesting factoid: There is a 'Bermuda Triangle in Space' off the southeast coast of South America. It's bad enough that satellites and pretty much anything going thru that section of space in Earth orbit have to take precautions or risk becoming disabled. Scientists have determined that there is a dip in the protective shield that surrounds the planet - the space station files just below this shield - and because of the dip, more cosmic radiation exposure is possible when passing thru that section of orbit. Thank You to "How The Universe Works"!!
-Bob.
@movieman630 wrote:I don't know but I know what I'm doing in December. I'm not ready for another season of lost packages or packages that don't get delivered until February. Orders having to be replaced or refunded because they were sitting in a post office truck somewhere. NO THANKS!
I know what I'm doing in December.
Apparently USPS's most popular Black Hole is in New Jersey. We've lost multiple packages to that Distro Center over the last nearly two years.... packages go in, excuses come out. And it's so random that there's really no way to know how to work around it. And it's a major distro center for anything heading up the East Coast... 😞
We've switched Post Offices to get our metrics back on track, and have been moving more of our shipping from Priority Mail to FedEx ExpressSaver with contractual discounted rates.
-Bob.
