Over half a million auctions at last!!!!

[tony41]

Policequilts
Thanks for the clarification.

[Policequilts]

Woo Hoo!
I scored at the thrift shop and picked up 8 bags of high-end clothing.
About 20% had tags or were still in the original bags. There was a batch of tops with $98 - $149 prices.

Got part of them all sorted when I got home.
Now I need time to get some of this work done.


@Mandart
I was looking on what to do on improving those ratings on our products.
I think there is a bug c/o of the SEO URL.
I sent the programmer what I see as a bug and have them check it out.
I spent 1/2 hour comparing my A+ rating verses the G ratings.
I am hoping this is a bug and that our rating will go up some.

[theElench]

I've a box of glass items not yet unpacked, which I do intend to list on eBid, the only thing putting me off is the postage (always a worry posting glass).
Recently sold a Tango jug - double boxed with loads of packing material (which, thankfully arrived OK) but difficult to source more packaging (I no longer have a car).
What materials do you find the most useful for postage and how do you acquire boxes? - I have a stash in the spare bedroom and garage, but very hard to find the right size when you need it and they take up a lot of room.

My first tip would be: Always use RM. I've sent over a hundred sales on ebid and a few hundred more on obay without any being broken. When I've bought glass its always those sent by courier that have arrived broken.

I'm lucky, when I first became a self-employed gardener and having very little income during the winter months, I took an evening office cleaning job at a local factory. That has provided an endless supply of bubble wrap, plastic pea-nuts and (especially the IT Dept.) loads of useful sized boxes. Before it moved there was a small local Computer Shop that had plenty of packaging and good sized boxes that they were glad to get rid of.

I usually wrap (say a vase) in at least 1 inch of bubble-wrap on all sides, with handles / feet covered by the black/white spongey stuff that's often used in computer boxes (It's like plastic Aero chocolate), but NEVER Polystyrene because it ends up all over me, the furniture and carpet and is too solid around glass IMO. Then second box with more bubble-wrap over the second box, if possible the type with larger (about 1 inch bubbles). If there's room, I often use more of the plastic Aero as columns in the corners to, hopefully, prevent heavier parcels crushing the box. It also helps reduce the amount of plastic pea-nuts used.

I've found the pea-nuts the hardest thing to source other than square boxes as most are oblong. They're worth grabbing as RM charge by size and weight so often a small round bowl + packaging needs an oblong box half filled with wasted packaging and frequently goes from a "small" to "medium" parcel.

As you list more you'll build-up some unsold items with roughly right size boxes, I treat them as a box bank and frequently re-box, if a sold item, when wrapped, needs a bigger box. I always wrap the item so I consider it safe, then find a well fitting box. I Never find a box and only wrap the item with as much packaging as will fit into it.

Another mistake that some sellers have made, resulting in broken items I've had delivered has been is putting two items in one box. (Say a bowl and its lid). Always selotape them together, with packaging in between so they can't move about. I've probably had more broken items that were damaged inside the box, than have been broken from impact/ crushing from outside.

Hope that helps, if you need any more info. please do ask. Although I'm now getting what I consider reasonable numbers of sales, (for a site where "Nothing ever sells") 12 so far this year, the more items listed, increasing choice for buyers, can only be a good thing.

[Policequilts]

Got the day off and will finished off sorting my thrift shop items.
If there is no wind, I may be taking pictures of the new items.

I didn't realized that I haven't backed up my computer for over a year.
Everything is backed up and took about an hour. Can't let backing up go for that long. Not with all the pictures and now I have been doing some videos.

Had to start cutting back my gardens. Everything is blooming at least 2 weeks ahead of time.

Right now, the Cathedral Bells are blooming.





Have been gathering seeds for a client that I am updating her gardens/woodland area.
I have a batch of wild violets, Jacob's Ladder, Phlox, Wild Geraniums and soon will be collecting oriental poppies.

My neighbors farm cat is starting to live on my land.

[Mandart]

Woo Hoo!

@Mandart
I was looking on what to do on improving those ratings on our products.
I think there is a bug c/o of the SEO URL.
I sent the programmer what I see as a bug and have them check it out.
I spent 1/2 hour comparing my A+ rating verses the G ratings.
I am hoping this is a bug and that our rating will go up some.

Magic - I hope you're right! Well done you!

[pastime]

Hi Elench,
Thanks for your help, I dread having to post glass - so really useful comments.
Totally agree with using RM - most Couriers are overloaded with deliveries and have no time to hang about waiting for the door to be answered. At least with RM it's part of their round that can be re-visited, if necessary and they are not allowed to leave it on the doorstep, I just hope that the recent problems don't lead to them being taken over by any hedge fund that would seek to asset-strip and maximise rounds to cover losses.
Thanks for the mention of not finding a box and then wrapping to suit the box, I am guilty of that and will bear in mind in the future. As you mention, it's always a worry that a larger parcel will flatten the parcel in transit. And yes, the small parcel going to a medium parcel just because of tiny difference in length is very frustrating.
Any thoughts on using shredded paper to pack around the inner box - that, for me, would far easier to have available?
Many years ago I would go on the Glass Message Boards - have you used it recently? I've got a very odd signed bowl that looks to have taken several different difficult processes which looks like a boring pudding bowl - baffles me as to why so much work has gone into it, but I can't read the signature and wonder if anyone would recognise it.
Again, thank you for taking the time to reply - much appreciated.
Marie.

[Policequilts]

Magic - I hope you're right! Well done you!

Ugghhhhh!

I got an email that they said that there is no problems.
That I can use a custom URL or what they have.

SO . . . .
I spent an hour taking screen shots and showing them what I am saying.
It doesn't make sense when I have a grouping of A rating items and the SEO is automatically there and then the G rating items have a blank SEO.

I did a test run manually copy/paste that information and the rating went from a G to an E.
There's two things yet to be done: 1) to include similar items I sell, 2) having 1,000 word description.

I hope they understand what I am seeing this time.

*
*
*

Day off and I didn't really do a lot.
Sewed new patches on my gardening pants.
Burned a pile of branches early this morning before any wind.
Schedule Friday as a clean up the client's woods and gardening project.

Need to finish sorting out the new clothing.

[theElench]

Yes it is frustrating but if I think the item is only safe as a Medium Parcel when I've quoted postage for Small Parcel, I'd rather pay the extra £1.10 than risk the item being broken. From the purely 'business' point of view, I've lost a pound, but if it's smashed, I've lost all the sale price as I'd have to refund the buyer and lost the item. I've also probably lost a possible repeat buyer and might get a negative FB for poor packing.

I did start saving shredded paper for re-use and a few newspapers to crumple-up if I ever ran out of peanuts. That is until I had a parcel delivered one very wet day back when my postie had a bicycle. Only the packing tape held the soggy box together and the soaked shreds had stuck together and shrunk into ineffective lumps, allowing the item to move around. Since then I haven't bothered with paper packing in any form, although perhaps I should be less cautious now posties all seem to deliver in vans.

Yes, I still look-in on the GMB once or twice a week, mostly the general I.D-ing main section. They recently I.D-ed an unusual "Flora" figurine for me, that I didn't recognise. I also up-load photos to the "Trinket Sets" section whenever I can, to help increase the data-base. It's one of the most helpful sites I know, although searching for specific info. can be frustrating (but that could be down to my searching ability as I have little success when trying to search other archives as well

[pastime]

Hi Elench,
Thanks for the heads-up on GMB - I'll have to see if I can still log-in after all this time. Would like to upload photos, from what I can vaguely remember the photos have to be reduced in size - is that still the case? I use to use Ribbet to adjust and I'm not sure if that still exists.
Also have Carnaby style glass vase (but in a Ikea design) which I'm sure must be a Chinese copy, but it is the most beautiful red and it would be good to get some idea about it.

Re: shredded paper getting wet - I hadn't thought of that! but I do like, if possible, to finish parcels with an outside cover of plastic, in the forlorn hope that it must give just a little more support.
Many thanks,
Marie

[theElench]

Good morning Pastime,
Yes, you do still have to re-size photos(It's the only site where I've had to do this??) I use File Explorer on W10.
Select photo.
Click EDIT (in Open)
Click RESIZE (in Image)
Select PIXELS
Usually changing the number to somewhere between 400 - 700 on the longest side resizes the photo to somewhere near the max. of 125KBs required.

One tip. SAVE the result using the SAVE icon just above HOME. If the photo is still too big, there is an UNDO arrow to the left, so you can start again from the original.

I dreaded posting glass when I first started. Even when I started buying (before selling) I always shook the parcel before accepting it from the postie! Confidence only came with time and practice but there are still a few of my listings I won't post. (The Reich and Walther centrepiece bowls and Jobling plates. All too big and too thin.) But as said above an inch of bubble-wrap all around, even a thin inner box (not much thicker than a corn-flake box) and the second layer of bubble-wrap, has worked for me. Even if I've run out of peanuts and had to use newspaper to pad out the box, or the plastic Aero to add corner supports, I've not yet had anything broken in the post.

If really in doubt, you could try posting something of little value to yourself! If I can do it I'm sure you can. After all, there are hundreds / thousands of pieces of glass flying around the country / world and probably 99% get to their buyers safe and sound.