** LIL INFO ABOUT SELLING **

Good Day Everyone! :) Hope ya'll are having a good weekend...mine hasn't been too bad. I haven't really gotten anything done like I wanted to, but that is ok. There is always tomorrow, and it will get done sometime, right?:) Making more friends at Bonanzle which I am enjoying very much & have been having fun there too:) Excellent atmosphere for shopping & for selling!. If you are not a seller people need to keep in mind there is actually quite a bit of work that goes into selling all the wonderful treasures to everyone on line. It is like having a physical store, you worry about the appearance of your pics, the coloring, the pricing, is it a needed item at the time, the customer service that will be provided to all customers, the shipping, and etc.

Everyone has their preference on the shipping they use, and their charges for it. Let's face it, shipping with the postal service has gotten a bit higher like many other things with our economy. Some like to use the shipping calculator..which that still can be a bit off sometimes on the different sights, some use UPS for shipping, and some use USPS. Unless otherwise stated I use USPS Priority Mail for shipment of all items myself. Also, I do not use a shipping calculator, but a flat rate that I calculate with my scale I have at home, and when I weigh I include everything...the bubble wrap, peanuts if they are used, any filler used, invoices, and etc. After weighing that all out, then I go thru the copies of charts I have & spend time to calculate what is a reasonable shipping price to apply. I get as close as I can cuz taping the box & the shipping labels can still make a difference. I get very frustrated with different sellers when I do see they are over charging for the shipping & no where is it stated they charge a handling fee. To use the bubble wraps, peanuts, tapes, print outs, fragile stamps, & etc can get a lil costly for a seller. IF I would happen to drastically over chg on the shipping I do reimburse that to the customers. But, many times I usually pay the overage which is at my expense.

Another issue I don't think a lot of people realize is the time that is spent researching all the treasures that are being sold by many. In researching I mean, the values of items. Looking them up on the internet, or maybe you have some of your own collectors books to use for this aspect. Then, looking thru the internet to see if any others are listed, are they selling, what price are they selling at, can you meet the price & what is being offered for shipping some where else? Or, can you offer a better deal then the next, and etc. I know a lot of people assume that a seller just takes the pics, posts it to the public & slaps a price on there. But, there are MANY of us who do all the extra work with research.

When I am posting items for sale, I try to put myself in the place of the buyer & treat it like that. I too am also a buyer like many who sell. So, everytime I list something I keep in mind how it looks to others, if it would be appealing in how it was presented, keep my descriptions as short as possible, but still informative. Make sure I note as much as possible in sizes, measurements, truthful conditions, if there are any flaws, etc. The more I can tell you right away, the less you have to question OR try to contact me about. And, if there are flaws to show them in my pictures along with noting if there is a makers mark, stickers, and etc for identification to the items being offered. Keep in mind that I sell only things that I would be proud to display in my own home...Hubby says no more, but I still would:)

Well, now, this blog got kind of lengthy today. Sorry about that. But, for those who might not know I wanted to try & give an idea of what it is some of us sellers do prior to listing treasures for sale to the public. Ya'll have a great weekend & I will drop back by here again. Gotta try to get more research done, take a few pics, and back to bonanzle I will go... www.bonanzle.com/booths/LilacsNDreams Take care & Have a Great Weekend!