My Etsy Store's One Year Anniversay

My Etsy store's one year anniversary was on 1/6/14.  I think I did very good in my first year and hope to do better this year.  I sold over 1,500 items with the majority being Amish/Mennonite clothes and second is linens.  Right now I have very few linens and this is a bad time of the year for auctions and estate sales.  I hope to pick up more soon and have been watching the auction calendar very closely for auctions.  I hope to go to Northern Indiana on an Amish shopping trip the end of February or sooner if sales start picking up of those items.  I need to find more broadfall pants for a couple of dedicated customers.  Pants are hard to find as most men wear them until they are unsaleable.  Ron only has one day left of last years vacation so we would go up on a Sunday afternoon and spent the night and get an early start shopping and get back home on Monday night.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/PaulasThisandThat

Taking a Break

Thought I would sit and rest from working on taking pictures of stuff for Etsy and catch up my neglected Blog.  I had about 130 items to get photographed today, then I will tweak the pictures and then get them posted.  I have about 40 more items to photograph yet today so I can work on the tweaking part tonight.  Etsy and eBay are 7 days a week and all day jobs. 
My son Ron came over on Wednesday and transferred the stuff from my old laptop to the new one, cleaned up the screen of un used items and gave me some pointers.  The only thing about this laptop is that it has a very touchy control pad (mouse).  I don't have the space on my lap to use an external mouse and I will just have to get used to this one.  I now like this one a whole lot more than I did Monday.
Watched Eliz on Thursday while Gina was in school and she slept most of the time.  She was dressed in a Winnie The Pooh outfit for Halloween.  She was 11 weeks old on Friday, time sure flies.

 

Ian went to a wedding a couple of weeks ago and here are some pictures of him and him holding Eliz.  Ian is not a baby person at all and you sure can tell by the way he holds her.

 

 

Well this isn't getting the rest of my pictures done so I need to get busy and get them done.  I still have 3 totes of stuff that I need to get hung and then do all the pictures of them.  Busy, busy old lady but it keeps me out of trouble. 



 

 

Catching up

It's been a while since I had time or made time to sit down and write.  Two weeks ago I finished up dehydrating shredded potatoes and have 3 half gallon jars full.  That is a lot of potatoes and should last until next year.  Went to a nice auction the first of the month and picked up a lot of nice linens that I need to get listed on Etsy and eBay.
My corner of the living room: reclining chair, end table with light and a wooden tray where I keep my laptop next to my chair. Last Monday night I was getting out of my chair in the living room and picked up my tea glass that has a handle on it and tapped it on the edge of the wooden tray and the bottom of the glass just sheared off and tea went into my laptop.  I dried it, took the air hose and blew it out, and put the fan on it and my laptop is fried.  It is about 5 years old but was in excellent condition because I took good care of it.  I was devastated, we were leaving the next morning for Indiana and Ohio and I always travel with it and also the thought of buying a new one was pretty upsetting.  I have a desktop but it is in the back of the house and not convenient to use.
The trip went real well until Friday morning when Ron was turning around in a parking lot and a loud bang and out went the power steering.  We drive a super crew F 150 and no power steering is a bad thing.  He looked under the hood, power steering fluid OK, belt OK and could not see anything wrong.  Across the street from where we were in this small town was a little mechanics shop and we went over and asked if someone could look at it.  They came over and made the same observations as we did.  He said it needed to be looked at by a Ford dealer and told us where 2 were.  Now we had a big decision to make, go to the dealer to see if they could look at it and if so if a part was needed would they have it in these 2 small towns or just try and drive it home or as close to home as we could get.  We decided to cut the vacation short by 1 1/2 days and start home.  We had a truck with 7 totes and over a dozen garbage bags full of Amish and Mennonite clothing and if we got stuck who would be able to come and get us; no one.  We drove until dark Friday night and then got up early Saturday and we made it home.  On the way home Friday I called the Ford dealer where we get service and made an appointment to drop it off Sunday night so they could look at it today.
In August we had it in for new tie rods and other front end things.  The problem was when they put in new tie rods they also put in a new power steering gear box and it was defective so it did cost us anything as it was covered under warranty.  Good for the no cost but still a little upset that we didn't get to all the places I had planned.
Our son Ronnie hunted for the best bargain he could find for a new laptop and placed the order for it Thursday night.  Now it's just a waiting game.  We should be able to get the hard drive info transferred from the old one to the new one.  Ron had Blossem pick up what ever it is so he can do it.
So for now I am stuck in the back room in the corner all by myself if I need to use the computer and with well over 1000 items to get listed so I can sell them I can see I will be spending a lot of time here.  :(

Busy Week

I've been busy all week trying to get pictures taken and the new items I picked up last week added to Etsy. Before I got 3/4 of it up one of my best customers purchased it.  I have about 50 3 piece Amish/Mennonite dresses left to photograph and list.  I will work on that on Monday.
Today Ron and I did the yard work.  There were more weeds than grass but it needed to get done.  We also pulled the tomato plants up and that garden is not empty.  I will keep adding grass clippings and shredded leaves to it so it will be ready for next year.
Ron also had to take the truck and pull a dead deer that was in the field behind us farther down the field because it was beginning to smell.  I said something to the owner of the field and he wasn't willing to do anything with it but said we could pull it down the field farther so we didn't have to smell it.  It was about 30 feet on the other side of our turkeys and besides the smell I was afraid that a coyote might come up.  I'm not sure what happened to it but it was probably hit on the highway and managed to get that far before he died. It was a 4 point buck.  

Busy Days

We got home from our 3 day road trip about 6:30 PM Sunday.  It took about an hour to unpack and put things away.  Got to bed about and got a good nights sleep.
Up early Monday morning and pulled the beets and picked a hug basket of green beans.  I sat out back and cut the tops off of the beets and snapped a colander full of beans.  The chickens got the beet greens and the green bean ends.  Cooked a soup pan full of the green beans and when they were just about done I added a pint of canned potatoes.  Ron and I had green beans to go with our grilled chicken breasts for supper Monday night.  Ian does not like green beans at all.
Today, Tuesday got up early and started canning the beets.  Didn't have a huge amount but did get 5 1/2 pints.  I worked on hanging more of the Amish and Mennonite clothes on hangers so they don't get all wrinkled.  Finally got everything hung with some wire hangers Ron brought home from work.  I have 200+ pieces of clothing items.  I took some pictures of a few miscellaneous items today and listed them on Etsy.  I listed 11 items and within 2 hours 3 of the items I listed sold to my very best buyer.
Tomorrow I hope to get some more items listed.  I have about 300 listings I need to put on Etsy and eBay.  I know it will take weeks to get done but that is OK.  I will have plenty to keep myself busy.

Open an Etsy Shop and Earn Some Extra Money

Ever think about opening an Etsy Store.  Do you have some special crafts you make, do you have some antique items you want to sell.  Or maybe like me I love going to auctions and estate sales and picking up those vintage items at a cheap price and make a little money by selling them.
Since I opened my shop on January 6th of this year I have sold 482 listings and made some extra cash.  If you are interested in opening a shop they have a special going on that if you use the below code you can get 40 free listings.  This is not an advertisement for Etsy but it has been an easy way to make some extra cash for me and thought someone might be interested in starting a shop.

http://etsy.me/15ILuf7

A Snake and A Mole

Today was a beautiful day out so I decided to to take pictures of some of the items for Etsy and eBay outside.  I gathered everything and set up my spot.  Before I started I noticed that all the laying hens were in the back corner of their run.  It was unusual so I went over to see what was going on.  There was a small snake all coiled up, scared of the chickens and the chickens were just watching the intruder.  I got a stick and tried to get it but was unable.  So I decided to go in the run with a spade to get it out.  The run is only 4 feet high some stupid thing we did not think thru when building the run.  I got in and before I got over to the snake it got out of the run and went under the turkey coop.  Got out of the run and went over by the turkey coop to see if I could see the snake but it was gone.   Out of the corner of my eye I notice the soil moving by the turkey run.  I carefully went over by the chicken coop where I keep a spade and go back to the turkey run area making sure to not to make any noise.  I watched the area and after watching the dirt move I stuck the spade in the ground several times in that area and then dug up a nice dead mole.  I will kill moles but will not kill snakes.  Moles destroy the yard and the snakes will eat mice and little critters.  I am not afraid of snakes but mice will send me running in the opposite direction.
I finally was able to get my pictures started and did this for 3 1/2 hours.  Got everything I wanted to get done today now I have a huge amount to do tomorrow outside if it doesn't rain.  If it rains the stuff I have left can be done inside but I would rather be outside even tho it is more work taking it all out and then bringing it back into the house.  Outside I get to hear the chickens, listen to the roosters and enjoy nature.

Tuesday Night Auction

Tuesday during the summer a town close by has an auction every Tuesday night.  Then in the fall and winter it is every Sunday morning. Sometimes they have good stuff and sometimes not so good.  We go about every week and sometimes look over the stuff and leave.  Last night they had some linens that I was interested in so we stayed.  I managed to get everything I wanted and am now just finishing washing everything.  Now I have a huge pile to iron added to the pile of vintage clothes that need ironed.  Then I need to take pictures and then post the items in my Etsy store and on eBay.  I hope to have that done by the first of next week.
I work harder in my retirement than I did my job.  This is more than an 8 hour day but it keeps me very busy.  Then at the end of September I will be keeping my new granddaughter every Tuesday and Thursday while Gina continues getting her RN degree.  Then I will be just sitting and hold the baby all the time and spoiling her rotten.  Not that she won't get spoiled rotten enough at home.  Gina 42, Ali 47, and a brother and sister at home who will be seniors in high school.  Gina already has enough stuff for more than 1 kid and will always be dressed like a little doll.  September 4th at 10 AM is the big day and I can hardly wait.

The Horrible Cluttered Storeroom

We live in a brick ranch and don't have a basement.  Storage has always been a problem since we moved here.  We have an attached 1 stall garage and it is full and gets messy all the time and the spare bedroom is my "storeroom".  This used to be just my office and then we put in a second refrigerator because we needed more space especially with the eggs.  Then I started selling on eBay and opened an Etsy store and needed someplace to store my inventory.  No matter how hard I try that room is always a disaster.
I couldn't take it any longer and took almost everything out and reorganized the shelves labeled the boxes straightened things out and got rid of some things that haven't sold.  Ron takes things like that to someone he works with who sells the stuff at flea markets.  It looks a lot better, still crowded but now I know what box has what it in without looking everywhere and it is finally organized again.
I store my vintage canning jars in the garage and Ron organized those last week so bring on the sales we are ready.

Amish Area Trip, Garage Sales, Produce Auction , Apostolic Auction and Grocery Shopping

Friday morning we were up and on the road by 5:30 to go to Arthur, IL to some some shopping.  We started out for 1 1/2 hours doing garage sales and then went to the produce auction.  Not much to bid on as it is early in the season.  I did try to get some broccoli but it went way to high for me.  We then did some more garage sales and then went out to the bulk food store to get a whoopie pie for my breakfast/lunch.  I got a oatmeal whoopie pie and Ron got a blueberry fried pie.  We also checked to see what time they were closing so we could make it one of our last trips of the day.  Did a lot more garage sales and saw where they were having an auction at 4 PM for an estate of an Apostolic "Old Maid".  We checked it out and decided we would go to it.   So off to the bulk food store and Salvage store to do our shopping as both closed at 5 PM.  We took a cooler with us so we could put the cold stuff and bought some ice.  I didn't get a huge amount of stuff but did get several different kinds of cheese.
Then off to the auction where I picked up some stuff to sell on Etsy and Ebay.  We would have liked to stay longer at the auction as there were a lot  of linens I was interested in but with a little over a 2 hour drive home and need some supper we left there and start home about 5:45 PM.  We stopped and got some fast food and ate on the road, not what I wanted to do but Ron is the driver so I have to respect that he was getting tired and just wanted to get home at a decent time.  We still had eggs to collect and food to be given to the poultry when we got home.

Some of the items I picked up to sell are:
Amish women's items:  dresses with the collars and aprons, and a nice coat
Amish men's items: 2 pair of nice blue jeans and a nice coat
Amish girl's items: lots of dresses, some with pinafores and some without and a couple little hats
Amish boy's items: pants, shirts, coat with matching hat and several baby hats
About 75 vintage women's hankies
A few vintage linens

Items I'm keeping are some new towels, wash rags, dish towels and for the new one due in September; way to many clothes.

Now I need a model to model the Amish ladies dresses.  At Derek's B'day party today I'm going to see if my 17 year old granddaughter would model for me sometime soon.

Small pony and cart at the produce auction.

Wagon at the produce auction, the seat is from a van/SUV.

Spraying fertilizer on the field, when we rolled down the window to get the picture you could tell it was "natural made fertilizer" most likely some of it was from the horse pulling the wagon.

Farmer between 2 fields.

My eBay and Etsy Pointers

First of all I am not an expert at selling on either site, I have only been doing this for 4 months and I wish I could have found some EASY simple pointers to help out with both.  This is what works for me and everyone is different so it might not work the same for you.

At the beginning of each month you can list 50 auction style listings free.  When the item sells of course you pay the eBay fee from selling it and Paypal takes their cut from processing money part of the transaction.  I always list 50 items a month and try to list those items that I can't sell on Etsy and those that I feel will have several people wanting to purchase it so the selling price is almost endless.  At first this was for me is a guessing game, you just never know.  I had something listed for about $60 and it went for 2 1/2 times that amount.  Watch your emails from eBay as the run other no cost listing all the time as special promotions.

Etsy has rules what can and can't be sold and so far I have had only a couple items that I was not able to list.   Any item listed is only 20 each and runs for 4 months or until sold.  After the 4 months and the item has not sold you can re-list it and pay 20 cents.  When you sell something Etsy takes their fee which is less than eBay charges and then you of course pay the PayPal fee.

Etsy is a wonderful place to sell handmade creations, vintage goods and crafting supplies.  For someone who makes crafts this is the place to sell those items.  If items are hand made by a specialty group I would always promote that.  As a society we capitalize on things made by the Amish so I feel it is perfectly OK to say that the item you are selling was made by a Amish or by an Older Mennonite or whoever.  Not everyone will agree with this but that is OK.

Look through both sites and see what people are selling.  Things I think would never sell are some of my best sellers.  Try one or two of something before listing a huge amount.

I try and keep my prices reasonable.  I would rather sell it than to let it just sit around.  We purchase raw milk from an Amish farmer and he said he milked his cows twice a day but could do it three times a day and make more money but he just was trying to make a living and not trying to get rich and that is how I feel.

Some things I have good luck selling:
Vintage canning jars
Vintage linens of all kinds and not always in perfect shape
Vintage Wooden clothes pins
Wooden thread spools with and without thread
Vintage patterns
Craft books of all kind
Old kitchen utensils
Rolling pins
My homemade crocheted rag rugs
My homemade crocheted rag purses, bags, baskets
Vintage sewing items
Older purses
Spurs
Embroidery hoops
Crochet needles
Knitting needles
Vintage meat grinder
Vintage scissors

Except for the few things I make I get all my items at estate sales and auctions.  Look into the bottom of boxes of stuff there is usually a hidden treasure.  If there is something I can't sell I will see if anyone wants it free or donate it to the Goodwill.

Remember I am not trying to tell anyone how to do something I am just sharing things that have worked for me.  eBay and Etsy both have their pros and cons, it's up to you to find out what works best for you.

I welcome any pointers from anyone on how you make it work for you.  What are some of your best sellers?  What items would you recommend me selling?  I love shortcuts and would love to know yours.  Thanks

Etsy Grand Opening Discount

I'm having a Grand Opening of my Etsy Store on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and I'm offering 10% off on everything.  But to my loyal blog readers and followers I'm offering a 15% discount.  You can see all the details below.  Grab a cup of tea or coffee and sit back and enjoy.  On  the right side of my site you can click on the picture of the pattern and it will take you to my store.  Thanks

15% off a your entire order (discount not applied to shipping costs).

The coupon code is: GRANDOPENING15
The coupon code will be activated on Friday morning at 7 AM Central Time and will stop at 9 PM Central Time on Sunday night.
Sure hope you find some wonderful bargains and thanks for shopping with me.

The below is from Etsy and shows you how to use the discount code.

Once you've added an item to your cart, click Apply shop coupon code above "Item total" to enter the coupon code for your order.

Then enter the coupon code into the space provided and click the Apply button.  The coupon discount will adjust your order total.



The below info is on my policies page under shipping and I always do this. 

SHIPPING CHARGES ARE VERY HARD TO DETERMINE. IF I HAVE CHARGED $2 MORE THAN THE COST OF SHIPPING PLUS $2 HANDLING FEE I WILL CREDIT YOUR PAYPAL ACCOUNT THE DIFFERENCE.

EXAMPLE YOU PAID $10 SHIPPING; SHIPPING WAS ONLY $5 PLUS $2 HANDLING FEE I WILL THEN CREDIT YOU $3. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE ASK.