Friday, January 20, 2012

Meet Nelly (NSFW?)

Look who knocked on my door today, asking for a place to stay:


I've named her Nelly, as in: "Whoa, Nelly! Put some clothes on. You tryin' to put my eye out with those things??"

I can't decide if I like her or not. I have a full plus-size dressform from my sewing days that has served me quite nicely. (She's a lot more modest too...). But she doesn't work well for small sized clothing or for pants, since she's on a pole. This is just a half form, so none of my clothes fit her right. I have to clothespin just about everything behind her back. She will do for now. I need to find her a male companion though.

************

I haven't had much eBay activity today. I had a buyer from Argentina a week or so ago. He bought several jars of Meltonian cream and paid over $30 for priority shipping. Well, I knew they could safely ship in a priority padded mailer, which is only $13.25. So I refunded him about $15 with a note that he had overpaid. He emailed me in very broken English, wanting to know why I had put money back into his account. I explained and he said (translated here into less-broken English), "That's very nice of you, but I chose to pay extra for regular priority shipping so that it would arrive without problems."  Drat. I understood immediately what he meant. International flat rate envelopes don't have tracking. Regular priority international does. But it was too late. I had already sent the package out. I assured him that if they never showed up, I would be glad to reship using the regular priority shipping. Yes, it would have ended up costing me $30 out of my own pocket, but customer service (and my feedback!) are very important to me. Well lucky me ... he left positive feedback yesterday, so they must have arrived. Hooray!

************

I bought a set of 8 reindeer salad plates at a yard sale a year and a half ago. Those things! Ugh. I was beginning to think they would NEVER sell! I finally sold the last one today. Hallelujah. Yes, Christmas items do sell after Christmas. I paid $2 for the set of 8, and altogether, they sold for a total of $117.35, so it was worth it, but my goodness, did I ever get sick of looking at those things.


************

Other than that, I just sold a bunch of Meltonian today. Slow and easy day. I'm in the process of editing a bunch more pictures. I was thinking about another listing marathon tonight (I got 26 new listings up last night!), but I think it'll be a tv night instead.



My husband and I started watching Grey's Anatomy from the very beginning about 4 or 5 months ago. Neither of us had ever seen a single episode, so we figured it would be a good project. We got sucked right in and watched at least 2 episodes a night, sometimes more, as often as we were able. We are all caught up, and now we have to watch it like normal people do: one episode per week. Sigh. But now he's in school Thursday nights, so we STILL don't get to watch it as it airs. We have to watch it on Hulu the next night.  We need suggestions for a new series to start watching from the beginning. We haven't had cable in a long long time, so odds are good that we haven't seen most of the good shows out there. It also has to be available on Netflix or Amazon on Demand (free for prime members). Any suggestions?

************

I've sold quite a few copies of my Inventory Tracking Spreadsheet in the brief time that it's been available (at the far bottom right of my blog). I'd like to start expanding the available documents. Are there any other documents that you'd like me to provide? I'm thinking of writing a step-by-step tutorial for how to build a microwave turntable box. I get requests for that one a lot. What else would be helpful?

19 comments:

  1. Hi Jessica - I bought the one-year inventory tracking sheet but just checked my yahoo account and didn't see it. How were you sending these through? I was assuming by email... let me know if you need my email address again!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nelly - cute! My mannequins name is Sophia. She is a former Banana Republic model that I picked up at a yard sale for $10. Worth every penny but she scares people to death so I had to move her upstairs and throw a blanket over her (I have 2 young sons, we had to keep her modest!)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Carp - can you please click on the "Email Me" link at the top right of my blog and send me your email address so I can check and see if I sent you the spreadsheet? Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love your Nekkid Nelly! TV series suggestions for ya: Parenthood & NCIS (current series); Friday Night Lights & Lost (series ended 1-2 years ago). Don't know if they're available on Netflix or Amazon on Demand, but they're excellent series. The current series are probably available online (NBC, I think).

    Barbara

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks, Barbara! We have been watching Parenthood, and Lost is on our list of options. I think it's available on Netflix right from the start of the series.

    Carp - I think I figured out who you are. I sent the spreadsheet to you yesterday, but just in case, I sent it again this evening. Let me know if you still haven't gotten it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I think mannequins, foot forms and such are great for selling. I'm totally turned off when looking at an item that I'm thinking about buying and seeing someone else actually wearing it. Hit the back button! I used to have one of those cosmetology heads for selling headbands. I made sure she was pretty. Some are very scary looking.
    Good luck with Nelly. She's got the goods! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you for creating the spreadsheet. I think I've gained so much knowledge from you for FREE, it was well worth the 1.00 to get the spreadsheet. A suggestion: if there's a way, put the links to the documents you sell at the top or side of the blog. This is a long page. Just a thought. It would get more visibility.
    Thank you, I look forward to using your spreadsheet!
    Lisa

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks, Lisa. I have them at the bottom because I didn't want them to feel too In-Your-Face-I'm-Selling-Stuff, but you're right. As my blog gets longer, it would be easier to find them if they are up higher. I'll do that. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Jessica - you could sell Nelly, then either buy or put money towards getting what you really need to display clothes on.

    Love reading your blog by the way! Carol

    ReplyDelete
  10. Gasp! Sell Nelly?? That's just crazy talk. Besides, she was only six bucks. That wouldn't get me very close to a real Manny... :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Psych is a great show, first 5 seasons are available on Netflix streaming. Thats what I started watching after I exhausted all the Greys Anatomys. United States of Tara was also pretty good if you dont mind language and easy to watch because episodes are,only 25 minutes long.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Revenge is fantastic! It is a new show, so no seasons to watch except to get caught up on this one. It is my fave other than Grey's.

    ReplyDelete
  13. (I've heard Revenge is fantastic but I've never seen it.) I did the same thing you did, Jessica--I Netflixed Grey's Anatomy a few years ago and then have been addicted ever since. As for other good shows that I have seen, I love The Good Wife. The characters are interesting and complex, the acting is wonderful and the plots are pretty exciting. And have you considered Private Practice since you enjoy Grey's Anatomy? I like it almost as much as GA. Sometimes the characters cross over to each other's shows, which is fun.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I have been watching private practice, but it hasn't sucked me in like Grey's did. And my husband doesn't really enjoy that one very much. This is a great list. Thank you all for the new ideas!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hubby and I are dedicated Grey's Anatomy fans. I second the suggestion for "The Good Wife". Very engrossing. Also, do you watch "Downton Abbey"? OMG, it's another one that will grab you. It just began it's second season on Masterpiece Theater (PBS).

    ReplyDelete
  16. My in-laws watch Downton Abbey. They recommended it to us, and I'll be honest -- I turned my nose up at it because it's on PBS. How shallow is that?? lol - I'll have to check that one out. :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. LOST, for sure! Smart, addictive, and worth the time invested. :-) Someone else also mentioned The Good Wife, which I also enjoy.

    ReplyDelete
  18. There are some new series starting up by the creators of Greys Anatomy that we have to watch for. Things to "catch up on" should include a couple BBC series and PBS series including Downton Abbey, Lark Rise TO Candleford and Cranford. I also enjoy Hawthorne, Royal Pains, Revenge is really good, Blue Bloods with Tom Selleck, and a show that got cancelled, Off The Map from the Grey's people.
    And I enjoyed Being Erica.

    We found several half body full figure mannequins at the thrift last year ($5 each half) and just could not leave them there. This year I found Toddler flatforms. Very creepy looking, but again too well priced to leave behind.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I would love for you to touch on International Shipping. There are plenty of sellers that simply don't bother. Then there are those or us still new to selling that wouldn't even know where to start to give an international shipping quote. Thanks. Love the blog.

    ReplyDelete