Thursday, July 2, 2009

Congratulations, your item sold -- and you made a difference

I did it! I sold my first item on e-bay. I down loaded the picture, wrote a description and then sold it. I also, thought it would be a good idea to give a little from the sale to charity……….. I donated $5.00 to Food for the Poor. This is because I am good, kind and giving.

Yes, I said ………” Good, Kind and Giving.”

Just so you know:

I carefully checked other e-bay listings and found I should start my listing price at around $14.00. ……I eagerly started the bidding off at $14.99. After about 7 days and 3 more listing …..I sold my first item, a staple gun.

For exactly what I listed it for.

That’s okay ~ because I carefully figured the mailing price by using the e-bay easy mailing pricing.....we weighed, measured and came up with a grand total of $ 6.75 for shipping. Because I am honest and nice and I really don’t like to be nickeled and dimed to death myself, I decided not to charge any extra fees.

Yup that’s me…..honest and nice and don’t forget good and kind and giving.

The grand total of my sale came to $21.47. I thought, well okay…….that was a lot of work but. I figured it was $21.47 more then I had before the e-bay sale……….I forgot about subtracting the $5.00 for my Godly donation and the $1.75 for listing my item.

Hummm okay now I am down to $14.72…….still okay……that’s fine……not a problem….the way I look at it, I was still a head $14.72 and gee it was $14.72 more then I had before I started. So that was good right? And I donated money to a good cause. I can at least feel good about that.

Of course, in my listing, I had said that I would ship my item out with in 3 days after receiving payment…….

I’m that good! I’m not only……… honest and nice and good and kind and giving…..I’m organized too!

Four days later:

I was still driving around with the staple gun in the trunk of my car………not remembering to buy a box…not remembering the days where going by fast and I really had to get it to the post office.

Friday morning

I thought I would get cleaned up, get everyone where they needed to be, run by Wal-Mart, buy a box…and get all the things I needed to make a good impression with my customer and then ship my item.

Easy!

That is when it started…. ((Thank goodness Mark was still home and was able to drop off Kathryn and Stephen at the church for their VBS volunteering.)). Matthew had the day off from his class and Mary Elizabeth was crying telling me how her tummy REALLY hurt. I picked her up, brought her up stairs and put her on my bed. I rubbed her tummy and talked to her to see what was going on………then the vomiting started.

All over me…..All over her….All over my bed.

I rushed her to the bathroom not knowing which way to go. Now it was all over the floor, the carpet and all the way into bathroom. As I navigated my way through thinking shower, tub, toilet…..Where….Do I put her? I was slipping and sliding all over the place stepping in throw up….. Finely I settled on putting her in the bathtub, took all her clothes off and ran the water.

Yulk!!

She stopped.

I Cleaned everything up, ……bathed her, shampooed the rug, moped the floor, stripped my bed, scrubbed the tub, showered myself, scrubbed my feet, paid particular attention to my toes, scrubbed my toe, and scrubbed my toe again. I threw sheets on my bed and let my baby fall asleep.

Shuuu

Then I check e-mail and see this message:

Hello Lisa

I hope I don't sound hasty...but my payment cleared two days ago and I have not yet received an email stating that my item was sent. Please let me know if/when it will be mailed.

Thank you

April

OOOOPS!!

I sent back this message:

Whoops! I am so sorry. I forgot to e-mail you. I took it to the post office late yesterday afternoon. It should go out today. Again, I am sorry for forgetting...kids, dinner, and who knows what else got in my way. Thank you, Lisa

I’m such a liar……..

So now what? Liz was sleeping and didn't feel good. I look at Matthew and told him I needed to run out to the Post Office, run by the store, tell Kathryn and Stephen what was up with Mary Elizabeth and we would not be able to come to the after VBS pick-nick and I would pick them up at 2:00.

AND

I think she will sleep for the rest of the morning…..She should be okay………There is no fever and I really don't think anything else is left on her stomach to throw……..She…..You…… will be fine…I’ll call you.

First to the Post Office……..no time to buy a box at the cheaper store……I’ll just send the thing. It can’t be that much. I show the guy what I had and give him the address……I tell him I want to send this thing the cheapest way possible and I need a box…..

He say’s…” Okay”……….”That will be $27.82”

HUUU???

$27.82??? Your kidding right?

He says “no” $5.00 for the box……..$1.50 for the peanuts and the rest is shipping and taxes…….

“Okay” I say……..”Well, that didn’t go to well.”

I tell him about my e-bay sale and he tells me to “call him the next time I put something on and he will help me with the pricing.

Okay whatever. Next time I will do that………So this leaves me $13.10 in the hole…….mmmmm That's not good.

I ship the staple gun and think ………Oh! Well, I have other things to do…..I’m off to the store…..buy ginger ale, crackers, chicken soup and sanitizing wipes because my toes still don’t feel clean……run off to the church see the kids……..get home check on Lizzy….she is still sleeping, run back out pick up kids ~ come home, get everyone lunch, clean up, turn on the computer and see this message……….

hello... do you have the tracking number added to my package?

Hhhhh…….just like any good sales person would do……….I ignored it.

Then another message from e-bay comes through……….

Congratulations, your item sold -- and you made a difference

Great!

This time I only lost a dollar……..Maybe e-bays not for me.

Oh! Yeah! And my Toes!! Still feel Goopy!

10 comments:

  1. oh no..that does stink indeed..
    thats why i never tried E bay. I just give away what we don't need anymore. We wont' even do garage sales.

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  2. Lis, I've been buying and selling on EBay for years.How do you think I've cleaned out this house?? Start collecting boxes..I have alot broken down and folded up in my garage. Ebay questions?....just ask. Hope the baby is feeling better.

    XOXO AM

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  3. Anonymous03 July, 2009

    I laughed out load reading this. It is so funny! Keep trying maybe you shouldn't give so much from each e-bay sale.

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  4. Oh Geez Lisa!! I am so sorry. First, your poor baby, hope she is feeling better.

    My hubby and I had an Ebay business for several years until we finally closed it last year, as we just had no more time.

    You should be able to get your post office online and order shipping boxes for free. They will ship them to you and you can ship online. Of course this depends on the size of the product you are shipping, but check it out.

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  5. Oh! My gosh! This sounds like me. Loved this post. You are so funny.
    Keep trying e-bay you can make some money on it. Hope the baby is better and you finally got your toes clean enough.

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  6. One of many cuzzins!03 July, 2009

    Lisa,
    That story is HILARIOUS!!! My Mary Kate just yelled in from the other room..."Mom, what's so funny?" I have had TOO MANY vomit experiences like the one you described. Andrew has always been a messy thrower-upper. Gross! I remember that feeling between the toes...eww!

    As for Ebay...I've always wanted to sell some stuff, but am afraid I'd find myself 'in the hole' also. Hopefully you'll improve and teach us how to turn a profit from our junk.

    Rather than run down the stairs of our big house to get to the bathroom, my brother Tommy would open his bedroom window, put his head out and relieve his gastric distress. I remember the time he forgot (or was too drunk) to raise the window screen....eww, talk about NASTY!!

    I hope your little princess is feeling better now.

    Happy 4th of July!
    Regina

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  7. Anonymous04 July, 2009

    HILARIOUS!!!

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  8. Anonymous05 July, 2009

    Funny. Marg.

    (Your Governor is being forgiven) (?) You better learn how to sell more things on E-bay - I'm afraid were all gonna need it......

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lisa, I'm still laughing. Your commentary is so funny.
    Ebay? i dont know!!! I'll put it on my agenda for sometime who knows...
    Thank you.
    Thanks for visiting my blog.
    Now and Then

    ReplyDelete
  10. The incorporation of the "toes" really is outright HILARIOUS!!!!! Remind me the next time you're over, or I'm over, to spend a few minutes showing you the ropes with ebay and the USPS online. Once you get the logistics down, you really can make some money at it.

    ReplyDelete

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