Oh Storks, I must apologize. Life has really gotten in the way of my blogging recently and I’m sorry for not being here with regularity. (I feel a New Years Resolution coming on…)

Right now, I have a couple of quick things to catch you up on.

• The Lifetime Membership sale has ended for this year. Thank you to all of our new lifers!
• Moderator Xochilt is running a very festive 12 Days of Christmas game for our members. Please check it out in the Off-Topic forum and play along! In addition to the fun, you could win some great prizes!
• Perhaps the most famous stork (to date!) was recently featured on The Nate Berkus Show! Kim (you may remember her as Kimberbell) and her sister Kris are very successful entrepreneurs with several websites to their credit. An inspirational success story! If you’d like to see them on the show, you can view clips here (there are 4 total).  Then be sure to check out their websites:

I hope you are able to find a moment to relax and enjoy this holiday season. And now…I must return to my baking!

Filed under: General HCTS Info, The Daily Stork by Rebecca
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Some things never change…

Filed under: The Daily Stork by Rebecca
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This has been such a great experience!  I love learning more about our members and I hope you all are enjoying it as well.  Without further ado, let me introduce Rochelle/rocky291!

Real name: Rochelle

HCTS id: rocky291

eBay id: 291rocky

eBay store: Toodles and Oodles

Hi, I’m Rochelle! I’ve been a member of HCTS for close to a year now  – and I love it! My family thinks I’m crazy that I’m so addicted to this site – but I know I would have given up on eBay long ago without all my stork friends’ help!

My friends would probably describe me as smart, slightly nerdy, and a reliable friend (I hope!) My family is extremely important to me. I am very close with my three siblings and I speak to all of them – and my mom and dad – everyday.

I have a degree in graphic design from Pratt Institute and have been working in the field for more than six years.  A little over a year ago the company I was working for – since I graduated college – closed down.

Honestly, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I was driving more than an hour each way to get to work, and the job was extremely high pressured. I decided to take a little break before looking for a job and I got to stay home with my son the past year.

That’s when I started dabbling in eBay. And here I am today – an official addict! I love going shopping, so this was the perfect job for me. My son is now in school and I am still home. Between eBay and my freelancing, I am keeping quite busy.

How did you hear about us? Someone’s About Me page

What was your most profitable sale? My friend had bought a Marc Jacobs purse on some crazy deal she found. It was then sold-out in stores. I put it up for her at $0.99 and it sold for close to $500!!! It went for quite a bit over retail. I didn’t get to keep all the money but she gave me a nice cut.

Where are you from? I grew up in Houston, Texas and have been living in Queens, New York for the past 8 years. And I hate it! After growing up in the south everything and everyone here is too busy, noisy, and rude (sorry Julieanne – not you!) I moved up here to go to college and met my husband (a native Queenser) and have been stuck here ever since.

Who’s in your family? I’ve been married to my dh for 5 1/2 years and we have a 3-year-old son.

If you hadn’t married your spouse, where would you be right now? I would probably be working a 60-hour week at some big-wig advertising agency in Manhatten…and hating my life.

What’s in my purse? Tissues and tissues and more tissues – I have constant allergies so I never go anywhere unprepared. My stash of coupons. I’m one of those that gets nasty looks at the grocery store because I buy everything with coupons. – and you know how they never scan correctly, so I’m always holding up the line. Purell – I’m a little bit of a germy. Crayons – for emergency toddler crying sessions. I hate a messy purse, so I really try to clean it out every few days.

Are you tidy or messy? I’m a very organized mess. I have piles of things all over my house that should be put away…but at least they’re all organized! [Me too Rochelle!]

A spender or a saver? I used to think I was a saver, but then I married my husband! I have to beg him to buy new shoes, pants, socks!!! I still know that I’m not a big spender, but I have no problem buying things I need and treating myself occasionally – especially when it’s from the TS.

What would we be surprised to learn about you? I only knew my husband for 4 months before we got married. But our families actually knew each other from forever ago. My dad and my father-in-law were study partners in school more than 30 years ago. It was just meant to be!

I got a 5 on my AP US History test in high school (that’s a mark only 2% of the students that take the test receive). There was actually a point in my life where I wanted to be a history teacher, but then I decided it’d be too boring.

I have a very funny accent (or so I’m told). My parents both grew up in the Northeast and I grew up in the south, so I guess between all of that, I developed some strange accent. I am constantly being asked what country I’m from!

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Thank you so much for sharing Rochelle!

If you’re a HCTS member, we’d love to learn more about you, too!  Just grab the questionnaire, fill it out, and return to me via PM.  Not a member yet? Join today!

Filed under: Saturday Spotlight by BellaBuggy
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I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!  I know many of you traveled to be with family over the holidays, so in case you weren’t around, here are a few things you may have missed on the HCTS forums this week.

1. This time of year, the hottest forum on the boards is Toys.  The Toy Forum is rockin’ and we’d love to have you join the conversation!
2. Do you sell on Amazon?  Do you use Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA) services? Several of our members are having a problem with FBA inventory and they are discussing it now. We’d welcome your thoughts or experiences as well!
3. How do you handle your inventory?  Do you purchase then list, or do you sometimes list for sale items that you haven’t purchased yet?  The General Selling Forum has a conversation that might shed some light on this practice for you.
4. A lot of us are doing Christmas shopping right now, and since we all love a good bargain… Many of our members have posted fantastic deals they have found.  Too many to mention, but if you’re looking for gifts at a great price, visit our Sales, Deals, and Coupons section to see what others have posted (and maybe share your own finds!)
5. The reason for the season! It’s nice to remember everything that is wonderful about this time of year, amidst the hustle and bustle of shopping, parties, and preparations.  We’re sharing our Holiday Happiness and we’d like to hear from you, too!

Have you still not joined HCTS?  Click the button below to get started today – you don’t want to miss out on all of the hot holiday sales!

Filed under: Forum Friday Five by Rebecca
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