Wouldn’t you love to go toy/holiday shopping without the guilt? I mean the kind of guilt only Mount Unlisted can make you feel. For some of us, it would be unrealistic to plan on listing all the inventory we have. You know who you are! I’m sure we would all feel better when we are out buying, though, if we know that we at least put forth a genuine effort towards making that mountain more of a hill.

There are a few ways we can approach this dilemma. You might be in a position where you can actually count all of your unlisted inventory and then divide them into however many you are willing to list a day. Then, figure out from there how long it would take you to either have everything listed or at least how long it would take you to get to where you are comfortable. It might be easier to divide tubs or go by categories. Our Serious September challenge currently going on in the HCTS forums is perfect for you to use as extra motivation!

Tackling that unlisted inventory will not only help you feel less guilty when shopping this season, but it also means more money in your pocket for you to invest in new inventory! What more motivation do we need?

Homework: Catch up on all your unlisted inventory (just kidding!).  Make a plan. Be very specific. Tell me how many listings you plan on doing a day/week/month. Also, I want to read what would make you feel accomplished in this area. For example, would listing fifty percent of your inventory satisfy you? If you can physically sort what you plan on listing before major holiday shopping, I’d love to see a pic of that!

I’m loving the posts and pics everyone is posting in the HCTS forums! Keep them coming!

If you are not yet a member, join us in the forums for some more tips. We’d love to hear from you!

Filed under: The Daily Stork by Xochilt
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Most sellers would agree that an overwhelming part of holiday selling is shipping. Preparing hundreds of packages for shipping can get pretty hectic. Personally, I would find packing peanuts inside the refrigerator! I couldn’t find the right box and was in such a hurry to get everything done, I would just toss the ones I didn’t need aside. At the end of the day, I had such a mess! I promised myself I would have a better system this year.

In my mind, a better system consists of having the necessary materials on hand. Plan on buying plenty of packing peanuts and using some sort of pitcher to transfer them into the boxes. Last year, I was throwing peanuts in boxes with my hands and half of the ones I picked up would go overboard and end up all over my living room!

Also, I have quite the collection of boxes I’ve saved throughout the year. I plan on measuring them and labeling them with the measurements so I am not having to do that to each box looking for the one I need. If you don’t have plenty of boxes yet, start collecting. Let friends and family know you need some boxes!

Finally, I plan on buying (or making) myself a drafting table with plenty of clear space for me to work on! Using the coffee table doesn’t work well because someone else might need it and/or spill coffee on your stuff!

Homework for today: Set up your shipping space! I want to hear about and/or see a designated, organized space for you to prepare your packages. Even if you don’t have all the supplies yet, show me where you plan on putting them. Comment here and then post in the HCTS Challenge thread I posted yesterday.

Remember, I’ll be tallying points for a prize at the end of the week!

Join us in the HCTS forums for more tips! We’d love to hear from you too!

xgirl

Filed under: Freebies, Giveaways and Prizes, The Daily Stork by Xochilt
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You know those instances in life that are so overwhelming and hectic, you promise yourself that you will do everything in your power to prevent it from being that way the next time it comes up?

I know as a kid, I walked out of the dentist’s office after having cavities filled, telling myself I would floss and brush ten times a day from now on. While in school, how many tests did we regret not studying for earlier than the night before? When tax time comes around, you are certain you are going to be a pro-bookeeper next year after the chaos this year, right?

We all have things we easily procrastinate about. Whether it is because we are not looking forward to doing them or we just put them off because they are not urgent, we tend to put things in our “to do later” pile. Unfortunately, things might get lost in between all the other tasks we put off and the consequences can be, well, serious.

As an Ebay seller, one of the things we might put off is preparing for our busy season. If you are a toy seller, you know what I mean. No one wants to wait three days for shipping labels or drive to the store every time we need a box for that toy the customer wants tomorrow. You certainly don’t want to be caught with no tape when you have fifty packages to ship! If you don’t prepare, not only might these things happen but you will get home from buying those labels, that box or that tape, only to find you are completely out of ink for your printer! Not being prepared can be a total nightmare during this season.

This week we are going to go over some of the things that MUST be on your list of things to do ASAP. If you are not a toy seller, you might also benefit from these tips, as you will most likely also be very busy during this season and it would be great if you were also prepared so your business will continue to run smoothly.

This week I will be running a contest for those who are on board and committed to getting “serious” this September. Each day I will post “homework” and I’d like you to comment if you are “in“ for the day. Then, I’d like you to go here and post when you complete the task:

Week 2 Contest thread

That will get you one point. If you make a suggestion for getting organized to others (related to the day’s homework), you will get a bonus point. If you post a pic of your accomplishment, you get another bonus point! At the end of the week, I will tally the points and if there are ties, I will draw a name for the winner. The prize will be a surprise but, come on, you ladies know we give away cool prizes!

HOMEWORK DAY 1: Make a “to-do” list, strictly for the season. I’d like you to list the things that you need to take care of because either it worked well in years past or you struggled with it and want to work on it so that doesn’t happen again. Next to it, write how long you think it will take you to do that specific task and by what date you’d like to have it done. You would be surprised at how quick we can accomplish things and you might even be inspired to just get them done!

If you are not yet an HCTS member, join us in the forums for some “serious” fun!

xgirl

Filed under: Freebies, Giveaways and Prizes, The Daily Stork by Xochilt
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!

Welcome to SERIOUS SEPTEMBER, ladies!!

We are heading into the busiest part of the year for most of us, so we will spend September getting our businesses ready to go.

Details are forthcoming, but for right now, all you need to know is that you will only need to do 75 listings this month to qualify as completing the event. There will be month-long games and prizes, and a $50 prize will be given by random drawing to one of the people who list 75 unique, individual listing, ebay items this month!

All aboard the SS HCTS!
Bon Voyage,
Rebecca

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Filed under: The Daily Stork by Rebecca
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Thank you doesn’t seem like enough…but Thank You All!

We are blessed to live in this great country.

Filed under: The Daily Stork by Melisha
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Sometimes you need a break…and that’s OK!

For the past few weeks my “To Do” list has been longer than my days.

• 3 kids with end of school year projects
• music lessons
• baby showers
• singing practice for church
• managing a web site
• shipping orders daily
• laundry, laundry, laundry
• cleaning house
• grocery shopping
• meal planning
• cooking
• planning end of school year parties
• teaching classes
• fundraisers
• etc., etc., etc…

In addition to all those things and more, I have been trying to find time to list more inventory into my eBay store.  Well, last week I didn’t even try. My eBay store was not on my list at all.  I decided to forget about it for a week or two, and you know what?  It was fine!

Part of the beauty of eBay is that you don’t have to treat it like a full time job. You can put it on the back burner for a week or two or more, and it will be there when you come back (just don’t forget to check if you need to ship something!).  It’s also very easy to put your store on vacation if you need a break from shipping, too.

When you need to, don’t hesitate to take a little pressure off yourself. Even Mom’s can’t do everything!

Need some tips on working smarter instead of harder?

Consider a membership to

We are a community thousands strong of online selling success. Our members share tips and information daily as we grow together and help each other along the way.

Filed under: General HCTS Info, The Daily Stork by Melisha
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1 – You grab you cup of coffee and head straight for your ‘puter to log onto HCTS every morning

2 – Your husband/boyfriend/significant other knows about HCTS and refers to them as “your online girls” (or something to that effect)

3 – While out garage-sale or thrift-store shopping you pick up things and think to yourself, “Would my Stork gals buy this?”

4 – You have HCTS forums bookmarked on your ‘puter and you always stay logged in.

5 – You’ve met one (or more!) fellow Storks in real life

6 – You have one (or more!) fellow Storks phone numbers programmed into your cell…..just in case you need some right-at-that-moment advice on whether you should buy something while out shopping

7 – You’re browsing Ebay, doing a little shopping for some kids clothes and you start seeing lots of familiar user names / store names and realize that you actually know many of the people selling these clothes because they are HCTS members too!

8 – If you have an unidentified clothing item, baby item or baby toy, post a picture on the forums you’ll have someone who knows exactly what it is.

9 – You log on to the forums on Saturday afternoons just to see what fabulous yard sale and garage sale finds your Stork sisters have had that day.

10 – When you find a pile of treasures at a garage or yard sale, the first thing you do is post on the forums ’cause you know that everyone else will be just as excited as you are!

11 – You have a group of ladies who you really consider your friends, even though you may never have met them in person.

12 – You have a Lifetime subscription…..’cause you just can’t bear the thought of life without HCTS

13 – Whenever anything goes really well (or really poorly) with Ebay – or life in general -  you head straight to HCTS to post about it ’cause you know your Stork sisters will be there to celebrate life’s good times and lend support for the tough times.

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others’ comments. It’s easy, and fun!

Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

We’d love to have more fellow Storks in our group. Just click the link below and start exploring all HCTS has to offer you today!

Filed under: The Daily Stork by jmk_akk
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(please tell me that my office is not the only one that looks like this on occasion, sometimes, ok fine…..with more frequency than I care to admit?)

Check out more Wordless Wednesday from 5MinutesforMom.com

Filed under: The Daily Stork by jmk_akk
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We only offer this once or twice a year, so now is your chance. This option will only be available through May 31st, 2010.

I am so grateful for all of our members who have made HCTS a wonderful resource and support system for Ebay sellers and moms. I am happy that so many of you want to stay with us “for life.” You are what makes this place great! Things have gotten really exciting around here with all of our challenges and contests!! The money raised from the sale of these lifetime memberships will be used for further contests and games. I have some really great ideas, and I can’t wait to make it all happen! ~ Rebecca

The Premier Lifetime Membership will be available for only $129, a significant discount if you plan to be with us for a while. Each person who registers as a Premier Member will also receive an entry into a raffle to win GREAT prizes! You all know we love a good raffle here at HCTS! This time it’s a little bit different-you get to pick your own prize because all the prizes are cold, hard, PAYPAL cash gifts!!

1st Prize – $100 CASH!!!

2nd Prize -$50 CASH

3rd Prize -$20 CASH

4th Prize -$10 CASH

** Drawing will take place on Tuesday June 1st. Rebecca will email the winners for their preferred paypal address. All current Lifetime Premier Members are also entered into this drawing.

If you would like to become a Premier Member and enter our raffle, please take the following steps:

NEW MEMBERS:

Easy-peasy…just log into http://www.herecomesthestork.com/amember/signup.php and select Lifetime Membership.

EXISTING MEMBERS:

1) Login using your current user name and password here:
http://www.herecomesthestork.com/amember/member.php

2) Use the “Select Product” drop down menu to select the Lifetime Premier Membership. Follow the steps to pay through Paypal.

3) Go back to your membership page here:
http://www.herecomesthestork.com/amember/member.php

Cancel the current membership that you are signed up for in order to prevent future billings. Because of the deep discount on these memberships-current memberships are not eligible for a prorated refund.

Enjoy!

Filed under: Freebies, Giveaways and Prizes, General HCTS Info, The Daily Stork by jmk_akk
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More listings mean more sales, right? Of course! However, in our haste to get stuff listed, sometimes we find ourselves sacrificing steps that were once very important.  We start to become less and less “picky” with our pictures and our descriptions. We might even become careless with our titles.  I truly believe, from experience, that these things can really affect our sales. Clear, detailed pictures give buyers a much better look at what they are wanting to purchase. Detailed descriptions help to make it clear as well. Well thought out titles are probably the most important way to drive sales.  One keyword can make all the difference.

With the new changes on EBay, it is possible to include all your item’s pictures without using an outside host like Seller Sourcebook (for free).  Some see this as an improvement. I myself thought it was great, at first. Then, I started looking at it from a buyer’s perspective. I disliked looking at pictures EBay’s way. I found myself more drawn to listings that still use templates. The look is more professional and the pictures seem to be larger through these other services. I am more likely to buy from one of these sellers! Therefore, I want to be one of those sellers.  I’ve decided to go back to using my pretty templates. It might take me longer to take better pictures, write better descriptions, and use a hosting service, but I think the time is well worth it.

Join us in the HCTS forum, where we are happy to give tips on increasing sells by making minor changes to your listings. See you there!

Filed under: The Daily Stork by Xochilt
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