Happy Monday! With Halloween behind us, I usually find that the rest of the year flies by in a blur! Does the clock seem to speed up at your house, too? (I know it does if you are a toy seller!)
I’m working on Christmas shopping already, but also trying to take the time to truly appreciate the month of November. One of our members, Kris, is especially good at reminding us all to be thankful. Every day in the month of November, Kris posts a ‘What are you thankful for?’ thread in the Off-Topic forum. What a great reminder to count our blessings! Today, Kris, I am thankful for you and your on-going contributions to HCTS. Members like you are what make our website the successful, helpful, caring place that it is, and I am very grateful. I couldn’t do it without you!

The other thing I’m thinking about right now is…
Pumpkins!

Have I mentioned how much I love them? And November is the best month of the year in that regard! So here you go – my own personal ‘Top 10′ pumpkin edition!
1) Pumpkin Seeds – yum!
2) Pumpkin Pie – double yum!
3) Pumpkin Scones – you see where this is going…
4) Pumpkin Lattes – save a bundle over buying at Starbucks!
5) Pumpkin Wallflowers – good sale going on now, too!
6) Pumpkin Wallflowers – an even better sale!
7) Pumpkin Wallflower promo codes – okay, maybe a bit of a stretch, but it saves 20% + $3 shipping! 20HOLIDAY
8 ) Pumpkin Cookies – gluten free, too!
9) Pumpkin Cupcakes – gluten-free
10) Pumpkin Hats – so adorable!
Welcome to the first edition of the Stork Saturday Spotlight! Today the spotlight shines on…
Xochilt! (And clearly, it’s a teeny-tiny spotlight to shine on such a teeny-tiny picture! We need a better photo, don’t you think?)
Besides being a moderator at HCTS, Xochilt (pronounced so-shee) is a wife, mother of three, and former real estate agent.
25 things you probably don’t know about Xochilt
1) I dream of living in Ireland, though I’ve never been there.
2) I am in school full time (online)
3) I can’t bend my right pinky finger since I cut a tendon when I was twelve.
4) I can’t say the word “decision” without a big accent 
5) My favorite part of selling on Ebay is the research.
6) My least favorite is taking pictures
7) I went to middle school with Venus Williams for one year
8 ) I can’t remember the last time I wore makeup
9) I am obsessed with the Harry Potter series
10) I can say all 50 states in alphabetical order, super fast!
11) My name means “flower” and it doesn’t fit me at all
12) My favorite all time movie is The Goonies
13) My favorite comedian is Adam Sandler
14) I love sushi, but I’m picky about where I eat it.
15) When I first started selling on Ebay, I kept a list of the countries I had shipped to
16) I really dislike cleaning my house
17) I’d like to be a writer when I grow up
18) I would love to live in a place where I could walk everywhere
19) I have always wanted to go to Disney World
20) I am a Lady Gaga fan
21) I am completely, totally, terrified of earthquakes
22) I don’t know how to swim
23) I can’t cry at funerals
24) I’m not a picky eater, but I hate cooked carrots
25) I see Ebay as a total blessing for my family in so many ways
Thank you so much for participating this week, Xochilt!
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Would you like to be featured in the Saturday Spotlight? Please send a private message to BellaBuggy in the HCTS forum for more information!
Not a member yet? Join today and get to know Xochilt and thousands of other women who make their living online!
If your kids dressed up for Halloween, come and share! If YOU dressed up for Halloween, come and share close-ups!
Every year we have a Halloween Picture Share, so this year I thought I’d add a little more fun to the mix. One of the posters will be chosen at random to receive a Starbucks gift card! You have from now through Monday morning to share your Halloween pictures, and at noon on Monday, November 1, a winner will be randomly selected.
Not a member yet? What are you waiting for?!?! We have all the tools you need to learn and grow your online business, and as you can see we have a lot of fun along the way!
Did you see the latest Clickin Moms blog post? My dear friend and former HCTS owner Kendra is giving away a new CANON EOD 5D and some other cool prizes!!!
You just need to comment on the blog to be a random winner. BUT, you must be a member of CM to win. You can join my clicking below. There is a coupon code for 20% off- TREAT. If you are already a member, skip to the text below the banner.
Then go to this blog post and leave a comment:
http://www.clickinmoms.com/blog/?p=1087
I hope a stork wins it!!!
I hope it is happier at your house than it is at mine! Unfortunately we are sick so I have nothing good to report.
~However, Heather tells me that she is still selling Halloween costumes! This is down to the wire time for sure, but if you have any left and you don’t want to hold onto them until next year (and why would you???) then get them listed – TODAY!
~Still trying to qualify for toy selling on Amazon? You have 7 days! Close but not quite there yet? Consider posting in the Amazon forum with a link to your store – your fellow storks might be able to find something they need and help you out in the process!
~Need a winter coat? Old Navy is offering a 50% discount on one piece of outerwear to all of their Facebook fans! Coupon is good this Tuesday-Thursday only, so don’t delay!
You must ‘like’ them today to get the coupon!
Old Navy 50% off Outerwear coupon
~Planning a Halloween party this weekend? Want some fun snacks? When one of our members asked for recipes, she got lots of hauntingly good responses! See for yourself what kind of creepy Halloween snacks you can create this weekend!
Have a productive day!
Once again, we bring you five (of many!) things that have been happening in the HCTS forums this week. If you haven’t already, please stop by and participate in the discussions!
1) Are you planning to sell on Amazon this holiday season? Have questions? So do many of our members! Stop by the Amazon forum where we’re discussing topics like returns, refunds, feedback, and last-minute qualifying sales – plus a whole lot more!
2) Great pictures are good for business! Need help getting them? We’re talking lighting techniques in the General Selling forum. Stop by and share your strategies for getting that perfect picture!
Hint – professional studio not required!
3) Hot, hot, hot! Check out the hot auctions forum to see all of the plush sales that are bringing in the big bucks this week! Also, a reminder to please be sure to share when you have an especially great sale. This really helps our members know what to be looking for when they hit garage sales and thrift stores, and we all benefit from the sharing!
4) Need a fun and festive food idea for your Halloween party? Check out these creative Halloween snack ideas in the Off-Topic section!
5) And finally – have you ever felt discouraged with the ‘customer service’ aspect of our business? It’s easy to get frustrated when you have an unhappy buyer, and sometimes it feels like the bad outweighs the good. But then you have an experience like Kim did on Wednesday that turns it all around. Warm fuzzies!
Not a member yet? Then by all means, click the banner below to join so that you can read all of the above and much, much more!
Have a great weekend!
Most of you are aware that our mod Heather has a very successful tea business, called Garden Party Teas. She wanted a forum added to her site, in order to allow her customers share tea party planning tips and photographs. She asked for my help, and I was so happy to do it, I set it up for her, and designed her logo. Yep…I know, braggy of me to say that. But I just love how it all came together!!
http://www.gardenpartyteas.com/forum/
The girl needs some members. Let’s register, to help her out. What do you say? We love you, Heather!! Best Wishes with your Tea Party business and thank you for including me in the process-it was fun!!
Rebecca
As I announced a few weeks ago, Lifetime Premier Memberships are for sale again. An ‘early-bird’ discount is available for those who are ready to take the plunge, but today is the last day!
If you are ready to join today, October 18th, you can still save $15 on a lifetime membership!
If not, never fear! You can still become a lifetime member for $129 through December 14th. Even at ‘full’ price, this is a big savings over paying monthly bills, and you are sure to reap the rewards of membership for years to come! Many of our Lifetime Members have found that they easily make their membership money back in the first month using a tip they found in the forums!
So what are you waiting for? Become a Lifetime Premier Member today! Not only will you save money and gain business knowledge, you’ll be entered into a drawing for great prizes, too!