Buyin and Sellin the Profitable Way

I’m not an expert, I know for a FACT that I’m not, but I’ve a few things to say about buying and selling things on the internet. 

All I’m saying is, if you wanna sell it, go see how much it’s sellin for before you go and post it on eBay for how much you THINK it’s worth.  You might be wasting that twenty to fifty cents and your time if you list it for more than it’ll sell for. 

I thought the same thing when I first started listing my Sims 2 games on the internet.  I thought, well, I paid $40 for them, so I wanna sell em for $40.  Well, no one is gonna buy them for how much YOU paid for them BRAND NEW.  So I went over to Amazon and looked up what other people are selling them for.  Then I looked all over eBay to see what people were sellin em for.  

I listed them on Amazon, because I like Amazon’s policies better, and they stay there until they sell, and there is no fee if they don’t sell.  After I sold most of them almost immediately (because I had the lowest Amazon price), I decided I wanted all the stuff packs that I never bought.  I’ve been buying them on eBay for a fraction of their price, and selling them on Amazon. 

I’m also going through that mountain of dusty books we’ve got sitting at the house.  Between my mom and myself, we have our own personal library, so I figured I’d pick out the books in the best condition, and dust em off.  Bam!  I’ve got twice the inventory I just had. 

And then, oh and then…

I went over to Salvation Army.  There is a huge one in Brighton, MI.  I went thorugh their books and picked out the most familiar titles and authors in the best condition.  So I just donated some cash to the Salvation Army, AND I’m making a profit.  If that doesn’t make you feel good about yourself, then I don’t know what will.

Got somethin to say?  Then come out and say it!!!  I like lurkers, but I’m sick of having a conversation with myself.  (I have enough of those off of the internet.)

Fight World Hunger!

No, it’s not a pipe dream. Go click. It helps. http://www.thehungersite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=1

Abstract Thoughts From My Abstract Little Mind

Sometimes I make big bad no-nos that I want others to learn from.  Sometimes I feel I have big bad wisdom to pass on.  Either way…

Article writing:

keeping it relevant and interesting.

Research

Photos or diagrams

Keywords

Easy to read

Language and grammar

Don’t talk down to your readers

Get them interested, maybe ask some questions to start a discussion

Not getting distracted and trying to come back later, it will reflect in the post

Article Hang On

Sorry it’s taking me so long for the payday loan article, I’m writing a few articles for a website, and don’t have time right now to finish the loan article. I’ll get there!

Things That Make You Go Hmmmm

I just got this message in my inbox from Senator Debbie Stabenow(State of Michigan)  I’m just going to post snippets, but if you’d like the full article I could e-mail it to you.  Lemme know what you think.

…Just last year, we lost 2,589,000 jobs in the United States – the worst yearly job loss rate since 1945. Over one million of those jobs were lost just in November and December…

…The economic recovery package passed by the Senate will create up to 3.5 million American jobs and will rebuild our American middle class. The bill will put money into the pockets of working families right away, and will create jobs immediately to help get our economy moving again. It also makes critical investments in the long-term growth of our economy – investments other countries have already made – so that we can better compete in the global economy…

…For the first time ever, companies that manufacture advanced technology for the production of renewable energy and advanced batteries are going to receive a manufacturing tax credit. With a tightening credit market and an economic recession, this legislation provides a tax credit to help companies with the cost of building facilities that manufacture renewable energy products.
 
The bill includes an unprecedented $2 billion to support the domestic production of advanced hybrid vehicle batteries and hybrid electrical systems. This will create new manufacturing jobs in America, and ensures that when domestic automakers build the hybrid and electric cars of the future, they can use American-made battery technology to power those vehicles….

…The bill will provide relief from the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) for up to 26 million Americans. Instead of directing tax cuts at the wealthiest Americans, it puts money in the pockets of middle-class families making less than $150,000. It helps families who are struggling with rising tuition costs for college and allows up to $2500 for tuition and related expenses paid for each of the four years of college. Finally, it expands the child tax credit to cover more families.
 
The bill also includes the Mikulski-Stabenow amendment, which will allow families to deduct part of the sales and local excise taxes paid when buying a new vehicle. This will help create growth in our automotive industry while putting cash back in the pockets of consumers…

The article also goes on to say somethings about Health Care, and Businesses hit the hardest by the recession.  It’s interesting, but I think it’s pumping Michigan a little too full of ego.  It’s a beautiful state, but right now it’s in trouble. 

If you want the e-mail let me know, or you can go to http://stabenow.senate.gov/recovery

Article Writing

I’ve got an article coming up on payday loans. The first one will be on the laws in the state of Michigan, since that is the state where I live and worked in one. It’s still going to take me a while, but I’ll post it by Monday at the very latest.

O.O

Finally was laid off today. I’ve many things I could say, but when you don’t have anything nice to say you shouldn’t say anything at all.

I will say this, a letter without any verbal reinforcement is not a very nice way to lay someone off.

 

Oh, and to those of you who celebrate that insufferable corporate holiday, Happy Valentine’s Day.  (and no, I’m not a bitter single woman, I’m a bitchy taken one) 

Marketing 101 w/ Naomi

Helping those people who arent’ already being helped

You can’t have it if you don’t ask for it.

http://ittybiz.com

Random Blips- Oh Yeah, I Said Blips

I’m having a hard time with constant headaches. I know it’s not my glasses, and I’m fairly certain I don’t have some tumor…

I think the only thing left after that is stress, right?

I’m an oDesk user, but since I don’t have much in the way of examples of what I can do, I’m pretty much wandering unused.

On a good note, I’m waiting for the first Marketing 101 call to start. I’m pretty psyched about it. http://ittybiz.com

I’m trying to get into making custom content for the Sims 2, I’m having all kinds of problems.  The tutorials, I’m sure, are easy for someone who has used the programs before, but I’ve never used the programs before so they’re fairly cryptic to me.

Smart Money: Why the Credit Bureaus Can’t Get it Right

I may be a financial idiot, but I decided to use my checkcard reward points to get a subscription to Smart Money.  I’ve already learned something valuable, and this is the second issue I’ve received. Yay!

In the article entitled Why The Credit Bureaus Can’t Get It Right, Senior Writer Anne Kadet talks about a newly wed couple who were horrified to find a delinquent loan on the wife’s credit report– with a bank she had never done business with.  After complaint, they were told that the matter was investigated and verified.  Anne goes on to talk a little about the so-called process the bureaus go through to verify and deny claims against the credit reports of the masses.  All disputes (about 20,000 a day) are put through e-OSCAR, the automated system put in place to verify or deny claims against credit reports. 

Another man was reported as deceased in his credit report.  Even after several phone calls to the bureaus, they still didn’t believe that he was living.  What does he have to do, go knock on the CEO’s door to prove his living, breathing state of existance?!

The article goes on for roughly four pages, but it’s a good, informative read.  It also talks about little known places that check your credit score, and places like Netflix that offer incentives to those with higher credit scores.

My thought on all this: If the numbers of people are increasing with bad credit scores, and it’s not necessarily their fault, why do we still blame them for something that the bureaus, or even another company are responsible for?  (me, on the other hand, my credit is all my fault.  I’m definately having a hard time paying off things that I no longer have income to pay for.)

Smart Money Magazine ~ March 2009 ~ page 80