Clearing Out the Old

My husband and I have our house up for sale.  Whenever it sells, we will have 17-years of accumulated “stuff” to move.

So, we decided to get rid of some things.  For years we’ve been collecting “tshatshkes” (trinket, toy, bauble; knick-knack; ornament), and they are just sitting in a closet.  Some are antiques and/or vintage items.

My husband and I thought we should try to sell them online.  Over the years, we have purchased a thing or two and sold a couple things on eBay, but we are far from experienced sellers.

We photographed all the things we wanted to sell, loaded the pix into my computer and began to place our ads.

What a production it turned out to be! We were posting 15 items.  First determining the category was a bit of a challenge.  Some items fit into more than one category, and other things didn’t seem to fit into any of the categories offered.

When we went to upload the photos for each item, some wouldn’t load for some reason (wrong number of pixels?).  We had to retake and reload pictures repeatedly.

The next obstacle we faced was determining the price.  We had looked up most of the items on eBay and other sites to see what they sold for, but the prices varied dramatically.  Since we really want to sell these items, we decided to go lower than most of the others, and we put them under the “buy now” category.  In the Buy Now area, we had to select the lowest offer we would accept.  We wanted to make a little money at least on these items.

Our next step was to think up a title for each ad.  We had to try to think up titles that would grab buyers’ attention.  I’m not sure how successful we were, but I think I would have stopped to look closer if I was buying instead of selling.

Then we had to think of a description for them.  Six of the items were beautiful vintage perfume bottles.  I inherited them from my mother.  They are all glass, some with “jewels,” some with raised designs.  We had to come up with descriptions that were different for each one.  I didn’t even know what to call a couple of the items.  They were “tshatshkes.”

After posting about six of our 15 items, I realized I had skipped the “location exclusion” section.  I do not want to have to send them outside of the United States.  I had to go back to the original six I had already posted and correct that section. 

All in all, this process took us – wait for it – nearly four hours!  After all that work, I certainly hope these items sell. 

Our Sunday was a new and interesting experience.

http://julie.joinxpress.com

Change Please

To make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of something different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone. “There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction”

Winston Churchill quotes (British Orator, Author and Prime Minister during World War II. 1874-1965) Most of us are resistant change.  We are comfortable where we are, doing what we have been doing in the same way.  Of course, change is inevitable.  If you look at it with a positive attitude, change can be exciting, keeping life – or your business – ever evolving and improving. Considering the ever-accelerating rate of change in today’s workplace, the ability to successfully adapt to change may be one of the most important skills to learn. There are times that we may focus on what we might lose as a result of the change, rather than on what we may gain. No matter how you personally feel about the change – whatever it may be - it is important to adapt productively and positively. There are times when we want to just get the change over with so we can move on.  In the world of business, the cycle of change may take longer than we hope or expect.  The changes must be communicated to everyone, integrated into an existing system, and it may take time for adjustment of all the things that the change may affect.  When you learn about an upcoming change, consider it a challenge.  Take it on!  Throw yourself into learning as much as you can about it.  Consider what new and exciting horizons may appear as result of the change. Tap into your courage.  Be brave and face the change head on. Instead of clinging to the status quo, ask yourself “How will this change improve my business?” “How will it make our entire company better?”  Instead of expressing discontent and resistance, look for ways that the integration process of the change will give you an opportunity to grow your business.  When we are pushed out of our comfort zone, we can then build a new one. Ask others – your team leader or a co-worker – for their input.  They may have insight into how the change will affect you and the company.  Their perspective may be very different from your own, so you can ask for ideas, suggestions and feedback on how they are adjusting to the change.  You may be surprised how having a solid support system surrounding you will ease the affect of the change.  Rather than being resistant to the change by building walls around you, build bridges instead that you may cross to learn how to maximize the benefits of the change. Eventually the adjustment to the change, or to several changes, will get easier.  I’ll admit that early on with my current company, before I knew the business really well, changes frightened me just a bit.  I wondered whether I could learn a new way of working, new products, new skills.  I no longer fear them.  Instead I look forward to them and adjust quickly. Because I work with a fairly new company, we have learned that we must expect changes and embrace them.  Along with our company, we can evolve, improve and grow. http://juliejoinxpress.com