BachFlower's Debt Free Diary

NO-SPENDING-FOR-A-YEAR

Sounds like a good plan!!
I run hot & cold with Ebaying!! - it's brill for getting rid of de-cluttered stuff (of which I currently have an attic full of.....oops) and some months I'm really motivated (I think that might just depend of how much month and how little money happens to be left!, December I was very, very motivated, lol) but when it comes to the fees they can be absolutely shocking!!


Also sometimes I struggle with Time v £'s - when I'm selling bits and bobs for 99p it feels like a whole heap of work for very little reward but I guess it's a case of look after the pennies and the pounds take care of themselves!! (hopefully I've got a few million items in the attic to amount to a few million pounds, lol!!)


Have a good afternoon

BachFlower

Lou, that could be exactly me talking re: an attic full of things to sell !!! I hope you find some great treasure in yours! You are right about the fees... I've pretty much got to the stage where I won't start things below £4.99 unless I think it will deffo go for more, because they now take fees even off the postage charged, and with a heavy item that can pretty quickly cancel or even put into negative a 99p sale. Luckily my OH likes to do car boots in season, and is good at selling, so the cheaper things and unsold things I put aside for him to work his magic with

Sometimes of course, it is hard to know what will and won't do well isn't it, so it can be worth giving something a go even if it turns it bombs eh? lol ...take care x

natsplatnat

BachFlower wrote: »

Sometimes of course, it is hard to know what will and won't do well isn't it, so it can be worth giving something a go even if it turns it bombs eh? lol ...take care x

I find fleabaying using the auction format quite stressful. I now tend to research how much similar items have gone for and then list them on BIN (sometimes with a Best offer option) for 30 days. If it sells great! If not, I will either give it another shot, put it in the box for bootfairing or send it off to a charity shop. :O)

BachFlower

Sounds like buy it now works great for you nat! I do some bins, because with my shop subscription a certain number are free, but I guess I love the excitement of possible 'home runs' on auctions lol.

Good evening :hello:

Well, a much better day today, a few bids overnight, and a very keen buyer in Hong Kong wanting to buy NOW on two items. I don't like to end auctions early, so declined, but it is usually a good sign something will do well Had lots of energy on my walk despite having 2 large glasses of red last night :eek: Also sorted some bank and bills paperwork, and think I have found what I need to start the energy club comparisons and switch in the next couple of weeks. We might have to cough up the £500+ underpayment up front, but I can't believe we should be paying £250 a month... would rather be on a key meter!

The cheque cleared, so we're having a nice supper tonight, and zumba is booked, and I even won a £50 shopping voucher with one of the better bingo sites Gotta ride the momentum of a good day, I know how fast the energy tide can change with me. About to start in on next week's stock,

Onwards and downwards GOGOGO :j

NO-SPENDING-FOR-A-YEAR

Well done on the Eb@y success, long may it last!!


I had intended on heading up the attic over the weekend and get some stuff listed ( to help with this months overdraft!!) but it was soooooo cold I convinced myself it's best to not bother..........(seemed like a good idea at the time, less so now I've checked my online statement!!)
I sometimes list BIN's with a best offer if it's more expensive items but still find the low price stuff works better at a good length of time auction format, if low price stuff doesn't sell after listing and relisting then it's destined for the charity shop!
Here's to a good old moneysaving week!!
Louxx

BachFlower

Dearest Diary,

Feeling slightly fed-up this evening... have done a pile of listing but have a sore mouse-arm shoulder as a result, accountancy fees due, won a bit but then lost a bit (okay better than losing), hubby a bit down, (made him a nice cup of tea)... actually, when I look at it, maybe not such a bad day after all !!

I am deffo looking forward to Chinese New Year though... a haven of newness to counteract the feeling of January resolutions failed!! It is the 8th Feb this year, and is the year of the monkey coming up... same as my son! Hopefully it will be auspicious

The item that the Hong Kong buyer wanted for £25 is already up to £65. Glad to have stuck to my guns on that one :T


All best wishes to anyone chancing upon this entry. I came across this inspirational quote today: 'there are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going'. I really needed that, so thank you Universe xx

ciao for now xx

Anouchka

Hi.

Just read your diary. Well done, you're off to a great start. It is hard work. I know, but stick with it and you'll get there. A quotation that I find can be useful to remember at times is

The life I wish to live is worth the effort

So true x

BachFlower

Good morning Diary,

Hadn't logged in for a few days... felt a bit stuck, but feeling much more positive today

So my ebay turnover at the weekend was £615.81, which was great... had a bit of a blowout with some of it (nails, clothes...), and the consequent self beating-up was not nice, but actually on balance all is well, and it is great to be in the selling saddle again and have confirmation that the market is still buoyant enough for my kind of stock. :T

The other thing accomplished was the energy switch... which I was dreading, as I hate the paperwork and the meter reading part, but it turned out to be far more simple, as e.on had a tariff that was £50 less per month, (fixed 1 year), so we didn't have to change company, much to my relief! Now with the back-payments, our direct debit should be around £200, which I can live with. If only we could finish the renovations and improve the insulation, bigger savings could be had. We have stairs up to the attic, which is just bare rafters and roof, no ceiling as such, and the cold air whooshes down into the main corridor of the flat. Perhaps we could as an interim solution get a slab of that thick polystyrene type stuff to block off the gap. Will investigate

Love the idea from the mse moneysaving email about being paid for walking.. only thing is I don't have a fitness tracker or smartphone yet lol...

So, today... 14 listings ready to go tonight, would like to add a few more. Weather dreadful for walking, so might do some yoga and dancing on the wii-fit. First off I'm going to blitz round the house & get a load of washing on... what an exciting life I lead lol. Must feed the seagull the cat and the parrot pronto too.

Ciao 4 now, onwards and downwards xxx

NO-SPENDING-FOR-A-YEAR

Good morning lovely,


Oh my days I think you've [EMAIL="eb@yed"]eb@yed[/EMAIL] over the weekend what the whole contents of my attic would be worth, lol!!
Well done you!!


Not trying to justify the 'blowout' but you have to be realistic about what you can stick with, bit like a diet I guess, if you try to live on 500 calories a day you can't stick with it but if you allow your self a little bit of loveliness in moderation you can stay with it for the long haul!!
Good news to on the energy switch debacle - glad it proved to be less challenging than expected ☺


Have a good day
Lou xx

BachFlower

Good morning Lou and thank you very much I was very fortunate with some freaky sales to Hong Kong... next week won't be anywhere near as high, but gee it was nice to have a bit of a boom to kick-start my momentum You are so right about draconian expectations on ourselves... and having nice nails makes such a difference lol. The dress I bought was Boden and a SIZE 8 ... now I am deffo a curvy 18, but because it is a wrap style, somehow miraculously fits me like a glove... and who doesn't want the flattery of 4 sizes smaller on that little label? Hehe. It was also £16 at tkmaxx, so I do now think it was worth it I just have to keep my head down now until I make some more dough... as I had to pay the accountant £150, owe ebay nearly £100 in fees, etc. etc. Cheers hun, have a fantastic day, and you never know, when you list those treasures you may be blown away with a home run or two xx