Booth sales are still in summer slump mode, but it's starting to pick up a bit. I'm only running 1/3 to 1/2 less than what my daily totals should be, as opposed to last month's 1/2 to 2/3 less. I'm trying to hang in there right now and not give anything up. I really don't want to drop a space with fall right around the corner. I don't think that slump times you know are going to be slump times are the time to make decisions like that.
Truth is my sales are almost exactly what they were this time last year. I just have two more spaces, which makes a difference. I had a huge growth spurt in March and April, so I'm expecting that to some back when fall hits into the holidays.
Right now, though, the mix just isn't right.
I look at my sales kind of like a plate of mashed potatoes and gravy. You want to have the right amount of both so you can have a tasty meal. I've always made most of my sales from small, lower-priced items, like five bucks and under. It's the kind of thing that people come to a flea market to find. Those are my potatoes, if you will. I need a good-sized mound of them, white and fluffy.
Furniture and other large or higher-priced items are the gravy--that little extra treat on top that makes everything extra special. You can have your taters without gravy and they'll be okay, but with it, they're fabulous. You definitely want the tasty gravy.
Now, it's not hard and fast, but you need the right mix of the potatoes and gravy to have the right kind of sales totals--a nice mound of those small dollar sales, topped off with a bit of gravy. On the really good days, I can look at my report and see the big items and the small ones complimenting each other to create a nice total. Potatoes and gravy. Mmmm!
On the off days, I can usually sum up the problem as not enough of one or the other. It's treat to sell a 50 dollar piece of furniture, but if there are only a few smaller dollar items, then the total is going to be less than what it should be. A huge ladle of gravy on a tiny dab of potatoes is still edible, but it just doesn't seem right.
On the other hand, a day with good small sales and little to no large action, can still fall short. A big mound of potatoes with just a little dab of gravy is out of whack. But on those days when you have super-strong small item sales, topped off with four or five good large items, you've hit the taters and gravy train!
Now, this is not to say that you can't go all the way to one extreme or the other. I've definitely had some really high dollar sales days where the most expensive thing I sold was five bucks. I just sold a ton of them. It's a plate of just potatoes, but I'll take it. You can take one look at me and pretty much tell that I've never passed up a plate of potatoes in my life.
I've not really had this sort of day, but it is totally possible to have a high dollar day of only high dollar items--a plate of gravy, as it were. I'd certainly take it. When I was growing up, my mother and my grandmother both would leave the gravy bowl on the table until all the other dishes were done. They knew that someone (me) would be coming along to finish off the leftover gravy. To this day, I love a bowl of cold, leftover gravy. I know. I'm weird.
For my experience, however, small items will sell every day. You just have to get the right amount of them. The big stuff sells in dribs and drabs. That's why it's the gravy. It's extra. It's special. There are a lot of vendors who primarily deal in furniture that I outsell all the time with nothing but smalls.
Obviously, this is my own model and thoughts, grown out of my own experiences. Yours may very well vary. They probably do. Switch from a flea market mall to an antique mall, for instance, and the customer expectations change, so the experience and the mix changes.
The trick, which is always hard to pin down, is to figure out how to consistently get that mix right. Right now, I'm eating enough taters, but way too little gravy.
Showing posts with label sales analysis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sales analysis. Show all posts
Sunday, August 14, 2016
Monday, April 25, 2016
Monday Rambles
I had a terrible existential crisis over the weekend. I kept wandering around and wondering:
The contradictions of this junk thing get to me sometimes. On the one hand, you just can't wait for the nicest weather so the yard sales will start in earnest. On the other hand, as soon as that weather hits, you watch your booth sales take a serious dive.
Last week, we had one of the longest streak of the nicest days yet. Folks are doing their yard work and spring cleaning and first cook-outs and such stuff as they do this time of year instead of going to the vendor malls. Honestly, I can't blame them much. Still, I got junk to sell!
As if to prove my point, last Thursday was rainy and cool. My sales shot way back up--nearly a hundred bucks! Overall, it's still a good month, but it's not going to set any records. I can't complain too much.
Today will be the end of the never-ending booth update, even if I have to pile everything into a pyre and burn it! Seriously, the madness stops today! I got really close to finishing on Friday, but ran out of steam. Last week was a treatment week, but I insisted on going to the booth instead of staying home and rested. The progress I made did help, but I was moving too slow in the end to get all the way done. Today for sure. He said, optimistically. If not, I'm going on the pyre too!
Oh yeah, I've been dumpster diving again. The really tall dumpster across the street got hauled away, but the other two are still here. They put the old windows and doors from the house in the one down the hill, but I could only get to two of the windows.
I sliced the Dickens out of my thumb on one of them. Thankfully, it wasn't very deep. It was a clean slice, so I think it was on the glass, rather than a rusty nail. Still, I am going to talk to my doctor about a tetanus shot. Occupational hazards, you know. I've been dousing the thumb in peroxide and slathering on the anti-bacterial ointment all weekend, and it seems to be okay.
I do have a nice pair of heavy gloves that I bought for this kind of thing. I just keep forgetting to put them on. Back to the dumpsters, I discovered a new one at a house on the street that runs behind ours tonight. It only comes to chest height on me, so checking it out is really easy.
Speaking of diving for freebies, we're only a couple of weeks away from our next junk set out period. People are already starting to sneak their unwanted stuff to the curbs and alleys. I don't know why they do it early, because the trash guys will not take it. It seems to be something they do in this part of town, regardless. I'm doing some spot checks, but nothing worthwhile yet. It seems like it's mostly really broken down crap.
Back to the booth, the Derby Festival started on Saturday, so we're in for a couple of weeks of iffy sales, at best. I'm doing a 20% off sale on Derby Week to try and boost things a bit. We just got the ability to do sales in our booths, so I want to take advantage of it. Mine will start this Saturday and run until Mother's Day, which is the day after Derby.
I won't be adding anything else to the booth (after today) until after the sale is over. I'm hoping it will give me more room to drag some more stuff in.
I guess that brings me around to my big, crazy news. I'm getting another booth. I figured out that if I really want to get serious about razing Mount Sorrow, then I need a way to get more stuff in the booth. If I can get most of the large and small furniture that I have in storage out right now, plus all the tall shelves, then the unit would be half empty. Seriously. I'm only planning on keeping this extra booth until this stuff is off the Mountain and out the door to someone else's place. I honestly don't want this new booth, but I want the mound of stuff even less. It will also give me space to better display all this salvage stuff I keep dragging in.
This was a pretty junk-centric Ramble today, so let me break that up a little bit with some Monday Music.
Have a good week, folks! Look for some, uhm, interesting posts here this week, with a special treat come Friday!
"Where am I?"
"Where am I?"
"Where am I?"
Suddenly, a sign!
Crisis resolved!
The contradictions of this junk thing get to me sometimes. On the one hand, you just can't wait for the nicest weather so the yard sales will start in earnest. On the other hand, as soon as that weather hits, you watch your booth sales take a serious dive.
Last week, we had one of the longest streak of the nicest days yet. Folks are doing their yard work and spring cleaning and first cook-outs and such stuff as they do this time of year instead of going to the vendor malls. Honestly, I can't blame them much. Still, I got junk to sell!
As if to prove my point, last Thursday was rainy and cool. My sales shot way back up--nearly a hundred bucks! Overall, it's still a good month, but it's not going to set any records. I can't complain too much.
Today will be the end of the never-ending booth update, even if I have to pile everything into a pyre and burn it! Seriously, the madness stops today! I got really close to finishing on Friday, but ran out of steam. Last week was a treatment week, but I insisted on going to the booth instead of staying home and rested. The progress I made did help, but I was moving too slow in the end to get all the way done. Today for sure. He said, optimistically. If not, I'm going on the pyre too!
Oh yeah, I've been dumpster diving again. The really tall dumpster across the street got hauled away, but the other two are still here. They put the old windows and doors from the house in the one down the hill, but I could only get to two of the windows.
I sliced the Dickens out of my thumb on one of them. Thankfully, it wasn't very deep. It was a clean slice, so I think it was on the glass, rather than a rusty nail. Still, I am going to talk to my doctor about a tetanus shot. Occupational hazards, you know. I've been dousing the thumb in peroxide and slathering on the anti-bacterial ointment all weekend, and it seems to be okay.
I do have a nice pair of heavy gloves that I bought for this kind of thing. I just keep forgetting to put them on. Back to the dumpsters, I discovered a new one at a house on the street that runs behind ours tonight. It only comes to chest height on me, so checking it out is really easy.
Speaking of diving for freebies, we're only a couple of weeks away from our next junk set out period. People are already starting to sneak their unwanted stuff to the curbs and alleys. I don't know why they do it early, because the trash guys will not take it. It seems to be something they do in this part of town, regardless. I'm doing some spot checks, but nothing worthwhile yet. It seems like it's mostly really broken down crap.
Back to the booth, the Derby Festival started on Saturday, so we're in for a couple of weeks of iffy sales, at best. I'm doing a 20% off sale on Derby Week to try and boost things a bit. We just got the ability to do sales in our booths, so I want to take advantage of it. Mine will start this Saturday and run until Mother's Day, which is the day after Derby.
I won't be adding anything else to the booth (after today) until after the sale is over. I'm hoping it will give me more room to drag some more stuff in.
I guess that brings me around to my big, crazy news. I'm getting another booth. I figured out that if I really want to get serious about razing Mount Sorrow, then I need a way to get more stuff in the booth. If I can get most of the large and small furniture that I have in storage out right now, plus all the tall shelves, then the unit would be half empty. Seriously. I'm only planning on keeping this extra booth until this stuff is off the Mountain and out the door to someone else's place. I honestly don't want this new booth, but I want the mound of stuff even less. It will also give me space to better display all this salvage stuff I keep dragging in.
This was a pretty junk-centric Ramble today, so let me break that up a little bit with some Monday Music.
Have a good week, folks! Look for some, uhm, interesting posts here this week, with a special treat come Friday!
Monday, March 28, 2016
Monday Rambles
Stay out of my way in Walgreens today! The Reeses Eggs are half off! This has been your Fat Guy Rampage Alert for the day.
My neighborhood has been invaded by contractor dumpsters of late. There are easily half a dozen within a block or two of the house. Last week, I was walking to the bus and just happened to pass one of them. I took a quick look inside, and there was a cute face staring back at me.
My neighborhood has been invaded by contractor dumpsters of late. There are easily half a dozen within a block or two of the house. Last week, I was walking to the bus and just happened to pass one of them. I took a quick look inside, and there was a cute face staring back at me.
I didn't have time to dig further, so I grabbed him and headed to the bus stop. When I got to the booth, I put a quick price on him, since I knew someone would grab him out of my cart whether I wanted them to or not. He sold! (I had to borrow this pic from Pinterest to show you all.)
I headed back there yesterday, but the dumpster was all full of wood now. EXCEPT...for a heavy, round, antique mirror resting neatly on top. I really need to hit those dumpsters more often.
I think I'll tease out a little bit of the Mazda shot, otherwise it will be a short, short ramble this week.
The comic shop had a music giveaway on Saturday. They were giving away five items per person. Since Keith and I are two people, I got to pick ten items. (Shhhhh....) I went looking for a few interesting/oddball items. Did I find any?
You tell me.
They also had a whole bunch of book and record sets. I picked out my five, and there were five left, so I went ahead and bought them too.
I picked up a bag of toy odds and ends for a buck. It was mostly bits and pieces from Lego sets, plus s few other items.
The comic shop had a music giveaway on Saturday. They were giving away five items per person. Since Keith and I are two people, I got to pick ten items. (Shhhhh....) I went looking for a few interesting/oddball items. Did I find any?
You tell me.
They also had a whole bunch of book and record sets. I picked out my five, and there were five left, so I went ahead and bought them too.
I picked up a bag of toy odds and ends for a buck. It was mostly bits and pieces from Lego sets, plus s few other items.
The chip bag has the broken bits in it. Why I left it in the picture, I do not know. I've started splitting everything else up into bags for sale. One of the bags is going to a friend of mine who also has a booth at the Peddlers Mall. He collects vintage metal dollhouses and then furnishes them. He has a whole little town in his basement. The furnishings don't have to be vintage, just the right scale. I keep an eye out for stuff for him, and he looks for religious items for me.
It's the last little bit of March, and it has been such a good booth sales month. I'm almost dreading Spring Break week in April. This is the first March in recent memory that I haven't had to fret the basketball tournament, which is a big deal around here. UK was out early and UL couldn't play, so those distractions were dealt with pretty easily. Right now, my March total is equal to my highest month, so anything from here on out is a record-setter, even if it slows a little.
And that is, seriously, all I got today. It's been a bit boring here of late. Sorry about that. How about if I throw in some awesome music for a Monday?
See you!
PS If you never hear from me again, it might be because I am planning on attending this sale this weekend. (Pasted verbatim from Craigslist)
Greetings fellow humans! We are having a multi-household yard sale and you should swing by and observe what we have for sale with your ocular circuits! We are definitely not robots from the future searching for ways to infiltrate and destroy your civilization! We will have many items including but not limited to:
-books
-cds
-records
-kitchenware
-ac unit
-cyborg memory boosters
-a car
-men's clothes
-women's clothes
-baby clothes and other assorted items
-build your own interociter set
-games
So come on over and buy some of our stuff! Who knows, you may meet the person of your dreams at our yard sale! And you certainly will not have your personality shunted into a robot body for transport into the future!
It seems pretty legit to me and it's in the neighborhood. I think it's at the house that glows all the time and has the weird antennae on top. They also drive a really funny-looking car. I think it's some kind of foreign model.
I am totally out of flux capacitors and this seems like the kind of place where I might find some. Chiquito says that he's out of fluids for his cloning chambers, so I'm going to see if they have some there.
It's the last little bit of March, and it has been such a good booth sales month. I'm almost dreading Spring Break week in April. This is the first March in recent memory that I haven't had to fret the basketball tournament, which is a big deal around here. UK was out early and UL couldn't play, so those distractions were dealt with pretty easily. Right now, my March total is equal to my highest month, so anything from here on out is a record-setter, even if it slows a little.
And that is, seriously, all I got today. It's been a bit boring here of late. Sorry about that. How about if I throw in some awesome music for a Monday?
See you!
PS If you never hear from me again, it might be because I am planning on attending this sale this weekend. (Pasted verbatim from Craigslist)
Greetings fellow humans! We are having a multi-household yard sale and you should swing by and observe what we have for sale with your ocular circuits! We are definitely not robots from the future searching for ways to infiltrate and destroy your civilization! We will have many items including but not limited to:
-books
-cds
-records
-kitchenware
-ac unit
-cyborg memory boosters
-a car
-men's clothes
-women's clothes
-baby clothes and other assorted items
-build your own interociter set
-games
So come on over and buy some of our stuff! Who knows, you may meet the person of your dreams at our yard sale! And you certainly will not have your personality shunted into a robot body for transport into the future!
It seems pretty legit to me and it's in the neighborhood. I think it's at the house that glows all the time and has the weird antennae on top. They also drive a really funny-looking car. I think it's some kind of foreign model.
I am totally out of flux capacitors and this seems like the kind of place where I might find some. Chiquito says that he's out of fluids for his cloning chambers, so I'm going to see if they have some there.
Tuesday, October 07, 2014
Monday Tuesday Rambles
I'm back!
Please accept my apologies for the lack of content for the last couple of weeks. Honestly, I just did not have it in me to blog (or do much of anything) for that time. Losing Kosh triggered the worst depressive episode I've had for quite some time. I'm coming out of it, slowly, but for a while it just seemed like a heavy weight of sadness had taken everything over for me.
Thanks so much to all of you for the sweet notes about Kosh. I still owe some of you personal thank you's, which I will be getting to in the next day or so. I appreciate your concern and sympathies so much.
Due to my funk, I almost skipped out on doing the Highway 60 yard sale on Saturday, but I'm glad I didn't. It was windy and cold, but I think it did me a lot of good to be out and about. The sale started in Meade County (near where my dad used to live) and proceeded west through Breckinridge County (near where my mother used to live), so it was kind of like a homecoming of sorts.
We had planned to make it to Owensboro and then camp on Saturday, but we cut the trip short just shy of Hardinsburg. The van was full and it would have taken a major repacking effort to make more room for anything else. We had gotten a later than planned start, because we had both slept through the alarm. Plus, Meade County had been rich with large group sales and flea markets and treasures. I was very happy with the load. It's not about the number of sales you hit. It's about the treasures you find there.
At the time we turned back, we realized that we still had enough time to stash everything in storage at the Peddlers Mall and get home to Chiquito and our own bed. And that's what we did.
Here's a little preview of the haul:
Those are the pieces that went to the new Peddlers Mall yesterday. Here is what I took to the other store:
That shelf is kind of cool. There's a note on top that it was made for a social studies project, which I am guessing was something about colonial or pioneer living. The boards all have these adorable, primitive dovetail notches, and the whole thing is held together with wood pegs instead of nails. I can totally see someone getting this and staining or painting it up nice and purty. It needs a little gluing around the pegs, but it's pretty sturdy.
I still need to get pics of the smalls, which were pretty awesome this time around. I had several good scores.
Booth sales have really bottomed out lately. I ended September well at my original Peddlers. Not as high as previous months, but still four digits in the gross. That construction mess is sure hurting though. I only did about a third of my normal take during the indoor sale. We are still waiting on the signage to appear.
At the other space, I did okay for a first month, but not near what I was expecting. I'm struggling to get off the ground there, and it is fueling my fears that I'm only capable of selling in one location. (Which also really added to my latest depressive bout.) They've offered me a double booth starting in November, and I'm going to take it. At least I'll have all my stuff together in one spot.
The weekend was really pretty good at both locations, however. It looks like furniture is starting to move again, which is nice. I've picked up several pieces cheap from vendors who were moving out, so I have a pretty good inventory of big items right now and I would like to move them on!
The home front is kind of odd right now. Everyone feels Kosh's absence. I'm still seeing him out of the corner of my eye. We're keeping an eye on Chiquito, but in some ways it looks like he's not figured out that he's the only cat now. For the first couple of days, he kept waiting for Kosh to eat when I put the food down. He very definitely feels the pressure of being home alone all day. He's become really super clingy when we get home. I'm giving him all the extra loving I can to help him through.
Please accept my apologies for the lack of content for the last couple of weeks. Honestly, I just did not have it in me to blog (or do much of anything) for that time. Losing Kosh triggered the worst depressive episode I've had for quite some time. I'm coming out of it, slowly, but for a while it just seemed like a heavy weight of sadness had taken everything over for me.
Thanks so much to all of you for the sweet notes about Kosh. I still owe some of you personal thank you's, which I will be getting to in the next day or so. I appreciate your concern and sympathies so much.
Due to my funk, I almost skipped out on doing the Highway 60 yard sale on Saturday, but I'm glad I didn't. It was windy and cold, but I think it did me a lot of good to be out and about. The sale started in Meade County (near where my dad used to live) and proceeded west through Breckinridge County (near where my mother used to live), so it was kind of like a homecoming of sorts.
 |
| Typical roadside view in Meade County. |
At the time we turned back, we realized that we still had enough time to stash everything in storage at the Peddlers Mall and get home to Chiquito and our own bed. And that's what we did.
Here's a little preview of the haul:
 |
| The leaf on this desk folds down and collapses the desk to the size of a file cabinet! |
Those are the pieces that went to the new Peddlers Mall yesterday. Here is what I took to the other store:
 |
| I love me some school desks! |
 |
| Shelf and wood podium |
That shelf is kind of cool. There's a note on top that it was made for a social studies project, which I am guessing was something about colonial or pioneer living. The boards all have these adorable, primitive dovetail notches, and the whole thing is held together with wood pegs instead of nails. I can totally see someone getting this and staining or painting it up nice and purty. It needs a little gluing around the pegs, but it's pretty sturdy.
I still need to get pics of the smalls, which were pretty awesome this time around. I had several good scores.
Booth sales have really bottomed out lately. I ended September well at my original Peddlers. Not as high as previous months, but still four digits in the gross. That construction mess is sure hurting though. I only did about a third of my normal take during the indoor sale. We are still waiting on the signage to appear.
At the other space, I did okay for a first month, but not near what I was expecting. I'm struggling to get off the ground there, and it is fueling my fears that I'm only capable of selling in one location. (Which also really added to my latest depressive bout.) They've offered me a double booth starting in November, and I'm going to take it. At least I'll have all my stuff together in one spot.
The weekend was really pretty good at both locations, however. It looks like furniture is starting to move again, which is nice. I've picked up several pieces cheap from vendors who were moving out, so I have a pretty good inventory of big items right now and I would like to move them on!
The home front is kind of odd right now. Everyone feels Kosh's absence. I'm still seeing him out of the corner of my eye. We're keeping an eye on Chiquito, but in some ways it looks like he's not figured out that he's the only cat now. For the first couple of days, he kept waiting for Kosh to eat when I put the food down. He very definitely feels the pressure of being home alone all day. He's become really super clingy when we get home. I'm giving him all the extra loving I can to help him through.
Monday, August 04, 2014
Monday Rambles
I'm not sure how it happened, but somehow I managed to pull out another record-setting month in the four digits! July was even higher than June in total sales, and that was with about four days of really low sales. I'm starting to gain a lot of confidence that maybe I've finally set on a course that works for my booth. It's still way too early to come to think of this as a set pattern, but I am really freaking happy right now.
August will tell the tale, I'm afraid. This is, after April, the hardest month there is to sell in this town. What is it with the "A" months that makes them feel they have to rain on a junker's parade like that? April has spring break and the beginning of the dreaded Derby festivities. August has back to school (which is next week) and the Kentucky State Fair (which is also next week). We'll just see what happens, I guess.
In the meantime, I'll keep things stocked and ready as best I can.
Which hasn't actually been very good lately. I realized on Friday that I have totally, and I do mean totally, lost control of my spaces. "Hot mess" doesn't even begin to describe it. Stuff is just crammed everywhere, with little to no rhyme or reason. People can get into my booth and out of my booth easily, but that's it. I have no idea how stuff is selling so well. Seriously, I don't. The only thing that is in some kind of semblance of order is the comic books.
My plan this week is to rearrange and reshuffle stuff, rather than restock. I'll put out new stuff for the weekend, but will wait until Friday to do it. I have a couple of ideas for themed groupings of merchandise I want to do. (I'm no good at displays, but I can get like items all together.) If it works, I'll take some pictures.
It hit me really hard over the weekend that it's August. That means I've got to get my "harvest" items ready to go out and have Halloween on deck for next month! Sheesh! It's almost time for Christmas stuff! Ack!
A junker's work is never done, I guess. Good thing Ilike love doing this stuff!
Mata ne! (I've been watching anime again. The new Sailor Moon Crystal series totally rocks! It totally updates the original series, but remains faithful to the source material. The art, based on the manga, is gorgeous and the animation is awesome. Highly recommended.)
August will tell the tale, I'm afraid. This is, after April, the hardest month there is to sell in this town. What is it with the "A" months that makes them feel they have to rain on a junker's parade like that? April has spring break and the beginning of the dreaded Derby festivities. August has back to school (which is next week) and the Kentucky State Fair (which is also next week). We'll just see what happens, I guess.
In the meantime, I'll keep things stocked and ready as best I can.
Which hasn't actually been very good lately. I realized on Friday that I have totally, and I do mean totally, lost control of my spaces. "Hot mess" doesn't even begin to describe it. Stuff is just crammed everywhere, with little to no rhyme or reason. People can get into my booth and out of my booth easily, but that's it. I have no idea how stuff is selling so well. Seriously, I don't. The only thing that is in some kind of semblance of order is the comic books.
My plan this week is to rearrange and reshuffle stuff, rather than restock. I'll put out new stuff for the weekend, but will wait until Friday to do it. I have a couple of ideas for themed groupings of merchandise I want to do. (I'm no good at displays, but I can get like items all together.) If it works, I'll take some pictures.
It hit me really hard over the weekend that it's August. That means I've got to get my "harvest" items ready to go out and have Halloween on deck for next month! Sheesh! It's almost time for Christmas stuff! Ack!
A junker's work is never done, I guess. Good thing I
Mata ne! (I've been watching anime again. The new Sailor Moon Crystal series totally rocks! It totally updates the original series, but remains faithful to the source material. The art, based on the manga, is gorgeous and the animation is awesome. Highly recommended.)
Monday, June 30, 2014
Monday Rambles
Drumroll, please!
We have a new record! I had my total highest booth sales ever in June, 2014! Despite the summer doldrums, somehow I managed to sell into the
for the first time ever!
I've gotten into the upper threes quite a bit over the years, but have never broken that four digit mark, until now. I'm still shaking over it, honestly.
Now this is gross sales, before the rent and commission comes out. My check will be considerably less, but will still be one of the biggest I have gotten. I've always felt that I needed to grow my gross sales to a certain level, then work on the net, which is really just growing the gross some more, but don't spoil my convoluted business theories.
Actually, one of my goals for my sales was to be in four digit gross by the end of 2014. Since I had to take additional space to accommodate a store closing, I figured that I needed to make it pay. I just didn't expect it would start so soon. I've only been operating at my current level for two months, after all.
The challenge now is sustainability. It doesn't do me any good if this is a one time event. No resting on the laurels here! I have to start working on my next goal: the four digit net. I've set a deadline for that one of December 2015. We'll see.
I just can't believe I wasted all that time trying to have booths in other stores where it clearly wasn't working. I thought that was the only way to grow my sales totals. If I had spent the two years I wasted doing that on growing my base at the Peddlers Mall, I could have hit this level a long time ago!
Ah, hindsight!
Moving on to other topics:
I am off work this week. Today is a stay at home and play day. Or rather rest a bit. Clean a bit. Organize the shed a bit. And maybe read some comics a bit. Tomorrow is junking with my uncle and work on the booth day. Wednesday is more booth day. And Thursday will be about organizing my storage at the booth. Friday, I'll probably chill and eat chili dogs. (See what I did there?) Saturday is closing day at the thrift downstairs from the booth, so I'll make a stop there. Won't be much yard sale action, anyway. Sunday, I'll go the big flea.
And then next Monday, I'll return to work, so I can get a little rest!
Actually, my work hours are weird right now. Even though summer has officially just begun, our summer session is over. When I go back to work, it will be on severely reduced hours--about half my usual total. That goes on for two weeks and then we start back on regular sessions (ie the "fall schedule") on July 21.
No Mazda shot this week. Wasn't really that full. No drama in a piddly Mazda load. I'll have some finds picks later in the week. My main stop was an estate sale run by my favorite company. I would have been there regardless, but they also had comics! Yay!
Finally, I word about that double post on Saturday. I was trying to save that glamour shot for this Tuesday and thought I was scheduling it for then. Instead, I accidentally set it up for last Tuesday. (Does senility start at 49?) I didn't realize it until your comments started showing up in my email. Since it had already hit your feeds, the surprise was spoiled, so I didn't want to take it down and re-post it on Tuesday, so I just moved it to Saturday, for the sake of smooth posting continuity. I was also afraid that someone might think it was an old post if I left it on the 24th and not see it. What is the point of getting dressed up in your tropical finery if people don't get to see it because of a silly techno-user glitch?
Have a good week!
We have a new record! I had my total highest booth sales ever in June, 2014! Despite the summer doldrums, somehow I managed to sell into the
LOW FOUR DIGITS
for the first time ever!
I've gotten into the upper threes quite a bit over the years, but have never broken that four digit mark, until now. I'm still shaking over it, honestly.
Now this is gross sales, before the rent and commission comes out. My check will be considerably less, but will still be one of the biggest I have gotten. I've always felt that I needed to grow my gross sales to a certain level, then work on the net, which is really just growing the gross some more, but don't spoil my convoluted business theories.
Actually, one of my goals for my sales was to be in four digit gross by the end of 2014. Since I had to take additional space to accommodate a store closing, I figured that I needed to make it pay. I just didn't expect it would start so soon. I've only been operating at my current level for two months, after all.
The challenge now is sustainability. It doesn't do me any good if this is a one time event. No resting on the laurels here! I have to start working on my next goal: the four digit net. I've set a deadline for that one of December 2015. We'll see.
I just can't believe I wasted all that time trying to have booths in other stores where it clearly wasn't working. I thought that was the only way to grow my sales totals. If I had spent the two years I wasted doing that on growing my base at the Peddlers Mall, I could have hit this level a long time ago!
Ah, hindsight!
Moving on to other topics:
I am off work this week. Today is a stay at home and play day. Or rather rest a bit. Clean a bit. Organize the shed a bit. And maybe read some comics a bit. Tomorrow is junking with my uncle and work on the booth day. Wednesday is more booth day. And Thursday will be about organizing my storage at the booth. Friday, I'll probably chill and eat chili dogs. (See what I did there?) Saturday is closing day at the thrift downstairs from the booth, so I'll make a stop there. Won't be much yard sale action, anyway. Sunday, I'll go the big flea.
And then next Monday, I'll return to work, so I can get a little rest!
Actually, my work hours are weird right now. Even though summer has officially just begun, our summer session is over. When I go back to work, it will be on severely reduced hours--about half my usual total. That goes on for two weeks and then we start back on regular sessions (ie the "fall schedule") on July 21.
No Mazda shot this week. Wasn't really that full. No drama in a piddly Mazda load. I'll have some finds picks later in the week. My main stop was an estate sale run by my favorite company. I would have been there regardless, but they also had comics! Yay!
Finally, I word about that double post on Saturday. I was trying to save that glamour shot for this Tuesday and thought I was scheduling it for then. Instead, I accidentally set it up for last Tuesday. (Does senility start at 49?) I didn't realize it until your comments started showing up in my email. Since it had already hit your feeds, the surprise was spoiled, so I didn't want to take it down and re-post it on Tuesday, so I just moved it to Saturday, for the sake of smooth posting continuity. I was also afraid that someone might think it was an old post if I left it on the 24th and not see it. What is the point of getting dressed up in your tropical finery if people don't get to see it because of a silly techno-user glitch?
Have a good week!
Monday, April 14, 2014
Monday Rambles
Okay. Saturday was the big fireworks show that kicks off the Derby Festival. And tonight they're calling for...wait for it.....SNOW!
It shouldn't be much or stick around long, because it's going to be a tad too warm for that. It's just the general principle of the thing. Is it not supposed to be spring?? Is there a such thing as Winter PTSD? If so, I think most of us may have it.
Keith keeps saying that this will be one of those years when there's snow on Derby day. For the uninitiated, that's the first Saturday in May. (Which is also Free Comic Book Day!) I can remember one such Derby in my lifetime, although I can't recall the specific year. It was when Keith and I were living in our old apartment. There wasn't a lot of snow, but, again, it's the principle of the thing.
Enough about the weather already.
I'm putting off my yard sale post until tomorrow or Wednesday, because it's going to be a long one and I'm still working on it. I ended up going to the booth on Sunday with some leftovers, which was unplanned, but became necessary when we realized that, given our schedules for this week, it was the only day available to do it.
I actually had decent booth sales on Saturday. I nearly met my daily sales target, which is unheard of on Thunder day. People tend to head straight to the Waterfront and spend the day there. Unless you're someone like me and you realize that it's a great day to go shopping without the crowds. (Derby day is like this too.) Apparently, there were quite a few people like me at the Peddlers Mall yesterday. I'll take it.
Overall, my April sales have not been as dire as they have been in the past. I'm still lagging behind where I need to be, saleswise, but I have not had any days with no sales. I've also had double digit sales every day. No two or three dollar days, so far. I've met or nearly met my daily target a couple of days and had one day that was flat out tremendous! For April, I'm not doing too bad. Now that Derby madness has started, I'm hoping that will hold.
It's Holy Week, so I'm featuring some vintage booklets on the Stations of the Cross (or Way of the Cross) in separate posts. I'll double post on some days and let the booklet post stand on other days. I found a nice batch of Catholic booklets in my stash a few weeks ago and decided to feature them. I bought them a while back at a sale, but set them aside to read and flip through. One of the hard parts of having a collector's interest in what you sell is getting them to the booth timely. I've got a stack of manga that I want to read that proves it.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the booklets. Some of them are quite charming and the graphics are really cool. Many of them are quite battered and worn. These were meant to be used over and over again and they were. I think that adds to their charm, so I've only done minimal editing to the scans.
You can see the first one right below this post. Have a good week!
It shouldn't be much or stick around long, because it's going to be a tad too warm for that. It's just the general principle of the thing. Is it not supposed to be spring?? Is there a such thing as Winter PTSD? If so, I think most of us may have it.
Keith keeps saying that this will be one of those years when there's snow on Derby day. For the uninitiated, that's the first Saturday in May. (Which is also Free Comic Book Day!) I can remember one such Derby in my lifetime, although I can't recall the specific year. It was when Keith and I were living in our old apartment. There wasn't a lot of snow, but, again, it's the principle of the thing.
Enough about the weather already.
I'm putting off my yard sale post until tomorrow or Wednesday, because it's going to be a long one and I'm still working on it. I ended up going to the booth on Sunday with some leftovers, which was unplanned, but became necessary when we realized that, given our schedules for this week, it was the only day available to do it.
I actually had decent booth sales on Saturday. I nearly met my daily sales target, which is unheard of on Thunder day. People tend to head straight to the Waterfront and spend the day there. Unless you're someone like me and you realize that it's a great day to go shopping without the crowds. (Derby day is like this too.) Apparently, there were quite a few people like me at the Peddlers Mall yesterday. I'll take it.
Overall, my April sales have not been as dire as they have been in the past. I'm still lagging behind where I need to be, saleswise, but I have not had any days with no sales. I've also had double digit sales every day. No two or three dollar days, so far. I've met or nearly met my daily target a couple of days and had one day that was flat out tremendous! For April, I'm not doing too bad. Now that Derby madness has started, I'm hoping that will hold.
It's Holy Week, so I'm featuring some vintage booklets on the Stations of the Cross (or Way of the Cross) in separate posts. I'll double post on some days and let the booklet post stand on other days. I found a nice batch of Catholic booklets in my stash a few weeks ago and decided to feature them. I bought them a while back at a sale, but set them aside to read and flip through. One of the hard parts of having a collector's interest in what you sell is getting them to the booth timely. I've got a stack of manga that I want to read that proves it.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the booklets. Some of them are quite charming and the graphics are really cool. Many of them are quite battered and worn. These were meant to be used over and over again and they were. I think that adds to their charm, so I've only done minimal editing to the scans.
You can see the first one right below this post. Have a good week!
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Sales Analysis
I haven't done any sales analysis blogging lately. It kind of keeps falling off my radar, I guess. I really kind of miss the days when I used to do the tables and charts and things in these reports. I'm going to try to get back to that over the course of this year. I need to recover some files off a defunct laptop or else recreate them. Guess which I'd rather do? Recreating actually wouldn't take that much time, if I could just remember everything I did. I'll give it a stab and see what happens.
In the meantime, here are some recent thoughts on recent sales.
DECEMBER
The holidays were really good to me, booth-wise. It was the best month of the year for me. I had a lot of stuff. I sold a lot of stuff. And, interestingly, I had a lot of stuff left over. Since I closed a booth at another store in October, I actually had stuff on hand for two different locations. I decided to just go for it and put everything out.
I blew through all my wrapping paper stock in a short time, so I made sure to pick up quite a bit during the post-holiday clearance sales. I didn't do as well with Christmas cards, but I think I got them out a little late. I didn't pick up any more at the sales, so I'm going to get my remaining stock put our earlier this year.
Vintage Christmas stuff sold well for me, as always. New ornament sets did not do as well as in years past. I had more left over than I usually do. I think it's a casualty of having so much stuff out this year. Since I'll be back to two stores for this year, I think things will go back to normal. Still, I was very choosy about ornament sets at the sales.
JANUARY
The one-two punch of crappy, cold weather and being sick really threw my sales off last month. January usually has a bit of a post-holiday lag, but then starts picking up as folks start to file their taxes. Didn't really happen this year, although the last week was strong for me. I think if I had been feeling better, I could have pushed more stuff, but it didn't happen. Oh well. Ebbs and flows.
FEBRUARY
So far, the month is going strong. I'll have rent made in a few days, which leaves plenty of time for sales to add up to a decent check for me. Last weekend was a really good one. It's getting warm and melty here, so this one could be too. (Unless the desire to shake of the cabin fever doldrums pulls people to other venues. It could go either way. We'll see.)
THE NEW SPOT
I have to admit that the new booth is drastically under-performing. I made February rent the first month, but did not make back the January rent I had to pay up front. It's an odd feeling for me. I'm not used to this. Part of it was the aforementioned weather and illness, for sure, but there's another factor.
I simply was not ready to open this booth. When I got the call in mid-December to move in on January 1, I knew I would not be able to work on getting things together until after we got back from Arkansas after Christmas. I did not think it would be that much of a problem. After all, I have boxes of tagged, ready-to-go stuff from the booth I closed sitting in my shed. Then I found out that I would not be able to use the booth number that I've been using since 2009. There's already a vendor with that number at that mall, so I had to pick a new one. It's my usual number plus another digit, so it's not that far off, but it does mean that existing tags on anything I bring in to that store have to be replaced or at least altered. That takes time.
There's a fine line you have to walk when it comes to stock. Too much stuff and customers will bypass your space. Too little stuff and customers will bypass your stuff. I've yet to hit the "just right" threshold with this space. When you're understocked and you sell even a few items, then your space looks practically empty! A couple of times when I visited, I had to honestly admit to myself that I would pass my own spot by, based on my paltry stock.
I am working on the issue. I took a half ton of stuff in last Saturday. I have another half ton, plus more shelving and small furniture and larger items to take in this weekend. That should put me on better footing. I'm not worried, just a little irritated by the situation. It's completely fixable and should be in shape by the end of the month,
I'm also getting ready to launch a major Craigslist blitz for both stores. I need to get a few more photos, and I'll be ready to roll that out. I haven't used CL much lately, so I'm excited to get back to it. I'm also launching a new phase of my top secret project in a couple of weeks, which will increase the visibility (and hopefully sales) of both my locations.
I'm optimistic about the unfolding of tax season, the rapidly-approaching yard sale season and the retail scene in general. I'll keep the blog up to date and things progress.
In the meantime, here are some recent thoughts on recent sales.
DECEMBER
The holidays were really good to me, booth-wise. It was the best month of the year for me. I had a lot of stuff. I sold a lot of stuff. And, interestingly, I had a lot of stuff left over. Since I closed a booth at another store in October, I actually had stuff on hand for two different locations. I decided to just go for it and put everything out.
I blew through all my wrapping paper stock in a short time, so I made sure to pick up quite a bit during the post-holiday clearance sales. I didn't do as well with Christmas cards, but I think I got them out a little late. I didn't pick up any more at the sales, so I'm going to get my remaining stock put our earlier this year.
Vintage Christmas stuff sold well for me, as always. New ornament sets did not do as well as in years past. I had more left over than I usually do. I think it's a casualty of having so much stuff out this year. Since I'll be back to two stores for this year, I think things will go back to normal. Still, I was very choosy about ornament sets at the sales.
JANUARY
The one-two punch of crappy, cold weather and being sick really threw my sales off last month. January usually has a bit of a post-holiday lag, but then starts picking up as folks start to file their taxes. Didn't really happen this year, although the last week was strong for me. I think if I had been feeling better, I could have pushed more stuff, but it didn't happen. Oh well. Ebbs and flows.
FEBRUARY
So far, the month is going strong. I'll have rent made in a few days, which leaves plenty of time for sales to add up to a decent check for me. Last weekend was a really good one. It's getting warm and melty here, so this one could be too. (Unless the desire to shake of the cabin fever doldrums pulls people to other venues. It could go either way. We'll see.)
THE NEW SPOT
I have to admit that the new booth is drastically under-performing. I made February rent the first month, but did not make back the January rent I had to pay up front. It's an odd feeling for me. I'm not used to this. Part of it was the aforementioned weather and illness, for sure, but there's another factor.
I simply was not ready to open this booth. When I got the call in mid-December to move in on January 1, I knew I would not be able to work on getting things together until after we got back from Arkansas after Christmas. I did not think it would be that much of a problem. After all, I have boxes of tagged, ready-to-go stuff from the booth I closed sitting in my shed. Then I found out that I would not be able to use the booth number that I've been using since 2009. There's already a vendor with that number at that mall, so I had to pick a new one. It's my usual number plus another digit, so it's not that far off, but it does mean that existing tags on anything I bring in to that store have to be replaced or at least altered. That takes time.
There's a fine line you have to walk when it comes to stock. Too much stuff and customers will bypass your space. Too little stuff and customers will bypass your stuff. I've yet to hit the "just right" threshold with this space. When you're understocked and you sell even a few items, then your space looks practically empty! A couple of times when I visited, I had to honestly admit to myself that I would pass my own spot by, based on my paltry stock.
I am working on the issue. I took a half ton of stuff in last Saturday. I have another half ton, plus more shelving and small furniture and larger items to take in this weekend. That should put me on better footing. I'm not worried, just a little irritated by the situation. It's completely fixable and should be in shape by the end of the month,
I'm also getting ready to launch a major Craigslist blitz for both stores. I need to get a few more photos, and I'll be ready to roll that out. I haven't used CL much lately, so I'm excited to get back to it. I'm also launching a new phase of my top secret project in a couple of weeks, which will increase the visibility (and hopefully sales) of both my locations.
I'm optimistic about the unfolding of tax season, the rapidly-approaching yard sale season and the retail scene in general. I'll keep the blog up to date and things progress.
Monday, September 09, 2013
Post-Vacation Monday Rambles
All together now:
Vacation!
Nice, but it's over!
It's Monday!
Have to go back to work!
Oh well, it was nice while it lasted. Guess I got a little too involved in the "rest" side of the "rest and relaxation" thing.
I didn't get my junk room straightened.
I didn't get any blogging done.
I didn't do much of anything, really.
I did, however, nap. A lot. I got some good, much-needed rest. I'm starting to feel much more energetic and much, much better. Almost normal, in fact.
It's going to be a challenging week at work. Our session ends this week, and the week off isn't going to help anybody when test time comes. Just have to make the best of it, I guess.
I did get a little thrifting in last week. My uncle and I got together twice and hit the shops. I didn't find too much, but it was good to see him again. We went to one place I had been wanting to hit for while, but for some reason had not. It ended up being a bust, so the place is on my "visit once a year" list now. At least now I know.
Yard sales were really good this weekend. You've already seen my new friend. If not, scroll down. I also made a killer Ficher-Price score that I will write more about later.
I spent yesterday at the Peddlers Mall working on the booth. My sales have drifted down to almost nothing. My check last month was pitiful. August is usually a bad month, but not that bad. I know part of it goes back to the effort that I wasn't able to put into the space for months. During chemo, I was doing only what had to be done, and that was usually just putting new stuff out and picking stuff up off the floor. I just didn't have anything else in me.
I just now feel like I'm able to really take advantage of the larger space I have. Expanding when I did (right after my surgery) wasn't the wisest move, but it was a chance I had been waiting for. If I had let it pass, I would have had to wait a long time for that one corner to open up again.
The problem is, I can't support this space on smalls alone. At least, not the nick nacky kinds of things that have always been my stock in trade. I need more medium-sized items and small furniture. I also need to spend more time there, now that I am able to. One afternoon a week just won't cut it any more.
The fall is usually a busy time, so I'm bouncing back at the right moment. I cleared out two carts of shelf sitters and took them to the thrift downstairs. I won't be able to shop there for a month now.
Some of that stuff had been there since I opened the booth! A lot of it were things that folks have given me. I have a good line with a couple of vendors who give me their cast offs. I'll usually sell a lot of it, but there's always a piece or three that just won't do anything. Some of it came from box lots where I had sold the bulk of the items and more than made my money back. And there was one little smidge that never should have gone into the booth to begin with.
Back when I started the booth, I set back four or five tubs of stuff I got at a couple of auctions to use as "emergency" stock if I ever ran low. I never touched the stuff, so I brought it in when I wasn't feeling well. It was already priced, so it was easier to deal with. However, there's a reason I deemed the stuff for emergencies only. Clunker city! About a fourth of it sold and the rest has sat there and mocked me all summer. Well, not any more. I long ago made my money back from those auctions and then some and then some again. It's all gone now.
I put out some Halloween stuff and will have more coming this week and next. I also started a small Christmas shelf. I pulled a bunch of things to markdown as well. I didn't get to them (ran out of time), so they are still sitting in a cart. I'm hoping the manager won't notice tomorrow. I'm going to clearance them until the end of the year, then take what's left to the thrift.
Over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to pump a ton of new stuff into the space. It's time to turn this ship around!
I feel like I should turn to the camera at this point and exclaim "I'm back, bitches!" As I have no idea who the "bitches" are which I would be referring to, I'm going to refrain from doing so. I still have a massive amount of stuff to do, but it feels better in there than it has in weeks. I'll be heading back on Wednesday to finish up.
Other than that, this week is going to be mostly about catching up and moving on. To quote Robert Earl Keen:
"It feels so good feeling good again!"
Vacation!
Nice, but it's over!
It's Monday!
Have to go back to work!
Oh well, it was nice while it lasted. Guess I got a little too involved in the "rest" side of the "rest and relaxation" thing.
I didn't get my junk room straightened.
I didn't get any blogging done.
I didn't do much of anything, really.
I did, however, nap. A lot. I got some good, much-needed rest. I'm starting to feel much more energetic and much, much better. Almost normal, in fact.
It's going to be a challenging week at work. Our session ends this week, and the week off isn't going to help anybody when test time comes. Just have to make the best of it, I guess.
I did get a little thrifting in last week. My uncle and I got together twice and hit the shops. I didn't find too much, but it was good to see him again. We went to one place I had been wanting to hit for while, but for some reason had not. It ended up being a bust, so the place is on my "visit once a year" list now. At least now I know.
Yard sales were really good this weekend. You've already seen my new friend. If not, scroll down. I also made a killer Ficher-Price score that I will write more about later.
I spent yesterday at the Peddlers Mall working on the booth. My sales have drifted down to almost nothing. My check last month was pitiful. August is usually a bad month, but not that bad. I know part of it goes back to the effort that I wasn't able to put into the space for months. During chemo, I was doing only what had to be done, and that was usually just putting new stuff out and picking stuff up off the floor. I just didn't have anything else in me.
I just now feel like I'm able to really take advantage of the larger space I have. Expanding when I did (right after my surgery) wasn't the wisest move, but it was a chance I had been waiting for. If I had let it pass, I would have had to wait a long time for that one corner to open up again.
The problem is, I can't support this space on smalls alone. At least, not the nick nacky kinds of things that have always been my stock in trade. I need more medium-sized items and small furniture. I also need to spend more time there, now that I am able to. One afternoon a week just won't cut it any more.
The fall is usually a busy time, so I'm bouncing back at the right moment. I cleared out two carts of shelf sitters and took them to the thrift downstairs. I won't be able to shop there for a month now.
Some of that stuff had been there since I opened the booth! A lot of it were things that folks have given me. I have a good line with a couple of vendors who give me their cast offs. I'll usually sell a lot of it, but there's always a piece or three that just won't do anything. Some of it came from box lots where I had sold the bulk of the items and more than made my money back. And there was one little smidge that never should have gone into the booth to begin with.
Back when I started the booth, I set back four or five tubs of stuff I got at a couple of auctions to use as "emergency" stock if I ever ran low. I never touched the stuff, so I brought it in when I wasn't feeling well. It was already priced, so it was easier to deal with. However, there's a reason I deemed the stuff for emergencies only. Clunker city! About a fourth of it sold and the rest has sat there and mocked me all summer. Well, not any more. I long ago made my money back from those auctions and then some and then some again. It's all gone now.
I put out some Halloween stuff and will have more coming this week and next. I also started a small Christmas shelf. I pulled a bunch of things to markdown as well. I didn't get to them (ran out of time), so they are still sitting in a cart. I'm hoping the manager won't notice tomorrow. I'm going to clearance them until the end of the year, then take what's left to the thrift.
Over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to pump a ton of new stuff into the space. It's time to turn this ship around!
I feel like I should turn to the camera at this point and exclaim "I'm back, bitches!" As I have no idea who the "bitches" are which I would be referring to, I'm going to refrain from doing so. I still have a massive amount of stuff to do, but it feels better in there than it has in weeks. I'll be heading back on Wednesday to finish up.
Other than that, this week is going to be mostly about catching up and moving on. To quote Robert Earl Keen:
"It feels so good feeling good again!"
Monday, July 01, 2013
Monday Rambles
I'll warn you in advance, this is one of the rambliest rambles I've put down in digital ink in ages. Get ready for a wild ride!
Another chemo week is down the pike and I'm slowly crawling out of the pit. I've figured out that part of the problem during chemo weeks is the extra pills I have to take to accommodate my shots and stuff. The Benadryl beforehand makes me so sleepy I can't stand it, so I end up going home after my shots and going to bed. By the time I wake up, the chills from the shot are setting in, so I have to take more pills. I think all the extra meds contribute to my nausea problems. I know I start feeling better by Sunday, when all of the extra stuff has filtered out of my system. Then I can start dealing with the bricks.
One more to go! One more to go! I'm filled with an equal measure of anticipation and dread. Sometimes, just thinking about going back to the cancer center makes me reflexively retch.
My grandfather passed away Saturday morning. They said he had a really rough couple of days and then passed on. I'm really glad that we went to see him week before last. He was alert and talkative then, and that's a good final memory to have. He was 94, and kind of just gave out. The last few years were pretty rough on him. Besides his own declining health, one of my uncles passed away in 2009 and then Mom died in 2010. I cannot imagine being in your 90's and yet having to bury your kids. No one expects that.
His funeral will be Tuesday, which is going to make for an odd sort of week. The Fourth was already throwing an extra day off in there, and I'm still trying to recover from missing a day of work last week due to chemo. It's going to be a short week, but one with lots of commotion, apparently.
For some reason, my sales decided to pick up over the last week and a half. That was a bright spot during the week of chemo blight. All of a sudden, I started selling large items again and making my sales targets. I finally made rent, and now I'll be getting a (very small) check. But it will be a check. Now I've got to get busy and replenish my stash of larger items. About half my floor stock of small furniture is gone. Luckily, I kind of made up for that with some weekend shopping.
I did get out to one church sale over the weekend. We actually went to two, but the second one wasn't happening until Sunday. What kind of church does that? I mean, besides the Adventists? We did end up going back on Sunday, but it was a bust. We found enough stuff at another Sunday stop to more than make up for that minor irritant. More details on that tomorrow.
Speaking of church stuff, week before last when I was working my booth, there was a woman there seated on the floor in front of my religious wall. She was going through all the pamphlets and booklets very carefully, like she was looking for certain particulars. At one point, she asked me where I found all the older Catholic resources. I kind of gave my usual hem and haw answer (junkers don't reveal their sources easily), so she asked if I was Catholic. My answer to that is always "I'm not, but my father was." She asked if I was raised Catholic. I told her that I was raised Southern Baptist. (The "Southern" part is very important--even all these years later.) I didn't mention my conscious lack of a religious affiliation these days. That seems a bit too personal for a casual conversation with a stranger.
Anyway, in the middle of all this, she says" Well, you know those guys in Rome right now aren't the Catholic Church. It's been nothing but anti-popes since 1958." OMG! I have a real-life sedevacantist on my hands! I knew that Louisville had an SSPX chapel, because I had been to an awesome yard sale there one time, but I had no idea that there was anyone in town who was so anti-Vatican II that they went to the extreme positions. Wow! Now I realize why she was looking through everything so carefully. She was checking for publication dates and imprimaturs!
She told me that she appreciated the stuff I had for sale and that it was a great resource for her and others, then left. Wow! I'm supplying goods for extreme traditionalist Catholics! Who knew? For the record, I find church politics almost as fascinating as church articles.
Day by Days: It was another solid week, for the most part, but not a spectacular one. The show was more about laying groundwork for some of the bigger action to come, as Sami prepares for trial and EJ moves ahead with his plot to take down Stefano. I'm beginning to wonder if Kate wasn't the one who swiped the razor from Rafe's room, to bog down Sami's defense. Judi Evans was excellent this week as Adrienne tried to keep her fears in check and keep from alienating her family. Sonny and Will and the baby are so cute together. Nice little moments with Nick/Will, Gabi/Nick, Kate/Sami (loved how Sami's hand kept hovering over Kate's shoulder, inches away from giving a little comfort, yet totally unable to reach out to her worst enemy), EJ/Chad and Adrienne/Jennifer. JJ continues to annoy me. The Cameron/Abby/Chad triangle looks to be boring as grass growing. Who is the rooting couple supposed to be? Durned if I know. And, we got a Lucas scene! Not enough of those these days.
Kim Thompson died recently. I was going to mention here it last week, but I forgot. He was co-publisher of Fantagraphics, which was one of my favorite comic book companies. Towards the end of my comic book days, most of what I was reading were Fanta titles. He was responsible for, among other things, bringing the works of Lewis Trondheim and Swedish artist Jason into print in English. He brought wonderful things to an impoverished American comics market, and had a tremendous impact on my own reading habits. He will be missed.
Finally a political note. (Those of you who don't really want to read this sort of thing can skip the next two paragraphs. I probably should have said that about my Days paragraph too.)
Like a lot of folks, I am celebrating the Supreme Court decision last week in the DOMA/Prop 8 cases. At the same time, I am only cautiously optimistic about the eventual results of the decision. For one thing, Keith and I still cannot get married under the laws of this state. The decision changed nothing about that. We cannot go to a state where same-sex marriage is legal, get married, and have that marriage recognized here. That part of DOMA was not in the challenge. My parents were married sixteen yers before they split. Keith and I have been together 23. My mother was able to get an increase in her Social Security when my dad died, and they weren't even married then! Me? It's not totally clear yet. That's what I get out of the decision. Not entirely clear yet.
I'm not downing the decision. It was the right one. It was a strong challenge to an unjust law. All I'm saying is that looking at the aftermath and the meaning has to be done with a careful eye. To go further, there is no federal law protecting LGBT folks from discrimination in housing or employment. Unless someone lives in one of the cities or states that offers such protection, then they can be fired or evicted simply for being gay. It's 2013, and this is still reality. It's unconscionable. We won a big deal last week. There's no doubt about that. We also still have a long ways to go.
From chemo to yard sales to soaps to Catholics to comics! From the personal to the political! I've hit the rambling gamut today, haven't I? How about that? About the only thing that didn't make it in was an Emmylou Harris mention. And now you have that.
Despite everything that's gone on this year, I have managed to stay on track with my posting goals. We are halfway through the year, and I am just a little over halfway to my posting goal of 200 posts for 2013. Blogging has helped me cope with the stress of chemo, and I appreciate your reading along with me. This week is already plotted out and pre-published, so keep checking in.
Another chemo week is down the pike and I'm slowly crawling out of the pit. I've figured out that part of the problem during chemo weeks is the extra pills I have to take to accommodate my shots and stuff. The Benadryl beforehand makes me so sleepy I can't stand it, so I end up going home after my shots and going to bed. By the time I wake up, the chills from the shot are setting in, so I have to take more pills. I think all the extra meds contribute to my nausea problems. I know I start feeling better by Sunday, when all of the extra stuff has filtered out of my system. Then I can start dealing with the bricks.
One more to go! One more to go! I'm filled with an equal measure of anticipation and dread. Sometimes, just thinking about going back to the cancer center makes me reflexively retch.
My grandfather passed away Saturday morning. They said he had a really rough couple of days and then passed on. I'm really glad that we went to see him week before last. He was alert and talkative then, and that's a good final memory to have. He was 94, and kind of just gave out. The last few years were pretty rough on him. Besides his own declining health, one of my uncles passed away in 2009 and then Mom died in 2010. I cannot imagine being in your 90's and yet having to bury your kids. No one expects that.
His funeral will be Tuesday, which is going to make for an odd sort of week. The Fourth was already throwing an extra day off in there, and I'm still trying to recover from missing a day of work last week due to chemo. It's going to be a short week, but one with lots of commotion, apparently.
For some reason, my sales decided to pick up over the last week and a half. That was a bright spot during the week of chemo blight. All of a sudden, I started selling large items again and making my sales targets. I finally made rent, and now I'll be getting a (very small) check. But it will be a check. Now I've got to get busy and replenish my stash of larger items. About half my floor stock of small furniture is gone. Luckily, I kind of made up for that with some weekend shopping.
I did get out to one church sale over the weekend. We actually went to two, but the second one wasn't happening until Sunday. What kind of church does that? I mean, besides the Adventists? We did end up going back on Sunday, but it was a bust. We found enough stuff at another Sunday stop to more than make up for that minor irritant. More details on that tomorrow.
Speaking of church stuff, week before last when I was working my booth, there was a woman there seated on the floor in front of my religious wall. She was going through all the pamphlets and booklets very carefully, like she was looking for certain particulars. At one point, she asked me where I found all the older Catholic resources. I kind of gave my usual hem and haw answer (junkers don't reveal their sources easily), so she asked if I was Catholic. My answer to that is always "I'm not, but my father was." She asked if I was raised Catholic. I told her that I was raised Southern Baptist. (The "Southern" part is very important--even all these years later.) I didn't mention my conscious lack of a religious affiliation these days. That seems a bit too personal for a casual conversation with a stranger.
Anyway, in the middle of all this, she says" Well, you know those guys in Rome right now aren't the Catholic Church. It's been nothing but anti-popes since 1958." OMG! I have a real-life sedevacantist on my hands! I knew that Louisville had an SSPX chapel, because I had been to an awesome yard sale there one time, but I had no idea that there was anyone in town who was so anti-Vatican II that they went to the extreme positions. Wow! Now I realize why she was looking through everything so carefully. She was checking for publication dates and imprimaturs!
She told me that she appreciated the stuff I had for sale and that it was a great resource for her and others, then left. Wow! I'm supplying goods for extreme traditionalist Catholics! Who knew? For the record, I find church politics almost as fascinating as church articles.
Day by Days: It was another solid week, for the most part, but not a spectacular one. The show was more about laying groundwork for some of the bigger action to come, as Sami prepares for trial and EJ moves ahead with his plot to take down Stefano. I'm beginning to wonder if Kate wasn't the one who swiped the razor from Rafe's room, to bog down Sami's defense. Judi Evans was excellent this week as Adrienne tried to keep her fears in check and keep from alienating her family. Sonny and Will and the baby are so cute together. Nice little moments with Nick/Will, Gabi/Nick, Kate/Sami (loved how Sami's hand kept hovering over Kate's shoulder, inches away from giving a little comfort, yet totally unable to reach out to her worst enemy), EJ/Chad and Adrienne/Jennifer. JJ continues to annoy me. The Cameron/Abby/Chad triangle looks to be boring as grass growing. Who is the rooting couple supposed to be? Durned if I know. And, we got a Lucas scene! Not enough of those these days.
Kim Thompson died recently. I was going to mention here it last week, but I forgot. He was co-publisher of Fantagraphics, which was one of my favorite comic book companies. Towards the end of my comic book days, most of what I was reading were Fanta titles. He was responsible for, among other things, bringing the works of Lewis Trondheim and Swedish artist Jason into print in English. He brought wonderful things to an impoverished American comics market, and had a tremendous impact on my own reading habits. He will be missed.
Finally a political note. (Those of you who don't really want to read this sort of thing can skip the next two paragraphs. I probably should have said that about my Days paragraph too.)
Like a lot of folks, I am celebrating the Supreme Court decision last week in the DOMA/Prop 8 cases. At the same time, I am only cautiously optimistic about the eventual results of the decision. For one thing, Keith and I still cannot get married under the laws of this state. The decision changed nothing about that. We cannot go to a state where same-sex marriage is legal, get married, and have that marriage recognized here. That part of DOMA was not in the challenge. My parents were married sixteen yers before they split. Keith and I have been together 23. My mother was able to get an increase in her Social Security when my dad died, and they weren't even married then! Me? It's not totally clear yet. That's what I get out of the decision. Not entirely clear yet.
I'm not downing the decision. It was the right one. It was a strong challenge to an unjust law. All I'm saying is that looking at the aftermath and the meaning has to be done with a careful eye. To go further, there is no federal law protecting LGBT folks from discrimination in housing or employment. Unless someone lives in one of the cities or states that offers such protection, then they can be fired or evicted simply for being gay. It's 2013, and this is still reality. It's unconscionable. We won a big deal last week. There's no doubt about that. We also still have a long ways to go.
From chemo to yard sales to soaps to Catholics to comics! From the personal to the political! I've hit the rambling gamut today, haven't I? How about that? About the only thing that didn't make it in was an Emmylou Harris mention. And now you have that.
Despite everything that's gone on this year, I have managed to stay on track with my posting goals. We are halfway through the year, and I am just a little over halfway to my posting goal of 200 posts for 2013. Blogging has helped me cope with the stress of chemo, and I appreciate your reading along with me. This week is already plotted out and pre-published, so keep checking in.
Monday, May 27, 2013
Memorial Monday Rambles
Sorry to have dropped out of blog-sight last week, but I spent a lot of the week too tired to do anything except go to work and then go to bed. I thought last week was going to be my "good week," but I think I learned that there aren't really any "good" weeks any more. There are tired weeks and then tireder weeks. The goddam bricks are everywhere these days, it seems.
I have my next round of chemo tomorrow. I can't wait to see what new fun it brings! Okay, so really I can wait. A very, very long time, in fact. Unfortunately, I am not able to wait, so bring on the next round of toxic fill up!
I have been kind of pleased with my blog totals for the year. I am on pace to meet my 200 posts for 2013, even with my forced vacations. I really have tried to keep up with the blog as one of my ways of coping with everything. Plus, having to finish a post before I leave for work gives me an extra incentive to get out of bed. I need all the incentives I can get, since the bricks provide their own kind of incentive to stay in bed.
Sales have sucked all week. I've not had a decent day at either site, which means my monthly totals are going to suck. It's extra discouraging right now because it takes so much out of me to really work the booth the way it needs to be done. I worked several hours on Friday with a foof and redo that hasn't yielded any results. I could have phoned it in and been a lot less tired.
Worse yet, I had a text the other day about some AnnaLee dolls I have at one of the booths. I've got 10 of them, very reasonably priced. Someone wanted all of them and was inquiring about a discount. I am more than happy to deal in a case like that and offered a very generous 20% off, which was turned down flat. Pissed me off too. That would have really turned my month around.
There's a customer entitlement mentality you run into selling secondhand stuff, particularly vintage items. Some folks have the idea that you ought to be so glad they have deigned to take an interest in your shit that you should mark it down to next to nothing, then carry it out to the car for them. I don't have any problem saying "no thanks" to that. Many of them turn out to be dealers, too. It's enough to make one cynical.
Until you turn around and have a pretty good day yard saling. The day started off with a decent sale right down the street from me and kept going all day long. Every stop ended up being worth it, and that almost never happens. I'm kicking myself over a couple of chairs and some wicker that I didn't get, but I listened to what the bricks were saying instead of my instincts. They would have required a run to both booths that day, and I didn't think I was up to it. Damn bricks talk too loud sometimes.
I ended that day at a vendor mall that's closing at the end of the month. Lots of the dealers were in their spaces marking things down, so they wouldn't have to take them out in a few days. I found a few things there.
I think that I'm well set for this next round of chemo, just in case I end up not being able to make it to any sales or thrifts this go around. I'll be taking some larger items into the booths this week, if I'm able, to give it the quick and easy approach to a new appearance.
The third anniversary of Mom's death is this week. I'm trying to get a post for that finished, but I may be off by a few days, depending on how I feel. I'm trying to take advantage of having today off in order to take care of some things that need to be done this week.
There's a terrible lot of whining in this post. Sorry about that. Being tired all the time makes me grumpy. I hope everyone has a good holiday. Travel safely. And take it from the dude with melanoma: Wear a hat when you're out in the sun and use lots of sunscreen!
I have my next round of chemo tomorrow. I can't wait to see what new fun it brings! Okay, so really I can wait. A very, very long time, in fact. Unfortunately, I am not able to wait, so bring on the next round of toxic fill up!
I have been kind of pleased with my blog totals for the year. I am on pace to meet my 200 posts for 2013, even with my forced vacations. I really have tried to keep up with the blog as one of my ways of coping with everything. Plus, having to finish a post before I leave for work gives me an extra incentive to get out of bed. I need all the incentives I can get, since the bricks provide their own kind of incentive to stay in bed.
Sales have sucked all week. I've not had a decent day at either site, which means my monthly totals are going to suck. It's extra discouraging right now because it takes so much out of me to really work the booth the way it needs to be done. I worked several hours on Friday with a foof and redo that hasn't yielded any results. I could have phoned it in and been a lot less tired.
Worse yet, I had a text the other day about some AnnaLee dolls I have at one of the booths. I've got 10 of them, very reasonably priced. Someone wanted all of them and was inquiring about a discount. I am more than happy to deal in a case like that and offered a very generous 20% off, which was turned down flat. Pissed me off too. That would have really turned my month around.
There's a customer entitlement mentality you run into selling secondhand stuff, particularly vintage items. Some folks have the idea that you ought to be so glad they have deigned to take an interest in your shit that you should mark it down to next to nothing, then carry it out to the car for them. I don't have any problem saying "no thanks" to that. Many of them turn out to be dealers, too. It's enough to make one cynical.
Until you turn around and have a pretty good day yard saling. The day started off with a decent sale right down the street from me and kept going all day long. Every stop ended up being worth it, and that almost never happens. I'm kicking myself over a couple of chairs and some wicker that I didn't get, but I listened to what the bricks were saying instead of my instincts. They would have required a run to both booths that day, and I didn't think I was up to it. Damn bricks talk too loud sometimes.
I ended that day at a vendor mall that's closing at the end of the month. Lots of the dealers were in their spaces marking things down, so they wouldn't have to take them out in a few days. I found a few things there.
 |
| Yeah. Just a few. |
I think that I'm well set for this next round of chemo, just in case I end up not being able to make it to any sales or thrifts this go around. I'll be taking some larger items into the booths this week, if I'm able, to give it the quick and easy approach to a new appearance.
The third anniversary of Mom's death is this week. I'm trying to get a post for that finished, but I may be off by a few days, depending on how I feel. I'm trying to take advantage of having today off in order to take care of some things that need to be done this week.
There's a terrible lot of whining in this post. Sorry about that. Being tired all the time makes me grumpy. I hope everyone has a good holiday. Travel safely. And take it from the dude with melanoma: Wear a hat when you're out in the sun and use lots of sunscreen!
Monday, April 01, 2013
Monday Rambles
One day last week, I was getting ready for work in the morning, when I suddenly burst into this song. Right when I got to the line about putting on make-up, I instantly transitioned to this song. My only thought at the time was: "People at work today better watch out!"
I have no idea what brought the songfest on, but I think part of it was the end of my chemo cycle. I go for my second infusion tomorrow, so I think it's filtered out to the point where I'm on the (brief) upswing until the next round.
It was a pretty perky week overall, although I did end up having to take a couple of rest breaks along the line.
Sales were weak at the beginning, but closed out strong. I ended at Peddlers with my highest since Christmas. I'm in the range I need to be for the larger space, finally. I hope that I can maintain it. I did sell several smaller pieces of furniture that edged things along: a barstool, an old office chair and a CD/DVD rack. I need to keep my eyes peeled for more stuff like that. I also had a bonanza day, where I sold over 80 dollars worth of stuff off the St Attica wall. Someone went home with a LOT of Madonna figurines, plastic rosaries, and prayer leaflets. Then on the next to the last day of the month, I sold nearly 40 comic books. I get exhausted just thinking about it, sometimes!
I had the same kind of end of the month spurt at YesterNook too, where I sold nearly everything I had in the rough room in one day. Sometimes, I don't feel so competent about my ability to handle larger items, so days like that give me a much-needed ego boost.
On Friday, I had to meet with my surgeon to fix a boo-boo on Beátriz, my scar. She's healing well everywhere, but on one end a little fiber poked up through the skin and started to get irritated. The doc plucked it right out, and everything was fine! It was a subcutaneous stitch that kind of went the wrong way when it started to dissolve. Sometimes it happens.
I also had an appointment with my primary care doc on Friday. I love my doctor. He's caring, intelligent, talks openly, and listens well--everything you want in a doctor, in other words. One thing I hate most about this cancer thing is that he's become just one in a horde of doctors that I have to see. It's just another appointment in an unending line of appointments. It makes me a little sad.
There really weren't any sales worth hitting this weekend, and it was still quite foggy at 9:00 am.m, so I stayed in. If anyone had set up in that dense fog, then the stuff would be all damp. I just didn't want to mess with it.
I'd been intending for a long time to rescue what I thought were a couple of tubs of stuff from the early days of the booth that got buried in the shed. I figured that would make up the booth load for the week and I would get some shed space out of it. What I found were nearly a dozen tubs and boxes that I had completely forgotten about, some of it already priced!
I yanked it all out and brought it in the house. The priced stuff will go to Peddlers Mall today. The rest of it, I will price over the month and take in a bit at a time. This kind of takes the pressure off me to find new stuff, in case I have some chemo reactions this month. I can sit in bed and price stuff, if need be.
There's an added bonus, too. If I do feel up to the hunt, I can put more effort into furniture and large items, knowing that I have the small stuff under control for a bit. Woo hoo! Since I have no idea what's in these boxes, it's also like shopping twice. Not that I recommend letting shit sit hidden away forever not making you any money, mind you. I'm just looking for the upsides in being this disorganized.
This is chemo week. I get my second infusion on Tuesday, followed by IL2 shots on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. It's also a light work week. I only go in on Monday and Wednesday, for a few hours each day. That should give me time to rest, if needed. I'll try to post an update here, if one is needed.
I am taking the liberty of pre-loading some posts for the week, so keep checking back. There will be some content here. I'll get back with you when I can. I managed to do pretty well with posting in March and am back on track with my goal. I hope to be able to keep that up this month.
I have no idea what brought the songfest on, but I think part of it was the end of my chemo cycle. I go for my second infusion tomorrow, so I think it's filtered out to the point where I'm on the (brief) upswing until the next round.
It was a pretty perky week overall, although I did end up having to take a couple of rest breaks along the line.
Sales were weak at the beginning, but closed out strong. I ended at Peddlers with my highest since Christmas. I'm in the range I need to be for the larger space, finally. I hope that I can maintain it. I did sell several smaller pieces of furniture that edged things along: a barstool, an old office chair and a CD/DVD rack. I need to keep my eyes peeled for more stuff like that. I also had a bonanza day, where I sold over 80 dollars worth of stuff off the St Attica wall. Someone went home with a LOT of Madonna figurines, plastic rosaries, and prayer leaflets. Then on the next to the last day of the month, I sold nearly 40 comic books. I get exhausted just thinking about it, sometimes!
I had the same kind of end of the month spurt at YesterNook too, where I sold nearly everything I had in the rough room in one day. Sometimes, I don't feel so competent about my ability to handle larger items, so days like that give me a much-needed ego boost.
On Friday, I had to meet with my surgeon to fix a boo-boo on Beátriz, my scar. She's healing well everywhere, but on one end a little fiber poked up through the skin and started to get irritated. The doc plucked it right out, and everything was fine! It was a subcutaneous stitch that kind of went the wrong way when it started to dissolve. Sometimes it happens.
I also had an appointment with my primary care doc on Friday. I love my doctor. He's caring, intelligent, talks openly, and listens well--everything you want in a doctor, in other words. One thing I hate most about this cancer thing is that he's become just one in a horde of doctors that I have to see. It's just another appointment in an unending line of appointments. It makes me a little sad.
There really weren't any sales worth hitting this weekend, and it was still quite foggy at 9:00 am.m, so I stayed in. If anyone had set up in that dense fog, then the stuff would be all damp. I just didn't want to mess with it.
I'd been intending for a long time to rescue what I thought were a couple of tubs of stuff from the early days of the booth that got buried in the shed. I figured that would make up the booth load for the week and I would get some shed space out of it. What I found were nearly a dozen tubs and boxes that I had completely forgotten about, some of it already priced!
I yanked it all out and brought it in the house. The priced stuff will go to Peddlers Mall today. The rest of it, I will price over the month and take in a bit at a time. This kind of takes the pressure off me to find new stuff, in case I have some chemo reactions this month. I can sit in bed and price stuff, if need be.
There's an added bonus, too. If I do feel up to the hunt, I can put more effort into furniture and large items, knowing that I have the small stuff under control for a bit. Woo hoo! Since I have no idea what's in these boxes, it's also like shopping twice. Not that I recommend letting shit sit hidden away forever not making you any money, mind you. I'm just looking for the upsides in being this disorganized.
This is chemo week. I get my second infusion on Tuesday, followed by IL2 shots on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. It's also a light work week. I only go in on Monday and Wednesday, for a few hours each day. That should give me time to rest, if needed. I'll try to post an update here, if one is needed.
I am taking the liberty of pre-loading some posts for the week, so keep checking back. There will be some content here. I'll get back with you when I can. I managed to do pretty well with posting in March and am back on track with my goal. I hope to be able to keep that up this month.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Monday Rambles
I'm on the road for work this week. It's not the best time, but plans for this trip were made before my surgery. I'm still tiring out from time to time, but mostly, I'm up for this. The trip is to Washington state and I'll be back on Wednesday. Hopefully, since I'm flying, I'll just rest and not be too uncomfy.
Radiation is going okay, I think. Two sessions down. Three to go. The main effect at this time seems to be dry mouth, dry throat and thirst, which I think is due to the spot they're aiming at, which is along my jawline and side of my neck. The most surprising thing about the treatment so far is how boring it is.
You hear the word "radiation" and you start thinking about glowing rays and flashing lights and buzzing stuff (and superpowers!), but the reality is the lights stay on, you lay on the narrow board and nothing dramatic at all happens. And then you get up, put your clothes on and leave. The effects hit you later.
I know I'm lucky in terms of the treatment I'm getting. It's localized to the surgery area, instead of aimed at several locations on my body, which minimizes any side effects. It's also not a very deep treatment. Of course, side effects are cumulative effects, so there may still be some yet to come. We'll see. I'll keep you informed.
Not to get anyone's hopes up, but I believe I may actually be getting a superpower after all. It requires more testing and investigation, but I've had two experiences lately that seem to point in that direction. Twice now, I have been thinking about moving an object from one booth to the other, and that object has sold the day after I started thinking about it! I could live with that as a power. I'm currently testing it by thinking about moving some AnnaLee clowns.
I came out of January okay saleswise, but February has been weak everywhere. Peddler's sales are through the roof, but people seem to be avoiding my spots like they're cursed. C'mon people! This is tax time! I know I'm not spending near enough time with either spot right now, but I am giving them everything I've got. Or at least it feels like it.
We had to run some errands on Saturday, so I did hit a few thrifts. It was pretty much a bust. One was having a half off sale, but the prices on the good stuff were still too high to make them worthwhile. It was weird to see that one of them still had a Christmas display set up! Really? I did get a few small things, but mostly there wasn't anything that was worth the time. Sigh!
Well, enough rambling. I've got to wrap up a couple more things before I head to the airport. See you!
Radiation is going okay, I think. Two sessions down. Three to go. The main effect at this time seems to be dry mouth, dry throat and thirst, which I think is due to the spot they're aiming at, which is along my jawline and side of my neck. The most surprising thing about the treatment so far is how boring it is.
You hear the word "radiation" and you start thinking about glowing rays and flashing lights and buzzing stuff (and superpowers!), but the reality is the lights stay on, you lay on the narrow board and nothing dramatic at all happens. And then you get up, put your clothes on and leave. The effects hit you later.
I know I'm lucky in terms of the treatment I'm getting. It's localized to the surgery area, instead of aimed at several locations on my body, which minimizes any side effects. It's also not a very deep treatment. Of course, side effects are cumulative effects, so there may still be some yet to come. We'll see. I'll keep you informed.
Not to get anyone's hopes up, but I believe I may actually be getting a superpower after all. It requires more testing and investigation, but I've had two experiences lately that seem to point in that direction. Twice now, I have been thinking about moving an object from one booth to the other, and that object has sold the day after I started thinking about it! I could live with that as a power. I'm currently testing it by thinking about moving some AnnaLee clowns.
I came out of January okay saleswise, but February has been weak everywhere. Peddler's sales are through the roof, but people seem to be avoiding my spots like they're cursed. C'mon people! This is tax time! I know I'm not spending near enough time with either spot right now, but I am giving them everything I've got. Or at least it feels like it.
We had to run some errands on Saturday, so I did hit a few thrifts. It was pretty much a bust. One was having a half off sale, but the prices on the good stuff were still too high to make them worthwhile. It was weird to see that one of them still had a Christmas display set up! Really? I did get a few small things, but mostly there wasn't anything that was worth the time. Sigh!
Well, enough rambling. I've got to wrap up a couple more things before I head to the airport. See you!
Sunday, January 06, 2013
December Sales
I guess it kind of goes without saying that December got a little chaotic toward the end of the month. I had an awful lot going on and did not keep up with my spaces the way I should have. One of the benefits of planning for holiday resale, though, is that your year-round planning can keep your space running, even if you cannot be as attentive as you need to be. Because I had everything out that I needed to have out at the times that I needed to have them out, I was able to get by with brief straightening and tidying visits, instead of massive stock time.
I guess the true proof is in the pudding, because, when all was said and done, December was my second-best month overall for 2013. I had lots of high dollar days and sold lots of my holiday items. I haven't gone through everything, but I'm thinking I had about a 75-80% sell through on my holiday stuff, including several things that had been left from previous years. When I clean out the Xmas stuff this week, I plan on donating anything that's been through a couple of seasons with me and creating a pretty clean slate for next year. Thanks to some good sales in December, that donation will be smaller than I thought.
I got really lucky in early November when I was given a huge bunch of stuff in payment for some work I had done. It was all Xmas, and it was the gift that kept on giving, week in and week out. A good portion of it was Xmas village houses and people and stuff, which proved to be strong, steady sellers. I had so many of them that I got tired of pricing them. I tossed a whole bunch of the lesser quality houses in a box with a lot price. Sold it too!
I've been trying to make note of the things that did well (and less so) for me this year, so I can keep my eyes open for them. Wrapping paper did really well for me. I simply have to have some for next year. Xmas cards, not so much, unless they were vintage. I sold a lot of Xmas dishes, but most of them did not sell until after the holidays, oddly enough. Also odd (to me at least), very few of my AnnaLee mice sold. Not sure what was up with that.
Anyway, chaotic or not, December turned out to be good for me, sales-wise. I hope it was for you as well. Maybe it's going to be a good sign for 2013. We'll see.
I guess the true proof is in the pudding, because, when all was said and done, December was my second-best month overall for 2013. I had lots of high dollar days and sold lots of my holiday items. I haven't gone through everything, but I'm thinking I had about a 75-80% sell through on my holiday stuff, including several things that had been left from previous years. When I clean out the Xmas stuff this week, I plan on donating anything that's been through a couple of seasons with me and creating a pretty clean slate for next year. Thanks to some good sales in December, that donation will be smaller than I thought.
I got really lucky in early November when I was given a huge bunch of stuff in payment for some work I had done. It was all Xmas, and it was the gift that kept on giving, week in and week out. A good portion of it was Xmas village houses and people and stuff, which proved to be strong, steady sellers. I had so many of them that I got tired of pricing them. I tossed a whole bunch of the lesser quality houses in a box with a lot price. Sold it too!
I've been trying to make note of the things that did well (and less so) for me this year, so I can keep my eyes open for them. Wrapping paper did really well for me. I simply have to have some for next year. Xmas cards, not so much, unless they were vintage. I sold a lot of Xmas dishes, but most of them did not sell until after the holidays, oddly enough. Also odd (to me at least), very few of my AnnaLee mice sold. Not sure what was up with that.
Anyway, chaotic or not, December turned out to be good for me, sales-wise. I hope it was for you as well. Maybe it's going to be a good sign for 2013. We'll see.
Thursday, November 08, 2012
October Sales
Just a quick wrap up at last month's sales and a look ahead to the next couple of months. October ended up pretty good at both spaces. I did have some slow days, but I also had my highest day ever at YesterNook. While I do wish that there had been a touch more regularity throughout the month, I really can't complain. I'm moving furniture at YesterNook again and my books are selling well there too.
The Halloween display at Peddlers Mall did really well. I had another 75-80% sell through on it, which is the same rate as last year, but with a larger amount of merch this year. All my skulls eventually sold. The large skeletons sold, but the smaller ones did not. I think it's because they were supposed to have eyes that light up. Since these didn't have batteries in them, they didn't and folks were probably leery about that. Next year, I'll get some cheapie Dollar Store batteries and put them in, then raise the price a buck and see what happens.
One thing that did not sell well was the costumes. I still had over half of them left, including an expensive baby costume from Carters. Next year, it goes to YesterNook. I think just having them all in a tub hurt the sales, so I'll have to come up with a new way to display them next year. In the meantime, I'm not buying any more.
I've pretty much wrapped up my post-Halloween clearance shopping. I scored some of the most awesome skeletons ever for dirt cheap. They're going to get priced and head to storage for next year. I'm already excited about it! The display will be awesome. I ended up with about four tubs of stuff again. That amount seemed to work well this year, so I think I'll stick with it. I'm not ruling out picking up some stuff at a yard sale or thrift, particularly mock tombstones (which sold well) and vintage stuff (which is so freaking hard to find), but I think Halloween 2013 is set.
Now it's on to Christmas! Oh yeah, and Thanksgiving. My mother used to say that she wanted to buy a bunch of frozen turkeys and put them in her yard, because no one ever decorated for Thanksgiving the way they do for Halloween and Christmas. I've got a nice Thanksgiving thing going, but it's not really that large. If I make it too big, I have lots of leftovers. I did find some Thanksgiving stuff already on clearance with the Halloween stuff, so I bought it to add to my display.
My Christmas stuff is already selling well. My new gift items are moving nicely. I put about a third of them out, and I'm already going to have to restock. That's a good sign. Decorations are selling too, especially Snoopy and Disney stuff, and I haven't even put out much of the newer items yet. I'm anticipating a good holiday season.
We'll have to see how that goes. Check back next month for more!
The Halloween display at Peddlers Mall did really well. I had another 75-80% sell through on it, which is the same rate as last year, but with a larger amount of merch this year. All my skulls eventually sold. The large skeletons sold, but the smaller ones did not. I think it's because they were supposed to have eyes that light up. Since these didn't have batteries in them, they didn't and folks were probably leery about that. Next year, I'll get some cheapie Dollar Store batteries and put them in, then raise the price a buck and see what happens.
One thing that did not sell well was the costumes. I still had over half of them left, including an expensive baby costume from Carters. Next year, it goes to YesterNook. I think just having them all in a tub hurt the sales, so I'll have to come up with a new way to display them next year. In the meantime, I'm not buying any more.
I've pretty much wrapped up my post-Halloween clearance shopping. I scored some of the most awesome skeletons ever for dirt cheap. They're going to get priced and head to storage for next year. I'm already excited about it! The display will be awesome. I ended up with about four tubs of stuff again. That amount seemed to work well this year, so I think I'll stick with it. I'm not ruling out picking up some stuff at a yard sale or thrift, particularly mock tombstones (which sold well) and vintage stuff (which is so freaking hard to find), but I think Halloween 2013 is set.
Now it's on to Christmas! Oh yeah, and Thanksgiving. My mother used to say that she wanted to buy a bunch of frozen turkeys and put them in her yard, because no one ever decorated for Thanksgiving the way they do for Halloween and Christmas. I've got a nice Thanksgiving thing going, but it's not really that large. If I make it too big, I have lots of leftovers. I did find some Thanksgiving stuff already on clearance with the Halloween stuff, so I bought it to add to my display.
My Christmas stuff is already selling well. My new gift items are moving nicely. I put about a third of them out, and I'm already going to have to restock. That's a good sign. Decorations are selling too, especially Snoopy and Disney stuff, and I haven't even put out much of the newer items yet. I'm anticipating a good holiday season.
We'll have to see how that goes. Check back next month for more!
Monday, October 15, 2012
Monday Rambles
I'm finishing this up on Sunday, as I usually do, but I may or may not be able to get it posted. We've already had a brief power outage, which was preceded by several flickers, due to strong winds. We'll just have to see. It's kind of like Spring usually is around here.
There's only one thing worse than getting a sales email that says you only sold 59 cents at your booth. That would be not receiving one at all the next night. Typically, that means that there was an email glitch, but coming after such a low night, you just can't say that for sure. Happily, I got one (for 36 bucks) the night after the missing mail, and some quick math revealed I really did have sales, so it was just a glitch.
As you can guess from the 59 cent thing, it was kind of a low sales week, although I had a couple of good days at the Peddlers Mall. Still no skull sales. What do people have against skulls??
We set out Saturday on a yard sale journey that we expected would last until about 1:00. That's pretty typical. Why were we dragging back home at 7:00 that night?? We are still wondering where the day went. We did make some good finds for all that time out. I also had a couple of strange life flashbacks that I'll be writing about later on.
Things to never, ever believe when a junker says them: "I'm not really going to buy any more today. I think we have enough and the car is getting full." This is typically followed by emerging from a Goodwill with a vintage padded bench! It was six bucks. I couldn't leave it! Keith just rolls his eyes at me any more.
Last week's Love Match has been made. I have no idea how the happy couple is doing, but it left me with a good feeling in my heart and a nice jump in my sales report.
If you've been following my bargaining tips, I have a new one to add to the list of things not to do. At a church sale on Saturday, a gentleman was trying to buy several pairs of socks and a pair of shoes. I had a huge box of stuff that I was paying for at the same time. When he was told that the socks were 50 cents a pair, he loudly exclaimed: "I'd rather pay 25 cents!" My immediate thought was that I would "rather" walk out with all this shit without paying for it, but it ain't gonna happen! Needless to say, the women running the sale were not impressed.
I've got a lot to do this week. Several irons that I've had in the fire are due to come out, and my work hours pick up just a tad. Better to be busy than bored, I guess. I should have posts every day, though.
There's only one thing worse than getting a sales email that says you only sold 59 cents at your booth. That would be not receiving one at all the next night. Typically, that means that there was an email glitch, but coming after such a low night, you just can't say that for sure. Happily, I got one (for 36 bucks) the night after the missing mail, and some quick math revealed I really did have sales, so it was just a glitch.
As you can guess from the 59 cent thing, it was kind of a low sales week, although I had a couple of good days at the Peddlers Mall. Still no skull sales. What do people have against skulls??
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| We need a new home! |
Things to never, ever believe when a junker says them: "I'm not really going to buy any more today. I think we have enough and the car is getting full." This is typically followed by emerging from a Goodwill with a vintage padded bench! It was six bucks. I couldn't leave it! Keith just rolls his eyes at me any more.
Last week's Love Match has been made. I have no idea how the happy couple is doing, but it left me with a good feeling in my heart and a nice jump in my sales report.
If you've been following my bargaining tips, I have a new one to add to the list of things not to do. At a church sale on Saturday, a gentleman was trying to buy several pairs of socks and a pair of shoes. I had a huge box of stuff that I was paying for at the same time. When he was told that the socks were 50 cents a pair, he loudly exclaimed: "I'd rather pay 25 cents!" My immediate thought was that I would "rather" walk out with all this shit without paying for it, but it ain't gonna happen! Needless to say, the women running the sale were not impressed.
I've got a lot to do this week. Several irons that I've had in the fire are due to come out, and my work hours pick up just a tad. Better to be busy than bored, I guess. I should have posts every day, though.
Wednesday, October 03, 2012
September Sales
Well, September is certainly the month I've been waiting for all summer! Cooler temps and better sales! The fall bounce has begun!
I didn't exactly set sale records, mind you, but they were up at both sites compared to previous months. After a long, hot, somewhat discouraging August, that was most welcome.
At YesterNook, I was really surprised by some unexpected furniture sales. I'm talking pieces that had been there pretty much since the store opened. And they are gone and I am happy. I haven't been looking for furniture too much of late, because it just doesn't sell that well for me, but now I can keep an eye out for a couple of good pieces.
Meanwhile, at the Peddlers Mall, it was all about books, comics, religious items, and, of course, Halloween! The killer Halloween display created a most welcome end of the month bump, and all indications seem to be that it will keep bumping for a few weeks yet. I've already sold all my tombstones, lots of the make up and fake blood, many of the party favors, but not that many skulls.
What it all adds up to this go around is a couple of good checks and one very happy vendor! Let's see how it plays out for this month!
I didn't exactly set sale records, mind you, but they were up at both sites compared to previous months. After a long, hot, somewhat discouraging August, that was most welcome.
At YesterNook, I was really surprised by some unexpected furniture sales. I'm talking pieces that had been there pretty much since the store opened. And they are gone and I am happy. I haven't been looking for furniture too much of late, because it just doesn't sell that well for me, but now I can keep an eye out for a couple of good pieces.
Meanwhile, at the Peddlers Mall, it was all about books, comics, religious items, and, of course, Halloween! The killer Halloween display created a most welcome end of the month bump, and all indications seem to be that it will keep bumping for a few weeks yet. I've already sold all my tombstones, lots of the make up and fake blood, many of the party favors, but not that many skulls.
What it all adds up to this go around is a couple of good checks and one very happy vendor! Let's see how it plays out for this month!
Wednesday, September 05, 2012
August Sales Report
I told you I hate August. Over and over again, I told you. And you looked at me with bog, blank eyes and asked "What has August ever done to you?"
Well, here's my answer: THE LOWEST SALES MONTH OF THE FRIKKIN' YEAR!!!
It's not like it was unexpected. After doing this re-sale thing for a while, you get the hang of how the months tend to run. It is still just a tad frustrating, though. I mean you still work as hard during the slow months, even if the payback is lower. Things still get messy and need to be tidied. Some things still sell and need to be replaced. The hunt for good merch is eternal.
When I say that August is weak, I don't mean that sales pretty much stop on the first and don't pick back up until the 31st. There are still some good days amidst the doldrums. The week and a half or so at the beginning of the month before school starts can be okay. The problem is that, once things fall off during that first week of school, at some point they've got to really bounce back to make up for the lag. In August, that doesn't happen right away, because the start of school is followed shortly by the State Fair, which lasts a week and half and covers two weekends. After that, there isn't enough month left to allow for sufficient bounce back. Them's the breaks, as they say.
Bounce back is hard to achieve under the best of circumstances. When you have a few days with a sales lag, the next few days need to not only be at their normal strong sales level to maintain your course for the month, they need to be extra strong to make up for the weak days. You don't always get that extra boost.
I will say this, however, about the month just ended: It could have been a lot worse. I had very strong weekends at both sites throughout the fair, which was a very nice surprise. Plus, I had a super end of month bounce at YesterNook that left me wishing for one or two more days in the month to keep it going. Alas, that was not to be. Sigh.
In the end, it was a typical August--lowest sales month of the year. I did come out ahead at the end of things, though. In that regard, I can't complain too much, although that's never stopped me before.
The good thing about slow months is that they eventually come to en end. August has gone, and the much stronger fall sales months have begun. I'll see you next month, with a much better report.
Well, here's my answer: THE LOWEST SALES MONTH OF THE FRIKKIN' YEAR!!!
It's not like it was unexpected. After doing this re-sale thing for a while, you get the hang of how the months tend to run. It is still just a tad frustrating, though. I mean you still work as hard during the slow months, even if the payback is lower. Things still get messy and need to be tidied. Some things still sell and need to be replaced. The hunt for good merch is eternal.
When I say that August is weak, I don't mean that sales pretty much stop on the first and don't pick back up until the 31st. There are still some good days amidst the doldrums. The week and a half or so at the beginning of the month before school starts can be okay. The problem is that, once things fall off during that first week of school, at some point they've got to really bounce back to make up for the lag. In August, that doesn't happen right away, because the start of school is followed shortly by the State Fair, which lasts a week and half and covers two weekends. After that, there isn't enough month left to allow for sufficient bounce back. Them's the breaks, as they say.
Bounce back is hard to achieve under the best of circumstances. When you have a few days with a sales lag, the next few days need to not only be at their normal strong sales level to maintain your course for the month, they need to be extra strong to make up for the weak days. You don't always get that extra boost.
I will say this, however, about the month just ended: It could have been a lot worse. I had very strong weekends at both sites throughout the fair, which was a very nice surprise. Plus, I had a super end of month bounce at YesterNook that left me wishing for one or two more days in the month to keep it going. Alas, that was not to be. Sigh.
In the end, it was a typical August--lowest sales month of the year. I did come out ahead at the end of things, though. In that regard, I can't complain too much, although that's never stopped me before.
The good thing about slow months is that they eventually come to en end. August has gone, and the much stronger fall sales months have begun. I'll see you next month, with a much better report.
Thursday, August 09, 2012
July Sales Report
Need to get back in the habit of doing these, but I seem to forget every month. So, here goes.
April may be the cruelest month, but July is the hottest. And this July was particularly hot. So hot, in fact, that we kind of crossed the line from "hot enough to drive people inside to shop in cool stores" to "hot enough that people don't want to leave their damn houses for anything." And, it showed.
Still, despite the heat, I had a record month at the Peddlers Mall. Most of this was due to one sale--a large, and for me, quite expensive item. In other words, this was an aberration. Opportunities like that do not come along all the time, unfortunately. Taking that piece out of the equation yields a normal month--not spectacular, but pretty good, all things considered.
Unfortunately, the same doesn't hold true for my other spot. Consistent sales at a consistent level continues to elude me. And, at this point, I'm not sure what to do about it. I held a sale over the 4th that didn't really help. I've cleared some stuff out. I've rearranged. I've stamped my feet and held my breath until my face turned blue. Nothing seems to help. I do have very good days there, don't get me wrong. Just not nearly enough of them. And the ones that aren't good are very not good. I'm stuck.
I'm hoping when we enter the busier time of the fall that things will pick up there for me. If not, I may need to make some tough decisions.
Regardless, this month is going to be a challenge everywhere. August brings both back to school and the State Fair, which is held here in Louisville. In other words, a double whammy of income drain that leads to lower sales for re-sellers. Such is the life.
Still the nice thing about having to lower your expectations for a month is that it's easy to be pleasantly surprised. We'll see what happens.
April may be the cruelest month, but July is the hottest. And this July was particularly hot. So hot, in fact, that we kind of crossed the line from "hot enough to drive people inside to shop in cool stores" to "hot enough that people don't want to leave their damn houses for anything." And, it showed.
Still, despite the heat, I had a record month at the Peddlers Mall. Most of this was due to one sale--a large, and for me, quite expensive item. In other words, this was an aberration. Opportunities like that do not come along all the time, unfortunately. Taking that piece out of the equation yields a normal month--not spectacular, but pretty good, all things considered.
Unfortunately, the same doesn't hold true for my other spot. Consistent sales at a consistent level continues to elude me. And, at this point, I'm not sure what to do about it. I held a sale over the 4th that didn't really help. I've cleared some stuff out. I've rearranged. I've stamped my feet and held my breath until my face turned blue. Nothing seems to help. I do have very good days there, don't get me wrong. Just not nearly enough of them. And the ones that aren't good are very not good. I'm stuck.
I'm hoping when we enter the busier time of the fall that things will pick up there for me. If not, I may need to make some tough decisions.
Regardless, this month is going to be a challenge everywhere. August brings both back to school and the State Fair, which is held here in Louisville. In other words, a double whammy of income drain that leads to lower sales for re-sellers. Such is the life.
Still the nice thing about having to lower your expectations for a month is that it's easy to be pleasantly surprised. We'll see what happens.
Tuesday, July 03, 2012
June Sales Report
Oh, junking! Oh junking!
Why must you confound me so
with good months that turn bad
upon a whim?
And trends most unforeseeable?
With downturns disagreeable?
And futures that seem bright
but turn so dim?
Tune in next week for more "Overwrought Junking Poetry Corner" right here on Eddie-torial Comments!
Okay, getting serious, now. I haven't done a sales break down in a while, largely because I've been forgetting to do them, but also because there doesn't seem to be a point to do one in a month where I have to pay rent. That statement alone seems to sum things up.
I spent some time talking with the manager at the Peddlers Mall a while back. May and June are always slower months, due to a lot of reasons, ranging from the Kentucky Derby to warmer weather. And that held true this year for the mall, except that I had a good May. A real good May. It had not occurred to me that a vendor could have a strong month, even if the rest of the mall was having a slow one, but it happens. And it happened to me.
I thought June was turning out that way for me, too. Typically, the first half of June is slow, but when the real heat of summer starts kicking in, folks start turning back to the indoor settings. And, right around that time, as sales started picking up in the whole store, mine started slowing down!!!
Seriously, I had a bad run from about the 20th, where my daily sales stayed stuck under 10 bucks. Ack! Sometimes being opposite of the trend is a good thing, sometime it's not such a good thing. I'm doing what I can to counteract that. I spent some time on a couple of different visits rearranging and shaking things up. I've got a couple more things to do, so we'll see if that has an effect or not for July. Hope so.
On the other front, June was the first month at YesterNook where I had sales every day, except for one. That means I am very close to meeting my goal for the space as far as daily sales go. Now, I need to start working on getting those daily sales to the level I want them.
Having a better booth space on the second floor has helped me. People can get into it and see what I've got for sale. I'm also starting to emphasize the things I know best: books, comics, pop culture stuff, and toys. I intend to build on this. Over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to focus on getting rid of a few pieces that have been there too long. I'm doing a Fourth of July sale to encourage that. I'm also going to concentrate on getting more small furniture in the spot. I haven't worked that as hard as I should have recently.
It's a continual learning process. Continual. Every time I think I've got it down, then I find out there's something else I don't know. Tune in next month and we'll see what else I've had to learn!
Why must you confound me so
with good months that turn bad
upon a whim?
And trends most unforeseeable?
With downturns disagreeable?
And futures that seem bright
but turn so dim?
Tune in next week for more "Overwrought Junking Poetry Corner" right here on Eddie-torial Comments!
Okay, getting serious, now. I haven't done a sales break down in a while, largely because I've been forgetting to do them, but also because there doesn't seem to be a point to do one in a month where I have to pay rent. That statement alone seems to sum things up.
I spent some time talking with the manager at the Peddlers Mall a while back. May and June are always slower months, due to a lot of reasons, ranging from the Kentucky Derby to warmer weather. And that held true this year for the mall, except that I had a good May. A real good May. It had not occurred to me that a vendor could have a strong month, even if the rest of the mall was having a slow one, but it happens. And it happened to me.
I thought June was turning out that way for me, too. Typically, the first half of June is slow, but when the real heat of summer starts kicking in, folks start turning back to the indoor settings. And, right around that time, as sales started picking up in the whole store, mine started slowing down!!!
Seriously, I had a bad run from about the 20th, where my daily sales stayed stuck under 10 bucks. Ack! Sometimes being opposite of the trend is a good thing, sometime it's not such a good thing. I'm doing what I can to counteract that. I spent some time on a couple of different visits rearranging and shaking things up. I've got a couple more things to do, so we'll see if that has an effect or not for July. Hope so.
On the other front, June was the first month at YesterNook where I had sales every day, except for one. That means I am very close to meeting my goal for the space as far as daily sales go. Now, I need to start working on getting those daily sales to the level I want them.
Having a better booth space on the second floor has helped me. People can get into it and see what I've got for sale. I'm also starting to emphasize the things I know best: books, comics, pop culture stuff, and toys. I intend to build on this. Over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to focus on getting rid of a few pieces that have been there too long. I'm doing a Fourth of July sale to encourage that. I'm also going to concentrate on getting more small furniture in the spot. I haven't worked that as hard as I should have recently.
It's a continual learning process. Continual. Every time I think I've got it down, then I find out there's something else I don't know. Tune in next month and we'll see what else I've had to learn!
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