SecondMoonshot

John

This week I received a new Rollo Wireless Thermal printer specifically for shipping labels. I decided a review was not necessary since there are enough good ones out there. What I will say is…they are all right! This thing is a game changer in speed, efficiency and quality. Once unboxed, I needed to see if it supported Wi-Fi Direct (it does not) and since my warehouse is really a storage unit with power, the first thing I needed to do was to setup a Wi-Fi network. A few months ago, I picked up an electronics lot at auction which had an Apple AirPort Extreme which turned out to be a recent model, but more importantly IT WORKED (more rare than you might think). I don’t have internet broadband and just use my cell phone for all work in that location, so had to tweak the IP configuration on my iPhone to use the new router but not for internet (this was done by just going to Settings and edit the Wi-Fi connection IP Config to a Manual configuration, leaving the Router field blank and copyin...

I am always looking for cardboard and while I can often find people giving away boxes for free, ideally I like to use large flat sheets to make large custom boxes and they work really well for picture boxes.  We started to get the cardboard sheets at Costco that they use to separate the layers of merchandise on the pallets. Usually getting a dozen was a good pull but today came up with 32. I think I will talk with the management and see if I can get on the list to take some off their hands on a regular basis. They don’t ever question me taking them and usually find a lot in the metal box bins so pretty sure they just throw them away.  Think I got 32 in this run. One of the staff chatted with me about them and said I was doing them a favor taking them.  Another 32 or so.  The little box is what we bought and even helped us acquire the sheets. I have to put excess in other storage unit. We are getting very efficient New record is now 58! Have a stash (like a squirrel)....

How do I Price listings? First I have to admit that there is not really a specific strategy that applies to everything. Factors which play into it: Condition Presence of original packaging / box and its condition How much the shipping will be (I don’t do free shipping) Is it an exceptional listing that represents the brand? Emotional value (to me or Zabrina), do we want it for display in our house for a while? Rarity or saturation Past experience with item or category Comps Sales history (myself and other sellers) How many similar items like it do I have? First off, let me say that, the more I do this, the more that I am improving and find I can do more pricing with minimal or no lookup. Once I a price an item, it absolutely is not set in stone but fluid based on number of watchers over time; the cost I paid (which really only influences higher value pricing) is rarely an influencing factor as I look at the cost of a whole lot and not single items. So some items might just get my cost ...

I bought several lots of vintage tools at auction…some good, some just some tools. But I wanted to clean off the rust before I listed some of them so after watching some YouTube videos and seeing what I had and needed, came up with this contraption. No DeWalt was injured in the process.  Iteration #1 Used a lot of zip ties and will improve down the road. I wanted to do a hanging implementation as sounds like it will agitate better. Pictures of the ultrasonic cleaner DIY (ok, agitator): The bucket is a safety in case something goes wrong and the container somehow comes off. It is held on with Velcro but wasn’t too confident so added some zip ties as well. I had an old plate for the sander and bolted that to the lid and put Velcro on it as well. For solution, went to Harbor Freight and got Evapo-Rust and we’ll see how that works, kinda pricey at $30 for a gallon (or less), so hopefully you get what you pay for. Also got some CLR to try for larger items as I can mix with water. Result...

I have a method for packing books which has served me well and also retains a cost effective aspect. It is more than simply taking the book and putting it into a bubble mailer, although that is certainly part of it. Boxes are expensive yet they provide maximum protection with the cardboard. I have come up with my method which combined a poly bubble mailer along with a cardboard front and back backing board as noted below. To date, I have had zero issues with this method and have shipped hundreds of books this way. International order will usually go ahead and go into a box as well as large format or books that will get insured. Anyway, here it is: 1. Wrap the book in a new sheet of wrapping paper. 2. Get 2 pieces of cardboard, the size of which will exceed the book edges on all size by approximately 1/2”.  3. Get my standard insert and put that on top of one of the cardboard backing boards 4. Place the wrapped book on the board centered and affix it to the board with a piece of tap...