Springtime Is Here. Do I Have To Slow Down?

I’ve had three babies in the spring time. Next week, I’ll be having my fourth baby during this lovely time of year, when the world seems to wake up from a long and deep sleep. Truth be told, since Arizona doesn’t have 4 seasons this concept doesn’t apply entirely to me, but I know most of the world can relate to what I’m talking about. Having a baby in the spring time reminds me of Bambi, when all the animal couples welcome their new little ones.

Image found here.

Being twitter-pated is the best. Having a new baby means I get to fall in love all over again.

Image found here.

The desert is so pretty this time of year and the counselor knows just how to snap and shoot. Thanks for the gorgeous picture, honey.

My backyard peach and apricot tree’s are blossoming with pink flowers. My orange, lemon and grapefruit trees smell like heaven and showcase little white buds. The front yard hibiscus pops with red and white flowers and the snap dragons from my Garden of Eden are reaching their potential with tons of blooms.

I love reaching my potential too, but I know I have to take a break. Honestly, I don’t want to, but there’s no way I can run an EBay store with a newborn. I can blog with a newborn, heck, I can even work on my new novel with a newborn, but EBay will have to slow way down. For the last year, I’ve posted anything from 50 to 100 items each week on EBay. I've shopped to my heart's content and loaded my car more then once to its maximum capacity. My heart has been all a flutter because of that one amazing find. I've shopped, returned and bargained all in the name of finding the dearest of dear trash, but all good things must come to an end (Do you really believe that? I sure don't).

So, I've decided once I have the baby, my goal will be to post 10 items a week on EBay. This will take about 1/2 an hour and that's something I can handle. That way I can stay in the grove of things, have fun and not loose my trashy identity entirely. No one wants to loose that sassy title.

I have a garage full of items waiting to be posted. For weeks I’ve felt the pressure to “Get it done.” I’ve been up late and setting somewhat unrealistic goals with my sales, but truth is I love this business. I push myself for a reason. Why?

Let me give you a little example.

Two weeks ago I was at a yard sale in a beautiful neighborhood. I purchased 7 articles of clothing and an large wood clock. I paid $12.00 for my entire purchase.

I came home and listed the clothes on EBay and the clock on Craig’s list.

Let me show you what my $12.00 investment turned into.

I currently have it listed on Craig's list for $30.00 and have someone interested. Sometimes these things fall through, but I think it will go for that.

The lucky jeans I found sold for $23.50.

The Levi overalls I found sold for $31.00.

The Ann Taylor shirt I found sold for $10.50.

The Sigrid Olsen Jeans I found sold for $8.99.

The Ann Taylor skirt I found sold for $14.50.

Two of the clothing items from the garage sale didn't sell.

This J. Crew amazing tunic shirt

& these darling O'Neil jeans.

I'll re-list them in a few weeks or a few months, whenever I feel like my normal trashy self again. They're sure to make a decent profit and up my $12.00 investment even more. Giving up selling trash for even a little while is stepping away from something I love, but the I get to embrace something I love even more, my own little baby.

Sleep Deprived and Top EBay Sales of the Week

Reef, my youngest son, just barely two, has always been a great sleeper until recently. He’s turned into a climber and crawls out of his crib throughout the night. What started out as a milestone,

“Wow, everyone, Reef crawled out of his crib. What a big boy.”

has turned into a major problem.

“Reef, you’ve got to stay in your crib. Its midnight and Mommy and Daddy need some sleep.”

Last night, the counselor and I gave up around 12:45am and Reef got what he wanted all along; to sleep in bed with us.

This has been going on for almost two weeks.

Actually, once he’s in our bed, he’s a darling little sleeper. He falls asleep within seconds and doesn’t move or make a peep all night. I do love taking a few moments to stare at his sweet little face and brush his hair aside. What is it about her sleeping child that melts a mother’s heart?

On the other hand, the counselor, practical and logical in his thinking, reminds me a new baby is coming and Reef’s nighttime routine needs to be broken as soon as possible. I understand the reasoning, really I do, but I only have Reef as my baby for a few more weeks. The transition of letting go off my older baby to welcome a new baby has always been an emotional one for me. The good news is once the baby’s here, the struggle’s gone.

Needless to say, I’ve been posting my EBay listings with Reef on my lap (or at least what’s left of it). I do my EBay listings at night and usually the kids are asleep, but Reef seems to be taking a break from sleep. Taking measurements and typing is not easy, with Reef shifting here and there, but my lap is obviously where he wants to be. I wonder if he senses a change coming? This might explain his need to be stuck to me like glue.

EBay sales of the week are super great. Things are really moving and I’m most especially excited about my .99 relist sales. They've started plenty of bidding wars and I’m making great profits off these items.

Some of my .99 cent re-list's for the week are:

These American Eagle size 12 Cropped Jeans didn't sell for $6.99, so I relisted them at .99 cents. The next week they sold for $13.50.

This darling Ralph Lauren Size 12 ruffle skirt didn't sell the first week for $6.99. After relisting it for .99 cents it sold the next week for $12.05.

And this Banana Republic Size 8 Pencil Skirt, after relisting it, it sold for $8.5o.

My top sales of the week are as listed:

This week Chico's was hot, hot, Hot. I found these Chico's pants, size 3.5, which I'd never seen Chico's go larger then Size 3. I was curious how they'd sell and they did great at $15.52.

These Chico's linen overalls are so cute and I was tempted to keep them for myself, but I gave into the EBay pressure and they sold for $14.50.

Chico's Traverlers has a huge following. These pants are made out of acetate so they never wrinkle and they have a lot of stretch, making them very comfy. They sold for $14.50 as well.

I love Fresh Produce and this was another item I was tempted to keep for myself, but being so big and pregnant leaves me feeling like I'll never fit into anything "normal" size again. Anyway, this skirt sold for $10.10.

Sometimes size 0 sells, sometimes it doesn't (my theory, their aren't many size 0 girls left in America). Anyway this J. Crew Size 0 Oriental fan skirt sold for $8.50.

The change of seasons is a great time to list items. Most of my buyers are looking for clothes for spring, so spring and summer clothes are selling great. Good luck and wish me some sleep.