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Post by defiant1 on Jan 11, 2013 19:04:40 GMT -5
The results so far are very discouraging.
df1
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Post by G on Jan 11, 2013 20:48:57 GMT -5
The results so far are very discouraging. df1 You think so? Ive been optimistic about things. Im over $500 in bids so far. I figure the most action takes place right at the end. Ill be sweating it out but at this point I am still hopeful.
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Post by defiant1 on Jan 12, 2013 1:13:12 GMT -5
The results so far are very discouraging. df1 You think so? Ive been optimistic about things. Im over $500 in bids so far. I figure the most action takes place right at the end. Ill be sweating it out but at this point I am still hopeful. I'm just seeing a lot of low bid lots and they require just as much work as a high bid lot. You should calculate how much you are making per hour after scanning, posting and selling. Granted it's money you already had, but you are giving away your time. Are you still putting in job applications at companies? df1
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Post by G on Jan 12, 2013 9:47:46 GMT -5
You should calculate how much you are making per hour after scanning, posting and selling. Granted it's money you already had, but you are giving away your time. Are you still putting in job applications at companies? This is not about how much I can make per hour here. If I was working a real job, I would never do this. I ain't making shit per hour. But it's about how much I make for this job. There are no jobs where I live. I live in the sticks. The jobs are 40-50 miles away. My car is about to break down. The engine light has been on for over a month and it sounds like the engine is going to seize up any day now. This is a move of desperation. I'm not going by how much I can make per book. I'm looking or hoping for how much each book averages overall. If you're looking for another told you so moment to gloat about, then keep watching. Thanks for the support.
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Post by defiant1 on Jan 12, 2013 12:32:10 GMT -5
You should calculate how much you are making per hour after scanning, posting and selling. Granted it's money you already had, but you are giving away your time. Are you still putting in job applications at companies? This is not about how much I can make per hour here. If I was working a real job, I would never do this. I ain't making shit per hour. But it's about how much I make for this job. There are no jobs where I live. I live in the sticks. The jobs are 40-50 miles away. My car is about to break down. The engine light has been on for over a month and it sounds like the engine is going to seize up any day now. This is a move of desperation. I'm not going by how much I can make per book. I'm looking or hoping for how much each book averages overall. If you're looking for another told you so moment to gloat about, then keep watching. Thanks for the support. I'm NOT looking for an "I told you so moment." In many cases when I have negative predictions... I want to be WRONG. My point is that YOU are worth more than the time you are spending. Don't sell yourself or the opportunities short just because the situation is an uphill battle. I was only asking if you are still looking for a job and putting in applications. I just talked to someone who got a job doing customer service work from home on the phone. I knew a girl who managed temp agency employees from home. There may be jobs that don't require you to drive as much. The good thing about check engine lights is that 9 out of 10 codes have nothing to do with your engine seizing up and shutting down. Most are something stupid like "Gas cap not sealing" or O 2 sensor. As far as being discouraged, I meant that more for myself. You should be encouraged that money will be rolling in. I'm discouraged because I've been sitting on thousands of comics and I know how much work you are putting into this. df1
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Post by G on Jan 12, 2013 13:44:03 GMT -5
I'm sorry to come off as touchy, but it read kind of condescending to do as much work as I have, get this far into it and then read how disappointing my results have been and have I considered how much I'm making per hour and am I looking for a REAL job. I've known your viewpoints for selling on ebay for years. So I know how you feel about doing that much work to just make a pittance for your efforts. I agree, the wages are miniscule. But, I'm sitting in the luxury of my own home and there is some advantages to doing this.
The last day is usually the make-or-break payoff day. I'm encouraged by the fact I have bids this high so so far. Just as a low paying book takes just as much work as a high paying book, conversely a high paying book takes just as much effort as a low paying book. I have a few surprises in prices already. But yes, there are more than a few disappointments up there too. I have to hope that the two cancel each other out. I have an average price in mind that to me would make it worthwhile. The beginning bids make me optimist as well as at the same time, I feel scared shitless that all this work will fall well short of what I am desiring. Regardless, whatever it goes for. I have to follow through on it. Even if I know it wont help me.
I don't need to rehash here everything I am facing. You are well aware of most of it, but there is something else HUGE looming over me that you don't know about at all.
My car has 180,000+ miles on it. It's not a gas cap or something lose. I can literally hear metal scraping metal when I drive my car. It's clearly an internal engine problem. Hence the fear of seizing up. No, it is well oiled and lubricated. I don't leave the house or go anywhere for days at a time to save my car one more trip. I went outside a few days ago and had to squint because the sun hadn't seen me in days.
I've been flat broke since August and I'm hanging on by a thread. I've been a rag tag operation for a long time now. My water was cut off twice and my electricity once since all this began. Incredibly, I have all my utilities up to date at this point. I have yet to pay my December mortgage. The mortgage company has threatened things all along. When I pay a mortgage payment, they give me a hard time about the rest.
Unfortunately, I've heard a lot of people poo-pooing my situation and present me with a lot of 1 sentence answers, from included best friends and family members coming off in superior mindsets, maturity and thought processes. Just "do this" or "you need to do that" like I never had a complete thought pattern. It's easy to sit on the sidelines and grandstand easy scenarios to get yourself out of a jam. To live it and know all the angles, is a far different story. While I'm in a dumb as shit situation and I don't have a background to fall on to get myself easily out of this, I consider myself to have above average intelligence even if everyone around me doesn't think so. A few years back I had more money and assets than anyone I knew including my family. But sometimes you make mistakes in life and everything changes. The most devastating to have happened was losing my wife. Not only for the companionship and because I loved her, but 40k just walked out the door. Unfortunately, it was mostly my fault we are through. The trick to all this is to persevere, reflect and learn not to be that stupid again.
I'm not looking for pity or aw poor babies from anyone. I have managed to keep myself afloat a lot longer than anyone ever thought I would including myself and not ask anyone for a dime. Not one single person. I am proud of that. I have brainstormed for literally months. I've had numerous sleepless nights. I have sought opportunities and went after them, including work at home jobs. I don't pretend to have the right way to get myself out of this but after finally thinking about it long enough, I decided to give up a lifelong collection of comics in hopes of buying myself some time. Sometimes when you hang in there, things happen. Life happens. Things change. Sometimes a good job comes open and you get it. Or a relative or friend presents an opportunity. I am looking locally. Even for part time work. I live in a very depressed small town. No one here makes $10 an hr unless you're like a mechanic or some specialty like that. I don't have the specialty. Most people that live here travel to Virginia to work. I was one of those people. That's no longer an option.
I'm glad you clarified your position and I apologize for appearing uptight. I am uptight. I'm facing foreclosure and I don't know where I am going to be staying in a couple of months AND I have something huge hanging over my head. Once again, I've heard every poo-poo from so called friends and family who couldn't give a flying fuck to be flat out honest.
I almost gave up completely a month ago. I decided to give this a shot. For better or worse, it's what I'm doing. I've been through and thought of everything else I can possibly do and after many months of thinking things out, this has become the last thing I could try. Since I run a comic forum message board, I decided to share my experience. I've shared it with family and friends too. Sometimes I'm not sure that's the right move. People make comments. I've heard plenty.
The results so far to me are encouraging. Not what I need yet, but I am hopeful. That's what I choose to hold onto until all hope is gone.
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Post by defiant1 on Jan 12, 2013 17:21:59 GMT -5
I should have clarified better when I wrote my previous comments. We both know the hobby is downsized. I'm a little discouraged that books that you have posted aren't doing better because I own some of the same ones. Some of yours are in even better condition. I want your auctions to do well. I put your eBay page as my off site link of the day and added a global header to point people there.
By no means am I trying to tell you what you should or shouldn't do. I've had to make some tough decisions and I've spent all my savings this past year trying to protect those close to me. We both know that eBay is a stop-gap for you but I am empathetic to your situation.
I believe that God forces us to confront our biggest fears. Faith is not perfected until your fears are vanquished. They block miracles from occurring. Whatever you fear the most, believe in God to provide a solution better than your biggest imaginations. Faith also requires action. The blind man had mud smeared on his eyes and the miracle occurred when he had enough faith to go where he was told to wash it off. The answer to your situation may not make any sense at all. Have enough faith to realize that the answer doesn't have to sound logical by our standards at all.
df1
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Post by G on Jan 12, 2013 18:24:44 GMT -5
Simply put, a heart felt thank you and I hope your situation works out for you as well.
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Post by defiant1 on Jan 12, 2013 20:34:42 GMT -5
Simply put, a heart felt thank you and I hope your situation works out for you as well. The weight is far from over, but the good is far from over too. A little action I took at Christmas out of faith made it easier for me to deal with this past week. df1
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Post by G on Jan 15, 2013 11:00:12 GMT -5
Tonight the remaining books I have in my auctions will end and I will move into what I feel will be the worst and most time consuming part. The shipping. In preparation for that, I took the off time to get ready for it. I spent the week periodically cutting out cardboard. This picture doesn't do this justice but I hope I have cut enough out for the first go round. I need to get shipping done as fast as humanly possible and move onto the next stage and that is getting another set of comics up as fast as possible. The good thing is I have already scanned all the books and picked out most of the books for the next offering. Once I get this round of books out, my next step will be to go right into creating auctions. I hope to have another round up within a week.
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