Marathon Wrapping Session - Customer Service with a Smile

I'm smiling but I'd really rather be sitting down with my cat on my lap, a cup of tea, and a book! You see, I just finished wrapping four packages and printing four priority labels and one UPS label.

The wrapping wasn't so bad except one box had 8 pieces of china, including dinner plates, the gravy boat shown here, and other serving pieces. Luckily we had a big box right there that was the perfect size. In fact it was a case of getting two wins at a time since this box was right in the middle of the floor and there wasn't any place to put it!

I read a motivational email today that said you should look at a busy evening like tonight's with this frame of mind: "I will have gotten so much done tonight!" instead of "I've got so much to do". Yes, that does help! What helps even more is thinking of my customers' smiling faces when they open their packages in a few days!

Glass and China – eBay Store vs. Auctions

You can get advice from lots of people, many who sell successfully on eBay and online. You need to decide what works for you, and that’s the hard job. I thought about this a lot and concluded I don’t know the answer. But here’s what I’m thinking today as I prepare my listings for next week.

It's rewarding when a customer says how glad they are to finish a set of dishes that they inherited. Until the internet if you broke something that was it, but now people can complete that cherished set and can actually use it. That is the plus side of selling glass and china!

We bought china at estate sales and sold quite a bit of it, but lately it has not done that well. People often know their pattern name and search for the pieces they need and will buy if the price and condition are right and the seller appears trustworthy. Most patterns appeal to a small number of buyers who may be in and out of the market; they don’t collect the dishes and they just want to augment their set.

I usually put my china in my eBay store. Most of the pieces are offered individually, so you can buy one soup bowl or one dinner plate, but I also try listing some in twos or fours, so you would buy two plate or four bowls. Offering in twos or fours helps keep the shipping cost more reasonable relative to the value of the china. No one likes paying $5 for a plate and $10 to ship, but china is heavy and bulky and has to be wrapped well and insured. Lately I have tried selling in place settings, say one each of the plates - dinner, lunch, bread and butter – cup and saucer. That has worked well so far. Checking my past years’ sales, though, most people bought one or more of a single item even when I had multiple pieces listed and combined shipping.

The cereal bowl is Harker China Godey Prints and we're starting a set of 6 tomorrow.

We'll see how it goes this winter.