I've written
that I'm starting to sell some stuff. I put some up on Amazon
Marketplace and some on Half.com. After about a month I've gotten
several sales on Amazon Marketplace and none on Half.com. But since
most of the sales are software and I didn't put any software in
Half.com (because their add item script was broken and didn't let me
add software products) it's not something I want to generalize on.
Still, Amazon Marketplace's higher fees are worth it if stuff sells
(getting less money is better than getting nothing).
One thing I didn't take into account is that just about everything
costs more to ship than the "shipping credit" that both Amazon
Marketplace and Half.com give me. That's because I live in the West
Coast and most of the population (and hence buyers) live closer to the
East Coast. Therefore shipping costs are higher so for the most part
I've been losing a bit of money on shipping. They could do variable
shipping credit based on buyer and seller zip codes but that's not in
their best interest right now. Especially since Amazon (for example) is
charging 50% more on shipping than the shipping credit. Wow, quite a
cash cow for Amazon, but I guess it's all worth it if your stuff sells.
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Christmas is
coming up and I should buy presents this year. Even though I keep
telling my brother Christopher that I won't buy him another present
when I've just bought him something expensive, I'll end up getting
something for him. Probably a game or DVD set. Stephanie is harder to
shop for. I should ask her. She has these things she likes for a few
months and then she's done with them. I'm always surprised when she
likes something I like and then six months later I ask her about it and
she's already moved on. Then again, I think she's surprised that I
stick with the things that I like.
The hard part is juggling my budget. This week I have frozen food for
the gamers. Next week is at Pick's so I'm off the hook. Hopefully I
have an extra $100 saved up in the Entertainment budget for December
gaming at my place. Add the regular $200 and that gives me $300 (though
more like $200 after misc expenses) for four sessions. Home budget is
usually adds to this but I'm buying presents. I'll see how it goes.
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