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pepsigloworm posted:My store is finally up and running! http://www.etsy.com/shop/MagentaMoo Your pictures are what sell your item. People don't take time to read anymore. So for your barrettes I would suggest taking a picture of someone wearing them, then it's obvious right off the bat that they are for your hair. Back before I started taking pictures of my light switch covers on actual light switches I used to get people asking me all the time why I put holes in my art, and how they would buy it if it didn't have a hole in the middle. I never did understand why it was so difficult to read a title and find out that it's a light switch cover......but that's just the way it is now days...people don't read! On Etsy Search relevancy is based upon both titles and tags. So for something like this: http://www.etsy.com/listing/117369629/flower-hair-barrettes-5-petals You probably want it to say "Two Purple and Green Crochet Hair Clip Barrettes" or something similar. Right now, there is probably 1% chance of someone finding that listing searching "purple hair clips", because you don't have that in the title. If you look at search results for "purple hair clips", you will see all the stores that come up in results will have that in both the title and in the tags. You don't have to get all crazy and stuff your titles making it, but you should have some of the basic information like colors in the titles. Hope that helps.
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Dec 9, 2012 06:01
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Rathina posted:Your pictures are what sell your item. People don't take time to read anymore. So for your barrettes I would suggest taking a picture of someone wearing them, then it's obvious right off the bat that they are for your hair. Back before I started taking pictures of my light switch covers on actual light switches I used to get people asking me all the time why I put holes in my art, and how they would buy it if it didn't have a hole in the middle. I never did understand why it was so difficult to read a title and find out that it's a light switch cover......but that's just the way it is now days...people don't read! Awesome Rathina, thank you! I wasn't sure how titles should be, and tried to make them just a plain description. I can't believe people asked you about the holes in your art, that cracks me up! I know I do need a model for the bracelets and barrettes...I just moved to a new area where I don't know anyone yet though, haha. Thank you again for the tips!
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Dec 9, 2012 06:59
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pepsigloworm posted:
Alternately, you could get a foam wig head and a cheap wig to model them on. Live models look great, but some people get kinda grossed out by the idea that "oh god someone else has already worn this so it's USED". I admit, I kinda feel that way about some things too, even though I know most of these things can be cleaned. My parents spent so many years freaking out about lice and cooties and germs if you even touch a hat that isn't yours, even the ones on display in the store. Earrings had to be sterilized all the time yes all the time and sometimes dipped in ointment, and all kinds of crazy things. 
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Dec 10, 2012 03:49
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Mizufusion posted:Alternately, you could get a foam wig head and a cheap wig to model them on. Live models look great, but some people get kinda grossed out by the idea that "oh god someone else has already worn this so it's USED". Yeah, I put my hairsticks on one of my daughters dolls because I thought it would be weird to see it in someone's hair. I also have three kids and get the "someone in your child's classroom has lice" notifications occasionally, so I'm kind of paranoid.
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Dec 10, 2012 03:54
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That is an excellent point, I can't believe I didn't think of that!  Also, how do most of these people function daily? "Why does your art have a hole in it can I get it complete why is your art suck" and mystical hair cooties...
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Dec 10, 2012 06:50
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Lealoo posted:Yeah, I put my hairsticks on one of my daughters dolls because I thought it would be weird to see it in someone's hair. I also have three kids and get the "someone in your child's classroom has lice" notifications occasionally, so I'm kind of paranoid. The weird thing is, I never had lice as a kid, no one I knew had lice, and if it was ever an actual problem at my school, no one told me. I can't help but feel like I'm paranoid about absolutely nothing, but everyone talks about mystical head cooties, so they must exist somewhere. 
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Dec 10, 2012 10:30
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Mizufusion posted:The weird thing is, I never had lice as a kid, no one I knew had lice, and if it was ever an actual problem at my school, no one told me. I can't help but feel like I'm paranoid about absolutely nothing, but everyone talks about mystical head cooties, so they must exist somewhere. I was actually given lice by my school nurse during the mandatory lice check, because she didn't switch combs between students like she was supposed to. Half my class got them that way. Yay redneck school districts! All three of my sisters ended up with them too. It was incredibly awful and they were chemical resistant, so we had to use the like crazy industrial stuff and it made a lot of my hair fall out.  So yeah, it's a thing. Even reading you guys' discussion about it made my head itch.
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Dec 10, 2012 16:15
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Oh don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's silly to be cautious about lice - As a Montessori teacher I know more about them than I'd like to. I just think adults considering something "used" because it was pictured in someone else's hair is a little paranoid. Now I'm on the hunt for a doll or a mannequin head to show my clips on. I wish I knew of other versatile and cheap craft stores in Canada other than Michaels... I miss being down the street from Hobby Lobby.
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Dec 10, 2012 18:39
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Do you have a Sally's Beauty Supply? They have foam heads for about $4. Slap a party wig on there and you're good to go.
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Dec 10, 2012 19:03
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pepsigloworm posted:Oh don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's silly to be cautious about lice - As a Montessori teacher I know more about them than I'd like to. I just think adults considering something "used" because it was pictured in someone else's hair is a little paranoid. Now I'm on the hunt for a doll or a mannequin head to show my clips on. I wish I knew of other versatile and cheap craft stores in Canada other than Michaels... I miss being down the street from Hobby Lobby. If you think that's bad, you should hear the debates people have on Etsy about using live models for earrings.
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Dec 11, 2012 02:36
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Mizufusion posted:If you think that's bad, you should hear the debates people have on Etsy about using live models for earrings. Hey now I'm pretty sure earrings can't be cleaned and the holes that earrings rest in are basically gaping wounds and you don't want to get aids from someone else's earrings now do you?  Live model or not, I hate it when stores that sell wearables don't have some sort of picture that lets me see how it might look on a person. Heck, give me a frame of reference for the size, at LEAST!
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Dec 12, 2012 04:06
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pepsigloworm posted:Also, how do most of these people function daily? There is a whole lot of stuff I see in the Etsy forums that makes me ask that same question...I really try not to go in there anymore. There are all sorts of outdated Etsy myths one of which is "Posting in the forums will get you sales"..and maybe that worked well in 2006, but times have changed and so you end up with people posting all sorts of threads because they think you might buy something from them. If I had a dollar for every thread someone started where they ask for advice and then either never returned to the thread, or shitted on the advice given to them.....
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Dec 12, 2012 05:21
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Rathina posted:There is a whole lot of stuff I see in the Etsy forums that makes me ask that same question...I really try not to go in there anymore. The behavior of a lot of sellers in the Etsy forums also has continued to amaze me. I don't know how it's been lately since I try not to look in there, but the amount of sellers that are overly rude/inappropriate to other forum posters is astounding. They don't seem to realize that every terrible post they make is connected back to their store. I remember one person telling me that they didn't have to be polite/courteous in the forums because they weren't specifically talking to customers. Any time I post somewhere that can be linked back to my shop or my artwork in general, I try to remain courteous. Shouldn't it be common sense that you don't act like a dick in places where the image you present is directly related to how people will think of your store? Edit: Of course, the best Etsy threads are the "Hey guys, my views dropped. <CHANGE TO SITE> ruined things completely!!! This sucks! Etsy should fix it!" threads, because they happen no matter what change/lack of change Etsy has made, and no matter what time of year it is. Sapphaholic fucked around with this message at 05:56 on Dec 12, 2012 |
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Dec 12, 2012 05:50
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I'm glad to hear that the typical advice to more Etsy sales is not being obnoxious on the forums there. I've wandered in a few times only to see hundreds of "Lookit my new store!" threads with no replies, or people being outright catty for seemingly no reason. I really wasn't looking forward to having to wade through Teams or boards to get a few views or crappy advice. Whoever says Goons are terrible never met the Etsy Goon Squad!
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Dec 12, 2012 06:20
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I buy more from the goon squad and their "favorites" than anything else. Tomorrow my mom is coming over to help me cut out more ties and collars. I am a bit overwhelmed right now with sales.
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Dec 12, 2012 06:24
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Can I also pimp out my sister's shop here? Daft Craft is where my little sister sells her amazing homemade scented candles. She used to sell lip balms as well, but it got too hard to keep up with both product lines. These candles are seriously wonderful. I have to be careful buying scented things because they give me headaches, but none of her stuff gives me any issues. The Peppermint Bark one smells like a Thin Mint 
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Dec 12, 2012 18:22
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Sapphaholic posted:The behavior of a lot of sellers in the Etsy forums also has continued to amaze me. I don't know how it's been lately since I try not to look in there, but the amount of sellers that are overly rude/inappropriate to other forum posters is astounding. They don't seem to realize that every terrible post they make is connected back to their store. I remember one person telling me that they didn't have to be polite/courteous in the forums because they weren't specifically talking to customers. Anytime this guy posts a thread you want to grab a bag of popcorn. I could only find two, but I know there are whole lot more. I've never seen so much Etsy hate coming from one person, but obviously there is still some love there because he hasn't closed up shop: http://www.etsy.com/teams/7714/ideas/discuss/11031410/page/1 http://www.etsy.com/teams/7722/business-topics/discuss/10355426/page/1
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Dec 12, 2012 19:45
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Got my shop up and running, I put tiny paintings on buttons: http://www.etsy.com/shop/rhilley
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Dec 12, 2012 21:54
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Boats posted:Got my shop up and running, I put tiny paintings on buttons: Those are really lovely.
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Dec 12, 2012 23:16
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They really are lovely! You might want to consider putting the subject of the button in the title though.
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Dec 12, 2012 23:53
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Hmm you're probably right, I'm going to start editing them. The copy item function makes it so easy to be lazy though!
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Dec 13, 2012 02:37
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I just opened up my own shop, Inner Fish: http://www.etsy.com/shop/InnerFish I just have one item right now, I'm sort of trying this out to see if there's any interest in the stuff I make. I have a few more ceramic items to put up but there's just the Eye of Sauron plate right now. 
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Dec 13, 2012 03:16
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Are any of you guys on Twitter? I just had some good traffic to my site from there today after posting back to Bruce Cambell about weird jobs. @sewsmoothsophie If you are interested. I'd gladly retweet any goon stuff posted.
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Dec 13, 2012 03:20
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Funhilde posted:Are any of you guys on Twitter? I just had some good traffic to my site from there today after posting back to Bruce Cambell about weird jobs. I signed up for the whole Twitter thing (@hatpire), but I don't really post on there much. Like, at all. I just don't know what to post!
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Dec 13, 2012 03:40
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Sapphaholic posted:I signed up for the whole Twitter thing (@hatpire), but I don't really post on there much. Like, at all. I just don't know what to post! I linked mine with my etsy and when I upload new things I post one up. I also post up pictures that people send me of their cats all dressed up. Now I'm hooked though on other general stuff.
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Dec 13, 2012 03:49
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Sapphaholic posted:I signed up for the whole Twitter thing (@hatpire), but I don't really post on there much. Like, at all. I just don't know what to post! This is pretty much me and Twitter (@mizufusion). I don't really like tweeting everything I list either, because then it just looks spammy. 
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Dec 13, 2012 04:52
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Mizufusion posted:This is pretty much me and Twitter (@mizufusion). I don't really like tweeting everything I list either, because then it just looks spammy. I only tweet one thing and only if it is really a new pattern. If I posted it all it would be spammy but advertising yourself is ok I think. Not a bad thing to get people to see your shop once and a while- or to remember that it exists. I favorite shops all the time that I forget about.
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Dec 13, 2012 05:01
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I have a Twitter - @DoPinkCowsMoo . I really haven't seen the value of Twitter yet, it just seems that whoever spams the most gets more followers.
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Dec 13, 2012 05:37
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I've got to admit, I'm pretty spammy on twitter, but in my defense I list like 5 things a week most weeks. Also, I don't really use twitter much myself to keep in contact with anyone so it's become a bad habit. Usually I include an amusing blurb or something that comes to mind, but I've gotten lazy about that. What I'm saying is I suck at twitter.
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Dec 13, 2012 07:19
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I've had some good results with twitter but I do have the cats/meme factor going for me. NPR did a story on some of the growth issues that Etsy has. http://www.npr.org/2012/12/13/167080018/etsy-crafts-a-strategy-for-staying-handmade-and-profitable
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Dec 13, 2012 17:21
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I find myself using Facebook a lot more but I think that's only because I have more space to write AND more followers there (18 as opposed to 3 on Twitter). Most of those are all friends and family though...
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Dec 13, 2012 17:49
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I really need to work on my twitter/facebook/pinterest marketing.  I just have no idea really where to start. And I'm also afraid my facebook would become flooded with messages from my Aunts asking if I've gotten married yet.
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Dec 13, 2012 19:02
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I only use Twitter once in awhile, mostly to Tweet to blogs or for contests and stuff, or if I'm having a sale. The reason why I don't post my listings, is because I don't think there are any people who actually sit down and look at all the links posted on Twitter. I know there is no way I would ever follow someone who did nothing but post links of their stuff. I could just visit their Etsy page if I wanted to see their new stuff every day. I did use Facebook for awhile, but since Facebook changed a lot of the things about pages like your followers not seeing your updates, it really also seemed pointless to me if I'm posting yet Facebook doesn't let people see it. Pinterest....I was all up in Pinterest when it first came out, I was getting tons of sales from it. People are visual, they want to see pictures, they don't want to click links on Twitter. The downside is because Pinterest has become so popular now your pins just get buried under neath everyone elses. Before the popularity of Pinterest, you could pin something it and it stay on the top page for 5-10 minutes...now it's buried in seconds. Now I've had quite a few visits from Pinterest if a blogger who has a following of a gazillion of people pins one of my items, but that's about it...so I don't do it anymore either. Wanelo...also like Pinterest...but it's starting to decline as far as getting sales and views. There is a team on Etsy where we all 'save' each others items, and so you can easily get 100 or so saves on an item. But it takes a lot more saves now to be on the top trending page (like 200 a few months ago, now 2000 saves), so if you don't have an item that's pretty trend, you won't have a lot of luck. I'm lucky all the hipsters like my elephants/giraffe light switch covers which helps. Thats the thing about social media, is to get in while something is hot, and then get off the gravy train when it stops. That's why there are so many people on Etsy not understanding about Twitter/Facebook/Pinterest..not saying you can't be successful, but most likely it's not going to work out...the majority of those ships have sailed. I just feel so bad for people who put a lot of time and energy in to something that isn't going to work. If you can't build a customer base, how can you build a fan base? But time and time again on the forums everyone says you must do all this pinterest/twitter/facebook/blogging to get sales...another sad Etsy myth Which also reminds me of blogging. If you can't get people in your Etsy shop to begin with, how are you going to find readers for your blog? Your blog can't just be about your craft, there has to be something unique about your life that your readers want to read about. Yeah, so sorry to really be a Debbie Downer about social media, but maybe on the bright side I've just saved you all a bunch of time and effort. Rathina fucked around with this message at 01:49 on Dec 14, 2012 |
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Dec 14, 2012 01:47
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I have had sales from Twitter directly so I don't know if it just has to do with what I sell. The main reason I brought it up was that I was retweeted by someone with so many followers and just added my shop link to people's replies. But I also have purchases when I post pictures of Cats in Ties. Facebook has also been helpful for my main business- which is custom clothing and costumes. It has reminded people that I do what I do- and they share it with people they know and so on. The new FB views thing is extremely irritating though.
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Dec 14, 2012 01:53
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OMG guys I had my mind blown at the post office the other day. I was standing in line with all the other poor fools trying to mail stuff, with my three envelopes. I knew that each envelope would be $1.95 to ship, having sent out several of the exact thing before. When I got my turn at the counter, I asked the post office lady if I used $2 of stamps could I just leave these out for my postman? She said of course I can- then even helped me figure out how to add up exactly $1.95 in stamps. (Did you know that they make a $1.05 stamp? For some reason they do.) Brilliant! Why didn't I think of this sooner? Now I don't have to stand in the line, or even go to the post office until I use up the stamps! I'm super excited at this. 
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Dec 14, 2012 03:19
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Tinydryad posted:OMG guys I had my mind blown at the post office the other day. I was standing in line with all the other poor fools trying to mail stuff, with my three envelopes. I knew that each envelope would be $1.95 to ship, having sent out several of the exact thing before. When I got my turn at the counter, I asked the post office lady if I used $2 of stamps could I just leave these out for my postman? She said of course I can- then even helped me figure out how to add up exactly $1.95 in stamps. (Did you know that they make a $1.05 stamp? For some reason they do.) Brilliant! Why didn't I think of this sooner? Now I don't have to stand in the line, or even go to the post office until I use up the stamps! I'm super excited at this. I don't know about where you live, but my postman actually refuses to pick up boxes left in the mailbox.
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Dec 14, 2012 04:43
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Wandering Knitter posted:I don't know about where you live, but my postman actually refuses to pick up boxes left in the mailbox. I live in an apartment complex with locking mailboxes and they won't pick up ANY mail. Like I can't even do the "mail me DVDs" Netflix because Netflix would never get their DVD back. Our old apartment complex also had locking mailboxes and we didn't have this issue. We complained to the post office, and they told us just to pin our outgoing mail to the public bulletin board above the mailboxes. Yeah, no to that. I'm not pinning private mail up where any of my neighbors can take it, especially if it's a product going out to someone. So instead I just have the postman at my job take the packages when he drops off the mail.
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Dec 14, 2012 04:59
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Rathina posted:Yeah, so sorry to really be a Debbie Downer about social media, but maybe on the bright side I've just saved you all a bunch of time and effort. I'm kind of a downer about it too. I still update my shop's Facebook page now and then, but I'm not too hopeful. I was almost caught up on shipping things today, but fate decided to intervene. I was using my roommate's printer for Paypal shipping labels, but it kept chewing up paper or pulling too many sheets through and printing across all of them so I gave up. Took everything to the post office to use the automated kiosk, and it wasn't working. Almost every option said "I can't do that right now." It was kind of creepy. Buying stamps still worked, but I needed Priority Mail. 
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Dec 14, 2012 08:48
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Wandering Knitter posted:I don't know about where you live, but my postman actually refuses to pick up boxes left in the mailbox. Well that's lame. Mine are envelopes- and I haven't actually tried it yet since I had to go to the post office to mail my secret Santa gift. Even if he won't, I can at least skip the line in the post office and drop them off. Still better!
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Dec 17, 2012 23:55
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Thought I'd toss this out there- early days still, have a lot to add and figure out, but my mom and I started a "hobby and maybe some cash on the side" crafts business. http://romancustomcrafts.weebly.com It's mostly stuff we've already made, so far, but we encourage people to customize existing items or make up new stuff entirely. We've had some interest and a couple sales. My mom does most of the crocheting, I do most of the knitting and cross stitch. We don't expect much money from it but it's stuff we do anyway and thought "why not?"
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Dec 19, 2012 03:58
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