Time to BEAT A DEAD HORSE!

Oh, I don't like that expression! Anything having to do with dead animals disturbs me! But I did grow up with all of those expressions and they do keep coming to mind over different things - so forgive me!

BUT it's time to get back to my deadbeat buyer!

This morning I emailed the other gal who left her NEGATIVE FEEDBACK! She told me that this gal gave her a bad check! Check bounced like a rubber ball (sorry girls - I can't help myself) and she is thinking of having her charged legally. It is, as you know, against the law to write a BAD CHECK!

So what is going on with this woman? She is still busy bidding and buying things. AND what is going on with EBAY? Don't they throw people off for doing things like this? I don't understand. I did send an email to my man at ebay - isn't that great - I have my own man at ebay - you know - that GOLD POWER SELLER thing! He did email me today telling me that I have gotten my final selling fee back - but really - it was not that I wanted that as much as giving this creepy woman another non-paying STRIKE! Luckily I know that the other gal gave her one - so between the first thing she didn't pay for with me and the other gal's item - that's at least 2! But how many times do you have to do this before they throw you off?

I mean - do they just let people continue to do this?

Why do you think I am feeling so angry? I guess it's because I work really hard at this ebay thing - I really enjoy it - I love selling wonderful things to people who are so happy to receive them. I love that I have regular customers because they are so pleased with what they buy from me and I love meeting people like that great guy whose life was saved by the gunman! So I really take offense that there are also so many people who think that they can get away with doing things like this.

It's so odd - the gal who bought the Orange Marc Jacobs and then just didn't get in touch with me. Who has time to do things like this? Don't we have better things to do? Perhaps not.

OK - I promise - you won't hear another word about this one unless something really interesting happens - I PROMISE!

Check this out!

Well, I did it!
I had tooooo!
I left her NEGATIVE feedback! And you will see that I am not the only one! I bet she will get more than those. Click on the NEGATIVE and see it for yourself.

GOOD! She deserves it!

The thing that makes me really mad though is that I totally screwed up. I was waiting patiently for the 8 days that had to pass before I could end the second dispute so that she could get another NON-PAYING STRIKE! But somehow - I hit the WRONG BUTTON and ended the dispute saying that we agreed that she would pay!
OH NO! How could I have done that?
I think that I am madder about that than anything else.

That's not a matter of learning something new everyday - that's just being so stupid in one day - that it's hard to imagine!

But another ebayer was kind enough to send me her profile showing me that she did get her first NEGATIVE feedback and that was when I realized that I was going to just take my chances and do what I had to do WITHOUT FEAR!

Ahhhh well! I will be much more careful next time - you can be sure of that!

I will re-list the items and move on.

The odd thing though is that I have had very few non-payers and all of a sudden I have her (two sweaters), another gal who has not paid for a Marc Jacobs Orange bag (really fabulous) and someone else who bought a great pair of shoes and has not paid for them either!! What's going on here?

Well, instead of counting the non-payers on one hand - I have moved to the second hand - can't complain though - having sold more than 1000 items - I guess that's not too bad.

It's THANKSGIVING - Be THANKFUL!

Here is an amazing email I received from one of my ebayers -
I told you - I meet the best people on ebay!

"I'm leaving my office, locking the door and a man comes out from behind an archway 6' behind me, puts a gun to my head and pulls the door open. I gave him everything that he asked for from me. 40 seconds came and passed. The alarm sounded from the motion detection. He told me to turn off the alarm, which was within a foot of where he stood. I figured no way and told him so. He took a step back, shot me in the abdomen, dead center at the waist line between the navel and right hip. The .38 caliber bullet went directly through a 2 day old Cole Haan leather belt, changed trajectory and velocity, and instead of hitting an organ, it spun upward and into a curly-cue direction and came out just above my navel. Never hit an organ even though he shot me from 6' away straight on.

I got to a phone, called 911, and paramedics arrived within 3 minutes. Went to trauma in the Houston Medical Center. Got great treatment. Ends up the first of two police officers was a patient of Esta's. One of the two paramedics was a patient. The admittance clerk at Memorial Hermann was a patient. Then I was out of it. When I awoke, I remember them telling me to drink this liquid because the x-ray did not show the bullet (which everyone thought was still inside of me). They had to do a scan. I went out cold in the scan and then I heard voices and recognized Esta's as she was talking to the trauma surgeon. The surgeon said, Dr. Kronberg, you don't remember me but I was your patient as a teenager for acne. And, you gave me the letter of recommendation to get me into medical school. The good news is that I have never sent a trauma gunshot victim home the night of a shooting. He's the first. The bad news, we found a massive tumor on the kidney and it needs to come out. Get him to Urology first thing tomorrow morning.

It was malignant. Massive 7 cm tumor, barely encased within the kidney sack. Stage 1, possibly hours to days from becoming Stage 2. Symptoms do not appear until Stage 3, which is not very good.

The guy comes to rob me, kill me and ends up saving my life. I put him away for life after testifying in a murder trial. He beat 9 women almost to death, he robbed 7 people including me, shot all 7 and killed 3.
One older woman would not give him the death penalty.

4 years later, clean as a whistle and I am the most unusual case on the lecture circuit for the surgeons at M D Anderson. Now I donate 10 hours a week to M D Anderson Cancer Center and CanCare Inc to help cancer victims learn to deal with their life and to help get their families to support each individual. "

Be well. Happy Thanksgiving.

Now - most important is the detail of the Cole Haan belt - this guy loves clothing! I love him! But it is quite a story! We all hopefully have lots to be thankful for on this day of THANKSGIVING. Did you know that it was Abraham Lincoln who made it the holiday it is today. The pilgrims would probably cringe if they saw the way we celebrate it - I just finished reading/actually listening to The Mayflower and these people really never had Thanksgiving the way we have been taught to imagine it. Ah well - the book was great!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Lampo vs RiRi

Have you ever heard of LAMPO? RIRI?

Ebay is an everyday learning experience.

I received an email from someone asking about the Marc Jacobs Sophia that I have listed -
"It looks like a LAMPO zipper. Newer Marc Jacobs bags (2005) are made with LAMPO zippers, but so are some fake ones. Your bag does look authentic in the pictures, but since my current bag (a brown one) is made with riri zippers, I prefer riri zippers better. You could check out this eBay guide - for more details"

It's really interesting.....I think.....that people even know these things.....I love handbags but never knew about things like this. It makes sense to me though - I had a Marc Jacobs bag - the pull came right off the zipper - my daughter had one too and the same thing happened to hers! Both bags were returned. So obviously he changed the zippers after 2005. So I guess people are pretty savvy to know that they want a Marc Jacobs bag with a RIRI zipper.

I really do feel that ebayers are pretty savvy shoppers. I see that the things that they buy from me are really good values - they know the value of things and I see people who also buy very expensive things from me. Expensive as they might be - they are good value! I sold a pair of Brown Manolo Alligator shoes many months ago for $1100 - they were $2000 shoes! Now, that might sound crazy - but who are we to say. The fact is the gal who bought them got a great value. They had been worn once - they were in perfect condition - gorgeous and definitely a great deal!

I love the ebayer who sent me this email.....
"Love clothes. Love shoes. I buy shoes for (name removed) all the time . You won't believe it but I turned her on to Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo. I think that she has around 400 pair of these, really. She actually has over 1,300 pair of shoes and she has a closet that holds most of them."

He was really the best - truly some of the people that I meet are so nice. Ebay is really such fun.

Why pack?

We brought the "girls" - Beanie and Stoli into the city with us for the weekend. What fun! They love NY and so do we!
We get ready by putting all of our things* on the bed and then my husband surveys the situation and decides how big a bag we need to put all of our things in.
Don't forget we have the doggie food, the make-up, the hair products and equipment plus all of the clothing. How hot/cold will it be? You have to be prepared for everything.
We were both wearing JEANS for the trip on the train - best to be most comfy. We took slacks/sweaters, etc.
BUT what did we wear? The JEANS! Just like everyone else in NY - everyone is wearing JEANS! No one seems to be dressed! Everyone is in JEANS! Everyone!
And you know what? We were happy - we were comfy and it was perfect. We went to the doggie park, we walked all over with the "girls" and then we went to see CASINO ROYALE! Of course by that time the "girls" were back in the apartment they were happy to finally be resting. It takes them all week to get back to themselves.
Moral of the story - you don't have to pack all of your things* - just JEANS!!!!!!!

*how does one actually decide which of their things to take along with them? It's always so funny - we all have so much that it is hard to decide which things are are favorites!

Hard to believe!

But I do believe it!

I spoke with someone from ebay yesterday - I had left a message - NOW THAT I'M A GOLD POWER SELLER.....they gave me a phone number so that I can actually speak to someone when I need to! AND they called me back! They even gave me an email address for someone from ebay! WOW!

So I told my story and I did learn something about ending a dispute with a buyer - 8 days after you file a non-paying dispute you can end the sale and the buyer gets a non-paying strike. I would assume after getting enough non-paying strikes that the person in question gets thrown off of ebay. My guess is that someone like this would manage to get back on in no time - but I guess that is a whole other story.

Then I addressed my concerns about feedback - and you know what she told me? Yes, she agreed that it is BEST not to leave negative feedback - even to this person who did not pay me for any of the items that she bought! So then I wonder what feedback is all about - yes, it's great that people can buy something from me with confidence - they see my good feedback, that people are so happy with their purchases - that I'm honest and good to do business with. BUT in the case of the gal who bought things from me and didn't pay - well, if we're all afraid to leave her negative feedback (that she deserves) how will sellers know that they don't want to do business with this person?

Well, her user name is lovestolope my suggestion is if you are a seller that you put her on your blocked seller list at once!

So - what we have learned? What we already know - that the feedback system on ebay is really good, very important but certainly has its flaws.

Have a good weekend!

I LOVE THIS!

Roaming around ebay I came across this listing - for a Bottega Black Woven Handbag........

This Bottega Veneta bag was originally purchased by mother-in-law at Neiman Marcus for $1400 about two years ago. The exterior of this soft unstructured bag is pristine while the butter-soft suede interior is nearly flawless. There is one zippered interior pocket plus a cell phone pouch. The bag itself was used sparingly for a single season. My mother-in-law has asked me to put up four of her Bottega bags in an effort to obtain extra money to purchase a new Bottega bag without my father-in-law's knowledge.

Isn't that great! Just what I was talking about the other day - what is it about men and women? They're just on different wave lengths!

Ohhh! Sigh!!!!

Some people are just so nice! AND some are just so NOT nice!

Last week I sold a BLACK Cashmere Eskandar sweater to a lovely woman. The sweater was at the dry cleaner and I was not going to be at the store when it came back. I asked the gal who would be working at the store to please send out the BLACK sweater when it came in. I left a prepaid UPS label. All she had to do was get the BLACK sweater into the box - put the label on it and give it to the UPS man (who comes to the store).

When I got back to the store on Thursday I saw that the BLACK sweater was still with the dry cleaning and that the GREEN sweater was gone! Well, that's it - I learned another lesson! I must do these things myself! I was very disturbed and immediately got in touch with the gal who bought the BLACK sweater.

Oh my, she was so nice - I had a nice chat with her on the telephone last night. She said that she would send back the GREEN one (I sent her a prepaid USPS label). So that seems to have turned out very well!

BUT THEN.....there are the people who are NOT so nice!

Someone had been emailing me and had asked lots of questions about some of the things that I had on. Very nice - very friendly. Over the past two weeks she has bought THREE sweaters from me - one for $400, one for $550 and one for $305! She hasn't paid for any of them! Keeps saying that she will pay and just doesn't.

I tried calling her today and got this message "this person is not accepting phone calls" - I bet she's NOT! There are probably more people than just me looking for her! AND I can't seem to email her either as the messages are no longer going through! What a creepy thing for someone to do. I did email someone else who she bought two sweaters from and she told me that it took this gal a long long time to pay! But in the end she did!

But she is not going to pay me - I know that! AND the real problem is that I can't even relist the items until the DISPUTE is over. I have to file a dispute with ebay - and go through this whole thing so that I can be free to relist my items.

Now - this is NOT A NICE person and for the life of me - I really can't understand why someone would do something like this.

Ahhh well! Most of the people that I deal with on ebay are really terrific!

I know, I know

I know I've told you the secret........I won't even repeat it here - BUT I should tell you that it doesn't ALWAYS work. Sometimes you wait and watch and wait and watch - no one has bid on that item yet! That's so great! Perhaps you'll even get it at the low starting price - BUT WAIT - it seems to have disappeared! That's right - it's gone! What could have happened to it? You look up the number and the item has truly vanished into thin air!!!!

Well, it was probably removed from ebay! As a seller we reserve the right to remove our item. I have done it very few times - but I have done it. Once I couldn't find the item - I relisted a Judith Leiber pill box - I realized after it had been bid on that I couldn't find it any where! That's the trouble with relisting - all you have to do is click and the item is relisted. You'd better check first to make sure you know where the item is. Good for me though - it turned up under the bed in the guest room a year later - and now - rather than relist it - it's in my handbag! So pretty - I'm glad I kept it.

But what about the person who had bid on it. She has to wonder what happened to it. All you have to do as a seller is give the reason for removing the item - item is broken, item is missing, item is no longer available and then - poof - GONE!

Perhaps a seller is given a nice offer for the item that has been on for 4 days with no bids and the seller takes it and removes the item - JUST LIKE THAT!

So, I guess waiting 'til the very end to bid is a good idea - but sometimes it can come back and bite you in the A........!!

Be careful.

Anyone more beautiful than our pets?

Is there anything more beautiful than our pets? I don't think so.......all the style, all the beautiful clothing - nothing is better than the love of our pets!

I have two dogs - 12-1/2 year old Beanie (the Bichon) and 19 month old Stoli (the Russian Bolonka) - they don't care about anything but food (first and foremost) and then us (their owners). Look into their eyes - is there anything more innocent and loving than that? No - nothing! No one will ever love you like your pet! This is the best love you can ask for.





















Anyone who doesn't like your dog is not worth knowing. We have friends who don't understand the love we have for our"girls" - but it is their loss! They are not worth being friends with. I have had someone once kick my Beanie - can you imagine such a thing? I can't! And people who don't understand why I have to come home after a certain amount of time because "my girls" need me - they have to be taken out and they need to be loved!

Of course one of the good things is that you can even dress your doggies! Beanie hates it and I respect that - but Stoli doesn't know any better and you saw her HALLOWEEN sweater. I'm busy now working on her CHRISTMAS sweater - I ordered a red turtleneck with a blinking star on the top of the tree! WHAT FUN! Do you think she'll like it? I doubt it - but it doesn't hurt her and it gives me such pleasure! When she sees the hairbrush she runs like the wind! BUT it is important to look your best - dog or person! We all have to do our best!

Why are we never satisfied?

Is this a psychological problem - is it inherent? Why can't we ever be satisfied?
Well, probably not all of us - I'm sure there are people out there who don't have this problem. I remember years ago I was at the GAP and a young mom told her son "let's get you some shorts" - "no" he said "I already have some"! Ahhhh! He already had a pair - why does he need another?

But most of us (the people I know) never have enough. We always need another pair of shoes, a new handbag, a sweater - there's always something that we NEED!

NEED! How can we possibly need anything - our closets are overflowing, there's no room to put another box of shoes and the handbags are hanging from the rafters already.

So what is it exactly? Why can't we find satisfaction? Years ago a doctor told me that I was looking for love. Well, luckily for me I have lots of love. My husband, my children, my dogs! They truly love me - I know it - I feel it - wouldn't that be enough LOVE? Am I looking for the love I wanted as a child? ENOUGH ALREADY - time to give that up - I'm not looking for that anymore! Believe me - I've searched and searched for that and I'm not doing that anymore - I have that part settled.

I really don't get it - we just never have enough - if you know the answer, tell me -

*a sidenote: I just remembered that a doctor I used to see said to me - "I was thinking of you the other day" - "I was at Saks and couldn't decide which coat to buy" - "so I thought of you and bought both"! - was I going to her for help - or was I helping her!

Who tells who what!

Do you tell your husband/boyfriend/girlfriend/partner about everything you buy? How much it is? ETC ETC ETC......

So many of the customers at the store want the labels cut off, the prices removed or don't even want to look at their receipts. Now why is this? I believe it's a psychological thing between men and women. A lot of the husbands really couldn't care less - I see it - they come into the store - they don't even pay attention to what their wives are doing - BUT the women whisper - they tell us not to say the price out loud! OR they slip us their credit card and have us ship the item!

The women who seem to want the least are the women whose husbands want to buy them everything. They follow their wives around the store - "try this", "try that" - and the women say "no - I don't need it"!

Do men really understand that a handbag can cost up to $2000 (and more!) - can they really understand that you "need it" when you have at least 20 fabulous handbags in your closet right now? Can they really understand that you need another coat when the rod in the coat closet is sagging now? No, most men really can't - which is why (I guess) they take the prices off, they hide the clothing in the car and they whisper in the store when their husbands are sitting comfortably on the sofa. Little do they know what is transpiring at the desk!

And of course we know why we are buying another handbag, another coat, or another sweater! (or the biggest culprit of all - SHOES!) WE HAVE TO HAVE IT!

We do have one customer who does ask her husband's approval before she buys anything. He always gives her a hard time (and us too) but generally winds up getting it. I really don't understand this ritual at all. They have been married a long long time - seem to have lots of money and yet she puts up with his carrying on - this I don't get AT ALL! and he drives off in his brand new Porshe! I guess he asked her permission to buy THAT!

I guess this is the man/woman dance! Do we love it or hate it?

Do you have a comment? Leave it here........
THANKS - I love comments!

Check out my items on ebay right here!...... you will get such a good deal that you will happily tell your partner!!!! He'll be thrilled!

Loehmann's

In the last week two people have talked to me about Loehmann's - both remembering going with their mom's to the original store in Brooklyn. I remember crawling around under the racks while my mom shopped and they seem to remember the same thing.

One gal said "my mother shopped there too, and I climbed on the giant lions and crawled around under the clothes. The little boys who accompanied their mothers tried to get a peek at the ladies in their underwear, since there were no dressing rooms in the original Loehmanns, only a very ancient Mrs. L. who sat on a throne on the second floor, shriveled and dressed in black, and always looked like the Wicked Witch of the West. My mother, who was very dressy, said she had been coming to the store since she was young. Mrs. L. started buying up designer overstock during the Depression, with cash hidden in her bloomers, I'm told. If she didn't like you, she threw you out; if she did, she occasionally gave you a better deal, because you looked so good. At least that is what passed into family lore. I would say that that's where I got my start, just like you!"

The other gal talked about the lions too - something I have no memory of.

But the shame is - there is really no more Loehmann's - not like that anyway! Even about 25 years ago I used to go to Loehmann's with my neighbor. That was the good thing about living on Long Island (the only thing that was good for me) - there were so many - we would go from the North Shore to the South Shore from Loehmann's to Loehmann's. Sometimes my arms would be so full of wonderful things - it would be hard to make choices. But somewhere along the line - within the last 12 years (I would say) Loehmann's was bought by some other company and that was the end of being able to find something wonderful. After that it was just another junk store (in my opinion anyway) and that seems to be the problem with so many of these "outlets" - they are actually producing merchandise to sell in their stores. Ralph Lauren has so many outlet stores it would be impossible to stock them with "real" merchandise. Just their crummy towels and sheets - and things being made to sell in these stores. This is not the leftovers from the unbelieveable Madison Avenue store in New York City. Where are the good things going?

This is what makes EBAY so wonderful - this is now the place to find the fabulous deals and bargains! Someone bought a brand new $1500 Bottega from me yesterday for $675! I have a gorgeous Loro Piana Black leather handbag to list along with a fabulous Black Balenciaga Motorcycle bag - both given to me the other day to list.

I'm sure that there are still some great outlets - but I don't know about them. We have outlets nearby my home - but it's all the same everywhere - COACH, J CREW, GAP - nothing special - no wonderful fabulous finds!

Have a comment? Know a great place for great deals? Leave it here........


Please check out my items on ebay....right here!......

Afraid of Ebay?

I meet a lot of people who wander around ebay - but are either afraid to bid or don't have a clue how to do it. Now that is silly. Ebay is not only fun - but you really can find great value. I know that the things that I sell are either very good deals, or things you might not be able to find any place else. The things that people give me to sell (that they don't want anymore) are amazing - people are able to buy Manolo Blahnik shoes (worn maybe once or twice and costing over $500 originally) for $100! Even the pair that went for $250 the other day were a fabulous value. Classic styling that would sell for $600 and worn once!

So - don't be afraid - start really small. When I need something the first place I look is on ebay. Of course I don't live in a big city - I live in a small town - when I met someone on the train who told me that Clairol's shampoo for gray hair was fabulous I bought my first bottle on ebay. Got a good deal and had it in two days.

That is my suggestion - start buying small ticket items - start getting comfortable searching for items - comparing them and being sure that the seller's feedback is good (I have already written about this - I will try to find the link). You will be developing your own feedback too. Your own feedback is important for when you want to buy bigger ticket items - seller's are more comfortable selling expensive items to people who have a record of paying and not being difficult buyers. I sell to people with 0 feedback - I'm not afraid - what's the worse thing that can happen? They won't pay - but it has happened to me only once! We have to be good to the new ebayers!

Open an account on PAYPAL as soon as possible. I have had an account with them for years - both for buying and selling. As a buyer it is free and the safest way to pay. It protects you most of all - if your purchase is not received or there is a problem - you deal with it through Paypal. Paypal is owned by EBAY. All one big happy family!

So get started - it's fun and it's really a good place to find things that you might not find anywhere else!

ENJOY!

Have a comment? Leave it here........

Please check out my items on ebay....right here!......

$$$$$ vs $

One of the things most of the customers who come into the store say "when I clean out my closet, the things I have bought here - I keep" - "everything else goes out".
So - what does that tell us?

When I am at the mall I see everyone walking with tons of shopping bags - bags from here, bags from there - everyone! People buy so much! No question, everyone loves to shop!

This morning on The Today Show (you know I watch it everyday) they had what they called fabulous bargains under $100! What really happens when we buy something like that? We throw it away - it's junk! What's really better - one fabulous top versus one inexpensive trendy top? Something fabulous, made well and totally classic can last for years - one inexpensive trendy item will be tossed next month.

We sell very beautiful clothing - made well (most of it from Italy), unusual but not trendy, wonderful fabrics and yarns - and you will want to keep it always.

Buy LESS - buy QUALITY! You'll build up a nice wardrobe of fabulous things that will last for years and years!

Ebay Handbag Forums

Now what is this all about?
I received this email from the buyer of the Balenciaga bag that was sold just yesterday.....

I bought this bag and i am ready to pay. But before I do, I need to ask a favor of you please. I belong to the Purse Forum and some of the girls there think the numbers on the back of the tag are not from the camel bag but from and ink bag. Can you please take a picture with flash of the back of the tag? Notice how the front of the tag pics look camel, and the ones of the back are very dark?
It is probably the lighting but I bought 2 fake Balenciaga bags and paid alnost 2000. for them. I want to be sure before I hit that Pay Pal send button. I didn't ask you about this earlier because I just went to the purse forum and saw it discussed.
Thank you very much. I realize that you have excellent feedback, but many sellers think they have authentic bags because they don't know any better and they didn't purchase the bag themselves at an authorized Balenciaga dealer.
Thank you very much. As soon as I get the pictures I will pay instantly as I always do.

Now once before I had received an email from someone who bought a Coach bag from me. Telling me that they didn't want it because their "handbag forum" told her it was a FAKE! Now I bought that COACH bag myself - directly from the COACH Outlet right near my home. I told her that her "handbag forum" didn't know what they were talking about and that she commited to buy the bag. She paid immediately and was thrilled with the bag.

So tell me - what is this "purse" "handbag" forum all about? Who are these people? What are they talking about?

Look, it's possible - it has happened to me. Someone sent me a CHANEL bag - it didn't look great to me - I asked her about it and she told me that she bought it at a CHANEL Boutique at an airport. This gal travels a lot - buys great things and I believed her (I do believe she believed it too) but I had the bag checked and it was FAKE! What if it got sold to someone - that would have been awful. BUT if you receive anything from anyone - if you have any question - take it directly to Chanel, Vuitton, Dior, etc. and they will let you know if it is real or not. I was once at the Vuitton Boutique at Saks 5th Avenue and someone had two bags that she brought in to have verified - they were both real. They seemed very happy to help her! Of course if it ever happened I would more than happily return anyone's money. I would hate it to happen.

99% of the time I know the people I am dealing with (who I'm getting things from) and that particular Balenciaga bag came from a family member - I was able to guarantee 500% that it was real - how dare the "HANDBAG POLICE" suggest that I took the picture of the code # from another bag - REALLY!

Well - the fabulous bag is on its way to its new owner and I'm sure that she will be very pleased! At least I hope so!