One Snarky Chica with Issues

I used to sell a lot of stuff on eBay. Most of the stuff that I was selling were digital items. A while back eBay made it so that digital items were no longer allowed in auction listings. Instead, if you were selling digital items then you needed to use the fixed price listings that were good for 30 days. When they made this change I looked into it as I was making around $400 a month selling my digital items. Guess what I found out? I would end up losing money instead of making money since I sold low-cost items.

Now there have been even more changes on eBay. And I have to wonder what they are thinking. Do they really think that they are making eBay more attractive to people? And are they? Or do they have people running away from eBay?

A few months ago eBay changed its feedback system, for the worse in my opinion. With the changes, sellers could only leave positive feedback. So if you sold something, got payment, shipped it and then had a seller file a chargeback with PayPal you could only leave positive feedback. That is when I stopped using eBay.

Now there are more changes on eBay.  And these ones are even worse in my opinion.

First - maximum shipping and handling costs. Apparently eBay has decided that they know how much it costs to mail a variety of things and had imposed maximum shipping and handling fees in some categories.  About a year ago I sold one of those really big heavy dictionaries on eBay. It was so large I had to go buy a box for it. Under policies now, the max I would be able to charge for shipping is $4, which would not cover the cost of the box and postage.

Second - limiting how you can accept payment. Since eBay owns PayPal I guess they have decided that they are losing too much money on people that pay by money order. So, starting October 20, 2008 checks and money orders will no longer be an allowed payment method.

So, I am done with eBay. There are alternatives out there. I just need to investigate them and see which ones are the best options. Any suggestions?

2 Comments

I was a bit shocked to see that the Fed cut the rates again. It appears that this is good news for people that have debt with an interest rate tied to the prime rate. And it is not so good if you are stashing your cash away in an ING account or the like.

Me - I still have some credit card debt. So I enjoy that interest rate going down a wee bit. However, I do not know enough about how all of this works to know if it is a good move in the long run or not. I do wish something would stop the decline that my Roth IRA is experiencing. That also is pretty freaking painful.

I had often wondered why people did not use their Roth as an emergency fund account since you can withdraw your earnings at any time with no penalty. And now that my Roth is worth less than I have put in, well, I see why no one advises that! Yikes!

All of this financial turmoil has me feeling a bit uneasy. In fact, I am thinking of job hunting so that I can have some definite income coming in. Plus, if you get laid off you can collect unemployment, but if your freelance work dries up I don’t think you get the same option. The bad thing about doing that is having to fill all “free” time with freelance projects. But the double income would be nice and provide peace of mind. It’s something to think about at least.

No Comments

If you do a lot of traveling, actually any traveling at all that has you landing in or flying out of LaGuardia airport in New York City then you know what a pain transportation is. In fact, that is why I prefer to fly out of JFK airport in Queens because you can take both the subway and the bus to and from that airport. But you are not so lucky when it comes to LaGuardia airport. Luckily you do have options other than a scary cab ride to or from LaGuardia airport. In fact, you can try out the Laguardia Airport Shuttle from GO Airlink Shuttle. It is certain to be better than getting a ride from a drunken cab driver. Yes, that happened to me. It was horrible but I did arrive in one piece. But anyways, with GO Airlink Shuttle you can get transportation to or from LaGuardia airport that is reliable, safe and affordable. You will know exactly what the cost will be, unlike those wiley cab drivers who charge you whatever they want, at least that is what it seems like in my opinion. You can get GO Airlink Shuttle service throughout the New York City area and the surrounding suburbs. They operate every day of the year. And they offer transfers in each direction between the LaGuardia airport and hotels, as well as residences and businesses that are between Battery Park and 125th Street in New York City. So if you need some great LaGuardia airport transportation you should look to GO Airlink Shuttle instead of something else. They are certain to be able to help you out!

No Comments

I think that I have mentioned on here before that travel is one of my weaknesses. Truth be told, it is what got me into the majority of the debt that I am in. You know, extra student loan money for a jaunt to Paris. But, that’s another story.

This weekend I decided that I wanted to book a trip to London. BUT - I didn’t want to have to pay a lot to do so. I haven’t done any real traveling in some time and wanted a break. I did not want to spend much on airfare and thought my idea was possible as I have a lot of British Airways miles collecting dust. In fact, I have enough British Airways miles for one free ticket, or for two tickets using part miles and part cash. (But not enough for two totally free tickets.)

Since I am not single, I was all set for the two tickets at part miles and part cash. But first, I thought I would see what the going rate is for two tickets. Why? Only because they are running a special right now where if you book one full-price ticket then you get a free companion ticket for your next trip. So, I looked and it would end up costing around $1300 to fly out of JFK. Bummer.

So, I went to book the trip using part miles and part cash. Imagine my surprise when the total came up and it informed me that it would take all of my miles and cost me over $1600 FOR THE EXACT SAME FLIGHTS!!! Clearly this was not a good deal. In fact, it is rather ridiculous that they take advantage of loyal customers like that. I mean, $300 more for the same flights AND it would take all of my miles?!?

Needless to say there was no trip booked. Instead, I’ll just keep earning BA Miles for online purchases and try to get up to two free tickets. And before you say, why not book one free ticket and pay for one - well, first it would still cost more that I hoped to pay. And second, it seemed almost impossible to get us both tickets on the same flights for some reason. Plus, who wants to sit separately?

So, the moral of the story is just because you think you are taking the frugal and inexpensive option, be sure to do your homework as you just might be mistaken!

1 Comment

A story on the New York times website caught my eye regarding the death of a guy named Iman Morales. If you aren’t familiar with the story, about a week ago police in Brooklyn came out to find Mr. Morales naked on a second story building ledge screaming random stuff . He then began engaging in a one-sided jousting match using a long fluorescent light bulb on the police officers trying to get him down.

So, let’s recap. Naked man. On a ledge. Clearly mentally unstable. And did I mention, on a ledge?

And what do the police do? They taser the poor guy! He’s on a ledge, so of course he falls off when tasered. He lands on his head and dies. Did they really not see this coming?  I mean, seriously?

Today’s news regarding this is that the lieutenant that gave the order to use the taser committed suicide this morning. I just don’t know what to say about that.

1 Comment

Have you been in the process of planning a New York City area trip soon? Do not drive your self around. Instead, relax on a charter bus from NYC Bus Charters. Then you will not have to worry about the stress of getting where you are going - you can let someone else deal with that! You can use NYC Bus Charters for simple things like airport transfers or even just to get to and from trade shows and things like that. NYC Bus Charters also offers up some city sightseeing tours on double-decker buses, theater tickets, visits to attractions, and much more. You can even get charter bus service to nearby cities like Philadelphia , PA;  and Washington DC. So really, it does not matter what your specific needs are because chances are they can be met by NYC Bus Charters. So if you are planning a trip today, why not look into what NYC Bus Charters can do for you to make that trip a little less stressful.

No Comments

I’m a day late, but thanks to Sound Money Matters for hosting the Carnival of Personal Finance last week. And for including a post from yours truly. There were loads of good articles in the carnival. If you missed, do be sure to click through a check some of them out!

And if you are a Lucky Brand jeans fiend, they have a new sale going on right now! Get $30 off select Lucky Brand Jeans. Expires Oct 19.

No Comments

Do you eat a lot of tomatoes? If you do, chances are you won’t be needing the services of a plastic surgeon or botox when you get older. In fact, a recent study has proven that people that eat a diet with a lot of tomato based meals have higher levels of procollagen in their skin.

Image: MuffetWhat that means is that tomatoes slow down the aging process a wee bit. It’s all thanks to the lycopene that is found in tomatoes. The study noted that more lycopene is released in cooked tomatoes, so keep that in mind if you plan on beginning to eat more tomatoes. And as a nice bonus, the lycopene also helps prevent some skin damage from UV rays!

Personally I am stoked about this find as I eat a lot of tomato-based meals. Not that I would ever seek botox or anything like that when I get older. It’s just nice to know that something I like eating has these extra little perks to offer. And I just might have to start eating even more tomato-based meals! What about you?

1 Comment

Now, on the past here I have discussed some home re-decorating tips like how you can get rid of clutter. There has also been some discussion on re-decorating to make things seem more simple and zen. And an important part of redecorating involves getting some good lighting in your home. I just moved recently and am having some serious issues when it comes to adequate lighting. If I was in Canada in the Toronto area I would check out the lighting store in Toronto called Lando Lighting Galleries. They actually have some cool designer lighting supplies for people like you and me. If you are in that area and in need of some lighting for your re-decorating plan then I urge you to check it out today!

No Comments

It is no secret that most store bought deodorants and antiperspirants contain several ingredients that have been linked to serious health problems. I am talking about things like Alzheimer’s disease and cancers. With that in mind, I have been researching some safer more natural alternatives for deodorant and anti-perspirant.

If you do a search you will see that there are many companies that sell conventional deodorant/ antiperspirants that claim that they are safer alternatives. Upon closer inspection I found the “safer” typically meant “we only have one of those nasty chemicals instead of several” and that was not what I was searching for.

Eventually I did come across some completely safe alternatives that I am going to try out. I also learned that there is nothing natural about anti-perspirants, so you can only get natural deodorant, but some of the things below do also limit sweating. And if any of them work, it will also be less expensive! Here are some of the tips that I came across for natural alternatives for deodorant:

• Wash with baking soda under your arms when in the shower
• Use lemon or lime juice under your arms - you can just cut a lemon or lime in half and apply it that way. (remember not to do this after shaving- ouchie!)
• Use a mixture of equals parts baking soda and non-GMO cornstarch or just baking soda and dab under arms as a deodorant. You can even add a drop of your favorite essential oil to customize it. (Some people have mentioned that this can stain dark clothes if you sweat in them. It washes out easily but is unsightly.)
• Use rubbing alcohol to clean the bacteria from armpits (remember not to do this after shaving- ouchie!)
• Sage tea - drink it and use it on your armpits
• Apple cider vinegar or white vinegar dabbed on the armpit is supposed to be effective, and supposedly the vinegar smell goes away quickly.

I also read a lot about getting a rock crystal from health stores that you use as deodorant. I am not at all familiar with this, so I have no idea about the cost. Lots of people seem to swear by it. And supposedly one stone will last for a year! Anyone used one of these? Do they have them at Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s?

For some info on what’s so bad about conventional deodorants and antiperspirants, have read here.

If you have tried any of the above please let me know! I plan on experimenting with the above and will let you all know what works and what doesn’t for me.

No Comments