Shipping prices on eBay: Seller Friend, Buyer Foe
I haven’t posted for awhile so I though I would go ahead and write about a recent discovery. I’m sure most of you have bought an item on eBay or at least browsed the auctions. You might notice that many items on eBay are cheap, almost too cheap. Then you get to the checkout and realize that the price for shipping is outrageous! With eBay and PayPal taking more and more commission from each sale, sellers have found a loophole in the process to retain their profit margins. eBay and PayPal are not allowed to take a cut from the shipping costs of items, so the money is made from the shipping costs listen in the auctions . Although it’s against eBay’s policies, it continues to happen. I know it bothers many people, but it doesn’t bother me at all. I’ll tell you why…
Let’s say you’re looking for OEM brake pads on eBay. The listed price is $.99. “What a deal!” you exclaim. Then you realize that the shipping price is $50.00. “Fifty bucks for shipping is too much, they’re trying to rip me off!” says the customer. No purchase is made and you go to the dealer where you pay $75.00 for the pads and nothing for shipping since they’re in stock, but when you go back and look at the total cost from each source, the eBay seller is still cheaper!
When I see a high shipping price I add up the total cost and take a second to determine if I would be saving money. I encourage you to do the same while shopping on eBay. In the end it’s all money, product cost or shipping cost. Lose that big buyer ego and save yourself some money!
Collect rain water and water gardens for free
What’s your definition of success?
The aritcle below was published by John Jantsch, with a title of above. I found it quite interesting. Check it out:
Every once in a while I think it’s important to step out of the trees and re-ask yourself the really big questions.
This week I had the pleasure of moderating a panel discussion made up of successful entrepreneurs. While we covered the tactical stuff, the planning, correcting, hindsight, marketing and money, I asked them each this two-part question.
What’s your definition of success and how has it changed?
Entrepreneurs are an odd bunch really. When I ask them to talk about their businesses, they glow with excitement and get all nerdy about the granular aspects of what makes their very successful widget go, but ask them about personal success and most go “ah shucks” on you.
Here’s my thought on this. Entrepreneurs have a really tough time defining success because most entrepreneurs are never satisfied with where they are today. They already have the picture of what could be if they just got the rest of the pieces in place.
Now I’m not saying this is an altogether unhealthy state of mind, but it can sure ruin some dinner conversation with your spouse. I do think it’s something worth noting and working on.
I believe that you can and should celebrate the personal wins all along the way while still holding a glimpse of the eventual destination. Anyone who has done any climbing knows that false peaks are both a gift and a bummer. They drive you on because you feel like you’re almost there and they ground you because your realize you’ve still got a ways to go.
Every business owner should develop a personal definition of success and use it as a filter for all the stuff that goes on in the tornado. I have a personal definition of success and it’s different than yours. How do I know that, because it has to be. No one can authentically share the same specific measure of success, but they may die trying.
So back to my original thought. What’s your definition of success and how has it changed?
For me, it’s very important to think of success in milestones. Sometimes those are tangible – 1 million page views a month, sometimes they are intangible – stuff seems to be falling at my feet lately. But, most importantly, I define success as a way to feel completely jazzed about what’s happening today while holding a picture of what I know can happen tomorrow. (Kind of corny I suppose, but without that view I get the life sucked out of from time to time.)
How has it changed? All I can say is that the more inward I look, the more I surround myself with passionate people, the more I share, the better it gets. (Thanks for stomaching that one.)
So, what’s your definition of success and how has it changed?
Magazine Subscription –FREE–
Well for all you periodical junkies like myself I have found a site that offers free magazine subscriptions. The best part is that it’s not one of those affiliate marking type where you have to fulfill offers before you get your subscription. So check it out and enjoy these sometimes quirky magazines!
http://bestdealmagazines.tradepub.com/
Phil McKinney -Killer Innovation-
Below are two videos of Phil Mckinney speaking at the Maker Faire on innovation. You can also check out his Podcast and Blog at http://philmckinney.com/ . I listen to his Podcast on a regular basis and I really enjoy hearing his point of view on many subjects. He is able to shift his mindset and look at problems from a whole new level. The only issue that I have with his Podcast is that it talks a little too much about being an innovator within your large corporation rather than being an innovator in your daily life. But hey the principles of the subject matter can be related most of the time anyways. Well enjoy the movies!
How does a leader get his powers?
All of us have had managers, supervisors, or whatever you call them at your certain job. What I want to examine is where does the power of that particular leader come from? Some will say that the leader get their powers from the position. Meaning when you are appointed/hired as CEO you are immediately in power over those below you. Others, including myself, feel that a leader is one that has followers and is able command his people without a position. If that person does have a position to which they are given command it enables them to command personnel to a greater extent. So the next time you go to work think about how have you given your leader power or how have those below you given you power. And for those that own their own businesses well your customers are your leader so how do you give them power?
While you think about that check out this video of some interesting leadership quotes:
Prey
Prey is a free software that works on any operating system to help recover a stolen laptop. It runs in the background and is virtually invisible, the thief will never know. It has the ability to record times and locations of the device as well as take pictures if your computer has a webcam.
Read more: http://preyproject.com/
I will certainly be putting this software on my netbook.
Autodesk Student Community
If you have any interest in CAD, I would suggest checking out the Autodesk student community at http://students.autodesk.com/. The student community allows you to download a wide range of Autodesk softwares for free. The only difference (that I have noticed anyway) between the paid version and the student community version is a watermark that is placed on assemblies, if they are printed. You can access the latest version of AutoCad, Autodesk Inventor Professional (my favorite), even 3Ds Max! The list does not end there, Autodesk offers a total of 25 softwares that are essentially complete (let’s just say they are plenty complete for me to use without problems). I would encourage you to check out these free softwares and download them if you have any interest. The student community also offers free training and support for the products.
I have been using Autodesk Inventor for about six years now. I just do it for fun or to visualize my ideas. It’s a lot of fun and you can create some really cool stuff. I like it most because I can create a product or idea in a virtual setting and improve the idea from there. Inventor has really helped me develop problem solving skills because it forces me to develop a ‘plan of attack’ when creating a new part. I must decide where to start and why. Sometimes it is tough, but I always welcome a challenge. If you have any questions about Inventor, send me an email.
alespurg@indiana.edu
Analog vs. Digital: Sports
For my I101 blog post assignment I want to compare the differences between analog and digital sports. With the advent of modern gaming platforms and software technology, sports have become an even larger entertainment industry than franchise owners could have ever imagined ($$$$$$$). Obviously we watch sports on TV, go to games, and play them in our spare time; which would be the analog forms. In the recent years, gaming has introduced us to a new way to participate in these sports, the digital form.
As with any comparison, there are pros an cons. The pros of the analog form include exercise, sportsmanship, social interaction, even fame and fortune. The cons of analog sports include injury, rivalries, high equipment costs, and unbearable practices. The digital form also has its fair share of pros and cons. Digital sports like video games make it easier for many people to get involved who would otherwise not take part due to poor athletic abilities. Digital sports are also much more convenient and cheaper. Digital sports seem to have the ability to remove a huge part of analog sports; physical activity, sportsmanship and social interaction (XBOX Live doesn’t count). Both forms do however share a very essential and basic trait; entertainment. Sports in the analog form are just types of entertaining exercise, and in the digital form they are games, and games are fun.
What is lost when moving from the analog to the digital form, like I said before, is the absence of sportsmanship, physical activity, and social interaction. Those three properties are not lost in vain in my opinion since the overall goal of both forms is to entertain.
I think that the analog form is much better than the digital form. Call me a hypocrite since I’m such a digital fiend, but analog sports were around long before digital sports and if society has to choose between the two, analog sports will win without question.
Consider Yourself a Subatomic Particle
This video is extremely insightful when it comes to the size of our universe. Our planet is minuscule compared to the rest of the known universe. I must emphasize that we are talking about the “known universe” because it is so large that even we can’t document everything. I am a huge fan of space exploration and quantum physics, and I hope all of you will watch this video to understand the size of our universe. To me, size is only relative. For example, the Empire State building is enormous (to me), but to the universe, it is insanely tiny. It is hard to get my point across without going into great depth, but I hope this brief video will shed some light.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17jymDn0W6U&feature=player_embedded#
