Listing Signed Necklaces on eBay

 Miriam Haskell is a fabulous designer.  She created a very versatile 52" necklace.  It can be layered as pictured.  You could even add a fancy brooch to upcycle the piece.  If you ever run across a Miriam Haskell piece hang on to it because they are harder to find and more costly.

Whenever I am shopping for items to sell, I look for tags on the necklaces because that is often a signed piece.  Signed pieces are easier to describe and sell because often there are people that like a particular designer.

 If the signature is not on the tag is will usually be found near the clasp on or the clasp if it is a signed piece.  When it is in one of these spots it is often super tiny so you need a magnifier.


I found a "loop" in the coin section at the bookstore.  It is a 16x powerful magnifier that folds up.  When I worked the flea market, I learned about these type of magnifiers because a male shopper had one hanging from a lanyard around his neck.  He used it to inspect the pieces that he purchased.

 I try not to think of the pieces I may have underpriced and still underprice due to my lack of knowledge.  I focus on each aspect of this journey as a new learning experience. 

When photographing a necklace, try not to overlook the clasp.  It can be an indicator of the age of the piece.  A person who is a an avid jewelry collector will look for these type of details.  Others will have a better idea of what they are purchasing so the outcome is often favorable. Close ups of the piece are essential for indicating more subtle details that cannot be noted in the average picture.

                                                                       

Right now I am focusing on learning how to list items as accurately and efficiently as possible.  I plan to have a notebook on my desk just to jot down these ponderings so that I can research them in my spare time.  I can't express how exciting it is to learn a whole new "area."  I have focused so much of my time on classroom best practices when I was teaching that I missed out on learning about this type of topic.  I really appreciate the layers of knowledge that are required in learning about jewelry.  Aside from types of clasps, types of beads, types of chains, types of gems, types of metal, etc...There are also oodles of designers to learn about and what influenced those designers,  AND there is all the historical periods.  Oh my it is overwhelming.  That is why I want to share, share, these tidbits as I learn them. 

It's time to "Tweet" for Business - Learning to Use Twitter to Grow Your Business

I have been a "pin-a-holic" on Pinterest in an attempt to grow my business.  It is a platform I that I have felt very comfortable with from the beginning.  Perhaps it is the structure and organization...Twitter on the other hand not so much.

That is about to change.  I am resolving to focus more of my energies on Twitter.  It seems so random with tweets - small snippets of information.  That can be a good thing. 

The eBay mobile app makes it very easy to share your postings in the most popular social networking arenas (Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter in no particular order).  All you have to do is click on share your listing after it posted and then select which social network you want to share it with.  It's that simple.  With a couple more clicks you can share to all three!

I have been religious with Pinterest and somewhat on Facebook.  I hesitate with Facebook because it shares to my personal page and not my business page.  I do not want to barrage my family and friends with numerous postings.  Twitter, I've avoided because it can get overwhelming trying to learn too many new things at once. 

It's time to "Tweet" to grow my business.  The question is how to grow followers.  Customers that are interested in purchasing from my store.  When I make a sale on eBay, I've been including an information sheet that includes my return policy and main website www.GroovyEducator.com that links up to my blogs and eBay store but I have not really been pushing the social media.

What made me want to spend more emphasis on this is silly really but on an episode of American Idol there was mention how important social media is.  I hope I didn't lose you yet!  Well that planted the seed.  Tonight when I was visiting eBay's seller information center, there is was again-mention on utilizing social media.  You can follow @ebayforbusiness to learn more from eBay!  How neat is that.
If you are interested in following me, here is the info: @GroovyEducator

I will work on tweeting new items in my eBay store as well as products in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store.  I have been focusing so much on eBay lately that my TpT products have been pretty stagnant.   It's hard to balance it all because I have so many interests.  In time I will work on tweeting when I have a new blog post.

To get started I am just going to tweet away and hope that more followers find me.  The theory is that people only want to follow someone worth following...At least that is what I am guessing. As I learn more I will be sure to share more. 

If you have knowledge in any of these areas and would like to share/comment, I would love that.  It would accelerate the learning curve substantially. 

From being a teacher for many years I have learned that sharing sessions with colleagues is often the most effective professional development. There's even a term for that now:  Learning Communities.

Okay, it is late, late, late and I am beginning to ramble...

Here's to "Tweet" dreams!  (cheesy play on words I know...)