LOL! Marvin Martian, the old Looney Tunes character, had so many great lines in those cartoons! I'm a bit sad to part with this particular treasure {sigh} but this glass tumbler is up in my online garage sale nonetheless.

The auction is ending today, so if you're into this type of collectible, now's your chance! You can click here to see all the items in my online garage sale.

Thanks for helping me clear out all this stuff before our big move in a couple weeks! At least after the move I'll have plenty of room to collect a bunch of new stuff!!!

I have the classic Collector's Guide to Dollhouse and Dollhouse Miniatures, by Marian Maeve O'Brien (1974) up for sale in my online garage sale.  The auction ends in about an hour, if you're interested.  I'd love to sell it to a fellow blogger!

The Cassini spacecraft has taken some really interesting pics of Saturn. Check out this one of the planet's north polar region. The clouds seem to form a hexagon shape!

The strange shape has been noticed before, by the Voyager probes over 20 years ago (it is apparently a long-lasting phenomenon), but never with this pic's perspective and clarity.

Simply amazing!  Yeah, I'm a space geek as well as an eBay geek.

;-)

Image Credit: NASA / JPL / University of Arizona
Hat Tip: SPACE.com

My wife, kids and I are moving to Texas!  I've been there to visit a few times, but never lived there.  Any pointers?  Things to do?  Places I should try to take the kids (they're 5 and 6)?

We move in 17 days, and I'm just not ready!!!  Arrghhh!!!  I'm sitting here sorting through boxes of stuff and making piles.  A pile of stuff that's going out in the recycling or trash.  A pile of stuff that needs to be packed for the move.  A pile of stuff to donate to church or the Salvation Army.  A pile of stuff, that I really like but haven't used in years....  I'm such a pack rat... err... I mean avid collector!  I can't keep everything I want (we have a weight limit on the move, and of course our furniture is taking up most of that).

{sigh}

Ah, well.  I'm using eBay as my online garage sale! Perhaps my loss will be your gain.  Can you help me at least find good homes for some of my books and other treasures?

Yes, you can use PayPal Shipping to mail just about any package, even if it's not connected to an eBay transaction!

Have you ever sold a widget on eBay's Half.com (or any other site) and wanted to have the convenience of using PayPal Shipping just like you do for your regular eBay auctions?  Have you needed to mail a package to your mother for her birthday and wished you could use PayPal Shipping with its discounted or free delivery confirmation?

Well... you can!!!

This has come up several times on the blogs, so I thought I would write up a very short eBay Guide with the info.

How to Use PayPal Shipping to Mail Almost Anything

And, yes, I'm fishing for votes here.  Can't help it, I'm a big eBay geek and I want to earn that little reviewer pencil icon!  I need a 100 votes to get it.  Anyway, I hope you find the info useful!

Links to websites that advertise widgets for sale outside of eBay ARE allowed on the eBay Blogs (with a couple of restrictions)! The policy can be found here:  eBay Community Content Policy

Be sure to scroll down to the 'Additional Information' section that deals specifically with the blogs. It says in part:

"Members publishing Blogs may include links to sites that offer goods for sale off eBay, as long as they do not promote outside-of-eBay sales or prohibited items; nor may the Blog contain links to commercial Web sites where goods from multiple sellers are aggregated by a common search engine."

Translation (at least my take on what the above policy means):

Basically, you can link to websites that sell products, even if those products are not being sold through eBay. However, the products in question can not be prohibited items on eBay (for instance, you couldn't link to a site that sells human body parts or something).

Also, the website you link to can not be used to encourage people to sell items that are currently for sale on eBay, outside of eBay. That's fee avoidance (for instance, if you have a gold coin for sale on eBay, but your private website states something like 'make me an offer and I'll cancel the eBay auction and sell it to you directly').

The last part, about sites that aggregate sales from many sellers, would seem to be aimed at sites like Amazon's Marketplace, AbeBooks or other seller-based search engines (sites where you type in the product you want and a list of sellers with that product appears).

So, anybody have a differing opinion?

Now this is a kitchen widget I gotta get!  The Bakers Edge Brownie Pan is a baking pan shaped kind of like a maze or labyrinth.  Which means you get more corner and edge pieces (the best pieces of a brownie in my opinion - nice and chewy).  I'd buy one right now if I could find one on eBay!  (hat tip:  Boing Boing)

On a completely unrelated note....  There are still lots of things available in my online garage sale!  We're moving to Texas in 18 days (aackkk!!!) and I can't take all my books and collectibles with me.  So, I'm thinning out my bookshelves, closets, attic, garage, under the bed....  I'm such a pack rat!

:-(

Help a blogger out!?! My loss may be your gain!

Yes, you can use PayPal Shipping to mail just about any package, even if it's not connected to an eBay transaction!

Have you ever sold a widget on eBay's Half.com (or any other site) and wanted to have the convenience of using PayPal Shipping just like you do for your regular eBay auctions?  Have you needed to mail a package to your mother for her birthday and wished you could use PayPal Shipping with its discounted or free delivery confirmation?

Well... you can!!!

This has come up several times on the blogs, so I thought I would write up a very short eBay Guide with the info.

How to Use PayPal Shipping to Mail Almost Anything

And, yes, I'm fishing for votes here.  Can't help it, I'm a big eBay geek and I want to earn that little reviewer pencil icon!  I need a 100 votes to get it.  Anyway, I hope you find the info useful!

What's that, honey? No, no. It's not junk food. Yes, that is chocolate melting on my fingers, but I'm eating healthy. Seriously, it says it right here... eating 8 ounces of dark chocolate a day is good for you. I'm just doing what the doctor ordered!

Hee, hee! Yeah, they won't have to twist my arm on this one!

So, just trying to get some ideas from Blogville....  How do you get people to look at your listings?  What drives traffic to your auctions?  Advertising?  Blogs?

A friend and I were talking earlier in the week and I came up with a list of a few simple (and free) things that I think help.  He suggested I write up my list as an eBay Guide.  I took his advice and posted my first eBay Guide a few days ago:

5 Simple Ways to Increase Traffic to Your Listings

I would love to hear your suggestions too!  Is there anything you would add to my list?

Also, I'm trying to get 100 votes on my guide so that I can earn that little pencil icon next to my user name (yes, I'm that much of an eBay nerd).  If you don't mind, after you read my guide, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on 'Yes' where it asks if the guide was helpful or not.  Thanks so much!