4.29.08

Christina and I took the advice offered re: the photos of the jewelry to heart, and she was able to work some magic where the pics were concerned, so the new images went up last evening, and I have to agree that they look worlds better, so thank you for the notion of improving those!  :)

Work continues on getting the newest crop of goodies ready...it has been a longish process, but we're getting closer.  I now know how to format PDF's and LIT files, have made a few, we've got the LightScribe burner, have cover images, so we're just in the process of putting all the ingredients together and testing before we call this next phase a done deal, but I have to say, I'm excited about it....this stuff is (IMO anyway) the coolest thing ever, and I can hardly wait till we have it up so you guys can see!   =D

Anyway, so that's what's been occupying much of my time here lately, and with any luck, we'll have some new goodies posted soon, so stay tuned! 

Chris & Chris

4.20.08

So maybe it was just me.

Between today and yesterday, we added more than a dozen new items to the store, all with Turbo Lister, and with none of the problems I encountered previously.

Everything went flawlessly.

So much so, that it was almost worrisome (I'm the sort of fellow who starts getting suspicious when things begin to operate too smoothly).

But...that feeling was short lived.

I got over it, and took a measure of delight in the knowledge and proof that you really CAN teach an old dog new tricks!  ;)

So...smooth sailing all around then.

I even tried my hand at making a product catalog for us, but I don't think Christina was all that thrilled with the results.

Truth be told, I wasn't either.

Guess there's a limit to that whole old dog, new trick thinking after all, eh?

But...no matter.

Things are...progressing.

I like it.  And on that note, I'm gonna get up from the computer a little early, and go spend the evening with my wife.  :)

Chris & Chris

4.17.08

Okay...so today was a pretty big day in terms of getting automated and getting more inventory up on the virtual shelves.

We went from 7 listings, to 22 listings, and that's where she'll sit for a while (we've got more stuff in the wings, but I have to wait till Christina can get time to take some photos of the new stuff).

Things in the "Coming Soon" category:

* 4 new novels (in the editing stages, currently)

* Notecards

* E-Books (pdf and lit formats) - I was originally planning to offer these as downloads, but I heard something about a ban on that sort of thing? - if there is...fine...we'll do it via LightScribed CD.

* Audio Books - again, LightScribed CD

??

Got some other ideas, but at present, they're still in the planning stages.

So...questions for the galley then, are these:

1) Does anybody know why Turbo Lister items won't show up in my store?  I've got a (klunky) system worked out where I:

a) create multiple listings in TL

b) upload them to the site and see which ones actually appear (some do, some don't, even tho they're all "clones" of each other).

c) "end" the items that don't.

d) relist them one at a time

and magically...they appear.  It beats the heck out of me, so any advice would be hugely appreciated!

2) What do you think of the store?  What do you think of the merchandise? What do you think of the prices?

and

3) Do you think that the "coming soon" stuff will enhance the store and make it more appealing?

Just...wanting to take a pulse check.  :)

In other news, I spent some cycles putting together a product catalog.  Christina's beautifying it, and when she's done with it, I'll turn it into a PDF.

We're going to try our hand at a primitive form of viral marketing.  Make the PDF, e-mail it to all our friends and ask that they share it with anyone who they might know to be interested in the items we're offering.

Inside the catalog are links back to the store, how to contact us, etc.  So...who knows?  Maybe it'll start putting some eyeballs on the place.  I'll let everyone know how it goes, and if anybody has any experience with viral marketing and can offer up some additional tips to try, I'm all ears! (which makes me look rather funny, btw). ;)

Cheers!

Chris & Chris

4.17.08

Ug.

I like Turbo Lister.

I despise Turbo Lister.

I'm not sure which one of those statements is more true at present, but one thing can fairly be said.  "I am getting a LOT of exposure to Turbo Lister."

So I downloaded it, and got it sync'd up with my account here.

Then went to add some new items to the store's shelves.

That's when the trouble started.

They GOT to eBay, but wouldn't show up on the store shelves.  And worse...in my attempts to tweak them to somehow make 'em show, I wound up deleting my entire inventory!  :(

So I started over...and did it again! (poof...store inventory vanished).

Third time was a charm, and I think I have now figured out a system so that Turbo Lister and I can coexist peacefully.

I'm gonna try to add some more items this afternoon, so....we shall see.

In any case, it's been a frustrating, but intriguing day for the Hartpence Horde (me, Christina, and our four furry, four-legged companions), and I think I just might be getting the hang of this stuff.

Oh...and I found out how/where to add store categories today too, so everything's not listed in the "other" category.  Go me! ;)

Chris & Chris

4.14.08

I'm new to this stuff, so you can poke good natured fun at me if you wanna, but today was a pretty major milestone...I figured out enough about menu creation software and self booting CD's to make a simple menu that would auto-load pdf's, which means that I'm an important step closer to being able to offer the novels in e-book format on CD...now, all I need to do is get the burner with lightwave capabilities (I thought that'd be much cooler than a simple label, and for only a smidgeon more, so....).

Next step....refining the process.  The test disc I made is okay for a test, but it's a far cry from what's possible, I know....plain gray background, plain gray buttons.  Not saying I want to play Picasso, but I'd like to go a little fancier than that.  Still, now that I've got the principles down, the fancier stuff should just be a matter of art, and, wonder of wonders, but I'm married to an artist! ;)

Chris & Chris

4.13.08

Not as much progress today as I would have liked, but....a fair bit of important background work.

A lot of today was all about figuring out how to automate certain things about the listing process, which included getting TurboLister.  I'm still experimenting and playing with it, but I'm sure that's the tool I'm looking for...or at least one of them.

Christina has a fair number of new things waiting in the wings for me to prep and upload to auction, so that'll be tomorrow's task.

In terms of setup, I think the following is what we're gravitating toward:

Jewelry - since each piece is hand made, and not the kind of thing we can mass produce, we'll stick with selling those in the "buy it now" format.

Books - we'll continue to put those up for auction (and the good news here, for those who are interested, is that I've just finished a series of four, which will triple the number of books in our offering...still editing those, so it won't be immediate, but it's definitly in the "coming soon" category! ;)

Prints - I've not gotten any of these put on the site yet, but they're next, and they come in two flavors:  poster style, and on canvas.

They'll come in two sizes (for the time being), 5x7 and 8x10, and we'll have some framed, and some not, offering them both ways to see what proves popular and such.

We've also got a few other ideas, but don't have anything solid yet (still experimenting internally).

Longer term, I've been thinking of offering the books in pdf and lit format on a CD (since the ban on e-goods), and slightly after that, doing an audio version as well, but those things will take some prep work before they're ready, so that won't be happening in the immediacy, but it's the thought in my head.

Any interest in that sort of thing, or not so much?  Figured before I get too deep into it, I ought to ask...;)

And on that note, I'm going to put this aside and get some shut eye.  Our second day was, in most respects, busier than the first, but the hope is that we'll be able to automate a fair bit of this stuff, and then it won't be quite such a beast, time-wise.  I gotta keep the day job after all...*G*

Cheers and good night from Atlanta!

Chris & Chris

4.13.08

Hello and good morning ebay!  After a night's sleep and some brunch, we're back to continue working on the new store...already, Christina's hunched over her desk, tweaking some of her latest creations and prepping them for inclusion in the new shop, which will give me plenty to do as the day progresses, no doubt!

But that brings to mind a question that popped into my head last night.

Here we are, in this new place where well wishers have turned out in good number to make us feel welcome and at home, and it seems to me that it represents a bit of a crossroads, doesn't it?

I mean...the whole reason we thought to come here was to share our creative visions with others...we're here, you're here, so why not make it more engaging than just that?

Thus, the question I'm about to ask:

For those of you here giving us greeting, and perhaps following this ongoing chronicle...what sorts of things would YOU like to see in the shop?

Christina and I create.  She with a brush or a pen, and me with the keyboard.  For the most part, we draw our inspiration from our inner selves, but we certainly have and can draw inspiration from elsewhere, so why not here?

Thus...if there is something you would be interested in seeing in the shop, I hope you'll not hesitate to reply here and let us know what that is.  As you have seen, I kept up pretty well responding to comments made in this forum, and I'd love to see that continue.

So...something to think about.  We could maybe use this as...an idea box.  A playground where stuff gets kicked around, and by all means, if you have ideas or recommendations for something we could be doing differently, don't be bashful!  We're the first to admit that we're newbies at all this, so we very definitely don't know everything (example: yesterday, I got the sugesstion that our jewelry photos were a bit dark, and the recommendation that we take pics against a lighter background....a good idea, and we've got it on the list of "stuff to redo."  Until we can, we'll leave the original photos up of course, but expect to see them changing, on the basis of that recommendation).

And I'm sure there will be lots more stuff like that as time goes by.

That's my hope anyways.  :)

So....on that note, I'm going to go have a look at the latest stuff that Christina's been putting together, and see what else I can maybe get up on the site!

Many thanks for your kindness so far, folks...you have made the adventure even more fun, and we appreciate it!

Chris & Chris

4.12.08

Well...I can't say that today went off flawlessly and without a hitch.  Nahh, I could say it, but I'd be lyin'.

Today was all about stumbling around blindly, having fun, getting our hands dirty, falling on our faces in the mud, and getting back up again.

It is clear to me that many of the tasks we're doing "the hard way" right now can, will, and must be automated if this thing is to be kept in balance with the rest of our lives (example...in learning the ropes, I have spent the last six hours prepping seven listings, and I'd imagine that things could go a fair bit faster if I'd been using TurboLister or somesuch, but...these early days and early listings, I feel that it's important to do it the long way and really understand what's going on.

Once I have that firm grasp of the mechanics, then I'll feel better about automating stuff...just the way I learn, I s'pose.

Anyway, we no longer have empty shelves.  There's stuff in the store, so that's a good thing.  Even a (very slight) bit of variety, but that'll be increasing further as the weekend progresses.  By the time the dust settles on the weekend, I suspect we'll have at least some representation for all our product lines in evidence.

So...I'm gonna run my hands over my bald head like I used to do back in the days when I had hair, finish up a few last minute tasks, and then get ready to call it a night.

It's been a long (and very educational!) day for both of us, and we'll be back tomorrow to continue exploring.  Hey, and with any luck, we might even get a few people buying, bidding on, or at least watching our stuff...that would be exciting indeed!

On that happy note, I'm gonna sign off of here, and bid you all good night.  :)

Chris & Chris

Wow...that was harder than it should have been!  It took me forever to figure out how to make an item a store entry, rather than a regular auction, but I finally stumbled my way through it, AND remembered to save this first entry as a template, so that going forward, the next entries should be a good bit easier/faster/smoother, so as soon as I post this entry, I will head back into the fray and post some more goodies...so far, I have to say it's been a blast!  Christina and I are having a great time, as is Master Remington (we have four pets...two big hearted labs, and two cats who think they're human...Remington is a yearling, and has discovered the joys of pouncing on the keyboard as I'm trying to type descriptions...had to kick the little guy out for that).

Anyway, progress is being made, and by this evening, we should have a fair number of things up on the site.  Stay tuned!  ;)

Chris & Chris

4.12.08

Sadly, I've not yet been able to get our first series of items up on the storefront yet, but that's coming soon (I was under threat of severe pain if I didn't let the keyboard alone and take my wife to get some food, so...needless to say, as a good husband, and fearing for my life, I did as the lady asked, and we went to get some food at the Mexican place down the way).

Afterward, it was off to make the rounds to see some of our suppliers and pick up some last minute needed items to make this thing fire on all cylindars, and finally, after a three hour tour through the Atlanta suburbs, we're ready to tackle some more of the nuts and bolts work online.

So...while Christina experiments with our newly acquired canvas paper, it falls to me to continue the documentation of our adventure, and get the store operational, and as soon as I hit "post" here, I'm off to go start stocking the shelves with some of the goodies...

More later!

Chris & Chris

4.12.08

Success!

We got our 20th feedback mid-morning today, and now have the store set up.

It's still empty for the moment, but the shell is there, and after a break for lunch, we'll continue to work on it....slowly bringing it to life as we continue down this new path, and who knows?  Perhaps this account of our latest adventure will be of interest to those who happen across this blog, and as we learn new things, perhaps it'll even be of help to those who come later and find themselves feeling their way, much as we are now.

But....a family's gotta have priorities, so I'll get one item listed so the store's not utterly threadbare, and then go take my wife to lunch before we get back to it.  ;)

Chris & Chris

4.12.08

Okay, so...it looks like the store won't be going up today.

The first thing we ran afoul of was the minimum requirements...missed it by ONE feedback rating, so...off we went to go buy something!  (Some inkjet canvas for Christina)...once we get feedback from that transaction, we should be able to take the next step!

Until then...we wait and continue to get stuff ready around here!  ;)

Chris & Christina

4.12.08

So...here we are.  We've sold a few things on e-bay, with a focus on clothing.  That got our feet wet, and introduced us to the exciting and dynamic world of e-bay, but it was a hobby thing for us, you know?

Just something to fool around with.

Not long ago, Christina and I were talking about our artistic passions and how much we enjoy doing what we do, the conversation drifted into how we might share that with others.

Typically, we're pretty private people, and that's a bit of a two edged sword, you know?  On the one hand, if you're an artist, you NEED to be in the public eye, else no one will see, hear, or know about your work.

On the other hand...you gotta have some downtime if you want to get anything done...to create.

We've been doing an awful lot of the latter, and not much of the former, so we decided that maybe a change was in order, and, since we were already familiar with e-bay, and have really enjoyed our time here, we figured...why not?

Let's make a little e-bay store and stock it with all our own stuff.

100% original creations that you won't find anyplace else.

How do we know this? (that you won't find them anyplace else)

Cos we created it all from scratch!  Oh sure, we might run some auctions independently of the store, if the right thing comes along, but everything you find in our soon to be born store will be all new, all original work. 

You can't get it at a liquidator, and you can't get it from some big drop shipper, but you can get it right here in our little corner of the e-bay-verse.  ;)

Oh...and I should mention something about the name...Creative Happenings.

Christina's idea.

Chris Hartpence

Christina Hartpence

Creative Happenings

Got a trend going on, see?  ;)

Anyway, more later...the store doesn't exist just yet, so I'm gonna stop writing for a bit and go get it off the ground, but watch this space!  Christina or I will be back soon to add to this blog and continue to document our latest adventure!

Chris & Christina Hartpence