EBay is running a special on auction insertion fees for eBay stores May 7-13, 2012. No insertion fees for auction listings, except for 1 day durations.  See the details on their site eBay Store Promotion for Auction Listings

I have set a personal goal to list at least 5 new auctions a day during this special. There are a lot of other obligations on my calendar this week, but with some creative scheduling and focus I can do it. I have been frustrated by low sales on eBay and increasing my listed inventory should make a difference.

My son and I got back from Texas very earlier this morning. We agreed that we were very glad we went, but it felt SO good to be home again.

We traveled through Oklahoma, Missouri and Illinois in between home in Indiana and Wichita Falls, Texas. I discovered how to put cell phone photographs on Facebook along the way there. Here are a few of my less than professional snap shots. I am rather proud of the Lamar street sign because LaMar is my sons, Ronnie and Nathan, last name.

Nathan had to be at work early today. I felt sorry for him because he did more than 12 hours of driving after we ate breakfast with Ronnie in Texas. I stayed up awhile, after getting home to Indiana about 1:30 a.m., to make sure all packages were ready to ship out so I could allow myself to sleep in. (I was still in my pajamas when I did make it back to my keyboard many hours later.) I know I do not sound very inspiring…but times like these are when working from home advantages mean the most. I was able to spend time with family and then re-enter my work week at my own pace. I am most grateful!

My current vacation days were prompted by my older son being sent from Germany to Texas for Air Force training and my younger son offering to drive me from Indiana to see him.  Now I am in Texas spending time with both of my adult kids.

I have to admit that one of the major perks of my work from home job is the vacation day “request” process that I do NOT go through. I have to plan around appointments and responsibilities, but there is nobody to approve or deny my days off even though this trip was planned on very short notice.

Of course, this road trip interrupts my income. That would be the big vacation drawback of working from home. Not home? No pay. I am now in the process of putting my listings back online so customers can buy items for Monday shipment. A few late night hours spent in my hotel room with my laptop and then I am back to vacation mode until Monday. There will be extra work to do when I return to my office, but as I recall – that is the way it is for other jobs, too.

For now I am enjoying 90 degree weather in April and there is no packing tape in site!

Speaking of good deals on office supplies…my fellow work from home folks may want to print the packing tape coupon found on the Duck Brand site. I also found coupons on bubble wrap and mailers as well as other products.

Tis the season to save when we can!

My home office is a flurry of activity during the holiday season. I am shipping more packages because people are Christmas shopping for the puzzlers on their list. I am also stocking my local resale booth several times a week and tagging items for the monthly flea market. Needless to say, I get behind on my sleep and my desk gets messy during the month of December. (My husband will laugh at the implication that my desk is neat the rest of the time.)

I was reaching my limit last night, but once my shipping was done I decided to tag a few more sewing items for the flea market before going to bed. I made my own hang tags, cutting the string as needed. I worked my way through a basket of thread, pin cushions, and miscellaneous sewing notions…finding a few interesting buttons to keep for card making, too.

I was wrapping it up for the night with only a pair of scissors left to tag. I decided they weren’t anything special, but because they were functional I should be able to get a dollar or two. I didn’t think a sticky tag would stay put, so I made a hang tag. I pulled out the string and reached for my office scissors to make the cut, but I couldn’t find them.

Yes, you guessed it…I was in the process of tagging my own scissors. I promise to get more sleep this week!

The best perk of my job is the flex time. Being able to fit unexpected or short notice appointments into my schedule is a big plus. Being able to fit friends and family into my day means a lot to me.

This week a friend of mine needed someone to take her to the dentist, wait for her, then drive her home. She was having her teeth pulled to get dentures. As I look back on the day I realize that it has become automatic for me to weave my work into and around everything else.

I drove her to the dentist office early in the morning and then left to ship some puzzles while the dentist made impressions of her teeth and mouth. I answered some online questions and tagged some items to take to my local booth at Dejavu before time to pick her up.

We went to some thrift stores to treasure hunt during the hours between her impressions and her main procedure. Shopping gave her something to keep her mind occupied and I was getting work done while spending time with a friend. I found some good stuff to sell!

I used my phone to answer eBay questions while in the waiting room all afternoon. I felt 100% on top of things until they wheeled my friend out four hours later – behind schedule because of some difficulties – minus all of her teeth, making no sense because of medication, and turning an unusual shade of green. The rest of my evening was all about taking care of her. Dentures do NOT look like any fun to me. I felt totally inadequate as a caregiver but I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.

Working from home makes it possible for me to say yes when a friend calls. That benefit is priceless.

Spring is in the air.  It was a long cold winter and I feel like a dusty house plant.  I want to get outside and breathe the fresh (pollinated) air. I have made plans for each day this weekend.  Plans that include my family but do NOT include sitting at my desk.

I have been using internet tools to work ahead so my business and networking continues while I am away for hours at a time.

• EBay auctions are scheduled at appropriate times through Blackthorne.
• Twitter tweets are scheduled on Hoote Suite, so I haven’t missed Follow Friday.
• I printed shipping labels ahead of time and scheduled carrier pickup.
• I scheduled this blog post on WordPress.

I am literally in two places at once, thanks to the Internet.  And yes, dinner is in the crock pot.

 I promised an update on the progress of my 1965 Alice in Wonderland puzzle.  It was great to find all of the border pieces.  I am very optimistic about this puzzle being complete now that the circle edge is done. 

Are you working on any interesting projects?  What do you plan to do with yours when it is finished?  This one will be admired here for awhile and then sold. 

I was a bit slow to notice the regional flat rate boxes the postal service has added to their options.  At first the boxes seemed like more trouble than benefit.  Now I see real cost cutting possibilities. 

Regional shipping is different than the regular flat rate boxes that have the same rate for all zones.  It is also different than the regular postage rates that increase with each pound.  Regional A boxes cost the 2 pound rate and have a 15 pound limit.  Regional B boxes cost the 4 pound rate with a 20 pound limit. 

The destination zones are based on the zip code that you are shipping from.  I ship from Indiana, so places like California and Washington are more costly than Illinois or Michigan. 

The boxes each come in two sizes.  I don’t think these will be available at the post offices, so be sure and order yours online from the USPS.  Also, the shipping labels must be printed online.  The rates are no good at the post office counter.

If you ship small items that weigh over 2 pounds the smaller regional A boxes may save you some postage expense.  My jigsaw puzzles won’t qualify because puzzles aren’t heavy for their size.  Most of my puzzle inventory will require larger boxes or the weight will already be under 2 pounds.  However, the regional boxes will be cost effective for shipments of books when they aren’t traveling far and need to arrive quickly. 

The zone chart based on zip codes is the key to understanding how much money you can save.  I am keeping a copy at my desk, along with the regional box rate chart so I can quickly determine when a regional box will be beneficial. The rate chart is easy to understand once you know the number of the zone you are shipping to.

You will find a much prettier chart on the postal web site.  It is listed under Priority services and it is easy to print.

Unfortunately, the regional boxes are not an option in the eBay shipping calculator yet.  I think there are plans to add the new boxes very soon.  In the mean time it will be a matter of watching for the opportunities to save my customers some postage.

I learn best from experience, so I may have some regional rate lessons to learn.  Have you had a chance to use these new boxes?

I have an interesting jigsaw puzzle to put together.  A round Alice in Wonderland puzzle dated 1965 with wording from the original Lewis Carroll manuscript.  The box has been beat up a bit and the puzzle may not be complete…so I have a fun new puzzle project on my drafting table.

I figure it will take me several weeks to assemble Alice and her under ground adventures.  Those of you that are serious about your puzzles could have it done today if you wanted to, but this will be a side project for me to work on a few minutes a day.  Right now it is just a box of orange and black pieces waiting for my attention.

I am optimistic about Alice’s Adventures because it is one of three vintage Springbok puzzles found together.  The Okta horse puzzle was assembled earlier this winter and is complete.  The third puzzle is more abstract and will be a challenge for me, so I am putting it off until last. 

This one is my favorite of the three.  If it is complete I will list it in my eBay store…if not, I will keep it and enjoy the box on display in my home office.  (My office is decorated with a mix of children’s books and puzzles.)

I plan to start with the outside edge pieces and assemble the outside circle before I fill in the rest.  If you have any puzzling tips – please share.  We can all learn from each other.