More from the journals of a new online re-seller

The online store Shopping Golightly premiered on Etsy this October 16th selling vintage finds with plans to eventually include handmade items. Hah! It was a small, intimate premier.

Etsy gets all around kudos. The interface is easy to understand and navigate. The help section provides uncomplicated answers, a complete blessing for the novice. I’m no longer in need of huge Atlas jars to shout words into the world should never hear.

The first goal is to load inventory. It currently takes about an hour to research, photograph and write a description for each item. But, wait! How did I ever acquire so much inventory when I never had a store? I’m like a little bird collecting little shiny objects and curious. I think they’re unique. Hope others do to.

Caduceus WWII Sweetheart Photo Locket
with dashing sweetheart still lovingly tucked away.

I’ve listed over 60 items and expect the listing to remain intense for the next few weeks. Fortunately only natural light is used to photograph, so there’s an on/off switch for the day. Otherwise? It’d be 3AM and I’d be chugging coffee. It’s the old fundraiser in me (at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo) that compels me to list on such a large scale. Don’t want to miss that opportunity for a sale. My hope? I level out and just list three to five items a week found during the standard thrift routine. Continue at this rate? Not certain this endeavor would make sense. I’d earn less than minimum wage.

This porcelain enameled sign from the early railroad
has potential for a lot of bathroom humor.

Etsy is a community I’ve yet to explore, the second step of this journey. I’m afraid to peek into stores until finished with listing because I could spend hours be-dazzled by the merchandise both vintage and handmade. Piper, Little Pie, and I spent over an hour browsing Halloween items. Time stood still and we missed our regular bedtime by a number I’m not willing to share because you might think me a bad mommy to do this on a school night. Piper didn’t mind.

The third step will be putting the pretty’s on the store, banner, etc. Right now, it’s simply product but that doesn’t seem to deter traffic. I’ve had 8 sales of 11 items to date. No idea how that translates in terms of success. Getting to know the customers has been a surprising treat. The people on Etsy are a lovely crowd. Even shipped my first international package to a charming gentleman in London yesterday.

Shipping? USPS Flat Rate rocks! Though we’ve known the other for years, opening this store has given us something to bond over and I’ve learned volumes from our postman at the neighborhood branch. He’s become my informant, offering the postal skinny to help me learn the ropes. We chat after I drop off Piper at school, at 8AM when the post office opens and is quiet. He’s also encouraging and never treats me like I have just asked a very dumb question. I appreciate that.

This endears me closer to the USPS. It cannot be allowed to fail. It’s iconic. When they raise the rates this January, the general public will belly-ache. Really? Americans will be upset about a penny or two more on something that’s STILL an amazing service that is less than a dollar?

Nine-penny cuff/bracelet.

I pick up pennies. My grandfather, a man who holds a large part of my heart so tenderly, once told me his grandmother, the woman who raised him during The Great Depression, always walked with her head down searching for stray coins. I found this so touching; I never walk by any coin without picking it up but see people do that quite often. The first time I visited her grave, I placed a penny upon it and said, “Thank you for raising my Granddad” and wept for a while never to know the woman who meant so much to him. Piper’s middle name is my great, great grandmother’s maiden name. Maybe I should invent yoga pose, “Penny Picker.” Regardless, you see the irony, not pick up a penny or coin but complain when a few are added to the cost of a stamp, often a work of art in itself.

Inventory and customers are recorded in an Excel book that’s been modified countless times to determine the best way to manage information. Of course I’m too cheap to purchase inventory software. Besides, that would offer another thing to learn. (I reserve the right to change my mind over the months ahead.)

With serendipitous timing, a reader corresponded this Monday with questions about setting up a blog. I offered the 10,000’ version of The Thrifty Chicks and how I worked this blog like mad in 2009, rivaling a full time job. I had successes never imagined considering this blog started out as a creative outlet. Funny she should write about starting an online journey when I’m in the midst of a new online journey.

People have been telling me to open an online store for years. The reality, I like thrift because it meets my family’s needs. So, I’m still on the fence about this but am willing to try. Piper once told me, “I like sitting on fences.” She meant that literally.

Vintage Adirondack Peters child's sled with wooden runners.

Please take some time to look/see Shopping Golightly inventory and share what you think. I know, not thrift store prices. But, consider the time it takes to find the item, list it, associated costs from Etsy and Paypal, and then ship it. At first I priced a little lower than what I could have. That took me to the cleaners right fast. I don’t price aggressively. I’m not out to price gouge, just be a fair participant.