Just My Opinion

Now I, like many folks, have never understood how the powers in control price gasoline, heating oil, and such.  Seems like it is based mostly on whatever the market will bear, and woe to the consumer.  And we the consumers have learned to accept floating prices, pumping our own gas, paying with cash only, and even washing our own windshields.  And we can have 2 fuel stations (remember when they were known as Service Stations?) on opposite street corners with a price difference of .30 per gallon, and both will do a booming business.  Who cares about price?

I saw another good example of this on a recent trip from Central NY to the Tug Hill.  I did some running around up there, so needed to get a refill to make it back to Baldwinsville.  Not surprisingly, the mart in Barnes Corners was at $2.74.  They feed on snowmobilers, ATVers, and campers, and have a bit of a monopoly there.  I passed them up.  At Adams Center, next to Rt 81, they also were at $2.75-they cater to the unwary traveler who forgot to fill up at Watertown or the 1000 Islands.  I decided to move on down the road.

At Adams, just 4 miles further South, I found the highest price yet, $2.79.  No way I pay-still have a gallon or so left.  Finally, at Sandy Creek, I relented and pulled off and found a station-only $2.69 here.  I bought the least amount I thought would get me home.  Note that it is .10 per gallon less 20 miles down the road.  Delivery costs?

So much for that, but to my surprise, when I exited the expressway at Cicero, another 25 miles or so down the interstate, all the stations had gas for $2.49!  That is a .30 difference from Adams, or aabout 12%.  Make any sense at all?  Delivery costs?  Greed?  Supply and demand?  Who cares?  Of course there a number of retailers in Cicero, and competition of course, but I would like to know.  Wouldn’t you?

Tags: fuel, gas, gas prices, lowville, ripoff, sales, selling, Tug Hill, unhappy buyers

Tags: income tax, IRS, ripoff, sales, selling, tax preparation, tax software, taxes, turbotax, unhappy buyers

For Fun & Profit

Actually our experience with Ebay selling over the past 6 years has been more fun than profit.  We are retired, enjoy playing on the internet, and got into ebay pretty much by accident.  We were having a big garage sale, and our daughter was home from college.  She asked if she could sort out a few of the t-shirts we were trying to sell for 50 cents, and first thing we knew she had taken photos and listed them on ebay, and was selling them for $10-15 each.  Hmmmm.

So with her help, we got started in ebay selling, with clothing, books, knives, and things we had around the house.  We needed a digital camera, so we looked for things we could sell to raise some money for a camera.  I had a collection of books and hunting knives, so we sold some of those.  We got into buying t-shirts, books, and jerseys at garage sales, thrift stores, library book sales, wherever.  It is fun to list an item you have paid a buck or so for and watch the bids climb to $10, 20, even higher.  We use the proceeds for our bingo fund.

There have been some remarkable successes over the years.  I had a hunting knife I bought for fifty cents at a garage sale, used it for 20 years, and sold it for $900.  We have bought shirts for $1 and sold them as high as $100.  I sold a collectible hunting book for $200, then found another copy for $2 and sold it for $325.  An old empty shotgun sell box sold for $95.  Those make it interesting.

Ebay selling is not difficult, if one follows their rules, and knows the basics of computers.  We take our own photos, upload them to our server, then use them on the auction listing.  Before listing an item, we like to research similar ones that have sold or are selling.  We never copy another seller’s listing information or photos.  Good clear pictures and a good description are very important, as well as details on shipping cost, payment methods, etc.  For example, if you tell bidders that you accept cash, ebay will cancel your auction.  Not allowed.  Paypal costs a little more, but works best for buyer and seller.

Give it a try, and have fun.

And that is Just My Opinion.

Tags: auctions, e-bay auction, Ebay, internet, sales, selling