An Exercise In Frustration

I have been trying all morning to get over here to no avail and now I don’t have time to do the post I’d intended. So I will give you a sort of state of the union for the day and hopefully something interesting will emerge. One of the reasons I’m late is that online sales were unusually strong yesterday which meant much wrapping this morning. But of course today the book police stand sentinel at the gates of every site I sell on to make sure no additional orders get out after I’ve been so bountifully blessed.  

But I’m not really complaining  because I’m very encouraged by the results at the antiques mall for Saturday and Sunday.  In the first week we sold more than enough to pay the monthly rent, but the weekend really gave it a good strong push. I went out yesterday and bought some attractive baskets to contain the ever-growing mound of ephemera. I got two medium sized ones that were perfect, but the large one is too shallow. I put what I could in it and let it go, but I do need to find something else. While I was there though I  met the antiques dealer next door who was just moving in. For about a week now that  booth has been empty and I have been eyeing it covetously because I would love to expand, but can’t for lack of stock. The booth I have is far from full (which is why I am so dazzled by the sales it’s produced), but I would definitely hurt the bottom line if I rented a second one at this juncture, as the  combined bill would be a whopping $520. So  regretfully, I let it go with the hope that when I’m ready, it, or the one on the other side, will magically be mine. Yeah, I know all this magical thinking is  rather naïve, but I do enjoy my little fantasies, so don’t say anything. You can think it though.

Getting back to why I am slow to post, the real reason is not wrapping, but FRUSTRATION. I got a few books listed as planned and then realized with a jolt that I’d forgotten to change my shipping rates on my various sites in accordance with the new postal rate increase that went into effect January 1^st. If you haven’t done yours either you will want to get on it. Fortunately, I didn’t lose too much on what I shipped, as there were only a couple overseas orders and all were sent in the flat rate envelopes. Still, it’s a two dollar loss, give or take, for each one, but my average sales price is around $48 this month which helps, though that figure is a  bit skewed due to the Francis Parkman set for which I got the full freight, plus insurance.

Anyway, postal rates were only the start of my frustration. Next came a phone call requesting that I search for a list of books  with titles so similar it would make your head spin around on your neck like a whirligig. This is for a  guy who hates his computer and would rather have me do it – which is fine except that he can never remember what books he already has, adds more just when I think I’ve wrapped it up, and then has me cancel orders because of some error he made. We don’t even want  to get into the ugly details of today’s transaction. Suffice it to say that out of eight  titles I have found one that pleases him. Yes, I do charge him for doing it, but it’s a pittance when you consider that my hair is one third grayer today than it was yesterday. And the worst part is, I’m not done. No, the worst part is that my formerly tidy desk is buried under books, magazines, and a mound of paper filled with notes about his books.

So on that note (ha-ha)I will take my crabby self back to the task at hand. Who knows? Maybe if I get lucky the book police will go out for donuts.