posted on July 21, 2004 02:24:48 PM new
And just to say, If I *specialized* in postcards, only "maybe" I would use a scanner, but our inventory includes way much, including postcards, and i have sold many postcards, even big buck ones [much to our surprise] with the digital camera ... ... I suppose it boils down to 'to each his own'.
posted on July 21, 2004 03:40:55 PM new
Meadow, it was not in this thread...it was in another thread some time ago. <I am not dreaming...lol...but its not really important, tho!>
Lucy, you're right! The transfer doesnt take much time unless memory is eating up other things which I usually have alot of windows up and open at the same time. {try to multi-task myself ...dont ya know? lol) I suppose its the cropping and all else that takes time in reality. (Now if I could figure out to reset my camera to lower pixels - I wouldnt have to worry that too much! Know its real simple to do just havent gotten round to doing it!)
- Hey, do you know you cannot get picture it 7 anymore - unless you buy it somewhere? I got upgraded to nine and I like 7 better! Man I was mad! But I found an old CD and reloaded it. I think 7.0 or 7.1 has better cropping tools!
Gosh, my Picture It! is Version 5! From 2001. I do notice it is a very memory-hungry program.
Occasionally, after I've edited maybe 25-30 images, doing a lot of clone-painting and stuff like that it will hang up. So I close it down periodically and reopen. Then it's little brain isn't all filled up.
The picture resolution could have a lot to do with the slow loading. My antique HP has three settings. I use the single-diamond one, which is the lowest resolution.
posted on July 21, 2004 04:32:17 PM new
estatesalestuff: absolute agreement, I am now on my 2nd Mavica, first gave out from absolutely tons of eBay use (and dropping it three times didn't help), got the 2nd of course from eBay last December, they are no longer made by Sony but you can get great deals on eBay, its working wonderfully & takes super pics & I'm convinced is still one of the best cameras ever made for eBay use due to its ease & the re-usability of the floppy discs. I'm thinking of buying a 3rd one, just to be sure to have down-the-road back-up if this one ever fully functions out.
When I run a large block of about 100 book auctions, requires usually about 500 photos, and total taking, downloading & uploading time will be about 5 hours.
posted on July 21, 2004 05:15:46 PM new
Good idea to get your back-up cameras whenever you can and eBay's the best place to find them. I have a couple of barely-used HP's, just in case.
posted on July 21, 2004 08:20:04 PM new
I scan most of my stuff, I do lots of 8 and then write the ads. I keep all my pictures & ads on Vendio and have several each item so I am able to relist easily.
posted on July 21, 2004 08:34:58 PM new
LOL Cherished -- thankyou! I remembered that post because I tried it (brought all my supplies into the living room) and thought to myself it sure does go easier doing it while being distracted watching tv.
Lucy, see if you can upgrade to picture it 7.0 or 7.1 I forget which it is known as. You can get it from an MSN 8.0 or 8.5 CD (which from my understanding was a beta version they spent alot of money on - and why you cant find it too readily on the net since they went to V9.) But anyway, I'm sure you would really like it's editing capabilities. You probably would need some extra memory though Im not sure. And you might be able to load on the software without opening an account.
posted on July 21, 2004 09:12:53 PM new
I have use my scanner maybe 5 times since the first of the year. I have two of them, and one is set up as a copy machine. I'me thinking of moving the other out to make more room. Aside from an occasional post card, or a very unique item, I can do much better with a camera. It saves one time consuming step in that I don't have to convert from .tif to .jpg before I crop and crunch.
Lucy, to solve the mystery, it was probably me that said I found packing the easiest and most enjoyable part of Ebay. Actually, I enjoy the challenge of packing unusual and fragile items. I did it for a living for 40 years. It was fun to challenge the gorilla dock workers in other parts of the world then, and it's fun to challenge these wannabee gorillas in training at FedEx and the USPS now. The worst part of packing is the wait in line to get it shipped.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on July 22, 2004 04:53:28 AM new
Sparkz -- I sometimes believe that I have the slowest postal employees in the world! One moves so slow that he almost looks like he's moving in reverse! I've known them all for years and some were even customers of mine with a previous business. And on the plus side, each customer does receive a bit of personalized customer service because we all use the same post office. I've learned to bring a book while I wait in line. It's better than standing there and staring at the employees while I wait (like everyone else does!).
posted on July 24, 2004 11:51:46 AM newMOST BORING PART OF ON LINE SALES to me is responding to e-mail, I absolutely HATE responding to e-mail with all the stupid, already answered questions. I suppose I’d find packing boring too, but we have a full time packer and 2 part time packers, so I haven’t packed anything for a number of years.
I don’t mind the photography, it is okay. But, I LOVE to work with and manipulate photographs. We use both a scanner and a Sony 5 Meg Camera, and depending on the item, both produce marvelous pictures, BUT, the ultimate picture, in my experience only results after working with a good photograph in a top notch photography program such as PaintShop Pro8 or the Adobe System. Personally, we prefer the PaintShop Pro system and have used and kept it updated for a number of years.
THEN there is the optimization system, which we have found, neither the PaintShop Pro, Adobe, or FrontPage does as good a job, and can be adjusted as well as and old system we use called “Photo Explorer.” Without a decent optimization system, if you take a decent size picture, it can take 8 to 12 seconds to load, where as after optimizing it, the load time can be cut down to 4 to 6 without any visible distortion or color loss.
I like the challenge of creating quality ads which sell the product.
I suppose I should say, I like the creative part of e-commerce the best, and then some of the competitive parts. I like working with our web sites and seeing them rise higher and higher on the search engine listings. It is a never ending job since from time to time all the major search engines change what their spiders look for, and one has to adjust to the changing desires of the major search engines.
Obviously, my husband and I love 90% of what we do or we wouldn’t be in e-commerce, but I think I can speak for both of us in saying that responding to e-mail is at the bottom of our list -
Of course, we deal in new items, so we aren't having to constantly photograph and/or scan pictures all of the time as most of our eBay and the photographs for our web sites are redundant.
BUT, often, when I have time, I’ll take an older photograph we are still using, and rework it and the ad to bring more life and quality to it, and make it more salable.
posted on July 24, 2004 03:47:38 PM new
<sigh> Thats what I envy...the ones who are wholesaleing the same product. Thats the real only way to make money on here without spending alot of time, imo.
