Thursday, February 12, 2009

I made them free!

I surely didn't start out to make burp cloths free, but that's what I did. I had a "little old lady from Pasadena" (the one who is elderly at 58!) order seven customized burp cloths. She visited web site where I foolishly placed them on sale. But I was still happy. There would still be a profit. Not as much, but a profit nevertheless.

We were supposed to meet Sunday. That didn't happen. I had not done my homework. I had not investigated what shipping would cost. I asked G what he thought. What a waste of time!! I asked daughter, my partner. She didn't know. We guessed perhaps $2.50. How naive we were.

After my fiasco yesterday, I went to buy an envelope to place the cloths in. It was $1.99. Not looking good here. I was ready to mail said envelope. This part is my own fault. I went to a private mailing place. I surely didn't know he got that much profit. Anyway, the total of this little mailing event was right at $10. I'm losing ground quickly here.

The diapers probably cost less that $1 each. I did buy fabric especially for these, but there is so much left and it makes such cute burp cloths, I really don't want to add that in. Plus it hurts too much. I don't know how to measure the cost of the thread. I don't add in fabric and thread, I made 66 cents. At this rate, well you can finish this statement.

I can hope that llfP will see the postmark, take pity on me, and send another check for additional postage, and/or she will send business my way. I know there is another option, but I won't do it. I could call her and ask if she would send more money for the postage, but I made the foolish mistake. She didn't. I, for better or worse, stand by my word.

I have to look at it this way. I paid to learn a lesson. Same as when I was in college. After all was said and done, I used the computer to find out shipping costs from both the post office and Big Brown. I got smart enough to bookmark those pages! I'm not a slow learner - nope! If this is the biggest mistake I will ever make in my life or in this business, I will be so lucky. It takes a kick in my butt to really get me moving these days. I consider myself so kicked. I won't make that mistake again.

I have learned a lot during the last three weeks with this entire process. I've set up a business email, I have posted my items on a published list, I have actually made a web site for the business (which is really time consuming and an ongoing project), set up PayPal, and found what costs are involved with shipping. This meets my need to keep my brain active, and the need to learn new skills. I really believe non learning something new contributed to my dad's dementia. I really want to do all I can to beat dementia. So I'm on a journey to beat cancer and dementia. Wish me luck.

Peace.

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