I Can't Wait for Tuesday to Come!

I think you all know what I mean. We've heard months of ads and debates for all parties concerned...we've been subjected to dirty laundry on all sides. At first the ads were all about what they wanted to accomplish (no details though) then they got to smearing each other...lately its mostly lies and exaggerations about each other.

Now, near Election Day 2010 its incessant....turn on the TV...political ads...turn on the radio...political ads. If you turn both off there is still the phone calls. Robot calls with the candidates speaking like your long lost friend when they wouldn't look you in the eye on the street before this time...and they won't after this time too! I think one of the worst things is having them interrupt you with robo calls all times of the day and being on the national do not call list means nothing! We somehow lost the right to not be badgered by political candidates!! If you are feeling brainwashed I'm afraid you'll have to suck it up till Tuesday night because even Tuesday they'll be calling you and offering to ride you to the polls. Saying you already voted (I vote in the morning) is not effective - they will act like they don't believe you! Thankfully, by Wednesday the ads will disappear and all you'll hear is acceptance and concession speeches over and over again. By thursday, life will start to return to normal...or as normal as it can get these days.

Election Day - can't come soon enough for me!

To those "trick n treaters" Happy Halloween!

Goodbye Summer...Hello Autumn

Halloween Cupcakes
Watercolor

Living here, in Southern California, its difficult now for me to remember the four seasons and just how wonderful this time of year really is. On the east coast where I grew up right about now there would be a slight crispness to the air and an indication that the trees would soon put on a spectacular display. Here, we are still in a hot, dry spell. Our summer weather will last this month and next before we finally begin to feel Autumn air. In this spirit of change I've already shifted my paintings to Autumn colors and the upcoming Halloween.

Happy Sunday everyone!

Autumn Tree
6 X 4" Acrylic

Online Sales Are Down For Most

ACEO: Halloween Feast

This is a difficult period for many people. Lots of folks are watching their401K's decline, stocks are in the basement. Some say its a good time to pick up some bargains in stocks...maybe so but for those of us retired or nearing retirement that would be a big no-no. All we can do is try to keep what we have and keep it safe. I was lucky to roll my 401K over a year ago into an IRA. At least its safe even if it isn't making primo money for me.

In the same vein, internet sales are down. The few items I have on Ebay are stagnant with few hits and rolling off without bids. In Ebay's ongoing insanity, they saw fit to lower my standing in their search from "raised" to "standard" thereby kicking a seller when he's down even a seller who has never had a negative and has all 5.0 DSR's. They said I didn't have enough feedback in the past 30 days and failed to take into consideration the 30 items that I paid them to list that rolled off without bids. Its time folks...its more than time to put your Ebay money elsewhere. Even if you use it to advertise a website of your own. Nothing will change in Ebay's corner until their management changes and its like the old saying "it has to get much worse before it gets better."

This is a time when buyers will be looking for bargains. They'll search the web this holiday season because they simply won't have the money they had last year. Its a great time to get traffic to your other venues! I've written about Etsy, Bonanzle, Wigix and others. The problem with these sites lies with US...we go there, we list and we sit and wait for people to find us. We are spoiled by Ebay's past performance and expect the traffic to simply be there. No..WE are the ones who have to reach out to our buyers (past and present) and get them to these sites. I know if they bother to try they will probably stay. Since most of these sites are free to list or near free (Etsy is 20 cents per item for 4 months) we can afford to offer incentives for buyers to come and buy from us. Offer free shipping - offer a bonus gift, etc. Get them to come and see the site and see your offerings. In that way we can build these small sites into viable outlets for our items. Take the plunge and most of all TAKE INTEREST in building traffic.

Another Halloween offering today is an ACEO called Halloween Feast.

(ACEO is Art Cards Editions and Originals, an idea born and nurtured on Ebay. These cards are generally original paintings about the size of a baseball card. Exactly 2 1/2 X 3 1/2")