Ebay? Bonanzle? Why Not Both???

"The Unicorn and the Butterfly"
2 1/2 X 3 1/2 inch miniature

Its funny because when John Donahoe announced Ebay's decline in the 4th quarter last year, he blamed it on our faltering economy. Well, yes...perhaps some of it was to blame but certainly not ALL of it. Yesterday both Amazon and even Overstock reported gains in online sales in the 4th quarter of last year. Amazon going so far as to say "our best holiday season ever". What does all that mean and what has it to do with Bonanzle? Well...you might say the writing is on the wall. Small sellers can't make use of Amazon...Ebay is less than worthless to us these days and I never was able to sell much on Overstock. Small sellers definitely need a place to go and I kind of like the homey feeling of Bonanzle. Yes, it needs traffic and yes it needs more buyers. SO! I suggest all you small sellers get off your duff and get proactive...which means go thru your list of buyers in the past years and invite them to your shop at Bonanzle. Give them an incentive...free shipping...free gifts...something to get them there. Its up to us to build our place in online sales and I think Bonanzle is one of those places that shows a great deal of promise AND management is people-oriented too (isn't that a novel idea?).

BONANZLE
Free Shop, Free Listings, Small Fee Only When You Sell!

We can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it!!!!! In this year of change we MUST do it!!

My painting for today is a miniature that's in my own collection. I loved it so much I simply kept it. "The Unicorn and The Butterfly"

Ebay - Going Doooooowwwwnnnnn!

Sunny Garden Path

I digress from Bonanzle to give my 2 cents on Ebay's 4th Quarter 2008 report.

Well, Ebay's 4th quarter 2008 report is out. It is dismal indeed in spite of John Donahoe's spin. This is exactly what veteran sellers have been expecting since Mr. Donahoe began his "disruptive innovation" a year ago. I predict by the end of the first quarter this year there will be NO denying Ebay has taken the wrong path - Mr. Donahoe will NOT be able to spin the decline of Ebay's business or blame 100 percent of it on the economy.

Over 11 years ago the Ebay phenomenon was born and took flight. During these years the company grew to massive proportions. It seemed everything they touched turned to gold and the sellers who flocked to them brought them even more riches then Pierre and Meg could fathom. On the other hand, Ebay became a haven for the elderly, the disabled, the stay at home moms and the out of work dads who needed income. Both sides were very very happy. Then Ebay's success became "expected" and Ebay became more and more arrogant. "If you want to sell here you'll do this and that and pay this and that...ad nauseum". Then they became SO big they felt they were invincible and they had John Donahoe step in to take the company apart and rebuild it into a cheap and cheesey Amazon clone so they could get even bigger and more wealthy. No...don't invest the sweat equity - Ebay is so big they don't have to do that...they can simply have "diamond sellers" do all the work and then Ebay can sit back on its throne and scoop in all the money! give the diamond sellers free or low listing fees and raise fees on the small sellers...heck they have to either take it or leave it! Unfortunately, it reached a point where a LOT of those small sellers had to leave it...they simply couldn't make profits. Well, John, Pierre, Meg...what do you think of your big invincible company now? You never believed in the sellers who built Ebay - you called them "noise" and beat them into complying with your outrageous draconian policies - pay your outrageous fees! Gave buyers the power to scam and cheat your sellers. What do you think of your company NOW! This is just the start of Ebay's long and painful death!

Even I think this post is depressing even though I believe it to be true. Let's have something happy for today's painting. How about a watercolor - "Sunny Garden Path"

Let's Bonanzle! More on Bonanzle - Its a New Star in the Sky!!

2 1/4 X 1 1/2"
Cardinal in the Garden

Okay - still nosing around Bonanzle to see what there is to see. I'm racking up other seller's by tagging and favoring their booths. This gets a little back and forth action going. I'm a firm believer that it is the sellers buying from each other who sustain a new site until new traffic starts coming in. That is what is happening on Bonanzle right now. They are growing with amazing speed...oh yes...still very small potatoes when measured against Ebay BUT they are becoming the new haven for small sellers. Those very sellers who MADE Ebay what it is.

Back to tagging. In my previous article I forgot to mention that the TAG line is right after the description in each listing. Also, I discovered that if you forgot to log in you won't see the TAG line or the Favorite on anything. So sign up and login before you do anything else. Since booths are free there is absolutely no excuse...except laziness...to get you off your duff and opening a booth. They even go so far as to give you a booth logo if you can't make one for yourself. They also now automatically upload all of your listings to Google Base on a regular schedule. You only need to follow the simple instructions to start it rolling.

Now, another really neat feature on Bonanzle is that each booth owner has direct contact with whoever goes into his booth. Its called Real Time Chat and there is a rather large slot near the top of the booth where buyer and seller can converse in real time....or leave a message. Its all so handy and so unique! These are some of the things that make Bonanzle stand out.

Another is their customer service. Kind of reminds me of Ebay in the old days when you could actually write them and get an answer back from a bonafide human being! I recently had a hard time finding out how I could contact another seller thru his ID. Looked all over and couldn't find it. So, I wrote customer service. Had an answer back in a couple of hours AND they thanked me for bringing it to their attention and will soon make finding ID's easier! Nothing like the interest a small company has and you just can't beat their drive and ambition. I hope they keep at least some of it as they grow because they really are growing.

So....get there...take a look and join in!!

My booth again - ahem - the ad here:

Misspatricia's Booth

My painting for today is a tiny miniature. 2 1/4 X 1 1/2"

Feeling My Way Around Bonanzle And Feeling Good!

"Cherry Cake"
2 1/2 X 3 1/2" original acrylic painting

I have a very good feeling about Bonanzle. Its taken me awhile to tear myself away from Ebay and really move on to new things. Sitting there in Ebay was kind of like lingering over the body long after the person died and hoping they're really not dead. Morbid, but I don't feel I'm alone in this. Many small sellers are sitting and hoping that their Ebay will return from the dead.

Actually, I set up my free Bonanzle shop months ago, stocked it and it mostly just sat there.

Misspatricia's Booth

Finally I'm getting around to getting serious about this site and so I learned to tag and favor other booths and I've invited several of my past customers to check out my new Bonanzle shop.

Now, tagging means going to various shops and if you see something you really like you can "tag" it as to its beauty, coolness, price, etc. I discovered that many people don't know what tagging is or how to do it. You'll find "Tag" and a line of subjects you can choose such as "bizarre" "beautiful" "cool" etc. Just click on one or more of those and you've tagged that item. I understand that tagging an item brings it up higher in search.

Also you can Favorite a booth. To "fav" a booth just look on the right side of the person's booth and you'll see "Favorite" just click on it. You'll get updated on the booths you favorited. Every time they list or have a "Bonanza" you will see it listed.

I'll be adding more as I learn. All you small sellers, who haven't opened a shop on Bonanzle, get there and open your shop. The shop is free, listing is free and you pay only a small fee on what you sell. I think Bonanzle will be a serious contender for small seller's business. Please go and take a look and I think you'll agree.

My painting for today is an ACEO called "Cherry Cake".

Ebay's 4 Percent Drop in Site Visits - What Does it Indicate?

2 1/2 X 3 1/2" painting of Hamburger and Fries
Perhaps we can call it "Where's the Beef?"

I'm very surprised that only a 4 percent drop in site visits has been reported for Ebay! This does not, however, tell the story of their sell-thru rate during the same period and I've seen nothing on that. For the past year sellers have been complaining that they cannot sell in the present environment on Ebay. Many of them packed up and left because they were hidden by the faulty best match search and they were up to their necks in outrageous policies and fees. So, it continues as Ebay management plods along on the maniacle path to remaking Ebay over into a cheap and cheesy Amazon clone! Ebay feels that's where the money is and where their future lies. Ebay management does not see the years and years of hard and honest labor Amazon put into its business...they sees only Amazon's profit and they want it! How dreadful for a once loved company like Ebay to come to this point. How tragic to put thousands of small business owners - the elderly, the disabled, the stay at home moms the out of work dads who all depended on Ebay - out of business! A year ago Ebay only needed tweaking to bring some of the original excitement back - now it is faced with doom and still their CEO and his "team" plod on towards the edge of that cliff!

The very heart of Ebay has been destroyed. The small sellers of the vintage, unique and rare items that drove buyers to the site are leaving in droves. It has now reached a point where buyers complain they cannot find their favorite sellers...yet Ebay management plods on...far better to make Ebay into yet another black and white catalog store like so many others online who do the job far far better! If the present management team isn't changed soon there will be no turning back for Ebay there will be a very small future for the company as opposed to their very big and hearty past! I believe we're watching the destruction of a once healthy and wealthy company!

My painting for today is an ACEO of Hamburger & Fries. Perhaps we should call it "Where's the Beef?"

Happy New Year - Especially to Small Online Sellers!

"Lavender Sea"

Its a brand new year with a brand new president coming in exactly 19 more days. Frankly, I'm excited. Oh...I don't think things will change overnight, but I see a light at the end of a long tunnel. We'll have to fight to get there but at least there is hope in getting this country on the right path once again.

Wish I could see that for online sales, but it will be a rocky year until this economy recovers. I can add it will be even rockier if Ebay continues on its mindless course of destroying the site we all once loved. Amazon is hoping for that but small sellers are hoping Ebay comes to its senses.

Its within our power to help our battered economy....continue to buy...continue to buy and keep the economy moving! If you're in a position to continue purchases as usual...do it! Nothing will help our damaged economy more then to keep pumping new blood into it.

For small sellers - why not make a new year resolution to finally get your own website up and running. Continue selling on those sites with free listings, BUT also use them as advertising for your website. Work on gathering link exchanges with other websites of the same interest as yours. Learn to upload your items to Google Base (I see Bonanzle already does that). Get PROACTIVE - which means "move the tush". You are the focus point in your own online selling success....so get moving!

HAPPY NEW YEAR ONE AND ALL MAY 2009 BE A HEALTHY AND PROSPEROUS YEAR FOR US ALL!

My painting for today is called "Lavender Sea".

Ebay Loses Traffic This Holiday Season!

"The Snowman's Tree"

Sadly, this is almost an "I told you so" but knowing the thousands of good small sellers that Ebay's new attitude has put out of business is way too sad for sneering and saying I told you so.

I think John Donahoe is learning a hard lesson: all the "noise" he heard when he took office was the sound of good business that he infuriated thanks to his outrageous new policies. Donahoe's idea is to destroy a working business model and turn Ebay into an online catalog store - hence the "diamond sellers" he has ushered in and given free or reduced listing fees to peddle their dropshipped junk. He's strangled small sellers to the point where they simply found the site unmanagable and unprofitable and they left...(a LOT of them are flocking to bonanzle.com). I'm sure the fact that most, if not all, of the sellers who left also BOUGHT on Ebay...is giving Donahoe nightmares because he seemed completely oblivious to losing sales when you lose sellers - any CEO with strong Ebay sales experience probably could have warned him.

Donahoe can't seem to understand people don't want....nor do they NEED yet another catalog store online. Amazon fills that bill nicely and every major retailer now has online presence and does it far better then Ebay ever could! What's left? The "noise" Donahoe kicked to the curb! I believe he's slowly learning the site is definitely going to tank without the small sellers who brought their unique, rare and vintage items to the site...THIS is what people want and NEED! Its deceptively simply, John!

An example....I have a white milkglass chandelier that was here when I bought my home. Two of the milkglass shades were broken but I loved the light and so tried to hide the broken shades. The chandelier is probably 40+ years old so you won't find these shades in any store. I've been searching on Ebay and finally found a set of 5 of these exact milkglass shades for the incredible price of only $6.00. I bought them and they are perfect!!! I wanted a large corning teapot that isn't even made anymore...got it on Ebay and love it!! THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE WANT FROM EBAY JOHN!!!! When I bought a new vacuum - I bought it online from Walmart! When I bought a new external hard drive I bought it from Amazon because I knew they would stand behind it. I buy none of these catalog things on Ebay! GET A CLUE JOHN!! WAKE UP BECAUSE THE SHIP IS SINKING AND ITS YOUR FAULT!

After New Year Ebay will be up against far more formidable opponents then Amazon. All the major retailers will layoff workers - streamline and then put on the most stunning sales ever seen in an effort to do enough business to stay afloat and weather our faltering economy! Ebay will be NO match. An example I heard only today is a local furniture store offering $600.00 in gas and $500 in free groceries if you buy a big screen TV from them! Ebay...whatcha gonna do? You're going to tank even faster in the face of competition like this.

So, I humbly suggest....get rid of best match!!! Nobody - not even the buyers - want it. Loosen up the stranglehold on small sellers and let them do what they pay Ebay to do....SELL!! Stop allowing every nutcase buyer that wanders in to destroy seller reputations while giving the sellers NO recourse! Get rid of most of the draconian policies you put in place this year and do it before the economy sinks even farther - which I feel will be mid-January, 2009. If you don't - your company is doomed! This is something sellers have been warning about ALL YEAR and now finally EVERYONE else can SEE it! Wake up!

My painting today is a little ACEO called "The Snowman's Tree"

Happy Holidays to One and All!

Keeping it light today. I want to once again tell you about a favorite website of mine. Its called Rate My Drawings (www.ratemydrawings.com). I've been addicted to this website for months now - so much so that I've accumulated almost 140 digital paintings there. This is a great site for everyone. Come and doodle - bring the kids and let them play too. I highly recommend it.

Here's a link to an example on Rate My Drawings. Its a Christmas card for everyone and you can actually watch me draw and paint it by watching the pencil movements. If art interests you then this is the site for you!

Christmas Card

One more thing of grave importance. Our country is in a recession - this means that after the holidays stores, businesses, factories will be laying off people big-time! People will be losing their homes along with their income. We can ALL help cure the economy...simply go out and BUY something. Your purchases help drive the economy and keep others working! If you have a stable income and you feel safe this coming year then I urge you to help others by simply shopping and buying as usual and not putting off that special something you've been meaning to buy. It means the world to ALL of us!

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Those Bonanzle Bells!!!

"The Snowball Fight"

Sellers, both large and small have been complaining loudly over all the changes at Ebay...changes I feel will be softened considerably as Ebay nosedives in the next quarter. The Christmas rush will then be over and people across the country will all begin to feel the effects of our serious recession. Ebay will stand out for the greedy business it has become. BUT now there is a new bright star appearing on the horizon. A place where the seasoned sellers of Ebay can come and pick up a free shop and list freely to their heart's content. With no listing or shop fees they can afford to give bargain prices and even are free to negotiate prices with their potential buyers. Its about the closest thing to having your very own website. Sellers...come...take advantage of this bright new star. The site is vibrant and alive with sellers. Write your past customers and tell them where you'll be and they'll eventually come. This is a hot place to be.

Me? I have a shop there - and no other affiliation. I just feel this is going to be the up and coming site next year. The place where we can buy and sell with no stress....the FUN place Ebay used to be! Come see...

check out my shop and then sign up and open one of your own!

http://www.bonanzle.com/booths/misspatricia

A fun miniature painting for today - "The Snowball Fight" Painting is just 1 X 1 inch.

SELL on Bonanzle...BUY on Bonanzle - Let's Build it!

"Cookies for My Santa"

Those oldtime Ebay small sellers know exactly what that title means. We did it before and we can do it again!

Bonanzle offers a free shop, free listings unlimited...and only a small final value fee when you sell something. You can't be fairer than that! Drop the Ebay habit! Ebay has done nothing but kick sellers in the gut since January of this year. Its time to leave a hapless site and enter a new and vibrant site that has NO draconian policies. Where you and your customer are free to negotiate on price without interference from the site. Scope it out...you'll be pleased.

The main message I want to give today is SELL on Bonanzle...BUY on Bonanzle and invite ALL your past customers to join you.

The gate is wide open and you only need to stroll thru. Give your buyers incentives...check out Bonanzle's Bonanza days when you can run your own sales. Let's get moving and get this ball rolling good...like in the old days of Ebay!

My Bonanzle shop:

http://www.bonanzle.com/booths/misspatricia

Check it out and then sign up and give Bonanzle a spin!

My painting for today is in the holiday spirit. "Cookies for My Santa"

Ebay - I Can't Believe My Eyes!

A group of major discounters, including eBay Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp., is expected Thursday to call for new laws blocking manufacturers from setting minimum prices on their wares.

Ebay is working with the American Antitrust Institute trying to stop manufacturers who use map (minimum advertised price) from protecting their brands. That may seem a noble thing to do and I have no immediate opinion on that - BUT Ebay is doing it by trotting out the plight of small sellers and how THEY would be hurt by BIG RETAILERS if this ruling were upheld!!! My mouth dropped as I watched this VIDEO

Watch the video then give me your thoughts on this. I know my thoughts are those of outrage!

Forget Ebay...Let's All Bonanzle!!!

"Polar Bear Christmas Tree

That's right. Instead of the constant complaints its nice to visit a website where sellers are free to deal and negotiate with you. Break the old habits and get with a new one...BONANZLE! I thought it would be just another amateurish start up site when I visited there a couple of months ago. Since then I've opened a free shop and I'm making sales...oh, not Ebay type sales of years gone by...but then making sales depends on you, the buyer and whether or not you can suffer a slight learning curve and come on over to a wonderful website. Bonanzle is much like Ebay was in its early days. No auctions - you just up and buy whatever you want...and watch for specials and BONANZA days when certain sellers will have bargains galore for the day. Its interesting, its exciting. The site itself is colorful and neat and just about glitch-free. You won't see ads cluttering up the works or any of the other nonsense you're saddled with lately. You can purchase, pay and you can leave a feedback if you want too - nobody will twist your arm or make you grade a seller with "kindergarten stars". Give BONANZLE a whirl - go in and register and then shop or browse and don't forget to negotiate with your seller. Hey, start with my Bonanzle booth:

http://www.bonanzle.com/booths/misspatricia

My painting for this post is a little ACEO called Polar Bear Christmas Tree.

Is There Trouble....Ebay?

"Where's Santa?"

I picked this post up on one of the many articles about Ebay. It tells almost the complete tale of why Ebay is severely showing a decline and will continue to do so until it either changes course....or dies completely. For those uninitiated or casual buyers on Ebay this is an eye opener of how the company is actually going. Neilson ratings came out just the other day clearly showing the decline in unique visitors:

Anyone who blames the economy doesn't know Ebay! Anyone who blames Amazon doesn't know Ebay! The fault of this decline lies squarely on John Donahoe's shoulders with perhaps some input from Whitman. Ebay needed tweaking....YES! It did NOT need "disruptive innovation" Donahoes own words. Well, he's disrupted and innovated until the small seller who made Ebay unique has mostly been driven from the site or so buried under his stupid Best Match that they cannot be found by buyers! He's ushered in big box stores he calls "diamond sellers" who list for free and swamp the categories they list in with thousands upon thousands of listings. All stuff you can find in Walmart - all dropshipped junk mostly from China! Donahoe, in his infinite wisdom, seems to think this is what made Amazon a success (wrong) and he seems to think this is what Ebay needs to do to be a success again (doubly wrong). Why they are keeping this management is beyond ALL belief! Throw them out NOW and get some management in there with good business sense and SALES experience who can turn this ship around....its sinking!!!!

"Ebay needed tweaking two years ago. They needed fees to be LOWERED so that sellers had the room to give their buyers bargain prices. It needed to oust the worst sellers and bolster its reputation so that buyers felt safe buying there. Instead, greedy Ebay wanted their profit from the top and allowed sellers to struggle more and more to make a decent profit. They instituted stupid restrictive policies that sees every seller as being bad! This was where they went wrong. As one blogger so aptly puts it "empower your sellers and then get out of the way". No...Ebay instead saddled the sellers with outrageous restrictions - gave power to buyers to make or break any seller with absolutely NO recourse on the seller's part! Small sellers - the ones Donahoe called "noise" are the ones who left and are leaving and taking their unique items with them! Its Donahoe that did all of this and not the economy!!!"

To kick off the holiday season - and try to lighten the mood of this post, my painting today is called "Where's Santa"

Are You Still Selling Online?....At Ebay?...Etsy?

PB&J

If so, I have one big word for you DIVERSIFY! Not only in what you sell but where you sell. The old days of small sellers depending on ebay are over. Mr. Donahoe has made that so clear it rings like a bell - and he never even had to say it. Right now my most active listings are on Bonanzle, Etsy and my own website. To help me along I've gone thru all my past receipts (something you ALL should be doing) and came up with a nice email list of past customers. Then I made them a nice form email with links to my website and other places they can find me. Make it as easy for them as possible. Don't spam...one email only to let them know where they can find you. Offer incentives...free shipping or discounts, etc. These are YOUR customers and you have a right to contact them. Just don't make a pest of yourself. since I did this early in November things are percolating along. Maybe I will contact them again in the Spring and announce Easter, Valentine's Day and Mother's Day deals. What I'm trying to say is get out of the rut. Don't be afraid to market yourself to your past customers. They are looking for bargains too and they are finding less and less of them on Ebay since so many of us small sellers left there. DIVERSIFY!

I'm inviting you all to virtual lunch with today's painting: PB&J

Fire in the Land of Gracious Living!

"Cupcakes!"

What's it like to live in Southern California? I think there is no place on earth with such near perfect climate and an artist's paradise to boot. On the adverse side are the earthquakes, mudslides and deadly fires. Right now, we are in the midst of some of the deadliest fires in history. I live in "the land of gracious living" Yorba Linda and I am watching sections of my gorgeous city turn into ashes and thousands evacuated with many losing their precious homes. It breaks my heart. Though I'm a decent distance from the fires I am still prepared. Areas a mile or two from me have been evacuated - and anyone who knows these fires also knows that's not a big distance. I'm packed with all my stuff either in the car or stacked by the back door. My cat, Angel's carrier stands at the ready along with her food and brushes, etc. Its a sad time but in all this sadness we have one strong strong hope...the firefighters! I cannot say enough about their bravery, their dedication and their just plain caring about others. They see these fires as the enemy and they won't stop or give up until they've killed it! Gives me hope for the whole darn world just knowing there are individuals like this who occupy it.

My painting for today: A repeat....Cupcakes! for the firefighters :-)

Like it or Not - We're in the Holiday Shopping Season

"Christmas Stocking Kittens"
2 1/2 X 3 1/2" ACEO

Yep - I walked into Walmart yesterday and saw trees and ornaments and listened to carols playing throughout the store. The season is upon us and take a clue from the 8,000 pound giant in the room - Walmart is poised to not only survive this quarter but to profit from it! Those of us who sell had better begin ramping our business toward the season and more than ever toward satisfying our customers. I think all of us can take a lesson from Ebay in what happens when you do not respect your customers! In my own small way I've already started getting into the season by painting ACEO's of christmas and snowmen and nostalgia. As an active artist I am blatantly seasonal and take advantage of the holidays and also of the trends. Unfortunately, I rarely get to paint what I want to but instead am geared towards the customers wants - whether it be tied to a season or something the customer comissions. I think every seller needs to be aware - some more than others - of the current trends and season in order to help their sales along. In any event, I wish every one of you good sales....and for buyers I wish great bargains. Buying and selling will help this economy more than anything else. Keep circulating money so that jobs can survive and in doing so all of us will prosper :-)

Happy Sunday.

My painting today is one of the many Christmas ACEO's on my website. For those unaware, ACEO's are 2 1/2 X 3 1/2" handpainted artists cards. Highly collectible.

It's a Bright New Day!!! Let's Go Shopping :-)

"Boston Does London"
A 2 1/2 X 2 inch miniature

Yes sir! I feel energized and I feel confident again. I feel the country is in pretty good hands and we will go forward. Doesn't matter who you voted for yesterday now that its been decided we all need to get behind the new president and help him get things done! I was surprised to hear there were celebrations around the world last night and this morning I had some emails from customers of mine from other countries - all were congratulating us on our new president. Its like most of the world feels as hopeful as I do. Well...everyone can't be wrong so let's all roll up our sleeves and participate to help drive the economy and the country along.

One thing we can do is a bit of shopping ;-) I am planning a purchase or two I wasn't going to do. Every penny we put into circulation will help. I even went so far as to put a couple of paintings up on Ebay. I have no idea if they will sell but I have high hopes. We didn't get this economy into the mess its in but we sure can help it climb out. We didn't cause so many people to lose their jobs but by energizing our economy I'm hopeful it will end in created jobs as well. I may be wrong...but I'd rather be wrong and try then not to try at all.

My painting today is called "Boston Does London" (since one of the emails I got this morning came from there). This is a miniature painting of a Boston Terrier with a scene of London's Big Ben behind him. This painting is miniature - a mere 2 1/2 X 2 inches.

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

"Cupcakes"

Doesn't matter to me who you vote for...McCain...Obama. Get up and go and vote! Show ALL politicians you ARE interested in this country and you ARE watching them! Our ballet has several propositions and measures that I've also studied. I'm on my way there now to exercise one of those most important freedoms we have! Go exercise yours.

Then come take a cupcake :-) My painting today is simply called Cupcakes.

My Own Personal Alternative to Ebay for Holiday Shopping

LuLu & LiLy "Showtime"

Yes....this is a blatant ad for my own website...please don't stop reading! I long ago joined the ranks of sellers who started their own website. In fact, I started mine in 1996 and its been running continuously ever since. Now that Ebay has made it so very difficult for small sellers to sell on their site, I've taken my Ebay fee money and put it into my own website. It has a Paypal shopping cart system for convenience. It has a large ACEO section for people who collect hot little artwork gems. LuLu has her own page there for all the fans who collected her chubby little uninhibited self on Ebay. There's a Christmas ACEO page, Miniature Art pages, Large Art pages, Handmade Pendants pages, Magnets, Tatted Lace, instructions, free patterns and supplies! Right now I'm running specials on shipping. Shipping on ACEO's is only 50 cents. I keep my shipping extremely low, I combine shipping and just about everything on the site is negotiable. Free little stocking stuffer gifts go out with each order. Please come and take a peek and refer it to your friends. Help one small seller survive without big brother Ebay ;-)

The sites that make up what I call www.angelbabies.net - a domain name I've had since 1995:

http://www.watercolorsbypatricia.com
http://www.ACEOart.net
http://www.tattingjustforyou.com

My painting for today is a LuLu ACEO. No...she's not for everyone, but she does have a following of people who love her.

Meg Whitman Founded Amazon???????

When I started on Ebay Whitman was not on board yet. So, how could she have founded the company. John McCain simply told a fib...though he probably got it from Meg and believed it. Pierre Omidyar founded Ebay! We all look up to Pierre but we look down on Whitman. She was a money waster (throwing money into China and giving them free listings - buying Skype, etc.). All we know of Whitman is higher and higher fees more and more arrogant rules. We believe she is also behind Donahoe's plan that is currently destroying Ebay as we know it.

I hear Whitman may run for governor of California. All I can say is...Meg...please, please don't! California is in enough hot water as it is! Have mercy for once!!! Be content to count all the money you made on the backs of the very same small sellers that Donahoe is driving off with his outrageous policies!