Etsy and Travis - My Stress Boils Over *sigh*

I got a notification from Etsy about a sale yesterday, so I went on with my home computer last night. (Apparently the only way I can access my Etsy sales is through my desktop, not my laptop.) Anyway, the order was for a strand of antique beads that I had sold a few months ago - and it was marked SOLD. So I attempted to contact the purchaser and let them know that it was unavailable and that we did have two other strands that might interest her, but I couldn't contact her. *sigh* I suspect it was a feeler order in any case, not a real person, but it was frustrating to not be able to actually get in touch with her. But I also can't sell what's owned by someone else already, so it's simply not happening. 

Etsy usually isn't a problem, but I have no 
idea how this person was able to even place 
an order for the item she did. It was sold 
several months ago, and it's marked as "Sold" 
on the website. Weird. 

The business sale is moving along and I'm starting to become really frightened about how this is all going to happen and come through. It's just the three of us (and only two on Mondays and Wednesdays), and I'm not at all sure how well this is going to happen. Will we actually be able to sell to the bare walls? That's my goal, and I have absolutely NO idea if that's going to happen. I've spent a BUNCH of money with my RetailSalesPro guy, and I'm counting on him to bring the people through the door. But we're still just three people on the sales floor and if the people flood in, we're sunk. We want and need sales, but I don't need "After Christmas Sale" panic in our customers. I think closing the business is more stressful than treating my cancer was. 

I'm putting my faith in Travis - someone I've 
never met, and may never meet. I've paid 
him a LOT of $, and followed his instructions to 
the letter. We're getting as ready to clear things 
out as possible, and it's absolutely frightening. 
It's really all on us - Chickie, DH and I - to make 
this sale work and clear things out. ARGH!

So swimming today will be a relief. I need to work out some of this stress. It's a good thing that I lost my hair years ago, I'd be tearing it out (or it would be falling out on its' own) from the stress. Have a wonderful Tuesday and I'm off to the swimming pool. Slava Ukraini. 

I'm Very Upset with ETSY Right Now *sigh*

I'm in the middle of fighting with Etsy. It's frustrating. I got a notification that I have an order to fulfill and ship, and I'd love to do exactly that. But, I can't escape from my personal account (I had been looking at a couple of things I might want to purchase for myself early last week). It won't even acknowledge that I have a business account, and, of course, there are no human beings to talk to in "Customer Service" (a total misnomer, if there ever was one). Do any of you have any ideas for me? I'm trying to get logged into my business account, but it's sending me to my personal account every time. *GRRRRRR*

Most people are just purchasing from Etsy. I'm 
both selling and purchasing from two different 
accounts, and it's not letting me switch from my 
personal account to my business account so that 
I can fulfill the order that was placed. GRRRR. 

On the Travis end, I managed to get everything finished on Sunday. It was supposed to be in his hands yesterday, and I uploaded everything, double and triple checked everything, linked the photos to the page and gave him permission to view the photos, and everything should be working well. The store has never looked cleaner, but we're already messing things up because we are an active entity - we actually do sell things, order products and interact with customers. What a concept! LOL

It's a good picture of Travis, isn't it? I'm quite 
sure he looks nothing like this now, but it's 
possible. In any case, it's to his advantage to get 
every dollar out of the store that he can because 
his fee is based on our sales numbers. When we 
do better, he does better. 

Things are in his ballpark now, however. He needs to review the items we'll have available for sale - things OTHER than product, in other words. He's working with the big things - the display cases, furniture, and equipment. I think I ended up with almost 90 items on that list, a good portion of it being various types and ages of metal shelving from the warehouse area. We have a LOT of metal shelving. Some of it is quite old - inherited from his father when we bought the business. His Dad opened his business in 1954, and it's quite likely that some of the shelving dates from that time period. 

We have a LOT of industrial shelving that spans almost 50 
years. It nowhere close to this neat or uniform, but it all 
serves the same purpose - displaying product. We have a bunch 
on our main floor holding our product, and a very large 
bunch in the basement for warehouse storage. I'd estimate 
we have at least 40 shelving units, although it certainly 
could be up to 20 more than that. 

But there's still a LOT to do. And we're actually still buying some product - we're out of a few very specific things that we really do need to have on hand. So, we'll be placing an order with one of our suppliers within a day or two to get back to normal on things that we're sold out of. After all, black beads are essential, and we're actually sold out of black beads in size 11 right now. 

Black seed beads are getting quite low on stock, and 
it's something we know we can sell - no matter what. 
It's an important color, and we really can't sell out of 
it until the last minute, so we're actually ordering 
some more. *sigh*

On that note, I'm heading to the swimming pool. I'm just a bunch of tense nerves, and the treadmill is helpful, but the water and a good audio book can work wonders. Have an excellent Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

We're Drowning In Metal - Shelving and Desks

Yesterday was a grind - I did get the next check sent off to Travis, but DH spent a rather unproductive day dealing with the metal shelving we're overwhelmed with. We've got two types of metal warehouse shelving - industrial and commercial. The difference is the quality of the actual shelves - the amount of weight they will hold. The side braces are almost identical, and the shelf difference is slight, but it does make a difference if you're putting a lot of weight onto them. 

We have close to 50 units of steel shelving, most of which have 
eight to ten shelves. That's a LOT of shelves to make sure are 
all assembled with the same types of shelves per unit. I think 
that's a waste of his time - we're not going to get a massive 
amount of money on the steel shelving, but at least the 
photos for the main room's furnishings are complete. One step 
at a time. 

The boxed sets are easy - but the assembled shelves are a mismatch of what was at-hand at the time they were first assembled, and what was at hand when they were reconfigured to fit one place or another. I think DH said we have approximately 60 shelving units, some still in boxes, but most already assembled. Since both types of shelf fit onto the same brackets, it comes down to figuring out which shelves need to be switched out to make it one type of shelf or the other. I think it's a tremendous waste of time. We won't get that much for them in general, and he's spending days tearing his hair out trying to get them configured correctly. *sigh* I'm VERY annoyed. 

The difference between heavy-duty and industrial steel 
shelving is the amount of weight they can bear. Our shelving 
is a mix of both, and we also have extra shelving - some 
of which is still boxed in the original packaging. We've run places 
with metal shelving in the warehousing for decades. It's a lot 
of steel that we need to sell. 

I'm also annoyed at Verizon. I've been trying to get my bill paid with them for almost a week now, and I'm having all types of difficulties. I pay my bills on-line all the time. It's only Verizon that gives me grief, and I really can't afford to be without my phone. I'll try again at the shop today, but it's very frustrating. 

All I want to do is pay my Verizon bill. But it's becoming 
an impossible dream. I don't know why I can't get it paid, 
but their website is bouncing me off time and again. Can you 
say "Frustrating!"? 

I'm getting things together for Travis - I sent a lot of things over to him over the past few days, but it occurred to me in the middle of the night (because that's when things can creep up, as you well know), it occurred to me that I hadn't done anything about the desks, etc on the main floor - the ones we use every day. Those have to be included, and we've done nothing with them. We need measurements and photographs. I'll have to put that onto Sunday's agenda because I'll have to clear the tops completely and that's a chore. They're working desks, not ornamental - LOL. 

We have four industrial metal desks that we use - one is 
in the main room, one in DH's area, and two downstairs 
in the warehouse area. They're heavy and bulky and probably 
would survive the Apocalypse. I can't wait to get rid of them.

So, I'm leaving to swim off some of my frustrations. I'm hoping the exercise will help me unclench my teeth and breathe a bit deeper. At any rate, I can work off a bit of the three pounds I put on last week. Shame on me! Big thanks to Samtyr for the wonderful "Year of the Horse" shirt she sent to me. It's fabulous and I'll wear it happily when the weather gets warmer. *hugs* Have an excellent Tuesday and I'm off to the swimming pool. Slava Ukraini. 

Life Continues - Busy as Anything and ICE Is Still Lurking in the Cities

Yesterday was VERY busy, and I ended up spending almost all afternoon on stuff for Travis. But I did get my meals made for the next week, and my "Ogre Juice" for the next week as well. Today. after swimming, I have a dental checkup at 7:30 am, and then on to work. I have 14 items that I need to send to Travis in three days, so I'm pushing to get those finished and sent off. DH apparently has some of the information I need, but I don't think he's actually given it to me yet. *sigh*

I suspect Travis is a good 20 years older than this 
photo, but it's hard to say for sure. I haven't met 
him in person. I do hope if I get a chance to meet him, 
he won't be this wizened little old man - LOL. 

I ended up going to the grocery store closest to me THREE  times yesterday. Once for my regular shopping, a second time because I forgot something, and a third time because their shelves hadn't been restocked when I had been there earlier, and I needed two more items. It's a good thing the store is only a mile from my house! But it still was a major rush. 

This is my main grocery store - Lunds & Byerlys. The two 
stores merged in the late 70's or early 80's. It's only a mile 
from my house, which makes it very convenient. It's not 
the least expensive, but that's OK too - the quality is there. 

I spent a lot of time yesterday on the phone getting this or that changed or this or that notified about things regarding our upcoming sale or business closure. There's just SO much to do. But these first two weeks are the worst, at least in terms of things I need to check out and notify Travis about. Then we'll be getting things worked out, and, of course, we're also still in the middle of reorganizing, pulling items that we don't want to put into the clearance sale, and otherwise working on stuff. Stuff never truly ends. 

I'm not really much of a fan of to-do lists, 
but sometimes they have their place. When 
it comes to this store closing, they're 
essential. He's supplied us with a very 
detailed schedule, and we need to get everything 
on the schedule done on time. 

It's 25 degrees today, almost balmy (which will make going to my dental check-up appointment this morning much easier). Oh, and the government will be pulling 700 ICE agents out of Minnesota. Of course, that will still leave 2000 agents remaining! Can you say "Overkill"? Such bullshit! So, that's life in a war zone. It continues onward, but those "interesting" times that we would rather not be living in are continuing. I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

A Bit Longer Post than Yesterday - LOL

I have a bit more time today, so we're back in business. Although, the dental appointment I thought was scheduled for Tuesday actually is scheduled for Thursday (calendar mixup on my part). So, I'll be tight on time again tomorrow. Still, I finally get a day off today, and I really need it. I have NOTHING to eat in my refrigerator, so grocery shopping, etc is essential, as well as a day in the kitchen. 

It's going to be a VERY busy "Day Off" and it's the only 
day I get this week, so I'll grab it by the horns and make 
the most of it. 

The store is starting to look really good - cleaned up, spruced up, and almost ready for whatever Travis will assign to me next. The basement, where DH has worked exclusively for more than two weeks, is looking better than it did when we moved in. Shocking! That was a TON of work on his part, and I really appreciate his efforts. 

Although it's not the holidays any more, this 
still looked like a good photo to add here - LOL. 

But we still have a lot to accomplish, and a lot to get ready. I probably won't take much of a breath, but Travis is guiding us along through this process, step-by-step. Although almost everything is also available in his book, being in daily email contact with him (and he's good with responding quickly to questions), is working out quite well. We're sticking to the detailed timetable that he provided to us, and if I had any hair, I would certainly have gained a few grey ones from this process. 

I strongly suspect that Travis is a bit older 
than this photo (although it's a great photo). 
Still, if he can help us get the store closed, 
his fees will be more than worth it. And he's 
in contact with me every day, or responding 
to questions I have for him every day. So I'm 
taking advantage of his experience and advice. 

Of course, having our internet at home crash last week wasn't a great thing either, but we're back up and running. I had a wonderful technician who was sent out by Xfinity, and after he isolated that it wasn't inside the house, he started looking at the lines and connections outside. Apparently there were some issues with connections at the rooftop level, so he was on a ladder dealing with that. But it really didn't take long, and we were up and running once again. Thank goodness! 

It seems like all of my days recently mirror this 
crazy cartoon. Things will get better, but we 
still have a LONG way to come. 

So, I hope your day runs smoothly. I'm going to be doing my absolute best to make sure that MY day is smooth today because only one day off in the week means everything has to click in like clockwork. Be kind, smile, Slava Ukraine, and ICE out!.