My ebay business drops off every spring

and usually stays slow until the fall. I sell antiques, art, jewelry and fashion mainly

Sales in all these areas pick up in the fall. In the summer there are lots of other places to buy these things (apparently).

Some summers I stop listing entirely.

This year the spring slump started early (Is it because of the early spring weather? Who knows.)

Best Offers

A Seller knows within minutes whether your offer is in the ballpark. Yet some sellers haven't got the common decency to respond to your offer, but just let it sit there until the time expires! Meanwhile, unless you have unlimited funds cannot bid on anything else until the Seller responds to your offer!

I am very upset with this policy....are these sellers just using Ebay for advertising? I am about to set my own rules...if the Seller hasn't the decency to contact you...other than the computer generated response, if I don't get a resonse within 24 hours I will have to retract my offer. To just let your offer run out without a counter is very poor business practice and should not be tolerated by potential buyers. Asd I mentioned earlier it ties up your funds for 48 hours! Whatever happened to the "customer comes first" policy????

How to Restore Juliana Delizza and Elster Jewelry

RESTORE AND GET YOUR BEST PRICE ON YOUR JULIANA'S

Many people shy away from purchasing vintage items that have some age related wear.Some finds may have a few stones missing or damaged stones. Others may show lackluster gold or silver plate, or corosion. Keep in mind that one can purchase these so called damaged pieces for much better prices and then go on to restore them to their original magnificence quite simply and affordable as well.

I buy many less than mint looking pieces from time to time. When I have time in my busy schedule I try to do most of the restoring myself. Other times I send them to people who specialize in this type of restoration. The cost of having someone else do it for you can be much more expensive. If you a terrified of ruining your piece then it might be better to send it off for the repairs. If you have a bit more courage then it is worthwhile to educate your self on how to restore and practice on less expensive pieces first. Here is what I have learned about the do it yourself restoration.

If missing or damaged stones is the problem, you can purchase vintage stones on a website called MR. STONES. On this website you will find a vast assortment of vintage stones, some specifically created for Juliana pieces. You can purchase the stones alone, or have them also replace them for you.

If worn and lackluster gold or silver plating is the issue, you can purchase a fantastic product that works well and is extemely easy to use calledSILVER SECRET. I was so impressed with this product and the ease of use. It brings the lusterous silver tone back and even covers and replates areas that have significant wear. You just get some Qtips and rub the solution on the piece vigorously doing one section at a time. You do have to repeat this process several times on badly worn areas. the results are outstanding.For gold toned metal, there are gold dip products that are also outstanding and do not adhere to anything but the metal on the piece. Google gold dip products and you will find several types.

If you are wanting to electroplate your items this process is fairly expensive and may not be cost effective if you plan on reselling your items. Certainly the best way to restore but as noted very pricey.

I have often been skeptical about sending an expensive vintage piece away to someone for repairs. At these times I have a friend who is a jeweler do the work for me. I advise anyone who sells vintage jewelry of any type to establish a good working relationship with a jeweler in your area who you can rely on for inexpensive repairs, preferably, one experienced in restoring old pieces.

There are many great bargains out there for vintage jewelry buyers. Dont pass up a good bargain when you can easily bring these glorious pieces back to new life. We wish all of the wonderful sellers and buyers of vintage the best and hope you find tons of these treasures on your jewelry hunts.

How to buy Luxury Cars

1. Determine what you want to spend. Luxury cars start at about $30,000, and prices can go into the stratosphere.
2. Decide what's most important to you: safety, performance, value, handling, comfort, reliability, dealer service, looks, interior room, quietness, prestige.
3. Make a short list of the makes and models you want to consider. Do some research to determine how they stack up in terms of your priorities. Most luxury cars today excel in most if not all areas. However, some place comfort over handling and performance, or vice versa. Read magazine reviews to get a clearer picture.
4. Review the crash-test data for various cars. Check the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) vehicle ratings (see hwysafety.org).
5. Consider resale value. You may be surprised to find quite a bit of variation here. In general, German and Japanese luxury cars have the highest resale values. Check the Kelley Blue Book values of the various models over time (see kbb.com).
6. Talk to friends who own similar cars. They may have some good advice.
7. Compare insurance premiums for different cars you are considering.
8. Go test-drive the two or three cars on your short list. Don't worry about the dealers now. Focus on the cars. Do you feel comfortable in the car? Does it drive the way you want it to? Don't commit to any car or salesperson yet. Go home and think about it.
9. Rank the cars according to your priorities. Then rank them in price. You should be able to narrow the choice down to one or two cars. If the choice still isn't clear, test-drive the cars again.
10. Collect pricing information for the car you want, decide on colors and option packages, and get your loan together (see "How to Get a Car Loan," under Related eHows).
11. Return to the dealer and tell a salesperson what you want.

Best ways to buy a luxury vehicle

Purchasing an expensive vehicle can take a large chunk out of your pocketbook, but if you can afford it, and it is the direction that you want to go in, the purchase should be one that you are completely satisfied with from start to finish. Knowing how to buy a luxury car, though, can be confusing if you have not done it before. But you can easily get into the game by knowing a few easy steps.

Familiarize yourself with which luxury vehicle makes and models are available for you to purchase. You will probably have a particular kind of car in mind, but don't rule out any possibility until you have searched through what is available.

Look for your potential new luxury vehicle locally. This will be both the easiest way to obtain your vehicle as well as the most cost-effective way to pick up the vehicle.
Check out the vehicle advertising in the local newspaper. Most dealerships will run daily advertising and possibly larger and more detailed ads in the Sunday edition of the newspaper.
Hop on the websites of local dealerships. Most will have their entire inventory listed and will let you search by make and model.

Advance to a regional search by checking the larger metropolitan newspapers and area websites in a radius of a couple hours from you. Being willing to shop regionally will help open you up to a wider selection than what you can generally find locally.

Run a national search by looking online. While searching online may turn up a vehicle that is quite far away, often times dealerships can have the cars shipped to them for you to purchase for little or no additional cost.

Brands like Cadillac or Mercedes Benz have their own websites that you can run a search through to find a dealer near you. Search their sites, and then visit the location that is within driving distance for you.

Visit the dealership or seller location that you find the car with and arrange a test drive of the vehicle or vehicles in which you are interested.
Make sure that you adjust the seats and the wheel to a comfortable position for you. Personalizing the car to your specific needs during the test drive can help you make your purchasing decision.
Take in the features and make mental pro and con notes while you are doing the test drive. This will help you weigh whether you truly want to purchase the vehicle or not.

Discuss features of the vehicle with the seller.

Talk about the price with the seller, and come to an agreement on a fair asking price.

Arrange for financing either ahead of time or at the dealership, and make all final arrangements to secure the purchase of the vehicle.

PHOTO GUIDE. Fake vs Original NINA RICCI perfume

Fake vs Original NINA RICCI perfume.

Recently I bought a 80ml NINA RICCI NINA women's perfume and found that it was fake so want to share what to look at on a real one. My current bottle of NINA was bought by me, in duty free shop in Helsinki airport, so I have no doubt as to it's authenticity. My NINA is on the right (the half empty bottle). The fake NINA is on the left.

1. The glass of real perfume Nina Ricci has own colour ( perfume Nina has red glass). Fake bottle has white transparent colour, and perfume (!!) has red colour.

2. Each (!!) Nina Ricci's bottle has own number engraved on a bottle's side (small sign, about 4mm.x7mm.), which is absent on fake bottle.

3. The letters on the bottles bottom of fake perfume have bold type and easily can be removed, because they are just painted. The letters on real bottle are elongate and non-bold, impossible to remove, because they are engraved.

4. And finally, fake perfume has absolutely another smell, which disappeared after 15 min.

Key Factors about the Sprint Airave Access Point

Cell phones are a vital part of everyday life for most people these days... Unfortunately, our reliance on these handy little devices tends to be a nuisance when you can't get service in the places you need it the most. In this case, you might consider purchasing a cell phone booster to enhance your service. In my home, we use both Sprint & AT&T service. Both of these providers offer "femtocell" cell boosters. These boosters act like your own private cellular base station and provide enhanced coverage in the area you have it installed. Having purchased, installed & activated femtocell boosters for both Sprint (the Airave Sprint Access Point) and AT&T (the 3G Microcell Signal Booster), I have found that there are some details to consider before you decide to buy:

- Must have a DSL, Cable or other Broadband internet connection- The device will not work with a dial-up or satellite internet connection as the speeds of these connections are generally not fast enough to support the operation of the signal booster.

- Must be Within a Covered Service Area- There are areas where the devices do not provide coverage. Be sure to check your location on Sprint or AT&T's perspective site to confirm that the boosters will perform correctly in your home. (Special Note for AT&T: AT&T's site may tell you that MicroCell service is not available- In this case, call customer service. This is due to AT&T's satellites being out-of-date.)

- Power Failure- If you experience a power failure or electricity outage of any kind, note that your booster will not operate and you will lose your cell service until the power is restored. This is important to note if you are thinking of terminating your landline phone in hopes of exclusively using your cell for phone service. In most cases, your landline telephone will still provide service in the event of a power failure (in essence, you can still call your power company or the appropriate authorities to report the electricity problem.)

- Activation Fees- When the Airave is purchased outright from a source other than Sprint, they will charge an activation fee to add the device to your account. This fee is typically around $36. AT&T does not charge any type of fee for activation regardless of where you purchase their Microcell booster.

- Technical Support- Sprint has a specific customer service department that addresses the activation and support for the Airave device. To reach them, you must call this customer service number: 1-866-556-7310 (This number is correct as of 1/23/2012). AT&T provides support through their normal customer service number which varies depending on your location.

- Sprint: Any 3G Sprint Users Within Range- Note that anyone who is using a 3G-enabled Sprint device (with the exception of Boost Mobile, Nextel and Nextel Direct Connect) will be able to utilize the enhanced coverage. (So, before you call the cops on that random vehicle stopped in front of your house, check to see if they are using their cell phone- chances are, your booster is providing them signal.... This is a personal experience :)

-AT&T: AT&T Users Within Range- In order for an AT&T user to utilize the enhanced coverage, the registered owner of the MicroCell Booster must grant access. The owner must access their account and register the desired user's cell number. (Note that only AT&T 3G phones are accepted.)