American Made Challenge

If you are anything like me you probably try to buy american made items. This is not the first time I have blogged about this subject but it means a lot to me.

I will not be showing sellers on OLA.COM that have items made in America as I have done that one already. I will be comparing what can be found by just looking on the same shelf or maybe in another store in the same town.

Walmart had a waste basket made in China for $6.99. I ask the clerk if they had any made in America and she took me to them. I got one for $2.50 with Made in USA on the bottom. Why it was in a different part of the store is unknown by the clerk.

I do not buy Hallmark cards anymore as they are made in China and are very expensive. I buy cards from the Dollar Store for $.50 cents each and they are made in USA

I was at Lowes in town and happened to remember I need a new hose attachment. They  were all made in China so the next day I went to Ace Hardware in our town and there they were , cheaper and made in the USA

At the grocery store I also found bounce frabic softener sheets were made in China while the store brand was 1/2 the price, made in USA and worked just as well.

With the economy being what it is everything we buy or do affects someone else, maybe even someone's job.

So forget what is being said like "You just can't find anything made in America anymore". That isn't true as I have found a lot of items I us made in USA. You just have to look.

My challenge to you is to look at labels and see what you can find made in America. The more we buy from USA companies the more jobs we will be helping to save.

Please either come here and blog and brag about your finds. If you do not want to do that you can go to my ola store and tell me, http://ola.com/store/chateycathey or you can omail me at chateycathey@aol.com and I will keep track and report here in the future.


Thanks for reading my blog and I will be watching my email or this blog for responces. If sending an email please put American made challenge in the subject line.

What Is Your Scent Style?

Ah, the tantalizing scent of a good perfume can evoke all sorts of feelings in the human body... relaxation, desire, happiness, and warmth are just some of the more positive responses.

How many of you received a gift of perfume or cologne over the holidays? (How many of you did not, and were disappointed?)

Perfume is an easy "score" for a gift-giver, especially if they know your personal favorite brand or scent style.

This year my family bestowed upon me Estee Lauder's Sensuous Nude, which is a fabulous blend of woods and musks, highlighting fragrances such as Muguet, Sicilian Bergamot and Bale Rose. It compliments my ever-growing collection, (You guessed it! I love perfume!).

What is your scent style?

All my life I have gravitated towards the woodsy and musky family of perfumes. My collection is well-kept. Each bottle remains sealed in a cool, dark cabinet, so the bottles do retain their signature scents for quite some time. (Yes, perfume can "go bad".) Right now I am alternating between wearing my holiday gift above or Calvin Klein's Euphoria or Ralph Lauren's Romance, depending upon my mood in the morning! All three have seductive, velvety wood tones, with just the right subtlety of exotic fruits and florals.

Wikipedia has a fantastic article on perfume. Did you know that the art of making perfume can be traced as far back as ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt? In this article you can also learn about the common sources for fragrances and how differing scents are classified. The Fragrance Wheel, (to the right), is a rather new way to simplify fragrance classification. It was developed in 1983 and is widely used in today's fragrance industry.

Tell me about yourself...

My favorite scent falls in the category:
	Floral Notes
	Oriental Notes
	Woody Notes
	Fresh Notes
	I don't wear perfume!
pollcode.com free polls

Many people, men and women alike, do not know how to wear cologne. Once, I was ushered into the examining room of my doctor's office to the overwhelming aroma of the previous patient's perfume. Both the nurse and the doctor apologized profusely, as there was simply no escaping the smell. Evidently the patient had applied her favorite scent more than liberally! It was enough to make your eyes water. Now folks, it is one thing to smell nice, and definitely another thing to assault bystanders with an overload of perfumery. Please read up on the best way to apply cologne and smell delicious!

If you're like me, your love of perfume can be an expensive habit! I am rather refined, preferring the scents of the top-label perfumes, as opposed to drug-store brands and knock-off scents. So I'll share with you what I've learned... great deals on expensive fragrances can be found online! Look for sealed bottles, from reputable sellers. I've found a few at OnlineAuction.com! (Imagine that!) Buying online is a great way to try new fragrances and stock-up on your favorite brands! Take a peek... oft times you can snag a much better price than visiting your local department store.

Ed Hardy "Love Kills Slowly" 3.4oz bottle from ASH-LEES-VARIETIES!

OPIUM BY YVES SAINT LAURENT, Women Eau De Toilette from chanandbeaonlineshop!

Eternity By Calvin Klein Eau De Parfum from AnnetteLeighs!

Here's to smelling good!
~ FleaPirates ~

Make the Best with What ya Got!!

The online seller has advantages and also disadvantages to a brick and mortar store.

Advantage - You can be your buyers personal salesperson by what you put in the listing. Giving complete information, size, color and especially if the item is used, the condition the item is in.

Disadvantage - Online pictures are not as good as picking up the item and turning it over, looking inside it, and checking it completely out. The buyer does not have the opportunity to feel the item or smell the item.

So, here are some tips that I hope you, as the online seller, take to heart!!

1. Always put in your policies/listings any thing in your home that might affect your buyer such as "pet friendly" and "I do smoke in my home". That way, there are no surprises when the buyer gets an item and they might find a cat hair or two. If you sell used items but don't smoke, make mention of the fact but also tell the buyer this comes from another source.

2. I've always found that cleaning an item is GOOD!!! Not only does it look better, but in some cases, you get that smoke odor/soot off the item. If you can't clean the item, say so in the listing.

3. When taking pictures, remember THIS IS THE ONLY WAY YOUR BUYER SEES THE ITEM!!

A.  Make sure it's clean.

B. Don't include the pet hair.

C. Use a plain backdrop (white posterboard works great and it's cheap).

D. Get RID of the junk around the item. 

E. Crop the picture if necessary.

Get several different views so that the buyer can "turn" the item around as they would if they were picking it up. And also remember that the first picture is a very small picture when looking at it on the internet. Get the most exposure you can for that picture. Don't paste several pictures together, this just makes the main picture smaller in comparison to everyone elses and less likely the buyer can see your item fully. 

I have run into bad pictures now and again. I'm NOT a professional photographer and in fact, need to work on getting my own pictures to look sharper. But I do pride myself on trying to make sure that the item I am photographing is clean and clutter free. So, here are some examples of what I'm talking about.

This is a used sock. I am just using it for an example. The first sock, I petted our dog Sassy really hard and found lots of dog hair. It is now on the sock. (Thank you Sassy!!) The second is the clean one. 

 Now if you were in the market for a sock like this, would you be more likely to purchase the first or second sock? Especially given that the price is about the same?

 This is a Hemmingray insulator. We have lots of these and I've listed a couple. Now if you were in the market for a Hemmingray 42 insulator, would you be more likely to purchase the first or second insulator?

This is Hemmingray 4-57 Insulator. Same question, which would you prefer?

Please note that the surrounding area makes a HUGE difference in the pictures. Do you ever wonder where the item is coming from when you see an exceptionally cluttered area? Are you a little more hesitant about purchasing it? And imagine these pictures being little thumbnail pictures. Which ones are going to catch YOUR eye?

We at OLA.com have tutorials that help the seller with different aspects of online selling in the Chats and welcome OLA.com members to look them over. And if there is ever a question, the members are always ready to help!!

I hope this helps you as a seller. Again, I am NOT a professional photographer. I am just a seller and a BUYER who knows what I like when searching for something I wish to purchase or promote.

I wish you the best in your online sales!! Please come over to OLA.com for your needs!! And we would be honored to have you check out our store, Korn Kountry Treasures!

Thank you!