Bonanzle Bonanza Block Party! Shop, Save & WIN!

BONANZLE is having a Block Party. There will be sales, games and prizes. Come join the fun on July 12, 2009 starting at 12pm PT or 3pm ET. There are already over 100 booths included with all sorts of items for sale. Our booth will be having a 15% off sale from 12-3 PT (that’s 3-6pm ET ) with over 300 items included. This sale will be extra special because we are already running a 15% off sale for Christmas in July. Don’t miss out on all the fun. Remember the date JULY 12TH—Mark it on your calendar.

Several New Cookie Cutters Added

During the past month we  at American Tradition Cookie Cutters have added several new cookie cutters to our line. You can find them all on our NEW CUTTERS page in our store. Hope you like them:

New Cookie Cutter Added April 5, 2009

Today we added a new cutter to our store. Please visit us to see this and many more cookie cutters. You can find us at American Tradition Cookie Cutters.

5.75″ Pipe Wrench

New Cookie Cutter this Week!

American Tradition Cookie Cutters added a new cookie cutter this week. It is a 5.25″ ADJUSTABLE WRENCH. It is a great addition to our existing tool cookie cutters. These include a hammer, wrench, screwdriver, saw, and axe. We hope you take a moment to visit one of our locations to see all the  cutters w have to offer.

Check out Bonanzle!

Looking for a great place to buy and sell? Check out a fairly new place on the net–it’s called Bonanzle. It is free to list your items. They give you a free booth to list them in. Listing is as easy as 1, 2 3.  The people are friendly and very very helpful. It is a great alternative to those FEE hungry other places. You do pay a modest fee when your item sells. All fees are shown and are NOT percentages, just a  small flat fee. I have a booth there. I set up in minutes and all my questions were answered by the friendly people there. The ” owners” are readily available by email to answer any questions and many times join in the forums. They are personal and friendly. Did I mention friendly???  You have nothing to lose by just looking. It may surprise you, you might just stay. You can check out some of my items listed on the right side of the page or just go to my booth: American Tradition Cookie Cutters.

FREE web stores for you

Hi,
It’s been a while since I wrote last. Was busy over the holidays and couldn’t get to write. American Tradition Cookie Cutters has posted on several other sites now. These include:

Blujay–new postings since December 2008

Ecrater–new postings since January 2009

Check these sites out. Both Blujay and Ecrater offer FREE stores, no fees, unlimited items you can post. If you are looking for somewhere to sell or buy just click the links and go to the stores. You can then navigate to the home pages and find the info you need. I really like them. Much better than Ebay (although I still sell there).  They both offer PayPal and Google Checkout and you can also offer to accept money orders, cash, check. (unlike Ebay). Check them out, I think you will agree with me.

EBay : The Mall or a Flea Market

Hi, I have been very disturbed lately over the many changes EBay has made. To me it seems like they want to be something they are not. They can’t be Walmart. It’s like putting a square peg into a round hole. It just doesn’t fit. To me Ebay is just like the mall or a flea market. Let me explain. The mall is just a structure or empty building. Without the stores occupying the space the mall cannot function. As the owner of the mall you can offer your tennets certain perks such as advertizing their items when you advertize your mall. You can also limit things such as hours of operation. As long as the tennet or store operates under the rules and regulations of the mall the transactions therein are between the store and the customer. Any disagreements are also between these two parties. You are not going to say” I hate the mall when it’s a certain store in the mall “you hate”. You most likely will still patronize the mall but avoid the store.

Ok, it’s the same with a flea market. Someone or some company organizes a flea market. They bring in vendors ( like the mall brings in store owners). In turn they also advertize the flea market. This brings in the people or shoppers. Again the tranactions are between two parties: that vendor and the customer. Any disagreement is between them. Most people don’t stop going to the flea market because of one vendor.

Ok, so what have we learned? Malls and flea markets need store/vendors. These store/vendor bring in shoppers. Everyone is making money and is happy.

So what if the mall/flea market owners decided that shoppers could now rate the stores and the store gain/lose priviledges based on the customers rating? Also what if the mall/flea market doesn’t allow the store/vendor to defend themselves against unwarranted negative ratings.  I will tell you. That store/vendor would leave that mall/flea market in search of another location.

Since EBay has changed it feedback system this is exactly what they are doing to their “stores/vendors”. There has been an increase in unsavory actions on the part of the customer/shopper in EBay. Many people do not not pay for the items they aggreed to purchase. There is not holding of accountability. EBay says that if a customer does not pay several times in a certain period of time they will get kicked off. Well, meantime the store/vendors are left holding the bag so to speak and now needing to relist the item they thought was sold. More money down the drain. So what do the stores/vendors do? They leave to find a more respectable place to shop.

Ebay has lost site of who brings in the shoppers. Ebay is a big empty mall and needs store to occupy it. It i the stores that bring in the customers, not the mall.

I Didn’t Get “Bailed Out”, So Why Should They?

Sometimes you just have to write your opinion on how angry the government makes you. It’s been ridiculous lately. I have been watching the news and catching all the videos of all the people talking about the government bailing out all these companies.  First it’s Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Then you hear of  AIG. Who else will it be…when does it end? My problem with the whole thing is simple. I recently closed a company for no other reason than I wasn’t making money. I did not declare bankruptcy. I just decided enough was enough and I had no more money to put into it. I had already put all my savings and more. So when the doors closed I tried to get unemployment. I was in debt after all.  For the money I was making, unemployment would be very little, but something is better than nothing. I was informed that I could not collect unemployment. Although I was considered an “employee” of the company, I was also an “officer”.  I was told that as an officer I was held responsible to the success or failure of the company. Therefore since my company failed, it was my responsibility and I could not get unemployment, although I had contributed to it each week out of my paycheck and so did my company.

Ok, so what can you do but move on and start over? If you reached the bottom the only place you can go is up.

So, why are they considering giving these “officers of these companies”  severance?  They should be held responsible for the success or failure of the company and deserve what I got–NOTHING!!! On top of it I am paying for their mistakes. I don’t mind paying for my own, but why should I pay for theirs!!!

Take the mortgage companies; they gave mortgages to people that obviously could not pay them. I know of one person personally. A neighbor was given a mortgage when he could not even keep up with his rent. How ludicrius!

It just angers me to no end! I was brought up to own up to to my mistakes. I teach my kids that with freedom, there comes responsiblity. Being an adult is not all fun and games. You are responsible for yourself and others under your care.  No one is going to “bail” you out if you get in over your head. You “bail’ yourself out! These companies and persons should “bail” themselves out of this mess.  They created the mess  and now expect to just walk away, but not empty handed. Why not? I did and look, I survived…they will too.

Who Protects the Seller?

As stated in an earlier post we use Ebay as one outlet to sell our cookie cutters. This year Ebay has made many changes. As a business owner I  know changes are good. You have to keep up with the times. However one change that Ebay has made effects one side of the coin. It majorly effects the seller. It is Ebay’s change to feedback. I know many people have voiced their opinions on this subject in the news and in blogs. I guess I am just another one to do so. So who protects the seller from an unscrupulous buyer? I feel that the majority of people in this world as basically honest. However, and unfortunately, not all. Now on Ebay the buyer has all the power. They can try to “negotiate” a deal on their terms, making the seller feel vulnerable.  I recently had an experience of a buyer trying to obtain a charge back on an item that was delivered. Although feedback has not come into play yet, I am concerned that a ‘fraudulent” buyer can impact a “honest” seller by giving  an undeserved negative feedback. So again I ask who protects the seller? Unfortunately in Ebay the answer is no one!

Using Cookie Cutters to Pay it Forward

I have been exploring other outlets for selling my cookie cutters on the web. So now I have three: Our Store, Ebay, and ETSY. In Etsy I am selling our boxed gift sets. Etsy is a place to sell homemade or handcrafted items. We make our sets up ourselves so I sell them there.

Anyway the other day while searching the site I bought a gift for my daughter. The seller was only asking the listing cost and shipping costs for the item. She called it Pay It Forward. I already knew what that was, but was so happy to see it done I decided as my “pay it forward” I would sell one of my sets for listing and shipping costs. I chose a Halloween Set since the holiday is coming up in the near future. Hopefully it will sell and the next person can “apy it forward”. Sometimes the smallest things can make you happy. I wish you all the BESTEST of days!!!!

This is the item for PIF sale!