More Live Sale Follow Up

     Sending everyone a detailed invoice from my live sales is definitely a good way to do things. That way everyone can check to make sure that the items they are pretty sure they claimed are on it and they can also see if something extra got in. That does happen, especially when I am dealing with 46 bags (like I was during this sale) and miniatures. It really is extra tricky to sell the miniatures during a live sale. I may have to consider not doing it, or maybe offering it as an add-on that people can claim when they send me their email addresses. I am not sure. Anyway, the detailed invoices help everyone, even though I don't put so much detail as color of things. But invoicing takes a long time. I pack the items for shipping while I am working on the invoices. Though I don't seal anything until the invoice is paid, in case I need to change something in the order. 

     Saturday I worked on invoicing and packing for 7 hours. Then I decided that it needed to be enough for now and I stopped. The bag on the left is all of the finished orders, postage attached, just waiting to go to the post office. The smaller bag on the right (which looks the same size because it is packed strangely) are the packages waiting for payment. When I took this photo I had a couple more that I needed to seal and put in the other bag. I also have one more bag in the closet that is open boxes waiting for dolls I need to make. Those will of course get packed and shipped as I finish the dolls for them. 

     I know a lot of people think I should take more time with packing and shipping of items. Surely most people don't really expect their Black Friday purchases (for example) to show up in the first week of December? And while I am sure most people are entirely reasonable and willing to wait at least a few weeks, if not longer, I don't actually do the quick shipping for my customers. At least not mainly. Yes, I do like to get things to people as soon as humanly possible, but as I have mentioned many times in the past, we have a serious lack of space here. The bags of packages to be shipped are blocking the front closet, if I need anything out of there they need to be moved so I can get in. It is also entirely likely they will be an obstacle to go around or trip on. I want my tiny amounts of walking space back, so I get them out quickly. 

     Even with months of work without pay (when you are making things and putting them away instead of selling, you are not getting paid) and the days of work that go into the sales themselves, I have found that the live sale format is still the one that works the best for me. People tell me they are fun to watch and after I get over my initial nerves they are fun for me too. I love being able to give prizes and I love looking for new ways to add something new and different to the sales. So even though they are a ton of work I think they are here to stay.