Jan 2010 eBay Seller Updates

eBay has announced important updates for Sellers, with important changes especially for Cross Border Sellers. Some of the changes include new standard fees, new stores fees, new one fixed price format, new Buyer & Seller protection programs, top-rated seller status for cross-border sellers on even more eBay sister websites and some other new listing features.

As with most eBay update announcements, changes will only come into effect in about 2 – 3 months’ time so most of these updates announced this time will only come into effect beginning 23rd March, 2010 and will follow through in the next few weeks from there.

Right now, I can’t tell yet if these changes will be more in favour of eBay buyers or sellers yet but I guess time will tell when these changes are actually implemented and tried out.

For more information on these updates, click this link:
http://pages.ebay.com.sg/sellerinformation/news/OverviewJan2010.html

No Plastic Bag Shopping

Living In Ipoh, green shopping hasn't exactly caught on yet but I know that a major shopping center has already stipulated one day a month as Green Shopping Day where plastic bags will not be dispensed as usual. Shoppers are expected to bring their own shopping bags or carton boxes for heavy shoppers.

I am not a heavy shopper so I am trying to do my bit for the environment by declining the use of plastic bags even when it is not "No Plastic Bag Day" or even when I have forgotten to take along my own shopping bag.

I know that it is not enough that only one person doing so but I believe that given time and education, all of us will be able to adapt to shopping with our own reusable shopping bags. I have always thought that using new plastic bags is a waste, anyway.

Ticket Scalpers Upset Paolo Nutini Fans

Fans of hot Scottish sensation, Paolo Nutini, are upset that they couldn't buy tickets for his gig in King Tuts this February. Tickets were put on sale by Ticketmaster and could be bought online, over the phone and at Ticketmaster offices, though some were earlier allocated to fans of the official Paolo Nutini fan club, and rightly so.

According to genuine fans of the singer, the tickets must have gone within seconds they were released because they couldn't seem to buy them even though they were waiting online and on the phone waiting to place an order.

But surprisingly, or maybe not, tickets for Paolo Nutini gig at King Tuts can be found on eBay and Craigslist already and at way more times higher than face value of the tickets too! Imagine a £25 being sold for £400! Obviously, this isn't a price most fans could afford to pay.

Online marketplaces don't seem to do anything about ticket scalping. A good way to end this would be to ban the sale of tickets, unless it is in bidding format and starting at below the face value of the tickets. This would help curb ticket scalping, me thinks, since it would no longer be lucrative enough for their effort. What do you say?

Serena Williams Turns Negative To Positive With Charity Auction On eBay

Serena Williams, who was fined a total of US$92,000 last year for her outburst at a lineswoman at the US Open, will launch an online auction on eBay which will run for a total of 92 days.

Serena hopes that auctioning of her memorabilia, clothing and accessories will raise US$92,000. Proceeds from this series of auction will go towards various charities in the United States, Africa as well as to victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti.

Serena said that she wants to turn something negative into positive and had wanted to donate part of her fine to charity but that suggestion was rejected by the International Tennis Federation so she decided to run her own charity auction online.

Let's hope that she would be able to achieve her target with this auction!

Dreaming Of A Riviera Maya Vacation

It really has been such a long time since I have gone on a REAL vacation and I feel that I totally deserve one, especially a romantic cancun vacation. I have worked hard, though not as hard in the past year but I think that is only because I need to recharge my batteries.

As a single person, I have no one to go with on a romantic vacation but there are Riviera Maya vacations that cater to families too. Come to think of it, it has been ages since we have gone on vacation as a family and it is high time we do so while my parents are still in good health.

I have to speak to my siblings about this and I am sure that if we pool our vacation budget, we would be able to go on vacation to the Riviera Maya together as a family.

Maxis Dividend Received

Last week, a friend told me that his Maxis dividend cheque has arrived. He lives in Kuala Lumpur so it's only logical that he would get his earlier since I live in Ipoh. Well, I didn't have to wait too long, luckily. Mine arrived on Monday, 18th Jan, 2009.

As I have calculated based on a news article, Maxis declared 6 sen dividend per share which means that for most of us who was successful in the balloting for Maxis customers who qualified for only 1000 shares, we will be getting RM60 dividend. It's not a lot but Maxis said that dividend payout will increase in 2011.

Another friend of mine in Melaka has received his Maxis dividend cheque for RM300. He isn't a Maxis customer but bought 5000 shares on the opening day at RM5.40 per share. Although he suffers from paper loss right now, at least he gets to enjoy his RM300 cash.

I have to be frank that I am quite disappointed with the 6 sen dividend but then I am hoping that Maxis will be more generous this year.

Organic Pest Control Solution

My friend asked me if I would like to keep another pet now that my dog has died. Actually, I dare not anymore. I feel so bad that my dog contracted tick parasite THREE times over the past two years. I didn't manage to rid my house and garden of ticks successfully because I was afraid that the chemicals in the pest control products would cause us harm. I guess if I had used the pest control solutions more generously, my dog would not have had to suffer three bouts of infections.

On the other hand, I can't tell what would happen to us if we were exposed to these chemicals whether through skin absorption or inhalation. You know, I have a friend who was a horticulturist who died of lung cancer and I think the culprit was all the pesticides that he inhaled through the course of work since he was a non-smoker.

The sad thing is that I only know now that there are natural pest control products that are effective not only against ticks but also other household pests like fleas, bugs and insects without introducing various chemicals to the household which may be detrimental to our health and harmful to the environment as well. I guess it is still not too late to know now.

*** This post has been sponsored.

Update On Proton Exchange Programme

My friend, who told me that he felt cheated by the recently concluded Proton Exchange Programme, told me that all those who submitted their applications to participate in the Proton Exchange Programme after 31st October, 2009, have been rejected.

What these people, more that 7,000 of them, were offered instead, was RM2,000 in cash rebate instead of RM5000 rebate and worse, these people could only buy Proton cars manufactured ion 2009 instead of 2010.

My friend told me that a year of depreciation of the value of the Proton car would be more than RM2000 already which means that they aren't benefiting much from the programme even though the programme has yet to end when they submitted their application. It was still within the time frame.

According to this friend, he is going to opt out of the Programme which means that he will have to pay full price for the car, though it will be a 2010 car, and he will not receive the RM2000 cash rebate and do not have to send his current car in to be scrapped.

Well, who is to be blamed? I believe that my friend and everyone else in the same boat only decided to participate in this Exchange Programme at the last minute because of the "end of vehicle life" policy that was to be implemented but scrapped subsequently upon the uproar from owners of older cars.

Baggy Eyes

I realized recently that I haven't had a good night's rest for at least four years now. I don't sleep a lot but I do need uninterrupted sleep of at least four to five hours. Even though this is sufficient for me, it doesn't stop the tiredness from showing on my face, especially my eyes. I used to joke with friends that I am like a panda bear with my eyes like that but actually, it is so not funny. You can imagine the number of bottles of dark circle eye cream that I have used so far.

Frankly, I don't know if the cream really works since I didn't give myself a chance to lead a more normal lifestyle with longer hours in bed. I think that with all the eye cream that I have used, I would be able to get rid of them eventually!

Trying A New Lifestyle

I am trying to adjust to a new lifestyle that includes at least eight full hours of sleep at night. I haven't been sleeping well for the past few years already and it is taking me some time to adjust my biological clock.

A friend commented that I look very skinny. I guess I have lost some weight but I know that although I may lose weight fast, I gain weight a lot faster so there's nothing much to worry about.

My friends say that it shouldn't be a problem for me to change my lifestyle since I work for myself but the problem is that I work at my best in the middle of the night which means that I have to choose between work or rest!

Victoria's Secret Bra & Panties Clearance Sale

Wooo.... if you are looking for affordable brand name lingerie, I have good news for you. Victoria's Secret is running its Semi Annual Sale right now. If that's not cheap enough for you, they also have a clearance sale on bras and panties and buyers would get to save up to 60% on already low priced items.

The coupon code to use, yes, shoppers will always need to have their coupon codes handy, is 20VSCLEAR and make sure that you apply this code to your order BEFORE checking out to enjoy the additional savings.

For your information, Victoria's Secret Semi Annual sale ends this coming Sunday and this coupon code will be valid until then only. Happy shopping!

Trying For A Baby

My friend, Jessica, has been trying for a baby for the past couple of years. She has been married for about five years already, and it's kind of ironic that in the early days of her marriage, she was not ready for a baby yet but now that she is ready for one, she finds it so difficult to conceive!

Jessica told me that she is yearning for a baby so much that she even bought prenatalvitamins at the pharmacy by mistake. Of course, she doesn't have a baby yet and she shouldn't take such vitamins unless she is pregnant already and also only upon the advice of a doctor.

Anyway, I reminded Jessica that the New Year will be the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese Lunar calendar, a year that many parents try to avoid having children. Jessica told me that she is not superstitious and that she'll be just as happy as long as her baby is healthy. Well, I wish her good luck!

Building Up

My cousin brother told me that he is working out more at the gym trying to build up his body. I thought that he already looks very good but he told me that compared to his friends, he is just too skinny. It's funny that no matter how good we already look, we still continue to strive to look even better. I guess it is just human nature.

Anyway, my cousin told me that his gym mates have recommended him the best muscle building supplement to try but he is not sure if he should. He is afraid that if he has the help of supplements, his success would not be so satisfying knowing that he didn't do it all by himself.

What do you think? Should my cousin build up his muscles with the help of supplements?

Biggest Money Worries

Visa ran a survey recently and found that the three major money worries that Malaysians face today are cost of living, salary and debt. Even though I was not one of the respondent, I would say that these are also the top three financial concerns that I am facing but if I am allowed to add a fourth concern, it would be the increase in medical cost. These are challenging times indeed.

Some of my friends who lost their jobs last year are still looking to secure a job, even one of a lower position, even thought it has been long months already since losing their jobs. I feel their nervousness, frankly, seeing how the cost of living has gone up by so much and the GST isn't even implemented yet.

Obviously, I do hope that the New Year of 2010 would be better for all of us. When the economy improves, our lives would too!

Colon Cleanse For Improved Health

My friend, Samm, told me that she has a colon cleansing routine for herself and her husband for better health. I think that doing so has been really beneficial to them from what I observed. They have very good skin and they don't have a beer belly even though they like to drink. Samm told me that colon cleansing could be contributed to keeping the beer belly away.

Do you think that taking something like digest it could really help us keep our stomach flat? I am trying various ways to get rid of excessive fat on my stomach, you see, and of course, improve my general health as well.

Getting Rid Of Belly Fat

I have lost so much fat these past few months due to stress that I thought I would need new clothes. But then I was surprised to find out that I actually need the same pants size. I put the blame on my belly fat. Isn't it strange that no matter how much fat I have lost, I didn't lose the fat from my belly?

My friend told me that relacore worked for her and said that perhaps it would work for me. Well, I don't know. I will try my best to get rid of it the natural way first and if everything fails, I may try relacore as my friend has recommended.

Has anyone tried it before?

Feel Cheated By Proton Exchange Programme

My friend, will, who participated in proton exchange programme in November 2009 just before the programme ended, told me that he feels cheated by the programme since he submitted his application but now is told that he would only be getting RM2000 for his car instead of RM5000!

Will said that if he had known that he would only be getting RM2000 instead of RM5000 for his car, he would not even participate in the programme! He said that the reason he and other car owners who participated in the programme from 1st Nov to 6th Nov. would only get RM2000 is because there is no more government subsidy. As you know, this RM5000 is a combined subsidy of RM3000 from the government and RM2000 from Proton.

Although I am not affected, I think that Proton should make good the money not forthcoming from the government to keep the goodwill of their future car owners. Perhaps they think that these people are trapped in the programme and have no other choice?

Disney Fever

My neighbor, who visited Hong Kong Disneyland, with her husband and two young children this past Christmas, is having Disney fever. She told me that she is now planning to visit downtown disney in Florida during the Christmas holidays of 2010 and then to the original Disneyland the following Christmas.

I told her that she may be disappointed as it may end up being a case of "if you've seen one, you've seen them all" but she told me that she would take the risks. She has done some research on the web and asked friends who have visited the various Disney theme parks and they told her that even if she goes to the same Disney theme park every year, she would be enthralled all over again!

From listening to her stories and viewing her photo albums, I feel like I owe it to myself to experience the Disney magic myself. I just hope that I have a larger holiday budget!

Let The Uptrend Continue

Stocks opened the year mixed but before the first week was over we have seen an uptrend. I do hope that the uptrend continues. My friend bought Citigroup (C) a couple of months ago and the price has dropped by a lot since then but these two days, the price has recovered by quite a margin! It's funny, even though I do not hold Citigroup stocks myself, I feel the excitement for him and hopes that he will not only regain lost ground on the price but also profit!

Even with good sentiment spilled from the positive upside on Wall Street, Maxis shares dropped, unfortunately. I am hoping that it will go up to a point where I am able to sell it and gain but the margin is not good enough now. I hope that Maxis will not drop lower than RM4.75. I would really kick myself for not selling when the price steadied for a long time at RM5.3x per share. Let's pray that there will be something to be excited about in the stock market next week!

Good Time For Property Investment

Even though almost everyone is reeling from the economic downturn, including myself, I prefer to look at it as an opportunity for the not-so-rich people of the world to catch up with the wealthy. I know that it is not as easy as it sounds but it has created opportunities for better distribution of wealth. Don't you think so?

I know that many homeowners have faced foreclosures over the past couple of years but at the same time, many people became new homeowners; many thought that they were not able to afford a home as soon as this.

My friend, Paul, has been keeping his eyes peeled on Nags Head foreclosures and waiting for an opportunity to grab a good deal. I tell you, this guy is buying property like it's a game of Monopoly. Anyway, I read that many people know how to buy property but they may not know how to make money from their real estate investment.

I hope that when I am financially stable, I too would have such an opportunity to invest in a depressed property market.

Minimum Monthly Inventory Move Rate

A friend used to tell me that if I have difficulty moving my inventory, I should change to another product to sell. Selling lingerie is not only a business but I like to sell something that I am passionate about. Of course, there are other items that I love selling as well like books and clothes just to name a couple but frankly, at this point, I can't find time to expand my business. That's something for the future, though.

This morning, I read that the minimum monthly inventory move rate is around 30% of the inventory. If a seller sells less than 30% of her inventory monthly, then she MUST check what she is doing wrongly. 30% is the minimum.

Of course, there are sellers who move a high 70% of her inventory monthly but to me, I don't only take into consideration sales figures but also profit margin. The most important factor to me is the ability to bring in new buyers and at the same time retain the old. Returning buyers are people who are happy with our goods and customer service and these are the people who would help us to spread the word.

Changing To A Better Car, Or Not

My sister told me that she plans to change her car. She had wanted to do it for a while now but couldn't find a good deal yet until a couple of weeks ago, where she discovered that her dream car, the Volkswagen Beetle, was being sold at a steep discount of almost $6000! It makes the car more affordable yet she cannot commit to it because it is not a practical car for a family.

In any case, meanwhile, my sister has been doing some calculations to see how much she will have to pay for the car in monthly installments, insurance which is a monthly payment as well and gas, which has gotten a lot more expensive over the past couple of years! As you can see, like everyone else going through the current weak economy, my sister doesn’t have too much free money to play around with at the end of the month.

In any case, my sister has been requesting insurance quotes free from various websites. At the end of the day, she may not go through with the plan after all or perhaps she may change her mind and buy a family-size car but it makes her happy to see that her dream car is within reach. Well, requesting for free insurance quotes online is so convenient and if it makes her happy, why not?

Selling Stolen Goods On eBay

I read the article on a shoplifter from Oregon who then sold the stolen goods on eBay and I get the "duh" moment. Actually, these kinds of get rich quick schemes, none of us do not know how to do, if you get my meaning! But the question is, is it worth the trouble?

The article on The News Tribune mentions that Louise Marie Corbin is already 62 years old (and still stealing?) but what is more surprising is that it has taken almost TWO long years for her to be caught!

I don't know if Macy and Nordstrom, the two stores that she stole from, were slow to realize their missing merchandises or if the police were slow. eBay surely co-operated with the police, I am sure. Yet, it is said that Louise's operations ran from December 2006 until October 2008, selling items worth more than $200,000 in total. Duh!

Source: The News Tribune

Climber.com Gift Card For The Unemployed

The holidays may be over but many of us are still trying to offload gifts that are "unwanted". It's no wonder gift cards remain the top gift, especially among women.

While that may be so, I always think that it is of no use if the gift card is for a merchant that carries merchandise that we have no use for. In fact, in such an economic climate, the best kind of gift cards to give is a Climber.com gift card.

Climber.com is a premium recruitment service where people who are unemployed or who would like to seek greener pastures could set up a profile and "sell" themselves to thousands of recruiters.

Monthly subscription to the service is just $29.90 per month while three-month subscription is $75.99. Those who are seeking the greatest exposure could opt for a year long subscription at $199.99. If you have an unemployed loved one, a Climber gift card could be the best gift for him or her. No, it's not merely a gift card, but an OPPORTUNITY!

Employee profiles are fully search engine optimized so they could potentially reach an even larger pool of recruiters and not just those who are already with Climber.com!

Lelong Superbid Is Back

Lelong's Superbid, a separate auction marketplace slightly different from Lelong's main marketplace, is back, has been back for a few weeks now already, actually, but I am just lazy to blog about it. Hehehe!

This fresh round of Superbid is bigger though. Previously, it was just for an hour, if I remember correctly but now, it's for a full 12 hours! Still, it is always held on Wednesdays. Why Wednesday? Probably it's the middle of the week and office workers should already have settled down to a new work week.

All products for bidding on Lelong's Superbid start at only RM1 but sometimes, the closing bid could be very high, even higher than conventional auctions. I guess it is because of buyers’ attitude to chase for the items that they want, temporarily forgetting their budget!

Browsing through the products available on Superbid website right now, there are many popular consumer electronic products on offer alongside items like brand name watches, beauty products and even tea leaves. What I like is that retail prices for all items are stated clearly so that we can calculate how much we will be saving. However, do remember to add in shipping charges! Also, do not believe this "retail price" 100% so you should know the product well and how much it is really being sold in the market before putting in a bid!

Business Ownership

I have a friend who runs a restaurant and even though it is his business, it is not in his name. It is legally in his mother's name because he declared bankrupt a few years ago.

This friend told me that he really needs to discharge himself, he has the funds but not the time to run around given the red tape, and transfer the business to himself since his mother is getting old.

However, my friend says that he actually likes the current arrangement where he handles the business of running the 24-hour restaurant and a Las Vegas CPA handles the accounts. His mother receives a share of the profits at the end of the month and he doesn't mind at all.

I told him, though, he has to be practical. Besides the fact that his mother is ageing, it would still be better to discharge himself from bankruptcy and get back his passport!

Forthcoming eBay Changes For 2010

eBay changes its policies and format or whatever so often it really is too difficult to keep up, there is no denying, even for me who is self-employed. But if you are going to eBay, you have to play the game by the rules. I just am not looking forward to changes, though sometimes inevitable, that would force me to spend countless hours editing my listings. Imagine the time one would have to spend if she has a larger inventory!

No doubt, there are many other similar online auction websites like eBay, which sellers could hop to should they feel that eBay is jerking them around but these websites are still growing and GROWING is the keyword here, unfortunately.

eBay, on the other hand, is a mature auction website that offers an ever ready audience. While I am all for setting up an independent eCommerce website, I also feel that it is not wise to let go of eBay totally. It's great for attracting buyers and redirecting them to our independent online storefront.

For the upcoming changes that eBay has planned for 2010, check this post on AuctionBytes.

Choosing The Right Web Development Agency

Although I managed to set up an eCommerce website with the help of a couple of friends and managed to make some sales from it too, if I have the budget, I surely would want my online store to be more professional not only appearance wise but also in terms of search engine optimization. My friends helped me a lot but I don't feel easy running to them for every little problem that I encounter. After all, they are helping me for free.

For people who plan to set up a website for commercial purposes, I would suggest that they engage a web development company. While some people prefer to hire a company that is based in their own city, just like they prefer to have their website hosted in a local server, I personally think that it does not matter. One could engage a web design Edinburgh company even though he may be living in the United States.

I feel that what is most important is that the web designer Edinburgh agency, for example, is able to develop perfectly a website based on the vision of the owner. You know, website owners like myself have no idea about the setting up of a website and we get lost in the technicalities of it. However, we do know what we would like to have in a website, especially an eCommerce site, that would make shopping at our online store a joy.

We netpreneurs may be able to handle online businesses but sometimes our ideas for our website may be impractical. A good web development company should be able to come up with workaround solutions for us.

Top Ten Most Visited Malaysian Websites In Malaysia

Alexa just released a list of top visited websites in Malaysia. Unsurprisingly, the number one position is held by Maybank2u. What surprised me was the website at number two position. It's Mudah.

As you can see from the list of top ten most visited Malaysian websites in Malaysia that I have copied below, Lelong and eBay Malaysia aren't in the list.

1. Maybank2U
2. Mudah
3. The Star Online
4. Malaysiakini
5. Lowyat
6. Cari
7. Utusan Online
8. AirAsia
9. JobStreet
10. Berita Harian Online

The following is a list of top ten most visited websites in Malaysia currently:

1. Facebook
2. Google.com.my
3. Yahoo!
4. Google.com
5. YouTube
6. Blogger
7. Live.com
8. Wikipedia
9. MySpace
10. MSN

As you can see from the list above, no Malaysian website is at the top ten. Maybank2U currently ranks at number 12 while Mudah ranks at number 13.

As someone who trades online, I make it a point to monitor traffic to local classified websites and it looks like it's time to expand my listings since two of my major markets, Lelong and eBay Malaysia are at 53 and 66 respectively on the top ten websites that are currently visited by Malaysians.

Source: Alexa

Financial Management Is The Key

A friend, whom I shall refer to as J, told me that he is in deep financial trouble. I was surprised because he holds a high position in a large multi-national company and he once told me that he draws a five figure monthly salary. Now that he is in debt, I wonder if I should believe him!

As far as I know, J has a bad habit; gambling. He knows that it's getting out of control but he couldn't resist the lure of big money. The bigger the payout, the higher the risks! It's better to invest in stocks and bonds!

Actually, as far as I am concerned, it is quite irrelevant how large a paycheck one receives at the end of the month. It all comes down to sound financial management. One could be financially solid even if he is only earning a fraction of what J is earning.

While most of us working adults have one debt or another, whether it is a home or auto loan, or even an advance on our credit card, at the end of the day, it depends on how well we manage our income, expenses and debt.

Some people, like J, don't want to admit that they have a debt problem. If they take a step forward to seek debt management solutions, I believe that they could better manage their debt without feeling like they are spending more than they are earning and worse, don't even know where they money has gone!

Debt consolidation helps a lot in lightening the debt load since a debtor only has to make a single payment every month instead of facing numerous creditors.

Kardashian Sisters Auction Off Items For Charity

Sultry Kim Kardashian and her sisters, Khloe and Kourtney, of Keeping up with the Kardashians fame, have added new items to their eBay charity auction via Kim's Kloset. If you are a fan of theirs, this is the place to get your hands on some of the Kardashians memorabilia.

The good thing about buying from Kim's Kloset is that part of the proceeds from the sale of Khloe's and Kourtney's items and all proceeds from Kim's items will go towards the Dream Foundation, a charity organization that grants wishes to terminally ill adults, a charity that is close to Kim's heart.

Bad Debt Accounts

A friend, Mick, who works in the credit card section of a bank told me that it is not uncommon for people to owe money for five years or more even though the amount may not be too large.

The problem is that the amount keeps snowballing no thanks to the relatively high interest rate. I am sure we all know that the slower we settle our credit card balances, the higher the interest rate is. Still, some people think that cash advance from their credit cards is still better than taking out loans from friends or family. Let's not even consider loans from loan sharks!

Mick said that banks would engage Collection Agencies to take over the work of collecting payment from bad credit card debt accounts after a certain period of time. I thought that such financial information is private and confidential and the agreement, if any, is between the credit card issuer and the credit card holder. That may be so, Mick said, but chasing bad debts simply takes up too much time and resources.

Too many people are abusing and misusing their credit cards. The annual service fee imposed on credit and charge cards is supposed to address this malady but will it help? I personally do not think so.

*** This post has been sponsored.

Cheating Boyfriend's 8 Christmas Presents on eBay

Leanne Joseph, of Huddersfield, in the United Kingdom, caused a storm recently when she put the eight unopened Christmas presents from her cheating boyfriend on eBay. While it is way too common to unload "unwanted" gifts on eBay and Craigslist, this is probably the first time that someone put up for auction unopened gifts, and from a cheating boyfriend too! If I were her, I would at least have checked what they were first before auctioning them off. LOL

According to Leanne, the winning bidder is a guy from Wales, who won all eight unopened Christmas gifts for £350. Leanne is planning to donate all proceeds of the auction to Kirkwood Hospice in Huddersfield, a hospice where her late grandmother spent her last days in.

This incident may be genuine but I think that has generated some novelty ideas for enterprising people who could wrap up presents from cheating spouses or whomever and sell them online for a wider profit margin. Teehee!

Major Revamp

Mel, a friend who is like me, running an online store, but also sets up a stall at flea markets and bazaars every weekend in the capital city, told me that she has big plans for the New Year. Mel has not been happy with the name of her company, which was set up on short notice a couple of years ago. She said that now that she has got the hang of the business, it is time to be more serious with it and a major revamp is necessary.

At first, I thought that the revamp she was talking about was just in bringing in new stocks and expanding inventory but she is really serious about it and even plans to engage a Naming Company to come up with a good brand name; one that is short and easy to remember and spell, one that gives out positive vibes.

I am happy to see that Mel’s business is successful enough for her to pump in more capital, time and energy. It proves that a home-based business could be serious business as well. And while I have not spent as much time in my own business, I too am planning a major revamp once I could devote more time to it.

*** This post has been sponsored.

Sugar Costs 20sen More Per Kg

This is bad news for people who have a sweet tooth. The government has gone back on their word of not raising the price of sugar at least until May of 2010 by raising it by 20sen from today, 1st January, 2010, onwards.

Although there is a price increase of 20sen per kilogramme, the government is still subsidizing the cost of sugar. I guess that with the drastic price increase of raw sugar from US$0.14 to US$0.16 per pound to US$0.27 per pound since August, 2009, there is nothing they could do but to pass some of the cost to consumers.

Sugar is now selling at RM1.65 in peninsula Malaysia and RM1.75 in Sabah and Sarawak. Even so, it is said that the price of sugar is still the lowest among ASEAN countries. Well, doesn't this sound way too familiar?

It is said that the impact of 20sen extra per kilogramme on consumers is minimal but I guess we will only know sometime in the future how strong the impact is. After all, sugar is but one of the many items that we buy.

Chasing Payments

A friend, Alex, is so mad after discovering that the two vehicles bought by his two brothers-in-law that were bought under his name have received ten summonses over the past few months, so much so that he could not renew his own driver's license. He had to settle the summonses first, which came up to a few thousand dollars before he was able to renew his license. He said that he allowed his name to be used in the car purchases in the first place to help the two guys out. They have bad credit score and were not able to purchase a car in their own name, legally. Well, I would be mad too if I was in his situation!

Alex told me that even though he has settled the summonses, the problem is far from over. He has tried to seek reimbursement from his brothers-in-law but they have dragged their feet, pretending not to be aware of the summonses at first and then blaming their forgetfulness.

Alex said that he has to get back the money by hook or by crook, even if it means calling in a Collection Agency to help which would strain their relationship. Times are hard and it is certainly understandable that nobody could afford to bear the fines if the traffic offenses were committed by someone else!

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White Bread No Longer A Price Control Item

The New Year is here and while we all hope for a better year this year and generally a better decade, bad news hit us even before 2010 dawned on us. For one white bread is no longer a price control item beginning today which means that traders are free to increase prices by whatever amount they deem fit.

As a family which consumes a lot of bread, especially white bread, this isn't good news to us. However, what could we do but to pay? Of course, we could reduce our intake of bread but then that is not a good long term solution either.

In general, prices will continue to go up, not only for white bread but for almost everything and I guess we just have to bear with this trend and try to adjust our budget. Soon, GST will be implemented and that would be an even bigger shock to our pockets. Let's just hope that we could earn even more money to meet this new financial burden.

Major Home Renovation

My new neighbor, who just bought the house next to mine, told me that she plans to renovate it before moving in. Well, this is the norm nowadays. Besides, the house next door has not been maintained all these years, so it's pretty understandable. However, I am not looking forward to the day renovation starts because of pollution. It would also be too noisy for my liking. I wonder how long renovation work is expected to last.

Right now, my neighbor is busy getting quotations from contractors. She said that it would be cheaper if she could Buy Toilets, wash basins, lighting and other fixtures herself but she cannot decide on the style she would like her house to take.

Betterbathrooms.com has a great selection of toilets for sale from traditional to modern. It looks like no matter what director one plans to take for the home, she would be able to find the kind of toilet design that she wants. The good news is that this January, shoppers who buy toilets from Betterbathrooms.com may enjoy up to £100 off regular retail price. The cheapest toilet is only £71.95 inclusive of VAT. This may be for just a conventional toilet but it is still a pretty good deal to me.

*** This post has been sponsored.