And now I have a Christian consignment that is filled with some spectacular items. Some I’ve listed already and quite a few I’ll be listing soon. Just in time for Easter!

And my wife, Helen (at Vestments.us) has been going through a crazy buying stage, there’s been SO many folks recently asking her about their vestments they want to sell. We’re not sure why the recent explosion of interested sellers is happening.  She  usually gets a couple each month, but she’s been getting double that recently.

Regardless, we thank you all!

Thanks to all you Clothtique Possible Dreams enthusiasts who have kept me on your radar – I hope you find some stocking-stuffer gems while I round out the last of these wonderful story-inspiring figurines!

And most of all, thanks Gina,  Karen and Bill!

Merry Christmas to all!

Mike

A lack of competition doesn’t mean it’s time to relax. I believe competition is a great motivator, edge sharpener, self reflector and niche designer, and is of great benefit to the customer. I always assume there’s room for improvement, and am relentless at discovering and utilizing those improvements — regardless of competition.

i-Cellar was designed in a way that that most consignment shops simply couldn’t compete with — low commissions, professional photography, web search engine optimization, eBay sales and marketing & trend research,  publication design, etc.  I didn’t open my business to squash competition. It made sense to people who would have nice items to sell and don’t want to pay outrageous commissions, and there was a complete lack of all these (what I consider essential) skills under one roof.

My professional careers and personal hobbies have overlapped to allow a unique and highly applicable skillset. As one example, you likely found i-Cellar by typing something like “sell eBay pittsburgh” or “Pittsburgh ebay consignment” or something similar in a search engine, and my site was one of the first to show up. I apply that same searching placement knowledge with your items being sold, and that translates to more people finding and bidding on your items — which means more money.

So while there may not be any outside competition at this moment of time, I’m still going to do the same thing I’ve been doing – make you the most money possible in any way I can. If you win, I win — It’s it’s own competition.

We’ve gone to “by appointment” which means we can meet any hour, any day – whatever works best for you — just give us a call and we can be at the Antique Mall within minutes. This has also allowed us to meet at your location at your convenience to evaluate and pickup items should you have many items or simply cannot drive them to us.

I’d personally like to thank Tom B, J.O., Gina D, Maria B, A. L., Rich C,  Lauren, and the many others who have brought in so many items over the last year. I’m happy to be your partner in “cash cultivation”, and look forward to another prosperous year!

The effects in this downturn economy on eBay are simple:

• High quality, collectible, or generally expensive stuff is selling extremely well and at great prices.
• Average,  commonplace, or cheap items aren’t selling well.

And for good reason. People don’t want to buy stuff on eBay they might find at a garage sale, flea market, or classifieds for a few bucks. But harder to find, collectible, more expensive items are still highly desirable. They’re also harder to find because folks are “saving them” for a rainy day.

Well guess what… some realize it’s now their “rainy day” and are making great money selling those saved-up items.

…so call or stop in — come see how we can brighten up your rainy day!

We’ve since decided to keep the sign up until we can get it changed over, so please forgive any confusion and feel free to bring in stuff to sell instead!

• The cellar – antiques, collectibles, architecture, sewing, light fixtures – Cash!
• The closet - designer clothes, shoes, handbags, leather jackets – Cash!
• The attic – coins, stamps, comic books, luggage – Cash!
• The bedroom – quilts, clocks, jewelry, watches, designer brands – Cash!
• The kitchen – dinnerware, cutlery, appliances, restaurant equipment – Cash!
• The garage – tools, car parts, sporting goods – Cash!
• The den – cameras/lens, stereos, speakers, clocks, event tickets – Cash!
• The game room – computers, games, music instruments, electronics – Cash!
• The kids room - cell phones, i-Pods, fashion, CDs/DvD’s, Wii stuff, GPS,  PDA – Cash! (stuff they outgrew — I don’t want kids mad at me!)

Every household is filled with boxed-up,  forgotten, or “I’ll get rid of that eventually” stuff that could put good money in your pocket – let i-Cellar help you turn it into cash quickly and easily.

I put to use some technical color and visual theory before making the site, sign and business card,  crafted a perfect tagline which epitomizes what we do, and now have a complete “look and feel” which is very important for any business. I’m proud of all the preparations and sacrifices made in order to make people as much money as possible, and I’m confident of success.

Tonight I’ll design in-store media for the wall, finish up the three-folds for people to take with them. Tomorrow I’ll print some comparison photos to prove the unbelievable differences between my quality and and any competition, and prepare for the onslaught of folks wanting fat checks.

I have so much still to do but I’m diving in anyway! I work the best under pressure, so bring it. (literally!)

Tomorrow I’m putting my two giant hand-painted i-Cellar signs up and the car garage is technically closing. The ole sandwich board will start getting daily use. I’ve been preparing for quite awhile, testing out many options, crunching numbers and the occasional finger while packing, spending startup money like breathing air, and I’m as prepared as I can be. I believe I’ve built the ideal consignment shop not only in the pittsburgh area, but anywhere. I’ve searched and emailed and shopped just about everything and everywhere possible leaving no stone unturned both physically and virtually, and you gonna like what we do for you…

Oh yes you are.