eBay the Right Way

eBay Seller Chat with the Hilarious and Entertaining Catherine in Georgia 🤣

• Suzanne A. Wells • Episode 212

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Blog post about her boutique

https://ebaysellingcoach.blogspot.com/2013/11/check-out-this-ebay-sellers-space.html

Blog post about the valance

https://ebaysellingcoach.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-funniest-ebay-fail-ever.html

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Set up a consulting session or listing review Suzanne@SuzanneAWells.com

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Suzanne Wells:

Music. Hello, fine people out there in podcast land. I'm Suzanne, your hostess, and this is episode number 212 of eBay the right way. My guest is my dear friend from life, Catherine in Georgia. No announcements this week, so let's jump right in. Hello listeners. I have my good friend Catherine with us today, and this may not be so much eBay focused as it is about us having a friendship for over 10 years now, and just life in general. But Catherine is very entertaining, so I wanted to get her on the podcast. So how are you this morning, Catherine? Well,

Unknown:

I'm doing just fine. Thank you here in Manila, Georgia.

Suzanne Wells:

Okay, now you've moved a few times since I came to your house, I think, haven't you?

Unknown:

Well, yeah, I think I was living in Roswell when we met, and then we moved down after my husband had a stroke and everything, and we found like, a really nice ranch house over here in Marietta, Georgia, and we really liked it. Okay, good,

Suzanne Wells:

good. So we'll get into that a little bit later, about how you had to shift your entire life to be a caregiver, because that's huge. But some of the long time listeners or folks that have been in the Facebook group might remember when you first came to the group, and I'm going to tell that story the way I remember it so, so you join the group I remember was 2013 and you were talking about this fabulous boutique you had in your basement, and you apparently went out and went thrifting and picking really nice clothes, and you are a good picker. And then you would have your friends, I think it was church friends, come over and try on clothes, and you had a sitting area where they could drink wine. And I thought that was like, wow, yeah, you had the it was fixed up really nice. It was very, you know, trendy and very classy. And so you were like, Yeah, and I have my church friends over, and we have wine, and you should come. And I'm thinking, your church friends are having wine, but I guess that's okay, because, you know, Jesus had wine, so that's okay. Yeah, so I was very impressed, and so then you invited me to come over, and we started talking, and you showed me around and everything. And then we worked out a deal where I helped you learn how to do shipping and you traded me clothes for my time to teach you. And that was, yeah, that was great. Well, let me, let you tell like how it was set up because you had shoes and jewelry and double racks of clothing and everything.

Unknown:

Yes, I did it. Will see i At that time, there was a thrift store near my house, and like, they would have, once a week, they would have a day where everything in the store was $1 so I just, I started accumulating all this stuff, and it started piling up in my dining room, and my husband was like, I can't have this. We need to sit in here and eat, you know. So he had a friend come and build out a big room in my basement, and he built, he literally built me a store within the middle of the room. We had, kind of like a circular painting rack where you could walk all the way around the room, and we hung all these clothes, and I had it really organized, close sighted on one wall, and, and I had things by size and, and I just started having my friends, my neighbors, my friends, my church people, whoever came in. And I would let them. Sometimes I give things away. My daughter would have her friends over and have, like, model photo shoot parties and stuff with her high school friends. And it was just a fun place for me to bring people. And we hung out down there. And it was, I do I have a wall with jewelry hanging on the wall and a couple big folding. Tables with, fact, folded blue jeans I was I had a lot of at that time embellished blue jeans that had, like embroidery, like hippie, Boho looking jeans, right, bottoms and stuff. I just really learned a lot at that time about the different brands and things that I that I was getting things like for $1 so I wanted to show them, but you taught me how you had to show me that my computer, I had no idea how to even use computer. I don't know how in the world. I'm the most computer illiterate person. And for some reason, I ended up having a worldwide, international eBay store selling all over the place. And I I would learn. I would used to get in the bed with my iPad and just read like, just learn. I would go to like, sex Avenue website and read, what are the high end brands? And just look at the brand names that they sell. And I would, you know, go to Neiman Marcus and do the same by three learning about these high end clothing things. And then when I find them at the thrift store, I would know that I could grab those and for $1 you know. And it just worked out. It was lots of fun. And I ended up learning how to do a computer. I was real proud of myself,

Suzanne Wells:

Yes, and I'm actually looking at the blog post I did because I took a bunch of pictures of your boutique. So I will put that link under the podcast and also send it to you so you can relive that. But it was November 10, 2013 and so I've got pictures of your mannequin with pretty jewelry on it, and then different photos of the entire space your table of your table of denim. You've got some pretty containers of like lingerie and undergarments, and then your jewelry and your shoes, and you just, I was so impressed. I was so impressed. So I documented this for you. If you don't have pictures, I got them and and then you got out of the business for a while, and you just gave me a bunch of stuff, and

Unknown:

I would give her a I would give her parking lot and I would hand her, like, the big, long festival of clothes to live. She would live

Suzanne Wells:

before me, right, yes. So we did that for a while also. So she was like, your assistant. It wasn't virtual, but yeah, she all would meet, and she'd pick up the clothes, because we only lived about five miles apart. And, yeah, she kind of got you a head start getting things listed for you. And I'm, I'm quite sure that you didn't list everything in that store on eBay, because you had probably, I don't know, over 1000 items in there. No idea it was a lot

Unknown:

that you would walk in in New York City.

Suzanne Wells:

Yes, I just loved it. Cute, little

Unknown:

cozy boutique. It was two really cool chairs that I got there. I got those goodwill and brought them in, and they were just these real like mid century modern, modern chairs. I wish I kept those. They're probably valuables. But anyway, so one thing I did that was fun. When I have my friends come over, I had that mannequin, and they I would always say, Well, since you're here, I want you to dress my mannequin, and they have more fun just going through all my clothes and jewelry and everything and decorating up my mannequin. So

Suzanne Wells:

yes, yes. And I did, at first, I couldn't understand why you didn't have everything on eBay, because that, that was my mentality is, is make as much money as you can selling to everyone in the world. But it was, it was like a social event in your basement.

Unknown:

No house, so you cut me started. I had no idea. I just what happened was I started thrifting, loving it so much, it snowballed out of control, and I was buying and buying, and then we didn't know what to do with all of it, so I just made it a cute little Thor. And, I mean, I could really advertise it. It was in my basement. It wasn't like a real Thor. That was anyway,

Suzanne Wells:

yeah, and, and so.

Unknown:

And then it just took off,

Suzanne Wells:

yeah, and you joined my group because you wanted to learn how to sell on eBay and and what prompted this interview is you recently came back and, you know, rejoined the group. And I thought, Well, I never kicked you out. And so I think your Facebook got hacked, and you had to start over or something. But yeah, and then you started posting a few sales. Was to reconnect and catch up and and so this is great. But, yeah, I was very impressed with your your store in your house, and just the space you made. And I'm still looking at these pictures, you've got artwork on the walls, and these pretty, like Mid Century Modern sconces, and just, you just had it. It was, it was just fabulous. And I don't even use that word, but it was, it was such a nice space and and you were just like, ready to go with with eBay. So anyway, it's, it's been a while since you've been in the eBay world because your husband had a

Unknown:

stroke. He had three strokes. Oh no, he has three. And he's doing okay and good. He could, he could still mow the yard on that right lawn mower. And he said, couldn't help. He likes vacuuming and things, but he He's okay. He's really doing okay. It's just mostly, um, well, he couldn't work anymore. So that's another thing, because he could not work anymore. He got on disability. I just thought I would the selling bringing the selling back, gave us a little extra money to enjoy our time together, going out to eat and and, you know, I can, I actually, it gives me money to go back and shop, and it pays for my eBay shopping. So, you know, I may not be making as much, nearly as much as I used to, but it gives me something. It gives me a little bit

Suzanne Wells:

of a lifestyle well, and it's, it's a distraction from all the seriousness of caregiving.

Unknown:

Absolutely, that's another thing. It's very much. It's a therapy for me, even if I don't buy anything, I just like to go down to this I've got several thrift stores. I'm in thrift store heaven, where I live, right here in Marietta, there are thrift stores everywhere, and really nice ones. And it just sometimes I get really stressed. I just say, and my husband will say, go to the thrift store. And he'll say, only $20 right? Yeah, it's better than going to the

Suzanne Wells:

liquor store, right?

Unknown:

Things like I've been doing, and I don't need to buy anything at all. I just browsing. It's just, I just love going and looking around, taking my time, freeing my mind.

Suzanne Wells:

So what area of Marietta Are you in? Are you going to, like, the the thrift stores in? What's that one just off the square, kind of down a little bit, starts with a W, um, it's a good will,

Unknown:

kind of, it's like a mile or two off

Suzanne Wells:

the square, kind of down through those really super nice old money neighborhoods. Um, I'll think. I'll think of it in a minute. Um, yeah. So which, which good wills are you going to if you don't mind,

Unknown:

actually, I'm at the very end of Marietta court. I'm kind of in the middle of between Kennesaw and Woodstock. We all kind of okay to each other. So I'm actually close to downtown Woodstock.

Suzanne Wells:

Oh, okay, okay. I'm thinking of the goodwill on Whitlock. Okay, Whitlock,

Unknown:

I've been there several times. That's a nice one. And all the near where all the doctors

Suzanne Wells:

live, yeah, I used to go over there and find great stuff. And then the other one I liked was not, it was not near there, but the Mountain Park one, I think I ran into you a few times there,

Unknown:

probably, well, down by it, yeah, there's one off the highway 92 Yes, in Woodstock. Okay, that's,

Suzanne Wells:

yeah, that's highway 92 like Woodstock. It's very, a very old store. And then this was, is Mountain Park kind of near that Publix, going towards Roswell. But anyway, the listeners are like, we have no idea what we're talking about. But so they, they closed, they closed Park Avenue threat, didn't

Unknown:

they? Well, it's reopened. Okay, it was, that was, you know, that was on near my house also, but it was a, what do you call it? When the thrift store has everything on a clearance,

Suzanne Wells:

the outlet, there was an outlet, and then there was a regular store. Yeah, they closed it, but

Unknown:

they opened it back up as just a regular store. It's not and they have it in the window, it says, This is not an outlet anymore. But they, I go there, and they have great deals, and I have started, one of the things I really like to sell are plus size ladies clothes I feel like especially for eBay. You know, you kind of have to know who are the people who shop on eBay, right? And, and. It's not always the young, hip place. There's other places where my daughter, who's in her early 30s, you know, they her friends, and the younger people have different places, platforms that they like to go and shop on. And I feel like eBay. Maybe this is my opinion. Haters. More to the older people, 50, 6070, year old women that like to shop. And they like those older and there's a lot of plus five people that don't feel like shopping in the stores. They like to sit home. And just on older people that want to stay home. And I cater to those older brands like Alfred dunner. You know, a lot of people say, well, old lady clothes. Well, you know, I don't think, I don't You don't have to sell just things that you like to wear, and that is really cool for you to wear. But to me, I think just I like to sell, what is out there that people are looking for, that maybe I don't wear, but they're things that a lot of people do, right when I work in these assisted living centers, I look at these old ladies in their 80s, and they're still buying on eBay, and they're wearing all those grandma shirts. So you know well,

Suzanne Wells:

and part of the the older women is you get physically it's too hard to go shopping, you know, you've gotta get dressed. You've gotta drive over there. And if you, if you don't drive, if your vision's not great, or whatever reason you're not driving, you've gotta find someone to take you. And I feel like, you know, online is so convenient for, you know, anybody of any age, that is. It may not be an official disability, but you know, life just gets hard when you get older and your body doesn't work, right and so, and you're very smart, to identify what people want and offer that. Because you know, if you're on Instagram and you're watching all these young people in their trendy clothes? Well, that's that's that generation, you know? Yeah, the older people, they want something different, and as long as you can find it for them and sell it and make money and enjoy doing that, it really doesn't matter what brand it is. I

Unknown:

love them. I love this type of caregiving. For a lady. She loved. These people that live in assistive living centers, and these are women, I'm telling you what they dress they go to the dining hall, and they are fixing their hair and putting on their doors, and they don't want to look like old people. They want to get out there. But they they have certain things that are sentimental to them, certain brands that they've been wearing for years, and they still love them. And they don't they buy some catalogs where they have to pay, you know, $70 for a shirt, and then you have to pay an extra $12 shipping. And they're like, and I, you know, I would show them like eBay, you know, you can go over here, you can buy this same shirt on eBay for$25 instead of paying 50 or 75 and you know, I would get the ladies over there doing this, because people know how to use computers, and they know how to do this stuff. So I don't know, it's just fun. I like to show people how to save money and and buy something they like,

Suzanne Wells:

and you are such a blessing to those people. I follow your your Facebook and your work at the the elderly people in the assisted living. And you, you're just so cheerful. And you, you write them notes and bring them little gifts and flowers, and you might just be one flower in a vase, and it just brightens their day. And that is definitely a calling, because not everybody can do that.

Unknown:

I write them notes and calligraphy and put it around there on their wisra, like say Happy Thanksgiving or Merry Christmas and and I'd write cars and I put a little note on their pillow. And hope you're feeling like when I before I go home, if they had a bad day or something, I would like I put on her a little note on her pillow saying, God, take care of you tonight and help you sleep.

Suzanne Wells:

Just a little thing. Oh, that's sweet, yeah. And you're so just cheerful. And I just went through my dad being ill and passing, and we were in and out of hospitals, and his wife was still in their assisted living, so we see her, and then hospice. And you know, that is just that's just hard. It's just difficult, and to have cheerful people makes all the difference in the world. Yeah, I had a really neighbor where I lived, like two apartments ago, and she was a nurse at a dementia Center at dementia care, and she hated it, and she just was so. So I was like, the way she talk about her work, she just hated it. And I thought, these patients cannot be getting good care because she hates her job. And I would say, well, then do something else. Oh, well, this pays the most, or something like that. And I was like, Yeah, but if you hate going every day, what's what's your quality of life? So it's definitely a calling where you can, some people don't even like to go to those places to visit. It's just depressing. And you know, they're watching their loved one just waste away, and you don't know what kind of day they're having, but you know you just you're always cheerful, and you've got your own struggles going on, but yet you can help other people have a happy day. And I just I admire that about you. Well,

Unknown:

so cute. I mean, so important. No matter what your job is, you have to find something you love. You'll do better at your job if you love your job. And you know, there was one time I had a job I didn't love and I was a lunch lady in my kid's school.

Suzanne Wells:

Well, there, there's the problem, right? There is your kids probably didn't want you there.

Unknown:

I love it. I did it because at the time, we needed benefits for the family. And I thought, well, I'm going to work. I went in there and and I was like, not really a person that was a kid, person. I was more of a old person since I was a young kid. I loved old people, people, and so that job I did is a necessity. But then I started caregiving and taking care of going to these people's house, and I found that that's where I truly that's where my heart was, of course, your work's going to be better when your heart's in it. So just like selling on eBay. Well, if I love clothes, I do. I love clothes. I love to go out sourcing and and finding nice clothes. I don't. I might. I love doing garment care. You know, I started buying the, what's it called antibacterial COVID. You know, that's printed.

Suzanne Wells:

Oh, they wash the surgeon. Yeah,

Unknown:

yes. When you mail things, I thought I started thinking, well, a lot of people don't like sense, and they have allergies and whatever. So I might wash my things on a dental cycle in that type of soap, and I'll even leave a note, or sometimes I put it in my description when I list it, but I've already washed this in an antibacterial soap, and I get that comment in my when people leave their what is it called the reviews? What do you the feedback? Yeah, she even wrote a note and watched and watched it in antibacterial soap. Little details help, you know, just thinking about people and what they want, not just what we want all the time.

Suzanne Wells:

And that's perfect.

Unknown:

We went from lunch lady to washing and soap. I don't know where I am.

Suzanne Wells:

Well, that's, that's the way this podcast goes. It's, it's not scripted, it's organic. And we just, we talk about what comes up, and that's what the listeners like, is we're just real people talking about life and eBay and whatever happens. And, you know, I know that eBay is not the focus of your life because you're a little hesitant. You're like, well, they sell that much anymore and but you know what? You're a real person, and you're juggling a lot of things. And so how is your eBay going? How how many things you have listed now, or how much do you work on it?

Unknown:

Yes, I, I just few days ago, went down into the basement, and my husband, we ordered a hanging rack from Amazon. He assembled it, and I hung up bunch of clothes there that I've already got ready to list, and I have a couple big bins full of things that I've listed. I'm only right now at about 42 items I think I have online. That's it. It's just, I'm just starting back, and I have probably about 50 garments hanging ready to lift. So I've been, I've been doing really well. I'm sorry. I'm not. I don't want to over buy so that my house gets piled up, and I want to be able to manage so this is a good fresh start that I'm I'm just buying and trying to list a couple things a day and right now. And sometimes I get on a roll. If I just say I list a couple things, I say I might only do two things that I might do for but you gotta make yourself, if you say you're just gonna do two, you get started, and then you start liking it, or you're on a roll and you're in that mode, then you can get more than you, because my husband will say, I bet I'm gonna do two. I'm like, well, but it's I'm having fun, you know? So, um. It's just you have to kind of, yeah, I do the same

Suzanne Wells:

thing. I have, like, my goal is five things a day that you know haven't been there before. And some days I do two, and some days I do 10, and some days I do zero, because I'm just like, Oh, I'm so burned out. I don't want to look at the computer for one more second. I'm going to go for a walk, or, you know, something else, because you can't just be it's balanced. You can't just be glued to it all the time. So you've got your your husband. So does he require any in home care, like home health, or anything. So

Unknown:

the only thing that really affected him was his speech. Mm, hmm. So he can, he still have his mind, he can still work through the TV remote control? Magnifica, Oh, good. That's

Suzanne Wells:

very important. You can't ever

Unknown:

because I don't know how to watch TV, I won't know how to work the remote control. And it's he kind of laughed at me, because that's just a going joke these remote control master around here, but he still does. Hopefully, you believe we go out to eat. We're best friends. We get along better now than we did back when he was working all the time and never home. I wasn't felt like I was raising my kids alone, and now it's like we have he is. He's just a nice, gentle guy. And we, we, he's my best friend, and we, and I, a lot like you said, you can't constantly be working. You have to take breaks and enjoy your time with your family time. He may not, I don't know how long he's going to be with me, so we're going to enjoy the rest of our life together, but he's very supportive of me going to the thrift store. In fact, sometimes we'll be out just driving around, he'll just pull into a goodwill parking lot and I'm like, I'm like, palpitating. I'm like, that you did that for me. It's like he was, you know, someone like, excited they bring home a dozen roses or something. Is he just on pain? He's like, pulled into a thrift store parking lot because he knows I love that. I just think that.

Suzanne Wells:

So what you need is like the price is right. So I meant to say a while back when we were talking about Marietta, my son works for the city of Marietta as a an IT guy, and so he lives in Kennesaw, but he goes to that goodwill on Whitlock, and he has furnished his apartment. He buys his clothes there, and he has no problem, because he's seeing me do this his entire life. And, you know, he says, I don't care if it's used. I mean, if you go to Target and buy something and bring it home after five minutes, it's used.

Unknown:

And I tell people, I know I have people saying, like, you bought some, like, sheets from the thrift store. And I'm like, Yeah, and I watch them, and I do a double rinse. And I said, when you go to the Hilton, you know, yeah, again, or whatever, I said, Do you think you're the only one that ever slept on those sheets? Yeah.

Suzanne Wells:

Do you think the Ritz Carlton puts new sheets on the bed every time? No

Unknown:

really expensive store to buy brand new clothes. I mean, other people been trying those things on and and they may have, you just don't know what you know what you just wash your clothes. It's going to be fine. Yeah.

Suzanne Wells:

Anyway, I was going to say there was an there's another goodwill. It's down on 41 in that little shopping center where it's like, Dave's piano bar or something, um, that was, I found good stuff in that one is that near you?

Unknown:

Um, really, I'm actually closer to where your phone is probably, I mean, I live. I'm like, near Kennesaw, okay, I'm not far from ASU. I'm between, yeah, you and downtown

Suzanne Wells:

Woodstock. I'm kind of right, okay, and so that's why he's in that area, as he went to KSU. So he just kind of, they, the school had a, you know, they have companies that they send those students, newly graduated students, like, oh, you go apply for a job here, and you know that network, so he kind of got in through that. But, yeah, he loves working downtown. He's right on the square, like where the courthouse is, and all those great restaurants, and it's good to have them launch when they and they're successful, and you don't have to worry. About them. Which brings me to my next thing I wanted to mention is your daughter and her, her experience with Disney and all that. Can you talk about what she did there?

Unknown:

Well, she was going to, this was way back. I don't know how many years ago now she was going she's 31 right now, and just got married last October eight. We love him, but they're in Omaha, Nebraska, Mm, hmm, which is sad, because that's so far

Suzanne Wells:

from us. Yes, yes, and very different than Georgia

Unknown:

College, at Young Harris College, and she what? She had a boyfriend that she was kind of a bad relationship. They broke up, and she couldn't stand it. She said, Mom, I gotta get out. She was in her final year of college, and she she said, I can't stand it. I gotta get out of town. I want to start my life over. And she literally without knowing anybody down in Florida at all. She didn't have friends or anything. She said, I just want to go to work for Disney. She said, I want to go down there and try to and see if I can be Snow White or something. So anyway, bags and she packed her clothes and knickknacks and stuff. She had found a place where, like, three or four girls living on a place together, and but she got down there and and moved in and just real independent. And they tried interview for all these auditions for all these shows and princesses and all this stuff, and there was nothing available. But here she was. She only jobs she could find. They said, Well, if you want to work right away, we you could be a lifeguard. And so she's like, oh boy. But she went. So she ended up taking the lifeguard job at Typhoon Lagoon, and she ended up loving it. And then what else am I she? That's where she met her love of her life, too. Oh, great. Well, they were down there, yeah, but boy,

Suzanne Wells:

Disney has all kind of perks, doesn't

Unknown:

it? We also learned about, you know, selling things. She started, she after she came home for a while, then went back, and she actually started doing eBay also. And we would start together, going with went to the thrift stores, and we'd always like look for Disney thing. So we look, you know, and do things, they sell so well, so especially if you find old Disney right, Disney shirts, both Disney sweatshirts, they sell for a lot of money and but we really have, we just had a lot of fun together. So I miss her

Suzanne Wells:

well, and she did such beautiful makeup, because you would post pictures of makeup she did on herself different looks. And did she have special training in that, or did she just good at it? Okay?

Unknown:

When she first moved to Omaha, where her boyfriend took her up there and moved her in with his family, she went to work for Ulta cosmetics, and at that at that time, they they put her in the lawn cone section, okay, and and then long cone at that time. They don't do it anymore now, but they did. They took her and they tried. They trained her, they sent her to like Chicago and different cities to do makeup, to train her professionally, to be a Lancome rep kind of person. So she learned a lot of that, but through Ulta, okay, yeah, they quit doing that. But now she just, and then she just started looking at different Instagram followers and learning things and and, and she didn't make up on people at Ulta, also all the time. But now she's really gotten professional. She does weddings for people. She'll and she she'll make $1,500 in a day doing a wedding party. Oh,

Suzanne Wells:

that is great. Well, she's such a beautiful girl. She looks like Snow White anyway. And then she would do these makeup looks for different characters. And I was just like, oh gosh, she is very talented. So she now she is

Unknown:

doing it of all kinds. She She works in a laser hair removal corporate office, and she has a good IT job, but she does these weddings on the side the makeup, so she still does that for people and happy birthday. And she married into a Disney family. Oh, gosh, Omaha, yeah. She married into a guy that has, you know, they have enough money to go to Disney four times a year. Oh, wow. Nebraska, they fly. So anyway, they're doing great. She's about to go on a Disney cruise, and because the father in law retired, and he's paying for all his family to go on a Disney cruise and everything, so she didn't, she's

Suzanne Wells:

living the life, right? Good for her. And you just became a grandma.

Unknown:

I have two grandchildren, oh, two. God, I miss that. Okay, yeah, my youngest son has, he was the one, the first one to have a grandchild, to have a child, and that little boy is now about 15 months old. And then we, just two weeks ago, had a little baby girl from my older son. Oh, okay, I have, yeah, I have Jonathan, Mary Ellen and Benjamin, my three children. Okay, two grand babies.

Suzanne Wells:

Do the grand babies live near you? Oh, good. Oh, good. It's good. It's good. We

Unknown:

Well, you know, whenever we can and whenever they want to get the kids out. Sometimes they say, We don't want anybody to get sick, so we want to keep them home right now. But you know, it's, it's good, okay, awesome. You

Suzanne Wells:

are your life is just doing that. Your life is just jam packed with stuff. It is

Unknown:

right now. I do have right now. I only have one lady, the other two, Lady passed away. That's the hardest part about my job. I get close to people, and it's always people that are near the end of their life, it seems like. But I am working for a lady that's only 61 years old, and she's in the final stage of the valheim Oh, no, no. And her husband is has been taking care of her, and he just got to the point where he had to have help. And so I told him to get office, and he did. And he thought that was one of the best things he ever did, to bring them in, and and, and he is right there on he's right there helping change her with me, and feeds her, and he takes good care of her. So it's very there's a lot of people out there that need good help, and I love doing it. It's hard, it's bad, but it's also very satisfying for me to be able to give somebody dignity at the end of their life, and and just make sure that they're comfortable and, you know, and these are for the family members that are, you know, going through this? Yeah, I love doing that.

Suzanne Wells:

That's very important and appreciated from you know, someone who's just been through that? Well With My Sister, that was November of 23 her husband died of early onset Alzheimer's. He's it's the same thing that Bruce Willis has. And so it was six years of that for her. And so it does. The caregivers are so important. And I think the bottom line is, what you're doing there makes a difference. You're doing something that matters, you know, and and you may not hear back from the people that you help, but to have compassionate caregivers who really do care about the person. That is just, that's just gold, that's just, you know, you know.

Unknown:

Here's the thing, you know. Of course, you don't hear back from the person after they pass, but their families I'm getting every Christmas I get Christmas cards. But all these people I'm taking care of they were made the people that their children or their spouses or whoever that knew me and saw me working with their parents or their loved ones. Um, basically in my life. I mean, I still get gifts on my birthday. They send me gift cards and stuff, the people that they're like, Oh, we, we know how much my mother loved you and you're always in life. You're going to be part of our family. I mean, they say they these people appreciate anybody that loves their loved ones. They will keep they love you forever. I'm a forever friend, and it that's the most rewarding thing of all. And you know, like that proves that I did a good job. Because they still, they still tell me, Robbie, yeah,

Suzanne Wells:

I think that's wonderful that you stay in their life. And especially if it's the family's first time going through something like this, you just don't know what to do. You don't know you question all your choices. Is this the best thing did I? Did I do this right? Did I do this wrong? What would the patient want? That's the thing is, is you're making choices for your loved one, and sometimes they're not coherent enough to help you make those choices. And so the caregivers often give their opinion like, well, here's what happened in this case. Or, you know how when you go to the doctor and you you have a decision to make about yourself, and you're like, Well, what would you do if this was your child? Or what would you do if this was your not not them? But someone they love. What would you do if this was your wife? And you know, they give you so that the caregivers can be like that, because they've had experience, and that's just so comforting. Because if it's your first, even if it's not your first time, we had three deaths in our family in 14 months, and it was just, it was so it was the decision making is exhausting because you just, you don't know what if you're making the right choices. But I said all that to say that you are valuable in that work, and we haven't talked that much about eBay, but because you're just, you're so busy with everything. But the the bottom line is that you can fit eBay in around anything. And it's, it's a balance. And like you said, going thrifting is, you know, that's a mood booster, or, as Tina Wozniak calls him the boredom Buster, you know, and it it's like retail therapy, but it's not that expensive. Are

Unknown:

you going to ask me about my that time I bought a beautiful car?

Suzanne Wells:

Well, I was saving that for the end. So yes, the some of the listeners, no, um, that's we're getting to the end. So I wanted to end on a happy note. So some of the listeners, if you read my blog, or if you were in the group, you might remember Catherine's story about the wonderful scarf she wore to church. So I'm going to leave that to you to explain. Oh, are you ready for me

Unknown:

to tell that now

Suzanne Wells:

I'm ready, because we've almost been going for an hour, so we're about ready to wrap it up.

Unknown:

No, yes. And here we have been just talking, and I'm been you made utilities. Oh,

Suzanne Wells:

wonderful. Yeah, you were kind of nervous, but, yeah, just go ahead and talk about that beautiful scarf that you found.

Unknown:

It was cold out and, and I was at, it was at the Goodwill down here, not too far from where I live, and they had scarfs hanging there. And I thought, well, I'm, you know, I had a, just a kind of a solid dress, and I wanted a Christmas scarf or something. So I went up there, and I found this beautiful. It was like a crushed burgundy velvet, and I put it around me, and I thought, Oh, this is just really nice. And it was in really good shape. So I bought it, and I got ready for church the next day, and I had this dress on and, like, I had my beautiful scarf, and I went to church, and everybody was like, Oh, you look so pretty today. I love your scarf. And I finally thinking, you know, I didn't want to tell everybody I got a thrift store. I just acted like it was something really special that I might have paid a lot of money for, but I was just everybody's like, you look so great. I want thank you so much. And anyway, so I got home, and I was changing, getting ready to just change into my jeans and everything. And I I took off my scarf, and I looked at it, and I thought, What is there's a big hemline at the bottom of the scarf. And I realized that that was a hemline to put a cotton rod through. And then I just what I was just like, why I wore a ballot. And everybody. It was just a beautiful crush velvet scarf. And I was, I called my mother, I said, Mama, I told my mom, and she just cracked up laughing. She said, It's like Carol Burnett. She said, The wearing the curtain,

Suzanne Wells:

I know that

Unknown:

when we put it, when you put that story, all these people, it was like I got famous. All these people remembered the Carol. I kept getting Carol Burnett pictures, yes, Gone With the Wind, curtain rod on her shoulder. And you even got, I had a picture. My mother took a picture of me with that curtain huh? I think you have

Suzanne Wells:

that. Yes, I'm looking at it right now. That's on my blog as well. It's on june 13, 2014 I titled it the funniest eBay fail ever. And so I've got your picture of you wearing the balance, and below it is the Carol Burnett Scarlet O'Hara skit, where she's wearing the curtains. And then it links to the post on my Facebook group from let's see. It was on April 23 2014 it had 286 comments. Everyone just thought that was so funny. So I'll put those links below the podcast. You guys can check out Catherine, my balance wearing friend,

Unknown:

that's another used to multitasking, I'm telling you. So there you go. Yeah, multi

Suzanne Wells:

purpose. You know you can dress a window, or you can dress yourself.

Unknown:

Mother loved that story so much she had we moved her into an apartment few years before she passed, and I hung that balance in her little bedroom window, and she she would call me and say, I got this morning. I saw your balance. And I just laughed and laughed, and I'm telling you what that brought her so much joy. She just thought that was the funniest thing in the world. So I'm telling you, joy comes in the craziest way.

Suzanne Wells:

That's and that's what I meant by you were so entertaining because you just, you just told that story, and you're like, you didn't care. You just told everybody

Unknown:

I love that I just it was such a pure, honest mistake, and I think that's what made it funny. If I tried to do it on purpose, it wouldn't have been so funny, but the fact that it was a complete mistake, and I really was walking around thinking I looked so beautiful, fancy Scarface. Farm. Well,

Suzanne Wells:

you got a good deal on it, and it was beautiful. So what's, you know? And I think, I don't know if this comes with age, but this happens with my kids all the time. They're 28 and 31 now, and it's like, I'll do something, and I'll do it wrong or backwards, or whatever. And and my son will say, Mom, you know you did that wrong. And I'm like, Yeah, I know I did. I just, it's just easier just to admit it and just to admit it and laugh and move on. And I just don't think anything's embarrassing. It's just, I try to make it into humor. Life's just easier that way.

Unknown:

Really, I mean silly things. So we're just real people, yeah,

Suzanne Wells:

yeah. And you're, you are the realest of all stories, if

Unknown:

you ever need

Suzanne Wells:

talk again. Well, now that, now that you know the podcast is not a big thing. It's just two people talking and laughing. We'll have to do it again once you get your eBay rolling a little bit more. And, yeah, I ask people on as repeat guests all the time because they've got more interesting stories to tell. And that's, you know, eBay can be kind of isolating, especially if you're at home or a caregiver, or just by yourself, or, you know, most people out in the world don't really get it, you know, but, but we get it. So I love that my listeners say, Oh, I can't wait for your podcast every week, because I can relate to what you're talking about. And it's like our little club of of of resellers that we we get the jokes and we get the, you know, the excitement of pulling into the goodwill parking lot like we get it

Unknown:

be chilling for my husband. They're gonna say, Man, I wish my husband would pull me into the parking lot of the Goodwill for surprise, you know, yeah, food. Love your

Suzanne Wells:

husband truly loves you to do that because he knows what makes you happy, and it doesn't matter what it is, he's doing it right. So he knows that's going to lift your spirits and help you feel better. And you know what? You know it's it's therapy for us to go and treasure hunt, even if you don't find anything, it's still it's still good therapy. So well, Catherine, thank you so much for coming on and sharing your stories, and I will definitely have you on my list to check back in, and we'll do it again. Okay? We'll see you on the group with your great sales and fines. Looking forward to it, okay, okay, all right, have a good day. Bye. That was such a fun chat, not really heavy with eBay information, but maybe you just enjoyed our light hearted chat. Again, if you want to see the blog posts with photos of Katherine's boutique and her gorgeous valence scarf, the links are below the podcast next week, my guest is joy, who is a frequent poster on the money making Mondays in the Facebook group, and She finds all sorts of cool things to sell. Thank you listeners for tuning in, and I hope you have a profitable and productive week on eBay. Bye, everybody. You.