CLOCK CLEANING AND REPAIR PART 2

If you have tried cleaning and oiling your clock as described previously and it still will not run, here is some more information to try. There can be many problems that will stop the clock so a close inspection may reveal the problem before you disassemble the movement.Clock must be in beatThis refers to a clock that has a pendulum. It must have an even tic-toc. This would be the most important factor in keeping a clock running. If the tic-toc is uneven, most unskilled persons will wedge up one endof a case or angle a wall clock until it sounds even, but the fact is the pendulum leader (the part you hang the pendulum on) usually has a friction joint on the pallet shaft so that you can move it slightly towards the wedged side of clock. Place clock on a perfectly flat surface and adjust until clock is in beat. Clocks like Ansonia,Cuckoo etc. have a thin round rod coming down from the pallet and hooked around the suspension spring and rod. You need to bend this rod slightly until in beat.Friction in the movementWhen you wind the springs or apply weights to a chain drive movement the power passes across three to four gears increasing the revolutions of each wheel until it reaches the pallet (for time) or the chime strike and fan govener (a govener controls speed of chime) A pivot is a small steel extension on each end of a revolving gear in the drive train. It revolves in the side plates that are normally made of brass. A rough or uneven surface on each pivot will cause friction and loss of power at the working end of each drive tain. Dry oil and black compounded rubbish in the pivot holes will also cause friction and this cannot be removed unless disassembled.BentpivotsAs the gears in the drive train move further away from the springs they turn faster so therefore become smaller and lighter in their construction. The pivots on each end become smaller to reduce friction when they turn in the side plates. Therefore these pivots are more vunerable to getting bent and this stops the gear or fan from revolving in the hole. The chime fans suffer the most.Worn pivotsSometimes when you take the movement apart the pivot has worn away, tapering from full size outside to almost worn through on the inside. This is not identified until disassembly.Side plates with oval shaped pivot holesWhen a clock is not serviced regularly, some pivots will wear the round bearing hole in the brass side plate to anoblong shape. If this happens one side only, the gear lies at an angle and eventually locks up in the drive train. If you cannot work out which end of the oblong hole is the original position, apply pressure to drive train spring with your fingers in the direction it should turn and the gear in question will be pushed away from its correct location. Mark correct location with texture pen with an arrow for repairing when apart.Taking the movement apartIf this is the first time you have attempted to take a movement apart, the more you understand prior to disassembly, the easier it will be to assemble. Most clock repairers write notes, draw sketches etc. to help assembly. If you have a digital camera take several close-up photos around movement to refer back to. Try to avoid the Ansonia - Session movements as your first attempt because they have most of the levers, warning arms and gong strike between the plates and it is difficult to get every part in its correct location until you have some experience. Always release all tension on all springs as first priority. If the springs are not in barrels and are open like Ansonia, they must be held in a restricted condition. There are metal mainspring clamps available to go round the spring when you let it down,which restrict it to around 50mm dia.(I may have them in my eBay store later this year) Tie wire can be used or the electrical large black cable ties areOK. With more modernmovements it is best to remove as many levers, rack, snail etc. from outside of plates before parting. Sometimes the spring barrels will come out as well. Sit the movement on top of a plastic container like a margarine container. This allows parts protruding down from the movement to sit in the container. With the nuts facing to the top side, undo and remove each nut and carefully lift off top plate leaving most gears standing in bottom plate. If you have a smallcardboard box turn it upside down and when you remove a gear from bottom plate, push it into the cardboard box in a similar location. This will aid assembly. I usually clean the parts in the following solution. You will require a plastic container with alid. I have a black rectangular plastic container with lid. This keeps the light from destroying the strength of the solution.You will require 2 -3 litres of cloudy amonia, same quantity of mineralised or distilled water, 100 - 200ml of concentrated dishwashing liquid. I have a small open mesh plastic container that I place all gears and side plates into and immerse in the solution soaking for 2 - 3hours and maybe overnight if really dirty. This will make brass parts clean andshiny again. It may dissolve the varnish coating on the side plates but this does not matter. Do not leave parts in for days, as ithas been known to eat certain metals away. Hose down after removing, dry the parts and if you have a brass wire brush, brush down all parts to remove loose material. Clean holes in side plates with toothpicks or paddle sticks cut to a taper. Twirl in each hole until stick is clean and no more black is coming out of bearing holes. It pays to clean holes from both sides. Also clean outside oilwell around each hole.Repairing oval shaped holes in side platesThe normal repair is opening up the oval shaped hole with a tapered cutter, finding a replacement bushing with a hole the same size as pivot size and pushing it into tapered hole. The tools for this operation are expensive and you would need to keep a large range of Bergeon bushes to choose from. For one or two repairs you may ask your local clock repairer to accomodate. When bushing is installed it usually requires reaming to size sopivot will turn freely without being sloppy. The reamers used are called cuttingbroaches.Bent pivotsCarefully straighten pivot with pliers that have no teeth or serrations on inside of jaws or they will leave grooves along the pivot surface which cannot be removed. Bend very slowly to avoid breaking off. Spin gear in drill chuck to check trueness of pivotBroken or tapered pivotsThis requires removing pivot by cutting it off end of gear, drilling accrurately end of shaft, replacing pivot by tapering suitable pivot material, applying loctite and pushing into hole. Then spin in lathe and machine pivot to original size and polish. This process requires small lathe, carbon drills etc. - another job for the clock repairer?Reducing friction on pivotsIf you were to view the surface of a pivot under high magnification, you would see small chunks of metal standing up from the surface. When you polish or burnish the surface you are evening the surface to lower the friction. Usual method of polishing is to spin gear in a lathe at 200 - 300 rpm and using say 600 grit wet and dry paper stuck to timber surface. Rub backwards and forwards using oil as lubricant. When smooth I use a dremmel tool with around 25mm dia. felt buff, applying buffing compound and while pivot is turning in lathe run the dremmel at around 2500 rpm to polish the piviot to a shiny finish.AssemblyThis is a reversal of taking apart. Place all gears through the bottom plate and check for correct position. Drop top plate over and starting spring end or bottom of movement, line up pivots with holes and allow them to go through. Get thetwo bottom nuts just started and work up the plate aligning more pivots. At a certain point you should be able to get all nuts started. Use a flat screwdriver to align pivot with each hole. Do not apply too much pressure to the plate or you can bend pivots before you have completed assembly. You may need to lift movement up to eye level to see position of pivot holes but always keep movement level. It is a tedius job but care and patience at this stage will pay off. When together and nuts tightened, see if gears will spin freely. Sometimes you canleave the pallet out and make sure everthing spins easily. Then spread the plates by easing off the top nuts and installing pallet. When together add all the outside levers etc. NOTEA chiming clock has a position usually one to three minutes before it chimes where it sets itself for the next chime. That is, it comes off the stop from the previous chime and allowing the fan to spin several times, the gearnext to it is locked in position with the small pin in the side of it. This is called "the warning position" When the precise time is reached a cam on the mainshaft drops a lever and allows the gear to spin causing the clock to chime. A common lift for gong strike clocks is a star wheel lifting the gong hammer. There must be free movement before the gong starts to lift so that the gears and fan can get up to speed before applying lifting pressure. Therefore the gear and fan should stop instantly after last chime to give you this startup time . Some star wheels have a friction fit to its main shaft so there is occasions where you can carefully turn star wheel with screwdriver. Use extreme care not to cause damage. Now you need to oil clock as described in previous write up. Grease is used on parts where oil would run off. For instance the star shaped gong lift should be greased on each point and all lifts on Westminster chime rods. Most chime rods have somewhere, an anti bounce end and you need to grease these as well. Correct position for Westminster chime barrel is at quarter past or last four notes at quarter to. The chime will go down the scale. If you have any requests for repair toolsplease contact me as I am importing from America frequently. They are expensive but I can give you a quote. Some of the cheaper parts may apppear in my eBay store later in the year.IF YOU HAVE FOUND MY GUIDE INTERESTINGAND HELPUL PLEASE CLICK ON THE YES BUTTON BELOW

Buying a genuine Tamagotchi

Hello everyone! This is an eBay guide to buying a genuine Tamagotchi from sellers on eBay from your local Tamagotchi freak. With a collection of nearly 30 of these cute little pets, I thought I could give you some hints and tips to getting a genuine Bandai Tamagotchi.Although the latest "craze" of Tamagotchi has died down a bit since its revival in 2004, these toys still make worthwhile presents to children of all ages. They particularly appeal to girls - what little girl wouldn't love an egg shaped device that would let her raise a cute pet, play with her pet, and go shopping with her pet, all in the one device? A genuine Tamagotchi roughly goes for $25, and they're worth every cent and will keep your child entertained longer than most current toys.You may have been a victim of seeing a "Tamagotchi" for a very cheap price (say, $1.99) and thinking, "Wow, $1.99? BARGAIN!" Once it has been devlivered to your doorstop, your child opens it up... And is disappointed. The characters aren't like her friends' Tamagotchi at school, they can't connect with the infra-red connection, the games are unplayable, and the battery lasts for no more than 3 days. So, you have a further look at it, and there are minute differences to show that they aren't the same - this is a counterfeit product! I'd like to list for you these minute differences so you can become an expert Bandai Tamagotchi identifier from this guide to make shopping a safer experience for you on eBay!Bandai LogoThe Bandai Logo (pictured below) is an obvious dead give away. If there is no Bandai logo, it's not the original Tamagotchi! Always look for the Bandai Logo when buying a genuine Tamagotchi! (image from Bandai.com)PackagingThere have been three versions of Tamagotchi released so far, all with different packaging. Further, there have been American and Asian releases with differing packaging as well! Eep! So many different packages! How are you going to tell which one is right or not?Again, the Bandai logo is a dead give away. The spelling of "Tamagotchi" is also something to look out for - there have been counterfeit products known as "Tanogotchi" or "Tomagotchi" floating around eBay. A site with the best look at official Australian packaging is Bladeagotchi's Webpage (http://www.bladesplace.id.au/bladeagotchi/tamagotchi-connexion/index.html). He has a fantastic photo album of Tamagotchi packaging and products - ALL official Bandai! Best to make comparisons with his page before your purchase.Other than that, another dead give away is the sticker on the screen itself. Counterfeit Tamagotchi will not have a sticker covering the screen. Version 1 Tamagotchi have Mimitchi covering the screen, and Version 2 and 3 will have Mametchi and revised Mametchi on the screen respectively.Version 1: Image from http://tamaplanet.der.plVersion 2: Image from http://theukhighstreet.com/brand/bandaiVersion 3:An image of Tamagotchi Version 3 could not be found by itself, and Version 3 is not yet pictured on Bladeagotchi's Website. As such, I will ask you to refer to the image in this ebay auction (which is authentic): http://cgi.ebay.com.au/BANDAI-TAMAGOTCHI-VERSION-3-BNIB-NEW-RELEASE_W0QQitemZ6052059079QQcategoryZ1084QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItemObvious FakesSo, do you have some more information now about purchasing a genuine Bandai Tamagotchi? Well, let's have a look at some obvious fakes, shall we?These are ALL taken from eBay Australia auctions currently listed on eBay. These auctions do not point out that the Tamagotchi is NOT GENUINE, and is a NON BANDAI product, deceiving the consumer into thinking that it is a real Tamagotchi. I do not condone these auctions, and neither should eBay, which is why I'm hoping to protect you from them. However, to protect the IDs of the eBayers, I will not post their IDs or the locations of these auctions - Hopefully this gives them an encouragement to at least edit "NON-BANDAI TAMAGOTCHI" into their auction. There are also cases of sellers not knowing that they're selling fake Tamagotchi as well, leaving both the seller and buyer frustrated with the incorrect product, so I hope this is a good guide for sellers as well!Spelling is wrong (Tamogotchi), there is no sticker on the Tamagotchi itself, and there is no Bandai logo. A cheap rip-off that steals the use of Bandai's images, and such a colour of Tamagotchi has never been released.Packaging is COMPLETELY different from the Australian release, though it is similar to the European release. Again, no Bandai logo, no sticker on the Tamagotchi, language is completely different, and Tamagotchis have not been released with a logo attached to them. These were listed as Version 4 Tamagotchi - Bandai have only released up to Version 3!!This one isn't even trying to be a Tamagotchi! It was listed as one anyway.While Tamagotchi have been released in pairs (see the True Friends Tamagotchi product), Version 3 hasn't been released as a set. Again, lack of Bandai logo, lack of sticker on the Tamagotch, and the packaging is completely wrong.More hints to look out for on eBay auctions:Avoid "bulk lot" auctions - they're cheap counterfeit items trying to offload their Tamagotchi to unsuspecting businesses.Avoid Tamagotchi that are not in their packaging. However, a LOT of GENUINE Tamagotchi are sold by their previous owners who no longer want to play with them. Contact the seller to ask if the Tamagotchi they're listing is genuine (ask if it has Bandai on the back of the unit). You can normally tell with the normal Tamagotchi shape and straps attached to the product. If you're not sure about the colouring, Google for Tamagotchi images till you find an official Tamagotchi that has the same colours, or look on Bandai's website for the colouring.If it has "Tamagotchi like pet" anywhere in the listing, it's not genuine!Look out for characters that are not genuine on the screen. Again, look at Bandai.com for genuine characters.If a seller has several listings (so many listings that it's nearly a page worth of the same product!) for the same item for a very cheap price, it is most likely a counterfeit item. This goes across ANY product (i.e. Final Fantasy, anime, etc).Something going as cheap as "$0.99" will usually have an overpriced shipping cost (say $26.99) and will be from overseas. AVOID THIS! If you can, try to buy from an Australian seller.I hope this guide has helped you become informed about purchasing Tamagotchi on eBay. If you have issues identifying a genuine Tamagotchi on eBay, please do not hesitate to email me at catherine.ring@gmail.com. Website owners or auction owners, if you wish for your images to be removed from this guide, again, please contact me at catherine.ring@gmail.com, and I will rectify this for you if you wish. Other than that, any Tamagotchi related questions you need answered, do drop an email! Thank you for reading, and I hope you have fun with your Tamagotchi ^_^

Which Sizzix System to Buy?

Which Sizzix System To Buy?Before investing money in a diecutting system, it's important to think about what you are going to useyour die cuts for. If you want to cut your own alphabets, then theSizzlit system might be for you, since the Sizzlits range has thegreater number of alphabet designs available. If you want to cut out avariety of materials, such as cork, fabric, leather etc, then theSizzix Originals system might be more suitable.Sizzix Original SystemThe Sizzix Original system was the first truly affordable personal die cutting system. It consists of the:Sizzix Machine Originals Dies (Shapes and Alphabets) Storage SystemAdvantagesVariety of Materials - The Sizzix Originals dies have the advantage of being able to cut a wide variety of materials:Cardstock, Paper, VellumFabric, Felt, Foil, Funky FurMagnet, PaperWoodPoly Foam, Pop-Up Sponge RuffleBoardSelf-Adhesive RubberShrink Plastic, Static Cling VinylThin Cork, Thin Leather Thin MetalSizes of Die Cuts- Because there are three sizes of dies, you can create dies that rangefrom quite small (2 3/8" X 2 3/4"), to those that are very large (43/4" X 5 1/2"). So, for example, if you like tags, there is a largevariety of tag dies available, with the smallest at a die cut of 1/2" x1 1/4" or largest of 3 1/8" x 4 3/4"- large enough for a mini-album orjournalling block.

Buying a drum kit on eBay

So you want to buy a drum kit? Well you've come to the right place. There are heaps for sale, ranging from rubbish, to rare and magnificent instruments. The same things apply as when buying anything. check feedback, ask questions and CHECK POSTAGE, as drums are expensive to ship.Also check prices at your nearest music store. Some buyers are paying more on eBay, than they would shopping personally, especially for accessories ie stools, stands, pedals etc(a $35 stool $30 postage is not a bargain)If you are just looking for a kit to bash,be patient, wait for the right kit and the right location, then bid. I'm sure they won't run out of drum kits on eBay!If you are buying for the kid that really, really wants to play the drums, there aremany quality second-hand kits which are good value. Make sure it comes with everything you need, like stool, pedals, stands etc, or you could add hundreds of dollars to your "bargain" kit to make it playable. New starter kits with cheap cymbals can be bought for under $300, but remember their resale value will be lower. A basic5 piece kit is fine, so when the kiddy loses interest after 3 weeks (thank God, you will say) you can re-sell and re-coup some money. If they love playing drums and continue with it, you can upgrade later. If you are a drummer looking for yoursecond kit and are after something a bit better, there are always good kits to be had. As always check the seller's feedback, especially from buyers. Be careful of packaged drumswith a catalogue photo, from those with zero feedback, even though it might look like a good deal. You can sometimes get very good value if the seller includes a cymbal set, saving you time and money. The most important thing to do is DO YOUR RESEARCH and ASK QUESTIONS.It helps to know the kit you wantexactly, to avoidconfusion. Maybe go to your local music store and play the drums there, so you know what the kit you want looks and sounds like. Anything you can do to increase your knowledge of what you want to buy, will assist you in making an informed choice. Always better to ask too many questions than not enough.All in all eBay offers an opportunity to buy drums that you may never see elsewhere, so do your homework, decide on a budget and start bidding.CAVEAT EMPTOR!

2: HOW to RE-TIP a ASH POOL CUE

PLEASE LOOK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE! Was this guide helpful? CLICK YESHOW TO RE-TIP AN ASH POOL CUETIPS FOR SALEYou will need a Stanley Knife, Cue Tip, Sandpaper and Super Glue. Remove the old tip by cutting it off with a Stanley knife as shown in Fig 1. Cut as close to the ferrule as possible without cutting into the ferrule or wood of the cue. Scrape the remainder of the surface clean where the old tip was glued to, by rotating the Stanley Knife carefully across the surface, as shown in Fig 2.Take a small piece of sandpaper and press it tightly against the surface where the old tip was placed. Rotate the sandpaper firmly against the surface until it is completely flat, level and smooth. See Fig 3 Lay the sandpaper flat on a smooth surface facing up, and sand the bottom of the tip in a circular motion, until the base of the tip is smooth. (Fig 4).You should now have a new tip which has the base sanded smooth to remove any lose fibres and a snooker cue, with the tip removed and the top, level and smooth. Place a small drop of glue on the surface of the cue that you have sanded. (Fig 5). Place the tip carefully on the flat surface of the cue where the drop of glue rests, (Fig 6). Press down on the tip, without moving it off centre, (Fig 7). Quick drying glue will set in seconds, but leave it for five minutes to be sure. Take the sandpaper and rotate it around the edge of tip attached to the ferrule. Using a light sandpaper shape the cue tip in downward strokes, to create the domed tip effect, (Fig 8).Chalk the cue tip, before striking the cue ball. Your new tip may feel soft and spongy until it is knocked in. This is normal. Do not attempt power shots; in particular, deep screw shots until you are satisfied that the cue tip is ready.

Make your own External Harddrive

Have you always dreamed of having 60 Gigbites of storage that is small enough to put in your pocket and take anywhere you want? Dream no more, in this guide I will show you how to make your own 60G external hard drive for less than 140 dollars. Below is the one I made for myself, look how small it is.Computer technology advances as we speak, movies, games, music and even TV series can all be stored in your computer hard drive these days. Storage has quickly become a issue and people have realised that their old 40G harddrive is just never going to be enough. Adding another hard drive to desktop computers is one solution, but for many laptop users or people who needs some mobility, getting an portable external hard drive is the way to go. However a 20G 2.5 inch pocket size external hard drive at Dicksmith will set you back at least 150 dollars. That's way too much for what it is really worth, I will show you how to make your own 60G external harddrive for less than 140 dollars, that's how much it costed me. The pictures are taken off my own 60G external hard drive. First, you will need to purchase these two things above: a laptop hard drive and a USB2.0 external hard drive enclosure. You can get a 20G, 40G, 60, 80G or 100G depends on how much you need, but from my experience, it's never going to be enough.A 60G laptop harddrive like mine will cost about 100 dollar buy from ebay and an enclosure will cost around 20 dollarsdepending on the quality. As you can see, an enclosure will typically come with a aluminium alloy case, the yellow circuit board,USB cable, driver CD, screws and a screw driver. Once you have done your shopping, making your own external hard drive will take less than 20 min!Now carefully connect the laptop harddrive with the yellow circuit board, watch carefully where those golden fingers are going. There is a single pin in the middle, get him right then you are good! After you have connected them, slide the whole thing into the box. Add the black cap and close the box by tightening the screws and you are done the hardware side of it, some of the enclosures don't even need screws.Now all you need to do is to format the hard drive. Used laptop harddrive will not need a new format, I am talking about a raw drive just out of its sealed bag.For windows 98 SE/Me users:Connect the USB hard disk to your computer via the USB cable, wait a few seconds until it is recognised by windows.Get into "MS-DOS" mode,Type "FDISK" and press "Enter"Format the hard disk according to the prompts.For windows Xp users:Connect the USB hard disk to your computer via the USB cable, wait a few seconds until it is recognised by windows.Go to Control Panel - Administrative tools - Computer Management, on the left side of the screen, click Disk Management, then you will see coloured blocks representing all the drives connected to the computer, select the USB hard drive, right click, and choose Initialise, then Format. Once the formating is done, restart your computer with the harddrive connected. You will soon find youself with gigbites of extra, removable storage. Trouble shooting: If somehow your harddrive can't not be detected by the computer, check the USB cables. Normally enclosures come with a 3 head USB cable, one of the head have shorter cable and it is solely used for getting extra power when you are using a hub or a PCMCIA card. So if the LED indicator is green and the hard disk is not running, plug the USB power cable into an empty port or avoid using hubs or PCMCIA cards if you can.This is a guide for 2.5 inch laptop hard drives, however 3.5 inch desktop hard drives and their enclosures are also readily available from eBay, but they are heavier and requires their own power supply. However the basics are exactly the same.I hope you enjoyed reading my guide, making an external harddrive is really this easy. Buy from ebay and never pay retail price again!

What is the big deal about Gymboree? I'll tell you!

My store is often filled with Gymboree. People are selling it in droves and people are buying it... so what is it with this American brand Gymboree? What's the big fuss about? It may seem that the brand Gymboree is WAY out of your rices range, but you aren't taking into account what the brand is all about! I am here to try and help you de-mystify the phenomenon. I started buying NEW or NWT Gymboree on Ebay for my girls after I moved to Australia (where there are no Gymboree shops) from the UK (where there are) because I missed it so much and it was then the only way of getting it. Then I realised that the value of second hand Gymboree clothes was awesome, they were selling for as much as brand new pieces. At that time there was about 1 page of Gymboree on ebay.com.au and now there are about 42! So I sold a few of both my daughters outfits including some cute socks and hair clips after they had had good wear out of them and I sold them for nearly as much as I had paid for them in the USA. And THAT in a nutshell is what all the fuss is about! Gymboree comes out with "lines" every 3-4 weeks, sometime more often for special events like Christmas, Easter, Halloween and Fourth of July. They do clothes for babies, infants, girls and boys to 12 years old and even matching MUMMY stuff sometimes too. They also do handbags, charm bracelets (releasing 2 charms per line for a bracelet), Gymbelles (see below), hair accessories, beach towels, swimwear, shoes, sandals, blankets (very sought after), as well as amazing outfits with so much detail. The lines are named making them easy as pie to search for on eBay and therefore very successful. There is an awesome site called www.gymbohaven.com which is FREE and lists every line that Gymboree have every produced including the tag code and prices and of course lovely photos (which you must not copy for your listings, however tempting it may be, because you are infringging copyright!). One of the great things about Gymboree is that no one line is the same as the next. Gymboree has its own online site where you can buy the entire range and the DO ship to Australia, BUT I have found that buying on eBay is still cheaper (and of course it gets you feedback score where buying on line does not). Now I want to talk about quality. Gymboree is HIGH quality and the clothes last and last. Also, whilst the lines are all different some can be interchaged especially the hair stuff, socks, tights, handbags, charms, and dolls clothes (yes they do Gymbelles with matching clothing from each line!) between lines, so you don't need to buy everything from each line. They even do dressing up clothes to die for and sleepwear that you will never tire of. My favourite lines are Sweet As Sugar, Teachers Pet, Chelsea Girl, Petite Fleur, Sugar and Spice, Tutti Fruiti, Star Spangled, Sweetheart, It's A Girl Thing, Spring Fun, Sugar Cookie, European Holiday, Flower Power and the list goes on! My final point is one that I mentioned first up. The ability to resale Gymboree clothing that your kids have had good use out of for nearly as much or in some cases MORE than you paid for it. Selling items in co-ordinating sets often raises the price you are likely to get at auction. There have been so many times when I have bought outfits or LOTS as they are called from eBay had Lottie and Sasha wear them and then sell them for really good money (enabling me to buy more!).So, yes, Gymboree may seem expensive but it is WORTH every cent. From the styling, quality and sheer pleasure your kids will get from wearing it and being the only kids not in Fred Bare or Target at that special event to the fact that you can often get your money back, GYMBOREE is the best and one of the most popular selling brands on eBay.com and soon eBay.com.au. It is on the eBay PULSE for number one searched for term under infants, toddlers and girls items!

Jewellery Making - Wrapped Wire Loops

Jewellery Making - Basic TechniqueWrapped LoopsBasic EquipmentRound nose plierGood quality head pins (the kind that bend not snap)Wire cuttersMake sure there is at least 3.5cm of wire above the bead. Using pliers bend the wire into a right angle. Use the round nose plier to create a simple loop with the tail overlapping the bend.Grasp the top of the loop with your pliers. Wrap the wire around the gap beween the loop and the top of the bead tightly. Trim the excess wire to finish.Mastering this technique takes practice but the effort is well worth it, as it opens up endless design possibilities.Please send me any question, ideasor comments.

Books - Buying

Books are Good.The buying and selling market for books on Ebay has never been better. Prices and availability of mid-range and scarce books are increasing, but,Nothing raises the blood pressure more than seeing a book item with a description like, 'what you see is what you get.'Unfortunately, what you see isn't always what you get.As a professional book dealer, I'd like to help buyers and sellers cut through the hype and misinformation and finish with a better result all round. Better buyer satisfaction, better sales for sellers.At the hub lies description - many Ebayers have trouble with jargon and lose interest when a seller fails to deliver on description, or buyers are disappointed when the book finally arrives. Here are some tips:Good for it's age. Buyers should avoid books described thus. It usually means the item has damage, stains, missing pages or worse. Huge numbers of books published up to 200 years ago exist today in near Mint condition - is this book similar? Faults and good points need to be described and expected.Missing pages or plates. How many sellers inspect their book to see if it's complete or undamaged? Why wait for a disappointed buyer to make a complaint or send an abusive email?Descriptions

Guides to buying bulk clothing lots

Hi All,I have sold many bulk lots on ebay and have fortunately had many happy buyers. I have also purchased several bulk lots on ebay, and while most met my expectations, there were some that didn't quite make the grade. Unfortunately, I got caught up in the brand names and the quantity without fully reading into the description and without asking the seller a few questions.Here are some guides which I thought might be helpful when considering spending a significant amount on money on a clothing bulk lot:1) How many items are in the bulk lot and of that how many are New With Tag (NWT), New without tag (NWOT) and used ? Often you may find a seller has listed a bulk lot and stated "Many new". Well, say the bulk lot is 100 pieces, the seller's perspective of many could be 20, so does that mean you will receive 20 new with tag or 20 new without tag, as new with tag items generally fetch a higher selling price. Also, that could possibly mean that if the seller is saying many, then how many are used.2) Of the new and used items, how many have faults ? Yes sometimes new items can have faults, e.g: shop soiling. The used items usually will have faults and if so, how bad are the faults. You really don't want to spend say $400 on a 100 piece bulk lot and find that out of that there are 20 good items and the rest would be considered as cleaning rags.3) Communicate with the seller: Ask them for a complete itemised list of the clothing including brands, amount with tags, sizes, faults etc. This could save a lot of heartache in the future and should give you a better idea on what is on offer. If the seller refuses to give an itemsised list for whatever reason, then perhaps think twice about spending your hard earned cash.4) Ask the seller the post amount to your postcode. Bulk lots depending on the quantity can be very heavy and depending on the distance they have to go, can be quite expenseive to send. The postage costs have to be factored into the final price so you know whether or not it is worth the amount.5) Visual: If the seller has only included a few photos, you can bet they are of the best items in the bulk lot. Ask the seller to provide some more photos, and if possible of every piece on offer (they could put several items in one photo to give an indication of the items on offer). Once again, if the seller refuses, think twice about placing a bid.6) Check the seller's feeback: What is their score, are you comfortable spending a great amount with a seller who has a feedback score of 1 or a percentage of 85 ? I know I wouldn't be. Unfortunately it takes time to build a good reputation, but that is what I look for when I consider buying from anyone on ebay.7) If the seller has mentioned brand names :e.g: Fred Bare, Osh Kosh, Pumpkin Patch etc, how many of those are actually in the bulk lot and are they new or used ? Some sellers can mentioned "Fred Bare" in the title but will only include 1 used scruffy item of Fred Bare. The fact that this brandis in the title will gain a lot of interest, but if you knew it was 1 used item in poor condition, you wouldn't look twice.8) And last but not least, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is, so be careful. Money doesn't come easy, bulk lots are specifically designed to make money for the buyer, but sometimes they just aren't worth the amount some people are willing to pay.The best advice I can give, is ask as many questions as you can, get as many photos as you can, gain as much information as you can, sit back and think about how much you want to spend and how much you think the lot is worth and don't go above that amount.Best of luck and happy bidding !!A1 FIRST IMPRESSIONS LABELS

AUDIO BOOKS - New or Pirate Copy - How To Tell !

We think that the introduction of AUDIO BOOKS has been one the best and advantageous methods of Education. You can spend hundreds or sometimes thousands of dollars listening in a seminar, or you can pay as little as $20.00 and enjoy it in the comfort of your own home, or car or even while taking a walk on your mp3 player.However, whenever there's great idea, there's someone that wants to abuse it. We at centralcoastauctions are a proud and loyal seller of genuine and brand new AUDIO BOOKS. We have found through thorough investigating that there are several sellers of AUDIO BOOKS that are pirated/counterfeit in Australia.One of the main pirated items found in Australia are Anthony Robbins - Get The Edge and Personal Power.Maybe ask yourself, how could a seller have several of the same used CD Sets. A pirate import perhaps....What to look for : Make sure that you buy only brand new and sealed. Make sure that the listing states the items isbn.Counterfeitmedia range in quality from hand-labelled recordable CDs to high quality replicas of genuine installation CDs. Counterfeiters will sometimes use holographic stickers on their CDs as an attempt to replicate genuine Manufacturers CDs' appearance. The holograms found onmost CDs are not stickers, but are part of the CDs themselves.The only way to protect yourself is BUY NEW AUDIO BOOKS that are STILL SEALED and stop these pirates from stealing.Good luck and take care.

Wedding on a budget !!!

Wedding on a budget!!!Hi there, I thought I might share some great tips for people who are looking to have a great wedding on a budget. There are many ways to look great, feel great and have a great time. All you need is time and a little patience, however you can still grab bargains in the nick of time but then you need to be a little less fussy.Look for liquidation sales - I bought 5 stunning bridesmaids dresses for $5 each brand new with tags. Total value of $400. This was a saving of $375.Scan Ebay for wedding dresses, You can get awesome wedding dresses from $5 from Ebay you just need some time and patience - It can be done!Shoes??? If your dress is long enoughwho cares! Unless you are wearing a short wedding dress Noone will even notice what shoes you wear - My advice, buy a second handpair from $1 or a cheap shoe sale for the colour of your choice - I guarantee noonewill notice ( My bridesmaids wore thongs, their dresses were so long that you wouldn't suspect a thing.A great way to save on decorations is toDIY! I was quoted $2,000 for wedding decorations for both the ceremony and reception. I save alot of money byscouring craft shops,discount stores and sales. We had beautiful Candelabra centrepieces for our decorations,I bought about 6 or 7 black candleabras for $5.00 each from the Warehouse, spray painted white, then a pearlesence coat, wrapped a fake vine spray painted with glitter, added butterlflies and ribboned candles and wallah! beautiful table centrepieces.Depending on where you live The Warehouse or Macro Warehouse are large discount stores. However there may be one near you similar that may sell something along those lines, most of the materials e.g. fake vine and white

Video Capture Cards

When you are purchasing any Capture card ensure the card is validated by Microsoft. Example of this is a card using Conexant this card works find on Windows 98se but install it on XP and you have major problems. It will work sometime then other times it will crash your system over and over again. After installing a message will come up saying "this hardware is Not digitally signedand my not work proply"

wheels and tyres 4 all UR fitments and sizes 4 UR car

sizes and fitmentssome of the the things you look for when buying your wheels. firstly check where they are made if in china please check if their is waranty with that. a lot of wheel people you cant find later when you have a problem.also there should no marks on the wheels when you buy them.check the inside of the wheel, that usually tells you that they either have being on the car or the wheels havehad tyresfitted to them and they try to clean them to sell as new.australia has no set laws when it comes to wheels so please be careful. In tyres always by the brand you know.Dont fall for the trick it is made in the same factory, if so then the name should be the same.always check your load rating on your tyres because certain INSURANCE companies wont pay out claims if the load rating is not according to the manufacture standards. when it comes to high performance tyres please make sure the load rating is right. the load rating is on the side wall of the tyre.{ 92Z, 85HR,98W}.it is very important also to check if insurance company have any regulations towards load rating. personally you want grip and handling then you dont get long wear .i hope i have being helpful in your next purchase of wheels and tyres. any other questions please email me. and thank you

Dyeing wool and fleece with food dyes.

There is an easy and cheap way to try your hand at dyeingpure wool using supermarket ingredients, ideal for fleece, roving and spun yarn.Queen makes a small pack of 4 tiny bottles of food dye for under 3 dollars. With that and some white vinegar ( cheap seems to work just as well as expensive), hot water and a bucket, you are all set to go.Pre-soak your fibres or yarn in soapy water (dishwashing liquid works well), so that the dye takes up. Prepare your bucket with hot water and a dollop of vinegar, probably half a litre to a bucket, and then add your dyes. A wooden spoon for stirring is handy. The dye packs have 4 colours: red, blue and yellow, and green. You can mix the dye well for an all over colour, or just let the dye float in the water for a rainbow effect or multi-coloured effect. Add your fiber/yarn and watch it soak up the colour, literally, as the water in the bucket becomes clear.Be careful not to agitate yourfibers,or they will felt.Some dyers say that you need to boil your fibers - I have found that heat is the key, and a hot sunny SA day is enough to set the dye, though I must confess I now use a microwave dedicated for that purpose - a 10 minute zap seems to be all it needs. You then carefully rinse out the dyed item by soaking inwater that gets gradually cooler in temperature until the water runs clear - if it doesn't the dye hasn't set. Hang skeins to dry out of the sun, the shower cubicle is really handy for this, and I use a sweater rack for fleece. The colours appear to last as long as other dyes.This works well on protein fibers like wool and silk as well as nylon, and produces lovely bright colours as well as subtle shades. I doubt it would work on cotton, rayon or artificial fibers. It also overdyes other brands of dyes. You can space dye, rainbow dye, and do pretty much anything that can be done with liquid chemical dyes; there is a wealth of info out there on the web.There is also a small recipe chart on the side of the dye pack to help get you started mixing colours.A large half litre bottle of food dye will set you back under $10.00, and last for ages.The larger supermarkets often have a range of 50ml bottles in different colours, allowing you to experiment without breaking the bank. As to whether there is less harm in using food dyes? I'm not a scientist, but I would handle them with caution, and wouldn't use food containers as dye baths. And with that proviso, have fun and enjoy experimenting!

LIsting for Success - 'ATTENTION GRABBING Item Titles'

Wondering What Makes a Great Item Title?I'm going to give you several ways of really grabbing the viewer's eye, so he/she will automatically click on your listing probably without even thinking about it. There are many ideas around what makes a great item title however I'll give you my tips which I've found from experience really work.Always use a gallery photo. People don't want to waste time clicking on something they can't see. 70% of the population use visual skills as their main information gathering modality. In short they go with what they can see. Generally speaking - no photo equals no click on your item. There are always exceptions to the rule but for the extra 59 cents gallery fee is well worth it.Gallery photos should be of the item OR a person associated with the item. Photos of people work better than photos of symbols. So if you are selling a service, put a good photo of yourself.Use a subtitle for an extra 49 cents if you have an item with a substantial price. Or if you find other sellers who are selling the same thing are using subtitles. If your competition has subtitles and you don't, your listed item will look a little "nude" in the searches. Always research what you propose to sell. See how other similar item titles are constructed. Whatever words you use, go for something different, that hasn't been used before. Be creative and original in your language.Judicious use of capitals can make your title stand out in the crowd. However don't fall for the trap of doing the entire title in capital letters. Capitals work best if there are only a few words, or part of the title in CAPS. IFIWRITE MY WHOLE SENTENCE IN CAPITALS, it looks a bit too much and it's difficult to read. But if I only WRITE selected letters in CAPITALS, it's much more EFFECTIVE!Use exclamation marks to make a point! But don't overuse them (unless you're really artistic and are using them to make some sort of creative symbol, !i!i!i! for example). You can use these sorts of littlesymbols to grab attention (:-:-:-:-:) in your title. Just look for different things that aren't commonly used.Don't make outlandish claims, be honest in your title description. Your viewers will be disappointed when they get to your listing if it's not what it was purported to be.Use the entire space allocated in the title field. In other words, a short title doesn't really cut it. If you have space remaining, fill it with an emotional attention grabber e.g. "item blah, blah -Needs a Good Home!" or "item blah, blah - Hours of Fun" or "item blah, blah - This Season's Latest"If your item is new, always put NEW in the item title. The word "new" is eBay's most commonly searched for word. Make use of what people are searching for. Good keywords are really important.If you can start your item at 99 cents.I find that 80% of the time, items starting at 99 cents get a higher price than items starting with a dollar value, even a low dollar value. They also cost less to list.Make the Best ImpressionIn short, your Item Title is the first impression you will make on a potential buyer. To get a buyer, you absolutely must make an impression, hopefully a good one. Most items have other sellers selling the same thing, so you simply have to stand out in the crowd to get past first base. Generally speaking, the better the initial impression, the more potentialbuyers and the higher the price.I hope this guide has been helpful to you. If it has, then please vote YES for it. You can also read My Other Guidesor you can visit My StoreRegards, Rose

How to upgrade your laptop's ram cheap and effectively!

I have a newly updated guide on upgrading rams, with pictures and illustrations, please go to any of the listing page of the rams I sell and you will finda link to the guide on the right hand side plane.Below is the old guide:This guide will show you the steps and precautionsfor upgrading your laptop's ram cheaply and effectively!Dear reader, Have you ever owned or used a laptop? If you do then I am sure you have experienced the frustration of laptops' slow performance compare to a desktop, unless you have a super laptop that costs more than $2000. The reason for this is that laptop components are more expensive, however upgrading your laptop has never been cheaper with eBay. The easiest way to improve laptop's performance is to upgrade its ram and I hope this guide will help you in doing so.Step1: Do the homework, find out what type of ram you need.Compatibility is the biggest issue! If you want to upgrade your laptop's ram, you need to know what type of ram it takes. The simplest way is to use some of the memory finders on the internet; there are many websites offering this service, such as crucial.com, google for "laptop memory upgrade". If one website doesn't give you the information you need, try another one.My favourate website is memorysuppliers.com, I have been using their service for a long time now and always trusted their database. Search for your laptop by type in your laptop's model number, for example: "thinkpad T20" , or you can just type in thinkpad and you will get a list of all thinkpad models that you can choose.These websites also sell rams, but at very high prices. eBay is the only place to go for cheap rams! Now let's do the homework, there are a few precautions you need to take:* * * * * What type of ram your laptop takes? * * * * *You should be able to find out the type of ram you need by visting the websites discussed above, however for your convenience, here is a general guide for the type of ram your laptop should use:PC66 SD(So-Dimm) ram: Generally laptops with a Pentium III, Celeron or Pentium II CPU, 400mhz processor or less, build around 1999PC100 SD(So-Dimm) ram: Generally laptops with a Pentium III or Celeron CPU, 400 ~ 800mhz processor, build around 1999 to 2000PC133 SD(So-Dimm) ram: Laptops with a Pentium III or Celeron CPU, 850mhz~1.3Ghz processor, build around 2000 to 2001PC2100 DDR ram: Generally found in laptops with a Pentium 4,Pentium Mor AMD Athlon CPU, made, build around 2001 to 2003PC2700 DDR ram: Similar with PC2100, can be swapped withPC2100, build around 2001 to 2003PC4200 DDR2 ram: Found in laptops with Pentium M, Centrino processors, build around 2004 and onwardsPC5300 DDR2 ram: Found in most current laptop models, normally dual core, but PC5300 can be used as PC4200* * * * * What is the maximum ram your laptop can take? * * * * *If you put more ram than the maximum, then the extra ram will be ignored and you will be wasting money. Sometimes get the latest BIOS update will increase this maximum.PC66 laptops generally have a maximum of 192mb, PC100 laptops could have a maximum or between 192mb to 512mb, PC133 laptop normally can take up to 1G of ram.* * * * * How will your ram slots take the ram? * * * * *Most laptops have 2 slots, but some old laptop can only accept one ram in one slot at one time, some have a maximum ram each slot can take. So be careful and read those websites carefully.* * * * *Will thenew ram comflict with your existing ram?* * * * *You can mix 128mb PC100 ram with 128mb PC133, you can also mix PC2100 rams with PC2700, PC4200 rams with PC5300 rams and use them inside the same laptop. However it is not adviced to do so, mixing rams will cause the system to run automatically on the speed of the slower ram(128mb PC133 ram will now run at PC100 speed, which is 100mhz and slower than 133mhz which PC133 rams are designed to run) and cause system stability sometimes(show up as your laptop keep restarting or won't start at all). Please also notice that 256mb PC133 and 512mb PC133 are not backward compatible with PC100 rams. Some old laptops have onboard PC66 ram that can not be removed, although the websites tells you that you can use PC100 rams, but most of the time the PC100 ram will not work together with the onboard ram, you must get PC66 rams or PC100 rams that are backward compatible.Step 2: Purchase. Once homework is done, time to shop! Search in eBay for the right type of ram and I can guarantee you will find it. eBay have almost every type of laptop ram, the problem is how much you are willing to pay and from whom you will buy it. My only advice is to buy from someone have at a positive feedback of more than20.Please reconsider when buying from oversea sellers, it is always good to buy from your own country. Rams are very fussy things. Ifthe ram you purchasedfrom overseas isnot compatible with your laptop, you will then have to post it back to the seller overseas, this could be costly and you will never know when they will say they have received your returned ram and issue an exchange or refund(very time consuming if you don't get it right the first time).Step 3: InstallationI have been selling ram on eBay and for every customer I gave them this installation guide:For the safety of the memory chips and to insure successful installation, please follow these simple steps:Step1: Turn off your laptop, unplug the AC adaptor and remove the battery.Step2: Ground yourself, by touching a piece of metal (Oil heater, water pipe or tap, etc). Wear an anti-static wrist strap if you have one.Caution: This step is extremely important in preventing Electro Shock Discharge (ESD) from destroying your ram. Static electricity occurs when two objects of different potential level meet and will instantly destroy the ram and other components of your computer. You don't have to feel the shock for the ram to be destroyed, so please do take care!!! Step3: Turn your laptop over and remove the ram slot cover. Step4: To install a ram into an empty slot: First align your ram with the slot (by match the notch on the side of the ram with the one in the slot); slide the ram inside, approximately 30 over horizontal. Push the ram in as far as you can and snap the ram into position by pushing it downwards. To remove a ram from its slot: Locate the two clips on each side of a memory module, and then slowly press outward on the two clips at the same time until the module tilts upward. Then pull out the ram in an inclined angle of 30.Step5: Replace the ram slot cover.Step6: Power on your laptop and check it ram is functioning or not by entering the BIOS setup screen, or by checking the properties when right click "My computer"after windows has boot up.Thanks for reading my guide and I hope it will be of some use to you.

FAKE VIETNAM WAR MEDALS MADE IN CHINA SOLD ON EBAY

Most Vietnam veterans' would say an original RVN Vietnam medal is a medal that was awarded during the Vietnam War 1963 to 1975 for the United States, and up to1972the end of the war for Australian Forces.Vietnam War combat Veterans' were awarded RVN medals, some for Service, others for the highest acts of Gallantry on the battlefield, all these RVN medals were manufactured in South Vietnam during the war. At the end of the war in 1975 production seized as it was now occupied by the communists.Many veteran's both from the United States and Australia were still entitled to be awarded their hard earned RVN medals. In 1975in the USA the contract went out to various Government approved manufacturers to manufacture all types of RVN medals, these medals are classed as 100% Genuine by the US Federal Government, basically the US manufacturers stayed with the original RVN designs, except for the fastening system on the reverse,the originals made in Vietnam employed the French style double pin system, this was changed to the US pin back clasp system. All the medalsmanufacturer in the USA were hallmarked (makers marked) under the pin on reverse.The Australian original awarded version of the RVN Vietnam Campaign medal of which we do not have a picture of right now was manufactured in Korea for the Australian Government, the actual medal hangs loose and swivels freely on a small suspension ring. The USmanufactured version is still used today for the medal mounting of Australian Vietnam veteran's medal groups.There is onlyone US manufacturer that still makes these what are classed as Genuine RVN medals in the USA,they are hallmarked G27 under the pin. The US manufactured RVN medals are of the highest quality and therefore are a little more costly to buy for dealers in bulk.In comes twowell knowndealers in the USA, who went to China tosource a cheap base to manufacturecertain types of RVN medals(we will go into the details how to distinguish the USA Genuine made from the Chinese Fake in a minute) . One dealer sells the fake RVN Vietnam Campaign Medal and RVN Cross of Gallantry Medals in bulk for about $70.USD for 10 on eBay USA,these dealers are 100% honestwe might add, and well respected, theytell all their customersthat these medalsare made overseas (Not Genuine USA Made),but fora little more money, they offerthe genuine USA manufactured medals.The problem is with the dishonest small time dealerswho sell these Chinese fakes, and state that they are '100%ORIGINAL MONEY BACK GUARANTEE'they sell them for around $30. a piece, selling the same Chinese made fake rubbish week after week. These dealers know exactly thatthey are selling fakes, because all the medalscome delivered on a white cardboard sheet, sealed in plastic bag that says 'MADE IN CHINA'. ORIGINAL RVN MADE GENUINE USA MADE CHINESE COPY SOLD ON EBAY As you can see, basically from the front, they all look the same, the real story is on the reverse, please study pictures carefully. ORIGINAL RVN MADEGENUINE USA MADE G27 CHINESE FAKE Let's study the pictures above, the original RVN made has theFrench style fastening system reverse. The genuine current USA made by an authorized US Government manufacturer is utilizing a crimped pin back clasp system, notice the extra fine detail of good oldUSA workmanship, most importantly on the reverse the USA made isHallmarked (Makers Marked) G27 under the pin as per US Federal regulations.Chinese Fake, has a big ugly, sewnon, old fashioned chunky pinclasp system. 'Sewn on' being the key word here. Now, the most important give away is the 'H'- HALLMARK IN A CIRCLE on the reverse of medal. The medal is also of a much poorerquality than the genuine currentUSA made version.GENUINE USA MADE CHINESE FAKE Again, the Genuine current USA made, isof superior quality. Please notice the frontenamelled map of Vietnam, as it is flat, this medal is made by the same US maker as the Cross of Gallantry above, hence utilizing the same crimped fine pin back clasp system and most importantly hallmarked (makers marked) G27 under the pin as per federal regulations. We have also noticed some sellers try to make this medal look older by usingGun Blue, a blueing acid used on firearms, especially on the pin clasp assembly to remove that new gold 'shiny' look straight out of the Chinese factory, an old trick, don't be fooled, look at how these twofakes are made. Please search eBay USAand ask the honest dealer who sell these medals as 'DEALER LOTS OF 10'and they will give you an honest answer as to in which country these medalsare made. We did.The Chinese fake has aRAISED DOMEmap of Vietnam on the front, on the reverse it shows the same clumsy ugly chunky incorrect SEWN onpin back clasp system, with no regulation US Federal hallmark (makers mark)Some of the current type RVN Medals made in the USA such as the Special Service Medal, Honour Cross 1st and 2nd class, although made by the same authorized US Government manufacturer, might notalways behallmarked, some are and some are not.The main aim of this guide was to show you two of the most common Chinese Fake RVN Medals that are currently being sold eBay USA and eBay Australia as originals.Weonly sell whatare classed asGenuine USA made RVN Vietnam war medals,and originals made in Vietnam before 1975 when we can source them. Some might argue that even the current USA made by anauthorized US Government manufacturerare reproductions, we would disagree. Dictionarydefinition of GENUINE is: a, really coming from its reputed source: not a sham or counterfeit. The two Chinese fakes sold on eBay,we would class as 100% counterfeit, so stay away from them as they have no collector's value whatsoever.Was this guidehelpfulto you? PLEASE tick 'YES' below.As itwill encourage us to write more guides for you.'THANK YOU'

How to Get 100 Positive Feedback in 7 Days? - 1 Hour!

I read this auction with great interest, and wondered WHY someone would want 100 Positive Feedback in 7 days. First, I will tell you how to get 100 Positive Feedback in 1 hour, for those that are in a hurry.Purchase 150 ebooks, from 150 different Ebay sellers. As fast as you can buy, PAY, and leave feedback, you should receive feedback. Many ebook sellers have their feedback setup to automatically leave it, once you do. Figuring that 2/3 of the ebook sellers are on automatic, this can be accomplished in an hour, or less, if you are fast! OK-You stopped reading here and went and purchased 150 ebooks...Guess what!Here are the problems you may enounter:1. If you leave feedback without receiving the item...you may never receive it.2. My ebooks are plain text. No viruses or surprises there. Whew! One safe purchase!3. However, you now have up to 150 ebooks, coming to you in a number of different formats, along with any possible number of different spyware, adware, links and virus goodies, at no additional charge.3. Did you buy ANYTHING you were even remotely interested in, or were you just after feedback?4. Did you take the time to read the feedback of any of the sellers, to see how long they have been on Ebay? Do they only have feedback from sellers? Have they sold on Ebay before now? 5. Even if you just delete the ebooks, WHO did you just give your contact information to? This includes your name, address, Ebay email address, Ebay ID, paypal email address, and in many cases your home phone number!6. Hopefully you have DSL and a HUGE email box. If you are on dial-up...Oh No!Yippee. You have 100 Positive Feedback, and it has been less than an hour. Now what?Your computer is filled with applets, your inbox is full, bulk mail folder is full, and your contact info is now in how many different countries? All in an hour or less.BEFORE you purchase ANYTHING, please look at the sellers feedback, and about Me page. If you are buying something from them, see if they have feedback from sellers that have purchased similar priced items. Be aware that not everyone is as honest as you are!Ebooks really are a lot of fun, and I don't want to discourage you, just give you some things to consider.. Information in some of the ebooks are also found in the public domain such as the internet but you can find some very usful information in ebooks.The 1c ebooks have always puzzled me why would someone bother selling an ebook for 1c? Then the penny dropped, what if the 1c ebooks have spyware of adware attached? I would be very careful of the 1c ebooks as they possibly have spyware attached to the files. Once again I stress that I dont want to discourage you to buy ebooks, rather be careful who you trust on ebay.Hopefully this guide will help you. If you now have 100 Positive Feedback, I hope you bought something you were interested in, and did not just buy feedback. Good Luck on eBay, I hope we can do business.

How to make your Microwave Oven last longer.

Microwave ovens are becoming cheaper every day. Unfortunately, though, they don't seem to last as long as they used to. One of the common failures in a microwave is sparking and burning of the waveguide cover. This is a small plastic or mica cover on the side or top of the cavity. The trick to prevent this is to always keep it clean. Most people wipe over the inside, but this cover can get grease and food on the other side as well, and this eventually burns, damaging the cover. While it is not an expensive part, by the time you add labour it is often enough to write the appliance off. The solution is simple. Remove this cover once in a while and wipe both sides. As a technician, it saddens me to see so many things end up in landfill prematurely.Allfix Electrical

Beware of fake memory cards on eBay

When buying a memory card on eBay, you need to do your homework or possibly even reconsider buying one off ebay as around 95% of these items appear to be fakes. First you need to thoroughly review the sellers feedback and avoid sellers from China/Hong Kong. A lot of these cards are listed as 4GB but when you use it it may only hold 2GB. They sometimes don't even use real memory chips. It could be a Sony Card using a Samsung chip.In conclusion, in order to buy memory cards safely, see if the seller has good feedback, check for a refund policy, pay with PayPal and test the card immediately by transferring a large amount of data to the card to see if it reaches its full compacity and if possible test the card with a test available online such as the "magicgate" for sony magicgate cards.

How to sucesfully buy an MP4 Player from eBay

Hello Fellow eBayers!We have been selling MP4 players for a while now in Australia so i thought i would share some tips on how to successfully buy an MP4 player from eBay Australia.I am sure you are aware that MP4 players are the cheaper alternative to the Ipod Nano or Video in some cases. They come in many shapes and sizes and are offered on eBay Australia from all corners of the globe. In my experience, i believe it is a common fact that 95% of the so called 'hacked' MP4 players come from overseas, mainly from China where the majority of MP4 players are produced. To be safe, i believe that your best bet is to deal directly with Australian Dealers. The easiest way to establish if a seller is from Australia is to do the following:In the 'Meet the Seller' section, make sure that it says the member is 'Registered Since XX-XXX-XX in Australia. Additionally, the 'Item Location' field should Say 'South Australia, Australia' or 'Melbourne, Australia' for example. If it says 'Shipped Fast, Australia' it is quite likely that it is sent from overseas.When reading the item description, the delivery section of this should say that the item will be delivered within 5 days of payment being received. If it is anymore it is likely that it is sent from Overseas. Most Australia Post services from one point to another will take no more than 5 days. By following the above tips, this should ensure that you can get your MP4 player from an Australian Dealer.The next common problem in my experience is the number of 'Hacked' MP4 players. This is where the item is listed as a 4GB or 8GB MP4 player for example, when it actually only stores 1GB or less of music. As mentioned earlier, this is most commonly done on items sent from China. Some key indicators to avoid when buying and MP4 player can be found in the item description. If it says something similar to below, you should avoid that auction:This is a compressed 8GB flash drive, the 8GB capacity is for storing data files only; the actual playable and recordable capacity is 1GB.8GB* Storage (Use as a Flash Drive to store 8GB of Data)The above indicates that you can only store 1GB of music instead of the 8GB which appears to be included in the auction when you see the item title.Our main tip here: IF THE PRICE IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, THEN IT IS!Another tip to avoid Chinese sellers is by Customising the display of the items that you view. To do this, in any category click the 'Customise Display' button which is found on the Grey Toolbar just above where the listings begin. In the 'Available Columns' , add 'Country/Region' and then apply the changes. By doing this, everytime you now do a search on eBay, you will see which country the item is actually coming from.As a rough estimate, i believe that you shouldn't be paying for than $110 for a 4GB MP4 player. If you are, you are getting ripped off!If you have anymore questions regarding purchasing an MP4 player, feel free to let me know!Please check our my MP4 Player Auctions + my feedback to increase your confidence in our brand.Please vote for us!Thanks

IMEI number stolen search

All Australia Mobiles have a IMEI number. This is unique serial number written into the firmware of the phone.Since 15 September 2003 all Australian carriers share their data electronically allowing for unilateral IMEI blocking of lost and stolen mobile phones across all networks.To check if your phone is on the Lost or Stolen IMEI number list you need 2 things. The IMEI number and a way to check the number against the database.First we need the IMEI number. Enter *#06# into the phone as if your where dialing a phone number. Immediately after pressing the last # the IMEI number should pop up on the screen.If for some reason this did not work the IMEI number is also written on the serial number sticker normally under the phones battery. Remove the cover and remove the battery. My Nokia has a label with 2 bar codes on it. Under the second bar code it says IMEI with a 15 digit number split up with some /. So it looks like this 123456/78/901234/5The IMEI number can also be found on the side of the box the phone came in on a serial number sticker.Next we need to check the database. There are 2 ways I know of.First one is to ring the service provided by Telstra. The number is 1900 964 634 ( call charges apply )The second option is the free option. Goto http://www.amta.org.au/default.asp?Page=405 and click on red 'Check Status Here' button. A pop up window should open up. In the new pop up window there is a IMEI number text box and a Query button. It is simple from here. Enter the IMEI number you have written down into the text box. Don't put any / or - in. Only numbers. Then hit the query button. In a few seconds or less your should get a response ofResult Your IMEI number is currently unblockedDon't forget to ask for the IMEI number and check it on the database before paying for a phone from eBay.Happy Bidding !

Japanese Softbank Docomo 3G / GSM Mobile Phone Guide

Currently there are numbers of Japanese Softbank/Docomo mobiles unlockable which can be used world wide. Some are unlocked via soft unlocking (through PC, cable, software) and some can only be unlocked via INEX /Hyper SIM (a supplementary SIM sticker attached to your SIM card so the Softbank/Docomo mobile will detect your SIM card as a valid operator factory SIM card) at this stage. Most new mobiles including the 905 series and many of the Softbank mobiles can only be unlocked using this method.1.SIM QUALITIESBEWARE!The highest quality supplementary SIM sticker is the INEX SIM(manufactured in Taiwan, Taiwan is the main country manufacturing/inventing the main IC chip attached to the sticker, it looks like this ==

Blu Ray Piracy! Don't become a victim

This guide helps buyers detect potential pirated Blu Ray discs.Unfortunately pirated Blu Ray discs are finding their way onto the worldwide market, and as an experienced retailer, I have found more than a few on eBay.Basically, if it sounds too good to be true, then it usually is.How to detect a pirated Blu Ray:1. The PriceThe cost price for a new release Blu Ray from the major distributors range from approximately $29 to $39, depending on the distributor (Sony and Beuna Vista being the dearest, Warner Bros the cheapest). If you see a new release Blu Ray that is advertised as "brand new" or "sealed" for less than $29, be suspicious. Of course, it could be just someone selling a once-off copy that they received as a gift they didn't want, but if the seller has more than a few Blu Rays on sale, or if they are an eBay store seller, thoroughly check them out first before buying. ASK THEM QUESTIONS. If they're genuine, they won't hesitate to reply to you.2. Region coding.There is no such thing as a "region free" Blu Ray. All the major distributors deliberately region code their discs. Yes, some titles do get coded for more than one region (Warner Bros does this to save on their production costs), but they will be specified as "region A", "region B" or "region C' in the item's decription. The term "region free" simply does not exist.3. Aspect ratio.EVERY Blu Ray title on the market is released in their original aspect ratio. The whole purpose of Blu Ray is to exploit the latest technology, and this includes utilising a 16:9 aspect ratio. Many pirated DVDs are copied in a 4:3 ratio, as it is a lot cheaper to duplicate them at this ratio.4. The title.Not all titles are available on Blu Ray. I have come across quite a few titles that have been miraculously "released" onto Blu Ray before that title's distributor has released it themselves!For a full list of titles that are LEGALLY currently available in Australia, visithttp://stores.ebay.com.au/EliteEntertainment. I stock every title currently available. If I don't have it listed, it means it's not "officially" available!To sum up, if you encounter a product with the phrases "region free" or "all regions", and "4:3" or "1.33:1" instead of "16:9", "1.85:1", "2.35:1", etc, STEER AWAY FROM IT. If the price sounds too good to be true, QUESTION THE SELLER.

Buying a Honda postie bike or motor scooter

The first and foremost thing to remember when buying a motorcycle is to make sure that the seller has the appropriate road worthy and safety certificates. If these are not supplied with your purchase then dont become involved and they should be supplied at the sellers cost. Remember "buyer beware". Before bidding ask the seller if an inspection is welcome before the auction ends - if they have nothing to hide then an inspection will be welcome even if you have no intention of carrying it out!Also make sure that the photos you see are of the bike you will purchase. Some sellers sell a very similar type of bike numerous times and use the same pictures. Check on the legal requirements of operating a scooter - if it is over 50cc then you will need a motorbike license. Queensland is the only state that allows you to ride a 50cc bike with just an open car license.When you go to collect your new purchase print a copy of the whole of the advertisement layed out on ebay. Try to arrange a payment on pickup so that you can make sure that you are receiving the bike you have bid on. Once you have the bike in your sight do not leave it as switches can be made (either to parts or to the actual bike). Look for the odometer reading and make sure it is accurate. You can do this by looking at the age of the bike and reasonably work out the mileage used over the ageof the bike. Remember if it seems low then it probably is and the odometer may have beendisconnected or a new one installed. For your information Australia Post dispose of their bikes between 28000km and 30000km so if there is a bike that says it is from australia post and has low mileage you will know that the odometer has been changed.Make sure that the bike is started in your presence and listen for any"rattling sounds" that are not usual in the operation. Check that all the lights and indicators are in good working order and that the head light turns on as soon as the ignition starts. Look for any signs of oil leaks as this can lead to a problem that is ongoing and costly. Finally, ask the owner to take the bike for a short ride up and down the street they live on so you can hearand see how the bike runs. If the seller shy's away from giving a demonstration then you can wellassume there may be a problem. It is illegal for two people to be on a postie bike - there can be no pillion passenger and high speeds on a normal postie bike are just not authentic - the highest speed you can achieve with a normal postie bike is 75-80 - the only way for this bike to go faster is to change the sprocket and gears - so be wary of anyone who tells you that a postie bike can go any faster than this.These are a great bike and very dependable - not a racing bike - but if you want an economical and dependable bike then make sure of your facts before you buy - ask some of the questions above to the person selling the bike - their answers will tell you just how much they know about the Honda CT110.

SNIPER - AUTOMATED EBAY BID ASSITANT BRAND NEW MARCH 09

*** CURRENTLY UPGRADING TO VISTA READY ****** WILL BE AVAILABLE MARCH 23RD 2009 ***

Collecting Ion L. Idriess Books

Ion L Idriess (aka Jack) was born at Waverley, Sydney on 20th Sep 1889and died6 June 1979 at Mona Vale, Sydney. He was one of Australia's most prolific and collectible authors. This guide offerssome information about his life, reasons for his popularity and a bibliography of his major published bookswith a short synopsis of each title.Who wasIdriessand what did he write about?Idriess led a life most could only dream about. The quintessential Australian, he inspired many and was instrumental in popularising Australian writing before it was considered viable. Even today his book on gold prospecting is sought after for its invaluable information. Reference to his Guerilla Series is made on US military sites. Idriess led an amazing life probably due to his passionate, enquiring nature and disarming ingenuity. He survived typhoid, mined for gold and opals, was one of the legendary 'blooded' ANZAC's having fought and been seriously injured at Gallipoli, was marooned on a deserted island with a mate that went mad and tried to kill him, trained with Snowy Baker, a 1908 Olympic Gamessilver medallist for boxing, after being told he would never walk again without crutches and went on to fight in a boxing exhibition at Grafton, wrote text books for the Australian Army in WW II, travelled extensively throughoutCape York Peninsula often with Aboriginals beginning his life-long interest in their customs, and then on to the cattle stations of the Guld of Carpentaria, hunted crocodiles, knew poverty, broke in horses, chronicled the rites and history of some indigenous races, saving their culture from anonymity, just toname a few of his experiences.Jack was awarded an OBE for his services to publishing and died a few months short of his 90th birthday.Why Do People Buy His Books?Because he is immensely readable! Actually his first published book in 1927 was a failure(possibly because he followed his publishers advice and embellished the truth with a fictional romantic twist rather than what reallyhappened). The book ended up remaindered with rows and rows of 'Madman's Island' for sale sixpence a copy at Anthony Hordens. It was later published as a factual book in 1938. With his second book 'Prospecting for Gold' he rapidly gained popularity. Because his stories transcend time, record history in a romantic, journalistic style, typify the old-fashioned Australian spirit and are the product of a noble and authentic soul (very human with many failings nonetheless) he will always be popular and his books can only increase in value with time.What are Idriess Books Worth?First editions in dust jackets always attract higher prices. Signed editions are good however Idriess signed many of his books and it doesn't always mean it is a first edition. Angus

TREADMILLS POWER CIRCUIT

I'm writing this guide in the hope that others don't make the same costlymistake I did when purchasing a New Treadmill from e-trader. I'm writing thisGuide from a CONSUMERS point of viewand I have nothingto do with the Fitness Industry.What I thought was the most important part of the treadmill was the Motor - but I have sincediscovered it's the Electronics. I was impressed with the fact that the treadmill I had purchased at Auction on-line for $830.00had a 10 year warranty on it's motor (a leeson motormade in the USA). What I didn't take into consideration was it only had a 1 year warranty on it's service and parts. Treadmills tend to have two sets of electonics the first being up on the console and the second is thepower circuit found at the bottom near the motorthis is the "BRAIN" of the treadmill.I have since found out that thepower circuitis theMOST SERVICEDpart of the Treadmill. Not the motor, or theframe or the belt.An ideal warranty for the electronics is three years, with a oneyear warranty on service and a lifetime warranty on all the other bits.If you spend around $2000 up (normally the treadmills made in the USA) you will get a LIFETIME warranty on most of the components including the electronics.Also be weary because some of the treadmills advertised by e-traders have a motor made in theUSA but all the other components are made in China. You will normally get a 10 year Warranty if themotor is made in the US.Don't go for anythingthat has less than 10 years on the motor.Whatever you doDO NOT buy anything from e-traders thatonly has a 6 month warranty on its electronics - you will be inrealtrouble. It's the electronics you have to worry about because if the "BRAIN" power circuit goes then your machinewill notwork at all.It's a very timely and expensive processfor the call outs and forthe new power circuit which could cost a couple of hundred dollars.The treadmill I purchasedhadits power circuit boardslastonly 9 months both times it was replaced. There wasalso anabsolute refusal by the e-trader who sold it to meto give me a personal guarantee that the 3rd power circuit board would last.Alwayscheck that the treadmill meets Australian Standards with the C-tickrather than just European Standards as the Europeans are on adifferent testingsystem toAustralia and New Zealand.Tohave a C-tick the devices must go through stringent testingto comply withAussie regulations (just in case let's say the deviceburns your house downvia an electrical fire).If you check your electrical appliances e.g. TV, Computer,kitchen appliances, camerasetc. they should allhave the compliance C-tick on them (post 1998). Needless to say the treadmill I purchased did not have the relevant compliance notice on it.E-traders who advertise they accept refunds - you will find thatthe refund only applies forthe first 7 days.In hindsight nothingwill happen to the treadmill in the first 7 days (if something does go wrong in the first 7 days then get your money back anddon'taccept a replacement - it's only an indicationof what's to come).Also traders must not mislead consumers into believing that they have no right to a refund when they may have that right under the law. Examples of illegal signs are: 'No Refunds'