UsedEverywhere is Giving Back

So as we near the holidays, the spirit of love and giving is in the air.  I notice that as usual this time of year, most people seem generally happier.  I seem to get more smiles and nods  and “have a good day’s”.  Strangers are way more tolerant of my kids.  I’m way more tolerant of my kids.  It’s nice.

And every year at this time, I’m reminded of how lucky we are as a family – we really do have everything and for that, I’m so very grateful.  But along with those happy thoughts come feelings of empathy and a little guilt as I think about those who are not so fortunate; I ask myself what I can do to help people out who aren’t so cheery this time of year.  Two years ago, we gave money to charity in lieu of gifts but I still felt disconnected from the act of giving.  So last year we handed out cups of hot apple cider and dog treats to everyone walking on the trail on front of our house on Christmas day.  We had carols playing and at times we had big groups stopped at our table – total strangers, people and dogs alike – mingling, chatting and even singing.  There were even a couple of teary ‘thank-you’s’.  But what amazed me was that so many people seemed surprised that we were giving just for the sake of it.  You know what?  That was the best Christmas day ever.  Maybe it was because we spent it together.  Maybe it was because we made people smile.  Maybe it was because it had nothing to do with anything but the moment.

So this year, aside from giving personally, I wanted to do something bigger and use my position at UsedEverywhere to help make some lives just a little bit better.  We have the stuff and there’s definitely lots of need, so we decided to see what we could do to help out local charities and non-profits. As I said we have the stuff, so we’re buying items from our Used sites that these charities need to run their programs.  A new non-profit has asked us for some office furniture to get them started and we’re helping out a couple of women’s shelters and families starting over with some household items.   It seems insignificant to buy dish towels for a shelter, but things like this are desperately needed by organizations where every penny is paramount to helping those in need.

So you may hear from me if you have things posted for sale on our Vancouver Island sites and look for our posts on our Facebook page and UsedVictoria Facebook group if we need your help.  To those of you who have already contributed to our wish list – thanks.  A few of you have been exceptionally generous and donated items as well – very much appreciated.  And as long as people are out walking their dogs on our neighbourhood trail on Christmas day, we’ll be out there handing out dog cookies and hot cider – just because.

4 Interesting Nuggets of UsedEverywhere Information

Working at UsedEverywhere for the past year has opened my eyes in a way to the vast scope of the Internet. For many, including myself, it’s the future of newspaper. We get up in the morning and surf our favorite websites with a cup of coffee and a bagel, but we don’t necessarily think about all of the other people who are doing the exact same thing. I didn’t at least, until I saw just how many people browse and post ads on our site, and we’re just a small slice of the Internet pie. Below are a few facts about UsedEverywhere.com in 2010 that I hope will blow your mind to the extent that they did mine, or at least just make you think a little. Enjoy.

4) The top 3 most searched words in 2010 were:

1. Free – Everyone likes free stuff and many of you were searching for it. What most people don’t seem to know is that you can see everything that’s listed as “free” on our site with the click of a button. Check out our Advanced Search Options tutorial from way back when.
2. iPhone – It’s no surprise that in 2010, the year of the iPhone 4, everyone was out to get a piece of the Apple pie. Our website happened to be a platform for the selling and reselling of the coveted product, which was the second most searched term across Canada and the UK.
3. Ps3 – The Playstation 3 was released in 2006 at an incredibly high price-point and with only a small selection of games. It may have had a slow start, but in the last year or two it has gained the traction that it needed to (arguably) outperform its competitors. On our sites at least, the Ps3 is the third most searched word.

3) The Most Viewed ad of the year is:

This poor gent is still looking for his dog. Almost a full year and 61,262 people later he’s still trying. Kudos to Neil for not giving up.

2) The most expensive car posted in 2010 goes to:

1) The total value of goods sold on UsedEverywhere.com in 2010 was:

$5,031,628,792 (that’s over 5 billion dollars, didn’t you know)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Customize Your Own Holiday Paper

Last week Andrea impressed with a creative little customized gift box. I really liked that you could rip a page out of just about anything you could find, from National Geographic or Adbusters to a clipping from your local newspaper. Then I got thinking, how could you do the same for all of your holiday gifts? The answer that I found wasn’t necessarily orignal, but it’s something that my family hadn’t done before. You see, we would end up buying several rolls of expensive paper and in the end, everyone’s gifts would look the same. I never complained about it at the time, but it would have been so nice to get something that was created just for me.

So here’s an idea for customized wrapping paper that I’m sure has been done a thousand times before, but that I nevertheless found inexpensive and endearing.

Step 1) Supplies You’ll Need:

• Craft Paper – I found a huge roll of brown craft paper at the local post office for $5, you’ll be able to too. It’s about 10 times larger than your average wrapping paper and 10 times cheaper. This will last you through Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa.
• Sharpie Pen – Simple enough, right? There’s really all the room in the world to play around with your weapon of choice. Crayons, pencil, markers, whatever.
• Tape – For wrapping purposes of course.
• Gifts!

Step 2) Wrap Your Gift

You’ve done it year in and year out, so I won’t go over the basics of gift wrapping. The important thing to keep in mind here is that you want to wrap before you draw. Placement is everything and you’ll have a tricky time lining up your swords and princess dresses if you do it in reverse.

Step 3) Draw, Paint, Sculpt, Sketch.

Ok, we sort of cheated on this one. Alfie happens to have a Graphic Designer brother, so we pulled him in for some wrapping paper handy-work (check out Ryan’s other work at www.designrb.ca, it’s definitely worth a look). You certainly don’t need a professional to do the deed. In fact, rough sketches and bad drawing can be even more endearing. The goal here is to pick up a utensil and try your best (and no one said tracing is a sin).

Step 4) Present the Presents

When it comes time to reveal your masterpiece, present the gift to your kids, significant other, or whomever and take note of their reaction. If all goes well, they’ll spend just as much time admiring the box as what’s inside.

If you’re feeling adventurous and you’d like to try it yourself, take some shots and send them in (michaelc@usedeverywhere.com). I’ll post whatever I get on the blog to inspire the next group of DIYers.

Buying Gifts – New or Used?

We seem to be talking a lot lately about buying gifts for Christmas and whether it’s OK to buy used (pre-loved) ones or even new ones from a Used site.  Here are my thoughts on the subject if the recipient is not a close friend or family member:

1. Buy only new and unopened items. I’ve bought new items (hostess gifts and presents for children I don’t know well) from UsedVic to stock my “I forgot to buy a gift and we’re due at the party in 1 hour” box.  These are small items that I like to keep on hand for last minute events or poor planning on my part.  This box is stocked with those nifty one-of-a-kind $10 items – like candle holders, seasonal platters and kid-crafty things. The Used sites also have lots of ads for homemade and handcrafted items that make great gifts.
2. If asked don’t hide the fact that you bought the gift from a Used site.  Besides, why is this any different than buying a item on sale?  Or buying something from the “Clearance” section at PotteryBarn.com.  Something has to be pretty fantastic for me to pay full retail price – gift or not. Like the fabulous must-have leopard print Calvin Klein coat I bought a couple of weeks ago.  I paid full-price but from a discount store, so that’s kind of like getting it on sale.
3. If you think the recipient would be offended, don’t do it. Err on the side of caution.  But I personally wouldn’t be buying gifts for someone who’d get her panties in a twist over a gift purchased through classifieds instead of a major department store.  My kind of person appreciates the thought and the deal.

If the gift is for someone you know well, a used (and maybe imperfect) gift is perfectly acceptable.  I do it all the time.  In fact a gentleman bought our old BBQ to give to his son for his Birthday.  He was going to replace the burner and tadaa! – a perfectly good BBQ.  He bought it from us for $20 and the burner cost another $40 so I think that’s a win/win/win.  His son gets a BBQ, he didn’t pay retail, and it’s not growing moss and housing a family of rats our deck.

Used sites are a great resource for buying electronics for my kids.   I know those gifts will be lost/broken/eaten/melted long before they die of natural causes - so I can’t justify spending a lot of money on them.  That 5 year-old iPod that looks like it got ran over by a car is perfectly fine for my kids.  I’d rather pay $20 and know that I’ll likely be replacing it within 6 months than spend $220 and have the kids so scared they might break it that they don’t even use it.

My friends and family expect things from UsedVic.  They love the kooky gifts I find – like the Margarator from the summer of 2009.  The Birthday hamster for my daughter.   The Birthday TV for my husband.  The DS, the DS games, the model cars, skis…all gifts for friends and family.  If anything it takes more time and thought to search out the perfect gift from a Used site than it does to go to the nearest Future Shop.  It’s more fun too!

The "Merry" Useful Postcast #3

Take three avid UsedEverywhere users, who also happen to work for UsedEverywhere; throw them into a room together and what do you get? A lot of insight.

This month we talk about what the seasons is really all about and, is it o.k. to by used christmas gifts? Plus, We’re asking for guests. Want to be on the next podcast? Or just have some questions we can tackle on the next podcast? Post in the comment section we’ll take a gander.

Click on the purple play button below!

Selling on our Facebook Page

Since the inception of the UsedEverywhere Facebook Page there have been people posting their goods for sale on our wall. Fair enough, I say. We’re an online classifieds site, so why wouldn’t you be able to hawk your wares wherever we are on the net?

There are a few complications however, when it comes to posting on Facebook as opposed to your local Used site. For example, when you post to one of our sites, you are bound by our ad placing requirements. In other words, we won’t let you post an ad if you don’t include the necessary information (ie: price, location). On Facebook, you can post whatever you want in whatever format you want. What we’ve seen so far is that a lot of people are forgetting to post their price and/or location, which sort of defeats the point, don’t you think?

Another concern is that our Facebook Page is for everyone from Victoria to Ottawa, from the U.K. to Australia. Even though there is a select group of people from your city that may be interested in what you have to offer, there are a lot of people who aren’t. With all of this in mind, we need your help to decide how to handle all of these ads. Here are the options that we’ve come up with. Let us know what your vote goes to in the comments below.

Option 1) Allow ads that include an item description, location, and price, while deleting ads that are incomplete or that contain personal information such as phone numbers and/or email addresses (just looking out for you!).

Option 2) Delete all ads posted to our Facebook Page. No exceptions.

Option 3) Don’t mess with it. People will post what they want to post and ignore what they want to ignore.

Your opinion matter. Post it in the comments section!

Where Do You Find Your Holiday Trinkets?

The other day our office was invited to join a “pod decorating contest.” We were told that we had 2 hours to glitz up our space with whatever trinkets, bibelots, and gimcracks we could find. Everything seemed simple enough until… wait, I don’t even know where to find baubles, gewgaws, and trifles, let alone trinkets, bibelots, and gimcracks. Where does one even start!?

Growing up I celebrated Christmas with my family, and over the years my parents built a large and eclectic ensemble of ornaments. We had small German dolls from my grandparents, cinnamon sticks from the kitchen, an ugly cat that was given as a gift (and reluctantly hung every year), and an electronic Christmas tree train that I’m sure was bought to halt my tears. For better or worse, every piece seemed to have it’s place in our family history. But now that I’m on my own, am I doomed to spend the Holiday season without a collection of my own? Am I even allowed to buy ornaments in bulk? Is it kosher to buy used or do I have to wait for someone to gift me ugly cats and other miscellaneous treasures?

In the end, the Used Crew approached the situation from just about every angle. A few brought in heirlooms of their own (or in Charlotte’s case, a trunk of heirlooms), we all spruced up our computer monitors with crackling fireplaces, and Jose bartered on UsedVictoria.com for a fancy piñata. It was a hodge podge of family histories, but it certainly worked.

My question to you is, no matter what Holiday you celebrate, where do you get your holiday trinkets? And if you were to buy used, would you go for the classics or is a light-up Star Trek Enterprise more your style?

Does the environment matter when we're cold?

As Summer ended and the snow began to fall, I noticed something strange on our blog. The number of posts discussing the environment, climate-change, and the like gradually declined. It wasn’t intentional, and as an organization we’re still very much invested in the reusing and repurposing of goods for the betterment of our small planet. So why the change? I have a theory that when the snow hits and the wind chills, our mammalian priorities shift. After all, how does one find the time to worry about global warming when one’s eyelids are frozen shut?

Winter means using more energy to heat your apartment, more gas to drive your car, and ultimately more money to stay comfy. Conveniently enough, being conscious of your Winter footprint will often lessen the season’s impact on your bank account. But what takes precedence, your creature comforts or a small contribution to the environmental cause? Below are a few ideas that could help you save a tree and some money. The comments section below is specifically designed to house your thoughts, so let me know what you do to save the snow-covered Earth.

• Take the bus to work/school. Carpooling is a good idea anytime of the year, but in the Winter it has the added benefit of reducing the number of cars on the road (and reducing emissions).
• Buy a blanket instead of a heater. A cozy blanket will keep you warm for the nightly news while saving you loads on your heating bill.
• Buy ‘experienced’ presents and wrap them in newspaper. We wrote a blog a while ago on buying used at Christmas and a few of you seemed to be into the idea. Save a treasure from the landfill and wrap it in paper you already have (we’ll have more on this later in the week).
• Use lamps, not lights. It’s becoming darker outside earlier than ever, but that doesn’t mean that your entire house/apartment needs to be lit up like a Christmas tree. Lamps generally use a lot less electricity than ceiling lights, so try to use more of the former and turn off everything when possible.

Have ideas of your own? Drop them in a comment below!

Don't be Such a Good Parent

I got some great parenting advice last week.  An acquaintance asked me about how my knee was doing and when my surgery date was.  I told her that I go in for surgery next week and that Christmas will be pretty low key this year because I’ll be off my feet for the weeks leading up to it.  She said “I have one piece of advice.  Be helpless and do nothing.  Don’t be such a good parent.”  She recounted that one year she was laid up at Christmas and didn’t do anything – no decorating, no baking - so her kids did it all.  The moral of the story was if we do things because we assume our kids can’t, they never will.  Sometimes it takes just not doing something to prove to them that they are capable.

So they can do all the Christmas decorating this year.  I (begrudgingly) will have to accept that my thoughtfully colour coordinated reindeer and glittery balls won’t end up in their perfectly designed pre-designated spot.  Only the bottom 4 feet of the tree will be decorated and the garland with mini lights and tulle won’t be perfectly spaced on the stair railings.  I just won’t invite Martha for dinner this year;  she never comes anyway. 

And maybe I’ll get a bell…you know the little brass ones that people used to use to summon ‘the help’.  The kids can take turns being ‘on call for Mama’; they can bring me juice.  And they’ll have to look after themselves a bit more over the next few weeks; I’m even thinking of getting my surgeon to sign the list below.

For the next 3 weeks, Sharene CANNOT:

1. Pull or push anything with a motor. 
2. Do any bending, stretching or twisting.  That gets me out of everything else.
3. Cook (just on principle).  They know where the crackers and peanut butter are.
4. Lift or carry anything heavier than a glass of wine.

They’ll figure it out.  There is no reason why the kids can’t make their own lunches, put away their clothes and feed the pets.  They don’t need me to pour juice and put away their socks.  The only reason I do it is because it gets done the way I want and there’s less risk of mess to clean up if they do something themselves.  Take the gingerbread house for example; I’ll set them loose on the assembly and decorating.  Yes, there will be icing EVERYWHERE and those horrible little coloured sprinkle things in every crevice and corner but they’ll have fun and best of all – I won’t have to do it.  Plus it’ll keep the dog busy for hours afterwards cleaning up those horrible little coloured sprinkle things from every crevice and corner.

Bottom line is that the kids are capable, very capable if you let them.  I might even let them to cook the turkey this year.

Gifts for the birds

For the next few weeks I’m going to save you from the shopping mall and post some easy holiday gift ideas you can make at home. First up, gifts for the birds.

These little bird feeders are incredibly quick and easy to make. I usually have all the materials lying around the house already. Even better, I get the kids involved and make it a family affair. They love it.

You will need:

• pine cones or stale bagels
• peanut butter
• bird seed (you can buy seed in manageable quantities from the bulk store)
• string or ribbon

If your pine cones are sticky with sap, line a tray with foil and bake them in a 200F oven for about 20 minutes. (If you happen to get sap on your hands during this process, rub them with a bit of shortening and then wash the whole mess off with dishsoap and you’ll be sap-free in no time.)  

The pine cones will open up a bit more during baking and won’t be as sticky, and as a bonus, your house will smell amazing. After the pine cones cool down a bit they are ready to be decorated with seeds! (If you don’t have any pine cones, stale bagels work well too.)

Using a knife, smear your pine cone or bagel all over with the peanut butter. The PB can be crunchy or smooth (it doesn’t really matter) but I like to cut mine with a bit of bacon fat. It’s good for the birds, and gives me a reason to use the bacon fat I’ve been saving all year long. (Grandma would be proud.) Roll the pine cones or bagels in your seed mixture, thread a string or ribbon through them and you’re done! If you’re using bagels you can also just hang them on the branches. See? Easy.

Decorate your trees, or your neighbour’s trees (!) as a gift. It makes a lovely and festive decoration, especially now that the leaves are gone. Our feathered friends will thank you.