I don't drive a car, in fact I don't own a car. In 1991 my brother and I, both sadly out of shape, were trying to decide where we would have breakfast. We were visiting Worcester, Massachusetts for the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. We were fans, definitely not athletes. Having left our car at the motel, we ruled out any place that required walking up a hill. Legend has it that the city sits atop seven hills: Airport Hill, Bancroft Hill, Belmont Hill (Bell Hill), Grafton Hill, Green Hill, Pakachoag Hill and Vernon Hill. Actually, there are more than seven hills. Other hills include; Indian Hill, Poet's Hill, Wigwam Hill among others.
We weren't left with many choices for breakfast. When I returned home I knew I needed to make some life altering choices, or I would probably die at an early age. I don't take well to diet routines. I'm a bold stroke person. I decided to walk and bicycle everywhere....to imagine I did not have a car. This was late March. In November the car needed to be moved, because the new winter parking bans only allowed parking on the opposite side of the street. The car hadn't been driven, the engine hadn't even been turned over, since that fateful day in March. I didn't even know where to find the keys.
If you asked several people to define their automobile you would get many different answers:
- My niece would say "My life"
- A randy, seventeen year old college freshman might say "cheaper than a motel"
- Back in 1991 I would have said "My coffin"
I have been actively blogging again these last few months. One of the first things I did, along with writing posts, was reintroduced myself to the Entrecard community. What is Entrecard you may ask. Like an automobile, you will get many different answers:
- A collection of over 20,000 blogs, many scrumptiously delicious
- A means to increase your readership by dropping the equivalent of a business card on participating blogs. The hope is that members will visit your blog, and possibly comment on a post or two
- A means to drive traffic to your blog by advertising on blogs with credits earned from dropping these business cards on participating blogs.
It was fun to see that the debate over the best use of Entrecard, the best placement of the widget (my card is to the left of my post title, the business card with the letter E and the word "drop") and the best dropping strategy for the EC (Entrecard widget) was as lively as ever. I actually offered my two cents worth of wisdom on the forum:
- "Sometimes I think we confuse apples and oranges when arguing the pros and cons of the placement of the EC widget. For some of us, the widget and dropping is a traffic generation tool. In that case, the positioning of the widget would be a priority. I believe that the search for readers involves many tools..... Of course, without interesting content and eye catching design and images, readers will be tough to come by, and tougher to keep."
I was also pleasantly surprised to learn that Entrecard is starting a Market, a storefront where members can sell goods and services for Entrecard Credits. Unlike eBay and Amazon there is not a high cost of entry; nor a high cost to play. In fact, it's much cheaper than a motel! It's free.
I sell actively in my eBay store, on my own storefront and generate sales through email requests (invoicing with Paypal). To determine the price point for the Entrecard marketplace I needed to place a value on an EC credit. There have been many arguments over this topic, and I threw them all out with the trash. I was more concerned as to My Value for a credit. I have been away from Entrecard for a period of time, so I am only now accumulating a bank of credits to use for advertising my blogs. I calculated my time spent dropping my cards per day and used this to factor into my net credit value:
- credits earned from dropping my EC card on blogs,
- credits earned from others dropping their EC card on my sites
- Credits earned from fees earned for ad placements on my blogs
- Less: credits I paid to in fees to advertise on the blogs of others
One can question the science, but to me an Entrecard credit has a value of $ 0.03 (three US cents). I charge $ 20.00 plus an additional $ 1.75 for handling for an 8 by 10 inch print on Ebay. The buyer also pays for shipping (figure $ 2.00 postage and packaging). After the eBay and Paypal fees I net approximately $ 16.00 for an 8 by 10 print. Since the Entrecard market is new, I tried to price my product at a 40% discount. I knew I would have to include the shipping costs in my calculations. I set my initial prices at 400 EC's (400 x .03 = $12.00). Since I will be absorbing the postage and packaging my net sales price is $ 9.50 or 59% of my eBay net sales. Now hidden in my eBay structure are a lot of fixed fees for my storefront and listing costs of non sold inventory. None of these are currently issues in the Entrecard marketplace.
I am excited. This is a niche market, but a niche market with a low cost of entry. I listed some prints before dawn; yes, I am excited. I was surprised at the ease to set up an inventory item given that the market is still in beta. I hope to offer 8 x 10 unmounted prints and note cards. They are easy to ship and each individual has their own price sensitivity and quality standards for framing and mounting. Those products are much better left to the local frame shops. The images I used in this post: the Mocko Jumbies (Stilt Walkers), The Bakers Drumming and the Kite Surfer In Orbit are available in my inventory. You can click the images or see My Inventory. If this takes of, dare I dream that this may become a market to sell my comic books?
You may also enjoy reading: Like a poem poorly written.
Also, may I recommend for your enjoyment: The puzzle that is me
Stumble It!
website: Time-less-image
web blog: Comics Legends and Lore
web blog: Time Less Images
web blog: Tom's Cats
web store: Time-Less-Image Ebay Store
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