do your own thing.......

thats always my goal.....and our customers.....they are so fun and creative.........thats what i love about the junk/antique/recycled business.... ...

good moves

some of the things that have helped us grow are kind of unplanned,,,
,sometimes things just fall together and fit nicely.....

.....meaning once in a while we are smart enough to answer when opportunity knocks...

....several years ago when jon gave me a yardlong picture for christmas....it was so nice.we had carpenters, we had julie who could run off to pennsylvania, ..and walla...a new big business for a few years.....we sold them at market sq at heritage and by mail..

..another time ..jon ,with a new wife and baby...we had the stuff she was smart enough to do the computer so we had 5 good years on ebay...still on but barely..4000+ feedback tho!!!

now with 2 customers with huge needs.....we are trying to be totally accomadating, we are working hard to fill their needs, and in the best way for them, that we can muster.....all our connections are aimed at getting the right stuff for one of them.....and making the right stuff for the other......everybody we deal with, meaning buy from, knows we need a certain kind of buffet,.... and all our carpenters are up to date on the needs of the other woman....they really care!! if she likes something...

my point is that those 4 ideas/people, keep/ kept us going ,....pumped up the business in a long term manner....and they werent exactly planned....but they did present themselves and we reacted....

.farther back for us , in the good antique time, were 3 or 4 good customers who we totally catered to, great customers who bought over 30,000 a year from us...our suppliers would bring something in and say this is for ruthie....and never met her...she was from alabama. that was wonderful ..
..but all that changed.. the whole antique world as iwe knew it crashed before our eyes.....
..still have the friendships tho!!!

when we cater to and try to bend over backwards to deal with someone it only works if it is on terms acceptable to us...still no credit or layaway or delivery....a few exceptions...it has to be honestly win/win.....

.
... every new idea sure hasnt worked.and we have passed up on lots im sure, that could have worked...but i sure hope im open and paying attention when the next big opportunity happens...

snafu

i hate when this happens....the lady was nice about it...but mad....and it wasnt her fault......our place is real big with lots of parts... outside was a big double wash tub....a lady asked me the price...and i told her...she went in and paid for it....but wade the guy selling outside also sold it....at about the same time....

our safety net on this is when someone says i will take this we put a sold tag on it....the lady who paid first didnt say that....and the lady who didnt pay first said that....and we didnt put the sold tag on it for her......we dont have it figured out for sure who actually should have been first.......

not a good situation!!!! it shows how important our policies are....and how we should really think about the customer....as in if you want this for sure you have to tell me so i can put your name on it....that can sound kind of pushy but pretty important here.......wade was perfect for this except for not getting the tag on it like he should have.he is so tactful and nice and kind of salvaged it as well as possible...

...i think he grovelled and said , his ladyship i would have his guts for garters for messing it up... he told me that later, when i asked him how he solved it......

it was a mess....we ahd about 15 carloads of buyers in the place at that time....