LOOK...AND YOU MAY FIND IT

Every once in awhile we wonder why we search for treasures...and then sell them ?

There are probably many reasons:
It's just plain fun to shop
To find a bargain we can pass along
Locate something that is no longer made
Our search for items of true quality and craftsmanship
The search for the rare and unusual
And so on.......

Then...our customer shares their story with us...and we understand why we do what we do....

"Just wanted to say thank you for putting this pattern on ebay. The teddy bear, was a childhood toy my Aunt made for me one christmas, it was latter lost in a move of mine. The mouse was my younger sisters and I plan on making it as close the the one she had as a present. I never thought I would see this pattern. Once again thank you, this pattern will be used with love."

The moral of this story...never stop looking...you never know when we might have what you have been looking for.

JIGSAW PUZZLES = BRAIN FOOD

We're not experts...but good common sense suggests not only can jigsaw puzzles be fun and challenging, but they can be great brain food!
Jigsaw puzzles provide brain exercise and training, and help develop the ability to reason, analyze, improve hand-eye coordination, etc. As you solve a jigsaw puzzle, you engage your brain to retain information on shapes and colours in order to choose pieces that will fit together properly. This entire hunt for pieces denotes that your brain will need to memorize what each piece looks like or should look like and what kinds of pieces you are searching for in order to complete the picture. Doing this repeatedly reinforces short-term memory.
Medical reasons aside...solving a single piece to completing a jigsaw puzzle can be very satisfying.

We offer many types of new and used jigsaw puzzles by many different makers that we have found in our travels...3D, cork, wood, cardboard, plastic, round, square, landscapes, buildings, animals, space, cartoon, vintage, artwork, etc.

When we find used jigsaw puzzles, we take the time to do the puzzle, challenge our brains, to make sure all pieces are there for the next puzzler. Listed as *complete* in our stores.

And yes...from time to time we get to the end and find a piece or six missing, but we suck it up and go on....knowing at the very least we have helped our brain :)

Remembering "Hi-Q"

Do you remember the puzzle game "Hi-Q" by Tryne Games?

It seems such a long time ago spending time with family and friends playing "Hi-Q". A very simple game...one we could play anytime, anywhere, alone or as a team. 'Hi-Q' existed long before remote control TV, video games, cell phones and computers.

Always trying to become an 'Einstein' by solving the puzzle in the fastest time allowing us to "take a deep bow".

Most of the time we were "good",

the odd time "really clever",

and once in a while "a sharpie".

In our recent travels, we've come across a complete vintage "Hi-Q" puzzle game, complete with extra pegs in it's original box!

Soon we will be listing the item for sale....watch for it....and spend some time with family and friends and challenge the mind!

ITEM IS NOW SOLD!

Leisure Suit Larry Land of the Lounge Lizards

Hey Everyone - check this out!

Just found Leisure Suit Larry Land of the Lounge Lizards. Wow, does that bring back memories for us. We owned this at one time, long long ago, passed it to my Sister and her family, who passed it to my Mom and Dad who put it in a drawer, where it sat for some time.

Old games often get tossed, but obviously this one held a special 'something' for everyone.

We've decided to let the classic dos 5.0 game go to a collector and will be listing the item again soon. If you are this collector and can't wait, feel free to contact us.

ITEM IS NOW SOLD!

EBAY CHANGES and LOOKING FOR ALTERNATIVES

It seems to us eBay has become an online auction site geared to big volume department store type sellers – what are your thoughts on this?

We’d like share with our customers some of eBay’s policy changes and fee increases having such a dramatic impact on us, and in turn affect the Buyer. Our small store is now in a “move on” position, as we do not feel it’s fair to pass these excessive costs on to our customers. The result of these changes has forced us to test the waters via eBid.net, another auction site that has been online since 1999. Links to our store & listings can be found at the bottom of our blog or at our website (packratz.ca).

There seem to be few advantages left for the small seller on eBay. Customer traffic is the biggest advantage as eBay is the largest on-line auction site – no other site can compare YET. We have been members of eBay since 2004 and have built a 100% feedback reputation and we will keep our eBay store open with a smaller inventory.

Here are just a few of the factors that are pushing us to move away from eBay.

1) Fee changes, which are for the most part invisible to the Buyer, and results in the small seller having to ask a higher price, putting more money in eBay’s pockets. Yet they offer discounts to large volume sellers, putting money in eBay’s pocket much quicker.

2) The new feedback detailed seller rating system (DSR) allows a Buyer to anonymously answer 4 questions and rate the seller on a scale from 1 to 5 stars. You would think 4 stars would be good, and it does have little to no impact on volume sellers, but to a small seller it is devastating.

3) Overall feedback ratings now dictate where a seller is placed in search results. Large volume sellers can have neutral/negative feedback but it won’t affect their search rating, but small sellers are penalized in search results and in some cases 30 day selling restrictions. Search results no longer default to ‘ending soonest’, but rather ‘best match’.

With all of these changes going on in the background, eBay is not what it once was for the average seller, it has become big business! Returns for shareholders seem to be the key factors for their changes. What makes it more apparent is the fact eBay is gearing up to remove payment by cheque/money order, basically it’s PayPal ONLY (on the .com – so far). eBay owns PayPal which guarantees more money to them by removing other payment options to Buyers. Perhaps this is a story for another day?

It would be great to hear back from eBay sellers & store operators, and see what else may be available to enthusiasts such as ourselves who are searching for new pastures.
Thanks for listening – Gig