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4 Tips For Making Money Selling Used Clothing

Selling clothing can be a very promising industry. Whether you’re selling used items in a store or looking to do it online, it’s possible to carve out a successful business for yourself working in the second-hand business. People love saving money, and therefore buying consignment is something that will never go out of style.

In addition to being a great money saver, it’s also better for the environment to buy used. Even though you might be tempted to donate your clothes, selling them can be a better route if you’re looking to make some extra cash.

If you’re ready to get started selling used clothing, take a look at some of the best tips to get you started.

Know Your Ideal Customer

The basics of business will tell you that before you can hope to sell to anyone, you’ll need to know who your ideal customer is. The only way that you’re going to appeal to buyers is by knowing how to convince them that what you’re selling is worth it. Certain items of clothing will appeal more to groups of people than others. If you’re looking to sell your clothes on various sites, then know what works best on each.

For example, you may find that high-end labels work best in some places while vintage works better in others. Even though luxury brands may be able to sell for a higher price, you might not be able to find as many clients for that market, depending on the site.

Have Quality Merchandise

You’re not fooling anyone if you’re trying to sell clothing that is dirty or damaged. Stains or wrinkles will not build a positive reputation for yourself amongst buyers. Therefore make sure that you are selling things that you would pay the same for yourself. Sell merchandise that will make your customers happy. Never try to swindle anyone or be dishonest about what you’re selling. With so many online reviews nowadays, it’s only a matter of time until you start creating a negative name for yourself if you sell subpar merchandise.

Have Knowledgeable Staff

If you’re planning on selling in a brick and mortar store, then you should make sure that your staff represents you in a positive light. The best way to do this is to make sure that they are knowledgeable about your merchandise. There’s nothing more unprofessional than an employee who has no idea how to answer customers’ questions. Hire the right staff for your niche, who can assist your customers successfully.

Take Clear Photos

If you’re selling clothing online, you want to make sure that you’re posting high-quality professional-looking photographs. Blurry photos with bad lighting won’t help your sell clothing. Make sure to include various images of each product and be honest about any flaws.

Use The Latest Technologies To Build An Engaging Web Presence

Business today requires a visible web presence. The dependence upon the internet is such that you would swear it makes the world turn. Your business website is your online store location, so be sure to make it good.

Make it easy for web users to locate information regarding your business, and simultaneously make it easier to run your business by creating a web presence that makes a mark on users. Take some time to read through a few tips for building an engaging web presence, and get started today.

Relevance is important

When you design content to fuel your online presence, you need to keep it relevant. If you want web users who need your services to be able to find your business online, then you’ll need to create content that is relevant to your industry of operation.

Use Google’s keyword tools to decide upon the most suitable keywords and phrases to include within the text and metadata of your content. When your keywords are hot, your place in the SERPs (search engine results pages) will improve.

High-quality images and videos

When you design web content, it helps to mix media. People will spend more time exploring your content if they have pictures, videos, and sound to engage their interests.

Your business website will be well served by adding a page with informational resources. This Atomicorp page has podcasts, webinars, videos, and more for passing users to investigate.

Social media is high traffic

If you’re looking to gain exposure, social media is a great way to spread the word about your business. Make your own social media profiles for your business, and maintain your pages like you work to main your business website.

Add social media sharing icons to your content as well. Your business website, your blog posts, and even an email newsletter are all great places to plant social media sharing icons.

Mobile optimization is critical

Mobile optimization is critical to the efficiency of your digital content. Most online users are using a mobile device to access the web. Without mobile optimization, you risk alienating a great number of users from exploring your content.

Reach out through email

Email is a great addition to your web presence. Use your business website and your social media pages to offer numerous opportunities for web users to opt-in on your email mailing list.

Send out helpful information, special deals, and even a regular newsletter to your email rolodex to nurture an ongoing rapport with people. You can also use email to send out invoices and confirmations. Overall, email is a great connection to explore for any size business.

 

3 Things To Do If You Start Losing Control Of Your Vehicle

For many people, they don’t even have to be in a full-blown car accident to feel like they’ve had an emergency behind the wheel. Losing even part of your control when you’re driving a vehicle is enough to make any driver’s heart skip a beat.

So to help ensure that your minor loss of control doesn’t turn into a complete car accident that requires you to get your vehicle towed off the road, here are three things you should do if you start losing control of your vehicle.

Don’t Accelerate, But Don’t Jump On The Brakes Either

As soon as you start to feel like you’re losing control of your vehicle, the first and most important thing you should do is to take your foot off the gas. By beginning to slowly decelerate by stepping off the gas pedal, you’ll give your car a chance to slow down on its own and regain some of the control that you’ve lost.

Keep in mind, however, that while you’re taking your foot off the gas pedal, you don’t want to reapply it to the brake at the time of your loss of control. According to Andrei Zakhareuski, a contributor to Driving-Tests.org, braking suddenly can cause your car to go into even more of a slide and result in you losing further control.

Try Pumping Your Brakes

While braking suddenly can make your loss of control even more pronounced, there is a way to use your brakes that won’t typically make it harder for you to regain control of your vehicle.

According to Christopher Lampton, a contributor to How Stuff Works, the best way to use your brakes when you’re experiencing a loss of control is to pump your brakes. If you have anti-lock brakes, your car will automatically do this for you. But if your car doesn’t have ABS, you’ll want to step on and off your brakes to pump them on your own. By doing this, you will be able to regain traction on your wheels without locking up your brakes and disallowing yourself the chance to regain control.

How To Steer When Skidding

If you lose control of your vehicle due to a skid, be it on wet or icy roads, it’s important to know how to steer your vehicle out of this situation.

To help you with this, the California Department of Motor Vehicles advises that you always steer slightly into the direction that you’re skidding. By trying to correct your vehicle away from the skid, you could wind up overcorrecting, which could put you in even more danger. So unless you’re about to hit something head-on, it’s best to try to steer into the skid to reclaim some traction so that you can then have more control.

To help you protect yourself and others on the road, consider using the tips mentioned above if you ever lose control of your vehicle while you’re driving.

 

Easy Pet Hair Cleaning Hacks

Easy Pet Hair Cleaning Hacks

Dogs may be man’s best friend, but if any other friend was as difficult to clean up after, we’d probably get a new BFF. Fortunately for dogs, their fawning, slobbering, unconditional love seals the deal with our hearts. We just sigh, scratch behind their ears, and then spend the time it takes trying to rid the house of their pet hair as best we can.

Cats can also shed and leave little fluffy drifts of fur balls floating around the house. And for a home with both a dog and cat—well, the struggle is very real.

What’s With the Shedding?

Dogs and cats only sweat from the parts of their bodies that aren’t covered with fur, like their paws and noses. This means it can be more difficult for them to regulate body temperature. Part of their natural coping method for seasonal changes means they will grow fluffier winter coats when the weather cools, and then shed the extra fluffy hairs in the spring. Besides this seasonal shedding, dogs and cats shed some hair year round. Just as in humans, an animal’s hair falls out when it’s at the end of its life cycle. But for pets, the life cycle of each hair is shorter. They also have much more hair on their bodies than humans, resulting in a great deal of shedding. Some dog breeds shed more than others, so if you are extremely bothered by shedding, look for a dog breed that sheds less.

If the dog you chose—or the one that chose you—is an excessive shedder, getting rid of all the dog hair in your home can be a challenge. Fortunately, there are some great pet hair hacks, that can make this less of a chore.

Vacuum Away Pet Hair

It may seem like a no-brainer, but it has to be said. Frequent vacuuming can help keep pet hair from accumulating in your home. If your vacuum doesn’t seem effective against pet hair, you may be using the wrong vacuum. Look instead for one of the best vacuums for pet hair. There are many new vacuums on the market that are labeled as specially engineered for pet hair removal. Many of these come with attachments that make getting pet hair out of carpets and furniture easier.

Having a carpet can be a challenge when you have pets. If your pets are serious shedders, it might be worthwhile to have a good carpet cleaner in the house. Carpets should be thoroughly cleaned every six months to remove pet hair, stains, and odors.

Give Barney a Blanket

While it’s easy to say that you should not let your dog on the couch, we all know that in most cases this isn’t realistic. Dogs love couches, and we love to snuggle up with our best buddy at the end of the day.

One way to keep dog hair on your sofa at a minimum is to keep a dedicated dog blanket in your dog’s preferred spot. If you choose a fluffy blanket that matches your decor, this actually won’t look bad at all. When it starts to get furry, take it outside and give it a few shakes. Birds love weaving soft, fluffy dog hair into their nests, so you know there’s a chance that your pup’s fur will be put to good use.

Dry Sheets Do it All

Dryer sheets can do a lot more than make your clothes soft and static-free. Try Googling cleaning with dryer sheets, and you will discover that these versatile little white sheets can do anything from remove soap scum to get rid of dead bugs from your bumper and windshield. And on top of all of that—these sweetly-scented little sheets are fantastic fur removers! Rub down your couch cushions and dog beds with a couple of dryer sheets and you will not only remove fur, but you will also freshen your furnishings! This can actually help to make your cushions repel dust and pet hair in the future. Dryer sheets are also great for removing pet hair from baseboards and corners.

Tape it Away

If Fido’s fur is particularly stubborn, you can try using duct tape or packing tape to remove fur from furnishings, carpets, and clothing. This works better than a lint brush, is less expensive, and lasts longer. You can tear off a lengthy strip of tape and wrap it around your palms. Then simply use your hands to swipe away pet fur from any surface.

Another duct tape tip is to wrap it around a paint roller to make a giant lint roller. Then you can roll it across surfaces to collect massive amounts of pet fur in each roll.

A Window Squeegee Works Wonders

Window squeegees do more than clean windows. These are also handy tools for removing pet hair from carpets. Brush the squeegee back and forth in both directions against your carpet nap and you will see a nice pile of pet fur come to the surface for you to scoop up. Try doing this after running your vacuum and you will be surprised at how much fur your vacuum missed.

If your pet rides in the car with you often, a squeegee also works to remove pet hair from carpets and upholstery inside your car.

Beloved Balloons

If you’ve ever tried to sweep pet hair off of a tile or hardwood floor, you’ve probably spent time trying to chase down the fluffy drifts that fly away from your broom. This is especially true of lightweight car fur. Try inflating a balloon and rubbing it along your hard floor surface. You can harness the power of static electricity to collect all of that fly-away fur. If you have kids, this is a fun activity for them, and they might not even notice that they are helping you with a chore!

The Hairspray Hack for Hounds

A great quick tip for removing your favorite hound’s hair from your clothes before you head off to work is to spray a washcloth or hand towel with hairspray and use it to quickly brush fur off of your clothes. The hairspray attracts pet hair and quickly removes it from clothing, jackets, and shoes.

All of these pet hair hacks will help to minimize the loose fur floating around your home and on your clothing, but you can also help to reduce the amount of pet fur in your home by grooming your dog once or twice a week with a good brush or a de-shedding tool to remove the loose fur on your own terms. Doing this outdoors or on a porch can help keep the fur out of your home.

Grooming your dog is also a great bonding time and most dogs really enjoy it. Cats too!

4 Important Tips To Know Before Investing In A Smart Car

Who doesn’t want state-of-the-art technology? Especially in this age and time where high technology is becoming increasingly accessible. The smart car is one of these inventions with advanced technology and it makes the driving experience more comfortable and memorable. Hence, more people are considering investing in one for these and more purposes. There are some tips you need to know though before investing in a Smart Car and here are four of them.

Do Your Price Research

 

Before you begin any other steps necessary to get the car of your choice, make sure you do your research on the price. That means you should be familiar with the price range of the car you want to buy. Do not settle on the first deal you see but find out about other deals in your vicinity, compare them and make your choice from there. You do not want to go beyond your price range for the first deal when you can possibly get a much better one elsewhere if you do intensive research.

 

Ask as Many Questions As Possible

 

This is not the time to ignore your curiosity. When making an investment of this nature, it is essential to ask all the questions you might have concerning your potential purchase. If for instance, you are considering a smart car convertible and you have never used one before, asking questions are a good way to see if it would be a good option for your lifestyle and finances. Ask about the maintenance and other pertinent things before making your decision as this would ensure that you make a more informed choice.

 

Inspect the Vehicle

 

Excitement should not be the reason why you would not inspect the vehicle you are considering, be it new or fairly used. Sometimes, people purchase cars without inspecting them, and when they start driving it, they discover certain things that they didn’t notice in the purchasing stage. You do not want this to be your case so ensure that you inspect the vehicle thoroughly. Also, what you learn from examining a smart car can inform the negotiation process.

 

Don’t hesitate to negotiate

 

Some people are uncomfortable with negotiation, and that is okay. When investing in a car, especially when it is a used one, it is essential to negotiate reasonably. The worst that can happen is the seller refusing your proposed price. It can also go the other way if you negotiate well and you would be the better for it. Use the information you discovered about the car during your inspection to your advantage when negotiating so that you can get a much better deal.

 

At the end of the day, you have to pick a car that you would enjoy both functionality and aesthetic wise. These four tips should help ensure that you make an informed decision when getting the smart car of your choice. For more information, enquiries and concerns about getting a smart car, visit Sandown Smart today.

Tips For Traveling Safely With Kids In The Car

Every family needs the memories and moments experienced on a road trip, but there’s always the inevitable “Are we there yet?” lurking right around the corner. Kids don’t always take the monotony of traveling in the best way, so it’s important to know how to handle the casual chaos.

Driving with screaming kids in the back is a special kind of challenge. Prepare yourself with a little pre-trip research. Take a moment now to read through some travel safety tips for those road tripping with kids.

Prepare yourself for the drive

Before you ever pull out of your driveway, you should have taken steps to prepare your body and mind for the journey ahead. You don’t want to get into a car accident because you didn’t get enough sleep the night before.

Be responsible, and go to bed. Eat a healthy meal before you depart, and drink plenty of water while you’re traveling. If your body is in good shape, your mind will have less trouble following suit.

Pack with a list

Packing for your trip is an essential deciding factor on the level of awesomeness you enjoy while you’re away. If you don’t pack well, you’ll have inconveniences and challenges to tackle.

Take those irritations out of the equation, and plan well for your packing list. Go down the list the day before you’re set to depart, and check it twice. You don’t want to get two states away before you remember you left your phone charger.

Be prepared to stop

If you’re traveling with kids in the vehicle, you need to know that potty breaks are inevitable. Many potty breaks will arise along the way, and you have to be patient.

Don’t expect to make record time driving from point A to point B. If you relax about the time schedule, the trip will be a much more enjoyable experience for everyone involved.

Bring snacks and drinks

Save yourself some money, and pack a cooler for the trip. Give your kids healthier snacking options and spend less with one simple task. You’ll save a little time stopping too. If you don’t have to stop every time a belly rumbles, you’ll make more forward progress.

Entertainment is a must

Prepare to entertain the kids. If you’re making a super long road trip, they will get bored. Boredom leads to whining, bickering, and eventually screaming. Pack for maximum entertainment. It’s okay if your kids get a little more screen time than usual while you’re gone on vacation. It’s vacation!

Tips for Starting an Online Business

Are you considering starting an online business? This is something that many entrepreneurs are doing in today’s day and age because there are many perks to this type of business. First, an online business can be much cheaper to set up and operate because you do not have to have a fixed location — which can help you improve your bottom line significantly. Additionally, an online business can easily be run from your own home for a greater work-life balance and it allows you to target people from all around the world. Here are a few important tips for starting an online business:

Market Research & Business Plan

Much like any business, you need to make sure that you carry out market research and create a business plan. This will help you determine if it is a good idea, the current state of the market and who your competitors and target customer are. The business plan will then provide guidance and can be used to secure investment if necessary.

Strong Online Presence

It is essential that you have a high-quality website that will convert visitors into customers. The website needs to be attractive, functional and well designed so that users will stay on the page and discover why they should choose your brand over the competition. Additionally, you need to be active on the major social media channels and engage with your target audience to raise awareness and boost your reputation.

Use Digital Marketing

As an online business, you need to be easy to find, otherwise you will never succeed. This can be a huge challenge, particularly if you are operating in a completive industry. This is why you must use digital marketing to increase your visibility online. It is worth using the services of an experienced agency who will be able to deliver both long- and short-term results.

Make Cybersecurity a Priority

There are many online threats to your business, so it is vital that you make cybersecurity a priority. This will include educating yourself on the latest threats, using high-quality antivirus and being vigilant. You should also use DMARC services to make sure that your online business is not being misused by email which could damage your reputation beyond repair. Phishing is the most common scam so you need to make sure that your online brand is not being used as a cover in addition to avoiding this dangerous scam.

Focus on Customer Service

Many online business owners make the mistake of not focusing on customer service which could hold them back. Although most communication will be digital, a consumer still needs to feel valued and it needs to be easy for them to quickly contact you — otherwise they will go to the competition. Excellent customer service will help you attract and retain customers while developing a positive reputation.

These tips should help any online business owner to lay the foundation for what could be a successful venture. There are many perks to running an online business, but it does also pose a few unique challenges, so you must know how to overcome these if you are to achieve your goals.

Where to Use Brad Nails in Carpentry

There are several types of nails and within each nail family there are grades and sizes to consider, so what about brad nails, what are they used for? Well actually there are several uses for brad nails and there are a few grades of brad nails to consider which will be chosen based on the application, and whether interior or exterior usage.

What Are Brad Nails Used For?

Brad nails are fine nails with fine heads and therefore are designed for trim carpentry where you want to hold a delicate piece of wood to either another delicate piece of wood or to the main furniture. The fineness of the nail ensures it shouldn’t split the wood, and the small head leaves only a small entry point which can easily be covered with spackle.

Standard brad nails are 18 grade and tend to range from 3/8” up to 2”. They are used in attaching moldings, decorative trims, window beading and furniture trim. Other uses include picture frame building, upholstery panels, scribe moldings, and cabinet making.

Types of Brad Nails

The first consideration when selecting brad nails is the head type. There are B18 and AY series heads. B18 heads are medium sized heads and fit most brad nail guns, whereas a AY brad nails have a very small head not much bigger than the nail, and need a specialty AY brad nail gun, but of course they have a specific use where a smaller impression on nail entry is required.

Your next choice when it comes to brad nails is the corrosion grade, and your choice will depend on whether the finished product will be exposed to water or whether it is made from an acidic or oil-based wood.

Standard brad nails are electro galvanized which makes them suitable for interior use where corrosion isn’t of concern. If left exposed to the elements or nailed into ACQ treated lumber then they are likely to show signs of corrosion over time therefore it is better to select a 304 grade or 316 grade stainless steel nail instead.

304 grade brad nails are more expensive than electro galvanized standard brad nails, and 316 grade are more expensive again. This is because they are anti-corrosion treated and stainless steel so can cope with exterior usage and even submersion under water.

The 304 grade brad nail is suitable for typical outdoor application and will avoid discoloration and corrosion in most exterior locations. It can be used in ACQ treated lumber, redwood, cedar and any acidic or oil-based exotic woods.

316 grade stainless steel brad nails are the extreme choice! They are suitable for tropical climates, seaside locations, exposure to saltwater, and even water submersion as they are marine grade fasteners that will not stain, streak, corrode, rust or discolor themselves or the wood around them.

Brad nails are a staple product in the carpenter’s tool kit and if the correct grade is selected are the ideal choice for most fine trim carpentry work inside or outside.

3 Tips To Help You Save Money At The Gas Pump

Although many people and countries are trying to move away from using fossil fuels, the majority of people who own their own vehicles still use gas as their main source of fuel. And while many of those people would like another option, because biogas and its byproducts are so prevalent to consumers, this resource dominates the market.

But just because you’re needing to get gas to fuel your car doesn’t mean that you should have to pay more than is necessary for this resource. So to help ensure that you’re able to save as much money and as much fuel as possible, here are three tips to help you save money at the gas pump.

Consider How You Pay For Gas

One reason you might be paying more for gas each time you stop as a gas pump could be that you’re paying for your gas in the wrong way.

According to Anthony Giorgianni, a contributor to Consumer Reports, paying for gas with just a normal debit or credit card might be the worst way to pay for gas. Because many gas stations offer discounts on price if you use cash, stopping by an ATM on your way to fill up could save you at the pump. Additionally, if you fuel up using a credit card that gives you reward dollars or points for every purchase you make at a gas station, you could wind up saving in this way as well.

Make Your Car More Fuel Efficient

To reduce how often you’re having to visit the gas pump in the first place, it can be very helpful to do everything in your power to make your car more fuel-efficient.

To help you with this, Steve Gillman and Nicole Dow, contributors to The Penny Hoarder, recommend that you do things like keep your tires properly inflated, remove excess weight from your vehicle, and purchase the most fuel-efficient car for your needs. By doing these things, you can get more gas mileage for every gallon you put into your car in the first place, saving you from having to get gas as often.

Don’t Get Premium Unless You Have To

According to Melissa Neiman, a contributor to Money Talks News, so many people waste money on gas expenses by buying the wrong type of fuel for their cars.

While you might think that choosing premium gas for your vehicle would be an improvement, this type of gas isn’t required nor recommended for use in most cars. So unless the owner’s manual of your car explicitly states that this is the type of fuel you should be using, save your money by using regular unleaded instead.

To help you save money and fuel, consider using the tips mentioned above to spend less at the gas pump.

 

Precautions to Take When Renting For the First Time

Renting for the first time can be daunting, especially if you have just moved out of your family home or are preparing to move in with your partner. When you decide to rent, there are several precautions that you need to take to ensure that you and your finances are protected for the duration of your time in the accommodation; this guide will help to explain the key ways in which you can protect yourself when renting.

1. Take out Renters Insurance

Renters insurance is vital for anyone that decides to rent property, as this will help to care for your possessions in the event of threats such as fire and theft. Although your landlord may have an insurance policy in place to protect their assets, this will not cover your own possessions, and so it is important that you are able to create a separate policy for your own belongings.

As to cheap insurance, Insurance Geek can help you to find comprehensive policies that can assist you in securing the compensation you need in the event of damages.

2. Perform an Inventory

Next, to protect yourself against any charges incriminated by your landlord on vacating the property, it is important that you take a full inventory of the home before you move in. Not only should you create a checklist that details what items are already within the home, but you should also take pictorial evidence to support this inventory, and prove that it is correct. This visual inventory should include pictures of any damage within the building, ensuring that the landlord in question does not charge you for any issues or repairs that are related to this damage.

3. Protect Your Deposit

In most cases, you will put down a deposit in order to pay for any damage that you incur during your stay. However, you need to make sure that your deposit is protected from your perspective as well. Although, in the UK, there are government-funded deposit protection schemes which can help to ensure that disputes are settled easily, in the USA, you need to be savvier when it comes to looking after your deposit, and you should always perform an inventory and check the lease agreement for the necessary terms and conditions.

Additionally, in some states, such as Texas and Illinois, there is a limit on the security deposit amount that landlords can charge, and you should be aware of this.

4. Understand Your Tenancy Agreement

Lastly, before you commit yourself to a rental agreement, it is vital that you are able to understand your tenancy agreement. You should check this agreement to ensure that it covers all of the terms that you need, and that you understand how to extend the agreement if necessary. This means that you should avoid rushing into a lease or tenancy agreement which you do not agree to and check that you have read all of the different terms, such as the landlord’s stance on repairs, pets, and your ability to have guests.

 

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