Proclamations & Confessions

Well...I may have inadvertently started a small business.
I'm not sure, but I'll be doing research this weekend.

It started a few months ago when this company, Me and My Big Ideas, released these cute little "Wellness" planners and stickers. The Happy Planner culture is more like a damn cult, fueled by bored housewives. You see, they release products exclusively at a few different stores. Joann's, Micheals, Hobby Lobby, and Walmart all carry different items. Of course, the variety varies by location. So, only Walmart had these Wellness items. But not all Walmart stores. Women were going crazy! They would buy up the stock and then resell it for twice as much through Facebook or Etsy, etc. I'm not a sucker, I waited until my store had it. But it really pissed me off. I'm all for making a little extra money, but shit. Marking up a sticker book by 75% just seems wrong. Then again, if people want to waste their money it's their choice.

I love craft stores and I frequent them often. I can do some damage with my teacher's discount and a stack of coupons. So when this company, MAMBI, released another wave of products, I discovered that my stores had some sought after items. I bought a bunch of stuff my sister had wanted for around half price, then sold it to her for the regular price when I went for a visit. Hey, it paid my gas for driving 200 miles! Cool beans. After I got home, her sister-in-law and a couple of friends asked if I would see if I could find them some specific stuff. Sure, why not? They sent me the money through PayPal because I'm not the type of person just has an extra hundred laying around to go shopping. One woman asked if I would sell it to her through eBay so that she could build up her buyer rating. It seemed like a reasonable request, so I did. But then, of course, she had a friend. Well, I don't really know these people, so again I used eBay & PayPal. Being the thrifty shopper that I am, I was able to pay both eBay & PayPal their cut and still come out ahead. It's like shopping for free- fun! Plus, Ravyn's birthday is Monday and I could use some extra money.

Now suddenly, it's June and I've had $1400 in sales for the year.
Plus, I may have gotten ahead of myself and bought more than I intended.
So it's listed on eBay.

You see where I'm going with this, right?

Yesterday, Ravyn & I did some crafty projects to pass the time. Or rather, I forced her to spend time with me instead of holing up in her room as usual. She said, "Hey, I bet we could sell these. That'd help with your hernia surgery right?" Bless her heart, she's a good one. Unfortunately, the deductible is five grand.

Hubby says, "You know, she might be on to something. You did pretty good selling that other crap. Isn't that a business? Don't you have to pay tax on that income?"

Fuck.

Technically, I've only made about $200 a month in profit.
But technically, I have to report it.
So, technically speaking, I don't know what the hell I'm doing.

Thank God for the internet and my nerdy love of research. While Ravyn does have a decent business idea brewing, I should probably figure out a few things first.

Cheers!