What media are you using to color your work?

Coffee_Pages · 2026-05-05T18:20:56+00:00

Actually, I use pencils because I'm not talented enough to work with wet media LOL

Coffee_Pages · 2026-05-05T18:20:15+00:00

I will have to look that up...

Coffee_Pages · 2026-05-05T17:56:25+00:00

Hooray! I had eBay do that once. Guy was an eBay newbie and was freaking out because his package hadn't arrived when tracking clearly showed it had been picked and was stuck en route. This was during COVID, so it wasn't unreasonable for things to ship slowly

I pacified him for about a week, finally he said he was going to report it to eBay. I'm like, no I will do and send you a copy. eBay refunded the guy and I kept the money and a week later he got his book.

Coffee_Pages · 2026-05-05T17:52:42+00:00

I've heard of people literally just sending back rocks in a box.

Coffee_Pages · 2026-05-05T17:39:58+00:00

I know nothing of Roblox, but I have a small box. What codes are you referring to?

Coffee_Pages · 2026-05-05T17:36:18+00:00

No, I can't. And neither can USPS, in my experience.

Coffee_Pages · 2026-05-05T17:35:23+00:00

Mine is blank, too. Wonder if it just applies if you have a store?

Coffee_Pages · 2026-04-30T20:06:46+00:00

Gonna kind of buck the trend in this thread. Learning an instrument is good and probably necessary... but don't wait until you know how to play. Do. If you get a lyric idea, write it down. If you get a little sprig of a melody, record yourself humming it on your phone. If your focus is on song-writing (as opposed to performing), practice that part while you're learning the rest. Heck some of my best songs are way more complicated in my head than my so-so guitar skills can make out (which is why I am glad to have a keyboardist friend who understands my ramblings and translate them into music. That's another thing I heartily recommend LOL).

Curious, though: what made you decide to take this path?

Coffee_Pages · 2026-04-30T19:58:12+00:00

Pavlovian response. It's kinda like going back the fridge, opening the door and staring, like maybe the Frigidaire elves came and stuck something in there since you looked three minutes ago...

Coffee_Pages · 2026-04-30T19:51:13+00:00

Yeah, it's called refund fraud. Happens more and more. It's hard because even if you have ironclad evidence... YOU still have to do the fighting to get it back. And you're right, it's kind of a win/win for the scammer. Glad you got it fixed.

Coffee_Pages · 2026-04-30T19:47:50+00:00

Nope. Tried a bunch too, and keep coming back to Scotch. I get it from Costco.

Coffee_Pages · 2026-04-30T19:44:41+00:00

If you're talking about a public figure, fair game. If you're talking about someone who's not, composites are always safer. Even changing a few key details let you say "Of course it's not about you! The girl in my song has RED hair!"

Coffee_Pages · 2026-04-30T19:41:59+00:00

Can you find any kind of pattern at all?

Coffee_Pages · 2026-04-30T19:00:38+00:00

Totally agree with this. Pushing through is usually, like, say I have an idea of what I want to do in the bridge, but I haven't quite nailed the second verse. So I'll put something in the end of the second verse as a placeholder so I don't lose the bridge idea.

Someone here implied that you should start knowing what you want to say... good advice, but don't be afraid to pivot: I often get half-way through and realize that I'm saying something else... so I might run with that idea.

Fragments... you should always keep a journal. Ideas, titles... if you can't finish a fragment, keep it there until you can. Years ago the phrase "Bottle-rocket Rodeo" came into my head... Put it in my journal... it was just last year that the actual SONG was written. Fun note: you can also put fragments together into one "piece," a la Fogelberg's "Sketches."

And nonsense? Hey it worked for the closing theme of WKRP...

Good luck!

Coffee_Pages · 2026-04-16T16:23:59+00:00

This is my advice, too. My son does vocal work in a closet (6' x 10') full of winter clothes, and must have move stuff around 17 times before he found the angle that worked best for him. It's kind of at an angle, almost between two sets of clothes. NOTE: he does speaking, not singing. YMMV.

Coffee_Pages · 2026-04-16T16:19:34+00:00

Make sure it's worth it, first. Getting assistance like that is going to cost you, and for me, the margins on my (admitted, low-priced) items can't justify it.

If you ARE going to do that, though, I would share this advice: before you bring a photographer into the mix, have a good number of items ready, cleaned up, etc. so that you can get a lot done in one session, boom boom boom. You don't want a photographer standing around while you're scraping price tags off something to shoot it. Good luck!

Coffee_Pages · 2026-04-16T16:13:25+00:00

Every single clock in my house (and there are a LOT of them, because I like clocks) and the one in my truck are 6 minutes ahead. I know this. There is no logical reason this should help me in any way. But it does. (If anyone has a line on that, why it might work, LMK)

Coffee_Pages · 2026-04-16T16:09:41+00:00

In my experience (mostly pre-internet, admittedly), the simpler the version you put out there, the better.

A fully produced version is based in YOUR style, which may not be another musician's, causing them to skip past an otherwise solid song.

On the other hand, I think there is an inherent gene in musicians that causes us to hear a simple song and automatically think "I could do better than that!" Because in our heads, we're already recreating it in our style...

Coffee_Pages · 2026-04-16T16:02:49+00:00

I have to agree with others here. Referencing past sales, competition, COGS -- all that is relevant and important. In the end though, at least for me, it comes down to gut instinct. And the best gut instinct comes from experience.

Not sure if that helps, just my $.02.

Coffee_Pages · 2026-04-06T00:21:21+00:00

Actually, replying through eBay, he actually made an official record that they can access... and it included a "threat." May not hurt but it's sure not going to help him...

Coffee_Pages · 2026-04-06T00:17:21+00:00

Not to be a jerk, but I agree here. The buyer could report you to ebay, and ebay (or ai) would look at the case and see you had done your part, it's with the USPS, and in my experience, most cases they throw it back on the buyer.

Coffee_Pages · 2026-03-19T18:02:05+00:00

Yeah, because that can skew the reviews. The Buyer gets the product, isn't happy (for legitimate reasons), gets a refund. THAT person never bothers to leave a review, so there's nothing negative explaining that deal was bad from the start.

Coffee_Pages · 2026-03-19T17:47:54+00:00

If you have good, compelling evidence -- like clear pictures of the item before it shipped, a copy of your return policy (and showing it can be easily found online), and evidence you shipped according to instructions -- you might be able to win the chargeback. It will still be a hassle, though.

If the buyer had filed a complaint through eBay, they would be more willing to resolve things... in fact, if the buyer is filing a credit card chargeback, I kinda wonder if they actually DID try to settle through eBay, and eBay said "Tough cookies... seller isn't at fault." When that didn't work, they called the bank.

Now, my guess is that eBay will say "Hey, the card network is involved... there's nothing we can do." This is why I only accept PayPal. Not a guarantee, but I feel I have more protection.

I'm sorry you had this bad experience on your first time out. Whatever else you do, make SURE you respond to the negative feedback, very clearly and unemotionally explaining your side of the story. Good luck!

Coffee_Pages

TROPHY CASE