Selling on eBay can be a profitable business, but you need to do your research first. One way that you can make money is to buy wholesale lots and then sell each individual item on eBay. Before you do that, however, follow these important steps:

• Many wholesale lots are listed by total price and then price per unit. Make sure that you add any shipping costs to you into the price per unit. This could raise the price significantly.
• Research the item you want to sell on eBay. Look at completed listings only! Do this by clicking on advanced search (near the search box) and click on Completed Listings. This will give you an idea of how much similar items have sold for.
• Decide how much you will charge for shipping. Buyers do not like to pay high shipping costs, but you need to cover the cost to you. Take into account packaging costs as well.
• Just because you are getting a great price on a wholesale lot, does not mean that this item will sell well. Assorted sunglasses may only cost you $1.00 each, but will they sell well on eBay?

Don’t be afraid to look at wholesale places for deals for personal use as well. Often, there is only one item in the “lot” and you may be able to get that item for well below market value.

J. Leigh Designz is sponsoring a giveaway on her blog and it is a great one for Summer! One lucky reader will win a Playhouse Bouncer Waterslide.

The Waterslide that is being giving away is the Pirates Bay Inflatable Play Park. There are many ways to enter, so head on over before August 3rd.

The Winner of the Outlaw DVD from the Summer Family Fun Movie Giveaway Week 1 is:

Congratulations to BusyJulie. I will email you and you have 48 hours to respond with your mailing address.








There is a chance to win another Family Movie this week!

UPrinting.com has a new blog sponsorship program. If you are a blogger, you can apply to have your blog sponsored by UPrinting.com. Sponsorship benefits include:

• Product Giveaways
• Free Stuff - including business cards for your blog
• Discounts - information on the latest promotions and discounts
• Online Marketing - you can host ads by UPrinting.com

UPrinting.com recently had a drawing for $100 for those who added the UPrinting.com badge to their blogs. You can sign up to be part of the program here.

Why UPrinting.com isn’t your average printing company:

Blog Sponsorships:
If you are looking to find a sponsor for your blog, UPrinting.com is definitely interested. We offer giveaways, advertising and more for qualified bloggers.

Non-Profit Sponsorships:
The U-Community Program sponsors hundreds of non-profits and education to improve our local communities.

Social Justice Projects:
The UPrinting Kiva account promotes small business growth in developing countries.

Green Printing:
UPrinting supports a sustainable future by recycling, using non-toxic inks, and offering eco-friendly recycled paper stocks for business cards and postcard printing.

Our downstairs bathroom sink has drainage problems. For a while, I couldn’t figure out what the problem was. I finally realized that the bathroom faucet was not working correctly and the part that pulls the drain up fully was broken. So now I am in search of a brand new bathroom faucet.

This time, I don’t want the cheapest one, but a faucet that will do the job and last for a while. After browsing a bit, I noticed that I needed to search for the right faucet that will fit our sink cutouts. First, we have three distinct cutouts. Second, we have a 4″ minispread. This means that the faucet and handles are situated close together. The other popular option, an 8″ minispread, means that the faucet and handles are spread out from each other.

I also needed something simple and easy to clean. This is the guest bathroom and get a lot of use by the kids. We have silver accents in the bathroom and I narrowed down my search to silver faucets.

I finally decided on the Delta Faucet “Lahara” with its sleek and modern design. I think it will make a great replacement!

I have been researching cruise deals for some time now. A bunch of my friends have tried different cruises and I would really like to hop on the bandwagon. Just the idea of an all-inclusive vacation with lots of fun activities right on board sounds like the perfect vacation to me!

Now I need to decide which cruise would be best.

• Four night Bahamas Cruise - best prices for these cruises, but you only get to visit the Bahamas. The ship does make three stops though.
• Five night Bermuda Cruise - departs from New Jersey which is a big plus for me, but only makes one stop (2 days) in Bermuda.
• Seven night Eastern Caribbean Cruise - Stops at Dominican Republic, St. Thomas, Tortola and Great Stirrup Cay, but is a little more pricey!
• 15 night Panama Canal Cruise - ok, I can’t really afford this one, but it sounds so cool! Makes stops in Panama, Columbia, Mexico and California!

All of them sound like so much fun! It is going to be hard to make a decision.

I found a fun quiz from T-Mobile - the Mom to Mom quiz. Find out what your parenting style is. The quiz has you answer 10 questions involving teen scenarios. The questions were thought provoking and it was hard to choose an answer on some of the questions. Have fun!

Summertime! And what does summertime mean? Summer vacation, of course! But with summer vacation comes my biggest fear - losing my child in a crowded amusement park, beach or store.

Fortunately, Safetytat has come up with a brilliant idea - tattoos for children. These tattoos are just like the temporary tattoos that children apply for fun except with one small twist. The tattoos can be printed with a telephone number. Before you head out to a crowded vacation spot, simply apply the tattoo to the arm of your child. If your child gets lost, it will be easy for lost and found to contact you.

There are different types of tattoos including:

Original - These tattoos come with one line of customization. Choose a design and add your phone number. These tattoos require water to apply.

Write-On - These tattoos require no water to apply and are waterproof. They will last up to two weeks. They are shipped blank and you can write in your phone number with a waterproof tattoo marking pen.

Allergy - Is your child allergic to peanuts, bees or another allergen? You can buy these tattoos that will let everyone know, just in case!

Special Needs - Do you have a child with a special need? SafetyTats has four different designs that could help your child if they were every lost or separated from the group.

Win It!

One random reader will win a Quick Stick Write-on packet of three tattoos. Pen included! Visit SafetyTat and leave a comment with your favorite design. (Must be done first before extra entries count.)

Extra Entries

Please leave a separate comment for each extra entry.

• Follow me on twitter and tweet the message below (copy and paste):Win Safety Tattoos from SafetyTat and The Shopping Duck @ablogger! http://bit.ly/SzfRr
• Blog about this giveaway - just a short note in another post is fine.
• Subscribe to my newsletter by email or in a reader (see orange box on side)
• Add my main button to your site<a href=”http://www.theshoppingduck.com/” mce_href=”http://www.theshoppingduck.com/” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c111/goodness-gracious/theshoppingduck125.jpg” mce_src=”http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c111/goodness-gracious/theshoppingduck125.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”The Shopping Duck” /></a>

Other Details

• One winner will be chosen at random using Random.org
• Please make sure you leave a valid email address. The winner will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond, or another winner will be chosen.
• Contest ends July 13th at 11:59PM EST
• US and Canada entries only

This week, I found a sale on London Broil at my local Stop & Shop and decided to marinate and grill the meat. Fortunately, the weather was good and my barbecue didn’t get rained out! Here is my menu:

3-5 lbs London Broil ($1.49 per pound) $4.47 - $7.45

1/4 Cup Oil

1/3 Cup Vinegar

2 small Onions, diced (Vidalia Onions $0.99/pound) $0.20

6 Garlic cloves, minced

3 Tbs. Soy Sauce

3 Tbs. Brown Sugar

1/2 tsp. pepper

Combine everything except the meat in a large plastic ziploc bag. Add the meat and close well. Marinate overnight for for a few hours.

Prepare grill. Bring meat to room temperature (1 hour) before grilling. Remove meat from plastic bag and grilled on an oiled rack 7 to 9 minutes per side for medium rare. Let meat cook longer per side if you want the meat more done.

Transfer meat to cutting board and let stand 10 minutes. Cut steak across grain into thin slices.

Corn on the Cob (12 for $1.99 - I used six) $1.00
Watermelon $3.88
Campbell’s Pork & Beans (2 cans for $1.00) $1.00

Approximate $13.00 for a whole meal for six people. (Price will depend on the weight of the London Broil.)