Thursday 1 November 2012

My magazine stash!

Hi Everyone!
Hope you are all ok and that none of you or your families are affected by the terrible hurricane 'Sandy' in the US.
This is a bit of a long blog but please bear with me and I'd love to know your opinion.
So here's my dilemma. What do I do with all my cross stitch magazines? Over the years I have collected hundreds, literally and recently decided I needed to do something with them but what?
I know lots of people sell them on Ebay. In fact, that's where quite a few of mine have come from and I thought this is a good way to recycle them, to make a little bit of 'pin' money to go towards future cross stitch supplies, charts etc, free up some valuable cupboard space and to make them accessible to someone else who wants them when I don't need them anymore. But first I need to go through them all and put them into two piles, ones which don't have any charts in I want and those which do. Personally I don't think it would be fair to cut out the charts I want and then sell on the magazine, so that left photocopying them which would then leave the magazine totally in tack. But with some having as many as four or five charts in each that I would need to copy by at least two hundred magazines that would just be 'mission impossible' and my printer would never cope with the stress!! I did try it for the first few issues but the copies are never as good as the originals and will fade over time, so that doesn't seem to be a solution. There was also the problem that some of the magazines went from A4 size to bigger and a double page spead would just not fit onto an A3 sheet easily and would also require trimming down to go into the A4 punched pockets I'd planned to keep them in.
So it looks like my only option for the magazines with charts in that I do want, is to cut them out and keep them and then salvage any other remaining charts to sell as single charts at the same time I sell the fully 'intact' magazines.At least I know the single charts will sell as I buy loads of them on Ebay myself, rather than a whole magazine!
I think this whole process will have to be in two parts. Number one is the above, number two will be selling all the remaining charts and magazines on Ebay. The hardest bit of my plan though, is going to be finding the time to do parts one and two around full time work and precious family and stitching time!! Would be so much more convenient if I didn't have to work! Lol!
Also, whilst I'm an expert at buying cross stitch stuff off Ebay (aren't we all? As my lack of bank balance will testify!!) when it comes to selling I've always been to scared to even try! But hey, not so long ago I was scared to try to set up a blog but that wasn't as painful to master as I thought so maybe Ebay selling won't be so bad either! Maybe I should just start small but think BIG! In fact it doesn't seem quite such a daunting task now I have actually put it down in writing! :O)
So Just need to start putting my plan in action!
I'd be very interested to hear what everyone else does with their magazines.
Happy stitching!
Jane x

4 comments:

  1. Hi Jane! I found your blog from Tammy at "I want to do one more stitch" and so glad I clicked over! Am now your newest follower!

    I think you should keep those magazines! I speak from experience. LOL!

    Selling on ebay is easy... you'll have no problem if you decide to go that route!

    xoxox
    Carolyn

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  2. Hi Carolyn,
    Great to have you aboard! So thanks for becoming my latest follower!
    In some ways I would love to keep all the cross stitch magazines but to be honest I just don't have the room and I can no longer see any point to keeping something I will probably never, ever use. Trust me this is a HUGE step for me as I am a bit of a hoarder, to say the least! The magazines I have already 'chopped' (100 so far and at least the same again to go if not more) are now up on offer on my local Freecycle, so hopefully I will find someone else who can use them very soon! Do you keep all your magazines? There is however, one magazine that will not be facing the scissors and that's a copy of the UK Cross Stitcher magazine from about two years ago (I must find it and put it some where safe!) in which my photo appeared whilst I was talking to a british designer, either Maria Diaz or Emily Peacock, at a big stitch/hobbycraft fair in London! Fame at last! Ha! Ha! :O)
    I think my only problem with Ebay is time but then that's always an excuse isn't it!
    Please do 'pop in' from time to time. And I will certainly be doing the same with your blogspot!
    Happy stitching!
    Jane x

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  3. Hello I just found your blog and am excited to be a flower. I am a newbie blogger too. Good for you on letting go of some of your magazines. That must have been a hard decision. I have a small magazine collection and have been going back and forth trying to decide if I should resubscribe to JCS and Cross Stitch Gold.

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    1. Oops I meant follower darn auto correct...

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