Caroleen’s Treasures

So the Laziest Blogger award goes to ME!!!! BOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

I am sorry for the lack of updates. We were hooked on our small business since last year that went to nowhere. LOL We had opened a store here in Digos last May and opened another two in a span of 4 months. Things are going very well until last September, a supplier from Manila ventured here in our area. Before she came here, we are the only store that sells ukay-ukay from the US but she came and offered every store owners US bales. This badly affected our sales and so we decided to just close the stores and focus on selling pre-loved toys from the US.

Last September while looking for Baby Alive doll that Ella wanted to Christmas, I came across toy sellers. They sell pre-loved from the US and I started buying from them. After three purchases, I decided I wanted to sell too. Since I know where they are getting their toys in Davao, Donald and I visited the store (we are shopping at this store for over two years before we started selling) and studied the system. Going to the warehouse to get toys became a family bonding to us. My sister Crislyn and BIL were also going there to help us pick toys. Since my sister loved kitchenwares, she has bought pieces of Pyrex and Corningware there. After several weeks, we figured a strategy on how to get the best toys and that is to go there very early to get a good post infront of the door. When the door opens, everyone runs like they are in a bull race in Spain. LOL Read more… »

Donald and I’s dream house is not mansion, nor any concrete house but something small and made of native materials. It’s because we wanted to have a home that looks and feels like we are in a farm or somewhere up in the mountains. But then our soon to be home will not be like that. If we will be blessed, I would like to purchase a lot where we could build our dream house with bamboo or log furnitures and have a garden where we could grow our favorite flowers and vegetables. Ella could also raise rabbits, chicken and other animals she love. I so wish this dream could come true.

So we are back from Digos City and we are happy that we have good sales again. Although it did not break the record last Wednesday, I am still thankful that we have additional moolah for another bale. We spent the night at the camp of 1101st Brigade based in the city. My uncle offered us to stay at his place and we gladly accept it. Shila, his daughter, was there too and that made us feel more comfortable. I hope we can find a room for rent or maybe a house where we could stay overnight during weekends. Shila is also based in Digos so it would be nice if we can get a house and have her stay with us during weekends. Ella had a grand time biking and so is Eman. Read more… »

Since last week, we have been going to Digos City, an hour drive from Davao, to sell ukay-ukay. It was unplanned but it turned out a good strategy in making the return of investment faster. This is how we sell our goods the first few days.

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For how many years that we are into ukay-ukay business, it’s only now that I am feeling there is really money in it. I never entertained the idea of selling the goods to a wholesaler. In this kind of business, the first customer who buys in bulk is called “selector”. They have a quota, usually half the amount of the bale. Sometimes the owner of the bale has three or more selectors who dig in the bale. This set up is not very good since they tend to grab at something that catches their attention resulting to damage of the item. For me, I wanted to open the bale….sort each piece according to price and label them all. The last bale I opened has 1,050 pieces of children’s clothing. This has been my style since we started this business when Ella was still a baby. This way we can monitor if we already have regained the capital. We sell the good ones at a good price but I realized the return of investment takes a very long time. Around 30 days. Read more… »

We joined the weekend midnight bazaar at Matina Town Square last Friday and Saturday. It was equally fun and tiring. The bazaar starts at 6pm but we were there as early as 3pm. The first day we were lucky the little guy was asleep while we set up the booth.

The Teddy Bears kept him company and rested as well because they will be working later. Read more… »

Looking back the days when you were still single, how would you differentiate your life now? How do you keep up with your busy schedule every day?

Well in my case, I married early. I was 21 then. At that time, I was still in college taking up my second course. I shifted from Veterinary Medicine in my hometown to Communication Arts here in Davao. Since I was new to the place, my life then was boring and I feel like I wanted to go home. Then here comes Donald. He invited me for a casual meet-up at McDonald’s. Read more… »

I just woke up from deep slumber. I didn’t notice it’s already 11am because it’s raining and it feels like it’s 6am. The family went to Matina Town Square for a midnight bazaar. We were not there to shop, we were there to sell. It was fun and we got a good sales although we wished it was something bigger. But we were happy anyway because we still made a sales even the weather is bad. The bazaar is from 7pm to 12midnight during Fridays and Saturdays. We were the earliest birds for two days. We wanted to be the first to get a good parking space just near the tent. Eman and Ella had so much fun roaming around. We brought Eman’s trike and he did make a good use of it…to the point of abusing it. LOL Read more… »

It’s raining since last night and I am loving it! Business is slow when weather is like this but I am happy God is washing this part of the Earth because it was too hot the past couple of days. I love the temperature but my hip joint would start hurting if it will be colder. God really knows that when I turn 18, I would get my hip injured that is why He didn’t put me in a place with four season. I could not really tolerate the very low temperature. Maybe inside the house where there is a heater but I certainly would be limping when I am out in the snow. If we ever found ourselves in a place with winter season I am sure Donald and the kids would spend the entire day playing in the snow. Read more… »

Mommy Ruby has launched a  Thanksgiving Giveaway and I am joining. Yay! I am not really lucky on contests and draws but this one is very enticing since one of the mechanics is to write the things that happened last year that I am thankful for. There are a lot of them but I just have not gotten around to blog about it before the year ended. Now I finally had the chance to write about it because I am joining.

I am thankful for a very wonderful New Year’s celebration at Paradise Island with Daddy, my siblings and BIL last January 2010. Read more… »