Category Archives: Money

Saving money on U.S. Passport photos

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I almost got charged the CVS passport photo fee ($7.99) when printing a 4″ x 6″ photo with two 2″ x 2″ photos on it.

With the help of my friend, James, I took my own passport photos. I showed James how to compose the photo, stood in front of an off-white wall, then James pressed the shutter button. After making a few necessary color and lighting adjustments in Lightroom, I exported the file as a JPEG. Lastly, ePassportPhoto.com helped crop a single JPEG to output five 2″ x 2″ headshots on a 4″ x 6″ print.

I went to my nearby CVS (0.5 mi away), knowing that they charge $0.29 for an instant 4″ x 6″ print. All they had to do was take my $0.29. The kiosk did the rest. When I got the the register, cute cashier said they might charge the passport photo fee of $7.99 because of the intention of my photo. She called the manager to the front, and he told her to charge me the $0.29.

Cody, who used to work at CVS, explained that the passport photo price applies only when they take the photos for the customer.

When I went to the Temple City U.S. Post Office, I had no problems. Barbara carefully cut two photos out for me, reviewed my application, made a few corrections, then took my payment.

I submitted all that on Monday, May 10th. I’m not going anywhere, so there’s no rush. They estimated five weeks, but hopefully it won’t take as long.

P.S. I forgot to link to this blog post, “The Stupid Passport Photo Ripoff.”

Update May 28th, 2010: I just received my U.S. Passport book. That’s a turnaround of 14 business days. (Nice.) According to the information slip in the envelope, my passport card will arrive will arrive separately. None of this matters because I’m not planning on going anywhere out of the country anytime soon. I just wanted to have a a passport on hand, just in case.

12 Tips for Better Sales on eBay

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After recently selling a few things on eBay, I’ve compiled some suggestions for you in hopes it’ll increase legitimate bidding activity.

Readability

  • Use a large, readable font. On a 22″ wide screen LCD monitor, 14 point is ridiculously small. Try 18 point and the Georgia font.
  • Create sections in your auction description with bold headings. (e.g. what’s for sale, why you’re selling, item condition, shipping or local pickup, retail pricing)
  • Check for spelling, especially in the title.

Completeness and/or full disclosure

  • Explain yourself. Most auction descriptions are too brief or simply repeat the item name. Why are you selling the item? How long have you had it for? What comes in the box?
  • Even though eBay auctions have a built-in shipping, return policy, and payment tab, repeat the shipping, handling, and payment details in the description. (You know, for redundancy and decreasing miscommunication.)
  • Don’t use stock photos. The bidders will usually ask, so save them time.
  • Display several clear photos of the item. If you know someone with a DSLR camera, get a white foam poster board and take the photos of the item(s) on it. Try to take the photo in some shade. If it’s too bright, get a friend to hold a diffuser over the item(s). For best results, make a light tent. (See “How To: DIY $10 Macro Photo Studio” or “How to Make An Inexpensive Light Tent – DIY“)
  • Link to a few glowing reviews of the item.

Don’t pay unnecessary fees

  • Host photos elsewhere. There’s no need to pay eBay more money for photo hosting. If you have Flickr, WordPress/WordPress.com, or Tumblr, create a set/page with a gallery of photos for your item(s). Don’t forget to link to the photos within the auction description!

Increase views, watchers, and bids

  • Use eBay’s first free image so it shows up in the listings.
  • End the auction around 9:30pm, and if possible, on the weekend. This will help get more buyers looking at your auction, especially for more expensive items. If you end the auction at 3pm on a weekday, it’ll be more difficult for people at the office to participate in the last few minutes of a bidding war. Don’t forget to calculate the time zones you want to cover. (For example, if you want to end the auction at 9:30pm EST, start the auction at 6:30pm PST.)
  • For a fee ($0.10), eBay can schedule your auction to start at a certain time and day. If you want to save that ten cents per auction, and you’ll be at a computer when you want to start the auction, fill everything out and save as a draft. You can post it later.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to take some photos of some more items I’m going to put up for auction.

Do you have more time-tested suggestions? Please take a few minutes to share them with a comment, and explain how it’s helped you. Thanks! (Back off, spammers. I’ll nuke comments and ban IP addresses without hesitation.)

Sold my Canon EF 28-135mm lens

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I finally sold an unused lens (Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM), which I bought a year ago from my friend, Noel Kleinman.

Why?

I dropped the lens last April while I was borrowing it from Noel. Fortunately, he was cool about the situation and let me buy the lens.

I haven’t really used it since then.

A few weeks ago, I went on an eBay selling streak and sold all my bass guitar pedals[1. I bought a Line 6 Bass PODxt Live pedal board, so I didn't need them anymore.].  Those sales gave the courage to finally post the lens for auction on eBay.

After eBay and shipping fees, I broke even from when I bought the lens. Other than being a little cautious with a new eBay user with zero feedback, everything went well.

I’m glad that most camera lenses don’t depreciate like everything else[2. The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens that sold for under $80 USD (two years ago) currently sells for almost $99.99 USD.].

P.S. I bought a used Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM on eBay a few weeks ago, so don’t ask me what I’ll do with this money. :)

Next at All Narfed Up – Tips for better sales on eBay

AT&T broadband price increase?

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I read my AT&T bill for the February 2010 and got freaked out:

PRICE CHANGE NOTICE

Attention AT&T High Speed Internet Members: Starting with your March 2010 bill, the monthly rate for your AT&T High Speed Internet Express, Pro or Elite plan will increase $3 (or $3.01) per month. For details and rate information for your specific plan, please go to http://support.att.com/dslupdate or call 1.866.417.6819.

(My emphasis added in bold.)

I have the Pro service for $30/month. So, twelve months from when it starts increasing, it’ll be $66?!

The text is unbelievable. Someone please clarify.

Related: FCC Commissioner Calls For Examination Of Broadband Price Hikes (MediaPost, March 10, 2010)

Photographing the LAUSD Teacher Protest

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LAUSD Teachers Protest (1/29/2009)

Downtown Los Angeles — When I heard from LAist that there would be a huge protest in Downtown LA, I decided to photograph the event. (Chris Lin joined my photojournalism endeavors, too.)

We joined the growing crowd at the LAUSD headquarters before streets were starting to get blocked off. Around 3:30pm, it got packed out. Finally, the bullhorn-equipped leaders led the crowd from the back of a flatbed truck, surrounded by huge speakers powered by a generator.

A sea of red moved down 4th street. Chanting, signs and music blared as the crowd moved toward Pershing Square. (I also saw a fellow Flickr photographer, Luke Gattuso.)

As we got closer, we saw that a huge crowd already formed. A stage was set, a row of news vans were parked, helicopters were hovering, and police/safety officials were everywhere.

Leslie Miller from ABC7 Eyewitness News was at the entrance of Pershing Square. I think they were having camera issues, plus one person was harassing her a bit.

I made my way through the crowd, trying to capture a few more photos before we took off. There were some stands mocking Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger with pamphlets and forms to fill out. A lot of people were seated on steps and benches, looking tired and fed up.

We didn’t stay for too long at Pershing Square. I simply wanted to capture the massive crowd.

I hope something positive came from this.

View my photos from this event at Flickr

Update 1/30/2009 — If you were taking photos at this protest and you’re on Flickr, you can share them in the UTLA Flickr group. Otherwise, e-mail your best ones directly to UTLA. (via UTLA.net)