Instructions and FAQ

Please read over all instructions before emailing me.


If you need to create a blog, I recommend using blogger.comwordpress.com, or livejournal.com. They are free, easy to use, and come with pre-made templates. All of these sites offer instructions to get you started.

How to add your blog sale:

Email muablogsalestaketwo AT gmail DOT com with the following information:
1)  Your MUA username (if you don’t have one, go to makeupalley.com and register; it’s free)
2)  The email address associated with your PayPal account (this is for my reference and will not be posted)
3)  The currency of your sale (USD, GBP, …)
4)  What country you ship from (USA, Canada, …)
5)  Where you are willing to ship (USA only, worldwide, …)
6)  The direct link to your sale (not your blog, just the sale please, unless your blog is entirely dedicated to sales)
7)  What you are selling:
You must include details of your new items. For example, “Nars Orgasm blush,” not just “NARS”  or “NARS blush.” (You can be more general if you have too many items to list individually, but I do require you to be more specific than "cosmetics and nail polish," for example - you should always include at least the names of some brands represented.) You may also list old items that are still available since your last update.
In any case, you’re allowed 4 lines as they appear in my editor for your content description. I usually cut the end if you’ve listed more than 4 lines, so post your good items at the beginning. I appreciate it greatly when you take the time to use correct spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. Please avoid ampersands (this symbol: &) as it causes errors, so I have to replace it with "and" anyway.

Please make sure your blog sale includes all the information your buyers will want: prices, shipping info, contact details, all product information, and when possible, good photos.

Next, use the "Pay Now" button to the right to contribute $1 via PayPal. I will not post your update until I have confirmed that you have sent this $1 contribution. (I always appreciate it when people choose to contribute more - PayPal actually takes $0.33 in fees out of that dollar - but $1 is the requirement!) Please note that I do ask you make a new contribution each time you want me to post an update for you. This is simply to help alleviate the amount of time I spend regularly updating this blog.

How to add your ISO ("in search of") listing:

Email muablogsalestaketwo AT gmail DOT com with the following information:
1)  Your MUA username (if you don’t have one, go to makeupalley.com and register; it’s free). Potential sellers will contact you via MUA, so please be prepared to regularly check for MUA Mail after posting an ISO.
2)  The email address associated with your PayPal account (this is for my reference and will not be posted)
3)  The country you are asking potential sellers to ship to
4)  A list of the specific item(s) you are currently looking for and would be willing to pay a reasonable price via PayPal to acquire, including any stipulations you might have for the items (such as: "brand new only," "must be more than 75% full," or "seller must be willing to ship with tracking"). You’re allowed 4 lines of info, as they appear in my editor. I usually cut the end if you’ve listed more than 4 lines, so post your most-coveted items at the beginning.

Next, use the "Pay Now" button to the right to contribute $1 via PayPal. I will not post your ISO until I have confirmed that you have sent this $1 contribution.  (I always appreciate it when people choose to contribute more - PayPal actually takes $0.33 in fees out of that dollar - but $1 is the requirement!) Please note that I do ask you make a new contribution each time you want me to post an ISO for you. This is simply to help alleviate the amount of time I spend regularly updating this blog.

If you are posting your own blog sale update and an ISO in the same day, you may combine your submissions into a single email to me, but please contribute $2.

Please note that it is up to the seller to set a price they feel is reasonable for their item. Some sellers may be open to negotiation, others may not be; either way, you are under no obligation to purchase. However, please be respectful toward each other. If you are a potential buyer and you feel the seller's asking price is unreasonable, let them know kindly you are no longer interested and move on. Thank you.

Frequently Asked Questions

 

When will you post my listing?

I will post MUABSTT updates daily when I can, but when this is not possible, you can expect that I will post at least once each calendar week as long as new listings have been submitted. I post between 12am-9am Pacific time to ensure consistency for email subscribers. The midnight postings are typically created a few hours before and scheduled, so to maximize your chances of your listing going up in the next day's post, please make sure I have it by about 9pm Pacific time. If you sent me your listing more than 48 hours ago and it has not been posted yet, please feel free to send me another email to make sure I got it.

I sent you my listing in time, and I see that you made a new post without my listing in it. What happened?

If this happens, check your email, because I've probably already emailed you to tell you something your submission was missing required information. Otherwise, you may have attempted to enter your submission information into the PayPal notes field instead of sending it in a separate email to muablogsalestaketwo AT gmail DOT com. Don't do that. If you already did, please re-send me the listing submission information in a new email. Another possibility is that you sent me your update email as a reply within the same email thread from the last time you updated; with the way I categorize listings in my inbox, this can cause me to think I already posted your update when I haven't, so please send each update as its own, new email.

Why is my listing under "Recently updated blogs" even though all of the items in my sale are being listed for the first time?

If you have ever posted a blog sale on MUABSTT, your listing will go into the "Recently updated blogs" section. The "Recently added blogs" section is for users who have never posted on MUABSTT before. This is why I encourage each of you to indicate in your updated listings which of your items are newly added, as well as which items (if any) are still available from your last blog sale.

Why aren't my items selling well?

Ask yourself if you would want to buy from your sale, if you were a potential buyer. Are your prices too high, given the condition and current retail availability of your items? Do your photos look like they were taken with a potato? Are you charging too much for shipping? Do your items look like they've been scavenged from a dumpster? Did you clearly describe what items you have for sale in your content description? Have you ensured that emails from buyers aren't going into your spam folder? In my experience, if your items aren't selling, it's often because the answer to one or more of these questions is "yes."

My listing is wrong!

If I’ve made an error in a listing, please email me and I’ll correct it as quickly as possible.

Spread the word

Feel free to share this website via your blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc., but please be sure to indicate that you are not affiliated when mentioning it on MakeupAlley. MUA does not allow the advertising of your own personal blog sale link on the boards. (In my experience, it is usually just fine for posters to link to the sales blog homepage, just not directly to their own listings.)
This website is not affiliated with makeupalley.com.

Buyer Beware

MUABSTT is not responsible for any problems that may arise from purchasing, selling, or swapping for new or used cosmetic items.
Please note that if you "gift" your payment via Paypal (as opposed to being invoiced), then you will have no recourse with Paypal should something go wrong with your purchase. Most sellers do not allow returns or refunds at all, so it is very important that you only consider gifting payment to sellers you know and trust!

Who are you, anyway?

I am kmbirkel on MakeupAlley. I work full-time for a skincare company and enjoy spending exorbitant amounts of time with my husband, baby boy, and two cats.

Good luck with your sales!

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You may comment about technical issues with the site or other questions, but please note that comments advertising links will be deleted - in order to keep things fair, I need everyone to follow the instructions posted here to advertise their sales. Thank you!