Payin' It Forward

For anyone out there who doesn't know, "Paying it Forward" is a movement to do something nice for another without expectation of any payback. When my husband and I were traveling last New Year's Eve we were driving on the Illinois Toll Road system and stopped at the last toll booth to pay our dollar. Much to our surprise, the toll collector said "The person in front of you paid your toll. Happy New Year!" How cool is that?

Recently I noticed an item listed on Etsy.com as a "PIF." Upon reading the listing I saw that the item was offered at a nominal price, a much lower cost than you would expect to pay for this item typically. All that was asked of the buyer is that he or she then take the opportunity to "Pay it Forward" as well, thus hopefully creating a chain of random acts of kindness.

Upon searcing the Etsy site for "PIFs," I found MANY such offerings and decided to participate. I listed a batch of earrings at $.20 per pair to cover the cost of the Etsy listing fee. Those earrings were gone like a shot! Today I'm in the process of posting more - here's a photo of what I've done so far

One of my buyers purchased a pair of the pearl PIF earrings for her sister then emailed me that she would like to PIF by sending me one of her fused glass pendants. Karma!

The only change is that this time I've had to raise the price slightly to cover Etsy's and Paypal's fees. Etsy charges a listing fee and also takes a commission on each sale; Paypal charges a percentage of the entire transaction, taxes and shipping included, plus a $.30 fee per transaction. I've stated in the listings that my gift is my time and materials. Sound good? Check out Etsy -- search on PIF to see what's out there!