September 24th Columbia SC

Hey Ladies! Are you a “gear head” or “motor head”? Do you love your car or motorcycle? Are you the one that built her, or has major plans for the future, to race, tweak, or upgrade? A new publication called “Monster-Motorgirl” is looking for you! This is a women run newsletter that caters to you! You are not alone! And if you’re tired of being made fun of in the car mags, not seeing the women's perspective? Now is the time to stand up and represent!

September 24th I'll be in Columbia SC interviewing Women to be featured! Contact me and lets talk!

Be loud and proud! No more scantily clad women who know nothing about cars scratching the paint on the beautiful rides! This is about the how and the why of women motor enthusiasts!
Please send pictures and a short bio plus $2.99, about you and your ride and you will be considered for a feature article! If you are featured you will be compensated!

Send your submissions in to info@MonsterMotorgirl.com . Pictures must be in JPEG format up to 5 pictures, and the bio should be no longer than 500 words, inclusive of your contact information so that we can get back to you! Submission fees are to be sent to partschick12@hotmail.com via PayPal.

If you don’t have a PayPal account Click here:

New publication specialized for women and their rides!

I’ll admit it’s taken me a long time to figure this out. My entire life has been about fitting into a man’s world. “Why?” you may ask, because, I’m a motor head. I love cars, bikes, racing, going fast, the sound, smell and feel of machinery. The smell of rubber, and grease under my fingernails makes me happy.

I have found a few women in my life who share my passions, but there is something sorely lacking in the publications that we buy to fuel our enthusiasm. Real women who own the cars, build them, appreciate them. Now, I’m not talking about the fake women who splay themselves across the hood to tantalize the men. Real Motor Girls!

I see four types of women that are MotorGirls! There may be more, so don’t be offended if I haven’t written it here, I’m open for more interpretations.

1. The Wrench (not wench, this is me I think); I see potential in every rambling rusted hulk, and I want to bring her back to her full glory. I want to paint, and refinish and refurbish. In other words…get my hands dirty. The $500.00car has just as much value as a $5000.00 one
2. The Matron; These girls are there by their men/partners at the car shows and race tracks because they love it just as much (if not more) than he does, and it makes the relationship stronger. They buff and polish and want to learn and participate. It’s part of their family dynamic.
3. The Maven; These are ladies who know exactly what they want and will get it. That doesn’t necessarily mean getting their hands dirty, why not pay the mechanic? “I know I want a turbo charged 300z but I don’t care how it works, I just want it!” They know what they want, and the car is an accessory, like a Gucci purse, or diamond rings.
4. The Apprentice; These girls know what they want, They will barter, and learn, and participate, and align themselves with people who know or have what they want. It’s a slow process but ultimately the passion is maintained and increased with every step.

So, to pay homage to these types, I have created “MonsterMotorgirls!” a publication dedicated to women and their passion, their Rides!

Check out our Facebook page “Girl Cars and Rides”, and Like us! You may be the next Feature!

To expand or not to expand outside of eBay...that is the question

I used to be a HUGE Ebay fan. Huge. I've been selling on that site since 2002 with success and seemed like happy customers. Then a few years ago they did this restructuring since they were loosing out to other sites like Amazon.com, they were loosing market share and started implementing these "policies" to generate revenue. I get it, thats business. But you cant alienate the ones who pay the fees. The SELLERS.

All this "buyer Protection" has made it difficult for us who sell on eBay. We have no protection and eBay doesnt really back us up during a dispute, basically raising their hands and saying " we cant make the Buyer do anything". But they can make the Sellers jump through hoops, because we have more to loose. We have more at risk just by the fact we are Making money vs. Spending money. So automatically we have to be watched and scrutinized because how dare we want to make a buck! What I'm finding now is that since PayPal has been purchased by Ebay, the rotten policies are filtering over.

I had the "Feedback Extortion" happen to be and cause multiple negatives in a short time, or no feedback at all, and that PayPal look at my transactions and hold my money! So I had to be a good little seller, jump through the hoops, and spend the cash I had available to me, vs. the money for the item plus shipping to send out packages.Hoping of course for positive feedback to release the funds. They wanted to "VERIFY" that the buyer was happy, and that I had money to issue refunds if necessary.

The problem was, since the funds were in a "pending" status, you still had to use your own cash to issue the refund! Even if they're happy and they still don't leave feedback, you'd have to wait 21 days to get your money. Meanwhile, you've spend money shipping, you've spent time and energy, and you do't have the inventory anymore...you are working backwards, hoping that your buyer will take 2 seconds and leave feedback. Of the positive kind.

Ive NEVER held out on a return, ever, in 9 years on EBAY, Ive had 100% positive feedback and even a "Power Seller" status until these changes. And a couple of idiots who didn't read the listing, cause all this mess. I Loose my status, and my money isnt available and there NOTHING I can do about it.

"Yes, Ill bend over so you can do what ever you want. Thank you Sir my I have another"

So Im in the process of expanding to other sites as well as upgrading my personal site to a less "social" one and taking charge of this situation.A pre-built store format site? Or build your own adding a shopping cart? Hmmm? Im spending anywhere from $200-500 per month with eBay, what will that get me elsewhere?

I'm happy to say business is growing, but its still frustrating to know other people control your destiny.

So, I beg you. please READ the whole listing, ask questions and communicate with the seller. Be dilligent like you would if you were buying a car. Open your mouth, don't just bad-mouth.

Have "Pride"- Honda Civic Pride

OK peeps, here we go...if you've read any of my prior posts, you'll know of my mid-life crisis's.

Many, in fact that I have spoke of, and others I haven't. 2010 has been a hell of a year and I feel I'm on a path of redemption and rebirth. Joseph Campbell said "Follow your bliss", and I have been in a minor way up until now.

Its been a hobby, a passion a driving force in my life that brings me peace, and comfort, and most of all happiness. So now its bring me, and my family the livelihood we need to move forward in this life.

I've mentioned that I grew up in a bike shop, but what you didn't know is my passion for these little roller skates called Honda Civics. I've owned many and I have written about them on my other blog.

Since then, my father and I have moved this into a fledgling business called Honda Civic Pride. We have sponsored a car show, built a website, sold some cars and a ton of parts and we're learning more everyday.

So, you'll see in the coming months the new toys we pick up, the cool parts we aquire and tweaks and tricks we learn along the way.

Stay tuned!