Hi!
Why do I keep buying stuff–“schtuff”–as my friend Kevin Nations says, when I already have so much “schtuff”? You will have to read my feature article to find out why and how I deal with it!
- Lynn Recommends: Lisa Suttora Interview was Amazing!!!
- Special Announcement: Live Boot Camp Invites are being sent out–watch for your special invitation!
- Feature Article: Buying Huge Lots and How to Deal with Them
- The Queen’s Update: We want to hear your eBay success stories!
This ezine is published once a week.
January 17, 2008 Volume IV, Issue 3
Dear eBayers,
OK, before I get to all the “schtuff” I bought this week, let’s hear some great news!
I found out last week that both Houston and Indy would be receiving “Student of the Month” awards for their classrooms for the month of December. This is a huge honor as there are only 9 months in the school year and as an example 35 kids in Houston’s classroom.
Even better for me was the news that both kids got the award in the same month. This meant that we only had to attend one awards ceremony!!! Yipppeee! Instead of buying them flowers or balloons, I told them I would take them out to dinner (their choice). Well, they both wanted Sushi at No Da Te. And they decided they wanted to try the new No Da Te Sushi Bar at the La Quinta Resort.
Here we are at our celebration dinner.
Houston and I even tried live Clam!
Speaking of the La Quinta Resort (one of my favorite places in the world) and where we will be holding this year’s Live Boot Camp–Please read the Special Announcement section to learn more.
So, Sushi was Friday night, and Saturday at 1:00 pm we had to drive to a baseball tournament in Moreno Valley. Well, that gave my mom and me plenty of time to get into trouble at early morning garage sales.
Friday after the awards assembly, we had gone to a charity sale where the woman had a table full of new Fiesta and (she said) Old California Pottery. She wanted $400 for it and there was NO Way I could pay that. She said to stop back on Saturday, so of course we did.
Photo of the basket of old California pottery–not many were signed.
To hear about what happened on Saturday, please read this week’s feature article, Buying Huge Lots and How to Deal with them.
Then at 11:30 am on Saturday, I got a call on my cell phone from a local estate dealer who had a houseful to sell. Let’s see, could I drive to and from and buy and pack a houseful in the 1 1/2 hours before tournament departure time? NOT. So we made an appointment for Monday. The update on this adventure is also in this week’s feature article.
The tournament in Moreno Valley went very well and we took 2nd place. Houston pitched a mean semi-final game–the entire six innings. Got the win and the game ball. He was thrilled and had all his teammates and coaches sign it.
Photo of his Houston’s team getting their awards.
The thrift store pieces from last week did exceptionally well. My mom’s chaps sold for so much–I couldn’t believe it.
Click here to see how much.
My thrift store teapot also sold for an amazing amount. And for more than the highest I had found on PriceMiner.
Click here to see the auction.
It sold for $113.61. Remember, I only paid $2.99!
In the Lynn Recommends section, there is an update on the Lisa Suttora Teleseminar from last night. We got over 130 amazing questions. And I am extending the special offer to get a copy of this awesome interview. You will learn so much–I certainly did!
Remember that PriceMiner‘s Jim Kamnikar is going to give away a 2-year subscription to one of my lucky ezine readers. Click here to enter the drawing. We will choose the winner around February 1st. Good Luck!
Here’s to Successful eBaying!
Lynn Dralle, ‘The Queen of Auctions,’ Creator of the best-selling eBay Boot Camp in a Box and Boot Camp in a Box Lite.
The teleseminar with Lisa Suttora last night was amazing! Lisa helps people find stuff to sell on eBay. If you missed it, I am extending the low intro price for the download until Monday, January 21st. I don’t want you to miss this one. It was awesome! Click here to order.
eBay Certified Consultant Lisa Suttora
We all want to find more good merchandise to sell on eBay and Lisa helped us spot trends for what people want to purchase this year and into the future.
This is one teleseminar that you will want to make sure you get and listen to.
This teleseminar and transcript are free for Queen’s Court Members and is your extra gift this month. If you are not a member of the Queen’s Court and would still receive the download and get the transcript, here is the extension for the special introductory rate. Click here to sign up for The Queen’s Court.
The email invitations have started going out for the ONE and ONLY Live eBay Boot Camp of 2008. It will be held (once again) at the amazing La Quinta Resort here in the Palm Springs area.
To get the best room rates for my students (and myself!) it will be held the weekend after Labor Day; Friday through Sunday, September 5th-7th, 2008.
Watch for a special email with your invitation–all invitations will be sent out by Tuesday, January 22nd. If you haven’t received yours by then, please let us know!
This Boot Camp will sell out–especially with the infomercial coming out on February 2nd, so I encourage you to reserve your seat as soon as you can.
I am so excited to have another fun bunch of students meet us here this Fall. I hope that you will be one of those students.
‘Buying Huge Lots and How to Deal with Them‘
by Lynn A. Dralle, ‘The Queen of Auctions’
So, there my mom and I were back at the huge charity sale with the Fiesta ware and the Older California pottery. I have never had very good luck with Fiesta. I tend to always buy the newer stuff (usually pink) where the dinner plates sell for about $5.49 each on Replacements!
Here is one of my current store items. Click here to see the price.
I rest my case!
So, as I walked up the driveway to the “hidden” table of Fiesta, I was overly cautious. When I came around the corner there was a local estate liquidator and dealer. It looked like she was negotiating for the table full so I just said “Hello.” She is always so sweet and she said to the lady holding the sale, “Here is your buyer.” I said, “No, you were here first–you buy it.” And she said, “No, really, go ahead and buy it.” Isn’t it amazing how nice other dealers can be if you are nice also?
So I said, “Alright, how much do you want today?” And the lady holding the sale said $200. I asked if she would also throw in all the dinnerware on the ground and she agreed. We had a deal! Just what I need–more “schtuff”. My grandmother would have said, “I need all of this dinnerware just like I need a hole in my head!” Oh well, my grandma would be proud of me. I have turned out more like her than she could ever have imagined!
As I was packing up the dinnerware and carrying it to my mom’s mini-van I ran into Jess, another of my dealer friends. He says to me “I saw all that dinnerware yesterday and couldn’t believe you hadn’t bought it.” Too funny! I had been waiting for the price to come down. I always believe that if something is meant to be mine, it will be. No need to stress or worry about it still being there the next day.
So, here is my trick for dealing with large lots like this. Once I got it home, I picked the pieces that would be the easiest to sell and list quickly. My number ONE Goal is to recoup my purchase price for the entire lot within one week.
Remember, by the time I got it all home it was about 11:30 and I only had 1 1/2 hours to write it up, photograph it and then get myself packed (and the kids) for the baseball tournament.
So, I decided I would focus on getting all the chartreuse pieces ready to list. If I could get the I Sell sheets written up and the photos were taken, I could list them at the baseball tournament. Here is a photo of those pieces.
The chartreuse color I had purchased was only made from 1997 to 1999 and the lady I bought it from had been right! It was more desirable than other colors. Thank Goodness!
I had 18 pieces that I could break out into 18 auctions. The dinner plates alone are listed for $41.99 on Replacements. Yipppeeee!!! I started all the auctions at $9.99–what did I have to lose? I would certainly get my $200 initial investment back and might even turn a quick profit.
I was able to list all 18 pieces plus about 60 more auctions while I was at that baseball tournament. If you can believe it, the fields had a cement picnic table right behind the home base. I could sit and watch Houston pitch and list on eBay at the same time! Amazing!
Here is the piece that I think will sell for the most.
Click here to see what it is up to.
Replacements list it for $97.95.
And I still had the basket of older ware you saw in the introduction plus this bunch of blue Fiesta; or is it turquoise, or green?–I am having a tough time identifying this color!!
The nice dealer who was looking at it to buy had also told me that this one orange platter (from the basket) might be Catalina pottery, made on Catalina Island, and worth the entire purchase price. I am doing some research on this before I list it (no maker’s marks).
But what I want you to remember is that the reason I recoup my initial investment quickly and immediately is then I can put the rest of this in my garage and wait to list it at a later date. The pressure is off!
Another example of this was the house full of “schtuff” I went to look at on Monday with my mom. We bought the entire houseful for quite a bit of money. We had only brought five boxes with us. It was the most hysterical pack up job you can ever imagine. We were packing into wicker garbage cans, turkey pans, suitcases, and casseroles. We finished packing in 1 1/2 hours. Wild!
Here is a photo of that SCARY Load!
I knew that I would need to list some of those items very quickly to recoup my investment. Luckily there was a 44-piece set of sterling silver and a very expensive dinner set. I wrote them up on Monday night, took the photos Tuesday day, and listed them all Tuesday evening.
The 44 auctions for the sterling (if it sells) should bring in about $522.
Here is a photo of one of the pieces.
Click to see what it is up to.
The dinnerware set was by Sigma and called King Frederick–it is really beautiful. I broke it out into 29 auctions. If it all sells at opening bid prices, it will bring in $385.
Here is one of the dinner plates.
Click here to see if it has bids.
I started it higher than my usual $9.99 because there were none available on Replacements.
I still have 2 more dinner sets that I am going to list this week from that same house full to make sure I recoup my initial investment quickly.
I hope this gives you some creative ideas for being able to think outside the box. Spread your wings and spend more money than you have been comfortable with in the past. Just do your research, make sure you are NOT paying too much and I know you will be successful with larger lots!
By the way, my grandma always said you make your money when you buy–not when you sell. Do NOT pay too much!
Here’s to a very successful 2008 on eBay and off! I hope your eBay New Year’s Business Resolutions are paying off just like mine.
Happy eBaying!
Lynn
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR ON YOUR WEBSITE? Yes, you may – just as long as you include all links as they are and append this complete blurb with it: The Queen of Auctions and eBay Power Seller, Lynn Dralle, publishes ‘eBay Tips & Tricks’ a weekly ezine with 10,000+ subscribers. If you’re ready to jump-start your eBay business, make more money and have more time, get your FREE tips now at www.thequeenofauctions.com
We are looking for your eBay success stories to share with our ezine readers and possibly make it into a book of our reader’s best eBay stories.
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By the way, when I mention my ezine readers’ user IDs with links to their auctions–it actually helps their sales! Amazing how that works. Click here for the guidelines for submitting your stories.
eBay PowerSeller and third-generation antique dealer, Lynn Dralle, is the creator of Boot Camp in a Box, the home-study course where you can learn to implement the Dralle Method to maximize your eBay profits.
If you liked today’s issue, you’ll love this step-by-step course that is guaranteed to be the most complete and enjoyable guide to selling on eBay that MAKES YOU MONEY.
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Happy eBaying!!
Lynn
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Lynn is an experienced eBay Power Seller, author, and teacher. If you want to know the eBay tips, tricks, and tools that Lynn uses for buying and selling at an online auction click here.