Hello!
It is great to be back writing the ezine. I decided not to write the last issue because I was on vacation in Bellingham, WA and had just finished my book for Wiley! What a relief — I was all typed out! I am still in my hometown but am ready to start writing again.
This e-zine is published every other Tuesday.
August 30, 2005 Volume I, Issue 6
- Learn from your Mistakes
- I’m in Entrepreneur/eBay Magazine
- My Book Signing Tomorrow
Learn from your Mistakes:
As you may already know, I believe that eBay is a numbers game and the more items you list, the more money you will make. I also acknowledge that no one knows everything and that everybody makes mistakes, especially me
I want to share one of my recent mistakes with you because it is also a great learning experience. I didn’t lose any money on this one, but I did find out, once again, that what happens on eBay is not always what you expect!
I found a really neat vintage turquoise blue pottery vase at my favorite thrift store several weeks ago. It was only $1.00 but had no marks on it. I also found an Arabia Finland vase at the same thrift store and paid $2.00 for it. I know that Arabia Finland is a good brand but the design was very 1970s not the 1950s Eames era that is so hot right now. The turquoise vase was very 1950s Eames Mid-Century Modern. When I did my research on eBay I found that it could be a Roseville Futura piece and possibly worth $200. I was so excited and put all my hopes in selling it for big bucks. Guess what? I was wrong.
When I listed the turquoise vase I asked for help in the title. My title was ‘Roseville Futura Art Deco Globe Ball Vase Help ? Eames’. Not one eBayer helped me out with identifying this piece. Typically, when I ask for help at least one person will respond. If you want to take a look at the auction it can be found here.
Before listing the Arabia Finland vase, I searched for but was not able to find any similar vases on eBay. However, I did find the same artist on the PriceMiner site and was then able to put her name in the title. This vase’s auction’s title was ‘Alice Arabia Finland Sunflower Vase Hilkka Liisa Ahola’ and the actual auction here.
So, here is what happened. 205 people looked at the Roseville Futura style vase and it only sold for $9.99! 113 people looked at the Arabia Finland vase and it sold for $56.00! I was wrong again but who cares? I still made good money. I paid $3 for the two vases and they sold for $65.99. That is more than 20 times what I paid!
As you can see from this example, it is a numbers game and you must put up as many things as you possibly can and never count on any single item to sell for big bucks!
I am in the Fall Entrepreneur/eBay Magazine:
This fall, Entrepreneur Magazine is publishing a magazine–a guide to eBay business–in conjunction with eBay. It is supposed to be on newsstands today, 8/30/05. I am so excited to be a featured power seller in this magazine. I was told at eBay Live that it would sell out very quickly. I have not seen it yet, but would love to hear if anyone else has gotten a hold of one. I hope it is a nice article and that they used a good photo! Let me know if you have seen it.
My Book Signing and Discussion is Tomorrow:
My book signing and discussion is tomorrow night, 8/31/05 at Village Books in Old Fairhaven. It will be so fun to see old friends and customers from my grandmother’s shop. I am really looking forward to it, but am a little nervous. I plan to read 4 or 5 stories from The 100 Best Things I’ve Sold on eBay. I am having a hard time choosing which ones to read. If any of you have a favorite story that you think I should read, please email me the story number. Thanks!
Another fun thing happening at the signing and discussion is that our local newspaper, The Bellingham Herald, will be covering it for a feature article. It was so interesting how this all came about. My mom and I were in line for one of my favorite charity sales here in town a week ago and a reporter, Michelle Nolan, for the newspaper was standing behind us. We enjoyed talking with her and my mom kept nudging me to tell her about my books. I finally did mention my books and she was very receptive, so I dropped one off for her at the paper. The next morning her editor emailed me to let me know that they wanted to write a lifestyle feature to appear in mid September. How fun! Michelle and a Bellingham Herald photographer will be at the signing to cover it for the paper. Wish me luck! I hope to see you there.
Happy Buying & Selling! Lynn
For more great eBay tips and stories, visit my web site at:
http://www.thequeenofauctions.com
Please contact me with any questions or suggestions for future issues. I would love to hear from you Lynn@TheQueenofAuctions.com
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 online auction click here.