Hi!
My trip to Florida was quite a whirlwind. I really enjoyed my meeting at Incredible Discoveries and am super excited to shoot the infomercial.
- Lynn Recommends: La Quinta Boot Camp
- Special Announcement: Help Me Clean My Office
- Feature Article: What are Rose Tea Animals?
- The Queen’s Update: Our 26th 100 Best Story from YOU
This ezine is published once a week.
August 23, 2007, Volume III, Issue 32
Dear eBayers,
My mom’s birthday party was this last Saturday and it was also the Dralle family reunion. In addition, it was a garage sale day. Yikes! We decided not to hit any sales and wound up in Mt. Vernon by 10 am for the family reunion and were back in Bellingham at 3 pm for my mom’s party to begin. Life is never boring!
The Dralle reunion was fun and I was able to give each of my dad’s brothers and sisters a copy of my new book eBay…Ka-ching! There were 13 kids in my Dad’s family and there are only 9 left living. The oldest child Marjorie is now 86 and the youngest child Alan is now 65. So it was great to see my aunts and uncles. They are all pictured in my new book–so it was neat to show them those stories.
Here is a photo of my Dad’s entire family with his parents in the center. This photo appears in my new book Ka-Ching! My dad is the good-looking one on the left end. Just don’t tell him I said so–it will go straight to his head!
The 1970s birthday party was a crack up. Check it out.
As I was leaving Ft. Lauderdale, I got some bad news. My good friend John Lienhard’s brother Jim had passed away. You may remember John from our Nicaragua teleseminar. Jim was his older brother (only 47 years old) who had battled kidney disease for many years. At one point, Jim worked for me and listed items on eBay. He had a great sense of humor and will be dearly missed.
Can you believe what that Le Creuset pan sold for? If you didn’t follow the end of the auction, click here to see the final sales price.
And, in an even more surprising turn, The little Mideke vase that cost me 25 cents sold for even more. Click here to see.
Remember from last week how I found a pile of Rose Tea Wade Figurines on the ground in a shoebox at a garage sale. When I asked, “How much?” The nice ladies said, “Oh, those are in the free pile.” There were 88 in the box and I had a fun time sorting them.
Make sure to read my feature article this week because it is about the strategy behind selling those 88 pieces. There is information on just what a Rose Tea Animal is and the history of the Wade Porcelain company. This was a fun article for me to write because I collected the nursery rhyme series when I was little.
It is almost September and time for my only eBay Boot Camp of the year. Please read the “Lynn recommends” section to learn more. There are only two seats left open.
In my special announcement section, I am excited to announce a way that you can help me to clean my office!
This week we have another great story about the things you all have sold on eBay. This one is about a garage sale find that sells for 2551 times the purchase price!
Here’s to Successful eBaying!
Lynn Dralle, ‘The Queen of Auctions,’ Creator of the best-selling eBay Boot Camp in a Box.
ONLY 2 SEATS LEFT…..
My only Queen of Auctions Live eBay Boot Camp of 2007 is going to be held at The world-famous La Quinta Resort. There are only two seats left. If you have been thinking about attending, now is the time to take action. It is a fantastic weekend where you will learn and get hands-on experience that will make your eBay business more efficient and profitable. This is going to be an unforgettable weekend.
La Quinta is the resort where old Hollywood used to come to escape. Greta Garbo’s winter home is on the property (some say it is haunted!) The hotel rooms are amazing and so is our meeting location. Come prepared to relax, rejuvenate and revitalize your eBay business as well as yourself.
“It was a blast and I really enjoyed meeting everybody. Part of the value of this workshop is the networking that happens. You get together this group of people and everybody has so much knowledge to share…As well as of course tapping into Lynn’s extraordinary knowledge and experience.” – Linda L. |
It is full of both eBay merchandise and Boot Camps in Boxes. Carmen, Mo, and I can hardly walk through it. And as you know, my new book Ka-Ching! just came out. The printer is shipping down 3 pallets of the new book as we speak. My storage unit is plum full of eBay goodies to sell and my eBay room is overflowing into my living room–Did you hear me and Janelle Elms talking about all those porcelain dolls that are on my coffee table? Well, something has to give.
Lee and I decided that it was time to have a sale on the Boot Camps in a Box because they take up a lot of room. A LOT OF ROOM! Space that can house my 3 pallets of new books. Just realize that there is a limited number available so please make sure you order now. Click here for more info.
For only $999 you get it all: the bonuses, the gift bag, the Bellingham Lost DVDs, the notebook, the audio, etc., etc. You all know what a tremendous value this is. Plus, if you are a Queen’s Court member, you can use your 15% discount!
There is only a limited number available—when they are gone–they are gone. Click here to order now.
‘What is a Rose Tea Animal‘
by Lynn A. Dralle, ‘The Queen of Auctions’
When I was little and would go with my grandmother to antique shows, she wanted me to collect things so that I would have fun going on “the hunt” with her. One of the things that I collected was the Wade nursery rhyme figurines.
I remember one big antique show that was in Portland every year. On Sunday there would be a huge flea market in the same building. We (most of the antique dealers and me) would all wait in line for the big doors to open and my grandmother and I would rush inside. She had given me $5 to spend and I was on the lookout for Wade animals.
It is funny how clearly I remember that day and the excitement of the “hunt.” I guess that is why eBay is still such a blast for me. It is still that excitement of finding treasures and then the immediate gratification of making a profit. I was only about 11 years old on that day in Portland, OR and I found 10 of the little figurines for 50 cents each. I specifically remember getting the white poodle and you know, I still own this collection in a box somewhere. Now that is scary!
Anyway, what are Wade Whimsies, and why are they so collectible? Let’s first take a look at the Wade Ceramics company based in Stoke on Trent, England.
The Wade family founded Wade Ceramics in 1810. The company is currently a leader in the design and production of high-quality ceramics and porcelain. They manufacture a lot of containers for the liquor industry.
It was in 1953, right around the time that my grandmother opened her antique store in Bellingham, that Sir George Wade (The Jolly Potter) developed the “Whimsies.”
It was the Whimsies that made Wade a household name here in America. They were small solid ceramic animals made to be collected. They were made for retail trade and also to be used as a promotion for the Red Rose Tea Company in America. Many were given away as free gifts with a Red Rose Tea purchase. The ones that I got last weekend for free were some of those f.ree giveaways and that is probably why the ladies gave them to me for free.
If a Wade product is made in England, (which most of the Whimsies were) it will say, “made in England” or “England” on it. The Wade company does now manufacture in the Far East, Eastern Europe, and South America.
What I found really interesting in my research is that on the Wade web page, they brag about being resold on eBay. “There are 450 collectible Wade items for sale every day on eBay making it one of the most popular collectibles in the world.” Fun!
But more about the Jolly Potter, Sir George Wade. He is the one that really leads the company to its current success. He was born July 19th, 1891, and was the last of the men on the Wade side of the family.
He was a very shrewd businessman and quite a character. He was loved by family, friends, and his army buddies alike. He was a business genius but was controversial because of his politics and love of the ladies. It was his idea to develop those Whimsies that really made the company famous
The Jolly Potter passed away in 1986 at the age of 97. The whimsies are quite collectible and there are many different series. The box that I got for free had a handful of the circus series, a few from the Noah’s Ark series, and a majority from the endangered animals series.
Here is a photo of my Whimsies up for auction
I did my research and found that the large lots would sell for about $1 per Whimsie. If I broke mine out into smaller auctions–like all 10 in the Endangered Species series–those would sell for about $4.99. The only complete series I owned was the endangered animals series and it wasn’t the most popular.
It would have been a lot of work to put up 8 different auctions with all varying quantities, so I decided to sell them as a complete lot of 88. I was hoping for $88, but it didn’t go quite that high. Click here to see what they sold for.
From 1953 to 1959 there were 10 sets of Whimsies produced but only the last five had themes. In 1960, The Jolly Potter started the relationship with Red Rose Tea and the animals were given out as premiums. In 1971, they introduced a new line. There were 60 animals in 12 different sets.
So, watch for these cute pieces when you are out shopping. In the Whimsies series, the 11 nursery rhymes sell for over $100 on eBay.
A really great Whimsie site is http://www.wadewhimsies.com/
Also, anything signed Wade will do well on eBay. Here is a Disney series that sold for an incredible amount of money. Click here to see how high!
WANT TO SEE MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE?
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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
I am happy to present our 26th story for The 100 Best Things You’ve Bought or Sold on eBay! This one comes from Elizabeth. She makes a 2551 times return on a garage sale investment! Click below to read…
Click here to read the story…
A big thanks to everyone who has already submitted a story! We are looking for more great stories of your eBay adventures. We know there are many great tales out there, so please submit your story along the lines of the stories from the 100 Best Books and a great side story with photos will help. If we use your story, you will receive a $35 merchandise credit on my website and you will have your story featured–along with your user ID–in my ezine! It may also eventually end up in a published book!
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 Power Seller 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.
Read all about it here.
The Queen of Auctions also offers articles, teleseminars, how-to books, tracking guides, DVDs, eBay Boot Camp training, and other resources to help entrepreneurs make their eBay business a six-figure sales machine. Click here to learn more.
The Queen of Auctions/All Aboard Inc.
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760-340-6622
Lynn@TheQueenofAuctions.com
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.