Hi!
The infomercial shoot in Tampa was a blast and it turned out great. I am just back from Florida and Las Vegas and will be on a plane to Anacortes, WA when you read this to help Skip McGrath out at his boot camp. Yikes! What a busy month.
- Lynn Recommends: Boot Camp in a Box LITE
- Special Announcement: A few of our Live Boot Camp Success Stories
- Feature Article: Garage Saling Around the Country
- The Queen’s Update: Our 30th 100 Best Story from YOU
This ezine is published once a week.
September 27, 2007 Volume III, Issue 37
Dear eBayers,
I have to say that this has been the busiest month of my life EVER–hands down! The infomercial filming in Tampa was really fun. The host of the show, Brian Fasulo, is such a pro, and the entire staff at BlueWaterMedia.tv made it a great experience!
The Shawnee Cookie Jar sold last week to one of my ezine readers for….click here to find out. Not as much as I had hoped for, but I am thrilled that it went to one of my subscribers. Also, FYI, the cookie jar will be making an appearance in the infomercial. Can you see her there on the table on the set?
So after a full day of filming, I left Tampa at 3:00 am my time (which means I had to wake up at 1 am to be to the airport on time–Yikes) on Friday morning, to try and make it to one of Houston’s baseball games in Las Vegas.
I arrived just in time to see him hit a bomb and also pitch the closing inning. His team, The Desert City Sluggers, took 16th place out of 34 teams–so I was very proud of him.
Here is a photo of Houston with me, my mom, my dad, and Indy. It was an extra fun time because I got to spend some time with my dad who had flown in for the tournament from Bellingham.
My dad and I had dinner at one of the local casinos and we spent an hour playing Penny slots. My dad only lost $5 and I lost $25. I told him that I don’t need to waste my money gambling in casinos because eBay is just like gambling only you Never Lose!
I also went to some garage sales in the Henderson, Nevada area on Saturday morning and got some amazing bargains. That is why this week’s article is all about garage saling in different cities–especially when you travel. I also have an amazing story to share about something I bought in Bellingham, WA this summer that is currently selling for big bucks. Don’t miss this article.
After everyone left Las Vegas, I met Peter who was in town for business. It was really fun and we got to check out the spa at Planet Hollywood and I got a little downtime. Then it was back to Palm Desert to write my ezine, hold the Queen’s Court Teleseminar, and prepare for the Boot Camp with Skip.
As you may remember, I will be helping out at Skip McGrath’s Boot Camp in Anacortes, WA starting tomorrow–Friday. The dates are September 28 and 29th. I will teach for about 2 hours, but the highlight will be that I take students out for 2-3 hours of garage saling. If you are interested in attending, I think there is still space. Click here to find out more.
In our Special Announcement section, I show a few of the items that my Live Boot Campers actually found and listed during Boot Camp. Some of their success stories…Fun!
Don’t miss the Lynn Recommends section because we are thrilled to announce that we are offering a Boot Camp in the Box LITE version to those of you who have not been able to afford the entire kit. We are really excited to bring the Dralle method to more of you!
And don’t forget, my new Shipping DVD – Volume One in The Queen’s Academy – is now shipping. Click here to order now.
This week we have another great story about the things you all have sold on eBay. Look below for the great story of a vintage chess set.
Here’s to Successful eBaying!
Lynn Dralle, ‘The Queen of Auctions,’ Creator of the best-selling eBay Boot Camp in a Box.
I just got this email from one of my Live eBay Boot Campers from the La Quinta event–was that just last week? WOW!
Hi, Lynn!
Thanks so much for the words of encouragement! I have been concentrating on my business with renewed vigor ever since our Boot Camp. I really feel now that I can do this, no doubt! You showed me how to have fun and keep things simple with eBay. For that, I am most grateful
I tend to overthink and overanalyze everything, a plus in my current line of work, but not so much for eBay!
I just wanted to let you know how excited I am about my business ever since Boot Camp and that I’m extremely grateful to you, for all your help and encouragement to get me to a place where I can really see my eBay business taking off! You painted a wonderful picture, and I finally see it! Thank you so much!!!
Serena, San Francisco, CA
Emails like that give me goosebumps and help me to see just how powerful the experience is for those lucky enough to attend a live event! We have been racking our brains around here at The Queen of Auctions on how to get the Dralle method to more of you.
My eBay Boot Camp in a Box has been a huge success and has helped many of you, but we wanted to find a way to make it more affordable. So here is what we have done. We have invented eBay Boot Camp in a Box LITE!
To be able to offer this at such a great price, we have taken out all of the bonuses (ecourse, books, teleseminars, etc.), we have taken away the gift bag, we have taken out the 16 audio CDs. The notebook with handouts is no longer a physical item, but available on a disc for you to print out.
So what you will get with the disc of handouts will be the 11 disc DVD set of the Bellingham Boot Camp.
We are confident that this will get you started doing business with the Dralle Method and put you on the road to success–just like Serena!
Click here to order at our introductory price. This price will increase 25% at midnight on October 11th. Don’t miss out!
P.S. If you decide you want to upgrade to the entire full eBay Boot Camp in a Box–your purchase price can be credited towards getting everything!
Here are some fun success stories from our Live eBay Boot Camp last weekend in La Quinta…These are actual items that the students bought while going to garage sales with me. They then listed them during class.
Hi, Lynn!
Thanks so much for the words of encouragement! Yes, the needlepoint sold for quite a bit of money, considering I only paid $2.00 for it! Thank you for helping me pick it out. I really appreciate it
Serena, San Francisco
Click here to see what it sold for.
Here is another Boot Camp success story. Jeanine wrote us:
I bought this bracelet for $2 at a thrift store Lynn took us to on Saturday.
It sold for $76.55!!!
Unbelievable!
by Lynn A. Dralle, ‘The Queen of Auctions’
Whenever I travel, either by train, plane, or automobile–I just can’t help myself– I always pick up items to sell on eBay. When you travel, not only are you looking at a new market with fresh eyes, but you may be able to write off your travel expenses. I say, “may” because I always want you to check with your own accountant.
When I say fresh eyes–here is what I mean. The dealers and eBay sellers in the town that you are visiting may have overlooked items that your different area of expertise or gut reaction will tell you to purchase. And it makes for great stories and even more eBay fun!
Do you remember this plate from eBay Money Making Madness that I picked up for 50 cents at a garage sale in Bellingham, WA? Read more about it in story #53. If you don’t have that book, it ended up selling for $143.10. WOW!
Well, this week I am having incredible success with a 25-cent find from a garage sale in Bellingham. And I also got to a garage sale in Las Vegas this past weekend and found some incredible items–So, I don’t want to hear from any of you that you can’t find anything to sell. There is stuff everywhere! Read on to learn more.
Tip #1 Always go to garage sales and thrift stores in other cities when traveling
Even if you are only in a different town for a day and it isn’t a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday–still make plans to hit the thrift stores–or even just one thrift store. It doesn’t have to be the focus of your trip but make it a fun little side excursion that could be as quick as 20 minutes out of your day.
You may recall that I hit a thrift store when I was in Sedona, AZ with Peter on vacation. I didn’t drag him around to thrift stores but as I was driving into the resort to meet him I spotted a small thrift store that gave all its proceeds to the local pet shelter. Score!
I have had the best luck in thrift stores that are not Goodwill and Salvation Army. Goodwill and Salvation Army thrift stores are starting to price items at their regional locations and some even have eBay divisions. So, when in town, I hit the local thrift stores first.
So back to Sedona. I was in the store for a total of 30 minutes. I bought a Dansk set of flatware for $25 that sold for over $400, two cat paintings at $3 each and a few other wonderful items.
Here is a photo of one of the cat paintings that sold for $99.00!
I made over $600 in that 30 minutes spent in a Sedona Thrift store. The lesson learned here is this–it doesn’t have to be the focus of your trip to hit garage or estate sales. Even a 30-minute diversion can make you big bucks! Have fun with it!
Tip #2 Plan day trips to local areas that are less than 2 hours away
I live within 2 hours of many wonderful cities and communities. I can be in San Diego, LA, or Arizona in 2 hours. What a cool thing! I have to be honest with you, if I am going to do a day trip, it can’t be more than 2 hours away. I get exhausted. Not only from the drive–but garage saling at a frantic pace is very draining.
So back to those great local areas. My good friend Lori told me that her husband Lou had such amazing luck this summer in Oceanside (where they rent a house for a month) that he had to drive back to the desert several times with carloads full.
Do some research and find communities within a 2-hour radius that may be having community, charity, or neighborhood garage sales that sound amazing. Make a Saturday of it and drag a friend along. It is much more fun that way. Start out early but plan to have lunch at a nice restaurant–then head home. Most sales are pretty much over by noon or 1 pm.
Do the same type of research for thrift stores. Look for locally owned and operated thrift stores and hit those on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Most donations are made on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays (during and after weekends) when working folks are cleaning house. And there will be less foot traffic in these thrift stores during the middle of the week.
Tip #3 Pick the neighborhood, community, and charity sales first
This is key in any city but works exceptionally well when out of town. My mom and I got a late start this past Saturday in Vegas but still thought it would be a blast to check out the sales. So we scanned the Henderson newspaper and the one that caught our eye was a community sale being held in guess where? The local community center.
Off we went and couldn’t believe the cars parked outside this one! Of course, we got a parking place right in front–my mom is a parking pro and in we went. Even though it was 2 hours into the sale–we still found great items.
The gym was packed. I bought 6 teddy bear collectors plates, 4 snowman dishes for $1, souvenir plates for 50 cents each, and a Mexican teapot for $1.
Here are the snowman plates that I bought for $1.
Click here to see what they are up to.
These darling plates list on Replacements.com for $9.99 each, so I made two auctions of two plates each for $9.99. These will definitely sell either at auction or from my eBay Store. My $1 just turned into $20! Score!
Tip #4 Once you have found the best sale in a good neighborhood–just drive around and look for signs
Since you are out of town and not familiar with the streets, we have found that driving around a great area looking for garage sale signs works wonders! You don’t get lost and hopping from one sale to another is quite the adventure.
So, that is what my mom, Indy, and I did in the Vegas area last Saturday. As we were driving to that charity sale we saw signs for garage sales on every single corner. How fun!
One sign led us to a garage sale where I bought a set of Snowman dinnerware for $5.00. Once again I have Christmas on the brain. Never too early to start listing Christmas items. It was a set of six but one cups broke on the car ride home. I turned that set of six into 17 auctions ($9.99 each) that will eventually sell for $169.83 either at auction or in my eBay store.
Here is the price tag from the sale.
Quite the return on a $5 investment!
Here is one of the cups and saucers–Santa.
Click here to read more.
Tip #5 If driving, Load up. If going by train (who am I kidding–no one goes by train anymore) but if flying–think about each item very carefully
So, when I was in Bellingham this summer, I had to be very picky because I was flying back home and didn’t want to ship too many items. It can get too expensive and there goes your profit margin! So, I would buy inexpensive items and then research them when I got back to my mom’s.
If they weren’t going to create incredible returns, I gave them to my sister to sell (since she lives in Bellingham full time).
This one Waechtersbach bowl that I paid 25 cents for is selling for an amazing amount this week. The auction hadn’t ended when I was writing this ezine, so please click below the photo for the final bid price!!! How exciting. At the time of my writing, this article 113 people had already viewed it.
Click here to see the final price.
I also look for flatware when out of town. It’s easy to pack into your luggage. Even though my mom was driving back from Las Vegas with my purchases and my kids (can’t forget them!), the car was loaded down so I had to look for smaller items. I paid $1.00 for this flatware set and broke it out into 10 separate auctions at $9.99 each. Wow!
A $99.90 return on a $1 investment. I know that these will sell because I have had this type of flatware before and it eventually sells.
I hope this article has shown you the power of shopping in different cities and communities. Also the power of my Dralle Method, a proven system that really works. To learn more about it, click here. Thanks for reading and…
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
I am happy to present our 30th story for The 100 Best Things You’ve Bought or Sold on eBay! Look below for the great story of a vintage chess set.Click below to read…
Click here to read the story…
Please patronize Kevin’s auctions (datoolgod) and make his business this year even better. Thanks!
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 antiques 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 ithere.
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.
PO Box 14103
Palm Desert, CA 92255
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.