Hi!
Another crazy buying week here in the desert. I can’t believe how many amazing sales there was this past weekend! Also, exciting, exciting news about La Quinta Boot Camp in a Box.
- Lynn Recommends: The Queen’s Court
- Special Announcement: La Quinta Full Boot Camp in a Box!
- Feature Article: If it reminds you of your childhood—Buy it!
- The Queen’s Update: Our 36th 100 Best Story from YOU
This ezine is published once a week.
November 8, 2007, Volume III, Issue 43
Dear,
I spent over $1,500 at an estate sale this past Friday so I was NOT very excited to go out on Saturday morning. However, it was the day of one of our favorite charity sales here in the valley–so I reluctantly agreed to have my mom pick me up at 6:30 am to go wait in line. Yikes!
As I climbed into the mini-van I said, “I am going to be super picky today.” “Yeah, right,” she answered back. Of course, she was correct and I ended up spending $500 and filling the mini-van–once again. Will I ever learn?
Here is a photo of my mom and Indy in front of my “picky” load.
My mom even found that full-size mannequin in the photo for only $25. Since she sells a lot of clothes it has really come in handy. Check out this auction of hers with the mannequin wearing a St. John Knit outfit. Pretty nifty. I also bought that shorter mannequin that you see with the wooden arms and I am going to list that on eBay because there are some serious mannequin collectors.
Mom’s auction photo, click here to learn more
Do you remember story #81 from my 2nd 100 Best Things book – Money-Making Madness? It is about this mannequin hand that sold for a bunch.
We have been having so much fun with the Queen’s Court–on the forums, identifying other’s items, and especially during the monthly calls where Maureen (mo) interviews me with your questions. Because I don’t want you to miss out on this, I have a special sneak peek for you in the Lynn Recommends section.
Oh, before I forget, that coffee mug from last week that I bought with Peter’s $3, ended up selling for $20.49!!!! How strange was that? He gives me a $20 bill, I spend it all and voila, I have another $20 bill in my pocket. eBay is so cool!!
I am so excited to announce that the New La Quinta Boot Camp in a Box is ready to sell and ship!!! It is incredibly informative and full of hours of fun learning that you must check out in the Special Announcement section.
Another very important thing to remind you of this week is that eBay is having another SALE. I just had a feeling about this. So, from November 6th until December 12th, the gallery is free! Yes, I said FREE!!!! I always use the gallery–so it is my goal to list at least 1,000 items in the next 5 weeks and save myself $350. I challenge you to list above and beyond your usual rate by using the Dralle Method.
Back to business. In that “picky” load of mine from last Saturday, I had found two cranberry lamp shades–antique and only $3 each. I knew that they were good because those were the kinds of things my grandmother loved to sell! In the old days of the shop she would have gotten $125 (at least for this one):
Click here to see what it is selling for.
And probably $65 for this one:
Click here to see what it is selling for.
Things have really changed since those days, and I don’t expect to get anywhere near her prices. But I still think that I will do quite well on my $6 investment. What is funny, is that the newer shade (the one that I think maybe Fenton) will probably sell for more than the true antique gas shade.
And that brings me to this week’s feature article. eBay has turned the world upside down. At least the antique world that I used to know in my grandmother’s antiques store. Things that used to sell for big bucks (like cranberry light shades) don’t go for so much and newer kitschier items (like Playmobil sets) can sell for a small fortune.
In my “picky” van full of merchandise–I had found 4 Playmobil sets that I spent 50 cents each on. You must read this week’s feature article to learn more about vintage toys and Playmobil!
Finally, I have started selling manufacturers’ new items under a new user ID. Check out my auctions at SmashinBeauty. You can get some great deals on brand new cosmetics. I was fortunate enough to work with Jen Cano this week from HammerTap on our new item strategies. It was a lot of fun and I learned a ton! Watch for a feature article coming up soon about this super research tool.
This week we have another great story about the things you all have sold on eBay. This week’s story is about a German zebra and an American cat.
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 Queen’s Court. What can I say? It has been a blast for all of us and we have all learned an incredible amount. Check out this email that I got during our monthly phone call last month….
Hi,
I love the call…you two are a riot!! Thanks so much.
If you have time can you go over sterling, stainless, silverplate…..which do we go for ??
So confusing!!
Thanks, Linda
She is talking about Maureen (Mo) being a riot. The girl is not only a great friend, an amazing worker but also a comedian. We do have an awful lot of fun on these monthly Q&As that are only available to Queen’s Court Members. Members get to ask all the questions, listen in, email questions while we are living and finally–they get a download, an actual CD mailed to their home, and a written downloadable transcript.
Plus they get 15% off all my products, a monthly special gift, and access to the Queen’s Court Inner Circle Forums. Just to let you know how great this membership is, I have decided to share a 5-minute clip of Mo and me last month.
Finally, if you join now you will be able to take 15% off of the La Quinta NEW Boot Camp in a Box. Sign up here.
This month’s Q&A call for Queen’s Court members will be held on Wednesday night, November 14th and we think we may even be able to get Carmen on the line with us. It will be an insightful, fun, and always informative call! Please join us!!
Check out these emails that I just got from one of our Live La Quinta Boot Campers:
Hi Lynn,
It is Judy from the La Quinta Boot Camp. I just finished my 100th listing this week! Yippee! Last week I did 98! It is a lot of work but it really seems to be paying off.
I also have well over 200 items in my store. It seems like I am shipping every day, which is a good thing. And..if you have time, check out my bulldog auction. It is ending today and if it goes any higher, I may send you a story for your newsletter. I am having a great time! Thank you one more time for being such an inspiration! …Judy (salesbytrudy)
Lynn,
FYI the French Bulldog ended at 79.00!
I also wanted to tell you that I had a huge day yesterday. I sold 16 items totaling $286.89! Thanks again, and again, and again, and again!!!!!
Judy
P.S. I forgot to mention that I only paid $1 for that Bulldog…Judy
I am not going to show you the bulldog because I want Judy to submit a story to us for one of the ezines! But it just goes to show you how powerful these three-day events are and how they can change your life!
Emails like that give me goosebumps and help me to see just how powerful the Dralle Method is for those who put it into practice!
The La Quinta Boot Camp footage is finished and we have put together an incredible introductory package for you. There are so many bonuses it will make your head spin. I know it is making Carmen’s, Mo’s, Lee’s, and my mother’s heads spin–trying to put it all together in time to ship out early next week. Click here to learn more. This offer expires soon, so don’t delay or make excuses!
This new Boot Camp footage is totally up-to-date; showing the new sell your item form and changes that I have made to my system. I am really excited to announce the “on-sale” special promotion details today. What are you waiting for? It is time to change your eBay business and your life…right now!
Remember, I am an eBay Certified Service Provider. eBay lets me put their name on all of my products. And I offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. I want you to be as successful as I am. Click here.
‘If it Reminds you of your Childhood–BUY IT!‘
by Lynn A. Dralle, ‘The Queen of Auctions’
(We will be presenting the second half of Linda Richard’s American Pottery article next week.)
OK, I have to start this article by apologizing to Maureen (Mo). I have been giving her a lot of grief lately for my Pfaltzgraff mishaps. But this weekend, a little tidbit of wisdom that she shared with me over a year ago, is really going to pay off!
When Mo went out and started selling on her own on eBay, one of the first things she listed was a toy that her son Kelly had never opened or played with. It was a Playmobil set and it brought in over $40. She mentioned it to me in passing over a year ago but I never gave it a second thought. What is Playmobil anyway? I had never heard of it and just filed it back in the recesses of my mind. By the way, there is a lot filed back there!
So, this weekend when I was at a church sale, I saw four boxes (completely beat up and taped with brown packing tape) that said Playmobil on them. “Ding, Ding, Ding!” an alarm went off in my mind. Finally, maybe some retribution for the Pfaltzgraff. I asked the nice man running the sale how much and he said, “How about 50 cents each?” Sounded like a good gamble to me.
Here is a photo of those four beat-up boxes. Would you have bought them? I wouldn’t have without Mo’s tip from last year! I didn’t even bother to open them to see what was inside. Why waste precious garage saling time when they were only $2.00 for the bunch?
I started thinking about toys as a category especially since I am re-writing my 6-week ecourse to become an online course that can be done at each student’s own pace. I was on the Toys & Hobbies section! How ironic!
Here are some of the statistics that I was working on. In 2005, eBay predicted that this category would account for $1.7 billion in sales. Now that is huge. I am currently trying to find actual numbers for 2005 and 2006–so if anyone knows where I can go to find that data, I would seriously appreciate the help. But here is one of the charts that I did this week. It is based on the number of listings on eBay in the past two weeks by sub-category. Of course, this doesn’t necessarily translate to dollar volume, but it sure is interesting. I found that Playmobil had its own category under the sub-category Pretend Play, Preschool. At 74,544 listings in the past two weeks and 3.87% of the total–not a bad place to be!
| TOYS & HOBBIES | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Sub-Category |
|
# of Listings |
% |
|
| Diecast, Toy Vehicles |
304,881 |
15.84% |
||
| Action Figures |
264,215 |
13.73% |
||
| TV, Movie, Character Toys |
210,697 |
10.95% |
||
| Model RR, Trains |
174,450 |
9.06% |
||
| Radio Control |
143,225 |
7.44% |
||
| Games |
135,771 |
7.05% |
||
| Trading Card Games |
133,715 |
6.95% |
||
| Stuffed Animals |
99,290 |
5.16% |
||
| Models, Kits |
94,957 |
4.93% |
||
| Pretend Play, Preschool |
74,544 |
3.87% |
||
| Building Toys |
41,410 |
2.15% |
||
| Beanbag Plush, Beanie Babies |
40,829 |
2.12% |
||
| Vintage, Antique Toys |
36,635 |
1.90% |
||
| Puzzles |
27,394 |
1.42% |
||
| Educational |
26,025 |
1.35% |
||
| Slot Cars |
21,946 |
1.14% |
||
| Electronic, Battery, Wind-up |
19,112 |
0.99% |
||
| Classic Toys |
18,298 |
0.95% |
||
| Outdoor Toys, Structures |
14,136 |
0.73% |
||
| Toy Soldiers |
13,936 |
0.72% |
||
| Fast Food, Cereal Premiums |
13,568 |
0.70% |
||
| Robots, Monsters, Space Toys |
9,443 |
0.49% |
||
| Wholesale Lots |
6,559 |
0.34% |
||
|
1,925,036 |
||||
So, as soon as I got the Playmobil sets home, I started doing some research. Yikes! In perfect condition, the cowboy and Indian set would sell for about $67.00. Mine was far from perfect but was only missing a few items on the inside.
Check it out here to see more about it.
I think that the firefighter set I got may sell for the most. Click here to check it out. 77 people have already viewed this auction.
I also got a construction set and a doctor’s and nurse’s set. They were all from about 1976, so I decided to do a little digging and find out more about the company.
Playmobil, sometimes just called “Playmo,” is a line of toys made by the Brandstatter Group out of Zirndorf, Germany.
The company originated in 1876 by a locksmith named Andreas Brandstatter who specialized in lock and metal fittings. In 1908, his son George took over and by the 1930s the company was making telephones, cash registers and various items for toy shops using metal and they changed the name to Geobra short for George Brandstatter.
In 1958, when the hula hoop craze hit, Horst Brandstatter (a technician and moldmaker) invented the machine that could mold soft plastic hoses into hoops. The company made a fortune fulfilling the demand for the hula hoop. Horst’s new technique allowed him to produce any shape (not just hula hoops) and a prototype for the first Playmobil was invented. It was a closed racing car manufactured in a single step.
It wasn’t until the 1970s when the oil crisis hit that Geobra realized that drastic measures were required to keep the company afloat. With the raw material used to create their products being scarce, they needed to develop products that could be made with smaller amounts of plastic. Horst had been working with Hans Beck (the head of Geobra’s research department) for three years on small moveable figures with accessories at an affordable price. The toys were to be called Playmobil.
Hans Beck is considered “The Father of Playmobil.” His toys were not too complex and yet flexible. The toy’s hands could grip and hold objects and could be easily held by a child. The Playmobil faces were also based on children’s drawings (large head, big smile, and no nose). The first Playmobil sets were rolled out in 1974 but did not begin to be sold worldwide until 1975. Amazing, but I think my charity sale finds were some of the earlier sets because they had 1976 on the boxes!
The first construction worker set included workers’ accessories as well as three crates of the German national drink: beer. This set’s packaging caused a bit of an uproar as it showed two of the figures discussing their beer drinking. “That’s my fifth bottle today,” said one of the figures. “Don’t worry, we’ve got enough beer.” You can imagine this would upset quite a few parents since it was printed on toys for small children. Unfortunately, that is NOT the construction set I got–because I bet that one wasn’t on the shelf long and is worth a small fortune!
Here is the construction set I did get.
When looking for Playmobil, you need to be aware that counterfeits have been made. Hungary and China are two of the main sources for the Playmobil lookalikes. These are made from inferior materials, but the designs are exact duplicates of the originals.
Playmobil has been a success for more than 25 years and a direct competitor to Lego. Can’t wait to see how these sets sell! Thanks, Mo!!
So, remember Toys are a huge category on eBay. Do some digging around in your attic, your garage and in thrift stores, and garage sales. Anything that reminds you of your childhood and you say “Wow, remember these?” Buy it!! Good luck to you and…
Happy eBaying!
Lynn
I am happy to present our 36th story for The 100 Best Things You’ve Bought or Sold on eBay! Look below for a story of a German zebra and an American cat. 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 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.
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.
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.