Lynn’s eBay Ezine Volume III, Issue Number 45

 

Hi!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!  You know, every year my ezine falls on Thanksgiving Thursday. I debate about whether or not to send it out since it is a holiday–and then–I get the most amazing emails back from you all. And I realize–it is appreciated and even read on a holiday. So this year I want to say that I am grateful to all of you–my loyal ezine readers–and here is a HUGE THANK YOU TO YOU!!!

  • Lynn Recommends The Queen’s Boot Camp in a Box!
  • Special Announcement: Ask an eBay Business Expert anything!
  • Feature Article: Sell Singly Profit Exponentially
  • The Queen’s Update: Our 38th 100 Best Story from YOU

This ezine is published once a week.

November 22, 2007, Volume III, Issue 45

Dear eBayers,

There is so much for me to be grateful for on this wonderful Thanksgiving day–I have already said a big thank you to YOU–my ezine reader! I appreciate you! So, now I must say a big thank you to eBay. Do you know that the past seven days were my best seven days on eBay since the shop closed?

I sold $4,432.60 as TheQueenofAuctions and another $890.95 as SmashinBeauty for a grand total of $5,323.55. It has been an incredible blessing!!! If I did this every week, my annual sales would be over $275,000! And by the way, my margins are huge. I only pay about 10-20% for my merchandise. 80% gross margins are unthinkable in today’s marketplace. But not on eBay and not when you use the Dralle Method.

If you are on the fence about buying the new Boot Camp with all the incredible bonuses, please read the Lynn Recommends section. There is an amazing testimonial from my student Leeann. I am SO Proud of her! And we are offering an extra special bonus if you purchase before midnight tonight–Just because it is Thanksgiving!

And before I forget, I want to say “Thank you” to all my amazing friends and family. I am so fortunate to have so many wonderful people around me. Thank you, Mom, Dad, Peter, Lee, Kiki, Houston, Indy, and Zach. Also to my friends, Julie, Melanie, Teresa, Annie, Hank, D.K., etc. And to Maureen and Carmen–the most amazing pair of assistants in the world. All of you guys Rock!!!

Speaking of Teresa, she was in the desert this weekend with a bunch of her knitting group. Whatever that is. Here is a photo of her, Kate and me. We had so much fun and her dad Bob & his wife Patti took us out to dinner. Then I spent a spa day with my high school friends–Too awesome!

Remember those nine African items I paid $80 for that I listed last week? And the Swid Powell plates?  Read my feature article to learn how they all did on eBay. My feature article is all about NEVER selling anything by the set–this includes dinnerware, flatware, collections, etc. Always try and sell in ones and twos. Don’t miss this article!

The advice in my feature article was one of my tips on eBay radio this past Tuesday with Griff and Lee. If you missed our interview, please click here (my segment is number 5.) The interview is going to be one of a set of ten interviews with PowerSellers like Janelle Elms, Mike Enos, Skip McGrath, and Lisa Suttora. We all get to talk about our five top tips for selling on eBay in 2008. Then the 50 hot tips for eBayers in 2008 are going to be promoted on iTunes!!! What an honor.

AND if you are impatient like me and can’t wait for the feature article to see how high everything went, go ahead and click here for the shell piece. It sold for the most money out of the nine items!!!

Shell piece. Click here.

Another very important thing to remind you of this week is that eBay is still having its SALE. I just had a feeling about this. So, from November 6th until December 12th, the gallery is f.ree! Yes, I said FRE.E!!!! 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.

Don’t forget that 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 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 an auction that made for a very thankful seller. Read about it below.

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.

Hear what Leeann has to say about Boot Camp and The Dralle MethodLeeann just graduated from her second Live eBay Boot Camp in La Quinta. We are so proud of her…After her first Boot Camp in November of 2006, she went home and listed 300 items a week starting right away. It really paid off. Leanne sold $11,800 in December 2006. Way to go! Click here to learn more.

Here is an update we got from Leeann just last week!!!


Leeann working on the road

Hi Lynn,

We just spent a week in Hilton Head, SC, and on the drive down and drive home I listed 300 items. Of the 125 items that I listed on the way down, most sold at auction, and I netted over $1820 – just on those 125 items that were at auction that week – while we were playing in Hilton Head. That is just the neatest thing in the world – to take a week off – go to the beach and PLAY and still have income coming in. A lot of self-employed people don’t have that luxury.

Things are really going great!

Leeann Samples, Tennessee

treasuresbyleeann

Things can be going really great for you on eBay, too, if you just put the Dralle Method into practice! Click here to learn more.

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 this 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.

And remember, if you order before midnight tonight, you will receive my eBay Store Report as an extra bonus! This is a valuable asset to help you maximize your eBay store sales. Click here to learn more.

All Queen’s Court members receive a 15% discount on all of my website store merchandise. That includes Boot Camp in a Box!

I am excited to announce that My friend Joel Elad and I will be doing a teleseminar on Tuesday night, November 27th at 5 PM PST, 8 PM EST. It will be an ‘Ask Campaign’ so you can submit your questions ahead of time and I will pick the best ones and the ones that are asked the most. Click here to learn more and to ask your question.

Joel and the gang from eBay Live!

Joel is the author of eBay your Business and is an expert on many things that I know nothing about! Too Cool.

Books that Joel has authored:

So fire away with questions about types of businesses, licenses you should have, how to get yourself set up, and more. In addition, Joel is a whiz at buying travel at bargains on eBay. Every time I run into Joel at an eBay event he has gotten some incredible travel deals on eBay. Joel is also the lead instructor for the Learning Annex in SF, LA, San Diego, and NY. This is one teleseminar that you will not want to miss.

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 like to listen in, receive the download, and get the transcript, we do have a special introductory rate. Click here to sign up.

Our teleseminar from last month was a hit!!! We only got through half of the questions and the Inner Circle were begging for Joel to return!  If we didn’t get to your question last time, please ask it again here. Thanks!

Even if you can’t make it to the call, drop by and ask your question here. The more questions we have, the more we’ll learn on the call.

Sell Singly, Profit Exponentially

by Lynn A. Dralle, ‘The Queen of Auctions’

(Ed note: We had an incorrect link to the first half of the pottery article in last week’s newsletter. If you missed it, you can find the first half of this article in ezine volume 3, number 42, here.)

I can’t say this enough and it doesn’t apply to new items just the unique one-of-a-kind items that I sell…..Never sell a set of dinnerware as one auction. Never sell a set of flatware as one auction. Never sell a collection of pigs, books, African art, or anything else as one auction. Of course, there are some exceptions to this rule. Use your judgment.

OK, now that we are all on the same page, let’s look at some fun examples. We will start with the African Art pieces from last week. There were nine pieces total and three of the pieces were shields that looked exactly the same. I could have sold them all together in a grouping–but I know better. I broke them out into three separate auctions.

Here is one of the auctions for a shield. It had a crack and yet still sold for the most. Click here to see how much.

The reason it sold for the most was that the man who bought the other two wanted to win all three. By breaking them out into individual auctions and having the auctions end about 3 minutes apart–the bidding got exciting! The one that sold for the most was the last of the three that I listed–even with the crack.

The other two shields ended up selling for $49.38 total.

The shell piece pictured in the introduction of this ezine went for $152.50.

The fringe mask pictured in the last ezine sold for $24.25.

One of the items that really surprised me was this bell that sold for quite a bit. Click here to see how much. I almost kept it because it was so cool and I was going to use it for dinner going outside.

The aborigine statue pictured in the last ezine went for $15.50.

A large mask sold for $22.29 and a very large carved piece pictured below went for $77.88.

Click here to see the closed auction.

Grand total was $465.73 and I only paid $80.00 for the lot. I made 5 times what I paid and my cost of goods sold was only 17%–gross margins of 83%. Try and do that with brand new items. Unique one-of-a-kind items rock!!!

Now, let’s talk about the USC (University of Southern California) El Rodeo Yearbooks I got for free at a sale a few weeks ago. The years were 1932, 1967, 1968, 1969, and 1970. The one with O.J. Simpson (the year he won the Heismann) from 1969 sold for $24.02, 1932 for $18.82, and two others didn’t sell but are now in my eBay store at $24.99 each. But the most amazing one–the one from 1967 sold for an incredible amount.

Here is a photo and please click here because you won’t believe it!

Now, here is my point again. I could have sold them as a lot and I NEVER would have gotten as much as I did individually.

And finally, we will wind up with dinnerware. Let’s look at that Swid Powell dinnerware from last week’s ezine. I paid $8 for the eight good plates. One had a chip, so I decided to keep it as an example.

I put up 8 different auctions with those plates, starting each one at $9.99. I quickly found out that Swid Powell is a very famous company.

Here is a photo of one of the plates.

Swid Powell was founded in 1982 by Addie Powell and Nan Swid. They produced housewares designed by the very famous architects of the time. It was the post-modern style and some of the architects included Robert Venturi, Frank Gehry, Azha Hadid, Stephen Hall, and Richard Meier.

It turns out that Richard Meier was one of the most prolific of these designers. When I originally listed these plates I thought it said PM on the back but it turned out that it said RM for Richard Meier. It would have been better if I had put Richard Meier in the title but it didn’t matter. The eight plates had bids within an hour of my listing them.

If you can believe it, they sold for $34.33 each and all went to the same man! A grand total of $274.64 on an $8 investment.

I hope you see and understand the power of selling singly and profiting exponentially! And remember I started almost all of these auctions at $9.99 (only one was started at $24.99). That’s the power of The Dralle Method.

Happy eBaying and Happy Thanksgiving!

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 38th story for The 100 Best Things You’ve Bought or Sold on eBay! Look below for a story that made for a truly thankful seller. Click below to read…

Click here to read the story…

Please patronize Ann’s auctions (azcomebuy) and store (AAnns Attic) and make her 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 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


Visit my eBay Store.

Visit my eBay auctions.

For more great eBay tips and stories, visit my website at:

http://www.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 an online auction click here.