Hi!
As I am typing in the date for today’s ezine, I just noticed that it is 10-09-08. What a coincidence. Pretty cool! 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 Here we go!
- Lynn Recommends: You can be a part of Boot Camp 2008 with this DVD set
- Special Announcement: Update from ezine reader re: Blue Ridge Pottery
- Feature Article: Random Happenings & Crazy Coincidences!
- The Queen’s Update: We want to hear your stories
This ezine is published once a week.
October 9, 2008 Volume IV, Issue 39
Dear eBayers,
I had been working on updating my listings this week–I was doing 300 per day (in about 1/2 an hour) and figured it would take me 20 days (1/2 hour per day) to complete. For some strange reason, I decided to check the Certified Provider Boards (I am one of 36 eBay Certified Providers–eBay puts their stamp of approval on us and our products). I rarely do this, but for some strange reason, I was drawn to it. Coincidence, I think not. Here is what I found….
“Great news for sellers who are in the process of updating their listings to prepare for the holiday season. eBay had announced that specifying both your Return Policy and Handling Time would be made mandatory in late October. However, given the breadth of changes eBay is asking sellers to make to their listings this year, eBay is giving sellers a reprieve on these two items until after the holiday season.”
Yipppeee!!!
*The new enforcement date for mandatory Return Policy and Handling Time will be in early 2009.* To give sellers adequate time to get their listings ready, eBay will be giving sellers at least 30 days notice before we start enforcement.
I was so excited! Now we can stop that task and get on with filling our eBay stores for the holidays! The webinar that shows you how to do this is still available at the low intro price (since I haven’t recorded the bonus 10 minutes of turbo lister yet). But I will be doing that soon–so order now! At least we have a little bit of breathing room. Thank you eBay!
Don’t forget that the webinar is The Queen’s Court member’s free gift for September. And if you aren’t a Queen’s Court member you can still order the web archive here. This introductory pricing will be available until the bonus is posted in a week or so. You will have immediate access to the webinar after checkout so order now!
Also, great news for my kids this week. Indy got her student of the month award. Here she is receiving that honor!
And Houston’s baseball team won their first tournament as a new team. Here are the boys celebrating and getting crazy in Huntington Beach with their trophies! Exciting.
That is Houston in front showing us how he can do the Splits.
Not quite, Goosie!
The Blue Ridge did OK–but not great. I did get my initial investment money back and have lots left over to put into my eBay Store. I am sure it will sell over the holidays. Please check out the Special Announcement section for a really great email from Robin (one of our ezine readers) with some awesome tips for selling Blue Ridge.
Don’t miss my Lynn Recommends section to learn more about the 2008 La Quinta Boot Camp Footage that is going to be released very soon. You will want to read one of the awesome emails I got from Diva Dawn.
Here is another email that I just got from Dawn last night. It is about this pitcher that she paid 50 cents for and brought to live boot camp to have us help her identify it.
Click here to see what it sold for.
Hi Lynn –
I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU for the help you gave me with the Jasperware pitcher at Boot Camp. I was able to use a lot of the information from the listing you pulled up on PriceMiner in my listing and it really helped. The pitcher on Priceminer was a bit larger than the one I had and it sold for $77.00, so I wasn’t expecting to get quite that amount for mine. Surprise — mine sold today at auction for more and had 51 bids! There was quite a bidding frenzy as the auction closed. Not bad for a 50 cent investment. I couldn’t have done it without you. 😀
So, once again, THANK YOU!
–Dawn
With 10-9-8 being the date, my coincidence with checking the announcement boards, and some other strange things going on this week, I decided to write my feature article about Random Happenings and Crazy Coincidences.
Finally, we are continuing the section where you write in with your major scores! Please read The Queen’s Update section to learn more about submitting your stories.
Happy 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.
Check out this email that I just got from Dawn and keep in mind that this was her second Live Boot Camp.
Dear Lynn,
I wanted to thank you for another fantastic La Quinta Boot Camp. It was informative, exhausting and invigorating all at the same time. At last year’s Boot Camp I knew nothing — this year I knew what I didn’t know and came armed with a long list of questions — none of which I asked because you covered them all during class. And with all the changes eBay is making, it was very important that we covered them and strategies for making the necessary adjustments. DSRs are so important now, and last year they didn’t even exist. Return policies and limits on shipping charges and listing multiples — you covered them all. And you still found time to educate us about antiques, research, shipping, smart buying techniques, the Dralle listing method, photography, after auction strategies and tips for streamlining our businesses.
And just as important, there was a great group of people at Boot Camp — everyone eager to learn and share their experiences and knowledge. There were plenty of opportunities to interact and get to know each other. We worked hard and we had a great time. You make learning fun and exciting. You have such a genuine love for what you do — your encouragement and positive energy makes me believe that I can do this — and do it well.
Thank you, Lynn. And Mo and Carmen and Lee and Jason and Joel. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Dawn
Diva Dawn LV (Check out Dawn’s eBay store here.)
Boot Camp 2008 La Quinta is going to be such awesome footage! Jason did an incredible job filming it and I believe it was our BEST boot camp ever.
If you already own Boot Camp in a Box you can get the La Quinta footage at a special price until it becomes our full Boot Camp in a Box. This special offer ends on October 20th. If you already own the Full Boot Camp in a Box or Boot Camp in a Box Lite, please email us for a special link to purchase the new footage.
If you don’t own the full Boot Camp, you can still get the 4 in 1 Boot Camps in a Box (Bellingham video, LAX audio, 2007 La Quinta video and 2008 La Quinta video) before we retire LAX and 2007 La Quinta video. Read more about this amazing offer here. This special offer also ends on October 20th. You will receive 3 sets of discs now with the boot camp in a box and the La Quinta DVDs later this month or early November.
Don’t delay! This is incredible footage and can change your business just in time for the holidays. The La Quinta 2008 DVD sets will ship out end of October/beginning of November. Read more here.
Hi Lynn,
After reading your article on Blue Ridge dinnerware, I just wanted to warn you not all Blue Ridge is created equal. There are patterns you just can’t give away, and those that go for big money. Also, Blue Ridge made pieces for other outlets, and used different (non-Blue Ridge) marks for those pieces. You have to become familiar with their style of painting to recognize all these pieces.
The pieces that typically sell the best are patterns with people, birds, animals, and if you can find children’s dishes, oh boy! The more elaborate floral patterns also sell well, and there are some rarer floral patterns, too. Serving pieces in most patterns will sell. The duds are flowers in the brown and green patterns, the plaids, Stanhome ivy (can’t give this one away!), and some of the other 1950’s non-floral patterns, although some do sell, but for a low price.
At a live auction I spotted what I was pretty sure was a Blue Ridge Audubon Blue Jay trivet in a box lot, which I got for $5. It was positively ID’d when I got home. The trivet sold for $75 (with some minor damage). I also purchased a set of six “The Language of Flowers” plates off eBay for $175 (including shipping) and sold each plate individually for an average of $100 a piece. It pays to know their style, and to list items individually.
I would recommend that your readers look through the current Blue Ridge listings to become familiar with not only their style of painting, but also the blanks they used. Blue Ridge had a limited supply of shapes (I believe your Joe’s Apple are in the Palisades shape from the ’50s,
Joe’s Apple bread plates on the Palisades form.
See how the auction ended here.
and your Wrinkled Rose on the Colonial blank),
Wrinkled Rose on the Colonial Blank.
See how the auction ended here.
and that can also affect the price, as some pieces are more rare in some blanks.
Since you share your knowledge, I thought I would pay back with some of mine!
Robin Stickney
Please check out Robin’s eBay items here.
Thank you Robin! We appreciate it! Lynn
‘Random Happenings and Crazy Coincidences’
by Lynn A. Dralle, ‘The Queen of Auctions’
We have been selling a lot out of our eBay store and I have heard the same from many of you. Missy M (who is a Queen’s Court member & 2007 Live Boot Camp Grad) just sent me an awesome gift and great email.
Here is her email:
Hi Lynn, thanks for the latest eBay info, even though I only have 600 items, it’s good to have a reprieve!
I’m so glad you got the picture in one piece! I wanted to find a prettier frame, the original black frame was in bad shape so I decided to replace it, but I’m not sure the brown one is an improvement
Here is my gift from Missy. It says “You Can’t Do Business From an Empty Wagon!” That was one of my Grandma’s favorite sayings. However, my grandmother edited it a little and hers was “You Can’t Sell From an Empty Wagon.” I love it! Thank you Missy. But back to Missy’s email
Just to let you know, things are flying off the shelf right now! People are buying random things that have been sitting in my store forever. I’ve been listing steadily and usually have at least 25 auctions on all the time. About half my auctions have been selling, it’s amazing! Just think if I could maintain 100 per week…
–Missy (Visit Missy’s eBay store here.)
It is true, things are flying off of the shelves and we can’t sell from empty wagons–so I challenge you all to LIST, LIST, and then LIST some more. Get your stores stocked for the holidays.
But back to the point of my article. Since we have been selling so much, I have noticed lots of empty shelf space in the eBay room. Thank goodness! I started consolidating shelves to make room for my new store listings. As I was moving items from one shelf to another, I noticed a darling miniature tea set with ladybugs on it. I touched the set while moving it and thought to myself, “I can’t believe that this has not sold.”
See the set here.
About 4 hours later I saw an email from PayPal that I had received a payment. I clicked on the email and could not BELIEVE that it was a payment for the ladybug tea set. It had just sold! Crazy Coincidence. I don’t think so.
Remember the whale story #84 from The 3rd 100 Best Things I’ve Sold on eBay..Ka-Ching!? It is about my kids asking me to show them the most expensive thing I had on eBay so that they could touch it and make it sell. The whale they touched sold for $249.00 three weeks after that.
Enough reminiscing, back to this week. After selling the ladybug tea set, I was doing my Identification on the Queen’s Court Forums and Judy/Trudy had a chalkware face that she didn’t know how to list. I recognized it immediately as being an English piece but I just couldn’t remember the name of the maker. I knew that I had a sailor one like it listed in my eBay store so I searched around on eBay but couldn’t find the listing. I wanted to find the listing so that I could ID the maker for her.
On these chalk face pieces, sometimes the signature would fade and it would become unreadable. I went into the eBay room and asked Carmen if she knew where that Sailor’s head was so that I could read the signature for Judy/Trudy.
Carmen knew exactly where it was and handed it to me. I looked at the backside and made out Bossons. I was able to post that on the Queen’s Court so that Judy/Trudy could get hers listed. Pretty fun!
Well, two days later that chalkware sailor sold. Coincidence? Once again I think not!
Here is the sailor that sold.
Then yesterday we got a question about a red Vespa moped figurine. It was from someone in Italy who wanted to know how much to ship it to his or her Country. I answered the question but they didn’t buy it.
This morning I got another question about the same red Vespa (but from a different eBay user in the US). They wanted to know if it had any broken parts and how old it was. I answered the question, but again they didn’t buy it.
To my surprise, just now, both the red and the blue Vespas that I had listed in my eBay store since December 7, 2006, had sold. They are going to Italy and the email of the person who bought it is VespaMotorClub@something. Pretty neat!
Here is the red one.
The point of this article is that sometimes when one person shows an interest in an item–it will help it to sell. That one person could be someone from as far away as Italy, or it could be Mo or Carmen, or it could even be Me!
Spend some time in your eBay room–rearrange, clean up, and move things around. You will be surprised at what sells! Coincidence–Once again, I think not.
Happy eBaying!
Lynn
We are looking for your eBay success stories to share with our ezine readers and possibly make it into a book of our reader’s best eBay stories.
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:
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.