Hi!
I always get a little melancholy around this time of year. You see, tomorrow would have been my grandma’s 96th birthday.
- Lynn Recommends: ecourse update pre-sale
- Special Announcement: Live Boot Camp is open for your Reservation!
- Feature Article: Mexican Pottery–Don’t pass it up
- The Queen’s Update: We want to hear your eBay success stories!
This ezine is published once a week.
January 24, 2008 Volume IV, Issue 4
Dear eBayers,
My grandmother loved her birthday and all the presents that came along with it. That is why this time of year is so difficult for me. I really miss her a lot in January.
Cheryl Leaf at one of her birthday celebrations.
So, I decided to do something really nice for Indiana. She tends to get overlooked with our focus on baseball. So before I told her what I had done for her, I pulled Houston into my office and said, “How much time do we spend doing baseball with you?” He said, “A lot.” “How much money do I spend on all those travel weekends and all your baseball gear”? He said “A lot– I get it, what are you going to do for Indy? It better NOT is Disneyland.” I said it isn’t and he said I’m fine with that and walked out.
So we surprised Indy in the living room and videotaped it. It was hysterical. I showed her a map of a stadium and said, “Do you know what this is?” “No,” she said. I said “It is a map of a concert hall where they are going to be having a concert on Tuesday night. We have 9th-row seats on the floor right by the stage. Whose concert do you think it is?”
She pretended to faint and started screaming, “Finally, finally I get to see Hannah Montana in concert!!!” Her lifelong dream. So, we drove to Arizona for one night to see the famous Miley Cyrus (daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus) in concert. It was a blast and Indy had sooo much fun!
Indy and me before the concert.
The second we sat down in our seats, Indy asked me if she could go and stand by the stage. I was really proud of her. She is only 9 years old and off she went. She got right up there, made friends, and did it with quiet determination. She stayed there for the entire show! Hannah Montana even touched her pinky.
Photo of Hannah right before she touched indy’s pinky.
It reminded me of when my parents took me from Monmouth, Oregon to Portland, Oregon to see David Cassidy in concert. It was one of those events that you NEVER forget and as MasterCard would say “Priceless!”
Indy at the concert.
Speaking of Priceless, that is what the Live Boot Camp experience will be for those lucky enough to attend. Please read the Special Announcement section to learn more. We are ready to accept reservations!!! How exciting!
Well, remember that chartreuse Fiesta from last week? I was right! Those 18 auctions more than paid for the entire table full. Sixteen of the auctions sold for a total of $243.43!
I was right about this being the piece that would sell for the most!
You all know that I love selling dinnerware and lately I have been finding a lot of Mexican pottery so I thought that this would make a great subject for this week’s feature article. Don’t miss it because Mexican pottery sells and it sells well!
In the Lynn Recommends section, I am very happy to announce that after two years, I have completely rewritten my original basic ecourse. You must read more about this.
Meg Whitman has announced that she will be stepping down from the helm of eBay effective March 31st. Meg did an incredible job for the ten years she was at eBay but I think some new perspective will do the company well. I am not worried at all about eBay or our future selling on the site.
Remember that PriceMiner‘s Jim Kamnikar is going to give away a 2-year subscription to one of my lucky ezine readers. Click here to enter the drawing. We will choose the winner around February 1st. Good Luck!
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.
I wrote my original basic ecourse back in 2005. For the infomercial, we had to update it and make it completely current. It is now not sent out week by week but is sent to you all at once as a course you can go through at your own pace.
It is now called “Six Steps to eBay Success” and still covers all the topics of the original ecourse but updated with new screenshots (remember eBay recently changed their SYI (Sell your Item form)) and my new and revised strategies.
I was amazed at how much had changed since I originally wrote it almost three years ago! Yikes, time flies!
So, if you have ever purchased the basic ecourse, watch for an email with a special invitation to get this upgrade for a super special low introductory price!!! And if you have never purchased the ecourse, watch for a special intro price for “Six Steps to Your eBay Success.”
The invitations have gone out for the ONE and ONLY Live eBay Boot Camp of 2008. It will be held (once again) at the amazing La Quinta Resort here in the Palm Springs area.
To get the best room rates for my students (and myself!) it will be held the weekend after Labor Day; Friday through Sunday, September 5th-7th, 2008.
Click here to learn more.
This Boot Camp will sell out–especially with the infomercial coming out on February 2nd, so I encourage you to reserve your seat as soon as you can.
I am so excited to have another fun bunch of students meet us here this Fall. I hope that you will be one of those students.
Click here to reserve your spot now.
‘Mexican Pottery–Don’t Pass it up‘
by Lynn A. Dralle, ‘The Queen of Auctions’
Before I tell you about some Mexican pottery I found recently, let me update you on that orange piece that we thought was Catalina. Was it? No! Quite a few of you wrote in to tell me that it was Shawnee in the Valencia pattern. I had also emailed Jack Chipman, the godfather of California pottery, and author of many books. He also got me the same information. So it is now listed (correctly) and should sell for about $20. I’ll take it!
This weekend we had a baseball tournament (something new and different!), but this time it was being held here in the desert. The first game was scheduled to start at 8:45 am so my mom, Indy and I had a few hours to get into trouble before it started.
The entire morning turned into a comedy of errors. As we were leaving the house, I realized that I had forgotten my cell phone–so back we go. Then we had to stop off at the recycling center to drop off unusable cardboard–that took another 20 minutes. So it was 8:15 by the time we found our first sale in Rancho Mirage.
“Funny,” I said to my mom, “there are no signs and no cars at the address.” I looked closer at the newspaper and saw that it was a “Sunday Only” sale. Don’t you just hate that!!! So we headed to a sale off of Highway 74 that had been going on since Friday. I usually don’t like to hit Friday sales on a Saturday but these guys had some nice things. Most were quite highly-priced. However, there was a Pier One dinner set for only $20.
Now I don’t typically buy Pier One, Ikea, or Target dishes unless the pattern is super cool and this one was. It was a rust crackle. Got it home and if you can believe it the dinner plates list for over $40 each on Replacements. Score!
Isn’t it a neat pattern?
Remember that houseful that I bought? (Was it just last week?) Wow, time flies. Well, I said that there were two more dinner sets that I would be listing to recoup my costs. One of them was a Mexican set–so while at the baseball tournament last Saturday, I got it listed. All the pieces were signed in Oaxaca, Mexico so I decided to do a little research on Mexican Pottery. (By the way, Oaxaca is pronounced Wah-Ha-Ka.)
Mexican Pottery and Ceramics have a rich history. Early Mexican Pottery dates back centuries and was used for ceremonial purposes, utilitarian purposes, and for trade. These pieces are items of beauty with their deep rich colors made from local clays and painted with local pigments.
The potteries of Mexico are very diversified depending upon the region because each region relies upon its local resources. Some of the main regions and types of potteries are: Mata Ortiz or Casas Grandes, Talavera and Oaxacan.
Mata Ortiz Pottery is also known as Casas Grandes Pottery. It is pottery made from native clay that is hand-formed and stone-polished. It is thin-walled pottery. It is painted with local pigments that are brushed on with human or pet hair. Not while attached to the human or pet–of course!
Talavera pottery is a type of majolica. This pottery was first introduced in Spain but is actually more common in the city of Puebla, Mexico. Talavera Poblano is distinct in that it is made with two firings. The first firing is a tin firing and the second firing is a lead firing. These pieces are used extensively as tiles and adornments for churches. It is authentic Talaveran pottery only if it is signed by the workshop and states that it is from the city of Puebla.
In the town of San Barolo, in Oaxaca, they are known for their Barro Negro or Black Clay. This type of pottery is formed without a wheel and is shaped with common tools, such as a piece of a gourd. It is warmed in the sun and fired in an open fire. This type of pottery gets its color from the polishing process. The polishing process brings the red color out from inside the clay.
Since Oaxaca is most well known for its black pottery, the colored pieces can command higher prices. I think that this is why all of my dinner plates already have bids. Yipppeeee! Also, remember that chop plate sold for over $100! Read that story to learn more about the colored Oaxaca pottery.
Story number 76 from my 3rd 100 Best Book.
The moral of this article is ALWAYS buy pottery that is signed Mexico when you see it. I guarantee (well to the best of my ability) that you will get at least $9.99 for it and maybe more!!!
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
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.
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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.