Hi!
Hi everyone! Merry Christmas! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas season selling on eBay and spending time with friends and family!
- Lynn Recommends: Live Boot Camp
- Special Announcement: Year-End Blowout – The Twelve Days of Christmas
- Feature Article: Can you shop at the $1 store and make money on eBay?
- The Queen’s Update: We want to hear your stories
This ezine is published once a week.
December 18, 2008 Volume IV, Issue 45
Dear eBayers,
My vacation was awesome and it was hard to return to reality. Especially after getting stuck in Denver on the way home for 4 1/2 hours in 15 degrees below zero weather. Of course, I had on a light jacket and flip-flops. I was traveling from one resort town to another, why wouldn’t I wear flip-flops?
Check out this photo from the beach in South Padre Island.
The plane was so cold that the pilots drove it around before take-off to try and warm it up. No such luck. There was a gal on the plane named Jenna who was so sweet that she actually handed me a pair of extra socks that she travels with. I think she saved my life! Thank you, Jenna!
Anyway, after arriving home in Palm Springs at 2:30 am on Monday morning, it was very hard to get back into the swing of eBay things. I looked at my numbers and only had 27 things listed at auction. Panic set in as it is my goal to never dip below 100. Monday was Indy’s birthday party, so that day was shot. Her party started at 3:30 and it was all I could do to get ready for that.
We had a blast at her party. Here is a photo.
After the party, I had to prepare for my Griff interview. It was on Tuesday at 1 pm. If you missed it you can check it out here.
There was absolutely no time to list anything on eBay that Monday. But luckily, I had about 150 I Sell sheets all ready to go and I was able to list 75 items on Tuesday, and am now back at over 100 things at auction. Whew! What a relief!
I want to update you on all the great items I got at the Bing Crosby mobile home park sale. The EAPG large decanter did not sell for $99, but I know it will eventually sell out of my eBay store. The Hawaiian tiki mugs did the very best. I got 8 of them for 50 cents each. Here is the one I talked about in the Griff interview.
Click here to see how much it sold for. Unbelievable!
I sold $200 worth of the sterling and now the rest is in my eBay store and should sell soon.
Thank you to Shirley who sent me the most adorable brooch/pin. I have been meaning to thank her and haven’t had the time.
So Shirley Thank you!
And here is what her card said:
Dear Lynn,
I have been on eBay since 1997. eBay live in Boston was great fun. I have a few of your books (correction…all of your books) plus your DVDs from Chicago eBay.
Anyway, I so appreciate your taking the time to do your ezines…all the teaching you have done! I have learned a great deal from you. I saw this pin in a thrift shop and immediately thought of you. I love the way it sparkles. Hope you wear it and enjoy this holiday season.
Best, Shirley
Fiddlefever is her user id and please check out her auctions.
Shirley, thank you for helping me get into the holiday spirit. I already have the brooch pinned on my Christmas stocking. My grandmother started a tradition of putting holiday brooches on all of her grandchildren’s stockings–so it was a very special gift!
Here is a picture of my Christmas stocking that my mom and grandma made years ago (well not that many years ago!)
Once again, Live Boot Camp is slowly but surely (not Shirley) selling out. Please read more about it in the Lynn recommends section.
I have been amazed at what has been selling out of my eBay store this year. We just sold some bowls that I had bought at the $1 store as a test to see if you really can sell items from retail stores. Don’t miss my feature article which talks about buying items at TJMaxx, Marshalls, Big Lots, and the $1 stores.
A quick note about Markdown Manager. I meant to say “be careful” with Markdown Manager in my little blurb two weeks ago but forgot. I did hear from a few of you with a reminder so I thank you for that! Sometimes Markdown Manager can be flaky. It may not start your sale when requested, will sometimes forget to stop it, and sometimes may even start a sale 6 months from when you wanted it to start. So please beware and proceed with caution.
Speaking of markdowns, we are having a year-end sale. You will want to read more about the Year-End Blowout in the special announcement section.
I will leave you with a picture of our Christmas tree this year and the five-foot-tall singing Santa that Indy and I got at a garage sale for $20. He really freaks me out but the kids love him. Unfortunately, there is no room to store him in our garage so he spends the rest of the year in the kid’s bathroom. I think I may take him to my storage unit for 2009.
Happy Holidays and 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.
Many of you have called or emailed to find out when our ONLY Live Boot Camp of 2009 is going to be. We have confirmed our dates and it is going to be Friday, August 28th, Saturday, August 29th, and Sunday, August 30th at the world-famous La Quinta Resort! If you can believe it, there are only 15 seats left! And five of the nine who are coming are return students. Too much fun!
By holding it the last weekend in August, we were able to negotiate super great room rates for all you future students and the resort will not be very crowded. We will also be able to get the meeting rooms that we want.
Here are my 2008 Graduates!
Don’t you want to be running with us next year? I want to see you in La Quinta. Please let us know if you didn’t receive your special invitation. Contact us here.
OK, Lee talked me into a sale this year. A special holiday sale called “The 12 Days of Christmas“! So from now until midnight of Tuesday, December 30th, everything on my Website will be discounted. You will receive a discount between 20% and 40% off (Not including live Boot Camp.) Click here to find out what your discount is. And if you are a Queen’s Court member–you still get your 15% off on top of that. Make sure you enter both coupon codes to get your total discount.
Click here to find out your discount!
Now is the best time to buy Boot Camp in a Box. See what Stephen Banks has to say about the latest edition of Boot Camp in a Box:
…the material was excellent, the presentation was first rate, and very easy to watch!! kudos!!!
Or stock up on I Sell sheets, buy the 3 100 Best books as gifts (we will ship to whomever you like), and check out all our great learning tools! Click here to find out your discount!
And don’t forget, business expenses are fully tax-deductible. This is your last chance this year to invest in your business and lower your taxes (as always, consult with your accountant.)
Queen’s Court members, please log on to the forums for your special coupon code with your additional discount. Make sure you enter both coupon codes to get your total discount.
Happy Shopping!
‘Can you really shop retail and make money on eBay? My 3 Top Tips’
by Lynn Dralle, The Queen of Auctions
Right before Christmas last year, I was in the Dollar Store buying some last-minute stocking stuffers when I spotted the neatest-looking dinnerware. It was by Royal Norfolk and it had roosters on it. Can’t go wrong with Roosters, ever. I started wondering if I could buy the dinner plates and the soup bowls and sell them on eBay?
It also got me thinking about shopping at other discount stores like TJ Maxx, Big Lots (Formerly Pic-n-Save), and Marshalls take the mainstream retailers’ overstocks and manufacturers’ overstocks and sell them at deep discounts. The discount stores stocks are constantly changing so I thought it might be a really great place for sourcing products–especially in the off garage sale months like winter!
So for the purposes of an article that I knew I would EVENTUALLY write, I shelled out $8 for four dinner plates and four large bowls. I listed them immediately at Christmas time in 2007 and they didn’t sell so we moved them into my eBay store on January 13th of 2008.
Here are the dinner plates that are still for sale in my eBay store.
Cute, aren’t they?
Tip #1: Don’t spend too much & watch for markdowns.
I only spent $2 for each $9.99 auction listing so I wasn’t taking a very big risk. The four soup bowls just sold this week! My $4 investment returned $19.98 within a year.
These soup bowls can be seen here.
I am surprised that the dinner plates didn’t sell first, but they will soon. I recommend that you try and keep your spending at $1 to $3 per $9.99 auction listing.
Also, watch for red tags and markdowns. These discount stores rotate their stock quickly so it is a good idea to always check the clearance shelves.
Tip #2: Pick Good Brand Names or Popular Subjects
I am amazed at some of the brand names these discount chains get. I have seen Spode, Lladro, Royal Doulton, Wedgwood, Fitz & Floyd, Lenox, and more.
In fact, a good friend is starting to sell on eBay and she called me from Marshalls last week and said, “I can’t believe it, but they have Deruta Pottery from Italy here.” She is Italian and collects this pottery but I told her to wait until it got marked down since the pieces were over $10 each. Deruta is a very good brand and I have had tremendous success with it.
Check out this Deruta Chop Plate I have listed in my eBay store. It didn’t sell at auction last week but will eventually sell from my store.
Try and stick with brand names that you know are good. Mo had a huge success with some dinnerware from TJ Maxx earlier this year. She bought dinner plates, cereal bowls, and soup bowls in the Spode Winter’s Eve Blue pattern for between $1.99 and $2.99 each. The dinner plates all sold for $45.00 each!
She still has some of the bowls left. You can check them out here.
As soon as my mom heard Mo’s story, she ran out to a different TJ Maxx store in La Quinta looking for similar items. She bought a stack of Spode Christmas plates that were marked down to $1.99 each with red tags. She didn’t get them listed before she moved to Bellingham for the Summer so when she moved back to Bellingham this Fall, she gave them to me. Thank you Mom!
Anyway, I sold three of the Christmas plates at auction for $9.99 each and then moved the last two into my eBay store. Well, they both just sold out of my eBay store. One sold on December 4th and one on December 9th.
Click here to see for how much.
We had only just listed them in the eBay store on November 21, 2008. It only took about two weeks for them to sell. Amazing!
In addition to looking for good brand names, also look for popular subject matter like farm animals; (cows, horses, roosters, chickens, sheep, pigs) rabbits, cats and dogs. The dinnerware that I sold from the $1 store wasn’t a great brand, Royal Norfolk, but the subject matter and color scheme were.
Tip #3: Keep your Receipts and Return them within 30 Days
The best part about shopping at discount chains is that most accept returns within 30 days with receipts. Make sure you have a special place to keep your receipts so that if you do decide to return items, you can find the receipts quickly.
30 days gives you enough time to try items at auction, move them into your eBay store and then make a decision about whether to return or not.
If you have paid less than $3 per auction, I would wait it out. However, if you have decided to try more expensive items, this can really work to your advantage. I have heard some wonderful success stories from people who sell bedding and linens that they find at these discounters. If they don’t sell within 30 days and they have paid $25 or more, they return the bedding for a full refund.
It is also a good idea to check outlet malls if you have any that are close to you. Get to know the outlet store managers and let them know that you are especially interested in items at the final markdown.
Finally, with so many mainstream retailers going out of business, the discount stores, like the Dollar Store chains, Marshalls, Big Lots and TJ Maxx will be getting flooded with manufacturers and store overstocks. Now is a great time to go shopping! And make money!
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.
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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.