Hey—I just remembered, it is also Happy Canada Day and Happy 4th of July! Yay to both of our awesome countries. Thank goodness that the Canadian postal strike is over. A terrible bump for all of Canada and for eBay sellers who ship to Canada. Great news that the strike has ended! It was really cute to hear from Mandy (mandicrafts) one of my favorite Queen's Court members (of course you all are ) that her first package received was from me!!! I Sell sheets. She posted on the boards that it is a great sign of things to come. Mandy is always positive, helpful and finds the most amazing scores. Here is a link to a musical instrument that she currently has up for auction.

See this listing here.

eBay Radio in Las Vegas last week was fantastic. Mo and I had a blast meeting new people and hanging out with Queen Court Members.

The eBay Radio party started out with a kickoff meet and greet party at Bugsy's Bar. It was a blast. Kabbage, Page Mage, Stamps.com, Terapeak, Ship Rush and other vendors were there supplying drinks! Many of the speakers were also in attendance: Janelle Elms, Marsha Collier, Debbie Levitt, John "ColderIce" Lawson and Bryan Goodman. eBetsy was there giving away prizes, Lee Mirabel stopped by and fun was had by all. I got to hang out with some Queen's Court members (Diva Dawn, Vicki, Victoria, Danni), Mo, Melinda Jackson and Joel Elad. I played video poker and I actually won 250 credits ($62.50) for a straight flush. Lucky me!

The first day of classes was very well attended. The room was decorated with lots of pink and fun flamingos—most of the seats were full! Good job eBay Radio! The mood was super fun and upbeat. I think this year's was the best eBay Radio party ever!

For lunch, the speakers all sat with different attendees and it was really fun! At my table we shared some of our recent scores. We learned about cowboy photography books from Tara ($150 for a CM Russell Book) and Bavarian china ($500 for a set) from Tara's mom Kristy. We learned about T-shirts ($32 for a Puerto Rican Hard Rock T-shirt) and $404 for a Woodstock CD Parts 1 and 2 from Jason. Debbie told us about a 90" airplane propeller that she sold for $405. Grannie Annie shared a story about a vintage pack of cigarettes with the original sleeve from the 1920s that went for $550. Lance shared about his recent score of a Carole King badge (pinback) that sold for $350 with a few other badges. Rose shared how to sell vintage postcards. It was fascinating.

All in all it was a wonderful first day!

After the first day, Mo and I headed to Bugsy's again to gamble. I won $122 at video poker. We ran into Melinda Jackson and Joel Elad. Joel posed for a photo with the pink flamingo girls.

Check it out.

The second day started out with a wonderful presentation by the guys, Jason and Brian. It was fun and full of thrifting tips and I think that I am going to invite them to do a Queen's Court call with us soon.

The networking luncheon was really fun. At my table we had Richard, Victoria, Diva Dawn, Maureen, Vicki, and Danni. We learned about tips for buying at auction, buying storage units and thrift store buys. Danni shared one of her huge scores from a storage unit buy...a signed photograph of Neil Armstrong that sold for $2,500. Wow!

After lunch, was Griff's hysterical presentation, Know Your Numbers. He is such a great speaker and really got the audience engaged. He even showed us a photo of his new puppy Sadie. Gotta love Griff!

I spoke after Griff and thank goodness that is over! I spoke about product sourcing and profiting. All in all, the event was fantastic. I had a blast and I think the attendees did too. We learned, laughed and bonded. I recommend this event to everyone for next year. 2011 was the best eBay radio party ever!

As I sit here writing this ezine and wondering about what will happen with the new eBay fee structure changes on July 6th, I realize I need to start packing for my trip to Bellingham tomorrow morning. You all probably know my M.O. (Modus Operandi) by this time; I take on tooooo much all the time. So in that vein, I am very happy to announce that I will be a speaker at eBay on Location in Florida this September...right before Live Boot Camp. Too much, Too soon and Too cool!

But let's get back to Live Boot Camp. As we (the girls and I) have analyzed the space at headquarters to figure out seating capacity, we have realized that 12 is our MAX number. It is going to have to be a very small group of select students. Congrats to the six of you that have already reserved your spot!

And FYI, this year's live boot camp at HQ is going to be more important than ever before. So many eBay changes and how to deal with them will be our focus. You can reserve your seat now (remember, only six spots left). Read more about it in the Special Announcement section. The detailed informational page can be found here.

Speaking of celebrating, I just finished the first section of the Flatware Success eBook. Volume One of the flatware eBook was emailed out at 6 am on Wednesday morning--YAY, YAY, and YAY. Can I please say that one more time? Seriously? I am so excited about it. Just like the Dinnerware Success eBook it will be delivered in three volumes (maybe even four as it has become so amazing!). You can learn more and place your order before the price goes up tonight at midnight in the Lynn Recommends Section.

Because I have been so focused on writing the eBook and dealing with a myriad of other things, I decided to do my feature article about TRS (Top Rated Seller) and the presentation I did at eBay Radio. I have to warn you ahead of time about this article because during my presentation Griff actually walked out with his ears plugged. Loooooovvvvve that guy! He cracks me up.

I stopped him mid track and said, "Griff, it is going to get better." I could have started my presentation with the good but my philosophy has always been, get the bad out of the way first and end with the GOOD!

Don't miss my feature article about TRS (Top Rated Seller) and how you can get negatives removed.

Oh, before I forget Mo and I did get a callback from a major network about our interview for a reality show. Who knows what that means, but please keep your fingers, toes and ears crossed. We need some positive mojo in our lives. Thanks for being a loyal ezine reader! I seriously appreciate it!

This is one of the photos of Mo and I that I sent to the
casting company for the reality show tryout.
Fingers crossed.

Oh My Goodness, I forgot to mention the kids in this ezine. Let's see, they are both driving me CRAZY. They are OFFICIALLY teenagers.

Not only did I have to drive Houston to three different practices and tryouts on the same day (high school baseball, high school basketball and travel baseball), I also had to drive Indy to piano lessons and a pool party. Hello people, I am exhausted! How does a single mom, dad or other working parent do this? And the worst part of this entire equation is that the kids just DON'T GET IT. I know many of you can relate to this. I have finally hit the wall. They were such wonderful kids until this summer J/K (just kidding—they still are).

Here we all are at our new house (we just moved in). See how happy we can be in between THOSE moments. My dad was here visiting and we had such a fun dinner last night...ribs, corn on the cob, fruit salad, bread sticks, baked beans (oh no, we forgot to move the can opener and the baked beans took an extra long time to open!!) etc. My dad is awesome and came down to help us move. What a doll! Now I sound like a Kardashian--if only I looked like one that reality show would be much easier to get .

 I love to move and we haven't moved in nine years. Way too long to live in one house! The beauty of moving is that it helps you let things go, sell unneeded items (on eBay of course), throw away paperwork and just move through memories. Our new house is in a gated community on a lake with boats, tennis courts and a pitch and putt. We LOVE it! A wonderful fresh start for the three of us and it is all because I finally got the eBay business OUT of my house and into headquarters!

And by touching all those items, some actually sell! Houston's train table from when he was little just sold this morning. Really, do I need to be hauling around something like this for the rest of my life because it brings back memories? NO!

You can see the listing here.

It will be very interesting to see what happens on July 6th and in the coming months to our eBay fees. Mo, Carmen and I have been experimenting and testing our shipping and pricing strategies for the past three months. We have also been working on adding international shipping/handling/insurance charges to our listings.

I did a wonderful call with Lisa Suttora last week on Tuesday right before I left for Las Vegas regarding these changes and our new strategies (it was the Queen's Court gift for June). Then Lisa did a follow up call this past Friday (without me), June 24th (this was also a QC gift). If you are not a (it was the Queen's Court gift for June) member, these wonderful calls can be purchased as a download here.

Lisa Suttora and me at LOL 2011

Lisa is a brilliant strategist, motivator and businessperson. These calls are invaluable in preparing for the future with eBay. 

As I said to Lisa in the call, one of my favorite quotes of all times is by Samuel Clemens--Mark Twain, "I have lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which have actually happened."

Be very prepared for change and then evaluate your business plan as it evolves. These calls with Lisa will help you be prepared! Click here.

With so much travel, baseball, moving and writing, I have not been able to get to any garage sales or thrift stores. As a treat this past Monday I did stop by my favorite Goodwill store. Total score!

I couldn't believe what was on the shelves. Thank you Thank you! A Wedgwood set for $59.99 (a little high), Arabia Finland, Royal Doulton, Debbie Mumm and a Wizard of Oz coffee mug with the flying monkeys. Love those guys!

You can see this listing here.

I spent over $200 that day. I have NEVER done that in one thrift store before. Here is a photo of my huge score.

As Andy was helping me out with the last box, he said to me, "You left something in the store." I was like, Yikes! "I know I have been a little scattered lately, but what did I drop? Or what did I leave here?" How embarrassing as I am in there an awful lot. As I walked back into the store, all the girls Jackie, Elaine, etc. were standing at the front counter smiling and they pulled out my eBay Shipping Made Easy DVD from behind the counter. Someone had donated it. Oh no! They wanted me to autograph it saying that they had a celebrity shopping in their store. I had to laugh. I am NOT a celebrity but you have found me out . It was pretty cute!

Here is one of the Royal Doulton bowls that already has a bid.
Yay. Score!

I hope you are having a lot of great scores this summer also!

Happy July!

Flatware Success eBook--Volume One is out!

Great news! Check out this email that I just received:

Lynn,

My flatware eBook arrived just a little while ago while I was sleeping. So far I've skimmed all the material -- WOW! You weren't kidding when you said there was tons of interesting information inside. I especially liked all the Hot Tips peppered throughout. I did take the time to read them all while I was skimming. I'm looking forward to reading and absorbing all this new information about flatware. Flatware has been a lucrative part of my eBay business ~ and I expect it will be even more so now that I am armed with so much more knowledge. Thanks for sharing!

-Diva Dawn

It was worth the wait! Not only do I discuss different flatware manufacturers to buy and those to pass by :), I also get into metals and the value of certain precious metals. It has been fascinating for me to write about this and also include ways for you to turn scrap jewelry and metal into cash.

I did a really fun field study when I wanted to sell some gold (you probably know that gold is at an all time high....over $1,500 per troy ounce).

In my case study, I actually show you how I got $175 more for a gold bracelet by knowing what I was doing. A mistake like that would pay for this eBook two times over!

Do you know how to calculate what your jewelry is worth? Where to sell it for the most money? The difference between troy ounces and avoirdupois ounces? I didn't know all of this either and it is fascinating...I include all of this in Volume One of the Flatware Success eBook. This eBook is a resource that will enable you to expand your eBay business into this valuable category.

Now you won't be confused at thrift stores when looking at shelves like this anymore. Yay! Click here to place your order.

To learn more click here.

The Table of Contents looks like this. (This is subject to revision.)

Introduction

1. Types of Flatware/Hollowware
Pewter
Brass
Aluminum
Armetale
Stainless
Silver plate
Coin Silver
Sterling

2. Manufacturers to ALWAYS buy
3. Tricky Manufacturers
4. Manufacturers to NEVER buy
5. Best Selling Patterns of All Times
6. Patterns to Buy
7. Designer/Artists to Buy
8. Good Colors—Gold wash, Plastic?
9. Good Themes
10. Different Countries
11. Identifying the Different Pieces
12. Terms and Definitions
13. Where to Buy?
14. Research in the Field to Make Quick Purchase Decisions
15. How much should you pay?
16. Single pieces to purchase vs. Entire Sets
17. Research at Home
18. Pricing and How to Sell
19. Shipping
20. Condition and Seconds
21. Cleaning
22. Photographs
23. Categories
24. Title

Let's put it to the test--a Case Study

It was very strange, but as I was unpacking a box at HQ, I found a flatware storage chest. In my grandmother's handwriting on the price tag it said, "Box for Silver Flatware." I love seeing my grandmother's writing on anything and this was especially significant to me as I am writing this eBook. I think she approves and the eBook is turning out to be a fantastic resource! Now, off to start writing Volume Two !

Don't miss out on the special pre-order pricing for this eBook.
Order now, the price goes up at midnight this Friday, 7/1.

We even have a 3-part sales plan! Order in three payments here.