March 29th, 2013
Volume IX, Issue 04
Hi!
Happy Spring! Are you all ready for the snow and rain to be gone? Are you ready for Garage Sale Season to swing into high gear? I am sure many of you are! Our Garage Sale Season in the desert is coming to a close and I think I will start venturing west to Orange County and other points on the coast. It is time for some new stomping grounds!
As I write this ezine, Houston, Indy and I are on our way to Arizona for Baseball Spring Training. How fun! Houston is driving and I get to work. Amazing—it is very cool to have a chauffer. Too bad he costs so much in upkeep (ie food).
It has been a little stressful lately and we decided spur of the moment to jump in the car and catch a few games. Houston can’t start playing baseball for Xavier until April 1st, so it made a lot of sense to get away now.
Speaking of Xavier, Indy got her acceptance letter this week! I am very proud of her and both kids will be there next year. Houston as a Junior and Indy as a Freshman. So excited for both of them! It is a real family environment and Goose loves his new school.
After some run around with office space and broken promises, we have found the perfect place! My mom, Mo and I viewed it about two weeks ago and everything fell into place today. I just signed a four year lease for 1330 square feet. It has awesome views of the mountains and I am NOT moving all this stuff again (at least until Indiana graduates from High School 
).
Here is a view of the Mountains from our new office.
We will be completely moved in by May 1st (if not sooner). A very exciting and new start for all of us!
My mom was here for about 2 ½ weeks and as she was relisting things at fixed price in her store, I had to keep telling her “price higher—price higher”. I think it finally sunk in when I got a very high offer for this Hawaiian shirt! My mom nearly fell out of her chair.
Click here to view this auction on eBay!
She said, “Are you kidding me? I have never even sold a Tommy Bahama shirt for that much. You have some nerve!” Yes, I do and apparently it is working quite well in my favor.
The man that bought the shirt absolutely loved it. Here is his email to me.
“Dear thequeenofauctions,
Thank you thank you thank you this is a beautiful shirt oh my thank you”
That made my day! I get a 25 time return on a shirt and it made a customer very happy. It was also super easy to store and ship. Win-Win-Win.
I am always preaching to the Queen’s Court
that they need to raise their prices. It is all perceived value in this business. Check out this cute email I got from Bev on the QC during our monthly call, with one of her scores.
Click here to view this auction on eBay!
“Speaking of listing things high - I know I always list too low, but have been listening to you Lynn! I bought a bunch of Dime Store Novelty Perfumes from the 1930's and 1940's, but got carried away and paid what I thought was too much. I ended up paying $18 for this bottle after applying the total lot cost of the lot to each item. I actually had two of these bottles, but listed one.
I almost listed it for just double what I paid, but thought what the heck, Lynn would probably go up, so I will too. I listed it for $45 and it sold the first time around for $60.12! And, I still have another one to list! Thank you so much for pushing me to my potential, Lynn!"
--Bev Helton
View Bev’s eBay Store and Auctions at www.bevscollectibles.com
The Queen Court’s
Challenge for March, was “March Madness”. I challenged the members to list something related to sports in honor of Basketball’s Final Four Tournament. It was fun to read the posts on the QC. Most of us felt that Sports items were out of our areas of expertise, so many of us turned to our DH (as in Darling Husband) or kids for help. I got a kick out of all the neat stuff they came up with to sell.
It was perfect timing for me, as Houston had come up with one of his hair brained ideas. He found five baseball bats on a website for $199. They were all brand new and every kid’s dream—well at least this kid’s dream. Houston also came up with a unique plan to pay for these bats without having to work too hard. He is a typical boy .
His plan was to sell three of the bats on eBay to finance the purchase of all five. I said, “do your research using completed auctions on eBay and show me your analysis.” He did and from his calculations it appeared to be a very good entrepreneurial idea. I had to give him credit, we didn’t have a new bat in the budget this year, so I agreed to front him the money.
The day the bats arrived he told Indy and I that it “was better than Christmas”. I made it very clear to him that he would be doing all the work, the listing, packing and shipping, etc.
He listed them the night they arrived. His photos were not great but at least he gave it a shot and got the three bats listed on eBay very quickly. Sometimes the fear of making a listing perfect keeps many sellers paralyzed and because of this their businesses don’t move forward. The key to being successful selling on eBay is to “list, list, list”. The more listings you have, the more you will sell. It really is that simple!
One bat sold the first time at auction and we have the other two relisted. It looks like those three bats will indeed pay for the $200 I invested. I decided to cover the eBay and Paypal fees for him. Here is the one that sold.
Click here to view this auction on eBay!
After my mom left, Mo’s mom came into town to visit her from Minnesota. Maryanne is darling and Mo misses living so far away from her family. One day Mo, her mom, Mo’s friends Kel and Candy, Kel’s daughter Riley and myself went on a horse & carriage ride through Palm Springs touring the star’s home. It was really fun!
Here we are in the carriage.
I took three days off of work last week and boy did I pay for it in shipping burnout. I sold about $1,800 worth of Royal Doulton and that was a challenge to pack up but the money was awesome! Had to do it! .
Here is one of those Royal Doulton listings. If you remember from a previous ezine this is the set that I paid $500 for about a month or so ago. If you don’t have my Dinnerware eBook yet, you can check it out here.
Click here to view this auction on eBay!
The other two days that I took off, I spent watching Tennis at the BNP Paribas open in Indian Wells. I absolutely LOVE tennis and I used to play in high school. My dad used to get up early and play with me every morning in the Spring before school so I could make varsity. What a great dad! He always beat me. I think I will have to challenge him to a match this April when he comes for a visit. Time for me to finally beat him!
At the tennis tournament we got to see Sharapova and Djokovich from our front row seats. Pretty awesome!
The emails from eBayers who purchased “What 2 Look 4”, the newest video in our training series, have been amazing!
Check out this email I got on the first day the video was released...
“I LOVE THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm watching it now! In the collections part you were showing burners on the shelf - I have one of those and didn't know what to call it. Thank You for ID'ing it for me!
I think you should charge more for these videos - I think I would've paid $75-$100 for this - so much info and I love how Indy got the sound effects of the sold prices - Mo is funny as ever and you Lynn - you just ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks again!
--Charmaine”
And an email I got last week.
“Hi -
I have watched the video! It was great...! I can't wait until garage sale season starts here in Indiana to get shopping again! It certainly won't be this weekend we are suppose to get up to 10 inches of snow on Sunday...yuck!!! I love reading your ezines and this video was great! Thank-you - I hope you have a wonderful weekend! :)”
--Lynn Lines
I went overboard (with over delivering as I usually do) and then my awesome daughter edited the two and one half hours of footage with fun updates, great sound affects and her innate creativeness.
“What 2 Look 4” walks you through what to be looking for at garage & estate sales and in thrift stores. It was a blast to film and has already been emailed out to those of you who pre-purchased it.
It covers these topics:
- Collections
- Maker's Marks and Countries of Origin
- What to ALWAYS buy
- What to NEVER buy
- And finally, Gut Feeling Purchases
It will be very similar to the live boot camp section called "Why in the World did you buy that?" with Lynn & Mo. But this time, we have me, Mo and Indy.
Since we are not having any more live boot camps, it is my hope that these training videos will keep you all updated and knowledgeable.
You may still pre-purchase the new "What 2 Look 4" video series at the most recent price. The price will be going up for the final time on Thursday, April 4th at midnight--midnight on 4-4!
In the new 2 HOUR PLUS video series we show many items that I have purchased. I LOVE to SHOP. Remember, new items are what drive all of your sales. Last month, I went to an estate sale and picked up two huge plastic bins for $147. Oh, I forgot to add, that I filled them with my hand-picked items from the sale. They weren't just empty plastic bins . You won't believe the treasures inside. We will talk about some of them on the new video series.
Here is another one of those items from the bins that just sold. Seriously this is so cool! I paid $1 for this and show it in the new video series.
Click here to view this auction on eBay!
Mo had listed this platter in my eBay store at a fixed price on February 19th at 11:02 pm. At 6:28 am on February 20th, I got an offer of $20. I declined and said, "sorry just got this in so will wait for a higher offer."
She emailed back and asked how low would I go and could I wait until the end of February for payment. I said $35.00 and yes I would wait. At 10:09 am, the $35.00 offer came in! SCORE! You need this video to understand why I ask so much for my items and how I get it .
Here are Mo and I doing the photo shoot for this coming video series.
If you didn’t already order “What 2 Look 4”, you must order it now before the price goes up again. It is currently at $47 but will increase to $77 on April 4th at midnight. Queen’s Court members, don’t forget to use your discount.
Oh yeah, in addition to everything we promised to deliver in the original video series, I also added how to test for sterling. Really? Yes, I did and I show the kit to purchase, tell you where to get it and show you how to do it. It is actually pretty funny footage.
While in Arizona for Spring Training, we were very lucky to have dinner with my friend Coco, her sister Robin and husband John and their son Erik. Erik Hamren is a relief pitcher with the San Diego Padres. It was so much fun!
Here is Erik with my kids after dinner.
While we were watching Erik train one morning, Coco and I were talking about some shoes that she had bought at the Presbyterian Church Sale. I had run into her at that sale and couldn’t believe these shoes that she paid $1 for and they sold for a fortune. Coco knows her sporting goods and men’s stuff!
Click here to view this auction on eBay!
On the subject of Happy Spring, the eBay Spring Seller Updates were AMAZING and very very great news for all of us! In fact, the news was so awesome that I just couldn’t believe it and reached out to eBay for clarification.
My question….Regarding spring updates. I cannot find a table of auction insertion fees for anchor store members. On the new chart it says 10 cents, but at some point I printed out a disclaimer that said "this is calculated on a .01 to 99 cent start price". That disclaimer is now missing from the fee calculator.
eBay’s reply…..”The insertion fee for Auction-style listings for Anchor Store subscribers is $0.10, regardless of the start price. That is, however, only the cost AFTER you’ve used all of your monthly free listings, which is up to 2500 free for Anchor Store subscribers. I’m not sure where you read that disclaimer, but it may have been regarding something else, because I can confirm that the fee previously stated is not dependent on a start price.”
My next question…..So, is it true that ALL auctions will have a 10 cent insertion fee regardless of price? No more scale, ie. 25 cents for up to $9.99, 50 cents for up to $24.99, etc. This would be fantastic news, but if it is true, why isn't eBay making a big deal about it. Thanks! Lynn
From eBay….That is true/correct for Anchor Store subscribers. For Auction-style listings, it’s $0.15 for Premium Stores, $0.25 for Basic Stores, and $0.30 for those without a Stores subscription. And, again, those are the fees after you’ve already used up all of your free listings for the month. I’ve included the detailed chart below which may help to clarify this information.
While this might appear to be “too good to be true,” it’s not! It is indeed true. We made this change along with a handful of others to make things more simple. Our fees are now more simple and less expensive.
Pretty awesome! Way to go eBay! The Queen’s Court gift for March, was a webinar (with Indiana’s help because it is Spring Break) on Wednesday, March 27th at noon in which we went over the new changes and answered questions regarding how the new fee structure will be affecting all of us.
The webinar went wonderfully well (thanks to Indy ) and it is now available for viewing on the QC for Queen’s Court members.
If any of you are planning to attend eBay Radio in Las Vegas this June, I highly suggest you register NOW. The event is always a blast and this year is their 10th anniversary. I will be speaking there, Mo, Indy and Houston should also be in attendance and Diva Dawn is planning a Queen’s Court get together. Doesn’t get much better
Registration Opens for 2013 eBay Radio Party & Conference
Registration is open to all eBay sellers at erVegas.com for the 2013 eBay Radio Party & Conference, to be held June 18, 19, and 20 at Bally’s Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV. June 18 will be a special day of product-sourcing information sponsored by Kabbage, Inc., followed by 2 full days of eBay and ecommerce education with eBay experts and authors, ecommerce gurus, and eBay employees.
Featured speakers include keynote speaker and renowned internet marketer Jim Coc.krum; Marsha Collier, bestselling author of the For Dummies series on eBay and Social Media; Lynn Dralle, the Queen of Auctions; Jim “Griff” Griffith, author of The Official eBay Bible, Dean of eBay Education, and host of eBay Radio; John Lawson, CEO of ColderICE; Debbie Levitt, founder/CEO of eBay Stores Certified Designer As Was; and Thrifting with the Boys, Bryan Goodman and Jason T. Smith. Attendees also will enjoy plenty of opportunities for networking with speakers, sponsors, and their fellow eBay sellers along with live radio broadcasts each day plus assorted festivities in celebration of the 10th anniversary of eBay Radio.
The eBay Radio Party & Conference is produced by Voicemarketing Radio Syndication, producers of eBay Radio. Early sponsors include Kabbage, Bubblefast, Outright, Page Mage, Stamps.com, and eBay. Early-bird registration is $125 for all 3 days, which includes the special product-sourcing day sponsored by Kabbage, or $85 for June 19-20. EBay sellers interested in attending the 2013 eBay Radio Party & Conference can find details and register at erVegas.com, where they also will find a link for making hotel reservations at Bally’s.
Hope to see many of you in Las Vegas—be ready for an adventure!
OK, on to the Saturday night of our Spring Training adventure , we decided to go to the LA Dodgers vs. Chicago White Sox game. We got to the Glendale facility at 8 pm, one hour after the game had started. It was sold out!!!!
Apparently, this NEVER happens. It was a record attendance night for the Cactus League—over 13,000 in the arena. Really? Houston insisted that we go back the next morning on our way home, after we watched Erik train with the Padres.
We finally found the practice fields at the Glendale arena (Wow! Is it nice or what?) and we wandered into the team store.
We didn’t buy anything and I really needed a diet coke to keep me awake for the ride home and luckily I spotted a concession stand out the back door. We walked out and were immediately asked if we wanted our photo taken.
“Huh?—why are you asking that” I thought. I was stunned but finally said, “No thank you”. Seriously, it felt like we had fallen down the rabbit hole from Alice in Wonderland. Then I realized, we were in the stadium! You have got to be kidding. We did not have tickets and somehow we were in this amazing stadium. I strode over to the concession stand (without thinking) to get the diet coke that I couldn’t drive home without.
I turned around and the kids were standing there like deer caught in the headlights. I said, “Hey guys, what do you want? Get over here!” They walked over to join me (both of them still in shock).
I ordered my diet coke and it took FOREVER. Indy was freaking out. Under her breath she was saying “Mom, we shouldn’t be in here, we didn’t pay”. I said “Indy, we are going to go take a look at the stadium, take a few photos, buy some drinks and maybe food and leave before the game starts. We are giving them revenue and lawn tickets are only $7 each anyway. They will not care”
Here are the kids in the photo I took. Indy is still embarrassed. She is such a GOOD kid!
Houston thought it was hysterical and so did I. It was so fun! I felt like a little kid getting away with something. Houston ended up buying a Chicago hot dog for $6.25 (best hot dog he ever had ) and throwing 3 pitches for $2 to get timed with a pitching gun.
He had done it our first night at the Peoria complex and threw 74 without warming up and at the Glendale complex he threw 63 and Bryce (who was manning the booth) said “Our gun is about 15 miles slower than the one at Peoria’. Too fun!
Speaking of fun, let’s wrap this up with some fun and recent scores. Well, aren’t they all fun and recent? Let’s talk Chess. My nephew, Zachary, who is 6 years old, is in the chess club. Amazing!
He was trying to teach Mor Mor how to play the other night and drew her a chart. It was precious. I had to point out to my mom that Zach had one of the Bishops in the wrong place. But, still pretty awesome for a six year old!
The reason I bring up Chess, is because whenever I see a decent Chess set, I buy it. I picked up two sets recently for $20 each. Seems like a lot to spend doesn’t it? But, they typically sell very very well and at auction.
Check out this super neat one that sold a week ago.
Click here to view this auction on eBay!
And this one that sold while we were in Arizona!
Click here to view this auction on eBay!
Thanks for reading my ezines! I appreciate it!
Happy eBaying!
Lynn
