MoreHi!
My vacation was awesome! We had the best time. Unfortunately, I returned to find that my brother had given away the store. Just kidding–but what was he thinking?
- Special Announcement: What happened to those Beer Mugs?
- Feature Article: Never Say Die
- The Queen’s Update: Our 2nd 100 Best Story from YOU!
- Lynn Recommends: Cat Seda’s awesome new book
This ezine is now published once a week.
February 15, 2007 Volume III, Issue 7
Dear friends,
It is sooo hard to return to work after a wonderful vacation. I can’t even imagine having to return to a BOSS!! I haven’t had a real boss since 1991—what is that, like sixteen years ago? Yikes! Life is good. I did work for my grandmother from 1993 to 2002 but she was a marshmallow–can’t call her a real boss.
That is the number one reason that most of us have our own eBay businesses. We are the boss and we can make as much or as little as we want.
So back to the Cayman Islands because that is where my mind has been. I really loved the country and even considered moving there for a few months to write. Well, a girl can dream can’t she? I actually started writing my third 100 Best book while sitting on the balcony of our hotel overlooking the Caribbean.
We even scuba dived with the Sting Rays. What an experience; I was petrified! But remember, you must live life on the edge. It makes it way more fun!
Peter and Me in Grand Cayman
While on vacation, 4 plates that I bought sold for over $100. The story is great because there is a wonderful message to share with you. Please read my feature article “Never say Die”.
We also got another great story from one of you that I am going to share in The Queen’s update. You won’t want to miss this. A pincushion that is worth almost $3,000!
Finally, my friend Cat Seda has an amazing new book that is being announced today! Cat teaches for eBay University and eBay Live about SEO–search engine optimization. Check it out in the Lynn Recommends section.
Here’s to Successful eBaying!
Lynn Dralle,’The Queen of Auctions,’ Creator of the best-selling eBay Boot Camp in a Box.
What happened to that beer mug collection that I bought last week for only $50? I thought you might like an update so for this week’s special announcement–I am going to tell you!
I got about 70 of them listed before my trip and the other 70 listed when I returned. Out of the first half we sold 10 of them for a total of $102.41!! Already doubled my money.
The final 70 are currently listed with a lot of watchers at $9.99 each. We relisted the 60 mugs that didn’t sell for $3.99 each and we already have some bids.
Click here to see one of the mugs at $3.99 with a bid.
I think we will sell another $100 worth of the $9.99 mugs and $50 worth of the $3.99 mugs. That will bring my total so far to about $250. Then I will list those that didn’t sell in my eBay store at $9.99. I will have about 108 mugs in my store inventory. That translates to $1,080 of inventory that cost me absolutely nothing! I love eBay.
If you want to know more about how to run a successful eBay store, click here. By the way, eBay has finally come out with a way to put certain items in your eBay store on sale. Thank you to one of my newsletter readers for pointing it out. It is called Markdown Manager and I tried it this week.
Since it is so new, eBay is still working out the kinks. I will be writing about it as a supplement to my eBay Store Report–so all of you who have purchased my eBay Store Report will get that for free. Watch your inbox!
‘Never Say Die!’
by Lynn A. Dralle, ‘The Queen of Auctions’
OK, it was the weekend before my vacation and there were only ten garage sales in the Saturday paper for the entire valley. Not good odds. But my mom and I are diehards and our motto is “Never Say Die.”
Houston had a basketball game at 10 am in Indio and I told him I would not be able to make it. He became very upset and wouldn’t look at me or answer me. I told him, “If it is that important to you, talk to me and I will make an effort.”
Instead he had a big tear roll down his cheek. He is a Cancer baby just like me and has a hard time expressing his feelings. Our zodiac sign is known as the crab and crabs just crawl into their shells. Finally, he said “Mommy, you are going to be gone for a week. I want you to be there.”
“No problem–I will be there.”
So, my mom and I made our garage sale route based on that very important information. There was a community garage sale in Indio that started at 7 am and went until noon. We normally don’t include Indio in our route but because of Houston we decided to head over to that one after the game.
Well, during the basketball game, Houston’s brand new ball was stolen. We spent 30 minutes trying to find it. No luck. My dad is a super sleuth just like me and he managed to get some insider information. I guess one of the mother’s had said “Does this ball belong to anyone?” And when no one answered (because we were playing a game) she took it home. Well, my dad got the coach’s phone number and we were able to leave the rec center–Finally!
The Basketball with its new labeling.
Houston now has his name written in HUGE letters on the ball so that there will be no mistaking who it belongs to.
My mom and I headed out at 11:30 am and raced over to the Indio community sale. Oh my gosh–we should have been there at 7 am. There were 50 tables of items, a hot dog cart and people already packing up. Bummer!
Whenever there is a concession stand or hot dog cart at a charity or community sale–you know you have hit the jackpot! It’s a sign that your going to find something great. I’m not kidding. This is serious insider information.
Another thing that I have learned from years of doing this is that what is meant to be yours is meant to be yours. You may have heard me on the Griff show talking about how I don’t pound on people’s doors at 5 am, I don’t run people over to get to items and I take it slow and steady. If you missed the Griff interview, here is a link to the recording. (I’m number nine on the page.)
Slow and Steady and Never say Die is what will make you a success. So back to the Indio Community sale. My mom and I took one quick walk around and she headed over to the concession stand for a hot dog and I grabbed a diet coke. Too much fun!
I found a set of four plates in one of the booths that were made by Warren Kimble. They were very Folk Art and Country in appearance. I had never heard of Kimble before but the lady had them priced at $10 each. Since it was the end of the sale, I asked if she would take any less? “How about $15 for all of them?” she said. Sold!
You see, these plates were meant to be mine. They had gone through four hours of a sale and had been passed over. My point is this–no matter what point it is during the sale, there will always be something worth buying. It goes back to what my grandmother taught me, “There is a sleeper in every store,” a bargain waiting for its rightful owner.
The plate that sold for the most was a bunny rabbit. Click here to see what it sold for.
So, even if it is during the last few minutes of a sale or when the people are packing up–it is worth your time to take a peek. Those four plates sold on eBay in four separate auctions for over $130.00! And all this while I was on vacation in the Carribbean. Life is great. And now I am a huge fan of Warren Kimble.
WANT TO SEE MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE?
See Lynn’s past ezines here.
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR ON YOUR WEBSITE? Yes, you may – just as long as you include this complete blurb with it: The Queen of Auctions and eBay Power Seller, Lynn Dralle, publishes ‘eBay Tips & Tricks’ a weekly ezine with 8000+ subscribers. If you’re ready to jump start your eBay business, make more money and have more free time, get your FRE E tips now at www.thequeenofauctions.com
I am happy to announce our second story for The 100 Best Things You’ve Bought or Sold on eBay! This week’s story is by Carol Hearn (eBay ID: WanderingCreekAntiques). Wow! Who would have thought that a pin cushion would sell for nearly $3000? Thanks for sharing, Carol!
Click here to read the story…
Please patronize Carol’s auctions (WanderingCreekAntiques) and her eBay Store (Antiques at Wandering Creek.) Thanks!
eBay Power Seller and third generation antiques 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 free 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
My friend Cat Seda is launching her new book today, How to Win Sales & Influence Spiders: Boosting Your Business & Buzz on the Web!
In this information-packed book, Cat reveals how you can use Internet marketing to easily ATTRACT NEW CUSTOMERS while at the same time GET FRE E TRAFFIC from the search engines and FRE+E PUBLICITY from the press!
When you open this book, you’ll get the inside scoop on winning tactics like:
- The simple step an entrepreneur used with an online article to attract a new client within 12 hours…which lead to $145,000 in new business.
- A keyword strategy that landed a small business owner “Top 10” rankings in Google, MSN and Yahoo! within 90 days.
- How a resort increased web traffic by over 2,000 percent–within two weeks of launching a blog.
Sound good? Well, it gets even better:
For a limited time, you’ll get three bonuses–including a customized, competitive web site report valued at $295 (limited only to the first 500 book purchasers, so order your copy ASAP!)
Reserve your copy now here!
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 online auction click here.
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