MoreHi!
I have been shopping up a storm here in stormy Bellingham, Washington. What am I thinking?
- Lynn Recommends: Live Boot Camp in La Quinta–Only 4 Seats Left!
- Special Announcement: Our 30 for six sale.
- Feature Article: Five Things Auctiva can do for you!
- The Queen’s Update: Our 44th 100 Best Story from YOU
This ezine is published once a week.
August 21, 2008 Volume IV, Issue 32
Dear eBayers,
Well, my first day in Bellingham turned out to be a doozy. It was the charity sale at the Hockey Rink for Lydia Place. My mom and I were in line at 7:45 am with a $20 bill in hand. You can get in an hour early if you pay $10 each. ALWAYS do this!
The line at the sale. Yikes!
I bought two full shopping carts. What was I thinking? I don’t live here anymore! I listed 25 of the largest items to sell before I leave Bellingham. I will hopefully get those shipped out before we go back to CA.
Here is my rental car already filled up
at the sale and one of my full shopping carts.
Here is a really neat Mexican piece I found and listed. I was inspired by Chrissy’s awesome story from last week’s ezine. If you missed it, click here.
Check out my Mexican Dish here.
I also found a beautiful paperweight by Lundberg studios. I paid a lot for it ($10) and I am hoping it goes for a bundle. My mom is envious because she listed a similar paperweight a few weeks ago and it didn’t meet her reserve price. It had belonged to my grandmother, so that is why she used a reserve.
Check out my paperweight here.
Speaking of my mom, it was her birthday party the day after the charity sale. We had told her that Lee (my brother) just couldn’t make it up for the party. But at the last minute we figured out how to get him here and by some miracle we were all able to keep it a secret. At two pm on the day of the party, the doorbell rang. My sister and I said to my mom, go get the door. She said, “It is my birthday, can’t someone else get it?” “No, get up—it could be an early guest.” Reluctantly she answered the door and there was my brother with a bow on his head (thanks to Indy)!
Was she ever surprised!
The day at the beach was beautiful and the party was perfect. Here is a picture of me, my mom, and her friends Anita and Kay. Kay and my mom have known each other since grade school–and believe me–that is a loooooong time. Just kidding ladies!
Kay has been selling on eBay for a while now and I am so proud of how well she has done. Her goal at my mom’s party was to get her picture into my Ezyne (as she calls it)! Her picture made it in, not only because she is a nice lady, but she also uses a lot of my tips and tricks. She brought over a Czech tea set last Sunday and asked my advice. I thought she should either lower the price to $49.99 (she was asking $89.99) or break it out into separate auctions. I also told her that I thought it wasn’t a tea set but rather a coffee or chocolate pot with demitasse size teacups.
I finally got to interview my friend Kevin at Auctiva. Yipppeee! Auctiva is a free listing tool that consistently helps sellers on eBay. They are an awesome company and we have five great tips on how to use them to your advantage–even if you don’t use Auctiva to do the actual listings these are still great options.
If you haven’t heard about our 30 for six sale, you won’t want to miss the Special Announcement section for more information on saving money and getting YOUR business ramped up for the all-important holiday season.
My ONLY Live Boot Camp of the year is going to be in La Quinta in less than ONE month. Just to let you know how great it is, we have four returning Boot Camp grads! There are a few seats left but it is filling up quickly. Please read more in the Lynn Recommends section.
Finally, we are bringing back the section where you write in with your major scores! Please read The Queen’s Update to hear about Vivian’s hot yard sale find.
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.
14 Days Left and Counting.
If you’re thinking about joining us in California for my only Live Boot Camp of the year, now is the time to make your plans.
The clock is ticking down rapidly to my only Live Boot Camp of the Year. Seats are filling up quickly!
We have students coming from:
Missouri, Mississippi, New York, California, Colorado, North Carolina, Texas, Nevada, Virginia, Illinois, Michigan, and Kansas…What a great group!
For more information Click here.
I don’t want you to miss out on this amazing opportunity to change your eBay business and your life for the better! Don’t delay.
Click here to reserve your spot now. Or email us to ask for a new invitation because if you own Six Steps to eBay Success, Boot Camp in a Box Lite or Full Boot Camp, you qualify for a discount.
Isn’t it time to get serious about your eBay business and be prepared for a profitable Holiday shopping season?
To make it easy for you, for six days only I am offering you 30% off anything on my website (Live Boot Camp not included).
And Queen’s Court members can save an additional 15% (check the forums for your special coupon).
Now is the time to invest in your future! Enter coupon code ebay0808 for your discount.
Click here for Boot Camp in a Box, Boot Camp in a Box Lite, I Sell sheets, and more.
Hurry! Day one is past and there are only five days left! Our sale ends Monday, August 25th at midnight.
Enter coupon code ebay0808 at checkout and get yourself ready for the Holidays.
‘Five Things Auctiva Can Do For You’
by Lynn A. Dralle, ‘The Queen of Auctions’
Auctiva is an eBay Certified Provider. Just like me. What this means is that eBay puts their stamp of approval on both our goods and services. There are only about 35 companies that get this prestigious honor.
Auctiva is also eBay’s largest 3rd party developer. This means that Auctiva has a part in more listings than any other company. They also offer the only free listing tool that consistently performs and helps sellers.
Here I am with Kevin and Jeff from Auctiva and Jen from HammerTap.
Here is a little history about Auctiva. Jeff Schlicht was selling the same item over and over back in 1998 on eBay. It was coal from the Titanic ship excavation. He paid $5 for each one and sold them on eBay for $30. How cool is that? Jeff became frustrated because it took forever to do his listings.
There were no tools at that time to help you list. So Jeff developed some basic software that would automate the process. His program became popular on the chat boards and it was called “Auction Poster 1998.” He found that there was very high demand for his listing software. I find it interesting that he started selling on eBay as long ago as I did! Ten years ago. Amazing!
Kevin Kinell got involved in 2000 as a developer. At that time Auctiva was desktop software that you had to download. About 3 1/2 years ago the company decided to become web-based. Kevin said it was really neat because they got to start from scratch and build it perfectly for the new web site.
This is why Auctiva is so quick and easy to use. AND the best part is that it is still FREE! I encourage you to try it out if you haven’t already.
Auctiva is constantly changing and growing, just like all of our businesses. I was able to interview Kevin from my mom’s beach house this week and I asked him to tell me the five top things that Auctiva could do for YOU and me. Here we go:
1. Scrolling Gallery
Here is a sample of the scrolling gallery:
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I am sure that most of you have seen the Auctiva scrolling gallery that showcases items. You don’t even have to list through Auctiva to be able to offer this in your listings.
However, if you do list through Auctiva, then the templates you choose for your basic listing will also show up on your scrolling gallery. Kevin gave me a neat example. If you have the “cloud” template in your Auctiva listings, the cloud pattern will also show up on your scrolling gallery. Pretty cool–since I love clouds–but only against a blue sky. We haven’t had many blue skies up here in Washington this week.
2. Insurance Feature
Auctiva offers shipping insurance through their own site. If you list through Auctiva you can set up your listings to automatically do this for you or you can choose to do it on an item-by-item basis.
What is really cool is that your buyer pays the same rate as the USPS, UPS etc. but YOU as a seller can earn rebates.
You don’t have to list through Auctiva to use this feature. Kevin told me that if I go into my Auctiva account–click on listings and then closed-Auctiva will have imported all my data–even though I didn’t list through them. It was so neat–I just checked it out. Then you can purchase insurance after the auction has ended.
What is also awesome is that in the case of a loss, the buyer is responsible for filling out the forms on the Auctiva web site (not us as the seller)! Kevin pointed out that this process can take 30 days–just like the Post Office but Auctiva actually pays claims and you don’t have to go down to the PO and wait in line to fill out those claims.
Here is more information from the Auctiva site with their rates and the rebates to you as a seller.
Auctiva Shipping Insurance is exactly the same as insurance offered by other services. Policies are purchased by us in bulk, and made available to you at discount prices through your Auctiva account.
It works with all major carriers for both domestic and international shipping.
Five Reasons Auctiva Shipping Insurance is better…
- It’s cheaper!
- Insure up to $2,500 on international shipments.
- You won’t have to go to the post office to insure your packages.
- The claims process is easy and can be done online.
- If you use Auctiva Checkout, it all takes care of itself.
Domestic Shipping Insurance*
|
Insurance Coverage (Closing Price + S/H) |
USPS** cost to your buyers |
Auctiva*** cost to you (the seller) |
You Save |
|
$0.01 to $50.00 |
$1.70 |
$1.45 |
$0.25 |
|
$50.01 to $100.00 |
$2.15 |
$1.65 |
$0.50 |
|
$100.01 to $200.00 |
$2.60 |
$1.85 |
$0.75 |
|
$200.01 to $300.00 |
$4.60 |
$3.60 |
$1.00 |
|
$300.01 to $400.00 |
$5.55 |
$4.30 |
$1.25 |
|
$400.01 to $500.00 |
$6.50 |
$5.00 |
$1.50 |
|
$500.01 to $600.00 |
$7.45 |
$5.70 |
$1.75 |
|
$600.01 to $2,500.00 |
$7.45 plus $.95 for each $100 over $600 |
$5.70 plus $0.70 for each $100 over $600 |
$1.75 plus $0.25 for each $100 over $600 |
*Shipments from the US to Canada are charged Domestic rates, but claims for these shipments follow International rules. This means that claimants must wait 45 days before filing claims on lost shipments.
**If you are using Auctiva Secure Checkout, this is the price that your buyers will pay for shipping insurance, plus any additional amount you enter in your account settings.
***This is the amount you (the seller) will be charged for the shipping insurance policy. We automatically credit the purchase of the shipping insurance policy to your account. You should then add funds to your account to cover past/future insurance purchases to continue using Auctiva Shipping Insurance.
1. Use the insurance feature for International shipments.
The best news I heard from Kevin during our interview was how to use Auctiva for International Insurance. I typically NEVER insure international packages for two reasons.
The first is that international buyers do not want the full value to show up on their box with the insurance forms.
The second reason is that it is a pain to go and wait in line at the post office to purchase insurance and then file a claim (if you have to). The beauty of Auctiva for International shipment insurance is this:
1. The amount that the package is insured for NEVER shows up on the package.
2. You can choose to buy the international insurance AFTER your item has sold to a foreign buyer
3. You don’t have to wait in line at the post office to purchase it
4. You don’t have to wait in line at the post office to file claims
5. Claims are filed online with Auctiva by the Buyer (not by us the sellers)!
Here are their rates which look very fair to me.
International Shipping Insurance*
|
Insurance Coverage (Closing Price + S/H) |
Cost to your buyers** |
Cost to you (the seller)*** |
You Make |
|
$0.01 to $50.00 |
$1.70 |
$1.45 |
$0.25 |
|
$50.01 to $100.00 |
$2.15 |
$1.65 |
$0.50 |
|
$100.01 to $200.00 |
$2.60 |
$1.85 |
$0.75 |
|
$200.01 to $300.00 |
$4.60 |
$3.60 |
$1.00 |
|
$300.01 to $400.00 |
$5.55 |
$4.30 |
$1.25 |
|
$400.01 to $500.00 |
$6.50 |
$5.00 |
$1.50 |
|
$500.01 to $600.00 |
$7.45 |
$5.70 |
$1.75 |
|
$600.01 to $2,500.00 |
$7.45 plus $.95 for each $100 over $600 |
$5.70 plus $0.70 for each $100 over $600 |
$1.75 plus $0.25 for each $100 over $600 |
*International Shipping is shipping from the US/Canada to any country that is not on the restricted countries list.
**If you are using Auctiva Secure Checkout, this is the price that your buyers will pay for shipping insurance, plus any additional amount you enter in your account settings.
***This is the amount you (the seller) will be charged for the shipping insurance policy. We automatically credit the purchase of the shipping insurance policy to your account. You should then add funds to your account to cover past/future insurance purchases to continue using Auctiva Shipping Insurance.
After my interview with Kevin, I decided to insure every foreign shipment over $20.00 with Auctiva. I am only going to insure Canadian shipments that are over $100 because I rarely have a problem with Canada. I am not going to even tell the buyer or charge them. It will be for my personal piece of mind.
Do keep in mind that with international shipments there is typically a 45-day waiting period before you can file the claim and then it may take 30 days after that. BUT, that is much better than all those international shipments of mine that have gone missing where I have ended up refunding the entire amount.
Let me give you an example of why the rates are so reasonable and important. My mom sold a neat jacket to Budapest, Hungary. The jacket was shipped on July 11th and the buyer paid $19.99 for the jacket plus $17.95 s/h but no insurance.
Here is a link to the jacket.
The lady claimed that it was never received and now she is filing a claim with PayPal. My mom has no proof of delivery (that is way too expensive) and no insurance (she didn’t know about Auctiva!). So as we all know, PayPal will find in the buyer’s favor and my mom will have to refund the entire $37.94 amount.
It is maddening and frustrating because once a USPS shipment leaves our country, how can we be responsible for it? It was Hungary’s responsibility to deliver that jacket. Now we have a solution, for just $1.45, my mom could have bought the Auctiva insurance. Thank you Auctiva!
There is a list of countries that Auctiva will not insure to. Please keep this list handy and be very careful shipping to these countries.
Restricted Countries List
Auctiva cannot provide insurance on items shipped TO the following countries:
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4. Image Hosting.
When you use Auctiva for listing you get unlimited image hosting for FREE. Supersize is also included for free. This is a good enough reason for me to switch my listing from the basic SYI (Sell your item) form on eBay to Auctiva.
For now, when I list an item at $100 or more that requires multiple images, I am going to list it through Auctiva. I recommend that you do the same.
5. 24/7 Web-based Support.
Auctiva offers live chat during their business hours, which are 9 am to 6 pm (Pacific) seven days a week. You can also email during off hours and you will typically get a response within a few hours.
I am very impressed with Auctiva and their strong customer first attitude. Keep in mind that their many services are free. Please check them out at www.Auctiva.com. I have to add that I am the most excited about having a solution to my international shipping problems!
Happy eBaying!
Lynn
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I am happy to present our 44th story for The 100 Best Things You’ve Bought or Sold on eBay! Vivian shares about a treasure trove that was nearly sacrificed to the snooze button. Click below to read…
Click here to read the story…
Please patronize Vivian’s auctions (vlynnh20) and make her business this year even better. Thanks!
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 web site 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 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 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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Lynn@TheQueenofAuctions.com
Happy eBaying!!
Lynn
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