MoreHi!
Book Expo and New York were awesome! I think I have a new book deal with a major publishing house. I will let you know as soon as the dust has settled.
- Lynn Recommends: Helping to Save Coney Island
- Special Announcement: ONLY 19 seats left for Live Boot Camp
- Feature Article: Our Top Seven Tips for Selling Clothing on eBay
- The Queen’s Update: Our 16th 100 Best Story from YOU!
This ezine is published once a week.
June 7, 2007 Volume III, Issue 21
Dear friends,
I love New York. What a great city! Peter and I had a blast. Friday was all about meetings and book signings. At the Midpoint Trade Booth, they said I was the busiest autographing session so far! That is always good news!
Here I am autographing books at Midpoint.
One of Peter’s best friends, John Jones, is a Publisher for Crossroads in NY so I got to meet him and hang out with him on Saturday. What a nice guy! Saturday night we had dinner in Little Italy at Angelos. What fun!
Sunday, we took a trip to Coney Island. Peter and I had never been and we had heard that it might be torn down next year. We stumbled into Ruby’s (A Coney Island Tradition) that really reminded me of my grandmother’s family run business. Please read the Lynn Recommends section about helping us to save it.
In our Special Announcement section, I am pleased to announce that there are only 19 seats left for the ONLY Live boot camp this year. I am so excited to see those of you who have signed up this September in Palm Springs. Leanne Samples (one of my Boot Campers from LAX) is coming back again–YooHoo! That is how great of an experience Live Boot Camp is—You won’t want to miss it and you may want to come back again!
My mom and I leave next Tuesday for eBay Live and we are super excited! I will be interviewed next Thursday, June 14th and 12:08 pm with Griff on eBay Radio from the convention floor. Stop by and see it live if you are attending.
Also, don’t forget to stop by our booth at eBay Live! #528 right by the entrance. Come over and meet my mom, my best friend Melanie and me! And don’t forget to ask us about our show special.
My feature article this week is about selling clothing on eBay. I offer my top seven tips. Don’t miss this because clothing can be super lucrative and easy to ship.
Finally, this week we have another great story about the things you all have sold on eBay. This one comes from Patty. She takes a risk on a rug and finds an eBay buyer eager to give it a happy home.
Here’s to Successful eBaying!
Lynn Dralle, ‘The Queen of Auctions,’ Creator of the best-selling eBay Boot Camp in a Box.
I had never been to Coney Island and neither had Peter, so on Sunday morning we got a driver to take us out to Brooklyn and then on to the airport. Our driver, Johnny, was a hoot and we saw some really interesting parts of Brooklyn, including the famous River Café and the Brooklyn Bridge.
Peter and me at the River Café
Matthew’s grandfather was Ruby and he opened his bar and grill on the boardwalk in Coney Island in 1985, but had run other businesses on the boardwalk since 1959. Here is more information about Ruby Jacobs from a book I just purchased, Coney Island–Lost and Found
Matthew introduced us to his Dad (also helping out that Sunday) and his uncle (working in the grill section). When I went to order Peter’s sandwich, I met Matthew’s sister who was also there working and she told me that Matthew’s girlfriend was also helping out behind the bar.
Me with Ruby’s legacy–his family that cares so much
about saving this piece of history.
They showed me old pictures of Ruby and it soooo reminded me of my grandmother and her family business. Here is what is happening to Coney Island in a nutshell.
From “Summer’s End” by David Griffin, Preservation Online, August 26, 2005:
“Thor Equities, Inc., a New York-based development corporation known for luxurious shopping malls and urban projects, has bought a large parcel of land that extends from 12th Street to 15th Street along the boardwalk. The site includes many much-loved attractions, including the famously louche Ruby’s Bar. Thor has yet to release detailed plans for the site, although a hotel and spa, a multicultural center, an indoor water park, and a retractable-roofed arcade have all been mentioned as possibilities. Longtime leaseholders have been told to move by the end of the summer.”‘
It is strange that in the article they call Ruby’s a “louche bar” which means of questionable taste or morality. All I saw last Sunday on Coney Island was a family working hard (together) to save a business that had been around for decades.
Ruby passed away in 2000, just like my grandmother did. Ruby’s third generation is working hard to keep the Bar & Grill open and I hope that they succeed. It made such an impact on me because I wish that we wouldn’t have closed my grandmother’s antique store. Even though I have continued the business here in California and online–there is just something about the original physical location that should have been preserved.
Ruby’s grandson’s girlfriend has designed a Save Coney Island T-shirt and they are putting their hearts and souls into preserving what is left of their grandfather’s legacy. I am upset when modern development comes in and ruins something so classically American. I hope that the new developers can work with the business owners that have made Coney Island what it is and let them keep their tradition ongoing.
In fact, when I picked up a Ruby’s Business card, it said “A Coney Island Tradition.” That is exactly what my grandmother’s motto had been “A Bellingham Tradition since 1950.” Let’s do what we can to help out! If anyone has any ideas or knows of a web site dedicated to the preservation, please let me know so that I can pass it along.
I did send an email to Seth Kaufman at the Coney Island History Project. Here is some of what he had to say:
There is a loose knit “save Coney Island” movement but they don’t have a web site or headquarters. Given that the developers already own the land in question, there’s very little that can be done to keep the parks from being shut down. The only question now is whether the city will alter the zoning of the core amusement area to allow housing or not.
It would be great if you encouraged your readers to focus on preserving the historical legacy of Coney Island. The Coney Island History Project is dedicated to recording the stories of Coney Islanders, young and old through a wide-ranging oral history project. We also run an exhibition space with artifacts and exhibits in a building built into and under the world famous Cyclone roller coaster. We’d love to hear your readers’ recollections, or to see any artifacts they have. If some of your readers have Coney-related artifacts that they would like to know more about, we would welcome their questions in our “Ask Mr. Coney Island” section.
Thanks for the information, Seth. Do any of you have Coney Island stories to share?
There are only 19 seats remaining and this Boot Camp will be heavily promoted at eBay Live next week. I encourage you to Sign up right now for my ONLY live boot camp of 2007! This Boot Camp is three days of hands-on intensive learning and fun. This will sell out because it is the only one I am doing this year and I am taking a very limited number of students.
Click here to learn more.
 “I just wanted to extend a huge THANK YOU to you, Lee and your mom for such an inspirational eBay Boot Camp. I have attended other seminars but never have I had such a hands-on experience where I left with a sense of accomplishment and the UTMOST confidence that I will succeed.” “Your method of teaching is so effective, the way you taught us step by step EXACTLY what to do and then actually had us DO what you taught us – as you mentored us through the entire process!!! It was just amazing!! I learned so much!!! Your class is invaluable! “You delivered EVERYTHING you promised – actually you OVER delivered!!” –Cathi A., Florida |
Click here for more information.
|
You are such a gifted and generous teacher. Your presence and business manner are a rare combination that brings so much fun to your “let’s keep on track” professionalism. I encourage anyone on the fence to sign up…before it is sold out! –Janet Zemel, San Fernando Valley, CA |
To learn more about my Live Boot Camp, click here. See you soon!
‘Top 7 Tips for Selling Clothing on eBay‘
by Lynn A. Dralle, ‘The Queen of Auctions’
I just got an email from a friend in the publishing business. Here is what Emily wrote:
Do you have a section in your ezines or anywhere about selling clothes on eBay? I started getting some of my Mom’s clothes photographed, measured, described…and it took so much time I ended up donating some of them, because I figured the tax deduction would be about the same as any monies made. What are your thoughts on this?
Emily is exactly right. Clothing can be labor intensive. So, to help her out and you all, I decided to share my top 7 tips.
Tip #1: Never measure unless you are asked to:
I am not kidding–most women know their sizes by brand and manufacture. And so do men. Of the 60 men’s shirts I have been listing in the past three weeks, only 7 have emailed to ask for measurements. So, for the 53 that didn’t ask, it saved me about 5 minutes each or 265 minutes–that works out to 4 hours and 25 minutes. Don’t measure.
Tip #2: Take photos of the item folded up:
The most time consuming part of all of this is to put your item on a mannequin. So don’t do it! However, if you think and know that the item will sell better on a mannequin and it is an expensive piece, go ahead and take the time. I think that most clothes look better folded up anyway. (My mom has just let me know that if it is a dress–you should probably hang it up.)
Here is one of my New Bobby Jones Golf shirts that I folded.
It is selling this week. Click here to see for how much.
Tip #3: Use New instead of NWT and never use MWT
I ran a Completed Auction Title search on eBay for clothing and found this interesting information:
with New in the title: 1,196,372 Listings
with NWT (New with tags) in the title: 817,328 Listings
with MWT (Mint with tags) in the title: 278 Listings
Always Use New in the title if your item is new and if you have room, also put NWT. Never use MWT as this term is generally just used for collectibles like Ty Beanie Babies.
Tip #4: Put the retail or MSRP price in the title
If your clothing item has a very high Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) I recommend putting it in the title. Everyone likes a bargain and most clothing will not sell for over this price–so I say go for it.
If the MSRP is low but your clothing item has great demand–never mention the price.
Tip #5: Always List Like items at the same time
Try and buy collections of clothing, just like I always say to buy collections of collectibles. Whether it be Hawaiian shirts, men’s golf shirts, or ladies shoes–buy as collections and then sell and list all at the same time.
Sometimes, I can’t even take my own advice. I bought those 60+ golf shirts and was so slow putting them on eBay that they still are not all listed. I only have 17 of them up for sale right now. Oh well, you do what you can!
Tip #6: Test items at auction before putting them in your eBay Store at a Fixed Price
Before you list any of your clothing items in your eBay store, do a test with a few pieces up for sale at auction. When I bought that HUGE bunch of USC clothing that is what I did.
I tried one every piece at auction first (I had a lot of multiples) and found that (at the most) they were selling for 50% of MSRP (Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price). That is how I figured out how to price them in my store.
Click here to see my pricing for this item and see
how I mention the MSRP as a range–this can be a great idea.
Tip #7: Never mention other manufacturers of items that you also have up for sale
I learned this the hard way after my ezine came out last week. I had the auction for the Tommy Bahama shirt that was featured in my ezine shut down. In the auction description I had listed shirts from other manufacturers that I had for sale in other auctions that week. Someone turned in my Tommy Bahama auction for keyword spamming.
I learned that even though I really did have other shirts up for sale that week from makers like Nike, Tiger Woods, Greg Norman and the like–you absolutely can’t mention it in your listing as it is considered spamming. Who knew?
Oh well, thank you to whoever turned me in, because the shirt ended up selling for way more money!
Here is the shirt and a link to see what it sold for.
I hope these tips will help to make your clothing sales better and easier. Clothing is a really great item to sell because it is easily stored, easily shipped and can be picked up at bargain prices.
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 all links as they are and append this complete blurb with it: The Queen of Auctions and eBay Power Seller, Lynn Dralle, publishes ‘eBay Tips & Tricks’ a weekly ezine with 9000+ 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 present our sixteenth story for The 100 Best Things You’ve Bought or Sold on eBay! This one comes from Patty. She takes a risk on a rug and finds an eBay buyer eager to give it a happy home. Click below to read…
Click here to read the story…
Please patronize Patty’s auctions (mycucina2) and store (Patina 2) and make her business this year even better.
A big thanks to everyone who has submitted your stories! 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 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
Happy eBaying!!
Lynn
Visit my eBay Store.
Visit my eBay auctions.
For more great eBay tips and stories, visit my web site at:
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.
Copyright © 1998 – 2007 Lynn Dralle – All Rights Reserved
