Lynn’s eBay ezine Volume IV, issue number 12

Lynn Recommends: eBay Live Boot Camp–Payment plan ends soon
Special Announcement: Link to infomercial and special promo!
Feature Article: Christmas in March? Only on eBay
The Queen’s Update: We want to hear your eBay success stories!

It was a pretty stressful week with the infomercial airing and having to be out of town during all of it…at you guessed it….a baseball tournament. But while I was sitting at one of the games, I got an email from an old friend from Grad School. He said, “Lynn, I fell asleep with the O network on and I could have sworn I heard you talking in an infomercial.”

I emailed him back to say, ‘Yes, that was me in an infomercial this past weekend.” He was relieved because he thought he was dreaming! It was so funny!

Anyway, if you didn’t get a chance to view the infomercial, please read the Special Announcement section for a special link and more details.

So, in the car on the way to the baseball game, I said to my mom, “We really need a nifty type of litter bag.” We had so much trash by the time we arrived in Temecula that is was rather disgusting. I even said to her, “Why don’t car manufacturers make a hidden trash compartment just like an ashtray but bigger?”

At any rate, when I got home on Monday there was a package waiting for me from Linda Butsch (one of my special Queen’s Court members). Inside were two of her handmade tapestry and leather bags and a letter. They were beautiful. But what really gave me goosebumps was that one was a car litter bag with a baseball motif. Can you even believe it?!!!

Here is a small part of Linda’s letter:

“Lynn, I just had to drop you a line–you are my guru, lifesaver etc. I have always been a crafter and when I was diagnosed with breast cancer I thought I could use eBay as a hobby to sell some bags and give a percentage to the Susan G. Koman Foundation. But again, my life took another hard turn. My husband of 21 years passed away after he was diagnosed with Leukemia just five months ago.

Of course panic sets in and my paycheck was less than half of what my husbands was. Yikes! I worked 2 jobs for a while but that was exhausting. Anyway, this thing went off in my head! I can do this eBay thing–I am a 10-year breast cancer survivor.

I invested in your Boot Camp in a Box (which was a big expense for me at the time). At first it was slow going. Then things started picking up last month. I made bronze PowerSeller, which was a big step for me. My dogs thought I was nuts–I danced around my house for 1/2 hour. I only now work my one job that has really good benefits, but I listen to your CDs almost everyday–they inspire me!

We are all survivors of something–it is what you do with it. I have survived breast cancer and the loss of my husband. I know I can survive on my own.

Thank you for your inspiration.

Linda

I got goosebumps and quite a few tears when I read her actual hand-written letter (on yellow-lined paper–my favorite).  Linda was one of my very original ecourse students almost three years ago. Let’s help make her eBay business a success and add her to our favorite sellers. Here is a link to Linda’s store LABBags.

Also, tell your friends about her store! She is such a survivor–just like my grandmother was and I admire Linda immensely. She is right–we are all survivors of something.

Hard to change the subject back to eBay sales after such a touching story, but here we go. Last weekend, my mom, Indy and I ran into Mr. Carroll at an estate sale. Mr. Carroll was Houston’s 2nd-grade teacher and is pictured in story #11 in Money Making Madness.

We haven’t seen him in over a year and whenever we see him at garage sales it is always a good day. So, I say “Steve, thank you for the Christmas card. Did you read my new book The 3rd 100 Best Things I’ve Sold on eBay–Ka-Ching? And he said, “I’ve flipped through it–it is such a fun read because you can pick and choose.” And I said, “You need to read the entire book because we talk about you AGAIN!!! You have made it into two of my books.” He was surprised and if you check out story #85 in Ka-Ching–you can read more about him.

But anyway, at that sale we were talking about Christmas cards with Steve and my mom bought a Santa suit. As we were leaving, my mom said, “Should I have bought the Mrs. Santa Suit?” I said, “Absolutely! Go in and get it.” So in she went and spent $5 for it. So this is the subject for my feature article. Christmas is Year ‘Round on eBay!!!

And isn’t it weird to have Saint Patrick’s day on Monday and Easter the next Sunday? Our holidays are all messed up!!! So Happy Easter!

Also, room reservations are open for eBay Live. For the first time ever, eBay has reseved a block of rooms. To get those rooms that are on hold for eBay Live attendees, go to this link on eBay and then click on the “Book Now!” link.

Don’t delay, rooms in Chicago will sell out. Dates again for eBay Live are June 19, 20 and 21 in Chicago, Illinois. I am hoping that the band “Chicago” will perform at the closing gala. How cool would that be?

Finally, the six-part payment plan for LIVE Boot Camp expires in 11 days. We have sold nine seats. IF you really want to get the in-depth training to make eBay a success for you, then LIVE eBay Boot Camp is for you. Don’t miss out– –please check out the Lynn Recommends section for more.

Here’s to Successful 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.

If you are a Six Steps to eBay Success, Boot Camp in a Box Lite or Full Boot Camp owner–you are eligible for a special price as promised. Let us know if you didn’t receive your invitation this week.

To get the best room rates for my students (and myself!), it will be held the weekend after Labor Day: Friday through Sunday, September 5th-7th, 2008.

Click here to learn more.

This Boot Camp will sell out–especially with the infomercial coming out on March 14th, so I encourage you to reserve your seat as soon as you can.

We have already sold nine seats so I encourage you to reserve your seat as soon as you can!!! And this is months before the event–you know that this will sell out completely by September. I don’t want YOU to miss out.

I am so excited to have another fun bunch of students meet us here this Fall. I hope that you will be one of those students.

Click here to reserve your spot now. Or check for the email sent to you 3/19.

Since many of you were not in areas where the infomercial aired or didn’t want to get up at 2:30 am to see it, we are including a link here so that you can view it.

‘Christmas in March–Only on eBay‘

by Lynn A. Dralle, ‘The Queen of Auctions’

So, because we ran into Steve Carroll (Houston’s 2nd-grade teacher) at an estate sale, my mom and I knew it would be a great sale and we would score some great items! So when we got into the mini-van and she said, “I bought the Santa Suit, what do you think about the Mrs. Santa suit?” I said, “Get in there and buy it!”

So off she went. By the way, it was a very lucky estate sale for me also. Check out this Arthur Court Pig tray that I paid $5 for and see what it sold for!!!

Check out the auction here.

So now my mom has both a Santa and Mrs. Claus suit showing through the mini-van windows. Amazing! That is what inspired me to write this article. It is always Christmas on eBay. AND I am always asked when should I list holiday items?

Tip #1: List Holiday items whenever you get them. This is my advice when you don’t have much invested. I sell more Halloween and Christmas items for higher prices in the off-season than I do during the high season. You know why? LESS COMPETITION! But use your own judgment.

I bought a Snowman dinner set recently for $5. The brand was Atico and I had never heard of it. But $5? And snowmen? It ended up retailing for over $200 ($203.83) on replacements.com. I now have it listed in 11 separate auctions all starting at $9.99 each.

Click here to see one of the pieces.

Since I have so little invested, I can confidently price each auction at a low starting price.

By the way, at the next estate sale we stopped by, my mom, Indy and I got out of the minivan and we were asked, “Is it Christmas? We see Santa suits in the window.” I thought to myself…”It is always Christmas on eBay,” but I didn’t tell them that!!!

At the sale where we were asked if it was Christmas, I bought the Poppytrail Peach Blossom set for $25 that I wrote about last week. Here is a photo of the teapot that came with the set.

Click here to see what it sold for.

I sold 5 auctions for a total of $80.96 (already tripled my investment) and I still have eight auctions that didn’t sell that will eventually sell out of my eBay store for $9.99 each (and one serving piece for $24.99) for another $94.92 in profit. That $25 will yield over $175.00–So you see my point–It is always Christmas on eBay–whether you are selling Christmas items or just making great profit margins!

Tip #2: Price Holiday items higher at auction in the off season if you have a lot invested

My mom listed both the Santa Suit and the Mrs. Claus suit and only one sold. Mrs. Claus was the one that sold–so my mom was glad she went back for it and paid the $5. She protected her investment in the off-season by starting Mrs. Claus at $24.99 and Mr. Claus at $19.99.

Mrs. Claus suit. Click here to see what it sold for! And in March.

Now some of you may argue that my mom could have sold it for more closer to Christmas. Who really knows? Sometimes this is the case and sometimes it isn’t. We do know this for a fact, my mom’s profit can be re-invested over and over and over again until Christmas. Instead of sitting on that outfit for eight months, she now has more cash flow to invest again and again.

Tip #3: If Christmas Items don’t sell move them immediately into your eBay store.

And price them at what you think they are worth. It is funny, but I was just in the eBay room and Mo and Carmen were wrapping up a shipment of Triomphe Holly teacups (Christmas pattern) to be shipped out in March! I begged them for a photo. They weren’t overjoyed! But agreed.

The point is this. I bought those cups in October of 2007 and listed them the last week of October. Wouldn’t you think that would be the perfect time to sell Christmas dinnerware? Well, they didn’t sell so I moved them into my eBay store at $9.99 each. They sat in my eBay store from November 1st until March 15th when all of them sold. Only 4 1⁄2 months!

I loved seeing that $90.30 payment come through my PayPal account this past weekend. You see it really can be Christmas in March!

Happy eBaying!

We are looking for your eBay success stories to share with our ezine readers and possibly make it into a book of our reader’s best eBay 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.

PO Box 14103

Palm Desert, CA 92255

760-340-6622

Lynn@TheQueenofAuctions.com

Visit my eBay auctions.