Lynn’s eBay ezine Volume IV, issue number 14

Lynn Recommends: Digital Download Sale
Special Announcement: Lee’s offer of the week
Feature Article: Will I ever reach a 4.8 DSR and do I really want to?
The Queen’s Update: Our 42nd 100 Best Story from YOU

Speaking of Dawn–DivaDawnLV if you missed last week’s ezine–you will definitely want to check out that calculator that she paid $1.50 for and sold for (drum roll please)…..$122.50!!! Gotta love eBay.

Click here to read more about it.

On Saturday morning Juliette showed up at my house at 7:30. We were supposed to drop my kids off at their dad’s house but they were so exhausted from Spring break they just couldn’t move–so we had to wait for the babysitter (aka their dad) to arrive at my house.

Needless to say, we got a late start. As we were heading to one sale up off of Highway 74 my mom said, “I think that is the sale in the clubhouse where we NEVER find anything.” And lo and behold, she was right! Bummer.

But this time, both my mom and I found good items. So you just never know! I found a black and white bamboo serving piece that was filled with dried flowers. I asked how much and the man said $1.00. I gave him a $1 and I dumped out the dried flowers on the table and walked out. He said, “I guess you didn’t want those.” I really should have asked him where a garbage can was and just thrown them away. I wasn’t thinking. I am just NOT a morning person. Juliette looked at me like I was crazy.

When we got into the minivan I told her that it was a serving piece that probably sells for about $50 to $100 on Replacements.com. She couldn’t believe it.

Here is a photo and a link to see how much it is up to.

AND she really couldn’t believe it when I sent her a link to the auction 15 hours after it was listed and it had a bid!!! She is a true believer in eBay now! And there were none of this type of serving dish listed on Replacements–the serving piece the most similar to it sells for $199. What a score!

Oh yeah. At that same sale my mom found a Tommy Bahama XL Turquoise men’s shirt that had just come back from the cleaners for only $2. Another score!

Click here to see what it is up to.

By the way, starting soon, Houston’s baseball team is going to be running some auctions to raise money for the world series tournament in Colorado this summer. It costs a lot of money to send 11 boys and their families so please check out those auctions & bid when they start. You will be very surprised to see what I have donated!

I found the cutest little shopping cart at a garage sale this weekend with my mom and Juliette. When I was listing it, I really struggled with the s/h/I charges. I want to get my DSRs to the 4.8 level so that I can get that extra 10% back on fees each month. As I was struggling, I realized that this subject would be a great feature article this week.

Don’t miss my feature article to see how the new eBay fee changes have impacted my business and just what I think about that shipping DSR (Detailed Seller Rating).

Lee’s special offer expires tonight at midnight. Check it out in the Special Announcement section.

Finally, since eBay has decided to not allow any digitally downloaded products for sale at auction, I decided to have a sale on all of mine. 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.

Since we have so many great digitally downloadable products, and I can’t put them up at auction or at a fixed price on eBay anymore–I decided to have a sale.

Here is a list of the products included in the sale….

And if you are a Queen’s Court Member please use your 15% off coupon. You can find the code on our private discussion site!

‘Will I ever reach a 4.8 DSR and do I really want to?‘

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

Here is the little shopping cart I bought with the right-sized tiny person pushing it–Indiana! Click here to see if it has any bids and just what I priced my shipping/handling/insurance charges at.

Recently, as I have been writing my s/h/I prices on my I Sell sheets, I have found myself debating between $9.95 for dinnerware and the usual $11.95 that I typically charge. The reason for this is that I have been struggling with trying to raise my DSRs. DSR stands for Detailed Seller Rating. There are four categories that buyers can rate sellers and they are:

These are my actual DSRs since May of 2007. To see what your actual DSR number is you have to move your mouse over the yellow stars on your feedback page.

I typed my numbers in so that you can see exactly what my ratings are.

Since April of 2007, 4,656 feedback ratings have been left for me and of those 4,000 some buyers, about 2006 or 43% of my customers, chose to fill out the DSR ratings. A much higher percentage of buyers are actually filling these out than I imagined.

Here are the incentives to having and keeping high DSRs:

1. First and foremost, to keep your PowerSeller status you must maintain an overall 98% or higher positive feedback rating and at least a 4.5 in all four of the categories over the past 30 days.
2. Higher DSRs bring you more exposure. The new Best Match search places PowerSellers’ (with better DSR ratings) items higher in the search. Since the new best match is quite complicated, here is a link to eBay for answers to questions you might have.
3. Finally, there are fee discounts for having high DSRs.

If all four of your detailed seller ratings for the past 30 day period are 4.6 or higher you qualify for a 5% discount on final value fees.

If all four are 4.8 or higher you qualify for a 15% discount on final value fees.

As I sat there trying to figure out my shipping and handling charges for the shopping cart, I wondered how much money I have been giving up in s/h/I charges trying to get that elusive 4.8 in the s/h/I DSR and if it is worth it. It is almost like going for the brass ring!

On our last Queen’s Court call, one member said that she charges ACTUAL shipping charges and no handling and her DSR was also a 4.6.

So, is it really worth it to be cutting $1 to $2 off of my s/h/I charges? Let’s look at the numbers.

We sell about 1,000 items a month. Many are multiple purchases that go into one shipping box. So, let’s just assume that we ship out 500 packages a month. If I lower my s/h/I price by $1 per box, I am losing $500.

Now, let’s compare that to what I would save in final value fees if I could hit those 4.8s. I almost feel like I am competing at the Olympics!

In March, my eBay and PayPal fees added up to $1,833.60. This was 16.8% of my sales. The new fee structure has definitely lowered that percentage (it used to be closer to 20%) and for that I am very happy! Thank you eBay!

My final value fees run at about 30.78% of that $1,833.60 number. So, in March my final value fees would have been about $564.38. Now, at my current DSR, I get a 5% rebate or $28.22. If I could hit the 4.8 mark, I would get a 15% rebate or an additional 10%, which equates to $56.44.

Hmmmmm, I think the $500 in s/h/I that I am losing to get a $56.44 credit doesn’t make any sense at all. I will keep my 4.6 and continue to charge what I always have done in the past. Just like I teach in my shipping DVD. However, I will work hard to make sure it doesn’t slip to 4.5.

Here is one way that I am going to do this. I got a great tip from another Queen’s Court member. It is about leaving feedback with five stars in the message. And leaving it for them before they leave your feedback. If you tell them that they are a five-star buyer then maybe that will help them to see you as a five-star seller.

Here are my random automatically left feedback comments. Notice that I also include my seller name (another great tip from a different Queen’s Court Member)!

Thank you for shopping with The Queen of Auctions! 5-Star Buyer

A 5-Star Bidder–Thank you so much for your business–The Queen of Auctions!

The Queen of Auctions Thanks you for your business! 5-Star Buyer!

I hope this article helps put those DSRs into perspective for you. It sure did for me. What an eye opener!!!

Happy eBaying!

Lynn

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.