Lynn’s eBay ezine Volume IV, issue number 3

‘Buying Huge Lots and How to Deal with Them‘

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

So, there my mom and I were back at the huge charity sale with the Fiesta ware and the Older California pottery. I have never had very good luck with Fiesta. I tend to always buy the newer stuff (usually pink) where the dinner plates sell for about $5.49 each on Replacements!

Here is one of my current store items. Click here to see the price.

I rest my case!

So, as I walked up the driveway to the “hidden” table of Fiesta, I was overly cautious. When I came around the corner there was a local estate liquidator and dealer. It looked like she was negotiating for the table full so I just said “Hello.” She is always so sweet and she said to the lady holding the sale, “Here is your buyer.” I said, “No, you were here first–you buy it.” And she said, “No, really, go ahead and buy it.” Isn’t it amazing how nice other dealers can be if you are nice also?

So I said, “Alright, how much do you want today?” And the lady holding the sale said $200. I asked if she would also throw in all the dinnerware on the ground and she agreed. We had a deal! Just what I need–more “schtuff”. My grandmother would have said, “I need all of this dinnerware just like I need a hole in my head!” Oh well, my grandma would be proud of me. I have turned out more like her than she could ever have imagined!

As I was packing up the dinnerware and carrying it to my mom’s mini-van I ran into Jess, another of my dealer friends. He says to me “I saw all that dinnerware yesterday and couldn’t believe you hadn’t bought it.” Too funny! I had been waiting for the price to come down. I always believe that if something is meant to be mine, it will be. No need to stress or worry about it still being there the next day.

So, here is my trick for dealing with large lots like this. Once I got it home, I picked the pieces that would be the easiest to sell and list quickly. My number ONE Goal is to recoup my purchase price for the entire lot within one week.

Remember, by the time I got it all home it was about 11:30 and I only had 1 1/2 hours to write it up, photograph it and then get myself packed (and the kids) for the baseball tournament.

So, I decided I would focus on getting all the chartreuse pieces ready to list. If I could get the I Sell sheets written up and the photos taken, I could list at the baseball tournament. Here is a photo of those pieces.

The chartreuse color I had purchased was only made from 1997 to 1999 and the lady I bought it from had been right! It was more desirable than other colors. Thank Goodness!

I had 18 pieces that I could break out in to 18 auctions. The dinner plates alone listed for $41.99 on Replacements. Yipppeeee!!! I started all the auctions at $9.99–what did I have to lose? I would certainly get my $200 initial investment back and might even turn a quick profit.

I was able to list all 18 pieces plus about 60 more auctions while I was at that baseball tournament. If you can believe it, the fields had a cement picnic table right behind home base. I could sit and watch Houston pitch and list on eBay at the same time! Amazing!

Here is the piece that I think will sell for the most.

Click here to see what it is up to.

Replacements lists it for $97.95.

And I still had the basket of older ware you saw in the introduction plus this bunch of blue Fiesta; or is it turquoise, or green?–I am having a tough time identifying this color!!

The nice dealer who was looking at it to buy had also told me that this one orange platter (from the basket) might be Catalina pottery, made on Catalina Island, and worth the entire purchase price. I am doing some research on this before I list it (no maker’s marks).

But what I want you to remember is that the reason I recoup my initial investment quickly and immediately is then I can put the rest of this in my garage and wait to list it at a later date. Pressure is off!

Another example of this was the house full of “schtuff” I went to look at on Monday with my mom. We bought the entire houseful for quite a bit of money. We had only brought five boxes with us. It was the most hysterical packup job you can ever imagine. We were packing into wicker garbage cans, turkey pans, suitcases and casseroles. We finished packing in 1 1/2 hours. Wild!

Here is a photo of that SCARY Load!

I knew that I would need to list some of those items very quickly to recoup my investment. Luckily there was a 44-piece set of sterling silver and a very expensive dinner set. I wrote them up on Monday night, took the photos Tuesday day and listed them all Tuesday evening.

The 44 auctions for the sterling (if it sells) should bring in about $522.

Here is a photo of one of the pieces.Click to see what it is up to.

The dinnerware set was by Sigma and called King Frederick–it is really beautiful. I broke it out into 29 auctions. If it all sells at opening bid prices, it will bring in $385.

Here is one of the dinner plates.Click here to see if it has bids.

I started it higher than my usual $9.99 because there were none available on Replacements.

I still have 2 more dinner sets that I am going to list this week from that same house full to make sure I recoup my initial investment quickly.

I hope this gives you some creative ideas for being able to think outside the box. Spread your wings and spend more money than you have been comfortable with in the past. Just do your research, make sure you are NOT paying too much and I know you will be successful with larger lots!

By the way, my grandma always said you make your money when you buy–not when you sell. Do NOT pay too much!

Here’s to a very successful 2008 on eBay and off! I hope your eBay New Year’s Business Resolutions are paying off just like mine.