Hi!

I can’t believe I didn’t write an ezine in March! Darn it! It was my New Year’s resolution to do two ezines per month and I did one in January, two in February and none in March. I will have to work a little harder or make my ezines a little shorter .

Since March was all about rehab from my broken foot, I think I have a valid excuse. And the best news is that I can finally walk, without a boot, a scooter or crutches! It was a long time coming but I am soooooo happy. It is amazing how such a little thing, like being able to walk, can make you smile each and every day….all day long .

I even took the kids to San Diego last weekend to hit thrift stores and tour colleges. It was a blast! I found some amazing things and really enjoyed spending quality time with these two before they go off to college. Here they are in front of the fountain at USD (University of San Diego). We all LOVED it!

We also checked out Point Loma, UCSD, and The Claremont Colleges. UCSD is also a contender for Houston. On the way to UCSD (which is in La Jolla) we hit the Goodwill in La Jolla. OMG! Talk about the best Goodwill I have ever checked out. Darling store front—though tiny, great prices and I found an amazing dinner set. Wow! Here is Indy in front of the store with one of the boxes. Thanks Indiana for hamming it up!

Here are a few of the pieces of the Rorstrand dinner set I have up for sale.

Click here to see this auction.

Please note: eBay now redirects completed auctions to a different auction to sell you a similar item. You now have to click the link near the top to see the original completed listing, then click the See original listing link.

The kids also joined me at the San Diego AmVet (what troopers) on our way to an afternoon at the beach. Here they are in front of the beach at Hotel Del Coronado. Couldn’t afford to stay there. My goodness, rooms are about $400 a night! Yikes!

At the AmVet thrift store, I found a bunch of cool stuff. That place it amazing. So much merchandise moving in and out. You can’t help but find some kind of score .

Here is an item that Mo just listed for me.

Click here to see this auction.

Please note: eBay now redirects completed auctions to a different auction to sell you a similar item. You now have to click the link near the top to see the original completed listing, then click the See original listing link.

As you may or may not remember, my dad was here to celebrate his 80th birthday. What an awesome time was had by all!!!

We got my dad a HUGE birthday basket full of old time soda pops and candy from his day. It was really fun to make and he loved it.

Check out the fun sunglasses that Indy made (they say Papa) that we put on the front. My dad put them on at his birthday steak dinner. Too fun! However, they were still wet from the glue and by the time my dad put them on they don’t say PAPA anymore . My brother drove out from LA to join us for the steak dinner but couldn’t stay long as he had to get right back to work. What a great family I am blessed with!

We also took my dad to see Tennis at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden-The BNP Paribas Open. It was great fun, although, I still had my boot on from breaking my foot playing tennis .

Apparently, my dad had so much fun visiting that he is coming back again. YAY! I am happy because last year he only visited once and this year he is already back (he is here now as I write this) for another two weeks. He is here to see Houston play baseball and Indy run track and to help me ship. AWESOME!

Speaking of sports, let me give you an update on those Hockey jerseys I bought. I am such an idiot! I made a HUGE mistake. I hope you know why I am sharing this…..because I want you to know that even though I have been doing this my whole life….I still make mistakes. My mistake was NOT BUYING THEM ALL. Strange but true.

Here is one that sold for a lot.

Click here to see this auction.

Please note: eBay now redirects completed auctions to a different auction to sell you a similar item. You now have to click the link near the top to see the original completed listing, then click the See original listing link.

Now, a story about me making some good decisions! Yes, they do sometimes happen and when they do, I do a happy dance.

At a recent estate sale, I was talking to the man running it and he said “There is a great collection of Barbies here that you should look at”. Really? I know nothing about Barbies. So, I said “pass”. But later, I wandered over and there were 5 dolls plus clothing. OK, doll clothes ALWAYS get my attention. There were tons. Check out this photo.

I paid $200 for the dolls and the clothing. One of the dolls turned out to be a Barbie #4, and although it was in as is condition, it still sold for close to $75.

Click here to see this auction.

Please note: eBay now redirects completed auctions to a different auction to sell you a similar item. You now have to click the link near the top to see the original completed listing, then click the See original listing link.

One tiny doll jacket that belonged to a Barbie named Julia also sold for quite a bit—more than the #4 Barbie. CRAZY!

Click here to see this auction.

Please note: eBay now redirects completed auctions to a different auction to sell you a similar item. You now have to click the link near the top to see the original completed listing, then click the See original listing link.

I have already sold $238.23 worth of Barbie stuff so far!

I want to take a moment to comment on the new Spring updates that were announced by eBay last month. Overall, I think the changes are going to be great for sellers! We will not be judged on Communication or on Shipping Charges anymore. Yippeeee!

However, item not as described and item not received will be counting against us as defects. Also, if a case is closed for any reason (other than buyer changed mind), we will be penalized as well. Your defect rate can’t be higher than 2% to be a TRS (top rated seller) and must be lower than 5% to sell on eBay.

My strategy going forward is to be proactive. I am going to make sure I have everything in stock that is listed. I don’t want any out of stock situations. I am also going to rewrite the note I put in each and every box and instead of discussing 5 star service, I will now be asking the buyer to please contact me immediately if there are any issues.

A big day to remember is April 16th, when our dashboards will show our compliance within the new rating system and our current defect rate.

Another key date is May 20th, when the defects will begin to be counted, so that on August 20th, eBay will have 90 days of data to rate those sellers that are judged on a 90 day basis.

Click here to read more about the changes directly from eBay.

Remember this stylish hat from the last ezine? Here is Mo trying on the Audrey Hepburn style hat that I bought for $39.99. I know it was a bit steep but seriously cute!

I listed the hat as a vintage 1940's mourning hat and even used steampunk in the title!

Click here to see this auction.

Please note: eBay now redirects completed auctions to a different auction to sell you a similar item. You now have to click the link near the top to see the original completed listing, then click the See original listing link.

It actually sold for my opening bid of $99.99 and I shipped it to Mexico City! How cool is that? If you are not selling internationally, you must. International sales make up a huge percentage of our business.

Back to the estate sale with the Barbie dolls, I also bought a bunch of pharmacy bottles. The man was a pharmacist and each of the antique bottles were $1 each. So, as most of you can guess, I bought them all! Lock, stock and barrel, as my grandmother would have said. OK, now I have to look up lock, stock and barrel and read about its origin.

I knew it must have something to do with guns. Here is the definition from Wikipedia….

Cool! I love learning new things. Here is one of the bottles that is listed on eBay and it has a bid! Yippppeeee Skippeeeee! I don’t think I’ll bother figuring out where that “Merism” is derived.

Click here to see this auction.

Please note: eBay now redirects completed auctions to a different auction to sell you a similar item. You now have to click the link near the top to see the original completed listing, then click the See original listing link.

I learned a little bit about pipes at that same estate sale. Well, I actually learned when I got my pipes back to the office and jumped on Terapeak to do some research. I am writing an article on using Terapeak for Matt Brossard and will go into more detail in that piece. But suffice it to say, Terapeak ROCKS! I use it every day!

Here are the pipes.

I paid $15 for all of them. Pretty good if you ask me. The one that sold for the most was made in Denmark.

Here it is. Total score!

Click here to see this auction.

Please note: eBay now redirects completed auctions to a different auction to sell you a similar item. You now have to click the link near the top to see the original completed listing, then click the See original listing link.

With my foot feeling so much better, I have started back to the gym. Well, actually a new gym that my friend Kelly Lippert owns. I am doing Pilates again and am so happy to be back .

Here is a story from Money Making Madness about an Eva Zeisel teapot and my doing Pilates! Oh my gosh….this story was written about an item from 2003 and I started doing Pilates in 1999. Wow! That is 15 years. Time flies doesn’t it?

I have started writing an ebook on Coffee mugs. I LOVE Coffee mugs as you all know and get outrageous prices for them! I can’t wait to share some of the tips and tricks I have learned over the years. It won’t be a tome (a very large book with many chapters) like the dinnerware and flatware ebooks, so should be out sometime this Spring.

My good friend Lori just scored with a Starbucks Coffee mug that her husband picked up for 25 cents. That garage sale Lou finds the darndest stuff!

Click here to see this auction.

Please note: eBay now redirects completed auctions to a different auction to sell you a similar item. You now have to click the link near the top to see the original completed listing, then click the See original listing link.

Congratulations to Lori and Lou! Over $400!!!

When we were in San Diego, Indy and Houston went thrift shopping with me. Indy is so cute, she walks up with a vest that had shamrocks and teddy bears on it and says “Mom, I think you will want this.” Wink Wink. She is my kid! Helping me buy stuff to sell on eBay. Boy have they grown up in the business and learned what to say and what not to say. Years ago, the kids would always say “Are you buying that to sell on eBay or to keep?” The lesson to not use the “e” word began when they were about 3 and 5 .

Here is that vest listed on eBay.

Click here to see this auction.

Please note: eBay now redirects completed auctions to a different auction to sell you a similar item. You now have to click the link near the top to see the original completed listing, then click the See original listing link.

On the subject of St. Patrick’s day, my friend Lori had another score with a St. Patrick’s day tie with Mickey Mouse on it. Mickey Mouse ties typically don’t sell for a whole lot. But this one did! Over $50 and the guy bought it the day after St. Patrick’s day to save to wear until next year. Strange, but true!

Click here to see this auction.

Please note: eBay now redirects completed auctions to a different auction to sell you a similar item. You now have to click the link near the top to see the original completed listing, then click the See original listing link.

March 12th was the two year anniversary of my sister’s passing. My mom, dad, and Kiki’s boys took lots of flowers out to the cemetery to honor her. It doesn’t seem like two years ago but Kai and Zach are really growing up and such awesome kids! I can’t wait to see them this summer .

On a happier note and back to tie scores, I just have to share this one from our Queen’s Court call last week. Here is what Vicki Penne wrote…

Click here to see this auction.

Please note: eBay now redirects completed auctions to a different auction to sell you a similar item. You now have to click the link near the top to see the original completed listing, then click the See original listing link.

Apparently! $60 and 4 bids. Thanks for sharing Vicki Penne Pasta .

Please note: eBay now redirects completed auctions to a different auction to sell you a similar item. You now have to click the link near the top to see the original completed listing, then click the See original listing link.

Happy eBaying!
Lynn

Lynn Dralle, 'The Queen of Auctions,'
Creator of the best-selling eBay Boot Camp in a Box.