The Queen of Auctions, eBay Tips, Tricks

Lynn's eBay eZine

Oct 23rd, 2014
Volume X, Issue 13

Hi!

I have missed you ALL! The reason for my absence, as many of you know, is that I have been super busy holding our first live event in over three years. I am happy to report that we survived our first ever Executive Summit over the weekend of October 10th, 11th and 12th. It was a huge success!

All 8 students graduated! Here are their graduation pictures. All of the students were AWESOME. We learned so much, had a blast and each graduate left with the best diploma ever, a road map to their personal business success with a spreadsheet done for the next 16 months telling them what they need to do and how to get where they need to be to make their eBay dreams come true.

I got an email from Beth as she was leaving the Palm Springs airport, “Thrilled with my road map to SUCCESS! Thank you!” When I asked her if I could share her comment, she replied, “Absolutely! I'm excited about everything you shared - I'm now putting the plan into action! Beth.”

Here is a photo of the staff who helped share everything we know. You have to admit that the cap and gown attire made the entire event FUN as well as super INFORMATIVE!

Please watch for a very special announcement in the next few weeks regarding your eBay business and an opportunity to have me do a personalized plan for you. I am beyond excited to share this new information with you!

As you know, I always like to start my ezines with a score and this one is super fun. It reminds me of my grandmother and of course, we talked a lot about my grandmother and what she taught me at the executive summit!

I bought this for $1 at an estate sale because it looked very interesting and my grandmother LOVED paperweights.

Click here to see this auction.

Can you believe it sold for over $100? Gotta LOVE eBay .

OK, here is another score with an AWESOME back story. Well don’t all scores have awesome back stories?

This was posted on the QC by one of my members, Jodi. I love this story and she was super sweet in agreeing to let me share it .

“Hi Lynn, While you were busy with the executive summit, I had two buyers email and ask if I would do a Buy It Now and end the auction the first day my Dad put this on eBay for me. I asked everyone on the QC if I should sell/sale it off of auction and they all said NO!...........:-)

Oh what FUN it was! I had no idea it was that HOT…”

Click here to see this auction.

Here is a little bit more info from Jodi…

“My mom and dad help me out a lot. Dad is an excellent researcher and he could not find another picture of this seat or particular info of this style except being an implement seat and not a tractor seat and the PP Mast Co. sold out to another Co.

Only pricing ideas came from sold listings on ebay. I almost started at 149.99 but said oh what the heck, 349.99 and Dad not seeing anyone wanting to pay that much just squinted his eyes..........:-).

My mom and Dad are a team. She takes the pictures and Dad lists. Mom is the best packer in the whole world and the reason nothing ever breaks and my shipping quality feedback is superb. I don't know what I would do without their help.”

WOW is all I can say! I told Jodi she needed to make her mom and dad a nice home cooked meal or take them out to dinner as a HUGE thank you . I also told her she is very lucky to have such great parents helping her do eBay and asked her if her dad was still squinting his eyes in disbelief and she said “he is smiling now”!

Here is Jodi with her parents.

Jodi is lucky to have her mom and dad helping her. Just like I am very lucky to have my entire family helping me do the same. LOVE you all . And yes, Mo, you are considered family.

Here is a photo of all of us waving goodbye during the executive summit. Believe it or not, my entire family (except my dad .) is in the photo. My brother, mom, Houston, Indy and Mo. And all my new family members from the graduating class of 2014/2015! They really do feel like family now!

Speaking of my dad, I have some great news regarding “Papa” as my kids call him! He finally bought himself a new/used car. He has been driving the same car since about 1980. I am not kidding. My kids feel like they grew up in the back seat when he was their nanny back in the late 1990’s.

My dad is the most unselfish person I know and does everything for everyone else before EVER considering doing something for himself. I was so excited when he told me (back in the summer) he had been looking at a Mercedes Benz lease trade in that had “supposedly” belonged to Bill Gates.

I was like, YOU HAVE TO BUY IT! It has good Karma and we will all become billionaires when you buy it . My dad just laughed. In addition to being the most unselfish person, he is also ultra conservative and waited too long to purchase it. Or so I thought.

Then on October 1st, I got an email from my brother. Here is what it said….“Dad’s new car…haha”. I was reading it on my phone and I seriously thought it was my dad in a new/used car.

I wasn’t sure about all of this because my brother did say Haha. So the next day, October 2nd, which would have been my little sister Kiki’s 45th birthday, I called my dad and said “Did you tell Lee something before telling me?”.

He said, “I don’t think so, why?”.

I said, “Rumor has it that you finally bought that lease turn that previously belonged to Bill Gates”. He said “Noooooo” and then he coughed up that he had finally negotiated a great deal and the green Mercedes would be delivered the next day. My brother didn’t even know yet and his text was a JOKE. It was sooo funny and a STRANGE coincidence.

YIPPPPPPPEEEEE! I was soooooo excited for my dad. He made what could have been a sad day, HAPPY. My dad had a new/old car .

I keep begging for him to send a photo but he is too busy reading the 700 page owner’s manual. Yay for “Papa!

Here is my dad with Houston and Indiana two years after we moved to California. Please keep in mind that he was driving them around in his “old” car six years prior to this photo. That car was old then….and was ancient when he finally traded it in this month!

In case you hadn’t noticed, we like to joke around in our family. My mom and I were at a garage sale in a not very good area of the Coachella Valley and I spotted an ancient Cadillac like my dad’s previous car. I took a photo and text my brother….”Dad’s old car is already parked down here in an apartment complex in the desert”.

Here is the caddy photo.

My brother text back….”is that really it?”.

I said, “No, haha, but it sure could be ”.

Speaking of ourValley, if you missed seeing the season premier of Thrift Hunters, you must check it out now! Here is a link to the episode “Valley of the Deals ” that was filmed in my backyard .

Here are Jason, Bryan, Mo and I after the day of filming at a local dive .

Here we are watching the episode during our Executive Summit at the Miramonte Hotel. Soooo fun that the season premiere was the Saturday night of our big event.

Here is an item that I bought when I was with the boys during the filming of that episode. Yay, it just sold for over $40!

Click here to see this auction.

Here is the Nolan Ryan Jacket that I got for my trade with Jason during the episode. For fun, I just raised the price and added that it had been featured on Thrift Hunters! Yay….hope it sells .

Click here to see this auction.

I can’t believe that it is almost Halloween. How did that happen? Last week was homecoming at the kid’s school and they got to dress up every day. It was fun, and yet, exhausting to watch them figure out a different outfit every single day.

Speaking of Halloween, we are having a sale!

As we move into our busy Holiday season that starts with Halloween, we want to help you prepare for the busy sales months that are coming. We are honoring this with a Halloween Coupon sale to help you increase your sales this holiday season!

Our eBay business is finally picking up after a slow summer (which is typical)! We sold $9,243.55 in the month of September! That is awesome news as we start ramping up for the busiest seasons of the year---Fall and Winter! I want to help you be even more successful with your eBay business!

So…we are having a coupon sale. 25% off everything on our website (except for I sell products, live events and Queen’s Court memberships.) This a SERIOUS sale. If you are a Queen’s Court member don’t forget to stack your 15% discount.

Be sure to enter our 25% off coupon code: SCARY2014

Check out all of our products here.

Since our website is still a work in progress we have included links to some of our more recent and most helpful products, most importantly, the seven videos in our teaching series. They are helping many of you to grow your business. That makes me super happy.

Here is a list of the downloadable videos so far and links to learn more about each one. Remember, each of these is a key step in learning how you can use “Assembly Line Listing” to ramp up your eBay sales for the holiday.

Remember, this 25% off coupon sale will end at midnight on Saturday, November 1st. The day after Halloween!

AND Queen's Court members, don't forget to stack your discounts.

Even one thing that you learn can more than pay for your purchase. Be sure to enter our 25% off coupon code: SCARY2014

Remember, Time is Money. Learn how to do more in less time with The Queen of Auctions!

But back to dressing up every day for school….here is Houston dressed up for 1960’s day in front of where the homecoming pep assembly occurred (which his sister co-hosted). Seriously funny!

Not only was all that dressing up madness going on the week after our live event, but Indy was nominated for the homecoming court and the winners were announced while she was co-hosting the Homecoming pep rally. She invited my mom and to watch the rally. So fun!

Here she is in the middle of the gym with her mic. What a brave sophomore!

Here she is leaving her MC duties to jump under a “homecoming nominee” banner with a fellow sophomore boy nominee. Great choice Indy!

She didn’t win for the sophomore girl court position, but her essay that she wrote was pretty special…In it she addresses five different questions…

“I aspire to be a friendly, loving, enthusiastic, joyful, and humble follower of Jesus. I am not really familiar with many superheroes, but I would love to be able to fly. I would love to see the world in a completely different way, all the while helping people during my flight. I love to listen to music, play piano, and do all types of arts. I love crafts. For me, “In Christ Alone” means that we find our identity in Christ alone. Our worth and value, strength, hope, and true home is found solely in Christ. We cannot find true joy any other way except to build our foundation in Christ. Xavier is a home away from home. It’s a place for me to grow in all aspects: spirituality, physically, emotionally, mentally, and socially. It’s a place for me to discover part of my identity before I embark on my journey in the life outside of Xavier.”

That evening was the Homecoming football game. Enter Houston stage left. I can’t leave him out now can I?

The boys were down 20 to 14 at the half and we were all pretty discouraged. I can’t speak for the players, but their parents and fans in the stands were! The boys came back and made their school and themselves proud. They won, 42 to 26! It is Xavier Prep’s first year in the valley DVL and they are a school of 550 playing against 6 schools of 2000 plus students. AWESOME JOB SAINTS!

Here are Houston and Indy after the game.

All I can say is that I am SUPER proud of them both .

Ok, let’s get back to some good old fashioned eBay selling! I have to admit that I (yes, I) do make mistakes. Let me tell you, it is one of the best ways to LEARN!

I went to an invite only estate sale that I had to call and make an appointment for admittance. Usually, I hate these. But for some reason I had a good feeling about this one. I arrived and some of the items were extremely overpriced, but some were not. You probably all know the feeling?

I decided to make a pile and figured it would all even out in the end.

Here is a pan that I paid $5 for and Mo just listed for me. SCORE in the making I believe!

Click here to see this auction.

It already has 5 actual watchers and doesn’t end for a few days .

OK, so here is my mistake. I bought 3 Salvador Dali lithograph prints that I thought were super rare artist proofs. I paid $100 each and when I was walking out of the house, I was staring at my super smart find , and proceeded to fly out of my shoes and fall on my knee. Seriously, my shoes stayed on the top step and I landed on my knee, but did NOT break the glass on the lithos. What a klutz!

Thank God nothing was broken—especially my Dalis! The lady holding the sale even called me later that day to make sure I was OK. What an angel. Mo was laughing the entire time during that phone call because she was in the office when it came in. What else are friends for? .

The Dali’s lithos turned out to be just that, and not anything rare, but I got to learn an important lesson. I AM NOT AN ART EXPERT.

During our live executive summit event over the weekend of October10th, I did take everyone out to sales. On Saturday, the cousins (Beth and Missy M) decided they needed to stop by and pick up a jacket that they had left at a restaurant and were going to be back late to the venue. I was like “NO WAY”.

This event is far too important to miss. Little did I know that they were plotting to stop by a Wells Fargo, get more money, and visit another one of our local thrift stores. Priorities, priorities . My mom opted to go with the cousins. Note to mom, “Mom, I am very disappointed and yet proud of you at the same time.”

My mom found some amazing French bakeware that the cousins couldn’t possibly ship back to Ohio and Georgia. Score for my mom!

Here is one of her listings that already has bids and has probably sold by the time you read this. Go Mor Mor!

Click here to see this auction.

Oh my gosh! Before I forget, I was invited up to San Jose to do a webinar with Griff on November 5th. Soooooo exciting and Houston is going with me .

Can’t wait to see all of the eBay executives and Griff. Houston and I are also going to fit in some school tours, especially Santa Clara which is right around the corner from eBay headquarters.

Here is more information and please sign up . Ask away with your questions. Going to be super fun!

SELLER-TO-SELLER LIVE Q&A—Are you ready for Black Friday and Cyber Monday? November 5 at 11:00 am Pacific Time.

Here we are with Griff at an eBay Radio Party. Love Griff!

The Queen’s Court challenge for the month of October was “man cave” items. Thank you QC members for that awesome moniker!

It was an awesome challenge! I actually went out on a limb and did not fall (at least not yet)….like I did off that step….and bought some billiard observation chairs for $50. How cool are they?

Click here to see this auction.

As usual, I must end this ezine with a score. Too many to choose from but this one is interesting on many levels. First of all, it is not a score YET. But I am confident it will be.

Click here to see this auction.

Here is the back story. I originally listed it like this with a starting price of $199. Miniature Christmas Tree Paperweight Beads JGW Glass Italian Venice Murano HELP

Within two hours I got this question, “This piece was made by Cape Cod Glassworks. It should realize $75-$125”. I LOVE asking for help in my titles and pricing high. It is amazing what you can learn! Still a total score in the making. Thanks, Eric .

OK, one more heartwarming score/sale. I sold a carved wooden Russian bear that rings a bell, even though it was “as is”. My grandmother used to sell these in her antiques/gift store and I always buy things to resell that remind me of her.

Click here to see this auction.

Here is my email to the buyer….”Scott, just making sure you know that this bear need some glue and TLC before I ship it. Thanks! Lynn”

He replied that it was “OK”, then I got this email which immediately made my heart fall….

“Hey, this thing is BROKEN! HA HA-Seriously, thanks for your care on this and your genuine concern to properly inform your buyer. A little Elmers construction glue and a 30 minute clamp and the repair is invisible and the little guy rings the bell like there is no tomorrow! There is no way anyone could tell it had been broken. The little bear is happy again. At least I think he is but then again I can't understand Russian!

Thanks for making this available. I know a little girl who is going to be thrilled this Christmas!

Scotty”

I emailed him again to tell him that he made me laugh and would it be OK to share this story in my ezine…here is his reply…

“Lynn - I don't know what an ezine is but if it's not on some restroom wall I guess it is OK with me! Thanks again for being such a nice seller.

Scotty”

Made my day and I hope it makes yours .

Thanks for reading my ezines! I appreciate it!

Happy eBaying!
Lynn

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


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.

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