The Queen of Auctions, eBay Tips, Tricks

Lynn's eBay ezine Volume VI,
issue number 16

Hi!

Today is Thursday and it is only ONE day until Live Boot Camp 2010 begins. I am sooooooo excited!

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  • Lynn Recommends: The Clothing Teleseminar was terrific!
  • Special Announcement: Preorder Live Boot Camp 2010 Footage
  • Feature Article: Linens...who knew? Score.

This ezine is published every two weeks.
August 26, 2010 Volume VI, Issue 16

As you read this I am probably cracking up (laughing) with my mom, Mo and my kids as we set up at La Quinta Resort for Live Boot Camp. Or maybe we are all sweating to the oldies because it is 105 degrees. Only going to be 99 degrees on Friday. Yeah!

After spending a wonderful two weeks in Bellingham, WA, it is back to Palm Desert for Live Boot Camp. I found so many wonderful things in Bellingham. One dinnerware set in particular was an amazing score.

This dinnerware set will be a main focus of Live Boot Camp and I expect it to sell for close to $1,200 when listed on eBay. You won't want to miss seeing the DVD footage of my new session on dinnerware that we have added to Live Boot Camp. To learn more about how you can receive this incredible NEW footage, please read the Special Announcement section.

While in Bellingham, I bought a huge amount of merchandise that will be featured at Live Boot Camp tomorrow. So many fun finds! I shipped seventeen boxes back to Palm Desert at a cost of about $320. Another new feature of Live Boot Camp is going to be a focus on shipping. We will talk about what to charge and how to pack large sets of dinnerware. I think that most sellers get really frozen (like a deer in the headlight) when they have to price for shipping/handling/insurance. This new session is going to break through those barriers and I am working super hard to make it easy and entertaining.

Check out Houston with some of the boxes
as they arrived at our house.

My brother flew up to Bellingham to celebrate our mom's birthday and it was a blast. It went by too fast but I was even able to drag my brother out to a garage sale! As you past Live Boot Camp grads know, my brother NEVER joins us on Saturday morning for garage sales so it was quite the coup to get him to join us at ONE sale. It was at this sale that I bought a huge stuffed dragon/dinosaur that I will be listing at Live Boot Camp. I think it may become this year's mascot.

I was not going to write an ezine this week because of Live Boot Camp, but too many amazing things happened that I felt I needed to share with you all.

First, the Mel and Steve Woods clothing teleseminar was fantastic! I have NEVER gotten so many rave reviews and emails after a live phone event like I have for this one. I even ran out and spent $540 on clothes at Macy's. It was a blast. Please read the Lynn Recommends section to learn more. You'll be glad to know this valuable call is now available for immediate download and purchase. Click here to buy it now.

Before I left for our two weeks in Bellingham, I took photos of a bin full of linens. I had bought the bin for $100 about three years ago. It sat in my garage for three years staring me in the face. $100 was too much to let go to waste. Finally, my mom wrote it all up for me about six months ago and I took photos before the Bellingham 2010 trip.

Here is that bin.

I was sitting in my mom's beach house on 8/17 (Tuesday) and I said to my Mom, "I am going to list all of these linens today." I will not leave this desk until it is done. Well, I didn't get them all listed that day but I did list a lot. The results have been incredible. Please read my feature article, "Linens....Who Knew?" to learn more!

Also, I want to update you on the Portmeirion canisters from the last ezine. I sold three of them at auction for over $75.00. Yeah!!! That paid for my investment, the other six arrived safe and sound in Palm Desert and are now listed for over $200 in my eBay store. They will eventually sell.

Here is the one that sold for the most at auction.

The Monday after Live Boot Camp is over is my kid's first day of school. I will take them and then on Tuesday morning I fly to San Jose with Mo. I can't wait for the last eBay on Location!

This year's final eBay on Location is in San Jose on September 2nd and 3rd--eBay's fifteenth birthday. It is going to be a blast. Maureen (Mo) is going to attend this one with me. We are also going to speak at the Bay Area eBay sellers group on Tuesday night, August 31st. Click here to learn more about eBay on Location.

Happy eBaying,

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

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Check out these emails and testimonials I got this week.

This one came from Vikk who is at Live Boot Camp with us right now!

Lynn,

I am really looking forward to Live Boot Camp! I know I'll learn a lot but even more I know I'll actually get something done. Actionable days, that's what they'll be. I think I'll even blog those days. It'll be fun.

And I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed this week's call with the folks about clothing. Who knew? That was one super-packed, highly informational conference call--even more it was fun!

Thanks for all you, Mo, your brother and your mom do to help me and help all QC folks.

Vikk

Then this was posted on the Queen's Court forums...Under a thread entitled "Lynn, Thank you for Mel and Steve."

I just got a chance to listen to Mel and Steve's teleseminar and it was just great! Never thought about branching out into clothing but the enthusiasm on the conference call was so infectious! I'm with Lynn--can't wait to go shopping the sales now.

Thanks so much for sharing so much information, Mel and Steve.

Posted by Judy.

It was a really amazing teleseminar and I went out and bought $540 of clothes at Macy's. They totaled over $3,000 at original retail and I have them all listed now at about $2,000 on eBay with or best offer. I will be happy to double my money. Here are a few of my listings. It was a blast!!!

Here is a tunic I have for sale.

And here is one of my favorites. A very expensive jean jacket that I bought in five different sizes. The wonderful part of this is that Indy and I both scored one each to keep (hers in XS and mine in L). Even better is that she still wants to emulate my style. Won't last long .

Here is the listing for one of the jean jackets.

Mel and Steve Woods are amazing at selling clothing on eBay. They buy directly from Macy's and other high-end department stores. They know the ins and outs and tricks and tips to get the best deals. They double up on coupons and practically buy for free!

They shared their secrets with us on a teleseminar on Thursday night, August 19th. It is the August gift for Queen's Court members. Yipppeee! If you aren't a Queen's Court member you can still purchase the download here

Amazingly enough, Mel and Steve also specialize in selling bras. Why do you think I couldn't pass up all those bras in Albuquerque? I learned a lot from them on the call and can't wait to get the rest listed (with Indy's help of course!)

Here are Steve and Mel at the cookout in Maryland. He is Melanie's "bra man" and often lets her hang them from his arm while shopping in the store. What a great guy!

Here is Mel with her crazy huge cat Blizzard and some of her bras.

Here is the email that Melanie sent me,

Here are some pictures of our bras and clothes. This is only about 10% of the bras we actually have. The famous wicker table and Blizzard are also in the picture.

We hope you have a great day,

Mel

That "famous" wicker table is the one that Mel got for free at a garage sale during Live Boot Camp 2008 in La Quinta. She actually shipped it home (isn't that CRAZY?) Mel and Steve are awesome. Mo joined us for the call. The call was fun, informative, and it will help you make money on eBay. Click here to purchase it now.

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Live Boot Camp is Here

AND Live Boot Camp 2010
is New and Improved!

Our Live Boot Camp is taking place tomorrow! To celebrate, there are two ways to get the new footage at super special savings.

First, we are offering the new 2010 DVD set to current Boot Camp in a Box owners at our lowest pre-event price through midnight on Friday, August 27th.

Secondly, we are offering full Boot Camp 2009 plus the added 2010 footage to new purchasers at a great price through midnight on Sunday, August 30th.

Please email us for your special link to purchase if you are a current BCiB owner or click here if you are interested in preordering the new footage with BCiB.

I am so excited about this year's Live Boot Camp. I will be addressing the latest eBay changes, ways to diversify your eBay business, new ideas to grow your business and don't forget that we have SPECIAL Live Guest Speakers.

To see the new revised schedule, click here. We have added even more great lessons to our already jam-packed itinerary.

Check out this roster (in addition to Mo, my Mom, Lee, Carmen & Deborah)...

Mandy (Mandycrafts) is a teddy bear and Steiff expert. I am thrilled that she has agreed to teach. She will be speaking for 30 minutes on how to tell if a bear is mohair, and old, collectible brands, some identification tips when there aren't labels, condition issues & what to look for and/or avoid? When and how to clean bears and where to find them.

Diva Dawn (DivaDawnLV) will be speaking about Lilliput Lane cottages. She is a wealth of information about her little Lilliput Lane cottages, and it is a wonderful narrow niche. 

Nancy Nelson will discuss ephemera. Ephem-a-what, you may be asking. Ephemera is the upper crust word for paper goods. Nancy will be showing us many wonderful examples. Too fun!

This is what Pam had to say
after Live Boot Camp 2009:

Hi Lynn!

Just wanted to let you know that I have been selling like MAD on eBay! Items are flying off the shelves and stuff I've had in my store for ages is finally selling! I am listing like crazy...no housecleaning going on around here! :) Thanks for being such an inspiration! I've put all your teachings to good use and have benefited greatly from them! I quote you daily to my husband..."you know, Lynn said that... and "Lynn says that if you...." He is getting tired of hearing about you!! :)) BUT, he is not tired of all the money that is coming in from my increase in sales! I've changed to shipping worldwide and get numerous inquiries every week from buyers in other countries and have shipped quite a few items to different parts of the world! It's been amazing what has happened with my sales the last several weeks and I owe a lot of my success to you; although I have to say that I am working AWFULLY hard to get where I am right now! :)

Thanks again, Lynn!

Pam :) aka The Queen of Deals


Pam C., Los Angeles, California

This is going to be our BEST Boot Camp EVER. We will talk about all the changes going on at eBay (changes to Top Rated Seller, no more PowerSeller, DSRs, Best Match) and how we can use the changes to our advantage.

Once again, screen shots will be included on the DVD set.  It is going to be awesome! It will become our full Boot Camp in a Box and replace the one we have now.

Please email us to get your special link to order. We do have a payment plan available.

Thank you again for buying and learning from Boot Camp in a Box. I love hearing your success stories!

Happy eBaying!

Lynn

P.S. If you are a Queen’s Court Member, don’t forget to use your 15 % discount coupon.

P.P.S. Don’t wait to order this DVD set! This is a very special offer and it expires soon.

(The set will be shipping when ready some time after Live Boot Camp weekend.)

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'Linens...Who Knew?'
by Lynn Dralle, The Queen of Auctions

My grandmother always had TONS of linens around the antique store and her house. I guess that should have been my first clue that they were valuable .

We remodeled her old kitchen and included that area in her store. I remember that we used the old kitchen drawers to hold linens that were for sale. We had drawers and drawers full of linens that sold on a regular basis.

I loved to go through the boxes of linens and price them with her. I would hold up a piece of linen, then she and I would look at each other and each say a price out loud. When it was the same price we would crack up laughing (I loved her laugh) If not we would pick the highest of the two when we differed. We never differed very much in price. It was amazing!

Then I would write the price on a hangtag and carefully use a safety pin to attach it in a place where it wouldn't cause damage. It is amazing that I still miss things as simple as pricing with her on a Saturday morning in the summer. She passed away ten years ago this August 2nd and it seems like yesterday.

Sorry for getting nostalgic but I tend to do that around this time of year, especially when Live Boot Camp takes place. Now, let's get to the great and profitable business of selling linens.

Just what is a linen? I think of a linen as a piece of fabric used for decorative or utilitarian purposes. Usually handmade but many in later times were machine made. When I did a thesaurus search for linen check out all these wonderful terms that came up.

96 Moby Thesaurus words for "linen": Skivvies, afghan, apparel, array, attire, bed linen, bedclothes, bedcover, bedding, bedizenment, bedsheet, bedspread, blanket, blouse, bodice, body clothes, bodywear, buffalo robe, case, clothes, clothing, comfort, comforter, contour sheet, corsage, costume, counterpane, cover, coverlet, coverlid, dickey, drapery, dress, dressing, dry goods, duds, eiderdown, fashion, fatigues, feathers, fig, fitted sheet, flannels, garb, garments, gear, guise, habiliment, habit, investiture, investment, lap robe, leather goods, leatherware, linens, lingerie, napery, patchwork quilt, pillow slip, pillowcase, quilt, rags, raiment, robe, robes, rug, sheet, sheeting, shift, shirt, slip, smallclothes, soft goods, sporting goods, sportswear, spread, style, textiles, threads, togs, toilette, trim, underclothes, underclothing, undergarments, underlinen, underwear, undies, unmentionables, vestment, vesture, waist, wear, wearing apparel, white goods, yard goods.

Then I decided to check a dictionary. Here is the definition:

Linen \Lin"en\, n. 1. Thread or cloth made of flax or (rarely) of hemp; -- used in a general sense to include cambric, shirting, sheeting, towels, tablecloths, etc.; as, bed linens "In linen white as milk." --Robert of Brunne. [1913 Webster]

2. Underclothing, esp. the shirt, as being, in former times, chiefly made of linen. [1913 Webster] [1913 Webster]

I didn't realize that linen also referred to underclothing until I read the thesaurus definitions. Yikes!!! Well, it will all sell on eBay, so list away .

Here is that tub again that I paid $100 for over three years ago.

Maybe I put listing these items off because it reminded me of my grandmother. I didn't put two and two together until writing this but I think that could be a HUGE reason I waited so long. I still have not opened and listed the 140 or so boxes that we all inherited.

Well, thanks to my wonderful mother we moved forward with this project. She wrote them all up for me on I Sell sheets during a visit six months ago. I finally took the photos on August 1st before we flew out for our 2 weeks in Bellingham. Then, on August 17th I made myself sit and list them all (well almost all of them).

Here is how it all played out. I decided to list nine of the items (linens) starting at $49.99, seven starting at $24.99 and 21 starting at $9.99. That adds up to about $775.00 without any extra bids. Yikes! Why did I wait so long? Well, I think we know the answer to that!

Here are my three top tips to decide the pricing for linens.

1.     If you look at it and go WOW. How did anyone ever make something like this? Or what a beautiful piece of work (even if machine made) or if it has a label, Price it at $49.99 (at least).

Here is one of the tableclothes (the only item with a label) that I started at $49.99.


2.     If it is heavy and there is a lot of fabric, price it at either $24.99 or $49.99.

3.     If there is a lot of damage and wear, choose $9.99.

In addition to the grandmother factor, there are obviously other reasons that I put off listing these items. There are the measurements and condition concerns when writing it up, the very specialized listing detail each piece will require and the fact that I didn't know that linens really sold on eBay!

So to help you get over your fears of listing linens, I want to share with you how long each listing took and what my returns were (as in sales...gotta love sales.)

The first five I listed took me fifteen minutes...that is my usual three-minute listing time. Yeah!

The next sixteen I listed took me 100 minutes, but within that 100 minutes I took fifteen minutes to eat lunch (yes that is allowed ). So 85 minutes for sixteen items works out to 5.31 minutes per item. Not so bad!

Finally, the last twenty items I listed took 164 minutes. Within that time frame, I did a lot of multi-tasking (like most of us do during listing). I started packing to leave Washington, stopped to answer emails, and moved packages outside for UPS. The list goes on. In any event, I am just going to call it 164 minutes for twenty items or about eight minutes per item. Not my fastest. But understandable for the multi-tasking and the labor-intensive listing of linens.

Bottom line. I don't care if my three-minute average was compromised. Even at eight minutes per listing, I made a great return on my investment!

Here are my actual sales results. Don't forget I have quite a few pieces left for sale that I am going to list at (at least) double my starting auctions prices.

Total sold so far is $329.54 ($61.00, $56.00, 2 at $49.99 each, $26.60, $25.49, $24.99, $15.50 and 2 at $9.99 each) and I still have thirteen more items up for auction that have not ended yet. Of those thirteen, four items currently have bids that add up to $49.22. Grand total $378.76. Awesome!

Here is the item that sold for the most money.

To wind up, let's talk about some popular linen styles.

Dresser Scarf: A decorative piece of linen that is used down the center of a dresser to protect the wood. Many people then put items like perfume bottles or other collections on top.

See this listing Here.

Table Runner: A long thin decorative piece of linen that is placed down the center of a dining room table. It is to protect the table and is also used to showcase centerpieces and other serving items like silver tea sets.

Here is this listing.

Doily: Usually a round or oval shaped piece of linen that is used as decoration on tables, end tables, coffee tables, dressers, sideboards and buffets. They also protect the wood and serve to highlight a pretty vase or other piece of art that can be placed in the center.

This listing is Here.

Tablecloth: Can be oval, round, rectangular or square. Used to protect the wood and also as a decoration.

See this listing Here.

Coverlet/Bedspread: The old fashioned word for comforter or duvet . A coverlet is a great traditional term for a linen that would cover a bed for decoration and also for warmth. It just dawned on me that I was the comforter buyer for May Company department stores right after graduation from college. How could I have not known about linens being great sellers? My department (#41) sold over $10 million in comforters and bedding accessories annually in 35 stores.

See this listing Here.

Of all the linens I listed, the items that did not sell well were the guest or fingertip towels. Maybe pass these up unless they are really unusual.

See this listing Here.

Good luck to you with linens. I had no idea! Well, I really did have an idea (thanks to Cheryl Leaf). But what I didn't know and understand was that this is one category that is still HOT on and off eBay. Hip, Hip, Hooray!

Happy eBaying!

Lynn


Visit my eBay Store.

Visit my eBay auctions.

For more great eBay tips and stories, visit my web site at:
http://www.thequeenofauctions.com


WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR ON YOUR WEBSITE? Yes, you may - just as long as you include all links as they are and append this complete blurb with it: The Queen of Auctions and eBay Power Seller, Lynn Dralle, publishes 'eBay Tips & Tricks' a weekly ezine with 10,000+ subscribers. If you're ready to jump start your eBay business, make more money and have more time, get your FRE E tips now at www.thequeenofauctions.com

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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.

The Queen of Auctions/All Aboard Inc.
PO Box 14103
Palm Desert, CA 92255
760-345-9355
Lynn@TheQueenofAuctions.com


Happy eBaying!!

Lynn


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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