The Queen of Auctions, eBay Tips, Tricks

Lynn's eBay ezine Volume VI,
issue number 19

Hi %$firstname$%!

The eBay Certified Provider Fair in Salt Lake City was fantastic. So wonderful to hang out with awesome eBay employees, executives and other certified providers!

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  • Lynn Recommends: Second Chance Coupon Sale
  • Special Announcement: Lynn on Location (LOL) in Las Vegas
  • Feature Article: What you should NEVER sell on eBay!

This ezine is published every two weeks.
October 14, 2010 Volume VI, Issue 19

I think that my crazy travel schedule is finally winding down. I don't see any more airplane flights on my calendar for the rest of the year. However, I am sure that will be changing .

Mo and I just got back from SLC and the eBay Certified Provider Fair. It was a blast! The first night we were invited out to dinner with Laurel and Austin (two eBay executives), Auctiva, InkFrog and Monsoon.

Needless to say, it was the beginning of quite the experience! After dinner, Mo and I talked them all (10 +) into going to Macy's to buy clearance bras to sell on eBay. First, we had to take them to TGIFridays and encourage them with an adult beverage. On the way to TGIFriday's I tripped on uneven pavement and went flying. Mo was in the back thinking "Oh, I hope that wasn't Lynn," but of course it was. After skinning my elbow, we descended upon the restaurant. Apparently in Utah, in order to have an adult beverage, you must purchase food. We had just had dinner so I asked the bartender to please bring us the cheapest thing on the menu that would qualify as food.

Before you knew it, a plate of fried green beans was placed before us and we were able to order our drinks.

And then it was off to Macy's. We had a blast. The guys were great sports and helped us pick out 21 bras at fantastic prices. The sales lady loved helping us because she was on commission. I bought all 21 at an average price of $11.00 each. They are now listed in my eBay store at a fixed price. I am thrilled to report that I sold my first one the morning after getting them all listed... for a best offer of $25.00.

And I just sold another one last week for full price!! Yippeeee.

See the listing here.

A BIG thank you to Mel and Steve and their clothing teleseminars for making this happen! To learn more about these clothing teleseminars, please read the Special Announcement section to purchase the download if you missed the live call.

After that crazy evening, Mo and I got to meet about 400 eBay employees at the Certified Provider fair. For those of you who don't know what an eBay Certified Provider is (I have been one for more than 3 years), here is more info directly from the eBay site and a link to see me and the other Certified Providers (only 25 in the world). It is quite the honor!

The Certified Provider designation helps members of the eBay community feel more comfortable with hiring providers to grow their eBay businesses. Certified Providers are carefully screened to ensure that they can provide eBay members with services and solutions to grow their eBay businesses. Among other criteria, participants must have extensive experience with eBay, pass a strict certification exam and provide a number of proven customer references that are checked by eBay.

Click here to see some of the other eBay certified providers.

Here I am with Craig Russell, my Certified Provider liaison, at the Fair with my Macy's bag of bras. Too funny!

After the CPF, we went out to dinner and then headed to Park City for another crazy evening with eBay Andy, Austin, and Jon and Bryan from Cloud Conversion. On the way to Park City we stopped off at eBay Andy's house and got to meet his darling wife, kids and chickens. (Only in Salt Lake City.)

Here are the kids and ONE of the chickens.

Friday morning found Mo and I at the Desert Industries thrift store. I found a few coffee mugs and Mo got some plates.

Here is a listing for one of my coffee mugs that I thought would have the most watchers.

And here is another of the coffee mugs that I got that has even more watchers and now a bid! Probably because of that great ad campaign that the company on the mug is running. Can you guess what company it is?

Here is the listing.

Then it was back to Palm Desert and filming for my reality show. It has been a blast. Crazy things we have been filming have been selling for A LOT of money. Seems like things are just flying off of our shelves. Auctions seem to have really picked up. I hope things are picking up for you also. Christmas is just around the corner. (Did I say that out loud?) Get your stores stocked and ready to sell, sell and sell some more.

Check out this doll that will be featured on one of the episodes. I can't believe what she sold for at auction and the story behind it. Yikes!

Here is the listing.

As you know, October is Breast Cancer awareness month and I have been asked to contribute a (guess what?) bra to the Bling My Bra campaign. Indy, my mom and I all headed to Joanne's fabric on Sunday after filming to buy the makings. Here is Indy making The Queen of Auctions Blinged-out Bra.

This press release comes from eBetsie, "The second annual Bling My Bra campaign of Giving Works charity auctions on eBay is now underway.

Bling My Bra is a group of ordinary women getting together nationwide to raise money for breast cancer awareness, education, and research. They have hand crafted and donated one-of-a-kind art bras to be auctioned on eBay throughout the month of October. All proceeds benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure, global leader of the breast cancer movement.

The blinged bras run the gamut of imagination and creativity, from sequins and rhinestones, feathers and fringe to comic book superheroes to patriotic and sports-themed bras, and more. Celebrity bras are being contributed by Richard Brewer-Hay, eBay Ink Blog; Marsha Collier, ecommerce expert and bestselling author of the eBay for Dummies series; Lynn Dralle, the Queen of Auctions and eBay Certified Provider; Edward Hamilton, the Ministry of Rum; John Jantsch, ecommerce strategist and creator of Duct Tape Marketing; Debbie Levitt, founder/CEO of AsWas, an eBay Certified Stores Designer; Mike Michalowicz, the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur; and others, including eBay Radio. Dallas Cowboys legend and Pro Football Hall of Fame member Randy White has signed a Dallas Cowgirl Cheerleaders Bra. Janelle Elms, Visionaire of the OSI Rock Stars, also has autographed a bra.

EBay is supporting Bling My Bra too, with several teams of employees involved in creating bras. The eBay employee whose blinged bra brings in the most money for charity will be awarded an Apple iPad by eBay CEO John Donahoe.

New bras are being listed on eBay every day throughout October in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Thank you to everyone involved with Bling my Bra! Last year they raised over $3,000 to help fight breast cancer and this year I KNOW that they are going to raise even more. My grandmother was a breast cancer survivor and it is a cause very near and dear to my heart. Please bid on the bras by going to BlingMyBra.com.

Here is the listing for our bra.

LOL (Lynn on Location) will be happening in Las Vegas on Saturday and Sunday March 12th and 13th 2011 at the Paris Hotel. We are so excited for this live event!!!. The doors are open and seats are for sale. Please read the special announcement section to learn more or click here.

I'm sure that you remember Kathy Flood, Jewelry expert. She will be one of our featured guest speakers at LOL. Kathy has been very hard at work producing an online jewelry auction for Collect.com. Kathy says, "There will be some tremendous bargains and beautiful jewelry, so this should be fun. Besides winning bargains, it's entertaining to see how high some lots go."

Here's the link for information.

You can register to bid here.

Kathy is also the Antique Trader's Jewelry columnist. How cool is that? Check out her article here: "In the Loupe: Searching for Stuart Freeman"

So now to my feature article. Before I forget, we met the nicest gal at eBay in SLC and we started chatting. We asked her what department she worked in and she said Trust and Safety. Her division is responsible for shutting down things you should NOT sell on eBay. I had a big complaint about getting a policy violation for listing a fake gun so I thought the topic on what NOT to sell would be super helpful. Please don't miss this article, as I don't want you to get into any trouble either!

Before I forget, Indy played in her first ever soccer game. She did great and I am so proud of her for taking up a sport. Of course, Houston wants to be her coach (typical ).

Here they are after the game. It is going to be a challenge to balance soccer games in Palm Desert with travel baseball but somehow we will do it!

I am leaving in this WARNING from the last ezine about the new policy changes from eBay. It appears that eBay will be moving forward with the duplicate listing policy for STORE FIXED PRICE (NOT AUCTION FORMAT).  The duplicate tool is now functioning on the eBay site and I used it to analyze my business yesterday. I have 1500 STORE items that need revising. Yikes! I am getting started on that today. There is a link to that duplicate finding tool a little bit later in this section.

The new eBay announcements from 9/21 were mostly positive, but there are two that concern me. I will discuss this more on the next Queen's Court call, but for now, here is what you should start doing.

1.  Start uploading all tracking numbers, or print from PayPal to ship (and your tracking numbers will be uploaded automatically).

2.  DO NOT list any fixed item items separately that have the same title. It is OK to continue listing the same "sell similar" over and over at AUCTION but not OK in fixed price core store format.

By the end of October these will need to be corrected or eBay will shut down your FIXED Priced similar listings. Within the next few weeks there will be a tool in Selling Manager to help you find the duplicate listings in your store. As an example, do not list "2 Cup Saucer Sets Noritake Pastoral Green Blue Bird" over and over in FIXED Price.

If you have 6 of them, this must be listed as a multiple store quantity with 3 available and 2 sets in each listing. Here is that listing at auction that is fine just the way it is, but they MUST be combined when moved to FIXED price.

Here is the listing at auction.

This listing for cups and saucers, since very different, can be listed on its own when I move it to fixed price.

Here is this listing.

I don't agree with this for antiques, collectibles and dinnerware. I do agree with it for new items like iPods and clothing. Overall, it should make eBay more easily shopped and is a good thing, but in my opinion, our unique categories should not have been included.

Duplicate listings

Actions to take by 26th October 2010

  1. Use the eBay duplicate listing look up tool (here) to establish how many duplicate listings you have (you'll need to log into the tool from each of your eBay User IDs.)

  2. End duplicate listings, or wait for eBay to end the listings for you on or after the 26th October. If you end the listings manually you'll have full control over which listing you retain.

  3. Cross check multiple eBay accounts to ensure you're not selling the same product on more than one eBay ID.

For more information on the announcements, click here.

Happy eBaying,

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

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Because Everyone
likes a Second Chance...

I have to apologize for our Back to School coupon sale we held in September. It was frustrating for a lot of people because our most recent and most popular products weren't available on our web site.

So for all of you who couldn't find that teleseminar, eBook or Boot Camp in a Box that you were looking for, we are running:

The Queen of Auctions'
Second Chance Coupon Sale

Use this coupon code to get 25% off of
most items on our website:

2ndChance

Our sale ends in just two days on 10/15/10 at midnight.

Just enter the code 2ndChance into the shopping cart before you check out.

(Queen's Court Members, don't forget your added discount. You can stack your Queen's Court coupon with this coupon for extra savings.) (Live events and Queen's Court memberships are not included in this sale.)

We are still in the process of getting all of our great downloads and updated products listed on the site, but we've made it easy to find our latest products on one page on our web site. Visit that page here.

We've also updated our eBay Training Value Packages. Visit the page on our web site here. These already great values become almost unbelievable when you add your coupon code 2ndChance for an additional 25% off.

Wow!

Our latest, greatest products are also listed below.

We have just twelve copies of Boot Camp in a Box 2009 that are eligible for this coupon discount. Plus, when you buy BCiB 2009, you will receive the 2010 set of DVDs as a bonus when it is ready to ship. Our editor tells us that this is the best Boot Camp footage ever. It should be wrapped up by the end of October. If you have ordered, watch for it in your mailboxes the beginning of November.

Click here to read more about Boot Camp in a Box and place your order.

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How to sell Designer Clothes, Shoes, Handbags and Bras
with Clothing Experts Mel & Steve Woods

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!

Here are Steve and Mel at a 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!

Mel and Steve are awesome. Mo joined us for the call. The call is fun, informative, and it will help you make money on eBay.

Instant download Volume I, $29.95
Order here.

Instant download Volume II, $29.95
Order here.


How to sell Costume Jewelry on eBay
with Jewelry Expert Kathy Flood

Kathy is the jewelry columnist for the Antique Trader and the author of several best selling books on jewelry for Warman's. She is incredible and we are so fortunate to have her share her expertise with us on this great call.


Photo of Kathy Flood taken by Suzy Gorman 2010.

Instant download, $29.95
Order here.


How to Sell Books on eBay, Amazon and
through the Art of Books
with Book Expert Sheila Anderson-Mochrie

Sheila Anderson-Mochrie knows how to make money selling books online. In these two teleseminars, Sheila shares her experience and knowledge so you, too can learn the insider secrets to selling books on Amazon and eBay.

Here is an email I received after the first teleseminar:

Hi Lynn,
This was my very first call I was ever on of yours.
Oh my goodness...I have 7 pages of notes and can not believe how much I have learned in 90 minutes. Thanks for such a fantastic book teleseminar!! You rock!

Sue George

Instant download Volume I, $29.95
Order here.

Instant download Volume II, $29.95
Order here.

Instant download Volumes I & II, buy both and save, $44.95
Order here.


Plush Teleseminars with Plush Expert Debbie Ybarra
How to sell Plush (stuffed animals) for Profit

Debbie knows her plush. These teleseminars will help you to add this profitable and fun segment to your eBay sales.

Instant download Volume I, $19.95
Order here.

Instant download Volume II, $19.95
Order here.


Dinnerware Success 3 Volume eBook
by Lynn Dralle, The Queen of Auctions

Join the crowd of people who have discovered that selling dinnerware on eBay is a great profit center for their business. Lynn's Dinnerware Success eBook will show you how you can add this profitable category to your eBay sales. This is an eBook available for instant download. Get started today!

Lynn shares her decades of knowledge buying and selling dinnerware in this comprehensive guide that will open your eyes to this category of merchandise that can be found just about anywhere.

Instant pdf download Volumes I, II & III, $149.00
Order here.

Now that you've sold it, how are you going to ship it? Lynn's Shipping eReport with online video supplements will show you how to pack to meet UPS' stringent demands and avoid costly breakage.

Instant pdf download, $24.95
Order here.

Buy both the Dinnerware eBook and Shipping eReport together and save. Instant download, $159.95
Order here.


Brass Tacks Research Guide to Garage Sale Finds

Lynn's Brass Tacks Research Guide is a downloadable PDF and online video showing her Garage Sale finds for a weekend, what she decides to research, and how she researched her finds in just a matter of minutes.


How much research will I do for this table full of garage sale finds?

This video and the accompanying 30 pages of text are invaluable tools to teach you how to not waste time. eBay sellers that get caught up in the minutia will never be able to make a full time living selling on eBay. Lynn shows you how to make quick decisions in this "Brass Tacks Research Guide."

Instant pdf download with online video supplement, $24.95
Order here.


Don't put this off. The 2ndChance coupon sale ends at midnight on Saturday, 10/15/10.

Happy eBaying!

Lynn

P.S. Online sales this holiday season are predicted to be up 15% over last year. Now is the time to ramp up your business for these upcoming profitable months.

P.P.S. Remember, I am an eBay Certified Provider. eBay has put their stamp of approval on me and my products. You can't get a better testimonial than that!!!!

P.P.P.S. As a business expense, your purchase should be tax deductible. As the year comes to a close, it is time to get those last minute tax deductions. (As always, check with your accountant.)

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LOL -- Lynn on Location...Laugh out Loud and Learn with Lynn & her associates at our first ever LOL event. I want to point out that this will be different than a Live Boot Camp where each student gets hand holding and actual work done. Rather this is an event to network, brainstorm, and learn from the speakers and the attendees.

This very special 2-day event will be held in Las Vegas on March 12th and 13th, 2011 (Saturday and Sunday) at the fantastique Paris Hotel in the Champagne Ballroom! We have negotiated super room rates with the Paris for those attending the event. (Lodging is not included in your registration.)

It will be two jam-packed days of teaching, networking and just plain having eBay fun. I have already gotten confirmation from four very special guest speakers. Kathy Flood, jewelry expert, Mel & Steve Woods, clothing experts and Diva Dawn, organizational expert, will be joining us.

Many of the usual suspects will be joining me. Carmen, Jason, Mo, Deborah, my brother Lee, Houston, Indy and my mom hope to join us.

We can't wait to see you all in Vegas!

To learn more, click here.

To purchase your seat at our low introductory offer click here. The price will be going up until it reaches its published price some time before LOL.

(Sorry, no Queen's Court discount or other coupons can be applied to Live Events.)

By the way, slot machines are a restricted item when selling on eBay. They must be over 25 years old and a disclaimer about not shipping to certain states must be in the listing. This is the disclaimer "Due to laws regulating the sale of antique slot machines, I, as the seller, will not sell to members in the states of Alabama, Connecticut, Hawaii, Indiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Bids from members residing in any of these states will be cancelled. Buy It Now transactions with buyers residing in these states will be considered void."

Here is a slot machine from 1948 that my friend Lori WILL be selling on eBay. Check out the 777. That is our lucky number combo for LOL!

We also want to say a special 'Thank You' to the first twelve who sign up for LOL. The first twelve will receive the bonus $397 Gift Bag that is normally reserved for those who attend a Live Boot Camp or buy my Boot Camp in a Box. This amazing bag is filled with lots of goodies that we use on a daily basis in running our eBay business. And this can be yours if you are one of the first twelve.

To learn more, click here.
To sign up now, at the introductory price, click here.

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'What NOT to Sell on eBay'
by Lynn Dralle, The Queen of Auctions

About a month ago I was shocked to see that eBay had shut down one of my listings and given me a policy violation. What could it possibly be I thought to myself? When I clicked on the message I couldn't believe that it was because I had listed a fake gun. Oh my goodness. I could see getting in trouble for a real gun but not a fake one.

Here is a photo of the faux gun and what it said on the glass case. That was my "big" policy infraction.


#1. Familiarize Yourself with eBay's Firearms, Weapons and Knives Policy

After I read up on the subject I was surprised to learn that to sell a replica gun on eBay it must have an orange plug in the end that can NOT be removed or an orange barrel marking.

When I asked Helon about it at the eBay Certified Fair, she mentioned that this was for safety reasons. Another eBay employee also mentioned that many collectors do NOT want to alter their replica guns by installing these orange plugs so it becomes a tricky business.

Here is what eBay says...

Airsoft guns, replica guns, or other imitation firearms may be listed when:

  • They have blaze orange barrel markings or a blaze orange barrel plug permanently attached to the weapon.
  • They can't be converted to shoot lethal projectiles.
  • State laws are followed, remembering that in most states you have to be at least 18 years old to buy an airsoft gun.

Here is a link to more information about the Firearms, Weapons and Knives Policy.

#2. Familiarize Yourself with eBay's Animals and Wildlife Products Policy

 Since I have been listing a lot of clothing and I like to use the term Ivory to describe a color, it has really been brought to my attention that ivory is completely not acceptable to sell on eBay anymore. They won't even let you describe a piece of clothing as "ivory". Check out this auction for an off white bra that I had to list as "cream" colored.

See the listing here.

Back in the day, we could sell antique ivory with no problem. I sold a lot of scrimshaw pieces and netsukes. Well, today no way! eBay is very strict about its ivory policy and if any antique has more than 5% ivory in its making, it is prohibited.

Here is more information on eBay's ivory and bone policy....

Though there a few exceptions, most ivory products can't be offered on eBay because of various international trade restrictions and treaties banning the sale of these items. You can find additional information about ivory laws below.

Restricted

  • Antiques that contain 5 percent or less of real ivory and were made before the year 1900 - for example:
    • Musical instruments with ivory keys, such as a flute, a piano, or a trumpet
    • Furniture with ivory inlay or ivory drawer handles, such as a cabinet, a hutch, or a desk

When selling these items:

    • Include a picture of the item in your listing
    • Specify the exact year the item was made and include the info in your listing description
  • Bone from non-ivory–producing animals (such as bison, buffalo, and oxen) as long as the species is clearly stated in the listing description
  • Cultured, man-made, or vegetable ivory as long as the listing description specifies what the item is made of

Not allowed

  • Bone from animals that produce ivory, including elephants, mammoths, walruses, and whales
  • Carved and uncarved ivory
  • Fossilized ivory
  • Manufactured items with more than 5 percent of actual ivory such as:
    • Canes
    • Chess pieces
    • Figurines
    • Jewelry
    • Scrimshaw
  • Raw ivory

My advice is to stay away from all ivory and bone products completely when selling on eBay. At one point in time, I was going to sell a very rare bronze with an ivory face that belonged to my grandmother. I decided to keep it but if I do ever want to sell it I think it may be allowed because it has less than 5% ivory in its making and was made prior to 1900.

Here are photos of that amazing bronze that she gave to me when I was living in Bellingham.


 

You can't sell live animals, endangered species fur (but you can sell rat fur if it isn't endangered), etc. For more information on eBay's animal and wildlife policy please read more here. This is very fascinating information!

Every year in August when I renew my eBay Certified Provider status, I have to take an exam. It is very difficult and a lot of it focuses on what is not allowed to be sold on eBay. It fascinates me and that is another reason I wanted to write this article.

Unfortunately, this article is not long enough to discuss all of the policies in detail, so please click on any of these categories before you list an item that is questionable.

Especially with Halloween coming up, be careful when listing realistic costumes or REAL uniforms and badges. Many of these are completely not allowed and with good reason. For example, airport personnel badges, frequent flyer miles that are non-transferrable and police uniforms are NOT allowed to be sold on eBay.

#3. Familiarize Yourself with eBay's ENTIRE List of RESTRICTED (not always Prohibited) Items

The list of what is restricted on eBay can be found in their restricted policy overview. The list is vast! Check this out:

 

Prohibited and restricted items

Really, human parts and remains are not allowed to be sold on eBay? And you can't sell stolen property? And no lockpicking devices? J/K (Just Kidding).

eBay has these policies in order to make eBay a safe place for all of us to both buy and sell. Keep this list handy in case you ever have a question and here's to a successful and profitable holiday season. It is beginning!

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.

Copyright © 2015 Lynn Dralle - All Rights Reserved..