Dear eBayers,

Many of you have called or emailed to find out when our ONLY Live Boot Camp of 2009 is going to be. We have confirmed our dates and it is going to be Friday, August 28th, Saturday August 29th and Sunday August 30th at the world famous La Quinta Resort! If you can believe it, there are only 15 seats left! And five of the nine who are coming are return students. Too much fun!

By holding it the last weekend in August, we were able to negotiate super great room rates for all you future students and the resort will not be very crowded. We will also be able to get the meeting rooms that we want.

‘Can you really shop retail and make money on eBay? My 3 Top Tips’

by Lynn Dralle, The Queen of Auctions

Right before Christmas last year, I was in the Dollar Store buying some last-minute stocking stuffers when I spotted the neatest looking dinnerware. It was by Royal Norfolk and it had roosters on it. Can’t go wrong with Roosters, ever. I started wondering if I could buy the dinner plates and the soup bowls and sell them on eBay?

It also got me thinking about shopping at other discount stores like TJ Maxx, Big Lots (Formerly Pic-n-Save) and Marshalls who take the mainstream retailers’ overstocks and manufacturers’ overstocks and sell them at deep discounts. The discount stores stocks are constantly changing so I thought it might be a really great place for sourcing product–especially in the off garage sale months like winter!

So for the purposes of an article that I knew I would EVENTUALLY write, I shelled out $8 for four dinner plates and four large bowls. I listed them immediately at Christmas time in 2007 and they didn’t sell so we moved them into my eBay store on January 13th of 2008.

Here are the dinner plates that are still for sale in my eBay store.

Cute, aren’t they?

Tip #1: Don’t spend too much & watch for markdowns.

I only spent $2 for each $9.99 auction listing so I wasn’t taking a very big risk. The four soup bowls just sold this week! My $4 investment returned $19.98 within a year.

These soup bowls can be seen here.

I am surprised that the dinner plates didn’t sell first, but they will soon. I recommend that you try and keep your spending at $1 to $3 per $9.99 auction listing.

Also, watch for red tags and markdowns. These discount stores rotate their stock quickly so it is a good idea to always check the clearance shelves.

Tip #2: Pick Good Brand Names or Popular Subjects

I am amazed at some of the brand names these discount chains get. I have seen Spode, Lladro, Royal Doulton, Wedgwood, Fitz & Floyd, Lenox and more.

In fact, a good friend is starting to sell on eBay and she called me from Marshalls last week and said, “I can’t believe it, but they have Deruta Pottery from Italy here.” She is Italian and collects this pottery but I told her to wait until it got marked down since the pieces were over $10 each. Deruta is a very good brand and I have had tremendous success with it.

Check out this Deruta Chop Plate I have listed in my eBay store. It didn’t sell at auction last week but will eventually sell from my store.

Try and stick with brand names that you know are good. Mo had a huge success with some dinnerware from TJ Maxx earlier this year. She bought dinner plates, cereal bowls and soup bowls in the Spode Winter’s Eve Blue pattern for between $1.99 and $2.99 each. The dinner plates all sold for $45.00 each!

She still has some of the bowls left. You can check them out here.

As soon as my mom heard Mo’s story, she ran out to a different TJ Maxx store in La Quinta looking for similar items. She bought a stack of Spode Christmas plates that were marked down to $1.99 each with red tags. She didn’t get them listed before she moved to Bellingham for the Summer so when she moved back to Bellingham this Fall, she gave them to me. Thank you Mom!

Anyway, I sold three of the Christmas plates at auction for $9.99 each and then moved the last two into my eBay store. Well, they both just sold out of my eBay store. One sold on December 4th and one on December 9th.

Click here to see for how much.

We had only just listed them in the eBay store on November 21, 2008. It only took about two weeks for them to sell. Amazing!

In addition to looking for good brand names, also look for popular subject matter like farm animals; (cows, horses, roosters, chickens, sheep, pigs) rabbits, cats and dogs. The dinnerware that I sold from the $1 store wasn’t a great brand, Royal Norfolk, but the subject matter and color scheme were.

Tip #3: Keep your Receipts and Return within 30 Days

The best part about shopping at discount chains is that most accept returns within 30 days with receipts. Make sure you have a special place to keep your receipts so that if you do decide to return items, you can find the receipts quickly.

30 days gives you enough time to try items at auction, move them into your eBay store and then make a decision about whether to return or not.

If you have paid less than $3 per auction, I would wait it out. However, if you have decided to try more expensive items, this can really work to your advantage. I have heard some wonderful success stories from people who sell bedding and linens that they find at these discounters. If they don’t sell within the 30 days and they have paid $25 or more, they return the bedding for a full refund.

It is also a good idea to check outlet malls if you have any that are close to you. Get to know the outlet store managers and let them know that you are especially interested in items at final markdown.

Finally, with so many mainstream retailers going out of business, the discount stores, like the Dollar Store chains, Marshalls, Big Lots and TJ Maxx will be getting flooded with manufacturer’s and store overstocks. Now is a great time to go shopping! And make money!

Dear eBayers,

Many of you have called or emailed to find out when our ONLY Live Boot Camp of 2009 is going to be. We have confirmed our dates and it is going to be Friday, August 28th, Saturday August 29th and Sunday August 30th at the world famous La Quinta Resort! If you can believe it, there are only 15 seats left! And five of the nine who are coming are return students. Too much fun!

By holding it the last weekend in August, we were able to negotiate super great room rates for all you future students and the resort will not be very crowded. We will also be able to get the meeting rooms that we want.

‘My Five Top Tips for Flatware’

by Lynn Dralle, The Queen of Auctions

I don’t typically spend more than $10 for items to sell on eBay. Well, I will go up to $100 for a good flatware or dinnerware set but never to $1,000. However, I did spend $3,000 on an Alfa Romeo car once and that is an experience that I do NOT want to repeat. (By the way, that Alfa Romeo car will show up in my fourth 100 Best book that I am working on.)

But I digress, back to my $1,000 flatware set and why I bought it. Here are my five top tips for flatware.

1. Always buy sterling silver flatware when you can get it at a reasonable price.

Now many of you may be saying, “Lynn, you are crazy, $1,000 is not a reasonable price.” But please take a look at the paperwork that listed the price.

There were 94 pieces of sterling silver and 15 of those were serving pieces. As I pawed through the box I saw some really unusual serving pieces. Serving pieces from the early 1900s that I had never seen before.  I quickly did the math and knew that $10 per piece for sterling WITHOUT monograms is a fair price.

I knew that I wouldn’t be losing any money and most likely double my money and pretty quickly. I have only ever had two sterling sets that I’ve sold on eBay. One was a stardust mid century modern pattern that my grandmother had given me and one was a set I bought at an estate sale for $500. Both sets sold very quickly. Some pieces sold at auction and then the rest sold out of my eBay store within three months.

I bought the set but didn’t notice until today (when I was writing it up on my I Sell sheets) that about 35 pieces did have a monogrammed FR. Bummer! Oh well, I would just have to adjust and take that into consideration. No letters are best, one letter would have been OK but two and three letters are a harder sale.

2. Identify your flatware pattern

Luckily, I asked the person who I bought my set from the name of the pattern and he knew. It was Marie Antoinette. Boy did that save me some time. I walked around the sale typing in the pattern on my phone to see what it was worth but I didn’t have Internet access. Oh well, I had already decided to buy it based on the average price per piece being about $10.

The maker of the Marie Antoinette pattern turned out to be Dominick and Haff. I had never heard of them but there is a category for their sterling on eBay and I read somewhere while doing my research that they later became known as Reed & Barton. Strangely enough, that ties right into the Rebacraft (Reed & Barton flatware) from last week.

After my Thanksgiving email with the Rebacraft flatware picture, my dad called me within 15 minutes and he had identified it for me as La Femme. I have that listed now and bids on four of the auctions. It is already paid for and making me money.

Here is one of those auctions with a bid.

I have two flatware sets on my eBay table now that I can’t identify. Here is a picture of the stainless Rogers set that I am going to email to my dad for an identification along with the silverplated Sheffield set I can’t ID. I’m not wasting anymore of my time if my retired father wants to help!

Just remember, identify your pattern before selling it.

3. Identify the type of pieces

This was really fun for me last night as I worked on this set. There were some amazing pieces that I had never seen before.

Visit the auction here. I think that it is a jelly spoon.

I think that this is a tomato server. Replacements

calls the tomato server one of the

most beautiful pieces of flatware ever!

I think this is a cake fork.

I love the fact that this pattern was originally made in 1917 and that back then they had utensils for almost anything imaginable. It makes the research and the selling and so much fun!

4. Never sell flatware as a set–sell it individually

Always break your flatware out into individual auctions or into sets of two to four pieces. Most customers on eBay are not looking for entire sets but are looking to add to their wedding set or a set that they inherited. Or maybe they just lost too many teaspoons down the disposal!

I broke my sterling set out into 94 separate auctions and I did it all in one day. Now that is a fun way to get to my magical 100 number of auctions.

5. Price it at about 1/3 to 1/2 of published prices

I try and price my flatware at about 1/3 to 1/2 of published selling prices. As an example, my 94 auctions starting prices ranged anywhere from $9.99 to $99.00. The total starting auction prices for my Marie Antoinette pieces add up to $2,550.00. Now let’s hope they all sell!

Here is one of the auctions with a starting bid price of $24.99. It had a published price of $45.99. I thought that this was a salad fork but it turned out to be a dessert fork because of that extra bar. (You don’t want to drop any of your dessert, do you?) I learned a lot of new things when listing this sterling set!

See the auction here.

Finally, if you want to learn more about research and pricing–my two classes at eBay Live were filmed and available on “The Road to eBay Live” DVD. It is being offered this week at a special low price if you don’t already own it. Click here to learn more.

Check out this nice email I got from Jean Doyle (whose question we answered in the DVD set):

Hey Lynn, Carmen and Mo,

I just finished watching the DVDs of “On the Road to eBay Live.” I am so impressed with all the work each and everyone did to make that all happen. And to you Lynn for taking the time to get all those questions that were sent to you answered had to be quite an undertaking. And time consuming. My question was one of them.

I loved the way you handled my question, and you gave me the stamina to move on and not worry about the competition that I felt was on eBay.

Once I get back on my feet, I am going to go back out there and hit all the garage sales, estate sales, and thrift stores that are out here near my home in Florida. Having fun while doing it. I plan on joining the Queen’s Court with my proceeds. LOL.

Thanks to you all for all you do for us fellow eBayers. Especially to you Lynn, the time and effort you put into your career, you are certainly motivating and inspiring. I know your grandmother was an inspiration, but you are just as inspiring to all.

Regards, Jean Doyle

Dear eBayers,

Many of you have called or emailed to find out when our ONLY Live Boot Camp of 2009 is going to be. We have confirmed our dates and it is going to be Friday, August 28th, Saturday August 29th and Sunday August 30th at the world famous La Quinta Resort! There are only 20 seats left!

By holding it the last weekend in August, we were able to negotiate super great room rates for all you future students and the resort will not be very crowded. We will also be able to get the meeting rooms that we want.

‘My Three Top Tips for Garage Saling‘

by Lynn Dralle, The Queen of Auctions

Indiana was a doll (as usual) this weekend and agreed to join me on our garage sale hunt. We only had two hours because we had to leave at 9:30 am for the Chino Hills tournament.

We started out at a garage sale that had been listed in the paper a week before but we couldn’t find it. It was the weekend that my mom, Mo and I all went out hunting together and the newspaper said crossroads Portola and Frank Sinatra. Well we drove all around that area and there was nothing. No streets, no houses and worse yet no garage sales!

But on this weekend, the ad in the newspaper said crossroads Portola and Gerald Ford. There were plenty of streets, houses and a garage sale there! Finally. At that first sale they wanted $2 each for books. Way too high but as I was walking out I spotted a perfume bottle on a table that looked pretty. I couldn’t believe it when I turned it over and it had a Sabino France paper label! I quickly asked the lady how much? And she said “How about $1?” O.K. $2 each for a book that is worth 50 cents and $1 for a perfume bottle that could be worth 100s!

Check out the bottle and what it sold for here.

When I was little my grandmother sold Sabino Art Glass directly from the company in her antique and gift store. She kept it all in the teeny cabinet. The teeny cabinet was named that because when we took it to antique shows for display we would put all the teeny tiny items in it. I remember how cool the Sabino art glass looked in that cabinet because it had clear glass shelves and a light at the top that would make the Sabino glass glow.

I now own the teeny cabinet and it is in the garage right next to where I get out of my car. I don’t know what I am going to do with it but I will figure it out someday. In the meantime, don’t forget my number one tip.

Tip #1: It is never to late

The garage sale where I found the Sabino Art Glass perfume had been going on for two weekends. Albeit, probably not many could find it the first weekend because the paper had the wrong address. But we showed up an hour after it started on the 2nd weekend and still I found that Sabino piece. What was even more amazing is that in all my years of doing eBay, I have NEVER found a Sabino piece anywhere.

Tip #2: Get to know other Garage Salers

After the perfume score, Indy and I headed up to a community sale in a gated community. We were not finding much of anything, when I ran into Coco. Coco is the nicest lady who lives out here now but is originally from Orange County. She specializes in sporting goods and does incredibly well on eBay.

By the way, Coco’s nephew plays baseball in the minors and she had bought him an autographed copy of David Eckstein’s “Have Heart” book. Just for fun she had bought two copies and this is how nice Coco is–she sent that extra book to Houston. He has read it 4 or 5 times and it is his favorite book. Thank you Coco!

Check out this email I got from her recently:

Hi Lynn,

I got a real kick out of your “foot” auction. Definitely WEIRD, love that word! After 10 years on eBay I am still surprised on occasion by an item.

I thought you might enjoy this one. I did not even really buy these gloves, they came with some skis I bought and were in the bag. Had no idea they were there until I unpacked the bag.

Check out what they sold for here.

I hope to see you around town one of these days. Wishing you and your kids a great Thanksgiving.

Fondly,

Coco Palm Desert Auctions (Visit Coco’s auctions here.)

And wouldn’t you know it, we ran into Coco at that community sale. Luckily, we started talking about the sales that morning. Whenever I see any of my garage sale buddies, I always ask them if they have been to any good sales that morning. It is a really smart thing to do.

Coco said “If you haven’t been up to the big Fire Station sale, don’t bother.” I went, “Yikes!!!” That is my favorite sale of the year and it was NOT in the online garage sales that weekend. It was only in the paper, and I don’t get the newspaper. I was so glad she mentioned it so off Indy and I ran to the Fire Station. By the way, I got that Baccarat Chandelier for $20 at a Fire Station sale several years ago. Check out story # 57 in Money Making Madness to see what it sold for.

Remember, make friends with other eBayers and garage salers. As my grandma always said, “It is not a competition as different dealers specialize in different items and not everyone can know everything.” And as you can see from my example here, some of them can become good friends.

Tip #3: Nobody Knows Everything

Well, I am getting ahead of myself. Before we left the community sale, Indy and I had to stop by just two or three more garage sales. At one garage sale the paperback books were all marked 25 cents each and in the pile was an Acura car manual–about 1000 pages. I said I would take this and the electrical manual that goes with it. And the lady changed her mind and wanted $5.00 for both of them. I said “No that is too much”. She said, “OK, How about $1.25 for both?” Sold.

Here is that manual up for sale on eBay. I have been collecting books for Peter to sell on eBay since that is his area of expertise. Not mine. After he did some research, he realized that these manuals sell for about $100. But he also realized that with certain books, the demand can be limited, so it is best to start the more expensive books closer to the price you want to reach.

Click here to see the auction.

The important thing to take away from this tip is that not everyone does know everything–it just isn’t possible and even though many people had looked at those manuals, they were still there waiting at a bargain price.

Another book that Peter has up for sale is an amazing Marilyn Monroe Auction catalog purchased for just $5.00 and probably worth at least $100.

See Marilyn here.

Remember, there are many areas to specialize in and it pays to become knowledgeable in your area.

Talking about different areas of specialization, after running into Coco, I had sporting goods on the brain (her specialty) and wouldn’t you know it, I found a pair of Nike Hockey training skates. I paid $5.00 for them. Let’s see how they do. Because I know absolutely NOTHING about sporting goods except for just a little bit about bats, mitts and cleats. I wonder why?

Here are the skates.

By the way, we didn’t find much at the Fire Station sale this year. Coco was right. But they remembered me from years gone by and wondered where I had been. The ladies were also nice enough to assure me that I didn’t miss much. I know they were trying to make me feel better. But I did buy several boxfuls and if anything does well, I will be sure to let you know.

Remember, it is never too late. Even at the very end of the
sale you can often get things for free. Make friends with other
dealers–it makes the hunt on Saturday mornings even more fun
and finally, specialize in an area that you enjoy.

Dear eBayers,

Many of you have called or emailed to find out when our ONLY Live Boot Camp of 2009 is going to be. We have confirmed our dates and it is going to be Friday, August 28th, Saturday August 29th and Sunday August 30th at the world famous La Quinta Resort!

By holding it the last weekend in August, we were able to negotiate super great room rates for all you future students and the resort will not be very crowded. We will also be able to get the meeting rooms that we want.

Also, as we did last time, we are going to have a contest to name this book. It will be The 4th 100 Best Things I have sold on eBay but we need a catch phrase like “Ka-Ching” or…….?  Please submit your ideas. The first place will receive $100 in product and 2nd place $50. Email your ideas to Lynn@TheQueenofAuctions.com with the subject line ‘4th 100 Best.’ Good Luck!

It is funny, but last time, our 2nd place choice ended up being the title of the book. Here I am with Stephanie O’Leary at eBay Live in Boston who picked Ka-Ching.

‘The Weirder the Better’

by Lynn Dralle, The Queen of Auctions

My grandmother loved it when I called her weird. She knew it was a private joke between the two of us that meant she was hip and on my wavelength when I was a teenager. I always said to her that if you are weird, you can’t be old and then she would laugh that great laugh of hers.

Click to watch:

So, because I like weird people and things, it has been a very natural fit for me to sell on eBay. The more unique the item is, the better it seems to sell!

This past Saturday, (before heading to Temecula for yes, yet another baseball tournament), I dragged myself out of the house to attend ten garage sales. I typically try and hit at least ten. I encourage you to pick a magic number for your garage saling days and stick with it until you hit that number. Sticktoitness “Stick to it ness” is something I also learned from my grandmother and it definitely pays off.

The first garage sale I hit wasn’t supposed to start until 9 am but at 8 am the lady had already started putting things out in her driveway. I spotted a pile of bowls that looked interesting and I turned one over. I had never heard of this maker or the artist before.

Here is what that signature looked like.

I asked how much and she said, “How about $3.00 for the pile of six?” I typically don’t buy much dinnerware that isn’t in complete sets but I thought, these are really cute and UNIQUE, so why not?

All of the bowls had polka dot borders and different vegetables in the center. Check out this bowl that has peas as the vegetable. It is already bid up quite high with four days to go!

Check it out here.

Unique = Weird = $$$!

I did some Google research on The Essex Collection, the designer Heather Outlaw Kurgis and Raul Bernarda Portugal, but came up with my own eBay listings and not much else! All I can tell you is that Replacements.com did not have any of these bowls in stock and apparently it is a very desirable pattern.

This is a good tip to remember, the pattern is usually more important than the maker. Often people collect and buy dishes because they like the pattern–not necessarily the maker.

Since I am working very hard to clean up my life and my house, I brought in two of the boxes that I inherited from my Grandmother’s antique store. Talk about weird stuff! You saw the foot that I found in one of the boxes in my intro! But there were two more very strange items and they sold for quite a bit and that is what motivated me to write this article.

First, was this item.

I pulled this item out of the box from the antique store and couldn’t believe it when I saw a price tag written on masking tape in my grandmother’s handwriting.

It said “Mouth Harp Holder $6.75.”

I love seeing price tags written in my grandmother’s handwriting. I had to laugh when I saw this one because I think a mouth harp is really a harmonica. We also figured out that you would wear it over your shoulders, put the harmonica in the spring-loaded holder and then you could also play another instrument like a guitar. Weird!

I couldn’t believe how much this weird harmonica holder sold for on eBay. In the final weeks of closing the antique store, everything was 70% off and to think that it could have been purchased for $2.03. Happy it was still there to be put in my inheritance box!

And then there was this item. Even more amazing.

Click here to see what it sold for.

This little owl had been in my grandmother’s antique store for probably 30 years. Check out the two price tags I took off of him. One was in her handwriting for $8.75 and the other was my price gun marking it down to $5.00. In the final weeks of closing the antique store this owl could have been had (at 70% off) for $1.50! I am so glad that no one bought him!

Here are the price tags on my I Sell sheet.

As I was taking photos to list this owl, I noticed that the tree looked like a knife handle, the perch was a prong from a fork and the owl itself was a teaspoon. In my description, I said looks to be made out of silverware. In hindsight, I should have used that in the title. Oh well, live and learn.

You have probably all heard of trench art. This is what soldiers would do when they were bored in the trenches during war. They would fashion items out of bullets and other artillery. Trench art is very collectible.

I had never heard of silverware art, but as I began to research what the bidders on my owl typically purchased, I saw that silverware art was a very collectible category and often done by Native Americans. Another very unique item that ended up selling for quite a bit! Over 38 times what it could have been purchased for at the antique store. You have got to love eBay.

Remember this, eBay is a wonderful place for selling unique one-of-a-kind items. Unique=Weird=$$$!

Dear eBayers,

Many of you have called or emailed to find out when our ONLY Live Boot Camp of 2008 is going to be. We have confirmed our dates and it is going to be Friday, August 28th, Saturday August 29th and Sunday August 30th at the world famous La Quinta Resort!

By holding it the last weekend in August, we were able to negotiate super great room rates for all you future students and the resort will not be very crowded. We will also be able to get the meeting rooms that we want.

‘Great Book Information–Cook Books and Children’s Books‘

by Serena Lee, guest columnist, eBay ID QualityValueFinds

Before we get into Serena’s book article, I wanted to share with you how high last week’s Polaroid accessory set sold for. I am still in shock!

Remember that vintage Polaroid accessory kit that I picked up for $1 at my local thrift store several weeks ago? Obviously, someone was cleaning out their closets, came upon it, and decided it was really trash but chose to donate it instead of throwing it away.

See how high it went by clicking here.

It sold to South Korea and has been paid for and shipped off. I even purchased insurance for it on Auctiva!!!!

Here is the email that I got from Serena this week, (a 2007 La Quinta Live Boot Camp Grad). Awesome information. Thanks to Serena! Please check out her eBay store here.

Hi Lynn,

I was listening to your CD of the call with Joel Elad recently and thought I’d share some thoughts with you on selling books on eBay. Some of this stuff I’ve learned through trial and error and some of it I’ve learned from other booksellers.

I mainly sell in two categories, children’s books and cookbooks. Some of the info I’ll be relaying are specific to a category and some are general to book selling on eBay. I’ve not tried selling outside eBay, so it may be different for Amazon, Alibris, or Abe Books.

Remember what your grandmother was always saying, and what you teach us over and over again? People are trying to relive their childhoods by buying things that remind them of their youth. Well, it’s true with books, too, especially with children’s books, which is why I collect and sell them :0) If you remember a book from childhood that brings back warm memories, buy it! In this case, go for the hardbacks instead of paperbacks. If there is a dust jacket, even better!

As you probably know, a lot of adults are buying things for their children that they had when they were little. Most children’s books sell for $9.99, so I won’t pay more than $2 a book. I’ve heard from another seller that pop-up books in good condition and vintage children’s books with really good illustrations sell well. People will buy the latter just for the illustrations, so it’s a good idea to include a sampling of the illustrations in your listing.

A recent children’s book listing from Serena.

[Please click here to see how much it sold for. More than the usual $9.99. Way to go Serena!]

As for cookbooks, I am a cookbook lover and collector myself, so I am always on the look-out for cookbooks. Ones to look out for are those written by a Food Network star, ones with lots of full color photos, especially dessert cookbooks, ones about more obscure cuisines in which not a whole lot has been written (e.g., Scandinavian, Russian, etc, especially Scandinavian), and ones that are of historical interest.

Community/fundraising/church cookbooks sell well if you pay no more than $0.25 each and you sell them in a lot. I’ve found that any book, especially baking books, that contain recipes that people remember their mothers or grandmothers making for them when they were children, tend to sell. (Remember what you said about reliving our childhoods?) A lot of times, people will want to pass on the experience of baking with their mothers/grandmothers to their own children.

There was a story about a woman a few years ago who discovered a book of handwritten dessert recipes from a woman of another generation. She created several cookbooks with those recipes, and the books sold like hotcakes.

For cookbooks that are filled with photos, I like to show a sampling of them in my listings. Even one would be good. Like children’s books, I focus on hardback editions and try not to pay more than $2 per cookbook, unless it’s rare and in demand.

Here is a cookbook that Serena recently sold. Visit the auction here to see how cute her template listing is from Auctiva.

Some cookbook authors to look out for include any Food Network star (i.e., Rachael Ray, Giada Di Laurentiis, etc), the perennial Julia Child, and Clementine Paddleford. The latter is not a household name, but there has been recent, revived interest in this woman, with articles in food magazines and a recent biography written about her.

Some of her books are out of print and go for about $90-$100 on Amazon, so if you run across any vintage copies of her books, grab them! If you want to stay abreast of what’s popular and hot in cookbooks, go to www.eCookbooks.com and sign up for their weekly newsletter. You’ll get information on all the latest cookbooks that are coming out and some popular older titles. One thing to keep in mind about cookbooks is that in general, baking books have a greater longevity than regular cookbooks, so if you had to choose between a vintage baking book and a vintage general cookbook, I would pick the former, unless the latter is of some historical interest (e.g., a first edition copy of The Joy of Cooking).

Another thing I’ve discovered is that older romance novels sell well in lots. I’ve read that Harlequin novels numbered from 1 to 1000 are especially popular. You’ll want to pay no more than 25 to 50 cents per book. I’ve also found that vintage auction house catalogs sell well, especially ones that are for things that are highly collectible, like estate jewelry. Try not to spend more than $2 per catalog.

As a general rule, I try not to spend more than $2 for any book I’m planning on reselling on eBay. Most books sell for $9.99 or a little higher, kind of like coffee mugs :0)

I try to give my book buyers a bargain, so a lot of times, I will either sell books in lots or pair similar books together in one listing. For children’s books, I will pair books from the same author or similar genre together.

For cookbooks that are more obscure (say, ones that are from another era and are no longer in print or as popular), I will pair books with similar subject matter together (e.g., pie books together, Italian cookbooks together, general baking books together, etc). When I pair up books, I try not to pay more than $1 per book.

As a picky book collector myself, I understand why a lot of book buyers want to see the actual book they’re buying or bidding on, so it’s a good idea to not use a stock photo, especially for a used book. Instead, include a photo of the actual book itself.

[Lynn here, I totally agree with Serena about taking pictures of vintage books. I will still use the eBay stock photo (because it is free and shows the cover) but I will also include a side photo to show the spine, pages and condition of my particular book. Here is one of my listings with a photo like that.]

[If you click this link you can see the stock eBay photo that shows up along with the stock book description. All great information!]

[By the way, knitting, crochet and quilt books/pamphlets also do quite well. Here is one that I have up for sale this week that I paid 25 cents for.]

[Now back to Serena, and I love this next suggestion...]

It’s also a good idea to wrap any book you’re shipping in some kind of plastic or waterproof material, so that if the box gets wet (due to rain or snow), the book stays dry. Water and books don’t mix! One bookseller I know of ships her books in Tyvek envelopes, which are lightweight and sturdy and cannot be punctured, and uses bubble wrap to protect the corners.

As far as keywords go, it’s a good idea to include the word “book” (or “cookbook” if selling a cookbook) in the title. You will get more hits if you include this, as a lot of buyers will type in the title (or author) and then the word “book”. For books that are more obscure, say, if they were self-published or published in a foreign country, you should include key words that describe the subject matter of the book, especially if the title is not very descriptive. I’ve found that in some cases, subject matter keywords are more important than the title of the book. This is especially true if people are browsing thru listings.

As you mentioned on your call, books may not always sell at auction, but they will eventually sell, which is why I’m always on the hunt for more books.

Phew! This was a long email! I hope you found it helpful. You’ve always been so helpful to all of us, so I thought I’d return the favor and share what I know about selling books :0)

Many thanks, and take care!

Serena

Thanks to Serena for sharing! We appreciate it.

Dear eBayers,

Check out this email that I just got from Dawn and remember that she was back for her second Live Boot Camp.

Dear Lynn,

I wanted to thank you for another fantastic La Quinta Boot Camp. It was informative, exhausting and invigorating all at the same time. At last year’s Boot Camp I knew nothing — this year I knew what I didn’t know and came armed with a long list of questions — none of which I asked because you covered them all during class. And with all the changes eBay is making, it was very important that we covered them and strategies for making the necessary adjustments. DSRs are so important now, and last year they didn’t even exist. Return policies and limits on shipping charges and listing multiples — you covered them all. And you still found time to educate us about antiques, research, shipping, smart buying techniques, the Dralle listing method, photography, after auction strategies and tips for streamlining our businesses.

And just as important, there was a great group of people at Boot Camp — everyone eager to learn and share their experiences and knowledge. There were plenty of opportunities to interact and get to know each other. We worked hard and we had a great time. You make learning fun and exciting. You have such a genuine love for what you do – your encouragement and positive energy makes me believe that I can do this — and do it well.

Thank you, Lynn. And Mo and Carmen and Lee and Jason and Joel. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Dawn

Diva Dawn LV (Check out Dawn’s eBay store here.)

Boot Camp 2008 La Quinta is going to be such awesome footage! Jason did an incredible job filming it and I believe it was our BEST boot camp ever.

If you already own Boot Camp in a Box you can get the La Quinta footage at a special price until it becomes our full Boot Camp in a Box. This special offer ends on October 20th. If you already own the Full Boot Camp in a Box or Boot Camp in a Box Lite, please email us for a special link to purchase the new footage.

If you don’t own the full Boot Camp, you can still get the 4 in 1 Boot Camps in a Box (Bellingham video, LAX audio, 2007 La Quinta video and 2008 La Quinta video) before we retire LAX and 2007 La Quinta video. Read more about this amazing offer here. This special offer also ends on October 20th. You will receive 3 sets of discs now with the boot camp in a box and the La Quinta DVDs later this month or early November.

Don’t delay! This is incredible footage and can change your business just in time for the holidays. The La Quinta 2008 DVD sets will ship out end of October/beginning of November. Read more here.

‘Trash to Cash’

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

So just what was it that sold that Mo did not want me to know about? It all goes back to last October when I was frantically cleaning my house and garage. I was expecting an out of town guest and I needed all hands on deck to get this place straightened up. I am sure you all know that feeling. It is especially difficult to keep a neat home when you work out of your house.

Like the trooper she is, Mo was over helping me clean up the garage. I went out to put something in the trash can and what did I spy? See for yourself.

They weren’t as easy to spot as in the photo I have shown here because Mo had cleverly covered them up with other garbage. She did this because she knew that I never throw anything away and that I would OF COURSE list these items on eBay before throwing them out or donating to charity.

What were they? Two empty Patron Tequila bottles and a pair of Nike athletic shoes. I quickly snuck them back into the eBay room and went ahead and listed them.

Mo said, “Are you out of your mind? Those Nikes are in terrible condition–they will never sell and who is ever going to buy an empty Tequila bottle?” I said, “Let’s wait and see.”

Well, none of the items sold at auction, so we moved them into my eBay store. About 4 months later, the Nike shoes sold for $9.99 to a gal in England. She was very happy with her purchase and I got to do a little “See, I told you so dance.”

Mo came right back with, “You know, you still have those Patron bottles staring you in the face.” They were on a shelf right across from the eBay desk.

It was such a great moment this morning when Carmen told me that not just ONE, but BOTH Patron bottles had sold and that they were already paid for!!!! Now, I really got to do a “See I told you so dance” and Now I got to write a “See I told you so” ezine. Life is awesome!

Here is the store listing for the Patron Bottles.

The point of this article is that you just never know what will and won’t sell on eBay. That is why I encourage you to follow my three very important tips.

#1. Always list an item at auction before throwing away, giving away or putting in your eBay store at a fixed price.

If you have an item that is unique, you must always list it one time at auction first. You will never know how to correctly price it for your store if you don’t do this. I bought 23 of the same coffee mug at that estate sale this past Friday. I put one of them up at auction to test it and figure out its value.

Here is one of those coffee mugs and it already has a bid!

Click here to learn more.

#2. Make sure that the item is worth at least $9.99.

Before I decide to donate an item to charity, I look at it and ask myself, “is that worth $9.99 to someone?” If the answer is yes, it goes on eBay. If it is a $1.99 or even $4.99 item, it just isn’t worth my time or the eBay fees. I want you to start thinking in terms of $10 when looking at your items. Remember, I make my living selling about 1,000 $10 items each month. Sometimes I get lucky and something sells for a lot more, but most of the time it is $9.99 items. Be happy with that!

See this flatware auction here.

Check out some of the flatware that I sold this week out of my eBay store. I sold $170 worth and most of it was priced at $9.99. Those $9.99 items can and DO add up!

#3. Your trash could be someone else’s treasure and vice versa.

About five years ago I got an email from a gal who had just read my book, The 100 Best Things I’ve Sold on eBay. She emailed to say a big Thank you because she had just thrown away a pair of her old riding boots. She was an avid horse rider and didn’t think that anyone would ever want a pair of used boots.

After reading my book, she went out to the trashcan and pulled them out. She decided to put some oil on them and was amazed at how well they cleaned up. She listed them on eBay and could NOT believe it when they sold for $71.50!

I am experiencing one of those trash to cash stories this week also. I picked up a vintage Polaroid accessory kit for $1 at my local thrift store several weeks ago. Obviously, someone was cleaning out their closets, came upon it, and decided it was really trash but chose to donate it instead of throwing it away.

Check it out here.

I can NOT believe how high it is and there are still four days left in the auction. I am getting inquiries from as far away as the United Kingdom and Thailand.

#3 ½ Never let Mo throw anything away before looking at it! (Just kidding)

Mo’s house and eBay room are way neater than my house!

I challenge you to start thinking in terms of $10 items and try some things on eBay that you normally wouldn’t. You just never know! That is why eBay is so much fun. I say eBay is like gambling but you NEVER lose!

Dear eBayers,

Check out this email that I just got from Dawn and keep in mind that this was her second Live Boot Camp.

Dear Lynn,

I wanted to thank you for another fantastic La Quinta Boot Camp. It was informative, exhausting and invigorating all at the same time. At last year’s Boot Camp I knew nothing — this year I knew what I didn’t know and came armed with a long list of questions — none of which I asked because you covered them all during class. And with all the changes eBay is making, it was very important that we covered them and strategies for making the necessary adjustments. DSRs are so important now, and last year they didn’t even exist. Return policies and limits on shipping charges and listing multiples — you covered them all. And you still found time to educate us about antiques, research, shipping, smart buying techniques, the Dralle listing method, photography, after auction strategies and tips for streamlining our businesses.

And just as important, there was a great group of people at Boot Camp — everyone eager to learn and share their experiences and knowledge. There were plenty of opportunities to interact and get to know each other. We worked hard and we had a great time. You make learning fun and exciting. You have such a genuine love for what you do – your encouragement and positive energy makes me believe that I can do this — and do it well.

Thank you, Lynn. And Mo and Carmen and Lee and Jason and Joel. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Dawn
Diva Dawn LV (Check out Dawn’s eBay store here.)

Boot Camp 2008 La Quinta is going to be such awesome footage! Jason did an incredible job filming it and I believe it was our BEST boot camp ever.

If you already own Boot Camp in a Box you can get the La Quinta footage at a special price until it becomes our full Boot Camp in a Box. This special offer ends on October 20th. If you already own the Full Boot Camp in a Box or Boot Camp in a Box Lite, please email us for a special link to purchase the new footage.

If you don’t own the full Boot Camp, you can still get the 4 in 1 Boot Camps in a Box (Bellingham video, LAX audio, 2007 La Quinta video and 2008 La Quinta video) before we retire LAX and 2007 La Quinta video. Read more about this amazing offer here. This special offer also ends on October 20th. You will receive 3 sets of discs now with the boot camp in a box and the La Quinta DVDs later this month or early November.

Don’t delay! This is incredible footage and can change your business just in time for the holidays. The La Quinta 2008 DVD sets will ship out end of October/beginning of November. Read more here.

Thank you Robin! We appreciate it! Lynn

‘Random Happenings and Crazy Coincidences’

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

We have been selling a lot out of our eBay store and I have heard the same from many of you. Missy M (who is a Queen’s Court member & 2007 Live Boot Camp Grad) just sent me an awesome gift and great email.

Here is her email:

Hi Lynn, thanks for the latest eBay info, even though I only have 600 items, it’s good to have a reprieve!

I’m so glad you got the picture in one piece! I wanted to find a prettier frame, the original black frame was in bad shape so I decided to replace it, but I’m not sure the brown one is an improvement!

Here is my gift from Missy. It says “You Can’t Do Business From an Empty Wagon!” That was one of my Grandma’s favorite sayings. However, my grandmother edited it a little and hers was “You Can’t Sell From an Empty Wagon.” I love it! Thank you Missy. But back to Missy’s email

Just to let you know, things are flying off the shelf right now! People are buying random things that have been sitting in my store forever. I’ve been listing steadily and usually have at least 25 auctions on all the time. About half my auctions have been selling, it’s amazing! Just think if I could maintain 100 per week…

–Missy (Visit Missy’s eBay store here.)

It is true, things are flying off of the shelves and we can’t sell from empty wagons–so I challenge you all to LIST, LIST, and then LIST some more. Get your stores stocked for the holidays.

But back to the point of my article. Since we have been selling so much, I have noticed lots of empty shelf space in the eBay room. Thank goodness! I started consolidating shelves to make room for my new store listings. As I was moving items from one shelf to another, I noticed a darling miniature tea set with ladybugs on it. I touched the set while moving it and thought to myself, “I can’t believe that this has not sold.”

See the set here.

About 4 hours later I saw an email from PayPal that I had received a payment. I clicked on the email and could not BELIEVE that it was a payment for the ladybug tea set. It had just sold! Crazy Coincidence. I don’t think so.

Remember the whale story #84 from The 3rd 100 Best Things I’ve Sold on eBay..Ka-Ching!? It is about my kids asking me to show them the most expensive thing I had on eBay so that they could touch it and make it sell. The whale they touched sold for $249.00 three weeks after that.

Enough reminiscing, back to this week. After selling the ladybug tea set, I was doing my Identification on the Queen’s Court Forums and Judy/Trudy had a chalkware face that she didn’t know how to list. I recognized it immediately as being an English piece but I just couldn’t remember the name of the maker. I knew that I had a sailor one like it listed in my eBay store so I searched around on eBay but couldn’t find the listing. I wanted to find the listing so that I could ID the maker for her.

On these chalk face pieces, sometimes the signature would fade and it would become unreadable. I went into the eBay room and asked Carmen if she knew where that Sailor head was so that I could read the signature for Judy/Trudy.

Carmen knew exactly where it was and handed it to me. I looked at the back side and made out Bossons. I was able to post that on the Queen’s Court so that Judy/Trudy could get hers listed. Pretty fun!

Well, two days later that chalkware sailor sold. Coincidence? Once again I think not!

Here is the sailor that sold.

Then yesterday we got a question about a red Vespa moped figurine. It was from someone in Italy who wanted to know how much to ship it to his or her Country. I answered the question but they didn’t buy it.

This morning I got another question about the same red Vespa (but from a different eBay user in the US). They wanted to know if it had any broken parts and how old it was. I answered the question, but again they didn’t buy it.

To my surprise, just now, both the red and the blue Vespas that I had listed in my eBay store since December 7, 2006 had sold. They are going to Italy and the email of the person who bought it is VespaMotorClub@something. Pretty neat!

Here is the red one.

The point of this article is that sometimes when one person shows an interest in an item–it will help it to sell. That one person could be someone from as far away as Italy, or it could be Mo or Carmen, or it could even be Me!

Spend some time in your eBay room–rearrange, clean up, and move things around. You will be surprised at what sells! Coincidence–Once again, I think not.

Dear eBayers,

I went out on a limb and had my first Webinar. How exciting! A webinar is an event where we are all on the phone together and you watch what I am doing on my computer on your own computer screen.

The computer screen was recorded and the audio was also recorded so you didn’t have to be live with us this past Tuesday. There were about 40 of you with Mo and I live. Thanks for being there!

I showed how to make the changes for the max media rates that are required by October 5th.

I was also able to show how to make the global changes for the required handling times and the required return policy that needs to be done by late October. Selling Manager Pro worked great for us but Turbo Lister crashed, so I am doing a 10 minute bonus video/audio about how to use Turbo Lister for all of you who have already purchased or are a Queen’s Court member. Watch for this bonus next week.

This is The Queen’s Court member’s free gift for September. And if you aren’t a Queen’s Court member you can still order the web archive here. This introductory pricing will be available until the bonus is posted next week so order now.

‘Blue Ridge Southern Potteries’‘

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

I got home with my box full of Blue Ridge and started to do my research. My goodness, one web site said that there are over 2,000 Blue Ridge patterns and another said that there were over 5,000! My Apple pattern was not shown on the Replacements site at all and it wasn’t even on PriceMiner! I finally found it on a Blue Ridge web site. Here is a link to that site.

It literally took me two hours to track down the pattern name, but I was determined (as usual). With the pattern name (Joe’s Apple) in hand, I was able to start writing up my listings with confidence.

Another piece of the Joe’s Apple Pattern.

As I was writing up these listings this past Friday, my cell phone alarm went off at 2:10 pm. It was time to go wait in line to pick up Houston at the middle school. I grabbed a stack of I Sell sheets and rushed out of the house. I take my I Sell sheets with me so that as I am sitting in the car for those 20 minutes I can fill out the shelf letters (storage location), starting bid price and shipping and handling on each sheet. I NEVER waste time! In fact, I am writing this ezine at a restaurant while we are waiting for our dinner.

But back to the Blue Ridge. Once Houston gets in the car after school we have about 30 minutes until Indy gets out. Pretty poor planning on the school district’s part, but what do you do? So I asked him if he would go and get gas with me (for driving to the weekend’s baseball tournament) and I also thought we should get Indy a treat for making the Odyssey of the Mind team.

We got two slushies and gas at Arco and still had 10 minutes until the final bell at Indy’s school. I asked Houston if he would mind stopping by a thrift store on the way. “No problem,” he said.

I ran in and you won’t believe it…but there on the back table was a complete set of Blue Ridge china with flowers done in Yellow and pink. And it was only $40.00. What a score! I quickly paid for it, asked for a box and was out the door before that final bell rang at Indy’s school.

Here is a photo of one of those pieces. The auction is here.

This one was easier to Identify. It is called Wrinkled Rose and I found it on Replacements quite quickly.

In my last 10 years of eBaying I have never had a Blue Ridge set, much less two. It is very strange how things like that happen. Both were in very good to excellent condition and it was fun to list both of them during the same week.

I often get emails from my ezine readers after an ezine comes out. They say, “It was the weirdest thing, but once I read about Le Creuset, or Arthur Court or Mideke, I found a piece at a garage sale.” I bet some of you find some great Blue Ridge pottery this week!

So, let’s learn more about Blue Ridge Southern Potteries. From my research, I have found that Southerners have known about and used Blue Ridge for years. Being a West Coast girl, I didn’t learn about Blue Ridge until I worked in my grandmother’s antique store and even then it wasn’t very common to find in Washington state. Still pretty unusual to find complete sets of Blue Ridge here in Southern California.

But back to the Blue Ridge history, three railroad companies, Ohio, Clinchfield and North Carolina Railroad came together in 1916 and wanted to diversify. They had seen all the great monetary successes coming from American Pottery companies like Weller, Hull and Roseville (which were all located in Ohio). So they decided to start a pottery company.

They picked the town of Erwin, Tennessee for the location. They chose this town based on the fact that there was a Railroad stop, it had good local natural resources and it was a small town with a population of 300.

The first pieces were signed Clinchfield hand painted Erwin Tenn. The Clinchfield mark in many variations was used from 1917 to about 1923.  Even though these early pieces were signed hand painted the patterns were all just decals (like a sticker).

In 1920, the Clinchfield Crown stamp was added to the signature.

Also in 1920, Clinchfield incorporated. They went public with $1⁄2 million worth of stock and became Southern Potteries Incorporated. So some pieces are also called SPI (Southern Potteries Incorporated).

In 1922, Charles Foreman bought out the stockholders and owned 100% of the company.

In 1932/1933 The name was changed to Blue Ridge because of the famous mountain range.  Even though the name was changed to Blue Ridge, pieces were still marked with both Blue Ridge and Southern Potteries Inc.

In 1938, Charles Foreman decided to make all the pieces truly hand painted. He is credited for really making Blue Ridge what it became. The brush strokes and techniques were hand painted mostly by women and a few men. They produced the now hard to miss and very recognizable “Blue Ridge” look. Paint strokes soon became flowers, fruit, leaves, stems, scenes and animals that are common in many of the patterns.

Usually an outline of the central object of the pattern would be hand stamped on the piece. Then the painter would do the hand detailed brush strokes. This helped to keep the pieces more uniform. However, each piece of Blue Ridge pottery is still considered an individual handmade piece of art.

Production reached a peak in the early 1940s with an estimated 17 million pieces made per year during this time frame. Wow! There were also over 5,000 known patterns and originally the patterns were NOT all named but had numbers. The famous Blue Ridge Pottery books written by Frances and Joe Ruffin are credited with giving many of the patterns the names that they are known by today.

Hmmmm, maybe that is why one of my patterns was called Joe’s Apple, for Joe Ruffin?

Sears and Montgomery Ward were a few of the major retailers that carried Blue Ridge. By the mid 1950s, more and more American potteries were going out of business due to the increased competition from overseas imports. Unfortunately, this also happened to Blue Ridge. And in January of 1957, the Southern Potteries Board of Director’s decided to close their doors.

As far as signatures go, It seems like my Wrinkled Rose (the yellow pattern) has the older signature. I read that the script signature like this was used in the late 1930s.

The round logo signature like I found on my Joe’s Apple pattern was supposedly used in the late 1930s to 1940s.

I also read that many pieces were not marked at all. Within both my sets, only some of the pieces were marked. As an example, none of the Joe’s Apple serving pieces were signed. Luckily the salad plates, dinner plates and bowls were. As an ending note, anything that is signed with “Blue Ridge China” came after 1945. Also, anything with “detergent proof” or “oven safe” would place the pieces in the 1950s.

Let’s hope you all find some Blue Ridge sets this week while out hunting!

Dear eBayers,

Even though Janelle Elms’ eBay store Makeover Course started last Friday, her webinar was taped and you can still join in and make it for this Friday’s Webinar.

After listening to 15 minutes of Janelle’s course last Friday, I knew that it was a course that I should be taking! She talked about how she will be teaching her students how to take the 12% eBay store fees down to 3%! I was hooked.

Janelle will be teaching about eBay Stores for the next 5 weeks. Her program includes 4+ hours of video training, 6 hours of newsletter training and then 10 hours of live coaching classes with Janelle.

Classes did start last Friday, but that class was recorded so you won’t miss anything. AND you can be on the line for the next class this Friday (tomorrow), so please check it out here.

If you are thinking about taking your eBay store to the next level, you owe it to yourself to check it out. You can read more about the course here.

‘Make Your Money at Real Live Auctions’

by guest columnist, Joel Elad

Here is a great article from friend and eBay expert Joel Elad. (www.JoelElad.com)

Joel and the gang from eBay Live!

When people hear about using auctions to make money, they normally think about using eBay to sell things to the public via auctions or fixed price. However, there are other ways of using auctions, and the one I’m going to discuss is going to live auctions to buy things for resale. Even with eBay and all the other Internet sites out there, auctions are occurring every week, month, and quarter in most parts of the United States, and there are still deals to be had when you buy the right products and resell them for their true value.

Start-up

The startup costs are practically nothing, depending on what resources you have available or can access, and what areas you want to specialize in as your niche. Therefore, instead of dollar amounts needed to start, I’ll talk about things you need to get started, and leave the estimations up to you and your situation:

1. A niche, or product specialty. Walking into an auction blind, thinking you can buy anything there and make money, is one of the WORST mistakes you can make. You need to have an idea of what you want to start buying for resale, and it should be something you have some knowledge in, or something you can study before buying. I started with comic books and collectibles, but as I went to more auctions, my niche grew and I tried different categories, with varying levels of success. This niche will NOT be your life, but you should start with something.
2. Reseller’s permit. Typically, this is free to get, you go to your State Board of Equalization and tell them you want to resell goods. This way, when you buy stuff at auction, you provide your reseller’s permit and avoid paying sales tax on the purchase. Trust me, this will add up, plus a reseller’s permit makes you more serious in the auctioneer’s eyes, and that’ll matter later. (I’ll discuss this later on.)
3. Access to capital, specifically liquid cash. You can start with $100, $1000, $100,000, or any number in between. I think my first auction purchase years ago was a $10 lot of coins I later resold for $175. The key here is to be able to access cash. While some auction companies take credit cards, cash is still king in the auction business, and since a lot of auctions happen on the weekends, when banks are closed and ATM’s limit you per day, you may want to have some cash ready to go.
4. Access to a truck and storage space. One of the reasons auctions are still popular is that payment is immediate and the goods have to be cleared out within 1-3 days of the sale. If you’ve ever sold goods online, you will know that this is not always the case with online sales. When you buy at auction, you will be expected to pay and haul it away; sometimes the same day, most times you have a 1-3 day grace period. Now, depending on what you buy, your car and house may be sufficient (let’s say you specialize in trading cards, small electronics, or rolled up lithographs.) but you may need access to a truck on occasion, and storage space to handle larger goods, like furniture, antiques, large electronics, or that large collection you got at a fantastic price.
5. Time. You will need to spend time before the auction, doing research and planning and having an idea of your available cash or resources. You will need to spend time at the auction, inspecting goods and placing bids for items. You will need to spend time after the auction, to come back, haul away the goods, store them somewhere and get them ready for resale. For each auction you want to attend, I’d expect to spend 4-8 hours total. As you get a few “regular auctions” under your belt, your time per week will go down, which should allow you to attend more auctions.

Watch Out!

Besides walking into an auction and bidding on something blind, without any inspection or research, these are the other pitfalls to keep in mind:

• You may attend an auction and buy ZERO items! People who invest some time may feel like they have to buy something to justify the 2-3 hours they spent at the auction, and will bid on anything. It is better to observe the bids and spend $0, than to invest money you have to spend time and effort to recoup at a loss.
• If multiple people are bidding on something, it’s a great deal no matter the final price. Wrong! Many people get caught up in auction fever, where the excitement and competitiveness of bidding makes people forget what a reasonable price is and they bid to win, thinking that if the other person is bidding, it’s still a value. Years ago at a police auction, I saw someone bid close to $100 for a used VCR, where they could spent less to buy a NEW one at Target! Also, you may be up against collectors, who are buying something for themselves and can pay more. You are buying for resale, so there has to be a margin when you try to resell it.
• Forgetting about extra fees. Most auctions charge something called a “Buyer’s Premium”, which is typically 10-15% of your bid. The auction house collects this for the service of reselling the goods in their place. Many people don’t factor the buyer’s premium into their bidding and end up overpaying when everything is included.

Getting Ready

If this interests you, the first step is to identify the auctions in your area. I start with the local newspaper’s classified ads section on a Sunday, and there is usually an auctions section near the Merchandise. Pay attention for a few weeks in a row, and you should notice a pattern. (Of course, do a Google search for auctions plus your city name, or add in the types of items you want to buy, like furniture or electronics) These are the three main types of local auctions:

• Weekly auctions. These people clean out estates, garage sales, and closed businesses every weekend, then auction off the items during the week, clear out the goods by the end of the week, and repeat the process. These can be an excellent source of products, especially if you get to know these auctioneers.
• Monthly/quarterly auctions. Some auctioneers hold auctions either every month or every quarter, when they have enough goods from local collectors that they have received to be sold. Almost all of these auctions have a website, so get on their mailing lists and let them notify you when they are about to have another sale.
• Government auctions. Whether it’s the local police, state government, or federal DEA, most government agencies have to auction off goods they no longer can hold, and that can range from bicycles to flat screen TV’s to Randy Cunningham’s $5,000 toilet seat. These happen every 3-6 months, and every agency sets their own place and time. Do a Google search for government auctions, police auctions, and similar terms.

The best thing you can do is use the Web as much as possible before you walk through the door. Almost every auction company has a website, so try to download the auction catalog in advance. Some sites just put up pictures, so try to decipher whatever you can from those pictures. With that information, go to eBay, Craigslist, Amazon, whatever, and figure out a range of prices for what those items sell for. Take that range with you to the auction so you know what to spend.

What to Do at the Auction

The next best thing you can do is attend the auction preview. By law, the auction company has to allow people to preview the goods. In some cases, it’s the hour before the auction starts. Other companies have the preview the day before or the morning of the event. Go to that preview, pick up the items, look for scratches, dents, malfunctioning equipment, missing items in the lot, and the overall condition of the item. Ask to plug in any electronics and test all the major functions (on/off, volume, play, stop, etc.) as the previews are supposed to have auction staff present.

The hidden gem in many local auctions are the box lots, where the companies just throw a lot of stuff into boxes and sell them a box (or group) at a time. The quick way to value these is to identify the most valuable item in the box and bid like you are only buying that item. I saw a box with a shrink-wrapped Iomega Zip drive go for $10. I assure you, the drive alone was worth more than that. Some people skip the box lots, and that is up to you.

Ever since I found a Bose Wave Radio for $75 and flipped it for $411, I try not to skip the box lots anymore. If you get to the auction after the preview is over, you can still go through the Box lots as people are bidding, but it’s pretty crazy then, and you may miss something or get caught up and overbid. While there is gold in these lots, most of it is stuff you will have to sell for salvage or donate to someone else.

Register for the auction as soon as you can, so you can spend time identifying stuff and not filling out paperwork. Bring your ID, a pen or pencil, reseller’s permit, and cash, as some auctions require a cash or credit deposit before you get your auction number. Hopefully, with your number, you’ll get a list of items for sale. Keep this paper!

Tip: Bring some Post-It notes, and put your auction number on the note. Use that note to reserve a chair in the main bidding area. Once you do that, you can take advantage of the preview and guarantee a good seat when the bidding starts.

Once the bidding starts, write down all the final bids on your list of items, whether you win the item or not. Obviously, keep a separate tally for items you won, so you know how much of your budget you have left. You only have to do this for item categories you are interested in, so you can see later if this is an auction where people typically overbid or underbid.

As the bidding goes on, you should notice how certain people bid, whether they are up front or wait for the “going, going” call to throw up a last minute bid. Typically, about 5-10% of the audience places 80-90% of the bids. You’ll see a few wholesalers who buy anything that’s cheap, specialists who only bid on 1 or 2 niches, newcomers who bid on anything, and observers who wait for that certain lot. Don’t be afraid to make friends in the audience, especially if someone bought a huge lot and you want a part of it. I’ve gotten a lot of business cards for lots I bought where someone wanted a particular piece. Be warned, though, these people only want the best stuff in the lot, typically, and want to leave you w/the garbage. Never make a deal on the spot. Take their card; tell them you’ll see what you can do.

In another article, we’ll talk about the resale part, where you can sell on eBay, Amazon, Craigslist, or your own website. Auctions can be fun, and when done right, can provide a steady income.

To learn more about my good friend and fellow eBay Guru Joel Elad, please visit his blog at http://www.trendgrinder.com/

Dear eBayers,

I just got this email from Gladys (one of my most recent Boot camp graduates)…

Hello Lynn,

What a great Boot Camp!! You were so helpful and caring in everyway. You really cared if we ‘got it’. It was wonderful to have fun and learn too. I would not have missed it for anything. Your crew is just the best!!!!

Such nice classmates too! The food was fantastic! Needless to say, I loved it! I have my calculator out trying to figure out how I can make the next one.

Many thanks, Gladys!

Read more and order your Boot Camps here.

‘eBay Special Announcements’

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

This was posted on the eBay Forums as of September 15th. If you want to skip the official eBay announcement and read how it mainly affects us. Please read what follows Dinesh’s announcement.

A Message from Dinesh Lathi: New Pricing for Fixed Price Listings Takes Effect at Midnight, Plus Other Reminders***

September 15, 2008 | 03:20PM PST/PT

Here is what I see as being the most important for most of us.

1. October 5th, make sure your first domestic shipping option in your Books, Movies & DVD’s, Music and Video Games listings is within the new maximum charges.

I am going through and changing most of my current 250 book listings to $4.00 media mail being the first option.

Here is an example of one that I have already edited.

Check out the listing here.

If you have large oversized coffee table books that you can not ship for this price, you can use the eBay shipping calculator and input size and weight and let eBay price it. This is acceptable and within the requirements.

Here is one of those types of listings that I have already edited.

Check out the listing here.

Here is a list of those shipping charge limits…

2. On October 20th the paperless payments policy will begin, and checks and money orders will no longer be allowed as payment methods. I believe that this will globally disappear and you shouldn’t have to do anything! That is great news.

3. Also by LATE October, you’ll need to specify your handling time and return policy in your listings. It is my understanding that a global tool is going to be made available for us by mid-September. Also, if you use a service like Turbo Lister that global tool may already be available.

4. As I revise some of my listings individually (like the books). I am also taking out any references in the description that may change in the future.

As an example, I have taken this line from my listings:

(I should probably even take out the California residents to pay sales tax because who knows what else may change.) Notice that I even took out the PowerSeller logo because that may change someday!!

Here is the new line…