Join us this Monday!

The telesminar in May with Debbie Ybarra of eBay-Mommy.com was incredible. I learned soooo much about selling plush toys and clothing.  Because it was such a hug success we are going to be doing another one on Monday evening, July 20th.

If you are a Queen’s Court member this is your gift for July. Please post your questions on the forums. If you are not a member, you can buy it at the low introductory rate here and email your questions to Lynn@TheQueenofAuctions.com.

Check out this email I got from Lynnette Seymour about the first teleseminar with Debbie:

Hi Lynn -

I just wanted to thank you for that great teleseminar with Debbie. Since listening to it just a few weeks ago, I’ve already picked up and sold enough plush for pay for my Queen’s Court membership this month and then some - on items I would have previously never even looked at! Plus there are some fabulous plush in my store that will pay for another month as soon as the right buyer comes along.

I’ve already listened to it twice and now have more sections to check out in the thrift store. Usually, I may or may not have browsed the men’s section for Hawaiian shirts. But now I am on the hunt for a Coggi sweater! In the meantime, I’ve found Tommy Bahama, Façonnable, and even a Versace! Looking forward to getting those listed soon.

Anyway, I was excited when I did the math and wanted to thank you – sold 4 plush for a total of $60.96 with at most a $3 investment. The Queen’s Court is invaluable to me.

The QC was really energized and buzzing after that teleseminar and for the weeks that followed.

I’ve also adopted Debbie’s idea of writing stuff down in an address book. On the QC we are calling it a BOLO book (for Be On the Look Out). I’m going to listen to it a 3rd time with my new BOLO book in hand and every future teleseminar.

Thanks! I plan on going fulltime within a year – and that I am SUPER excited about. Who’d a thunk that first Boot Camp in Palm Desert would change my life so much?

Thanks!

Lynnette

Shyflea’s Style Store

I am so proud of Lynnette and all of my Queen’s Court members. Even if you are not a member, don’t miss out on the Debbie teleseminar!

Click here to pre-purchase the teleseminar for Monday night!

‘AS IS and Worn Out can be better than New‘

by Lynn Dralle, The Queen of Auctions

Before we get into this article, just what does “As Is” mean?

My grandmother always marked items in her store with “as is” when something was wrong. It was common knowledge (and probably still is) in the business that “as is” meant that you should ask the sales clerk or store owner what was wrong with the item. Often times there wasn’t enough room on the tag to write, “crack on the base,” or “chipped at rim,” so the dealers would write “as is.” Sometimes, the dealers would also just put an “x” or “xx” to indicate that there was damage.

I love it when stores, estate sales and garage sale people mark their items “as is” if there is something wrong with the item. It can almost be thought of as meaning “sold as found.” But that “as is” prompts you to look closer and ask questions.

Now my tips for selling “as is” items on eBay.

1. Never pass up a chipped, cracked or repaired piece if it is from a good maker.

As I went through my new 100 Best Book–Home Run, to write this article, I was shocked at how many stories involved “as is” items.

If you have the book, check out stories, 26, 36, 39, 40, 47, 50, 55, etc! It is amazing to read how much some of these “as is” pieces went for. Some of them sold for over $200! Speaking of the 4th 100 Best book, I am recording the audio this week and the audio edition is available for pre-sale with free shipping. Click here to purchase now.

I just listed a really neat toby style mug on eBay this week. Even though it had chips at the top it was by a good maker and should sell.

Check it out here.

1. Make sure you put As Is, xx, Chipped, Cracked or Broken in your eBay Title
   

If there is room, I try and get As Is or Chipped in the title. Too many times I have sold items and the buyer has not read the description. They have quickly read the title, looked at the photo, and purchased.

I also try and put the damage IN CAPS right in the beginning of my description. If you do that and also get the As Is in the title and show a photo of the damage–you will save yourself numerous returns.

In fact, just last month a lady was haggling with me over a duck baking dish. We finally agreed on a price and even though I had chip in the title, and a clear photo of the chip, I thought to myself, I had better clarify this with her before I ship off this heavy item.

Sure enough, she had not noticed the damage and by emailing her beforehand I saved myself a costly return.

Here is that duck back in my eBay store.

1. Don’t wait to list “as is” items. List them immediately.
   

This is what prompted me to write this article. As I was looking back over my sold items from this past week, I kept shaking my head over a Villeroy and Boch antique bowl that was very “as is.” We are talking, cracked, crazed and chipped. I don’t know why I bought it for 50 cents, but boy was I glad that I did. And I had stared at it for over a month, not wanting to list it. Who knew that it would sell for so much and during the summer!

Click here to see what it sold for.

1. Worn and broken in Sporting Equipment can sell for good money.
   

Used sporting equipment like worn-in baseball gloves and used cleats can bring in big bucks. Many young athletes grow too quickly and they don’t have time to break in a glove or cleats. I sold three used catcher’s baseball gloves for charity last year and they brought in over $80.00 for the three! Just last month, I sold a pair of my son’s used baseball cleats for $9.99. Don’t throw anything away!

Check out the cleats here.

1. At Least don’t throw anything away before trying it on eBay.

My mom was cleaning out my kitchen cupboards, and she put a salt and pepper shaker in the throw away pile, because the base of the pepper was broken off. I said “Are you crazy? Those are Quimper Faience”. I put them on eBay and got $27.52 for them.

My As Is Quimper Faience salt and pepper.

The bottom line is that “as is” and used items will sell. Before you pass up any broken items or throw anything away, look at the item and ask yourself, “Is this worth $10 to someone on eBay”? If the answer is yes, get it listed! In this economy, everyone is looking for a bargain, and eBay is where they are going for those bargains. More eyes than ever are looking at items on eBay. Remember, your trash, is probably someone else’s treasure and that sometimes “worn in” and “as is” can be better than new.

Happy eBaying!

Lynn

We are looking for your eBay success stories to share with our ezine readers and possibly make it into a book of our reader’s best eBay stories.

It ends tonight at Midnight

Wouldn’t you like to be more productive, leaving you more time for your family and the other things in life that really matter? You have a great opportunity now to own my Boot Camp in a Box at our lowest price ever. That’s right, we are celebrating the launch of my latest book by having a sale on your chance to learn The Dralle Method at home!

Here is a letter I received recently from Jeanine after attending my eBay Boot Camp:

‘It’s Always Too Soon to Quit’

by Lynn Dralle, The Queen of Auctions

When I decided to rewrite this article I realized that I have been selling on eBay for almost 11 years! Wow! I started on eBay in September of 1998. What a long eBay career.

As you all know I LOVE selling on eBay. I LOVE the hunt and finding the treasures and then selling them quickly. Immediate gratification at its best! It is like Gambling but you NEVER Lose. After being in Las Vegas last week (and losing $50–my max), it makes me realize just how true that statement is!

You must love selling on eBay or please don’t make it your career. It is the same with anything–follow your passion, never quit, and the money will follow (that is what my grandmother always told me.)

Over those eleven years, I have had three major forks in the road… And at some of those forks, I wanted to quit and seriously questioned if I could REALLY make a good living on eBay. I had the same self-doubts that you may have experienced. Let me walk you through how I turned it around and have made my eBay business what I consider a super success.

#1 Challenge–Finding merchandise after the shop closed.

From 1998 to 2002 I was spoon-fed my merchandise. It all came from my grandmother’s antiques store and I think that there were literally 1,000,000 items there. I wasn’t selling for me; I was selling for her and the business. I didn’t have to rely on the eBay sales for my personal income. However, we were selling a lot–up to $20,000 a month. Those were the days!

When I moved to California in 2002, I had over 80 boxes of items left from the shop and began to rely on those items to pay the bills. It turned out that there weren’t any big hitters in those boxes–items that would sell for over $1,000 like I used to find in my grandmother’s personal collections. I was discouraged and wondered if I could really make a good living selling on eBay. I hadn’t discovered my “Dralle” method yet and I started dipping into my personal collections.

I really hit rock bottom in May of 2003 when I had to sell a Moorcroft pitcher that my grandmother had given me. (Read about it below in story number 75 from The 100 Best Things I’ve Sold on eBay.) It sold for over $1,000 and I was able to pay the mortgage–but taking that sticker off of the bottom that said “Property of Lynn Dralle” in my grandmother’s handwriting broke my heart.

Click here to read the story…

It was the next week that I started going to Thrift stores and hitting garage sales.

This was my first turning point. The garage and estate sales and thrift stores were the place to get my merchandise! No emotional ties and the stuff was cheap! This is still true today.

Here is a garage sale find that I currently have for sale on eBay. This mosaic frame is one I found for $3.00 at a garage sale. I think it might sell for quite a bit. Click here to see.

#2 Challenge How to take the summer off or even a week off!

It was the first summer that we were living in Palm Desert–the Summer of 2003. The weather was over 100 degrees, often getting up to 120 degrees. The kids and I planned to spend two months in Bellingham to escape the heat and the $800 a month air conditioning bills. I decided to move my entire eBay operation to Bellingham, WA. I would find the merchandise, write it up, sell it and ship it in bulk from Bellingham to Palm Desert and my assistant Mari would then ship out the individual orders.

Within a couple of weeks I realized that shipping in bulk from Bellingham to Palm Desert did not work. It was a huge expense and the breakage when shipping 50 things or more a week was insane. I did this for two months and at the end of the two months I found that overall I had lost $45. Not a smart way to run a business.

The next summer (2004), I only went for two weeks because I couldn’t stand to continue to lose money. And finally, in the summers of 2005 and 2006, I had it dialed in and got it all figured out. I went for three weeks both summers, did not lose any money and in fact made $3,500 during those three weeks without working more than 15 hours a week.

It was all due to the Dralle Method that allowed me to leave the merchandise in Palm Desert and listing it from Bellingham. I had finally got it right! There is too much to explain in this ezine so if you want to learn more about the Dralle method, click here.

#3 Challenge–The ups and downs of auction sales.

This problem plagued me from day one in 1998 until about 5 years ago. Some months I would sell $10,000 at auction and the next month I would sell $1,000. By 2004, I was consistently selling $4,000 a month but it wasn’t enough to cut the mustard (pay the bills.) I needed to be bringing in at least $8,000 a month to ensure myself a $100K sales figure.

It was in October of 2004 that I figured it out! Mo had just started working for me and I said to her, “I think we should try selling some other items in my eBay store–Things like dinnerware, flatware and unusual antiques.” She was new, relatively inexperienced and quickly agreed. I love Mo for letting the blind lead the blind!

You see, I had thought that only commodity items sold from an eBay store. Things like my books, auction tools, Royal Copenhagen plates and other items that I bought directly from manufacturers. It turns out that I was dead wrong. I was amazed to find that anything and EVERYTHING sold from an eBay store! I also found that almost everything would eventually sell–especially if I let it sit in my store long enough!

Here is another antique mosaic frame that sold recently from my eBay store. It had belonged to my grandmother and I got a great price for it! I wasn’t going to give it away and was quite happy to let it sit in my eBay store for four months until I got the PRICE I wanted. Check it out here.

Putting more emphasis on my eBay store was a real awakening to my eBay business plan and a wonderful kick in the pants. It was just what I needed to take my business to the six-figure level. That extra (almost guaranteed) $3,000 a month from an eBay store was what I was waiting for. It turns out I needed the eBay store to round out the edges. For more information on eBay stores click here.

Here is a story from my new book Home Run about an item that sold out of my eBay store.

Click here to read the story…

So those are three of the major turning points in my eBay adventure. I hope that my three forks in the road will help you to understand that if you have passion and purpose, a strong belief in what you are doing and never quit–you will eventually get to where it is you should be going. I hope it is the top of the mountain! Your forks in the road may be different than mine (a family naysayer, a lack of capital, or health problems), but remember, “It is always too soon to quit!”

Happy eBaying!

Lynn

We are looking for your eBay success stories to share with our ezine readers and possibly make it into a book of our reader’s best eBay stories.

It ends tonight at Midnight

I have amazing news!!!

My new book has arrived from the printer and we’re celebrating!!!

Purchase my new book today before midnight and you will also receive more than $534 in downloadable resources from 12 of the most successful, well-respected entrepreneurs in the eBay community. All free of charge – no gimmicks, no catches and no hidden fees.

And remember, Queen’s Court members may use their discount.

Click here to purchase right now.

It is so exciting to have the new book in hand. Becky Raney, our good friend at Print and Copy Factory in Washington state did a great job printing the book and it looks great!

When you purchase my book before midnight tonight you will receive free access to some of the best learning tools and resources the eBay community has to offer.

So, in addition to me, you will have access to secrets used by industry experts including Lisa Suttora, Janelle Elms, Debbie Levitt, Mike Enos, Julia Wilkinson, Skip McGrath, Joel Elad, HammerTap, Auctiva, Debbie Ybarra, PriceMiner (WorthPoint), Cindy Shebley and more!

This is a combined value of more than $534.00!!

Click here to learn more about the bonuses. Click here to purchase right now.

Think about that, for less than the cost of a dinner out, you have the opportunity to learn from 12 of the most successful entrepreneurs in eBay history. These people are truly living the dream – making a lot of money doing what they love and doing so on their own terms.

Imagine the freedom when you are your own boss. You get to decide when you will or will not work. You can take as much vacation time, or days off as you wish. And, the best part is, you can do all of this and be extremely well-paid.

Remember, our book launch celebration ends at midnight tonight. Don’t miss it!

Lynn

P.S. Can you really afford to pass up this opportunity for less than the price of a dinner out? Click here.

P.P.S. This offer is too good not to pass on to friends and family. Send them to TheQofA.com right now!

‘5 Top Tips to Boost Your eBay Summer Sales’

by Lynn Dralle, The Queen of Auctions

What can you do to boost your eBay summer sales? Start thinking along the lines of Graduation presents, wedding gifts, summer vacations, beach, etc. and then try these tips!

1. Use Markdown Manager
   

One of my favorite tools to use is Markdown Manager. If you have a basic eBay store you can mark down 250 items a day. With a featured store (like I have) I can mark down 2500 items per day. So over the weekend, I marked down about 5,000 items (almost my entire eBay store).

It really helps to generate sales and I only do between 5% and 15% off. Not a whole lot but it really makes an impact. I looked at my sales for the past 24 hours prior to my sale and they were sitting at $24.00. Not good enough! Within 5 hours, the 24 hour sales had risen to over $335.00. All with items on sale from my eBay store.

This set of flatware that sold really contributed to that increase. I sold over $200 to one man because it was on sale for just 10% off. I had paid $30 for the set (which included a wooden flatware case). I got $24.99 for the case, so the set was practically free!

One of the auctions for the dinner forks.

I also just sold this pink puffy London Fog coat (that my daughter grew out of) on June 4th for 10% off with Markdown Manager. And in June?

Click here to see what it sold for.

I even had “Winter” in the auction title.

Use Markdown Manager to your advantage. It really works!

1. Email your newsletter subscribers
   

I have about 1,000 eBay users signed up for my eBay newsletters. I have it set up to email them (if they request it) every two weeks with my newly listed items. Check out this rare 1860s Victorian Pincushion that was from my grandmother’s collection. It got emailed out to that list.

136 people had viewed it and it had 18 watchers with 5 hours left to go.  And it had a $24.99 bid. We will see what it sells for!

Click here to see what it sold for.

You can also email your list when you put anything on sale with Markdown Manager. Just be careful and don’t send out too many of these. Too many emails can get annoying!

1. List in-demand items

Coffee Mugs as always! Check out this hunting scene mug that I picked up at my thrift store for $2.00. It lists on a popular china website for $79.99 and they don’t have any in stock. Because it is summer, I started it at a higher price point $24.99. Let’s see what it sold for.

Click here to see the completed auction.

Some children’s toys are always in demand. The Fisher Price series of the Loving Family doll house is a good brand. My daughter had these pieces of furniture, dolls and accessories strewn all over her room. We picked them all up and I got them listed last week. It didn’t sell for as much as I had hoped, but the beauty is that it is gone and I have more money in the bank!

See the auction here.

1. Speaking of cleaning up…..Clean up your house and list unwanted items
   

Things that you may think should be thrown away can actually sell for big money on eBay. Case in point. My son’s used and worn in baseball gear sells very well because, young athletes don’t have time to break in cleats and gloves before they grow and need a larger size.

I sold three baseball gloves for over $80 last year for charity. I just sold a pair of my son’s used baseball cleats out of my eBay store. Do these even look like they would sell?

Click for cleats.

And one of my ezine readers emailed me to tell me that she had thrown away her worn in riding boots and then read one of my newsletters and decided to pull them back out of the garbage. She put some leather ointment on them, listed them on eBay and got over $60!

Don’t throw anything away before you list it on eBay!

1. List more than normal and buy cheap items and LIST LIST LIST
   

I was at a garage sale and the nicer items were priced at $10, $15 and $25. I thought that the sellers were crazy. I picked up a Limoges urn with butterflies on it and asked how much. The lady told me it was 25. I thought she meant $25.00 and I put it back on the ground. Then I heard her talking to another customer and she said the price was 10 and it turned out to be 10 cents.

I picked up the urn again and asked, “Was this $25 or 25 cents?” She laughed and said 25 cents. For cheaply priced items, take some risks!

Check it out here!

Don’t let the summer pass you by without making good money on eBay. In tough economic times, people are looking for bargains and eBay is their destination! Just remember these five tips and think outside the box.  Try new things and remember my number one tip….Markdown Manager!

Happy eBaying!

Lynn

We are looking for your eBay success stories to share with our ezine readers and possibly make it into a book of our reader’s best eBay stories.

The USPS Shipping Cheat Sheet has been updated. First class international and domestic prices were raised. Media also increased. A digital file of the front of the sheet will be posted on the Queen’s Court Inner Circle Forums as an extra gift this month and a Thank You for being so awesome!

Speaking of awesome, check out this awesome shirt that I just got in the mail from Gladys Cox (grccox) (a 2008 Live Boot Camp graduate). She actually went to Replacements for a tour and said, “I couldn’t resist buying you this shirt.” Too sweet! Thank you!

Since the chart has changed slightly on the front side, Media and 1st Class International, and the back has changed completely, I am offering the laminated version for sale here at the usual low price (shipping included).

If you had already bought the chart in January, I am offering the laminated version for 25% off, click here.

And remember, Queen’s Court members may use their discount.

Hopefully, that is all for this year!

‘Our 5 Top Tips for Keeping Your eBay Space Organized’

by Lynn Dralle, The Queen of Auctions, with Carmen Badham

I am happy to report (again) that Carmen (with Deborah’s help) did an incredible job of organizing the eBay room. She spent about 4 months on it and she got all of our 104 shelves in chronological order. She pulled all of the old inventory and now it is gone! As of today, I can park in my garage and the gals love the clean and organized eBay room.

Check out Carmen and Deborah in our clean space!

Carmen and Deborah are awesome. Here is a very nice email I got from a customer today about Carmen! Don’t those types of emails make your day?

Lynn,

I just want to say what a pleasure it is to work with you and your products! Carmen is such an asset, anytime I need help or have a question she has always been available to answer them and help me out. I appreciate all your kindness and patience. I hope someday to be able to do the amount of volume you do! eBay has been very good to me and has allowed me to meet and talk to such wonderful people like you and Carmen.

Thanks again for your service and product! DM

Now on that positive note, let’s move on to our 5 top tips for keeping your eBay space organized and working for you!

1.     Keep merchandise in your eBay store for 2 years (try and have

it go through two holiday seasons).

We think that two years is enough eBay store exposure for an item. However, we have sold some items recently that we had pulled from our shelves, but had not ended the auctions yet (or donated to charity). Lucky for us!

Check out this Gibson bowl. We sold two! And we still had them.

Two years (with two holiday seasons) is a good rule of thumb. However, use your own judgment.

2.     Number your Shelves from 1 to 104 or from A to ZZZZ

I was very pleased when I realized that the 26 letters in the alphabet times 2 is 52 for one year–52 weeks. Then it was even cooler that to go from A B C D….to AA BB CC DD…to AAA BBB CCC DDD….and finally AAAA BBBB CCCC DDDD. Four times through the alphabet totals 104 shelves and worked out perfectly when we ended with ZZZZ. 104 weeks or two years exactly!

This way we always have a shelf for each week of our two-year rotating system. AND now they are all in chronological order and permanently labeled. Shelf A will always be exactly where it now. No more saying, “Does anyone know where shelf RRR is?”

Here is what our shelves look like.

3.     Put that shelf number on your I Sell sheet so that you can

quickly find merchandise

My mom even puts her shelf number right in the eBay listing. She learned this from Peter. I may start doing this myself. It really helps when you get a question about an item and need to go and find it.

For now, Carmen and I use Turbo Lister to quickly look up our listing date and then we find the I Sell sheet and go to the correct shelf.

Here is one of my I Sell sheets with the shelf number on it.

4.     As you list your new 100 items each week, rotate the old stock

off of that shelf number or letter and box it up.

As an example, this week, I am listing items for the CC shelf. So, after I have the items photographed and all ready to be listed on eBay, Carmen will clear the old merchandise off of shelf CC and put the new 100 or so items on that shelf.

Here is a photo of shelf CC with what will be taken off this week.

Don’t buy anything you see on this shelf! Once Carmen boxes it up, she goes into Turbo Lister and ends the auctions.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Items that were in the store for more than $19.99 will get a second chance in the store for a few more months at a lower price. Or even at auction at a lower price.

As an example, I had a Limoges covered vegetable dish that did not sell for $49.99. Carmen and I agreed to try it at auction for $9.99 and it still didn’t sell. I wasn’t ready to donate that to charity! So, we put it back on the same shelf (the I Sell sheet still had that shelf number on it) and listed it in my eBay store for $24.99. It sold 5 days later for $24.99. Carmen and I just looked at each other and said, “She could have had it for $9.99!” So you just never know.

Click here to learn more. This is the listing that we ended. We relisted it again at auction and then in the store and it sold!

Just have a slightly different strategy for your more expensive items.

5.     Donate what doesn’t sell to charity (a great tax write off)

Luckily, I could donate all of my unsold inventory to Houston’s baseball team because they are a 501C charity. I got a tax donation receipt from the team and the garage sales that they had (with my eBay unsold items) brought in a lot of money to help them on their way to Cooperstown.

We will be in Cooperstown for the tournament starting on June 26th, so wish us luck! Thank you for helping us with our charity auctions earlier this year!

Here is Houston and one of his teammates

in front of the garage where we dropped off our donations.

Pick your favorite charity and donate away. Remember that most charities will even come and pick up the items you donate and then give you a receipt or two!

I keep all of my old I Sell sheets in case I need to prove value for the items that didn’t sell.

In conclusion, get a system that works for you and stay on top of it. Carmen and I really learned a valuable lesson this year. We learned that it is much easier to take off the 10 to 40 items that didn’t sell from over two years ago, by the week, than to let it build up and have to get rid of 2,000 items all at once. That took four months!

New merchandise sells and you want to keep your stock rotating and fresh. Have fun with it! We do!

Happy eBaying!

Lynn

The USPS Shipping Cheat Sheet has been updated. First class international and domestic prices were raised. Media also increased. A digital file of the front of the sheet will be emailed to all Queen’s Court members as an extra gift this month and a Thank You for being so awesome!

Speaking of awesome, check out this darling purse set that Reta (a Queen’s Court Member) sent for Indy and I. Reta is very helpful identifying items on the Queen’s Court and I really appreciate her and this thoughtful gift. Check out her auctions and store at Linncountylady’s Collectibles. Her daughter designs and makes these purses with real Swarovski crystals for her company Walnut Creek Studio. Too cute.

Since the chart has changed slightly on the front side, Media and 1st Class International, and the back has changed completely, I am offering the laminated version for sale here at the usual low price (shipping included).

If you had already bought the chart in January, I am offering the laminated version for 25% off, click here.

And remember, Queen’s Court members may use their discount.

Hopefully, that is all for this year!

Before we get into Debbie’s article, I want to update you on how my clothing sales from the last ezine turned out. None of my lots went for very much and most did NOT sell. I asked Debbie to explain why during the teleseminar and what she said made perfect sense.

In fact, she has had to adjust her clothing sales and strategies to adapt to the current economy. What she told us was brilliant! Here is my lot that sold for the most:

Finally, I have a new story in “Home Run” that is about a Boyds Plush Teddy Bear. I thought that here would be the perfect time to give you a sneak peak at the new book and share a story!

Home Run Story Number 38:

By the way, It turns out that Roberta Hill is the one who submitted the awesome title and she wins our contest for naming the new book. Roberta, thank you, I love this title!

Now on to Debbie’s article….

‘My 5 Top Tips for Selling Plush for Profit’

by Debbie Ybarra ebay-mommy.com

Bellyzover Boutique

Plush toys and stuffed animals are a great source of income on eBay! You can find them in any part of the country, they’re unbreakable, and they’re easy to ship. Here are my top 5 tips for selling plush toys on eBay:

1. You don’t have to memorize brand names. Virtually any and all brands of plush toys will sell. Often the lesser known, hard to find and more obscure brands can sell for a lot more profit than the bigger names. Think of those stuffed toys that are made in China that fill the giant “claw” games at many restaurants these days. If a child were to become emotionally attached to one of those toys, chances are their parents would have no clue how to replace it if it were lost. eBay is the answer!

The only two types of plush toys I will not buy are Ty Beanie Babies and Ganz Webkinz. As cute as they are, the market is saturated with them and they are not worth listing. Here is an example of a plush toy I sold that was made in China and had a funny brand name:

See the auction here.

2. Plush toys do not have to be Mint With Tags (MWT). They can be gently used and will still sell! It should be clean and fresh smelling, but other than that a “tush tag” is just fine. A tush tag is the fabric tag near the “tush” that is sewn into the toy. Most of the plush toys I sell only have the tush tag. Here is an example of a listing with a picture of the tag:

See the auction here.

3. I like to list plush toys via auction the first week, and then they go into my store with a Buy It Now price (and Best Offer option). Most of my plush toys are sold through my store. Don’t get discouraged if they don’t sell the first week! It can take time and patience for the “right” buyer to come along and find your listing. I price my plush toys based on availability on eBay and Google.

The more rare it is, the higher it’s priced. This pink unicorn I listed didn’t have any watchers the first week in auction. A month or so after being in my store, it sold for $24.97 (my asking price):

See the auction here.

4. Don’t overpay for plush toys! Your best bet for finding great deals is at garage sales. Just this morning I was at a sale with – let’s face it – a lot of junk! That is until I spotted the huge pile of stuffed animals on a bed sheet in the yard. WOW – there must have been at least 50! They were clean and many had their paper hang tags (store tags) still attached. I asked, “How much if I take all of them?!” The wide-eyed seller looked at me, then looked at the pile and said “How about 7 bucks?” SOLD! I figure I paid about $0.15 each.

5. Before you list your toy, do a Google search on it. You might come up with a recall warning in which case you should not sell it on eBay. You might also find an eBay Want It Now posting in which someone is looking for the exact toy you have! You can then list your toy and “answer” the Want It Now eBay ad. It’s a great way of connecting your item with a buyer right off the bat. Here is an example of a toy that had a Want It Now add posted for it, and the buyer offered me $30 (I believe my asking price was $39.97):

See the auction here.

Thanks Debbie! Click here now to get a copy of my teleseminar with Debbie at the special low price. It was a great session. Don’t miss out on this one!

Like anything on eBay, selling toys is a numbers game. The more plush toys you list, the more you will sell. Get out there and offer to buy up a garage sale seller’s entire supply. Get them listed and watch the bids and offers coming pouring in!

Happy eBaying!

Lynn

In This Issue….

In the elevator on the way to the ball field, I was talking to Houston about his cleats and making sure he had both molded and steel so that he would be able to pitch.

Here is Houston pitching for the first time on the 13 & under Longhorns.

A gal in the elevator looked at me and asked, “Are you Lynn?” “Yes,” I said, and introduced myself. Her name was Debbie. She has a web site to help people sell kids’ toys, kids’ and adult clothing. She reads my ezine and it was wild! We are going to do a teleseminar together next month (on May 13th) for the Queen’s Court members’ gift. If you are not a Queen’s Court member, you can pre-purchase it here and get your questions posted now.

Here is an email I got from her, with a link to her website.

Hi Lynn!

Thank you SO much for being so kind in the elevator at Pechanga. How random was that?! I had always thought that I might meet you some day, but I wasn’t really prepared that day!! It was weird; I had thought of you that morning while we were watching our son at his little league game.

Anyway, I love your ezines and THANK YOU for sharing your knowledge! I also have a website, www.ebay-mommy.com, but my fan base is nowhere near yours. I mostly sell clothing and toys and the occasional collectible (thanks to you!).

I love your stories about your grandmother and can’t wait for your 4th 100 Best book. She reminds me of my late grandmother. ) Keep up the great work and I look forward to seeing you again some time soon.

Debbie

I get recognized quite a bit in Palm Desert and Bellingham, WA, but I have never been recognized in Temecula! As we walked out of the elevator, Houston said, “That was so cool!” I should have taken a photo with her. Oh well! Next time.

I have been selling Tommy Bahama shirts for my friend Juliette and can’t believe this one went so high.

Click here.

Don’t miss our Teleseminar on Wednesday, May 13th at noon. It will be a lot of fun! Queen’s Court members can start posting questions for Debbie on the forum.

In the elevator on the way to the ball field, I was talking to Houston about his cleats and making sure he had both molded and steel so that he would be able to pitch.

Here is Houston pitching for the first time on the 13 & under Longhorns.

A gal in the elevator looked at me and asked, “Are you Lynn?” “Yes,” I said, and introduced myself. Her name was Debbie. She has a web site to help people sell kids’ toys, kids’ and adult clothing. She reads my ezine and it was wild! We are going to do a teleseminar together next month (on May 13th) for the Queen’s Court members’ gift. If you are not a Queen’s Court member, you can pre-purchase it here and get your questions posted now.

Here is an email I got from her, with a link to her website.

Hi Lynn!

Thank you SO much for being so kind in the elevator at Pechanga. How random was that?! I had always thought that I might meet you some day, but I wasn’t really prepared that day!! It was weird; I had thought of you that morning while we were watching our son at his little league game.

Anyway, I love your ezines and THANK YOU for sharing your knowledge! I also have a website, www.ebay-mommy.com, but my fan base is nowhere near yours. I mostly sell clothing and toys and the occasional collectible (thanks to you!).

I love your stories about your grandmother and can’t wait for your 4th 100 Best book. She reminds me of my late grandmother. ) Keep up the great work and I look forward to seeing you again some time soon.

Debbie

I get recognized quite a bit in Palm Desert and Bellingham, WA, but I have never been recognized in Temecula! As we walked out of the elevator, Houston said, “That was so cool!” I should have taken a photo with her. Oh well! Next time.

I have been selling Tommy Bahama shirts for my friend Juliette and can’t believe this one went so high.

Click here.

Don’t miss our Teleseminar on Wednesday, May 13th at noon. It will be a lot of fun! Queen’s Court members can start posting questions for Debbie on the forum.

‘How To Clean Up Your Kids’ Rooms And Prosper‘

by Lynn Dralle, The Queen of Auction

It has been crazy around here (as always) but within a span of about six months, Indy has outgrown Groovy Girl Dolls, American Girl Dolls and Hannah Montana. She refuses to wear any of her clothing that has Hannah Montana on it. Unfortunately, that was about 80% of her wardrobe.

I sent a ton of their items to charity, but I kept everything that was eBay worthy. I hope this article helps you to attack your kids’ rooms and make some money!

Tip #1. Have a plan of attack and get your kids to do as much of the work as they can.

I asked both kids to go through their rooms and weed out any books and toys that they didn’t use anymore. I also asked them to go through all their clothing and make a pile of what they did not wear any more or what would not fit. In Indy’s case, a lot of it was just because of the brand names. She is ten, but I feel a teenager on my hands!

Tip #2. Go through those piles with them or have another adult help you.

The piles were larger than I could have ever imagined. Wow, kids grow so fast and things that fit them six months ago just don’t anymore. I am so deep into writing this new book (which can be preordered here for cheaper than our issue price) that I didn’t have time to address the volcano piles in the upstairs hallway.

Speaking of volcanoes, check out this volcano that I helped Houston and his buddy Ian make for Science class (they got an A+). While my mom was here and my brother was out visiting, we had a Hawaii day. All day in the pool, Hawaiian pizza, Hawaiian music and we set off the volcano for fun (all it takes is a huge bottle of Diet Coke and Mentos). What a blast! Literally.

Enter Mor Mor (my mom and their grandma). She did an awesome job helping to sort the items. She first helped each kid pick out what should go in a memory box. We let them choose certain outfits that were very important to them and then we pack them away in memory boxes in the garage. As an example, for Houston, we are keeping all of his baseball jerseys since it has been such a huge part of his life.

Next, my mom helped them make a pile for charity. Finally, she helped them make piles for what to sell on eBay.

Tip #3. Anything brand new with tags or salable on its own should be listed individually.

My mom wrote up all the items that were in great condition or new with tags individually on I Sell sheets and I took the photos. Then I put all the pictures on a disc so that she could list for me from Carmen’s computer in the office.

Here is one of the first items to get a bid. I wouldn’t have predicted this in a million years but you just never know!

Click here to see this auction.

Tip #4 Sort everything else into lots by size or brand.

Next, I had my mom make lots of clothes all sorted by size. The lots ranged from 4 pieces to 16. We also made a huge lot of Groovy Girl dolls and accessories. That will be listed later this week. We were focusing on clothing this time.

Remember story #26 from the 1st 100 Best book? It was about clothing lots and here it is for you to read.

Click here for the story.

But back to 2009 and our mess of clothing to sell. Here is a photo of some of the grocery bags with all the clothes sorted by size. Sorry the photo is so blurry. I should have taken more but am so focused on the new book!

Here is one of our best Hannah Montana clothing lots. We have had people email us about shipping to Denmark! How cool is that?

My goal is to sell all 15 of the lots for at least $9.99 each. And the 25 single items for at least $9.99 each. That would net me $400 and go a long way to help me pay my mom for all her awesome help this week! This way I get the items out of my house quickly and if they don’t sell, I will move them into my eBay store for $24.99 and up.

I hope this article helped you to see how cleaning up your kids’ rooms can be profitable. Also, I can’t wait for our teleseminar with Debbie in three weeks because she is going to have so much great insight and tips on how to make these types of auctions even better. Don’t miss it. If you are a Queen’s Court member it is free. If not, click here to sign up now and ask your questions.

Happy eBaying!

Lynn

In the elevator on the way to the ball field, I was talking to Houston about his cleats and making sure he had both molded and steel so that he would be able to pitch. A gal in the elevator looked at me and said, “Are you Lynn?” “Yes,” I said, and introduced myself.

Her name was Debbie. She has a web site to help people sell kids’ toys, kids’ and adult clothing. She reads my ezine and it was wild! We are going to do a teleseminar together next month (on May 13th) for the Queen’s Court members’ gift. If you are not a Queen’s Court member, you can pre-purchase it here and get your questions posted now.

Here is an email I got from her, with a link to her website.

Hi Lynn!

Thank you SO much for being so kind in the elevator at Pechanga. How random was that?! I had always thought that I might meet you some day, but I wasn’t really prepared that day!! It was weird; I had thought of you that morning while we were watching our son at his little league game.

Anyway, I love your ezines and THANK YOU for sharing your knowledge! I also have a website, www.ebay-mommy.com, but my fan base is nowhere near yours. I mostly sell clothing and toys and the occasional collectible (thanks to you!).

I love your stories about your grandmother and can’t wait for your 4th 100 Best book. She reminds me of my late grandmother. ) Keep up the great work and I look forward to seeing you again some time soon.

Debbie

I get recognized quite a bit in Palm Desert and Bellingham, WA, but I have never been recognized in Temecula! As we walked out of the elevator, Houston said, “That was so cool!” I should have taken a photo with her. Oh well! Next time.

Don’t miss our Teleseminar on Wednesday, May 13th at noon. It will be a lot of fun! Queen’s Court members can start posting questions for Debbie on the forum.

‘How to Take a Vacation and Not Let Your eBay Business Suffer‘

by Lynn Dralle, The Queen of Auctions

The reason my mom and I were talking about vacations is that she is on her way down here this Sunday to spend Spring Break with my kids and do a little work for me. What an awesome mom! I just didn’t know what I was going to do with a house full of bored kids while I am frantically writing my new book. Now, we have a solution.

My mom with my kids.

They love their Mor Mor (Swedish for Mother’s Mother).

My mom was mentioning to me that for her to visit for 12 days, it is almost like shutting down her eBay business for 30 days because she stops listing a week before she leaves and won’t get ramped up again until she returns. I said, “Wait a minute. It doesn’t have to be like that.” “Let me give you my top three tips for planning a successful and stress-free vacation.”

Keep in mind that I was giving my mom these top tips while in a thrift store. You have just got to be able to multitask. I found a bunch of Fitz & Floyd and Dansk that morning. How exciting!

Here is one of those Fitz and Floyd plates I found.

Isn’t it darling?

And I found this huge Fitz and Floyd shell vegetable bowl or soup tureen with an underplate. Not quite sure what it is–but I listed them separately.

Here…

…and here.

But back to my top three tips.

#1. Don’t stop listing. Just schedule your auctions to start one week before you return home.

I said that she needed to make a goal for herself. If she is flying back to Bellingham on April 23rd, she needs to schedule 50 to 100 auctions to start on Thursday, April 16th. That way they will be ending the afternoon she arrives back home.

You can pay 10 cents for each auction to do this through eBay and that is what I do when I go on vacation and don’t want to be working. It may sound like a lot, but 10 cents times 50 is only $5.00 and for 100 auctions only $10.00. Isn’t it worth it for the piece of mind?

Here is what that section of the eBay listing page looks like. I schedule mine to start every five minutes. That way if customers want multiple items, they will have time to place their bids.

#2. Put your store on vacation schedule.

This is such a cool feature and one that works incredibly well. Mo used it this past summer when she was in Canada, New York and Minnesota for six weeks. While out of town, she was still able to sell about $900 worth of merchandise and the customers were fine with waiting for her to ship when she returned.

Unfortunately, this can make for a lot of work when you get home. But who cares, I would rather have the $900 and a little bit of work!

To find the Store Vacation Settings go to Manage my Store. In that section, you will see “Store Vacation Settings.” Click on that and this screen will pop up. This is how I would recommend setting it up.

#3. Make sure you check your messages and questions once a day and email any winners.

Even though you are on vacation, try and check your “My messages” and “Questions” once a day and answer customers. If you are lucky enough to have an assistant (like me!) then ask them to do this for you. And DivaDawnLV just hired an assistant. I was so happy to hear that!

Also, this was a great tip from Mo. Email every winner and say again,

Dear Buyer,

I am out of town until April 23rd. Your item will not ship until my return. If you decide you don’t want to wait for this item, I would be happy to cancel the transaction. Thanks for your business.

This is just extra insurance that you won’t get any negative feedback.

#4. Work for your daughter while you are visiting her in Palm Desert (I just couldn’t resist).

I did ask my mom to please work for me when she is here. She can help me a lot while I am trying to write the new book. I have been getting behind in listing 100 things a week because of so many deadlines. So, remember all those hundreds of little girls’ dresses that my mom wrote up for me but I have not listed?

I have the folder waiting for her on my desk! I will just copy all of the photos onto a disc for her and let her loose on Carmen’s computer when Carmen isn’t here. Awesome! And strangely enough, another one of those little dresses just sold this morning.

Check it out here!

Lynn