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‘Christmas in July!’
by Lynn Dralle, The Queen of Auctions
I decided to write my ezine about Christmas in July when those Christmas salad plates sold on July 4th. Seriously, can you think of anything stranger selling on the 4th of July? Then it was even weirder when I was thrift store shopping with Lynn H in Chicago and she mentioned a sale that the Enesco outlet used to have called “Christmas in July.” It was starting to seem like this article was meant to be.
Then, my mom and I walked into one of my favorite thrift stores yesterday and look at the sign that was on the door. No way!
They had the store filled with Christmas items for sale. Probably because they didn’t have very many donations, they decided to pull out their boxed
up holiday items. Whatever the reason, it was all good for me!
Check out this pile of Christmas that I have purchased recently.
Let’s get right into the article. Here are my top 3 tips for selling Christmas year round…
1.   Buy anything Christmas–Even FTD
If it has a Christmas theme and it is reasonably priced you should buy itNOW! Even if the brand is not the best, I still recommend picking it up if the price is right. We were talking on the Queen’s court about FTD items and how they typically do not sell. But one Queen’s Court member Reta (thank you!) mentioned this, “I have had success with FTD Christmas containers, such as a ceramic sleigh and a Santa bowl. I haven’t tried Teleflora.”
Here are some of my favorite categories to look for when out shopping for Christmas merchandise YEAR ROUND.
Dinnerware…
In dinnerware, look it up and check the pricing on a china replacement web site before you buy an entire Christmas set. Lynn H and I found a Holly Libbey set in the Chicago Goodwill, but it was priced too high. The dinner plates only listed for $9.99 on a replacement site and the Goodwill was asking $3.00 each. Pass something like that by.
Coffee Mugs…
I found 16 coffee mugs as you can see in the photo above just yesterday at the “Christmas in July” event at my thrift store. I paid $1.00 each and immediately got them listed at auction. Pick up Christmas themed coffee mugs when priced at less than $1.00 each.
Collector’s Plates…
Be very careful when buying collector’s plates. Many of the people who invested in Christmas and other collector’s plates back in the 1970s looked at these as their retirement. That is why so many are overpriced.
Unless you are looking at rare years in the Bing & Grondahl or Royal Copenhagen Christmas plate series, I wouldn’t pay more than $5.00 per plate. Realistically, you shouldn’t pay more than $1.00 to $2.00 for these items.
In my pile of Christmas stuff that I bought yesterday, I did pick up three Edna Hibel Mom’s day plates. I paid $4.64 each because I know that sometimes these can sell for around $30.00 if they are the right ones. I also figured that the worst thing that could happen would be that I would sell them for $9.99. Still doubling my money in a very short time frame.
Here is the listing for one of those collector plates.
Ornaments….
I love to pick up neat Christmas ornaments at good prices when I find them. When I was touring Lynn H’s eBay room in Chicago, I saw that she had scored on large sets of blown glass Walt Disney ornaments. She told me that she would be breaking them out to sell individually. I highly recommend doing this also–sell them singularly. (That doesn’t sound like my advice does it?) Ha Ha!
I did see some neat boxed sets of Joan Rivers Russian inspired egg ornaments yesterday. The store had them priced at $28.00 for four in a box. Yikes $7 each! I passed. Boy, am I glad I did. I just did completed auction research on eBay and that same set sold for $21.50.
Do you remember this Christmas ornament from Ka-Ching? It was signed Christopher Radko (always a good name). I paid $3.33 for it and it sold for $112.50 on December 19, 2005.
I won’t get into detail for the rest of these categories, but wanted to list them to get you thinking…
- Figurines
- Creches/Nativity
- Costume Jewelry
- Postcards
- Dept. 56 Villages
- Dolls
- Figural Santa Claus
- Nutcrackers
- Christmas Stockings
Seriously, this list could go on and on. There are so many fun categories within the Christmas genre. Just remember to keep your eyes open and be buying and selling now–before it gets competitive and that leads me right into tip #2…
2.   Don’t hold on to it until November–List it now
I get asked this question all the time, “If I have Christmas items (and let’s assume it is July) should I hold on to them until October/November to list?” My answer is always NO! Why would you want to tie up that money for six months?
You are not only tying up your initial investment, but you are tying up the profit that could be reinvested over and over and over again before October/November even rolls around. It is all about turnover and making that money work for you.
Christmas collectors are a VERY serious bunch and they hunt and buy all year round. You will also find that you have less competition from other sellers during the off months. This can help your business tremendously.
Do you remember this Christmas ornament from Money Making Madnessstory #85?
It was a West German blown glass mouse that was knitting. Remember to look for a signature on that gold fitting at the top of every ornament. This is where you will find the info you need to make good choices. I paid 25 cents for this. It sold for $25.56 on February 15th in 2005. That is 10 months BEFORE Christmas.
Even if your item sells for a little less during the off season, the future value of that money can far exceed that small differential in profit.
Of course, you should take into consideration the time of year that you are putting it up for auction and then price accordingly. Wow, that brings us to my last tip…How to price during the different seasons.
3.   How to Price Christmas During the Different Seasons
If I haven’t paid a lot for my Christmas Items, I will start them at $9.99 in the off-season and let the eBay marketplace take it away.
If it is a more expensive piece and it is the middle of summer (like right now), I may start it higher at auction. Here is an example from that bunch of stuff I just bought. I paid $2.99 for this Pfaltzgraff platter. It listed on a china replacement web site at $35.99 so I started the auction higher than my usual $9.99. Use your own judgment ALWAYS.
If it is the off-season and you have an “in demand” item I recommend starting it at $9.99. If it is October/November, I would start most items at $9.99 since it is a competitive time period.
But expounding on that “use your own judgment always,” my mom had a Steinbach nutcracker that she recently purchased. She found that it listed for quite a bit on a certain website (but remember that doesn’t mean that it has sold for that price). I told her that she should start it at $9.99 and make a quick profit because it would be in demand.
She took my advice and it got twelve bids and I thought it sold for a great price. She was hoping for it to go higher (don’t we all do this 
). I just did some completed auction research for her and she got more than the four other ones I found that had sold recently.
I reminded her that now she has 40 times her purchase price to invest in more items and as they say “a bird in hand.” But again, make your own decisions.
Even if your item doesn’t sell during the off-season at auction, look at the bright side. You have already done all the work in getting it listed and now you can easily get it moved into your eBay store at a much higher fixed price with or Best Offer and let it sit there waiting for the right Christmas buyer.
The more Christmas you can get listed at auction and then in your eBay store NOW, the better your holiday season on eBay will be!
Happy eBaying!
Lynn
