Hope you're having a great 2011 so far.
It's a new year, and a new look to the Yard Salers newsletter as I send out the first issue to the new Aweber mailing list service-based list.
A subscriber has asked me to explain affiliate marketing. I will take that topic on in installments beginning in the next issue. Essentially, affiliate marketing is selling things for other people, where both you and the product's creator make money. You get a cut of the action; this is usually 50% in the Internet Marketing world, but it can be more or less than that.
But speaking of affiliate marketing, below is a example of an affiliate marketing ad.
I am recommending Suzanne Arant Wells's new ebook, The Golf Shirt Bible. I read it myself and found-it jam-packed with info on the best shirts to sell and where to find them. I thought I knew my stuff about golf shirts, but I didn't know about all the types of shirts to look for and why, how to get them (including a places I never would have guessed), and why people offload brand new ones for a song. It's only $19.95. Check it out, if you want, via my affiliate link below:
This is my first issue in a new email system, so there may be a few kinks in the system. If you have any problems or questions about links in the newsletter, or other issues, feel free to email me at juliawilk@aol.com.
OK, on to business..there's a quick table of contents below.
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Amazon Sales Continue to Be Amazonian
Personal Stuff about My Mom, for Those Who Are Interested
TV Shows for the Yard-Sale Addicted
Flips Contest: Survivor Buff, Dumbo Sheets, a Dollhouse Ornament
Reader Mail: Ecrater and More
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It's been a heckuva year. I'll start with the good.
Amazon Sales Continue to Be Amazonian
As I shifted a lot of my inventory to amazon, I saw some of the most robust holiday sales that I ever have. And, many of them came with no individual packing and shipping onus..all I did was ship out several big boxes of many books, cds, games, etc., ahead of time, and then the "amazon has shipped the item you sold" emails started pouring in.
Can there be a more beautiful email subject? In addition to "Sold, ship now," of course. Well, yes, I guess there could...but it's up there in my top ten.
This doesn't mean I've abandoned eBay. I haven't sold as much there in terms of quantity, but I've been focusing on quality. In fact, one of my most exciting sales came from eBay last holiday season: a first edition, later printing:
Something particularly cool about this particular book? As the French edition of the first edition, it was evidently the version of the book that Antoine de St. Exupery (its author) had in his pocket as he flew his last airplane mission -- for the Free French Forces in World War II before tragically perishing in a crash.
This particular auction had two very interesting things going on. One, a bidding war. There were two people in particular, one in Japan, and on in Europe, who kept upping the bidding near the end.
The other interesting thing I learned when, out of curiosity, I looked up the bidders' profiles. Both of them had, as their profile picture, an image of the "little prince" from the book! And both seemed to avidly trade in this book..all different versions, languages, editions. Fascinating. It just made me think what a great range of passions for all kinds of collectibles is out there..that it could be narrowed down to a single book by a single author.
The story of how I found the book is one of my favorite serendipitous yard sale tales, too.
It was one of those weekends I didn't totally have my act together. I didn't get out early Saturday, and I had noticed that later in the day someone posted a note on craigslist about a yard sale with lots of books. I figured, I didn't know how serious they were, because they didn't have the ad up by Thursday or Friday, as most people planning yard sales do.
Still, my motto with yard sales is "you never know." So I hopped in the car and drove just up the hill to the sale. There were a lot of cardboard boxes in front, most of them holding books. I could see from a random scan of the titles that there were some goodies tucked in there with the ho-hums. But, disconcertingly, as I arrived, I saw a lady hurriedly loading the last of several boxes into the trunk of her car.
Her expression was a mixture of smugness and panic...a let-me-get-out-of-here-before-she-changes-her mind kind of thing. This told me a) there was good stuff here, b) she probably got good prices, and c) it may already have been mostly picked over. But after briefly chatting with the seller, a quirky-seeming lady who announced she was moving to New Orleans, I learned that Ms. Multiple Boxes had grabbed just the sci-fi titles.
So I started milling around, and noticed a box of children's books. I didn't see much that jumped out at me, but then I saw the beige, aged-looking copy of The Little Prince. I'd sold this title before and new that early copies could do well. I grabbed it, then went to troll for cookbooks. Among other things, I picked up an anniversary edition of The Joy of Cooking, and a Julia Child. She charged me $10 for the Julia book, but most others were only $1 or so, including Le Petit Prince.
The two cookbooks went forthwith into my next amazon fba / fulfillment by amazon shipment. But when I did some preliminary research on my little Frenchman, Le Petit Prince, I knew he could be something better than I imagined.
Therefore I put him on eBay, complete with multiple angles, inside page photos, and spine shots. (Even then I got several questions asking to see photos of specific pages and asking about issue points. For example, one early edition has a "crow" on one page, where it does not appear on others).
You see the result..a sweet $495.00. I did not think it would go that high. I'm glad I put that particular find on eBay, though as I mentioned I am focusing more on amazon in terms of quantity, especially with the books, video games, music, and board games.
Personal Stuff about My Mom, for Those Who Are Interested
Those of you who have been regular readers of this newsletter in the past year have heard about my challenges taking in my mom to live with me and my family. She had Parkinson's disease as well as dementia, which I learned often accompanies Parkinson's.
I am sorry to report to you all that she passed away on January 16th. She put up a valiant fight, but as I have often heard said about others who were near the end, in the end she was just suffering, so it seemed for the best.
We did our best to make her last year as comfortable and happy as possible, within the limitations we had. I'm sure it was not perfect. I learned many things that I may share with you all in future issues, if you want to hear. (For starters, it's never too soon to go to your parents and get their paperwork in order..make sure they have a power of attorney set up, in addition to a will). But I won't go into all that now. I do want to extend my sincere thanks to my readers for all their words of support and kind thoughts. The other night Martha Stewart was on tv talking about a "silver tsunami" that will be facing society, with all the people aging and needing more care. So it's something many of us will be dealing with if we are not already.
TV Shows for the Yard-Sale Addicted
Have you noticed? There are a lot of tv shows out there for the seriously yard sale addicted. (There are shows about other addictions too, though if you can't take seeing flattened cats, I don't recommend watching "Hoarders").
But in terms of the antiques and collectibles junkies, there's all kinds of stuff on cable. I was already a regular watcher of "American Pickers" and "Pawn Stars," but a friend of mine mentioned "Storage Wars" to me. There is also "Trash to Cash," "Cash and Cari," and of course, the ever-venerable "Antiques Road Show."
Here's a rundown of shows/channels/times in case you are interested:
American Pickers - History Channel/History.com - Mondays at 9 pm ET
Antiques Road Show - PBS - Monday at 8 pm ET in most areas
Cash in the Attic - BBC America - [check your local listings]
Cash & Cari: - HGTV - Mondays 10pm/9c
Pawn Stars -History Channel/History.com - Mondays at 10 pm ET
Storage Wars - A&E - Wed at 10:30 ET
Flips Contest: Survivor Buff, Dumbo Sheets, a Dollhouse Ornament
Survivor Buff for "Survivor Buffs" Pays Off
Hi Julia,
Here is my yard sale flip...I do them as a math problem for elementary kids. I then send this to the teacher and the kids get a real kick out of figuring my rate of return and what some people will pay for a headband!
One day while out scouring sales, the seriously addicted yard sale lady happened upon a yellow scrap of fabric. Intrigued she pulled it out of the pile. With a smile on her face she realized it was a commemorative "buff" from the show Survivor season 8. As this show has fond memories for her (and also knowing that Survivor fans are ....well fanatic) she shelled out the 10 cent asking price.
As timing is everything, she waits until Survivor Nicaragua (first show of the season) is on TV. Then she strategically posts her "buff". The tension mounts, she gets emails from Canada and Australia about postage costs (free shipping USA only)...when the gavel finally falls the sale price is ...$177.50!!!
Could you please tell this ecstatic yard sale addicted lady what the rate of return is on her money?
The answer: 17,400%!
Hope you enjoy my...story problem!
Gail
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Hey Gail...thanks so much for writing!
A Survivor buff...at that price..wow! I didn't even know they had Survivor "buffs"! LOL. Nor that the show fans were that fanatic?
Love that you turned this into a "rate of return" problem..esp. in these days of not so great return rates on other, traditional investments.
Thanks so much for sharing and you are entered into the next contest. :-)
Julia
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Western Saddle
Carol won the last Flips Contest with her cool shells find. In our exchange about her winning, some more interesting flips of hers came out. I had mentioned an episode of "Pawn Stars" where someone brought a beautiful saddle with silver detail into the shop. Read on:
Hey Carol!
What a neat story about the shells..I'd love to share part of that on my blog, w/ a link to the full story on your site, if you're OK with it.
Would also love to hear more about the lamp and saddle and we could enter you in the next contest. Do u have pix?
One night on Pawn Stars an old parade saddle came into their shop, and as I recall it was worth a pretty penny! I don't think I've ever seen a saddle at a sale..but will keep my eye out.
Thx again!
Julia
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Wow, can't believe I won something!
I have some other good finds, too. A couple of months ago I bought a lamp at a rummage sale for $5 that turned out to be an antique Chinese vase that sold for $200 and an old western saddle for $25 that sold for $600.
Yard sales are pretty well over here for the winter, but I might go to an auction or two.
The prize will come in handy, I don't do much with my Facebook account yet. THANKS!
Carol
http://dreamspinnercreations.com
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Dollhouse Ornament
Subject: Submission for your flip stories
Hi Julie, I thought this was a fun story for this time of year regarding a small ornament I purchased at my local thrift store.
I usually go to this particular thrift store after work to "de-stress" before going home as my "full time" job managing a staff tends to be stressful. This is the same store that I found a baccarat crystal decanter and an oil painting, both of which went for almost $100 each. But those "scores" were awhile back.
I listed a 1984 Victorian Dollhouse ornament from Hallmark with the original box. I listed it to start at $9.99 for a 7-day auction. The picture for this ornament really doesn't do it justice. The front looks just like a sweet Victorian home but when you turn it around it is filled with miniature furniture complete with a miniature Christmas tree.
Well, when I saw the ornament I thought it might do o.k. based on its age, or it might be part of a series that Hallmark does a lot of and it was so cute!
Well, to my surprise this little gem was the first of a series and when the auction ended the ornament sold for $41.50, score! I purchased it for .80 cents at this same store. It's always fun to see items like this soar and definitely motivates you.
Thank you for your wisdom, your sharing way and everyone's great stories. Happy Holidays to everyone!
Sincerely,
Deb
strayfinds
http://stores.shop.ebay.com/strayfinds
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Hey Deb!
Thanks so much for writing. What a cute ornament! That's a great return on an 80 cent investment! That's funny because I was just starting to look around for new-in-box ornaments to sell on amazon, if not on eBay.
You are entered into the next contest..if I don't get the issue out before Xmas, maybe the timing will be perfect with the after-the-holidays sales!
Thx again and have a wonderful holiday season,
Julia
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Dumbo Yellow Circus Sheets
Good Day,
I bought 2 full sheets vintage Dumbo Yellow Circus theme at the Goodwill for 4.99 less 20% it was senior day and sold them for 180.50 on ebay. More info and pics to follow if you want more.
Nancy
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Hi Nancy!
So sorry for the delay!
Wow...I didn't even think to look for something like that! Amazing. When you say sheets do you mean bed sheets or something like sheets of wrap paper? (I found out she meant bed sheets).
Would love to see a pic if you have it!
Congrats and much success to you; and happy holidays! Hope to see you on the yardsalers boards on facebook, as well. :)
Julia
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Winners and Almost-Winners
Our winner this week is...Gail with her Survivor Buff flip, and 17,400% return on investment! From 10 cents to $177.50..ya gotta love that! Gail, please email me with your mailing address at juliawilk@aol.com and I'll get your prizes shipped out.
Send in your entries to the next contest to me at juliawilk@aol.com. Prizes will include a package of brand new books about online selling, and a grab bag of eBay collectibles.
Reader Mail: Ecrater and More
Gail was one of the winners in the last issue's Flips contest. She wrote back with a lot of great info about eCrater, where she's been doing well. I asked her if I could print her letter so you all could read about it:
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Hi Julia, I'd like Big Buck Flips please.
Ecrater definitely gets enough traffic. I sell more there now than my last year at ebay with basically the same inventory (minus what has sold plus what has been listed). My hate for ebay is huge! I spent my last 2 years there constantly tweaking over 7000 items to go with the new changes they kept making to the point I couldn't do new listings as there was always the threat of instant banishment if I didn't get the changes made like they wanted. These were not changes because I was a lousy seller (I left with 100% 4000+ positive FB), but just trying to keep up with the newest stupid rule. Anyhow at this point I have been on ecrater for 2 years and loving it. We do have to do our own marketing and promoting, etc.
[We send] 90-100 packages outgoing a month. I'm on disability and I do this to keep myself occupied, but I don't have the energy to work a 40-50 hours work week which I know would end up meaning more money coming in because my brain is chock full of marketing ideas, promotion ideas and I have a huge backlog of patterns that still need listed.
Selling patterns for me is very much niche selling. I sew myself, I love to read about sewing, I love to talk about sewing and I love to help participate in sewing and this shows in my store. I also have an ability to spot selling trends without having to do huge spreadsheets of information and so I know what I need to buy for resale, although when going the yardsale route for stock, I buy patterns based on their condition and price and whether they reek of cigarettes and mold or not.
My personal sewing reading and knowledge base also works to help me know what is the current keyword for garments in a pattern and as I read sewing info from all over the world, I also know alternate spellings or words for what US customers will call a garment and what a UK or OZ person will.
I'm also able to help answer sewing related questions and I also get the odd 'buyer' that wants just the blue dress they see and I have to explain they can have the dress in any color they want as they have to make it themselves. The worst was someone asking me to send fabric swatches as they needed 80 choir robes and apparently thought they could get them custom-made for the pattern price!!! Just a big pile of info rattling around in my head. My problems come in on wet days like today where my arthritis is giving me grief and I'm not only in pain, but physically/emotionally drained.
Ecrater just opened up ecrater UK this month and if they want, an ecrater seller can also have a store with a UK address and the money is in GBP. This has been awesome for me and this month I think I've had 11 UK sales. Many more than I normally would through my regular US site. It hasn't worked as well for some sellers because of the difficulty with shipping costs.
I tend to get carried away and thought you might like the info on ecrater as it is a great selling place. I used to be a huge ebay cheerleader until the stress just completely got to me. Of course ecrater has no fees, either coming or going, you can have 10 pictures and list for as long as you like. Just the store fee savings alone is worth it!
Gail
7000+ New, Uncut Sewing Patterns!
Lots of Styles, Lots of Sizes, Fast Shipping!
Stores:
http://MoonwishesStore.ecrater.com
http://MoonwishesBooks.ecrater.com
Blogs:
http://sipandsew.blogspot.com/
http://MoonwishesReads.blogspot.com
Website:
http://www.MoonwishesSewing.com
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/MoonwishesSewing
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Books by Julia L. Wilkinson:
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Copyright 2011 J.L. Wilkinson LLC
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Publisher, Julia Wilkinson, author of the award-winning "eBay Price Guide." and "What Sells on eBay for What"
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