The New Issue of Yard Salers is Out! Check it out at the below link:
http://www.yardsalers.net/backissues/issue1-70nov29-10.asp
Issue 70 Features: Amazon Vs. eBay: What's Selling Well for Me; Flips Contest: Cowboy Boots, Eskimos, Surprising Shells & More
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Subscribe to Yard Salers at Our New Email Host
Subscribe to Yard Salers at Our New Email Host: below is the html version of the signup link.
Subscribe to Yard Salers at Our New Email Host
The Yard Salers newsletter is moving to list host Aweber. Please resubscribe using the below link (if you are already a subscriber), or add yourself as a new subscriber:
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
eBay Unleashes Tools: Group Gifting & the "Unwrap Attack"
This just in from an eBay pr contact: eBay's releasing new ways to give and shop for the holidays:
eBay Group Gifts (new):
· Unlike anything else available online today, eBay Group Gifts integrates eBay, Facebook and PayPal to let you use the power of your own social network to share the spirit (and cost) needed to give someone the perfect gift.
· Identify a gift and split it with your friends.
· eBay can even suggest ideas based family and friends’ interests posted to Facebook.
· Check out the YouTube video to find out exactly how it works.
Unleash Your Smartphone -- Shop on the Go:
· eBay’s wide variety of apps makes it easy to find deals while on the hunt (or in your PJs), all with the tap of your finger.
· Join 13 million other active mobile users to find anything, anywhere, anytime – you can even compare prices while standing in line at the mall.
· Comparison shop with Red Laser or buy your kids gifts from the eBay app under 30 seconds, and get it mailed to your house. No parking lots or long lines.
Love to Give:
· Now that shopping is fun again, celebrate the joy of gift giving by capturing “unwrap attacks” (those unforgettable, uncontrollable emotional moments that occur when someone receives the perfect gift)
· Comedian Samantha Bee and correspondent on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” will report on a series of original webisodes
· Record and upload your own video to the Love to Give gallery or use the shop-able Facebook “Unwrap Attack Creator” application.
Need gift ideas? Browse eBay’s 200,000+ live listings – from coveted gadgets to vintage jewelry – at eBay’s Gift Spot or shop like a celeb by getting involved in eBay’s celebrity auctions for charity with folks ranging from Bill Clinton to Kim Kardashian.
And, stay tuned for unbeatable “25 Days of Deals” November 26 through December 20. Deals will feature top products from holiday hot lists to accessories, and stocking stuffers http://deals.ebay.com. Deals include a MacBook, Ugg boots, and a Barnes and Nobles Nook.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Popular Search Terms at Yard Sale site Yardsalers.net
What words are people searching for at my Yardsalers.net web site? It never
ceases to amaze me the variety of things. Check out the latest searches
(I've deleted anything that appears to be a personal email address):
Day Time of Query Query --- -------------------- --------------- Sat Nov 13 08:43:14 2010 HOWITZER Sat Nov 13 08:42:56 2010 USMA Sat Nov 13 08:42:33 2010 1957 Sat Oct 23 13:26:20 2010 barbies 1966 Fri Oct 22 07:45:55 2010 anri Wed Oct 20 12:14:53 2010 arcade game Wed Oct 20 09:48:58 2010 ridgways turkey Tue Oct 19 10:21:39 2010 odessa tx Mon Oct 18 19:58:24 2010 Jackson Sun Oct 17 22:48:51 2010 pricing at yard sale Thu Oct 14 08:36:39 2010 napartuk Thu Oct 14 07:04:31 2010 quantico Wed Oct 13 12:36:20 2010 Chip Hilton Hungry Hurler Sun Oct 10 16:40:26 2010 bakers Sat Oct 09 21:10:51 2010 Noritake azalea Sat Oct 09 21:10:12 2010 Noritake azalea Sat Oct 09 21:09:47 2010 Noritake azalea Sat Oct 09 21:09:24 2010 noratake azalea Wed Oct 06 11:27:19 2010 mickey mouse Sat Oct 02 16:15:58 2010 association Sat Oct 02 16:15:53 2010 league Sat Oct 02 16:15:49 2010 leesburg Wed Sep 29 08:06:07 2010 -1' Tue Sep 28 23:01:36 2010 -1' Fri Sep 24 06:46:40 2010 kids Thu Sep 23 18:28:12 2010 post yard sale Tue Sep 21 07:43:38 2010 1968 Howitzer West Point Yearbook Sat Sep 18 17:31:09 2010 yard sales Wed Sep 15 23:06:17 2010 twin bed Mon Sep 13 09:37:24 2010 lefton china Mon Sep 13 09:36:36 2010 china Sun Sep 12 20:33:20 2010 Noritake virtue Fri Sep 10 16:17:38 2010 playboy Mon Sep 06 05:41:35 2010 Prize Sun Sep 05 11:27:21 2010 fresno ca Thu Sep 02 17:22:03 2010 generator Tue Aug 31 13:01:38 2010 gameboy Mon Aug 30 18:43:28 2010 105PCS DINNER SET Sat Aug 21 16:07:20 2010 messengers of modernism Sat Aug 21 14:09:01 2010 44116 Fri Aug 20 21:14:53 2010 sign Fri Aug 20 18:59:36 2010 92530 Sun Aug 15 13:13:15 2010 pricing Fri Aug 13 22:32:04 2010 advertising a yard sale
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Free Shipping Most Effective Ecommerce Promotion Per Stamps.com Survey
I knew free shipping was a good way to generate interest in my eBay listings..and especially helpful with lightweight items that can ship first class.
But I didn't know it could be pack this much punch: according to a recent Stamps.com survey with their ecommerce customers, 64 percent of respondents said that free shipping, with or without minimum spend, is the most effective promotion they can offer during the holiday season
The survey found some other interesting stats including:
n - 53 percent will be offering free shipping on more products this year compared to last holiday season.
n - 52 percent the survey respondents who use free shipping with minimum spend report their average order size increases by at least $4.
n - Of merchants offering free shipping with a minimum spend, 66 percent of respondents require an order value of $50 or higher.
n- - 82 percent of e-commerce merchants expect to have international sales.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Demi Moore Lets Some of Her Famous Doll Collection Go on eBay for Charity
I'd heard once that Demi Moore had a separate house for her doll collection. Hey, if you can afford it! But it's clear she and her husband Ashton are charitable folks...check out some of her toy and doll collection she's selling on eBay for the DNA Foundation:
http://stores.ebay.com/DNA-Foundation
So far I see cabbage patch dolls and A Bug's Life figures selling for in he $20-$30-$40-$50 range, But when the auction is over, who knows how high they will get.
Cool Online Booklet to Promote Your Yard Sale
I just found about a cool new tool to promote your yard sale online...it lets you create a simple booklet that lets people "flip through" the pages of your yard sale.
It's free to try, and also to use with 20MB content...more content and other features cost between $10 and $100 per year.
It's called simple booklet, and it's at:
Here's how Scott from simplebooklet describes it:
"We've built a tool which I think helps people who are doing yard sales to promote themselves in the digital age" http://www.simplebooklet.com
"A garage seller can create a digital flyer for free containing samples of some of the stuff they want to sell. It's all drag, drop, and format easy, no coding required. Then, they can promote their yard sale through a rich html email, on their favorite social network, and even embed it in their own blog or website. We do all the hosting as well so they can even just pass on a short URL to anyone they want.
"Here's an example of a garage sale flyer. http://midd.me/3nff Hope you like it and find its worth passing onto your readers."
"Thanks, Scott"
Thanks, Scott! Hope to try it out myself. Give it a whirl and let me know how you like it if you get a chance.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Amazon's New FBA Revenue Calculator - Does It Make Sense to Have Amazon Fulfill It?
Are you wondering if it makes economic sense to fulfill that item yourself, or to send it in to amazon and have them pack and ship it to your customer?
Now amazon has a new calculator tool that can help you make that decision. Here's part of an email I received about it:
"Check out the cost benefits of using Fulfillment by Amazon.
- Calculate FBA costs using real listings on Amazon.com
- Compare your fulfillment costs side-by-side with FBA
- Estimate profitability at different sales levels
Try the FBA Revenue Calculator."
Here's what it looks like. I tried it with a book I plan to sell, "The Girl Who Played with Fire" by Stieg Larsson (incidentally, all his books are selling very well from amazon now, used ones included):
In it, I put in a sample price of $6.25 for the paperback. With amazon fulfillment, you net $3.04, and with selling it yourself in this scenario, you make $3.96. This is because of amazon's .50 pack fee, .40 for weight handling, and .02 for 30 days of storage.
Those fees aren't bad, and if you send in a lot of items to FBA, they will most likely sell a lot more quickly than your own listings, because they will appear on top of all the listings, and also buyers tend to trust them more. So you may make more money overall, even with the FBA fees.
So you have to weigh the worth of that over the small extra cost. (With a heavier book, this is going to cost more). I send amazon a mix of some of my bulky, more expensive books that I don't have space for, and hot items like video games I want to sell quickly and I know the FBA tag will help.
I'll have a better handle on how the numbers crunch out as more time goes by. As for now, I'm happy with my fba listings.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Action Figures that Sell for Crazy High Prices
With the holiday selling season coming up, I decided to dig up some price research for what toys are selling for the highest prices. Not just current toys, but vintage ones as well.
Let's look at action figures to start. What action figure on eBay recently sold for the most money? We're talking $20,000.
It's called a Manimal and it was in the GI Joe line for a brief time. This specific one is the rarest because he was recalled:
This specific Manimal, Vortex, "quite pathetically FAILED almost every child safety test thrown at it," according to toyarchive.com, "causing him to be dropped from the line if the line was to be produced."
"Vortex is the most sought after of these prototypes. In addition Spasma was rumored to have an added function of [squirting] water... These were going to be the next addition to the dying Gi Joe line. These toys would have brought some kids back, but Hasbro scraped the whole project and 3 inch line. These figures stand around 4 inches tall and are some of the best last series Joe figures."
There must be some die-hard GI Joe fans out there!
Want to find out which toys sell for the most money and how to get them?
Check out Jenni Hunt's Holiday Toy Guide:
Evergreen Books that Sell Well on Amazon or eBay
Since I've been selling items on eBay and amazon, I've learned to spot a few things that jump out at me as no-brainers. In the book world, one area in which I focus, one of these is the bright red Betty Crocker cookbook known as the "red pie" cookbook. (I will write more about others in future blog posts).
It regularly sells for healthy amounts. Here's a snapshot of a few of the ones that recently sold on eBay:
As you can see, these sold for $50 and one for $66. And there was one that sold for more than that, not shown.
On amazon, there are 11 copies starting at (yes, that's *starting at*) $32.95 and going all the way up to $125.
But the nice thing about this book is it's not hard to find...you can see it often pop up at estate sales. yard sales, even thrift stores. It will be in varying conditions, but even the ones in just OK conditions sell pretty well.
(Why is it called "red pie"? Not because of an actual "red pie" food on the cover, tho there is a slice of pie on there; it's because the whole circle graphic on the cover is divided into pieces like a pie). Its actual name is simply the "Betty Crocker Cookbook," and in later years the cover got a redesign, but this red pie version is a favorite.
Why does it sell so well? It's one of those perennial favorites...a lot of people learned to cook with it, and now they are buying it for nostalgia or because they lost their copy, or to replace a worn-out one.
For more info on books that sell well and for what, get my ebook, "Over 500 Books that Sell for $50-$5000 on eBay" at http://www.yardsalers.net/500Books.asp.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)