The Largest Antique Ever Transported

This is too fun...I was emailing back and forth with one of my Yard salers subscribers, and she mentioned she was from Havasu. I hadn't heard of it so looked it up and found Lake Havasu City. Then I found out from her it was home of the London Bridge, the largest antique ever transported!

Sure enough. I found this article about it on RoadTripAmerica:

http://www.roadtripamerica.com/places/havasu.htm

"In 1962, London Bridge was falling down. Built in 1831, the bridge couldn't handle the ever-increasing flow of traffic across the Thames River. The British government decided to put the bridge up for sale, and Robert McCulloch, Founder of Lake Havasu City, Arizona, and Chairman of McCulloch Oil Corporation, submitted the winning bid of $2,460,000.

The bridge was dismantled, and each stone was numbered. Everything was shipped 10,000 miles to Long Beach, California, and then trucked to Lake Havasu City. Reconstruction began on September 23, 1968, with a ceremony including the Lord Mayor of London, who laid the cornerstone. On October 10, 1971, the bridge was dedicated."

Twee bay: new eBay for Twitterers

Twee bay

Dee, one of my ever-vigilant and savvy Yard Salers readers, alerted me to a new marketplace on twitter...called, what else, Twee bay!

I'm going to create my first listing soon, but here's what they say about it:

"Twee bay is a Free way to buy and sell your stuff using the power of Twitter. Twee bay will NEVER ask you for your Twitter Password. In order to do something on Tweeb bay, you MUST be following the Tweebay Twitter User. Every time you do some thing on Tweeb bay, we will send you a Direct Message on Twitter to confirm its you. Happy Tweeb baying.

The Tweeb bay Team"

(hmm...is is Twee bay or Tweeb bay? Guess we'll see...)

Big Bucks Flips: New eBook

A lot of my readers have asked about the popular Flip of the Week contest, and there seemed to be interest in having all the flips in one nice, neat, package. So in the spirit of the New Year, I decided to put together an ebook of just that.

I also saw there were a lot of lessons learned there in all the weeks of the contests, and the tips readers had for each other about finding things, the best types of "under the radar" things to buy to resell. I also expanded on some of the success stories by digging up photos and comp prices of similar things on eBay.

Finally, I add "Julia�s Favorite and Most Reliable Flips of Items that You are Actually Likely to Come Across," things that I have found again and again at sales and have become my bread and butter, and can become yours too.

For right now I'm giving everyone a crack at the very low subscriber price of just $4.50..low than most any paperback book! You can get yours at: http://www.yardsalers.net/flips_ebook_sales.asp

Enjoy, and Happy New Year!

More on Stores Going Out of Business: Linens 'n' Things

I've been blogging about stores going out of business as a buying opportunity for eBay sellers (and resellers).

The latest thing I heard was Linens 'n' Things is having a 50-70% off sale as part of their liquidation.

This was seen on tv in the local Washington, DC area, so you'd have to check around in your own local area, but there may be similar sales.

I plan to stop by and will blog about how it goes. New towels for Christmas, anyone?

Stores Going out of Business: What's the Real Deal?

There's an mail going around that a bunch of stores are going out of business. I posted
to my newsletter about it, but someone pointed me to snopes.com which says the list isn't totally accurate. Not all store companies filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy connection will necessarily close all their stores, for example. Others are only closing some stores.

Here's a quick rundown of those who have closed some or all stores or will be closing same recently:

Ann Taylor - closing 117 out of 966 stores

Cache - closed 14 out of 295 but still opening new locations

Charming Shoppes closed 14 stores

Circuit City - closing    155 stores

CompUSA - most stores closed and co. sold, but 23 stores continue to operate in some states

Dillard's - closing 21 stores and plans to close more

Whitehall Jewelers - closing all 373 stores

GAP - expected to close 115 stores but open 100 more

Home Depot - Closing 15 stores

Sharper Image - was closing all 184 outlets as of June 2008

Talbot's - has closed 28 stores and is seeking buyer for J. Jill brand, but still has rest of stores open

Zales - closed 150 outlets but opened 100 new ones in 2008.

The Motley Fool also reported in Oct. 2008 that these companies were unlikely to make it through the holidays (two of which are listed above as not necessarily closing, so we'll see:

Circuit City

Talbots

Borders

Also on one message board a user posted that these stores are going out of business in their local area:

1. Lechters
2. Ross
3. Bradlees
4. Cost Less - which is owned by Lechters
5. KFC
6. Lone Star Steakhouse - 2 of them
7. Boston Market
8. Boscov

Are stores in your area going out of business? Leave a comment about it here.

Reader Mail

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5) Reader Mail
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Hi Julia,

I am not the type of person to write, except for now.

Does anybody know of another online site that we could list auctions on, because we have had it with being told or forced into having to accept ebay’s paypal.

They block your listings, if you do not go and sign up with pay the pal

I and it seems like many others could use another web site to list items and we all could promote the new site, like we did with ebay.

Any help I would greatly appreciate,

Suzanne

~~~~

Hi Suzanne,

Thanks for writing! Excellent question. I've been pondering it for a while -- and I'm sorry this is so late.

Yes, I do think that some other sites are emerging out of the fray, mostly in niche areas, to become viable alternatives to eBay, if not as massive as eBay. Tho eBay is still the big daddy of everything but the kitchen sink and we'll have to see where that goes. I do think it behooves all sellers to branch out and multi-list as much as they can. Here's a quick rundown:

- Antiques/Collectibles

- Ruby Lane is a good site for higher-end collectibles and antiques.

- Also TIAS.com.

- Books, Music, Videos, and even Some Other Stuff

- amazon.com. Listing on there is ridiculously easy, especially if you have a "cue cat" scanner that scans in your ISBN numbers for you. (More on that in another issue).

- alibris, abebooks: lots of books, prices higher than eBay in general, but it's another choice in the book world and great for rare books.

- Crafts and Jewelery, esp. handmade:

- etsy, etsy, etsy.com! Getting good traction. Also a great place to shop. :)

- China, Dishes, Pottery

- Well eBay is still the best place, imo, but replacements.com has great variety and healthy prices. Also, TIAS and rubylane.

What else will emerge in 2009, or will the landscape change? Stay tuned!

Oh, and let's not forget our own standalone web sites! It behooves most serious sellers to have one.

Best of luck selling!

Julia

That's it for this issue..see you next issue! Have safe and happy Thanksgiving, all! Remember...list, list, list...these coming weeks are the most lucrative time of the year!

Julia

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The eBay Seller's Guide to Finding Profitable Hidden Bargains at Garage Sales
Find out here.
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Would you like your own fully customisable ebook website pulling in profits day after day, month after month, year after year, complete with video tutorials showing you EXACTLY how to get set up and running? Find out here.

That's it for this issue. Until next time! - Julia

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Questions about My eBooks Ordering

You can certainly purchase from me directly, as can anyone. Most of my ebooks are now available via the website's bookstore at www.yardsalers.net/bookstore. Any others you have questions about, all you have to do is email me and let me know which ebook(s) you want, if you are a subscriber and thus eligible for the discount, and then PayPal me to my PayPal id at juliawilk@aol.com. I'll be tweaking and updating the ebooks page on my web site soon.

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Do you have a Flip of the Week? I'd love to hear about it! Email me at juliawilk@aol.com and let me know.
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Nonfiction Books that Sell for $50 - $250 on eBay:

or
Buy Now
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I am always open to reader articles, so if you want to write about something relating to yard sale-ing and eBaying, just flag me down! I will of course give you credit, using your eBay ID, web site, or any other contact info.

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eBooks by Julia L. Wilkinson:
[All my ebooks are offered at 1/2 price from their regular prices to the subscribers of this newsletter. If interested in any of them, please email me at juliawilk@aol.com.]

- How to Spot Fakes: email me!
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Coasting on the Ivory Coast and Other Bad Puns: Selling Ivory

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3) Coasting on the Ivory Coast and Other Bad Puns
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Plastics. That's what the guy said the future would be in "The Graduate."

I have two other words for you: ivory. And turquoise. OK, so that's three words, but you get the idea.

These are the substances in what I think are some of the last under-the radar finds in the costume jewelry bins at estate sales. (And we know the fine jewelry in the case can have some not-so-great prices).

At first I hesitated to share this tip, lest any of you out there might be going to the same sales as I. But I think the odds of that are slim, and in general it's better to share information, especially in my business. (And what business would that be, you ask? Why, sharing information and selling ebooks!). And even if we are going to the same sales, there's usually plenty for everyone.

Ivory is not for everyone, and you need to carry a loupe or magnifying glass on you to sales so you can examine the pieces for the giveaway cross-hatching and striating that will show it to be real ivory. It's also close to white or white/uniform in color, whereas bone tends to be darker.

Another thing about real ivory is that it will be heavy compared to plastic. And the ultimate test, to be done at home, is to light the sharp tip of a safety pin and touch it to a not-so-noticeable surface of the piece, and see if the piece burns. If it doesn't melt, but you smell a substance skin to when a dentist drills your teeth, it's real ivory.

The carved pieces tend to do best, and I've found that pieces that sell for a couple bucks will go for $30-$100 and up.

Happy hunting! Be sure to follow eBay's rules about listing real ivory.