My favorite season ~ Garage Sale Season!

Well, first of all I want to thank Home Mom for hosting this weeks Blog Carnival - "What's your favorite weather/season and why?". Make sure you check out all the other participants entries!

Living in South Louisiana - we pretty much have one season here ~ the humidity season. If you have ever been to New Orleans you know what I mean!

It is either:

Hot and humid ~
Windy and humid ~
Warm and humid ~
Hot and humid ~
Hot and humid ~

or sometimes it is even hot and humid! You see, although we occasionally get a category 3 or 4 hurricane roll through town...it rarely stops the humidity. It is a fact of life living in the south that I have come to embrace!

With that being said, I really don't have a favorite "weather season" but I do have a favorite season!

It is garage sale season!

Each state is differenet but in South Louisiana garage sale 'season' is from early February ~ late November, only taking about a 8 week break for the Christmas/New Years holidays. This for me as an eBay seller is perfect! I can spend my Saturday mornings seeking out those hidden treasures tucked away in the back of boxes or mixed in with those typical garage sale items. It is almost as if the thrill of the hunt is more exciting than the profit potential.

It is great that on Saturdays I can get up at 5am 10 months out of the year and put on shorts and a T-shirt and be comfortable shopping in the wee hours of the morning! Gosh, I love the South!

How to sell it? Auction or Garage Sale?

Here is a great article by American Eagle Auction Company - they are a LIVE auction company, but the thinking applies to auctions in general, which I totally agree with!

Every one of us has something that is an avid collector.......an avid collector of dust that is.

Years ago you really did have good intentions of bringing down that old Schwinn bicycle and getting into shape but procrastination got the best of you. Here's another one. How many times have you stumbled across those old Life and Field & Stream magazines in the basement and wonder to yourself if there's much value to them? What about grandpa's old fishing net or grandma's wicker baskets?

Okay, maybe you have found yourself in a situation where the decision is made to place a loved one in a nursing home. If that isn't a burden in itself, now you have to contend with figuring out what to do with a lifetime of possessions that were left behind. You play amateur appraiser for a weekend while you're sorting through dad's tool chest and mom's linen closet. You say to yourself "That old screwdriver isn't worth anything". So off into the garbage it goes along with mom's kitchen utensils, a stack of matchbooks, linen table cloths, hunting and fishing licenses and you say to yourself "why in the heck did they save this, It's all junk?".

Well, at least YOU think it is.

Maybe you or someone you know is growing long and tired of the bitter cold Midwest winters and a little condo near the sunny beaches of Florida sounds better each day. So what exactly is holding up the venture to a smoother climate? "It's just too much work to make a move like that" is a typical response.
You've made the decision to get rid of a few things or an entire household of personal property. You're going to run an ad in the local newspaper to sell the Schwinn. You have decided that an antique shop is the best place to sell Grandma's wicker baskets along with grandpa's fishing net. A garage sale in the spring is the answer to liquidating much of the family's estate. Of course, the garbage can is your remedy to dispose what you declared "junk". However, there are four problems with such a scenario and each problem shares the same catch.

I'll explain.
1. Newspaper Ad's - On average the typical classified newspaper ad will cost you somewhere around $30. One downfall is, you have limited your audience to a specific geographic region. Providing you're selling a desirable item you can expect your phone to ring off the hook for at least one week. Unfortunately, you'll always get that unwelcome call at the crack of dawn and one here and there late into the evenings. You'll have to stick by the telephone to field the telephone calls and expect to answer the same questions over and over again which includes the most common question; "What's the best you'll take on this?".
Providing that your item sells, remember that you'll receive numerous calls from interested people inquiring about the item. The typical caller will ask; "Hi, is the bike still available?" Your reply, "No it isn't. It sold last week." The response, "Oh okay, may I ask what you sold it for? What kind of bike was it? Was it in good condition?" etc. etc. Such questions after the sale are inevitable. If you have an answering machine, you may be able to escape from the post sale inquiries which include the nosey questions.
Overall, newspaper advertisements create major inconveniences.

2. Garage Sales - The negatives greatly outweigh the positives with such a sale.
First of all, preparing for such a sale is a tedious task in itself. Clearing out the garage, covering up garage contents that aren't for sale, making signs, sorting , pricing, displaying and hauling. When it's all over and done with, you'll always have a pile of miscellaneous items to haul out to the trash along with a big mess to clean up.
Garage sale customers do not bring their pocket books with them, they bring their piggy banks. To be more specific, garage sale shoppers are bargain hunters to the extreme and they'll start out by nickel and diming you to death. If you cannot meet their terms they will not hesitate to move on and walk off empty handed. Be assured that your stress level will climb when a buyer offer's you $10 for the rocking chair you priced at $35. It gets worse.
If you ever scroll through garage sale listings in the newspaper you'll commonly find the note "No Early Birds!" This is wordage seldom effective to deter the early bird shoppers. Regardless, you'll have a flock of people stopping by your home the night before attempting to get a 'sneak peek' of your merchandise before the actual sale. Despite the fact that you advertised your sale for 9:00 a.m. you should expect to find a few people loitering in your driveway at 5:00 in the morning the next day. These are relentless professional shoppers attempting to beat the so-called "crowd" and they'll be looking to snatch up items that you underestimated.
If you have a stack of baby clothes and clothing? Okay, that's certainly garage sale material but also keep in mind, you may sell approximately 5-10% of what you actually display. At the end of the day, you'll pocket a paltry amount of money. Fold those clothes up and donate them to a charitable organization and save yourself the headaches.
Again, with newspaper ads and garage sales, you're limiting the exposure to your merchandise to a specific region which attracts shoppers from your city and surrounding area's. Also keep in mind that garage sales are 'weather permitting.' If it rains, you're up the creek as this is certain doom for a successful sale.

3. Antique Shops - Simply put. Consider yourself warned as you've just walked into the hornets nest. An antique shop is where your items you previously declared as "junk" will ultimately turn up. As strange as it may seem, this is NOT the place you should seek to sell off your collectible items.
These are professional dealers who know how to buy and on average they will offer 20% to 50% for your item of value. They're in the business to profit and their goal is to pay as little as possible so they can capitalize on YOUR find. Antique shops are a place to buy NOT to sell. Know going in that you're selling yourself short.

4. Garbage Can - Garbage cans are a dealer's best friend. Every neighborhood has those weekly garbage pickers riding around in station wagons and pickup trucks and they're doing it for a reason. You think to yourself, "Theyre just a bunch of bums..." Don't kid yourself.
I cannot tell you how many times I've personally pulled out some 'bell ringers' from the trash. Just recently a woman contacted me about a rare garment bag (of all things!) she pulled from her daughter's garbage can. After inspecting the item, I promptly paid her $750.00 for the 'garbage pick'. By all means, NEVER throw anything away until a professional examines the items!
Here's a test for you. Would you make an exception to this rule if you found a few old strips of rusty barbed wire laying inside a work bench? More than likely you'd just throw this in the garbage. Right? Well, crazy as it may seem, vintage barbed wire is HIGHLY collectible and some have sold for nearly $1,000 for a 6" strip. Don't be the judge on what is garbage and what isn't because you just don't know until a professional you can trust steps in to evaluate the contents.

From running a newspaper ad, to selling at an antique shop or conducting your own garage sale - each one of these selling avenues carry common characteristics. More specifically called 'Negative Haggling'. Negative haggling is the expected negotiation process of lowering your asking price. Weather your price is fair or not, be assured that a buyer will instinctively offer LESS money than what your looking for. Secondly, you are limiting the exposure your item(s) receive by choosing ANY alternative selling method to auctions.
The bottom line is selling at auction is the optimal tool in maximizing total dollars for the seller. You as a seller benefit because ONLY at auction is the selling price negotiated HIGHER rather than being reduced. Auctions can attract your target market audience on a national basis which increases the demand for your item(s).

A live auction is unique as it creates an exciting, competitive atmosphere among highly interested buyers which helps you as the seller achieve true market value as opposed to a less negotiated price that you would find with alternative selling methods. If properly marketed, a professional live auction will expose your property to the greatest number of buyers which quickly turns your property into a quick, cash return on your assets.
You may find it interesting that the live auction process is MUCH more than the custom rhythmic chant of a good auctioneer. Although the auctioneer 'chant' is entertaining, creates excitement and allows the auction to move smoothly and quickly, it's actually the least important phase of the auction process.
The fact to the matter remains, that a true professional auctioning company are highly trained, experienced and skillful task management and marketing geniuses. Creative and aggressive marketing campaigns are essential to maximize the final price of your personal assets by attracting the attention of the ideal target market audience. Unfortunately, several auction companies do not place enough emphasis or know how to effectively generate prospective bidders to their auctions. Many auction companies solely market their upcoming auctions through their existing client mailing list. Although, it's important to notify previous auction attendees, this shall not be the primary focus of attracting bidders to an upcoming auction! Creative mass marketing is crucial for generating new and high quality prospective bidders to ensure to most successful auction possible.

For the auction company, the auction process is complex and sometimes complicated. However, for the seller, the process is quite simple. Once the decision is made to auction some personal property items, a meeting is scheduled with the auctioning company and yourself where the items are evaluated and formal discussions take place. You as the seller/consignor are able to set your own special terms and conditions of the sale during this consultation with the auctioning company. Providing that both the auctioning company yourself are agreeable with the terms, conditions and commissions (commissions to the auctioning company are typically 20% - 35%) an inventory is taken and the auction company takes possession of the merchandise to safeguard, photograph and catalog the to be auctioned items. At this time, a definite or tentative date, time and location of the sale is established.

From this point on, your items are in the hands of sales professionals and auction management team who immediately begin the exhausting preparation process of organizing, photographing, cataloging and formatting a rigorous and sophisticated marketing campaign to convert your goods and real estate into cash. As the consignor/seller all you need to do is cash in the results a couple days after the auction. Although you're not required to do so, but it's always a fun experience for you to be in attendance during the auction so you can witness the auction experience. Yes, it's that easy.
Think about it. How many professional athletes and Hollywood celebrities liquidate their collections through the auction method of selling? Virtually every time time a celebrity or athlete sells off part or all of their collection, they choose to do it through the Auction Method of Selling because it's proven and effective.

Make a wise selling decision and capitalize in the Auction Method of Selling. Let your items soar with the eagle through American Eagle Auction Company. We KNOW the business.

Sell your OLD cell phone on eBay

Nowadays almost everyone has a cell phone. Unless you are that very rare type of cell customer, you probably don't have the very first one you originally got.....right?

Well, everyday thousands of people upgrade their cell phones and are "stuck" with the old ones. What to do? Most people either give them to a friend in need or simply toss them out. Maybe they hang on to it as a spare? If you have little ones like me, your old phone becomes the kids "new" play phone!

Selling cell phones on eBay is a growing market.

Even your old versions like this one are worth something:

This "vintage" brick analog phone sold for $49.99 on eBay!

Let's take a look at more recent cell phones.

This PDA was broken - the screen would freeze up and shut the phone completely off at least once a day.

It sold on eBay for $150

Here is a Samsung that was submerged in water, and when it was turned on the screen was jibberish and it make weird noises a phone should not make!

Sold on eBay for $110

Now here is the question - Why would anyone want broken cell phones? And to second that why would they pay so much for them? Well, truth is there's people in this world who LIVE to repair electronics. A large majority of them are college aged kids who buy up these "broken" cell phones and sell them for a profit once they are fixed (probably on eBay). There are entire companies that specialize in this kind of thing.

I would want to mention here that if you are selling your old phone I would take out the SIM card (little plastic thing under the battery) it is what holds all your phone numbers and such. Just me, though.

People will sell their old cell phones at garage sales for like $5 each - and I simply scoop them up! After I have a few I sell them as a lot - which is even more attractive to these techie fixer upers! I also have a group of friends and family that know as soon as they upgrade to call me and I will buy them from them (I never pay more than $20, usually $10-$15) - which is easy cash for something they would throw away!

And (shhhhh...) even easier money for me!

Fun Feedback on eBay

Feedback is an almost necessary step to complete the eBay transaction. How many times can you almost predict what is left in feedback.......probably lots of A+++++'s and the like, right? If you want to spice up some of the feedback you are leaving here are a few interesting ones....

Feel free to copy and paste.

//*_*\\ A Nod & A Wink For A Perfect Auction //*_~\»-(¯`v´¯)-» SWEETHEART BUYER »-(¯`v´¯)-»
«:::T:::»«:::H:::»«:::A:::»«:::N:::»«:::K:::» «:::Y:::» «:::O:::» «:::U:::»
*´¯`·.¸.· *~*~5*S*T*A*R*S*~*~*·.¸.·´¯`*
*:·.-:¦:-·*·-:¦:-·:*''''*:·-:¦:- Thank You -:¦:-·:*'"*:·.-:¦:-·*·-:
ø¤ºInstant Paymentº¤ø,¸¸,ø¤ºSuper Customerº¤ø,¸¸,ø¤ºHighly Recommendedº¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º
ø¤ºSUPERº¤ø,¸¸,ø¤ºeBAY¤ºSELLERº¸Â¤Âº THANK YOU! º¤ø,
*¨¨*:•. ‹(•¿•)› .•:*¨¨*:•.I want to.•:*¨¨*:•. thank.•:*¨¨*:•. you.•:*¨¨*
.·:*¨¨*:·.Perfect.·:*¨¨*:·..·:*¨eBay¨*:·.Transaction
----->P*E*R*F*E*C*T*<-----
THE -:¦:-P-:¦:-E-:¦:-R-:¦:-F-:¦:-E-:¦:-C-:¦:-T-:¦:- BUYER ~~THANK YOU~~
THE -:¦:-P-:¦:-E-:¦:-R-:¦:-F-:¦:-E-:¦:-C-:¦:-T-:¦:- SELLER ~THANK YOU~
»-(¯`v´¯)-I WANT TO THANK YOU»-(¯`v´¯)-»
*•--:¦:-•:*'""*:•.-:¦:--•*SIMPLY WONDERFUL*•--:¦:--•:*'''''*:•-:¦:--•*
*•--:¦:-•:*'""*:•.-:¦:--•*EXCELLENT EBAYER*•--:¦:--•:*'''''*:•-:¦:--•*
(º¿º).·:*¨¨*:·.10/10.·:*¨¨*:·Wonderful!·:*¨¨*:·.Recommended.·:*¨¨*:·. (º¿º)
(º¿º)always a pleasure working with you (º¿º)
*'''''**'''''*EXCELLENT EBAY BUYER*'''''**'''''*
//*_*\\ please shop with us again //*_~\
Let's keep it fun! Spread it around!

Sell Wilton Cake Pans on eBay for big profits!

Wilton has been around for years - and those who like to bake are familiar with the high standards and fun that they bring to the kitchen!

Wilton Cake Pans in particular have a great following on eBay. Often you can find cake pans at garage sales and thrift store for a couple bucks. Certain cake pans will sell for more than others but almost ALL will sell for something!

Here are my top picks!





The Little Mermaid or Ariel
will sell for $60-$95











This Cinderella castle has sold
for $180-$220

Don't pass up the "kitchen" area in the thrift stores, you may just be missing one of these great finds! As always, you can find more amazing finds like this one with my Hot Auctions Guide ~ the color printable eBay resale cheat sheet you can take with you while you shop! Email me hotauctionsguide@charter.net for more info!

Friday the 13th

Are you superstitious? I am, sometimes.

Regardless, if you are selling any type of Halloween items on eBay you are slowly running out of time, It may still be worth it to run some 3 or 5 day auctions and offer only Priority shipping. I normally stock up on Halloween costumes through out the year - buying them at thrifts and garages sales for $1-$3 at the most. Even costumes in used condition will sell. This is not the best money maker - but you might get an extra $50-$100 - by buying used and selling on eBay. Best case is you can use this money to get your own kids Halloween costumes!

Sell old Christmas decorations on eBay to make extra Holiday CASH!

Well..... The countdown begins! Christmas time is drawing near! What that means for me is lots of bargain hunting...but not for Christmas presents. I am hunting for those Christmas items that are collectible so I can sell them on eBay and make some extra cash to buy Christmas gifts! Estate sales, garage sales, Salvation Army, Goodwill are just a few places you can run across these types of things for super cheap!

Old or collectible Christmas/Holiday items sell year round on eBay - but you will get the most for your money if you can sell them during late October and November. There are folks that are thinking about their decorations and know they are missing that one ornament or figurine to make their collection complete! And where do they turn to find that one last item?

eBay, of course!

Here are a few that are on my Hot Auctions Guide (email me hotauctionsguide@charter.net for more info!)

All Swavorski items sell well, but the Christmas ornaments are really profitable. If you can find them in the thrifts, they will usually not be in the box, just mixed among other ornaments!

This Swavorski Crystal Christmas Ornament was made in 1991.

Sells on eBay for $1000+


___________________________________________________


Here is something pretty interesting that you don't see on most Christmas trees! It's a goat!

Yes, it is a goat from a German company Dresden and is silver. There's a whole barnload of German animal ornaments that have a following! (camel, stork, lion, bear, dog, rabbit, you get the idea!)

This silver goat will bring you about $500
__________________________________________________

Now how about this one...you may remember the movie a few years back "Nightmare Before Christmas". Well, there are some serious collectors of these figures. This one here will bring you at least $400

As you can see if you keep your eyes peeled you can find a treasure out there and at the same time make you some extra cash just in time for the holidays!

Sell Hummel & Goebel figurines on eBay

You know those shelves and shelves at thrift stores that are FULL of knick knacks....well, sometimes your treasure may be sitting among them!

I am a trading assistant on eBay, and often my clients open my eyes to something I've never sold before. Now, I have sold collectibles and other knick knack items on eBay. But recently a client of mine had an amazing collection of Hummel & Goebel figures that he wanted to sell. Researching these items really opened my eyes. At first glance they appear to be just another ceramic figure that could easily been spotted on my grandmother's entertainment center. They have a great following and sell well on eBay!

Here is a completed list of

HUMMEL

and

GOEBEL

As soon as I sold his collection, these names were added to my "what to look for list" that I take thirfting with me.. (available by emailing me hotauctionsguide@charter.net)

Not 2 days later I find 2 Hummel figures for $7.99 at an Antique shop and a Goebel angel at the Salvation Army! My investment for these 3 was right at

$25 - my profit when they sell will be around $400!

Here are the 3 I found:

Not too bad for a few hours of research! Here are some sites to help you recognize what figures you have when you find these great treasures!

http://www.mihummel.com/

http://www.goebel.com/index.asp

eBay has this great feature called Guides and Reviews - and ebayers can publish all sorts of information they are knowledgeable about from buying to selling. Here are some great guides on the topic!

M I Hummel Figurines - An Easy To Use Collector's Guide

Collectibles History: GOEBEL GERMANY & HUMMEL FIGURINES

Have fun on your hunt and remember if you are looking for MORE items to add to your garage sale/thrift store list - check out my color, hot auctions guide that you can print and take with you to shop! Email me for more information! hotauctionsguide@charter.net

Sell old or vintage dolls on eBay

Girls, let's take a moment and remember those headless Barbies and poor old tattered Cabbage Patches from our childhood. A moment of silence, please....

I know in my house not a single doll from my childhood made it out alive, but there are people out there whose dolls are in great shape even if they are 10-20 or 30 years old. More often than not the sentimental value of these dolls fades away and moms and grandma's are stuck with them for years, until one day they decide to "clean house". All these dolls end up donated to Goodwill or Salvation Army or are in a toy box at their next garage sale!

Bad for them ~ great for you!

When buying collectible be sure to familiarize yourself with the collectible doll terminology. Here is a review -

Antique dolls: Antique dolls were made prior to 1930.
Collectible dolls: Any doll that you can collect can be called "collectible." However, the term typically applies to dolls made 25 to 75 years ago.
Modern dolls: Modern dolls are less than 25 years old.
Contemporary dolls: Contemporary dolls are still in production.
One-of-a-Kind (OOAK) dolls: Unique one-of-a-kind dolls do not have replicas and will never be created again.
Reproduction dolls: A collectible doll made from a mold, copying a doll made earlier.
Restoration dolls: A restored collectible doll has had repairs, such as repainting of body parts, or replacement of missing clothing.

Here are just a few ones I am always on the lookout for....

Here is a vintage Barbie.

The fact that
1 - she is a brunette
2 - she has a ponytail
3 - she has the rare blue eyeliner
she is sought after.

Barbies in great condition from the 50's and 60's sell for big bucks. Anything extra special like hoop earrings or certain colored eyeliner help the value.

Average eBay value ranges from $600-$7000.








Kenner was the original company that produced Blythe.
Unfortunately for Kenner, the doll was ahead of her
time and only lasted on the market for one year ~ 1972.

She is unique in that you pull a string and her eyes changes colors. She is also easily recognized by her large head and tiny body. She comes in a few different hair colors, and has somewhat of a "cult" following!

Blythe dolls are very rare to find and bring in anywhere from $300 - $2500 on eBay.

Even if your doll is damaged, or missing parts, you can still make some money - there is even Blythe heads (no bodies) that have sold for $300!

Looking for old dolls to resell on eBay is really fun! Normally at thrift stores they just toss all the dolls and stuffed animals in a box ~ so half the fun is digging through it all to see if there is a $1000 treasure in there!

Have fun on your hunt and remember if you are looking for MORE items to add to your garage sale/thrift store list - email me about my hot auctions guide that you can print and take with you to shop!