The Long and Short of It...

Did you know that Steiff growler teddy bears can have one of two different growlers? What is a growler? What is a Steiff teddy bear? Well, these are things I didn't know either until I received a consignment that included several Steiff bears. Actually, yes, I did know about Steiff bears. I just didn't know anything beyond the fact that they were well made, collectible, and among the first to produce stuffed bears as toys. Growlers are noiseboxes that are supposed to mimic the growl of a bear when manipulated properly.

About the growler...I have a Steiff 1912 replica teddy bear listed right now. I mentioned in the listing that the growler works well. This morning I received a question from a potential buyer concerning whether the bear had a long or short growler. Huh?? In my research, I had not come across anything identifying different types of growlers so failed to mention it in my listing. I replied as well as I could, having no basis of comparison. Here's the actual text of my response to her:

"Hi Sue,
Thank you for your interest in this collectible bear. I've not had too much experience with Steiff bears with Growlers but this one seems to me to be long. I can't give an actual length, but to estimate, when I started it by leaning him back, I started counting at a normal pace. Each time, I got to '3' before the growler ended. I hope this helps in some way! Thanks again and happy bidding!
Pamela"

Admittedly, that is not the most informative answer I've ever written. My buyer replied quickly that a long growler sounds like a cow mooing. Well! There was my answer. This bear is definitely a cow in disguise, which is a good thing for me because it seems that some people collect bears with long growlers and others collect short growlers. My buyer has a penchant for the long growlers and said she will definitely be watching my bear. (Here's hoping she decides to bid on it, too!)

Lesson? Even thorough research might not tell you everything you need to know for your listing. Always answer your potential buyer's questions! If you don't know the answer, research and try to find it. If you still don't know, admit your ignorance and then ask the questioner for more info - they might be able to enlighten you enough for you to give a relevant answer. Whenever you do this, however, project a sincere desire to provide the information they need and don't sound too ignorant! : )

"Choose Your Words Wisely...For They May Be Your Last"

One of my favorite movies is Ever After with Drew Barrymore and Anjelica Huston. If you've not seen it, it is an adaptation of the Cinderella story, sans Fairy Godmother (unless you count Leonardo DaVinci!) Towards the end of the movie, the Queen speaks sternly to the step-mother (Anjelica Huston). She advises, "Choose your words wisely for they may be your last." This is advice well-taken concerning your listing title as well, although admittedly the consequences will not be as dire if you fail to do so!

The number one most important part of your listing is your title! You may have created the most clever, comprehensive, beautiful listing ever, with crystal clear photos and all the information any buyer could ever need but if you fail to write a good title, all your hard work will be for nothing. Yes, the item description is important, but the title is more important. Spend a few serious minutes thinking about how you can best use the 55 spaces allotted by eBay to draw bidders to your listing.

Here are a few tips to consider as you do so:

Use all the space provided - failing to do this is like getting for a full page ad but using only 1/4 of it. Fill as many of those 55 spaces with as many pertinent keywords as you possibly can.

Think about the terms your buyers are likely to use and use them in the title. You can decide between certain words by doing searches on them to see how many listings are returned in the results. This isn't indicative of how buyers search, of course, but of how sellers list so it isn't a definitive way to decide, but might help.

Don't use words that won't be searched - that, too, is wasted space. These would include "WOW" "NICE" "LOVELY" or my all-time favorite "L@@K!". Sometimes you will have used all the pertinent keywords you can think of. Then you can perhaps include a meaningful word about condition or another element that might appeal to your potential buyer.

Don't use punctuation marks like quotations and exclamation points. People don't use them in searches and again, they take up space that could possibly be used for searchable keywords.

Don't use multiples of the same word. If listing an item with a title, duplicate words can be eliminated. Use " Cat in the Hat" instead of "The Cat in the Hat" and free up space for additional keywords. The results of a person searching the first title will be identical to the results of searching the second title.

Spell-check your title! If your keywords are misspelled, it is very likely that your item will either not sell or will sell for far less than its potential. Be aware that there are tools available on the web that will run searches for people of common misspellings of words and then return eBay searches on those misspellings. Buyers use the tools to find items that will otherwise be overlooked by searches and then they buy them cheaply, often for the starting bid. (Thanks, Rob for reminding me of this! This is an important tip I overlooked.)

DON'T USE ALL CAPS FOR EVERY WORD IN YOUR TITLE Many people dislike this immensely. They may think your entire listing will be that way and choose to pass before ever seeing it. You can use caps to cause certain keywords to stand out in your title but be judicious in doing so.

Although choosing your words wisely may not be as important for you as it was for Anjelica Huston, you will still reap the rewards of more hits and hopefully more bids and higher final values by doing so!

Just needed to put our picture near the top of the blog...

Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

Last week I wrote about expanding your horizons as far as what you sell is concerned. There are other ways to expand your horizons that can have a positive effect on your eBay bottom line. Be willing to re-evaluate your business on a variety of levels.

I recently read a blog at the Auction Rebel about an old item called "Good For" Advertising Pocket Mirrors. While Gary states in this article that these items are relatively hard to come by, I was intrigued by the consistent high prices he said they bring on eBay. These mirrors sounded interesting.

I was still pondering his writing when I took my daughter to her choral group rehearsal in Oberlin, OH, several weeks ago. There is an antique shop with an inviting appearance on the main street in town, just down from the library where I usually spend my time while she is rehearsing. We were in town earlier than usual on this particular day and the antique store was still open. I decided to venture in to see if I could find any real life examples of the Good For mirrors.

Confession time: I am a very thrifty person at heart! I strive to spend as little as possible and sell for as much as possible. My thrifty nature has kept me out of antique shops because my general impression is that even if I find something worth buying there, I will be unable to afford it or it will not afford enough profit to make it worth the expense. So, I've avoided antique stores as a general rule.

While in this antique store I found several books that I thought had some potential. Since I am used to paying .25-1.00 per book, though, I couldn't justify paying the $15.00 that was marked inside most of them. The store was closing for the day so I jotted down the names, authors and copyright dates and went to the library where I proceeded to look the books up on eBay and on http://www.bookfinder.com. Most of the books turned out to be duds but one of them seemed to have promise. My research showed it was listed for between $75-350 on some bookselling sites. It was definitely worth getting.

I still had a hard time justifying so much money for one single book, however. After consulting the wise eBay mentors at eBay Establishings who quickly set me straight, I decided to buy the book. I'd actually already reached that decision myself but needed their confirmation that it was the right one! I went back the next day and asked what the best price was that they could do on the book (my thrifty nature at work!) They called the owner who said $12. I said, "Sold!" and paid for it willingly.

I have yet to list the book but intend to put it in my store to wait for the right buyer to come along. In the meantime my horizons have been expanded yet again. Although my search for the Good For mirrors failed, my outing to this antique store was a success in at least two respects.

First, I stepped out of my comfort zone that consists of thrift stores, auctions and yard sales and ventured into an antique shop. I discovered that while some items may be overpriced for eBay, not everything is.

Second, I stepped out of my comfort zone that consisted of a very narrow idea of what is a reasonable amount of money to spend on an item for resale on eBay. You have no idea how difficult it was for me to make the decision to spend the money to buy that book when, all along, it should have been a clear-cut decision.

Have you stepped out of your comfort zone lately? I'd love to hear your experiences.

Oh, what was the book I found? It is a first edition, first printing of The Flying Girl by Edith Van Dyne. Never heard of her? Edith Van Dyne was a pseudonym for L. Frank Baum, author of the Wizard of Oz books.

Consistency is the Key!

I'm always going on about the great benefits that an eBay business offers. I think that the flexibility that eBay gives a person and the ability to control his own time are among the top ones. Those very benefits could prove to be a problem for some people, though.

People who have trouble staying focused or who procrastinate might find that eBay offers a little too much freedom. While they might possess the potential to create wonderful listings for wonderful items, if they do not discipline themselves to get the work done, they will find themselves wondering what happened to the time.

Ask me how I know!!! Yes - I am one of those highly distractible people! I've had lots of reasons to be distracted lately but I have to get beyond those excuses and just get down to business!

Consistency and planning really are two key elements of success. A third is follow-through, though. I've made great schedules in the past but failed to follow through. As a result, my listings suffered (quantity, not quality) and consequently so did my profits.

It may seem obvious to most people, but it bears repeating: make a plan for your business and stick to it. Set goals and then identify the steps necessary to accomplish those goals. Finally, take those steps! You know the old saying, "Those who fail to plan, plan to fail?" Well, I've created a variation of that: "You need to plan your work and then work your plan."

I've got lots of plans - I just need to implement them! I also need to eliminate or manage the distractors in my life. Although my main distraction is the fact that I miss my husband!!! it exhibits itself in many other ways. Among my primary distractors right now are the following:

• My children - I try to always be available for my children but this can be a problem, sometimes, especially if they are interrupting me for frivolous reasons.
  
• Clutter - I am not a productive person when the area around me is cluttered. A few days ago I moved my computer desk into the room that is seen first when somebody enters our home (some people might call it a parlor but that's a bit glorified for this room!) I did this hoping that it might encourage me to maintain a tidy workspace. I have less area to work in now because I can't spread things out all over the dining room table like I could before. All that means, though, is that it takes less to make the area cluttered. Should take less time to clean it up though! We'll find out as soon as I finish writing this!
• Socializing - this is a big one for me right now. I am lonely since my husband isn't here and I find myself spending more and more time with my online friends. I really like the people I've met online and find their company, even if limited to IM and Yahoo groups, to be encouraging and reassuring.
  

Knowing the things that distract me is a step in the right direction but I need to have a plan to deal with them. I've thought of the following so far:

• I'm going to stress to my girls that I will be working during certain hours each day and should be interrupted only for something that is important. At 12, 13 and 15, they are old enough to understand this so don't think I am neglecting infants or toddlers! (Make note - set work hours!)
  
• I have to make sure that my overly optimistic expectations of what I can list each day do not take over the area where I work! In other words, I should keep all but a few items out of sight until those few are listed. By doing this, I will eliminate most of the clutter that accumulates each day. (I have a bad habit of going to my attic where I keep my eBay items to get two or three specific items and then come down with boxes full.)
  
• I need to treat my online friends and groups as a reward for a good day's work instead of an emotional outlet throughout the day. This will be the most difficult to implement because they are just a click away while I am doing my work.
  

What about you? Do you have plans or wishes? Do you have realistic goals? What steps are needed to accomplish those goals? Are you working those steps? Be specific. Write out your goals as well as the steps that will get you to them. Then create a schedule that will realistically enable you to follow those steps. Finally, remove from your environment the things that will distract you and keep you from getting those steps done.

Well, I've got a room to clean so I can get some work done! Talk to you later!

This is my husband Mario and me the day he was deployed. We will celebrate our 20th anniversary while he is gone. This is going to be a strange and difficult year. All the more reason to throw myself into my eBay endeavors...

Expand Your Horizons

Since beginning my eBay adventure I have been a bookseller, focusing primarily on children's books and materials of interest to homeschoolers. This is an area in which I feel comfortable and which I enjoy. From time to time, however, I have encountered non-book items of interest that I thought might do well at auction. Sometimes I have purchased them; other times I have resisted the urge, worried that my lack of expertise in a particular area will mislead me and I'll end up wasting money on something of no value. For the most part, my purchases have paid off nicely but I have encountered duds from time to time. It is the fear of those duds along with the fact that I am in this primarily to make money, not spend it, that keeps me from being more adventurous.

I am slowly overcoming this fear and expanding my horizons as a seller on eBay. One thing I have done that has forced me to step outside my comfort zone is register to be a trading assistant. I do pretty extensive research before listing something for one of my consignors in order to be as competitive as possible. So far, I have listed only collectibles as a TA but this experience has been an excellent one for me. I am essentially being paid to learn and can apply that newfound knowledge when hunting for more items for eBay! I knew nothing about collectible dolls and Steiff teddy bears when I took on this consignment. I have learned enough, though, that if I now encountered these items at an auction or in another venue, I'd feel more comfortable deciding whether to purchase them for resale.

Another thing I have occasionally done is to browse completed listings in categories other than books. I pick a category which has items that I see frequently when I am out, hoping to acquire enough information to make a wise decision the next time I am out. To a certain extent, this has paid off. I need to be more focused in my research, though, and strive to learn more about a particular category instead of trying to learn about many at one time.

Finally, I have gotten over the mentality that says spending more than a dollar on something for resale is too much of an investment! I've started to really go out on a limb and pay up to $3.00 for something whose eBay value is questionable due to my lack of knowledge! :) I will, of course, pay more if I am pretty confident of the item's eBay value. I've even been known to spend $10 or 15 for a single book!

Non-book items I've picked up lately which have proven or promise to hold reasonable eBay value:

* 1967 Spirograph - I picked this up for $1.50 at a thrift store. Box is rather beat up and two pieces (in addition to the original pens) are missing. Listed it last week, included what I thought was a high BIN of $25.99 considering condition and availability of better examples and was pleasantly surprised when it sold the next day!

* 1960's PlaySkool wooden puzzles for preschoolers. I actually picked these up at a library sale for $1.00 total

* Texas Instruments TI-83 Graphing Calculator - I picked this up at a fundraising rummage sale for the chorale group with which my daughter sings. Stepped way out on the limb with this and spent $3.00 with no real knowledge of value. I figured I could always use it at home if it proved to be a dud. Not a dud. Just waiting for my daughter to get it listed!

* A pair of 1950's era Paint By Numbers paintings of traditional scenes of Jesus. Paid $3.99 I think for these. They didn't sell at auction so I put them in my store. I had one buyer offer $10 for them, which I declined. About a month later, they sold for $24.99.

None of these purchases would have broken the bank had they proven to be losers. The two I've sold so far have been clear winners in my book. As a result, I've decided to take a few risks every now and then and spend a little money on something I know nothing about. I'm not planning to spend $100 to speculate on the potential success of an item, but a few dollars here and there certainly won't put me in the poor house!

Walk on the wild side! Take a chance and see what happens! You might be pleasantly surprised at what happens.