Well, first thing this morning, I printed off the lists of new USPS rates.  I go to their site and copy and paste and copy the lists that apply to me.  Hope I get to use this list more than one year!  I just pass the increases on in my SH fees.  I've decided to not go back and change SH in my current store items.  I'll just eat the increase out of my handling fee.  Of course, starting today, I'll add the increase in the new auctions and store items.

Last week I had one of the most fun auctions I've had in ages.  I found a huge, something like 24x34", American Girl Kirsten Scenes and Settings book for $2 at a garage sale.  (One of the "trick-or-treat" neighborhood sales!)  It opens up, so double the width (!), and girls can play with their American Girl doll in front of various scenes from the books.  My research showed it should sell for $50-$75!  I started it at $29.99.  It had a bid quickly!  Through the week, I think it had 6-7 bids.  But it had 20 watchers by the end of the auction.  I don't think I've ever had that many watchers!  It had over 100 hits.  I have had auctions that went up that high on hits.  It ended up selling for $53.  I really thought it would go for higher with all the watchers.  But, hey!  For $2.00, I certainly can't complain!  http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300222022438&ssPageName=STRK:MESO:IT&ih=020

I need to start pictures of last Saturday's finds.  Not sure if there are any treasures in that lot.  But I didn't pay much for any item, so if any sell...it's quick profit.  I still have some dishes to photograph and list.  I got a box of them at a thrift store for $5, so if anything sells, I've made my investment back.  This is one reason I'm enjoying the store...they can sit there and wait for a buyer to come looking for just that pattern.

Hello!  I'm Cheryl...a Christian, stay-at-home, homeschooling, single mom, who has used Ebay and Amazon sales to supplement our very tight budget.  I've decided I need more cash flow.  Then I came across Lynn Dralle's newsletter and past e-zines.  After reading through them, I was motivated to open an Ebay store.

I've had two Saturday's of garage saleing.  (OK...how DO you spell "sale-ing"?)  We live in the country of  NW Arkansas, so going to the city to run errands or garage sale takes a $20 gas budget!  The plus side is that mileage adds up quickly for tax deductions.  But I'm planning on heading to the city every Saturday for the sale season.

One of  Lynn's lessons is that success on Ebay is a numbers game.  You have to list a lot to sell a lot.  In the past, I'd collect a few things, and then every other month or so, list them for a week.  Then maybe re-list them.  Then they went to Recycle.  So last week I opened a store and started to fill it!  Now I could kick myself for some of the items that I recycled.  Two Saturdays ago I  did a big, (for me), garage sale round.  I spent about $20, but had a couple of boxes of items.  I went to two neighborhood garage sales.  Now aren't these the greatest?  It's like trick-or-treat for adults...you go house to house to house, collecting your treats.

Another lesson Lynn teaches is to buy a "lot" of something, and then break it up to sell it.  A couple of weeks ago, while my daughter was at the dentist, I hit a nearby garage sale.  I bought some daisy dishes for $17.50.  I broke it up into several auctions, and several store listings.  That first week of auctions, I sold about $33...three auctions and one from my store.  I had my original investment back, and some profit!  Yay!!! 

I'm spending some mental energy trying to decide whether an item should be auctioned first, or go straight to my store.  Definately the unsold auction items will then go to the store.  But I've put some items straight to the store.  I'm putting some holiday items, (Christmas, Easter, Halloween), into the store, because I figure the Spring season is the wrong time to auction these.  But I have an annoying pattern of forgetting to list holiday items to auction, instead finding them stored away AFTER the holiday!  I have several Easter items that have missed TWO Easters!  They will go into my store this week.

Here's the link to Lynn's site:  www.thequeenofauctions.com

I've had some fun auctions this week.  I'll post about those next.