ISSUE 24: Nov. 2006
Yard Salers: Issue 24! Selling Pottery and Dishes, Craigslist, Dr. Seuss and More.
Subscribe at:
www.yardsalers.net
Hello, all!
Yard Salers is back with a regular issue! And not only that, but we are redesigning our web site, so by the end of December you should see a whole new look on the Yard Salers site.
In this issue, we're going to get back to our roots with discussions about what kinds of things we can sell to see the biggest profits, as well as look at best ways to find inventory.
I've been using Craigslist a lot more to find sales, and I became so intrigued with "the list" -- or "CL," as some people call it affectionately, that I decided to really delve in and write an ebook about it. I paid people a modest fee for their stories, and put together a special report about people who have sold cars, motorcycles, and houses; and picked up things on the cheap including antiques, and in one case very valuable early African-American books. People have even found jobs and boyfriends/girlfriends
from the site, and I'd be willing to bet there have been more than a few craigslist-spawned marriages.
Probably the most famous example of how craigslist has helped someone is the story of the red paper clip guy. He started with one red paper clip, and "traded up" on craigslist for slightly better items each time, until
he bartered up to a house.
In general, I like CL because I find sales that aren't as overrun with people, and you can still pick up the good stuff if you get there on time or even 5 minutes early.
Finally, I'll be answering reader mail, from new stuff to stuff that's been festering in my email for months.
What else is new? I recently had a book signing copies of both my books (The eBay Price Guide and eBay Top 100 Simplified Tips & Tricks) at the National Press Club Book Fair Nov. 15. Other authors there included Michael Isikoff of Newsweek and Jeanne Marie Laskas, Reader's Digest and Washington Post columnist. If I missed you there, I'll leep you posted as to any upcoming signings or interviews.
I was also interviewed by SmartMoney Magazine about what's selling on eBay.
You can find that article here: http://www.smartmoney.com/dealoftheday/index.cfm?story=20061027
I also went down to Norfolk, VA to cover the ongoing eBay vs. MercExchange patent trial. If you haven't been following it, it bubbled all the way up to the Supreme Court, which then remanded the case down to the district court again. Here's the link to that if you're interested:
http://auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y06/m11/i20/s02
Now, let's get to it!
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Blogs, Blogs, and More Blogs
Check out My amazon.com Author Blog
Those of you who just can't get enough of my writing (are there any of you?) will be happy to know I now have a new blog on amazon.com. Amazon.com has created an "author blog" tool for authors to...well, blog. You'll see it if you bring up either of my books on the amazon site, but for good measure, it's at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1593270550. (Scroll down to "amazonConnect").
My GoWholesale Blog
You can also check out my blog on gowholesale.com: bidbits
The url is:
http://blogs.gowholesale.com/julia_wilkinson
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Do you have your copy of Julia's book, “eBay Top 100 Simplified Tips & Tricks”?
It's available on amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. If you do want to order the book, I’d appreciate if you’d support Yard Salers and
eBayers by using my affiliate link below.
ebay top
100
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Have you checked out YAB’s web site? Give it a look at http://www.yardsalersebayers.com.
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In This Issue:
1) Cleaning Up on Dishes: Wedgwood and other China
2) What Sells: Top Pottery and China
3) Cruising Craigslist
4) Reader Mail -- Dr. Seuss and Adult Diapers, Not Necessarily in that Order
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1) Cleaning Up on Dishes: Wedgwood and other China
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Most of you who've been reading this newsletter a while know I'll sell just about anything, but the bulk of my sales are books, clothing, and jewely, in that order.
However, a recent garage sale I stumbled across has made me re-think those major categories, and now when I go to sales I always take a serious look at the dinnerware -- china, pottery, what have you.
I was in one of the nicer neighborhoods in my area (this is not always a clue as to how nice the stuff in the sale will be, as I've written before) near the start of a block-wide garage sale, and I saw some pretty bowls with matching saucers/plates. They were white, with black and gold trim, which right there is a classic color scheme that I think it's safe to say a lot of people like.
One check of the maker's mark on the bottom confirmed my hunch: these were Wedgwood, an English pottery company that dates back to the 18th century.
As I wrote in one blog post, Josiah Wedgwood (1730 – 1795), the founder, is credited with the “industrialization of the manufacture of pottery” according to wikipedia. He was also a member of the Darwin — Wedgwood family, which indeed includes his famous grandson, Charles Darwin.
My favorite story about Josiah Wedgwood is that, as his work was known to be of very high standards, “when visiting his workshop, if he saw an offending vessel that failed to meet with his standards, he would smash it with his stick, exclaiming, “This will not do for Josiah Wedgwood!”
Perhaps the best-recognized pieces made by the co. are their "Jasperware," the “blue (or sometimes green) china with overlaid white decoration, still common throughout the world.” Sometimes this looks like a cameo on a plate.
But back to reality. These dishes turned out to be 8 soup cups and matching saucers in the Wedgwood "Florentine" pattern. I asked the guy how much he wanted for them and he said $20, which I knew was a good price, but I didn't know exactly how much they would resell for. He confirmed this by adding, "that's a good price," and I knew he was giving me a bargain.
Well, I split the group up into four lots on eBay of two soup cups and plates each, and each lot of four pieces sold for about $80-$100. Four of those lots and I grossed close to $400 for one $20 investment.
To see a photo of what the pieces looked like, check out my blog post about it here:
http://blogs.gowholesale.com/julia_wilkinson/?p=70
The other great thing about that lot was that I could simply click the "relist" button when each lot of four pieces sold, since each lot was identical.
So that was obviously one great find, but I'm not naive enough to think I'm going to get those kinds of
deals every day.
And prices for china, especially complete sets at estate sales, are sometimes pretty darn high, and it's hard to know how much you can spend and still make a reasonable profit.
Lynn Dralle, the "Queen of Auctions," who has a background in china from her grandmother's antique shop, says her rule of thumb is if she can get a set for about a dollar a piece, she grabs it.
But if it's nice china, you may not be able to get it for that little. And what if it's stuff that's so common you could barely give it away?
If you're really on the fence, and don't want to take a chance, you can check the resale value of the dishes (and this works for any item you come across at a sale, too) by the "phone home" method: bring your cell phone, and have a spouse, child, or friend ready to look up values on eBay for you.
I see more and more people doing this at sales, but for myself I usually rely on my instinct and experience. I've only used that method a few times, and have my husband trained in the rudimentary methods of looking up completed items prices on eBay.
Another strategy is to jot down the name, go home and look it up, and go back to the sale either later that day, or the next day when the stuff is often half price. Of course, then, you're risking that the stuff may be gone by then.
But again, I think it's better to have some working knowledge in your brain, and this will come with life experience, aided by the substantial info you probably already have without even knowing.
For example, you probably already know some major nice brand names of china, just by virtue of having bought wedding gifts for people or haveing gone through wedding -- or weddings -- yourself. Most of you have probably heard of not only Wedgwood but other major brands like Mikasa, Limoges, Lenox, Royal Douton, and Pfaltzgraff.
That knowledge is actually a good start. But it can't hurt to supplement our knowledge, and the nice thing about selling online is there's always something to learn.
With that in mind,let's take a look at some of the top brands and see what kind of stuff is worth paying more for.
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2) What Sells: Top Pottery and China
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First off, if you look at the overall Pottery & Glass page on eBay, Wedgwood China shows up #6 in the "Top 10 Pottery & Glass" list -- the "Top 10" list that eBay does for every category. It's in fact one of the few types of "china" that is on the list..the rest being glass. The other two are
"Bauer Dinnerware" and "Vintage China" -- vintage of course not being a brand but a catch-all word for old china, possibly unsigned.
For the record, the list is: 1) Art Deco; 2) Depression Glass 3) Bauer Dinnerware 4) Vintage Glassware; 5) Teapots; 6) Wedgwood China; 7) Fenton Art Glass; 8) Roseville Pottery; 9) Vintage
China; and 10) Carnival Glass.
Now click into the "China, Dinnerware" subcategory. On the left, you see a nice A-Z (well, "W" really) listing of brands and types. That's an education right there. Some of the names you will have heard of; some you most likely have not unless you sell a lot of these.
Now let's have some fun. Let's look at the "highest first" prices, and then click on "Completed listings" to see what actually sold.
What shows up?
Hmm..well first I have to weed out some things that don't seem to belong here..a rug, a scuplture, and other things that may belong, like vases, but that aren't actually dinnerware. OK, here we see an eBay Live auction item:
- Large Aynsley Kenilworth porcelain dinner service, $4300.00.
"No. 7023, "Kenilworth" pattern, approx. 105 pcs., comprising: 12 dinner plates, 12 salad/dessert plates, 12 bread plates, 14 soup bowls, 12 cream soup cups and 12 saucers, and 12 teacups and 12 saucers, 2 gravy boats with under plates, and 1 oval platter, each with turquoise rim with raised and etched gilt decoration, dinner plate: 10.25"dia., minor defects if any."
That's very nice but you're not going to come across those every day. Let's list a bunch more:
- Royal Copenhagen Flora Danica Porcelain Covered Oval Tureen: $3500. With black specimen identification and underglaze blue and green factory mark, number 20 3567. Length 15 1/2 inches.
- Old Ivory Ohme 14 Pc. Gooseberry/Florette Chocolate Set - US $3,110.05
"This 14 piece Old Ivory Chocolate Set consists of a pot w-lid, six (6) cups, and six (6) saucers. Each piece features rust-colored Gooseberries on Florette blanks. The saucers indicate that the pattern is #105. The pattern no. on the pot is illegible. This set is in extraordinary condition (no chips, cracks, crazing, staining, or repairs). The transfer decoration and gold trim are in great condition on each and every piece."
- Haviland Limoges Clover China Set - US $3,050.00
[white with green, pink and gold floral detail].
Serves a dinner party of 12 people! ** RARE pieces **
"Beautiful set from early 1900's in excellent condition with rare pieces like:
* footed mustard pot with lid
* pudding dish with liner
* footed mayonaise dish
* cream and sugar with lid
* a lovely soup taurene with lid
* several large serving platters
"Full place setting for a dinner party of 12 people! The Total Replacement Value for the entire set is around --->$7500<---"
- 13 Pieces NORITAKE AZALEA CHILDRENS DISHES TEA SET - $2,825.99.
"13 Pieces OLD ORIGINAL NORITAKE AZALEA CHILDRENS DISHES TEA SET. You are bidding on a partial set of original Noritake Azalea childrens dishes. All the pieces are in excellent condition, no chips, cracks, or crazing. There are 13 pieces. They are as follows - Teapot with lid, sugar bowl with lid, creamer, 2 cups, 4 saucers, 4 dinner plates."
- 207: Eleven Tiffany Minton plates: US $2,800.00 [That "207" refers to the live auction number, since this was an eBay Live auction]. "borders with extensive gilding, made for Tiffany & Co., 10-3/4 in. Scattered grime. [White with gold and black or dark blue trim].
- Miscellaneous Group of Royal Copenhagen Floral Danica Porcelain Articles - US $2,750.00. [whte wioth gold trim and pastel color floral designs]
Comprising Two oval open salts, two coffee cups and saucers, two covered bouillon cups with saucers, three condiment dishes, two covered pots de creme with saucers, covered comdiment box and egg cup, each with black specimen identification and underglaze blue and green factory mark.
- Spode Queen's Bird Fine Stone China 206 Piece Set! - US $2,504.00 [white with pale bird pattern, no longer in production].
Anyone for a $2400 turkey platter and dishes?
- RIDGWAYS 1800'S FLOW BLUE TURKEY PLATTER AND 12 PLATES- PERFECT FOR YOUR THANKSGIVING TABLE THIS YEAR! - US $2,465.99
[beautiful blue and white china; turkey platter has a blue turkey and design; "Each is stamped on the back with a Ridgways England mark, with an urn, bee skep, flowers, ferns and leaves."]
- *COMPLETE SET* VILLEROY & BOCH Bone China Wildberries! - US $1,699.00.
[white with "Deep berry purples and rich fertile greens give this elegant pattern a punch of color that is signature Villeroy & Boch...Includes all 96 Pieces! Retails for $2935! FREE ship!"
OK, now we've looked at 10 lots that have sold for some of the highest prices on eBay. What have we learned? We've heard the brand names Aynsley, Royal Copenhagen, Old Ivory Ohme, Haviland Limoges, Noritake,
Tiffany Minton, Spode, RIDGWAYS, and one I have to admit I've never heard of, VILLEROY & BOCH.
Obviously not all pieces by these makers are going to sell that high. Here's where it gets fun to dig deeper. Let's take a couple of those brands, Aynsley and Noritake, and see what their range of prices is for china and dinnerware. And let's go ahead and look at Wedgwood too, since I've been writing about it.
Using the latest version of the Hammertap research tool, I first do a search on Wedgwood. Let's search 50,000 auctions, including store and regular auction listings. We learn these stats:
- wedgwood:
- There were 12,080 listings.
- 4568 of those sold.
- Avge. sales price was $40.43.
- Avge. sales per seller was 2.53.
- Something that sold for around avge. sales price was a set of "19 pieces Wedgwood Patrician Embossed Dinnerware." These are all white with an embossed white pattern.
Now let's look at Aynsley:
- Anysley:
- 1366 listings
- 512 sales
- Avge. sales price was $24.67
- Avge. sales per seller was 1.54.
- Something that sold for around avge. sales price was a "AYNSLEY Bone China "Foxhunter's Nightmare" 10.75" PLATE" that went for $24.95.
Noritake:
- 21,530 listings
- 6408 sales
- Avge. sales price was $28.69
- Avge. sales per seller was 2.72.
- Something that sold for around avge. sales price was a Noritake Cumberland 8 Fruit bowls 5 1/2" MINT.
OK, so here we learn that Wedgwood dinnerware in general sell for a bit more than Aynsley or Noritake, at least in this sampling on eBay. But you're still going to want to do your homework if you're looking for a certain piece...take a peek at the things that sell for around average price, and the
things that sell for top prices as well as rock bottom.
If you don't want to pay for a research subscription like Hammertap (tho I find it very useful, of course), you can always do a free "completed items" search. That won't give you an "average" sales price, but if you look at how many pages of results come up, pick a page around the middle, and that will give you the approximately median-priced items.
Now go forth, look at those dishes next time you see 'em piled up at a sale, and prosper!
Any readers out there specialize in selling china or pottery? Would love to hear your tips and success stories!
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3) Cruising Craigslist
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I've written about craigslist a bit before, but if you're not familiar with "CL," as some people call it, it's series of mostly free classifieds site w/ presences in many major cities, and many countries as well.
Craig Newmark started craigslist in 1995 in the San Francisco Bay area. It then expanded into more and more cities, and now it is in about 310 cities around the world.
Most of the listings on craigslist are free; that's one thing people love about it so much. The only part of craigslist that charges now are paid job ads in select cities, according to Wikipedia:
$75 per ad for the San Francisco Bay Area; $25 per ad for New York; Los Angeles; Boston; Seattle; Washington D.C., and paid broker apartment listings in New York City ($10 per ad).
But craigslist runs no other ads on the site, such as general merchant banner ads; it's text-based, and the site is graphically pretty no frills, although I admire the way they've managed to cram so many links and information right on the home page of most sites. There's less digging, and it's organized very well, in my opinion.
I've just written an ebook about craigslist (well, it's mostly written), and I'm going to give you, my wonderful readers, a chance to look at the beta version for a reduced price. I'm also going to give you some of the highlights of the book right here in the newsletter, for free.
So let's look at some of what I dug up for the book.
People in general responded most about selling big items like cars, motorcycles and houses, but many had wonderful stories about getting great tickets and even making friends with the people they met through a transaction on the list.
One guy bought a 1993 Acura Legend with only 75k miles, had a book value of over $4000, for $1400, and later flipped it on CL for $2500.
This same guy experienced a big coincidence when he first learned about CL. One of his regulars at the bar where he worked "informed me about ‘a cool new website’ and gave me the address to CL, the Washington DC page of course. I told him I would check it out and see how it went. After a few weeks I got around to checking it out. I found it was pretty easy to navigate, but not aesthetically pleasing.
"After another week or so, I discovered the ‘Free’ section. I was browsing and came across an ad for a free fireplace insert. Gas is expensive and I always liked the idea of have an insert so I decided to email and waited for a response. I got the email response and corresponded a few times with the person to line up a time for me to come pick it up. Upon arriving at the address, I see my regular customer Aaron ready to load the fireplace insert into my truck with me. What a coincidence?”
Beach Boys, and Free Clay Aiken Tickets
Tricia wound up getting not only tickets to a Beach Boys concert, but an offer for FREE concert tickets as well, after befriending the lady she met on CL.
“I met woman who was selling front row tickets to see the Beach Boys at Wolf Trap (because she and her family could not go at the last minute),” she says.
When Tricia went to pick up the tickets, the two chatted, and Tricia found out the lady was CEO of her own company.
“She found out I was wife of US Army reservist deployed to Iraq. When she found out that my daughter (age 15) is a Clay Aiken nut, months later when his concert was announced, she bought extra tickets for us to join her (and her daughter) at his concert.
“She gave my daughters special memories during a time they most needed them. My husband is back home now, safe and sound.
Jazz and African-American first Edition Finds
I think the story about finding items to flip that would have excited me the most was a guy named Lou's tale about the cool vintage booty he discovered at an estate sale he found through craigslist.
“I read an ad on craigslist that someone bought a house for rehab and was giving everything in the house away that evening,” he said.
“I knew the house was in the black area of DC. I went to the house and picked up several items in the basement underneath the stairway tucked away, including a first edition Booker T. Washington book, one by [famous freed slave] Frederick Douglass, and other books by well-known Harlem Renaissance writers. I also found several 1950s jazz programs signed by all the well known jazz artists of the time including Dizzie Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Stan Krupa and many others.
He sold all these items for over $1500 on eBay. ”I still have some photos I picked up which I will be selling later,” he says. “I also picked up some great garden furniture and some 50s decorative items which I kept. The garden furniture is worth about $300.”
Other stories in the ebook involve finding jobs, apartments, and even boyfriends and girlfriends.
I'll have a link to the downloadable ebook from my web site soon, but for now, if you want a copy, just PayPal me $4.95 (half price) at juliawilk@aol.com and specify that you want the craigslist ebook, and I'll email it to you.
And if you have any craigslist stories of your own you want to share, please email them to me!
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Still haven't read my bestselling eBay book, "What Sells on eBay for What"! You can buy it and download it instantly -- click What Sells on eBay for What or go to
www.aolmemorabilia.com/whatsells.
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SUBSCRIBE TO BOOKTHINK'S 50/50
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New! A Market Report for Booksellers
What could be more important for booksellers than to know when to buy a book and when not to? Not anything I can think of. If you have a substantial amount of this kind of information in mind when you go to sales or can access it quickly (via a notebook or some sort of handheld device), great. There'll be no stopping you.
But there's information, and there's information. Some of it's necessarily more (or less) useful depending on how likely it is that you'll have the chance to put it in play. What good does it do you to know the title of an uncommon book that can be resold for $50? If it's uncommon, the chances of using this information are relatively slight, and whatever you invest in acquiring it may not be time or money well spent. Far better to invest in information that will have wider applicability. Far better to have knowledge of books that will sell for $50 and more and can actually be found at sales or other venues with some regularity for prices that will give you plenty of room to profit handsomely.
This is where BookThink's 50/50 comes in. 50/50 is a detailed market report that lists and annotate 50 books that typically sell for more than $50 online and - here's the best part - surface at sales and other venues with some regularity. This is information you can use and profit from often. Uncommon books will not be included.
Here's a sample of what you're likely to see in 50/50:
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THE COMPACT EDITION OF THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY
2-volumes. Unabridged. Originally issued in dark blue cloth with a 3-compartment box, the upper compartment housing a boxed magnifying glass that operated like a drawer. The magnifying glass was essential for reading microprint, a necessary evil in condensing what was originally a 10-volume set into 2. Beginning in the early 1970's, Book-of-the-Month-Club offered these dictionaries at deep discounts for new members. Many sold, and many are still out there. Values are understandably lower if the box and/or magnifying glass is missing, but final values at or near $100 are commonplace.
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So, if you could use 50 of these every other month, then BookThink's 50/50 will bring them to you. As with BookThink's Gold Edition, BookThink's 50/50 is available for purchase either by annual subscription at $20 or individually at $10.
Click here to subscribe instantly:
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2) Reader Mail -- Catchup Reader Mail
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Computers from the Late 80s: an IBM PC-AT
Dear Julia,
I have an IBM PC-AT from the mid to late 80's that is in good shape and still works fine. Is such a thing collectible to anyone?
I hate to throw it out.
Thanks,
Kevin
Pittsburgh, PA
Hi, Kevin in Pittsburgh! First, sorry it took me so long to answer you. Interesting question.
I would definitely not throw it out. I feel someone will want a working computer somewhere, and those things are now so old in "computer years" that they are collectors' items for some people.
For those who can't remember or don't know what an IBM PC AT looks like, check this out:
www.vintage-computer.com/ibmpcat.shtml. Wow, that screen with its green readout really takes you back, huh?
Let's take a look at what other IBM PC AT's are out there on eBay now.
In eBay Stores now:
- a "Vintage RARE IBM AT PC Intel 80386 DX 386 16 MHz CPU" (just the cpu, mind you) is listed for $24.99 BIN.
- And an IBM 8286165 PC/AT 84KEY KEYBOARD 8286165" is listed for $114.97.
There are also a number of other parts and accessories, as well
as software, for this machine. Prices range from a few dollars up to the $114 mentioned.
Wow, not a single complete IBM PC At machine listed. Let's look at completed auctions. I don't see a complete IBM At listed there either.
I did some google searches on "IBM PC AT" and couldn't find any machines for sale there either.
Then I did a search for "vintage computer" for sale and found the "Vintage Computer Marketplace," at http://marketplace.vintage.org.
I found:
- IBM 8 MHz AT Motherboard w/80287 Math Coprocessor/Piggyback RAM: $35
So that's only the motherboard. Wow, I gotta tell ya, I thought I would see more of these things put there for sale!
In short, if you have one in working order, I'd like to see you put it up on eBay and let me know how it does!
Good luck!
Julia
Oh, the Books You'll Sell! - Dr. Seuss Books
In your last news letter you spoke of books that sold for high dollar on e bay. I have two of the books listed in my collection. Were these any special edition?
- Dr. Seuss. Oh, The Thinks You Can Think!
- Dr. Seuss. Maybe You Should Fly A Jet! Maybe You
Thank you
Jenni
Sarasota Fl
Hi Jenni!
I sent Jenni a shorter note a while back, but here's a little more investigating into Dr. Seuss books. It's true there are a lot of Seuss books out there, so just because you have one doesn't mean it will bring much. But true first edition Seuss books (and of course signed Seuss books) can be very valuable. That includes the titles you mention, Jennu. Let's look at some of the highest Seuss books that sold:
- a first edition "And to Think I saw It on Mulberry Street," Seuss's first book (1937), is listed with a Buy It Now for $3,500. It did not sell at that go-round, though.
Sold listings:
- Yertle The Turtle By DR SEUSS 1st/1st w/ dj Great! - $299.99
"This is a great old book called,"Yertle The Turtle" by Dr. Seuss. This is guaranteed to be a First Edition and First Printing as per the Dr. Seuss authorities Younger and Hirsch. Has all first printing points. Condition is very good with dj. No markings that I can see. Has neat inscription. This is a very clean book. Dj has been covered with protective mylar and is nicely preserved. It looks like there was a small piece off the bottom of the spine of the dj but has been neatly reinforced on the underside of the dj spine.
I have had several people confused why there are three copyright dates on the copyright page. This book wasnt printed until 1958. We dont know why. If you are looking for a Yertle with a date of only 1950, you wont find one. Hope this clears up the confusion."
High prices from ther down to the next listing were all for multi-book lots of newer Seuss books.
- Dr. Seuss THE SNEETCHES AND OTHER STORIES First Edition
Younger & Hirsch Correct Points for TRUE 1st/1st in DJ! - $89.00
Dr. Seuss's Are You My Mother? First Edition 1st Print
Rare 1960 HC Book with Dust Jacket by P. E. Eas - US $86.99
FIRT EDITION 1947 Dr. SEUSS McELLIGOT'S POOL w/h DJtman - US $51.99
Dr.Seuss"Oh,The PlacesYou'll Go''Signed1st Ed.Hardcover - US $56.05
(Notice how the words run together in the title -- that means the
eBay search engine would not have distinguished those words, and it probably sold for a good deal less than it would have if more people had been able to
find it in the search engine. Those are the kinds of listings you want to
keep an eye out for and buy to resell!).
So there you go. Truly first edition Seuss books, ranging from about the 30s, 40s, 50s, and even up to 2000 for his last and posthumously published book, Gerald McBoing Boing, will be worth your while. Your average
garden-variety Seuss book will probably net you more than a dollar a book, and unless you have a lot of 40 or 50 or more and want to get rid of them in one big lot for a dollar a book or so, they're not worth your while to sell.
By the way, something interesting about "Gerald McBoing Boing": it was apparently first published in 1952, but with no attribution to Dr. Seuss, even though he apparently wrote it.
So if you find an old copy of this book, snap it up! Old First ed's are going for $180 and up on eBay. (The *new* first edition, pub'd in 2000, and which does include Seuss's name, is going for, e.g. a $36 BIN on eBay).
Still, keep your eye out for that rare first edition Seuss find!
A list of Seuss books can be seen at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr_Seuss#List_of_books
One thing is sure..Theodore Geisel, aka "Dr Seuss," wrote a lot of books!
- Julia
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And Last But Not Least, Adult Diapers for $600?
This next letter was too funny to leave out.
I just bought a pack of "vintage pampers" at the thrift store, was trying to figure out how old they were when I came upon your posting, so I wanted to relay this story. I bought an opened box of 1973 pampers "toddler size" at the thrift store for $1.00. I knew about the whole adult baby thing so I listed them with adult baby in the title. They sold for $600.00!!!! I just about had a cow. My wife and I went out for sushi to celebrate. And just to make it better, the guy paypaled me w/in 15 min of auction close.
Arno
Thanks, Arno! Hope you enjoyed the meal.
Would you feel silly listing adult diapers? Well, for $600, you might take that chance. LOL. - Julia
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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. 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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YOUR FEEDBACK WANTED: What Else Do You Want to See in Yardsalers?
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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.]
- Making Big Bucks off Catalogs on eBay:
http://www.aolmemorabilia.com/clkslcat.html
- Over 100 Books that Sell for $50-$100 on eBay: Updated for 2005!
http://www.aolmemorabilia.com/100bkclkslsub.html
- Selling Kids Clothes on eBay: email me!
(these last two will be available for purchase via my site soon).
- How to Spot Fakes: email me!
Julia Classic:
What Sells on eBay for What: Now updated for 2005! $8.95, 1/2 price from the $17.95 retail price.
http://www.aolmemorabilia.com/whatsells
My Life at AOL (available at amazon.com, booklocker.com, and 1stbooks.com)
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Copyright 2006 Julia L. Wilkinson
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Thank you for subscribing to Yard Salers. Yard Salers email newsletter may be freely distributed in its entirety, so please pass it on. (Individual sections MAY NOT be copied and/or distributed without written permission of the publisher.) No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Yard Salers makes diligent efforts to obtain accurate and timely information. However, Yard Salers disclaims any liability to any party for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions in Yard Salers, whether or not such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any other cause.
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