ISSUE 42: Jan. 13, 2008
Yard Salers: Sun., Jan. 13: Time-Saving Strategies & New ebooks: Sun., Jan. 13, 2008
Subscribe at:
www.yardsalers.net
Hello, all!
I've been emailing the freebie ebooks to the winners and entrants of the Yard Salers contest. See, people really win at Yard Salers. OK, so maybe we're not "Oprah" -- "You get a car! You get a car! You get a car!" -- but, well..."You get an ebook! You get an ebook!" You get the idea.
All the requests and ideas you brought up are also germinating in my mind. One of the things several of you brought up was finding ways to save time and be more efficient. This business can really eat up time.
I have a few thoughts to that end in today's issue. I've also been getting out there again "in the field" and looking for more gems-in-the-rough to sell. With the idea I talked about in the last issue that many folks have recently donated to thrift stores, charities, etc., to meet their end of the year tax-writeoff goals, I have been seeing more interesting stuff show up lately in the places I frequent.
Just yesterday I popped into one of my favorite thrifts, which is conveniently located near my favorite coffee shop, and came upon a smattering of collectible-looking books strewn about the front tables.
This perked me up, because usually the books in the store are in the back on the shelves. I wondered if these were something special. I started browsing at one of the tables, and as I saw some nice looking slip-cases, I overhead one of the regular volunteers say to another, "Those most be some purty good books coz they've been selling really well."
(As you probably know, it can pay to chat with/be nice to/get to know the workers in these places. Not to mention it is just plain polite). This one gentleman in particular, I found out after commenting on his school ring, went to Virginia Tech, whereas I went to the University of Virginia, which, in case you don't know, are rival schools. So we joke with each other sometimes. He works as a volunteer, and he jokes that at least they can never dock his pay).
I think I got two or three books that may be worth over $50. I'll report to you in the next issue how they did. I also got something really interesting that may sell for a lot or just around $10..it's hard to say. It's a photograph, on actual photographic paper, of Walt Disney in his office, surrounded by many awards and statues, holding up an Oscar. I wanted to show you a pic of it but as I am already late with this issue, I promise you I'll include it in the next issue.
Which brings me to..I will also be experimenting with putting more graphics in the issue. But, as I got feedback from you, I don't want it to mean you have trouble viewing the issues. If I have to go to two versions of the newsletter, I may. But I do not want to do it in such as way that any of you have a, shall we say, reduced-quality viewing experience.
This issue will be reasonably short..at least I'm going to aim for that. Our friend Avril Harper in England has a new ebook out which shows you all kinds of ways to make money from the public domain. I'm going to excerpt from it and also give you a link to buy the whole thing if you want. You can also resell the ebook yourself if you want.
And speaking of ebooks, I have one I've been sitting on for a while. Now I've finally gotten it linked to a payment system -- a new one, by the way, called PayLoadz. One of you readers asked for a price guide to books that were a little more attainable than, say, signed first edition William Faulkners...you know, the thousand-dollar-and up bad boys that really don't jump out at you every day, much less every decade.
To that end, I had some painstaking research done, and at some not inconsiderable expense. (Don't you love double negatives?) It resulted in two ebooks, one fiction books that sell for $50 to $250, and the other nonfiction books that sell for $50 to $250 on eBay. Or have sold.
The latter is up for sale today. It's longer and meatier, I think. I'm calling it, radically, Nonfiction Books that Sell for $50 - $250 on eBay. Actually the head title is The 50 to 250 Report: Nonfiction. But the other thing is the subtitle. In any event, it's 112 pages of book-lovin' money-makin' fun. I'm going to give you a taste of the prices and books in today's issue, and if you want to buy, great; otherwise, enjoy the freebies.
Ok, having said all that, I better get to the meat of this issue before the weekend is over, so let's get to it!
In This Issue:
***********************
1) Time-Saving Strategies for eBay Sellers
2) New eBook: Nonfiction Books that Sell for $50 - $250 on eBay: A Sampling of Prices
3) Amazing Ways You Can Make Money from the Public Domain: Avril Harper's New ebook
** Reader Mail ** will be back next week.
***********************
*************************************
BigCrumbs lets you earn money back not only on what you and your referrals spend on eBay, but over 200 retailers such as Target, Best Buy, and Peapod by Giant.
Make Money with Your Everyday Shopping with BigCrumbs
*********************
1) Time-Saving Strategies for ebay Sellers
*********************
In the course of listing items on eBay the past week, I am both testing a new time-saving strategy, and also came across another seller's tactic that I thought might save a lot of time/hassle, and want to share it here.
If you have time-saving tips or things you do to be more efficient, please share it with everyone by emailing it to me at juliawilk@aol.com.
The strategy I'm trying out is to list an item without a photo and say that a photo is available upon request.
I am not doing this in every case, and not when I think I have a really juicy valuable book. But for those middlin'-value books that I just want to get up and out of the house, I need an efficient way to get them all up there quickly. Short of hiring the team of trained monkeys I referred to in the annual Christmas letter I sent out (probably baffling everyone in our circle of friends), I've got to try other things.
So far it worked in some cases. One thing that recently sold was a military book called 82nd Airborne Division 50th reunion. It didn't sell for much -- $16.46, but at least I got the thing out of the house. However, I think it's a way to throw a lot of inventory at the proverbial wall, see what gets photo requests and what doesn't, take the time to send people who request it photos, and move the other stuff to the eBay Store or, after festering long enough in the worst cases, give them away to charity.
Another strategy -- the one I saw another seller do. He had a bunch of stuff and not enough time to type in detailed descriptions of it all. So he simply took photos of all the items and told people to look closely at the photos to see exactly what he had. I thought that was an interesting idea; the only downside of which is that you won't have the typed-out keywords helping you out when people are doing eBay searches. But, it may not matter too much if you do select a few effective keywords carefully in the title of your auction.
Conversely, you could type a lot of things out, and not take photos. Again, use the photos on request model.
In general, I try to cull out as much typing as possible by googling things, using wikipedia, etc. For unqiue collections, this may not help too much.
One resource I'd like to recommend before wrapping up this particular article about saving time is "The 4-Hour Work Week" by Tim Ferris. Excellent book, and funny too. Worth every penny imo. And what a title. (Even if it may overpromise a bit). Guess where he did the testing for the most effective title? That's right..on eBay.
*********************
2) New eBook: Nonfiction Books that Sell for $50 - $250 on eBay: A Sampling of Prices
*********************
As I mentioned in the intro, I have two new ebooks about books ready, Nonfiction Books that Sell for $50 - $250 on eBay. Actually the head title is The 50 to 250 Report: Nonfiction: Nonfiction Books that Sell for $50 - $250 on eBay; and The 50 to 250 Report:Fiction: Fiction Books that Sell for $50 - $250 on eBay.
Today, we're going to look at a sampling of prices from this 112-page report, and you'll get an idea of the broad variety of books that sell in this range, as well as some threads they have in common. I am going to cut and paste a few prices starting at $250 and then jumping down in roughly $20 increments until I get to $100 or so.
Books > Nonfiction Books
- Rare and Unusual Fly Tying Materials Volume 2 1 $250.00
- Jay Abraham's Individualized Consultation Transcripts Buy It Now $250.00
- The Work of Many Hands Card Tables in Federal America 2 $250.00
- Prototypes by J. A. Martin, Ken Wells (2000) 1 $200.00
- 1375: (R) 1942 Team signed Philadelphia Athletics baseb 5 $200.00
- Distinguished Homes of Shaker Heights R. Campen 7 $200.00
A Dog, A Gun and Time Enough George Bird Evans 10 $227.50
1885 NEW YORK Brooklyn FIRE DEPARTMENT History SCARCE 19 $226.50
Midwest Center "Attacking Anxiety and Depression" ..... 5 $226.49
DICKSON NEW ANALYTICAL STUDY BIBLE KING JAMES VERSION 36 $225.25
AISC Seismic Design Manual Buy It Now $225.00
"PRAYER BOOK FOR RELIGIOUS" FATHER LASANCE C.—LEATHER 11 $180.39
1363: Andrews scrapbook including Frances Andrews 1st C 12 $180.00
Anatomy of a Merger: Stategies and Techniques for 1 $180.00
75 Years of Pontiac-Oakland - Gunnell – Crestline 18 $150.05
Organic Chemistry by Janice Gorzynski Smith 2nd Ed. NEW 33 $161.00
1890 History and Conditions in PERSIA 12 $160.83
Vintage 1870 Horse Training Book D. Magner 27 $160.39
Loose Leaf New Scofield Reference Edition Bible 13 $150.00
Safari By Ricky Lauren #800/1000 Autographed By Author 1 $150.00
KÖNIGSTIGER TECHNICAL & OPERATIONAL HISTORY TROJCA 8 $130.00
The Great Betrayal by Ian Douglas Smith (1997) 2 $130.00
Compendium of Chester Gold & Silver Marks Buy It Now $130.00
BALLYBUNION IRISH GOLF CLUB COURSE ILLUSTRATED BOOK 13 $120.00
Succulent and Xerophytic Plants of Madagascar Rauh 1&2 Buy It Now $120.00
BRUCE LEE "THE MAN ONLY I KNEW" PAPERBACK BY LINDA LEE 2 $120.00
Charles Bukowski Memoir - Amber O'Neil -"Blowing My... 7 $100.00
Nightmares and Dreamscapes, S King, SIGNED 1st Edition 1 $100.00
Jane's Fighting Ships 2007-2008 (2007) Buy It Now $100.00
What gets me is the wide variety of titles and subjects here. These are all hard-to-find -- but not impossible, especially as you get down into the $50 range.
There are a lot more titles here, in every range, again, down to $50, if you want to buy the ebook. The half price for subscribers is $4.50; I am retailing it at $8.95.
or
Buy Now
*********************
3) Amazing Ways You Can Make Money from the Public Domain: Avril Harper's New ebook
*********************
Avril Harper has done it again. This time with an ebook all about ways you can make money with stuff people have already written.
Sound devious? It's really not. It's called the public domain.
I read this book myself, and was, well, amazed at all the amazing ways Avril has come up with to make money from this treasure trove of information and art -- material that otherwise just might fester in the dustbin of history without us brushing it off, breathing new life into it, and yeah, ok, making money off it. (Hey, it's legal!).
Avril will show you the whys and hows. But if you want a taste of the kind of writing you'll find in here, here's an excerpt from one of her articles,
19th Century Magazines - An Amazing Source of Public Domain Information.
----------------
Magazines from the very early 1800s are rich in public domain content, both information and illustrations, and are amongst the most productive and profitable areas for publishers today.
I’m thinking of weekly magazines like THE PENNY MAGAZINE and THE SATURDAY MAGAZINE which, though just ten or twelve pages long, were packed with great articles about important subjects of the day, alongside intricate engravings and line drawings which are immensely rare and hugely popular today, including on eBay!
It was around the early 1800s that the English language developed to the format we recognise today. For earlier magazines, few of which remain today, most people are hard pushed to understand the ancient Olde English terminology and strange characters and symbols featured in everyday words like ‘mifs’ (miss) and ‘e’en’ (even). This makes it really difficult for public domain enthusiasts to transform into eBooks and other information products for readers today. In another article I’ll tell you why you might focus on these more difficult to recreate products but for now let us look at their later counterparts.
Magazines from the 1830s onwards come closest to resembling modern day English and are amongst the riches sources of public domain content for today’s publishers.
So I recommend you dig deep at boot sales and flea markets for magazines from the 1830s to early 1900s where you will find a great many fabulous public domain information products. This is why:
* You’ll find articles and texts from the early to mid-1800s amongst the best researched and most professionally written of all time. It was much harder in those days to become a published writer and only the very best made the grade. Typewriters were still some decades from appearing on the scene, so all articles and books were handwritten. It was a lengthy process, meaning 19th century writers faced much longer periods than happens today between researching and writing and receiving payment for their work. Only the best educated individuals, usually from privileged backgrounds, had time, expertise, talent, inclination and financial backing to spend long periods writing for payment many months later.
* Reading was a major preoccupation and sole source of entertainment for many people in the early 1800s. So magazine articles were much longer then and often extended to ten or twenty pages and typically covered subjects in depth as opposed to focusing on specific sub-topics like articles today. Life is fast today and people spend very little time reading, so articles are often intentionally short and readers can read more about the subject online or in fast download eBooks. Those longer comprehensive articles of earlier times are perfect for recreating as complete eBooks and web site content and readers will rarely encounter gaps in the information or be left with questions unanswered.
* In short, you really could create an authoritative eBook or web site on the strength of one quality vintage magazine, especially from fact-packed supplements on really important matters of the day, such as a December 1837 supplement to THE SATURDAY MAGAZINE featuring hundreds of strange and little known facts about the people, places and customs of a place whose name few people knew – NEW ZEALAND. This particular article, in a magazine I bought last week for 50 pence (about one dollar) will make a wonderful eBook or entire content web site, and I bought many more similarly valuable magazines that day.
Let me leave you with one thought. Imagine finding well written articles, several thousand words long, all waiting for you to scan and convert to text and add to your web sites and begin generating AdSense and other affiliate commission literally days from now.
Imagine paying a dollar apiece or cheaper in bulk for hundreds of early magazines such as I found at a flea market last weekend from which to pick and choose and develop several money making projects for many years to come!
Want a full copy of the book? You'll also have rights to resell it. Only $4.95.
or
Buy Now
Avril's web site (well, one of many) is at http://www.avrilharper.com.
*** Reader Mail *** will return next week.
------
Do you like this newsletter? Please forward it (in its entirety) to a friend! Just go to http://www.yardsalers.net and see the "Subscribe" box on top.
**Don't have five minutes to read the newsletter now? Print it out and read later.**
[For more writing and photos throughout the month, check out Julia's bidbits blog at http://juliawww.typepad.com/bidbits/.]
******************************
SUBSCRIBE TO BOOKTHINK'S QUARTERLY MARKET REPORT OF COMMON, PROFITABLE BOOKS.
New! Includes 100 easy-to-find books that sell for $30 and up. $49.99 annually or $19.99 for individual issues.
Click here to subscribe.
******************************
******************************
The eBay Seller’s Guide to Finding Profitable Hidden Bargains at Garage Sales
http://juliawilk.first.hop.clickbank.net
*******************
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
------------------
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.
-----------------------------------------------
YOUR FEEDBACK WANTED: What Else Do You Want to See in Yard Salers?
-----------------------------------------------
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.
------------------------------------
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!
*********************
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 TypePad Blog, "Bidbits"
You can also check out my typepad blog, "bidbits": bidbits
********************************
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
********************************
----------------------
Copyright 2007 Julia L. Wilkinson
----------------------
Thank you for subscribing to Yard Salers. Yard Salers email newsletter may be freely distributed in its entirety, so please pass it on. You may reprint any of the articles in this newsletter for any purpose as long as no portion of the article is modified without permission, and this tagline is included:
Yard Salers, www.yardsalers.net
Publisher, Julia Wilkinson, author of the award-winning "eBay Price Guide." and "What Sells on eBay for What"
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.
End
| 
