Scotty's Ebay Travels Pt 3

Scotty hasn't been able to provide his audience with any shopping tips in the last few days as the quality of second hand items has been very poor. However, Scotty did manage to travel to Savers in the hope that he would find something of interest to replenish his fast diminishing Ebay stockpile and keep his fans happy.

As usual, Scottys first stop was the cabinet which revealed some interesting items. Firstly, a Louis Vuitton bag. Scotty has had his fair share of listing LV bags over the past 2 1/2 years and has come to the conclusion that they are not worth the trouble. Whilst the majority of LV bags available at charity stores are imitations, it is possible to acquire an original LV bag provided you know the intricacies of how to identify one. Scotty recommends that people visit My Poupette for more information on identifying an original LV bag from an imitation.

Secondly, hidden away in the cabinet, in its original 60's pink checkered box, was the silver Italian tea set Scotty wrote about in Part 1 of his travels. Scotty was glad the tea set was tucked away because he is waiting for the price to be reduced from $129.00. Scotty would pay no higher than $70.00 for this set if he were to re-sell it on Ebay and knows that eventually Savers will reduce the item in order to dispose of it. There were pieces of another Italian tea set in a plastic bag however Scotty recommends that for resale purposes, a full set with original box is a far better acquisition.

As Spring is fast approaching in Australia, Scotty suggests that all winter garments be listed as soon as possible. By pure coincidence Scotty found an Alannah Hill faux fur jacket for $80.00AU. Whilst Scotty thought the jacket looked as if it were only good for lining his sleeping bag, he knew that this brand was popular on Ebay. However, the price Ebayers are prepared to pay for an Alannah Hill item has reduced considerably over time as every man and his dog (no pun intended) is selling the brand. In order for Ebayers to make a profit on this jacket, Scotty thinks a fair price to pay would be $30.00.

Unfortunately Scotty left empty pawed on this shopping trip.

Paypal Get Rich Quick Scheme

Can someone tell me how FIVE listings of an "Ebay Money Making Machine that makes up to $100.00 every 20 minutes" can be listed on Ebay Pulse as the most watched item on Ebay Australia? I find this extraordinary and am suspicious that the seller/s of these products (which are basically pyramind style Paypal programs) are advising their buyers to add the product to their Ebay "watch list" which in turn gives the product high exposure on Ebay. This manipulates the Pulse system and Australian Ebayers into thinking the product must be a worthwhile purchase as so many people are watching it. These products are always BUY IT NOW. If a product is listed on Pulse, why would it be watched by so many people instead of just being purchased immediately??

It got me thinking about how I can promote the Ebay Fast Track Series 4 volume set which we recently listed on Ebay. A more worthwhile product to purchase or watch than the current get rich quick schemes available as proceeds of its sale will be used for community needs. The Fast Track Series genuinely assists people to buy and sell on Ebay to make a profit and does not rely on spamming (or scamming) Ebay users.

After perusing the stock of my competitors, I noticed that the majority of the get rich quick listings for sale were based in the USA. The title and sub-title always included "Get Rich in 24 hours" or "Build Weath Overnight" etc etc and the listings included numerous references to holidays and fast cars that a skeptic usually skims over.

After just three watchers in three days with no bids, I subsequently decided to experiment with my listing. I highlighted it, made it bold and changed the sub-title to read "Genuine Australian Fundraiser Auction". While I would have loved to make it a home page featured listing for $49.95, I could not warrant spending that amount of money on promoting a fundraising item. Hopefully the listing changes will make a difference to the final price and the poor will get richer and the rich will get poorer for a change.

Scotty's Favourite Gems

Finally up for auction is a collection of Scotty's favourite jewellery pieces including a special clamper bracelet by Juliana/D & E. This clamper is a magnificent piece with multi coloured rhinestones set on a butterfly. A stunning vintage piece that cost Scotty a small fortune over 12 months ago. So delicate and eye catching.

Also up for auction is Scotty's favourite toggle charm bracelet. A personal favourite which includes various shield charms and a special blue cabochon with surrounding pearls. Scotty thinks this bracelet dates back to the 60's however is unable to ascertain if the chain is gold or gold plated as it remains untarnished.

Check Scotty's items out at Scotty's Ebay Store.

Ebay Fast Track Series Auction

On Saturday we listed the Ebay Fast Track Series which was donated to Sydenham Community Centre by Adam Ginsberg, a successful Ebay Titanium Powerseller.

The series covers everything from starting a home based Ebay Business, bookkeeping and marketing to taking photographs, HTML, About Me pages and Feedback. It includes four comprehensive workbooks, 8 audio CD's and 4 CD Roms. It retails at $499.00.

Late in 2005 I attended one of Adam's seminars in Melbourne. It went for two hours and cost $60.00 for two people. I went in not expecting it to be worthwhile but was pleasantly suprised. Adam Ginsberg is one of the best speakers I have heard. He appeared to engage every one of his 600 attendees and gave insights into how he got started on Ebay and how he became a Titanium Powerseller. I am sure that everyone who attended the seminar went home with a new feather in their hat that night. I know I still practice some of his teachings to this very day.

Check out the Fast Track Series up for auction at Scotty's Boutique (click on "Scotty's Ebay Store"). It really is a worthwhile purchase and 100% of the proceeds of the auction will be donated to the Centre.

Turbo Lister

On Saturday 22 July, 2006 we had a demonstration of Turbo Lister in which we listed Adam Ginsberg's Fast Track series four book set at a recommended retail price of $499.00.

The series was donated to the community centre in order for it to raise funds to go back into the community. It will appear in Scotty's Boutique shortly.

Instead of designing my own Turbo Lister tutorial for Ebay Chatters, the Ebay Turbo Lister Tour and full program can be found at the following Ebay link:

http://pages.ebay.com.au/education/learn-to-sell-turbolister.html

Scotty's Ebay Travels Part 2

The cold weather has kept Scotty indoors lately but last weekend he decided to venture out to give his fellow bloggers something interesting to read about. He set out at his usual time of 10.15am to The Salvation Army. Unfortunately there wasn't much on offer behind the glass counter nor in the whole store as a matter of fact. No new coats or new collectibles caught his eye however Scotty did spy three cafe style booths for sale. For $90 a piece they were a bargain and a sure winner for Scotty's Boutique. Their bases just needed a good sand down and lacquer but the vinyl seats were in pristine condition. Unfortunately for Scotty, these booths had already been sold. They would have made a fantastic piece for someone's garage! Scotty couldn't help wondering if he had of gotten out of his sack earlier these booths could have been his. Although how on earth would he get them home?

For Sale

USB Mini Card Reader/Writer Mini SD MMC
$16.00 AU (includes postage)

This Flash Reader is a compact and user friendly memory card reader/writer. It allows you to decide what memory capacity you would like to carry by simply inserting the Mini SD/MMC card.
Specifications:

• Functions as a portable USB card reader
• Reads and writes SD & MMC Flash Memory cardsWorks with Transflash, Mini SD, MMCmobile, RSMMC, MicroSD and MMCmicro with the appropriate card adaptor.
• Full compliant with USB 2.0 Hispeed
• USB bus powered, no external power required.

Scotty's Ebay Travels Pt 1

On Saturday 1 July, 2006 at 10.15am Scotty left his comfy abode to sniff around the local opportunity shops to see what he could acquire for his Ebay Store "Scotty's Boutique". Follow Scotty's adventures to see what bargains he finds.


First stop was The Salvation Army. A good sniff around here revealed very little. The locked cabinet is usually Scotty's first stop where he found a couple of over-priced dolls and some crockery. Scotty knows that the trouble with the Salvation Army is they have their goods valued before displayed making it very difficult to get a bargain on a collector's item as their prices generally reflect the item's worth on the antique market. Scotty's ears pricked at the sight of two rugs for $25.00 each. Aside from a few marks, they needed a good wash which Scotty couldn't be bothered doing and subsequently left the shop empty pawed.

Second stop was The Brotherhood of St Laurence. Now the Brotherhood of St Laurence opened three new stores a few months ago and this store was one of the newbies. This store stocks predominately electrical appliances, TV's and computers. Scotty's insider revealed that the three new stores were receiving the bulk of the quality donations in order to boost their opening sales and clientelle while other longstanding Brotherhood stores were missing out. Scotty thinks the store's new status had worn off as Scotty found nothing of interest here. One could however acquire some nice 60's furniture here.


Scotty's Third stop was Savers! Scotty was disappointed he didn't get out
of his sack earlier when he realised Savers opened at 9.00am. In order to find the best bargains Scotty recommends bargain hunters arrive at the store's opening time. Whilst Savers is an incredibly huge bewildering store, Scotty's first dash is always to the locked cabinet. Scotty finds a lot of costume jewellery and a lovely silver Italian Tea Set, hallmarked, in original 60's box but Scotty snorts at the $129.00 price tag and leaves empty pawed once again! Scotty knows from experience that Savers not being a charity store makes negotiating with its workers like getting blood from a stone!

Scotty's Fourth stop was The Salvation Army. A quaint little store with very little to offer however Scotty was passing by and remembered he acquired his lovely South African handcrafted rugs from this store so he figured he should set his paws in the door to take a quick look around. It was midday by this time and Scotty didn't expect to find anything much here however a lovely green vintage dress caught his eye for $35.00. Scotty remembered that his other vintage dress sold for $65.00 and then decided he didn't really want to get out of his sack for $30.00 anymore so he left empty handed.

Scotty was needing a bone and nap by now when he remembered he had to stop by "Margarets", a secondhand and antique furniture store. It is here where Scotty found the most interesting of items. Four cast iron wall sconces at $70 a pair and a matching candlebra at $120.00! Scotty left empty pawed though thinking Margaret was lucky Scotty was not in the mood for bargaining today!

Scotty always finds it hard to strutt past bargain stores without stopping to have a sniff as he never knows what he might miss out on. Scotty's final stop was The Salvation Army. Scotty's visit to the locked cabinet revealed some 1940's collector opera programs at $120.00 each. Aside from that, it was 12.30pm and Scotty knew that all the bargains would have disappeared by now so Scotty decided to call it a day.

A disappointing day's collecting for Scotty. Scotty thinks perhaps being the first day of the month and in particular the end of the financial year, some stores were waiting for new goods to arrive.

Stay tuned for more exciting adventures with Scotty.