More Best Mates

I couldn't resist sharing these little MacDogalds with you

Don't forget to email me a photo of your best mate to be posted right here on Scotty's Boutique.

Official Ebay Merchandise

Firstly, apologies for the stagnant Blogspot and secondly, it's great to be back! That black dog has been hanging around me for the last three weeks making it mighty difficult for me to Blog. Finally he's left with his tail between his legs but no doubt as always he'll be back again with avengence!

There have been two sad events while i've been away. Firstly our Aussie mate Steve Irwin passed away, followed by motor racing legend Peter Brock. The death of famous people can create an influx of unofficial merchandise being sold on Ebay and other auction sites.

The unofficial Irwin items available on Ebay ranged from tshirts and bumper stickers to DVDs and mugs. An engraved glass and marble memorial plaque for $59.00 bearing a cross and the words "Steve Irwin. The Crocodile Hunter. 02-22-1962 - 09-04-2006. You Will Always Be Loved." was also on sale.

Another seller was offering a fake dollar bill bearing Steve Irwin's face starting at $29.00 and a 20-year-old woman was convicted for selling fake stickers of the late crocodile hunter and telling people it was to raise money for his Wildlife Warriors fund.

One company, Legends Online maintains that most, not all, celebrity autographs on merchandise that appears on internet auction sites are fake. This is why their price appears to be extremely good. Legends Online claim to offer piece of mind when buying a movie or music related autograph from Ebay. Provided there is longer than 2 days left to run on the auction, they offer people a 10 point Authenticity Report on items.

Remember the Golden Rule: "If it's too good to be true, it probably is".

Best Mates

Here's Winnie, a Border Collie and the best mate of Emily, flying through the sky to catch a ball!

Best Mates

Send in a picture of your best mate for publishing here on Scotty's Boutique.

Here's the first one to get you started.

Cheese Sandwich Returns

11 years ago, Diana Duyser of Fort Lauderdale made a grilled cheese sandwich and, upon taking her first bite, noticed what she said was a likeness of the Virgin Mary burned into the bread. She quickly put the rest of the sandwich in a plastic container padded with cotton for safe keeping in her freezer.

Two years ago, Duyser put the sandwich on EBay, where internet casino Golden Palace bought it for $28,000 and the frying pan that cooked it, for $6,000. Duyser recently had the sandwich tattooed on her chest to "keep it close to her heart."

The tattoo artist spent two hours on the sandwich tattoo and used a lot of yellow ink to convey cheesiness. It was smaller than most actual grilled cheese sandwiches.

Mysterious power seemed to circulate around the sandwich. Diana believes it won her $23,000 at the casino and kept her husband healthier than he would have otherwise been. (She didn't say if it was the Golden Palace Casino!).

Strangers spot Diana on the street and line up before her when she makes public appearances. It seems that people think that because the Virgin Mary came to her via a toasted cheese sandwich, that she has a special gift.

Sirius the Police K9

If you are passionate about a particular topic or would just like to learn more about things, Ebay's community discussion boards are a great place to start. To access the Community Discussion Boards, click on the "Community" link on any Ebay home page.

Ebay USA have a special Animals Collection Discussion Board where the community can post views and suggestions about animal collectibles or any animal topics in general.

It is here that I found reference to Sirius, a Police K9 labrador retriever caught up in the events of September 11.

Sirius was a 4 and a half year old 90 pound yellow labrador retriever who worked as a bomb detection dog with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department. He and his handler, Police Officer David Lim, were assigned to the World Trade Center, where they often searched hundreds of trucks and vehicles each day. Sirius was the only police dog killed by the events on September 11.

On the morning of September 11, Officer Lim and Sirius were at the Port Authority Police Station located in the basement of the World Trade Center's North Tower when the first plane hit the South Tower. Lim left Sirius in his basement cage, where he believed he would be safe while Lim assisted those in need.

After assuring the safety of the evacuees, Lim desperately tried to make his way back down to the severely damaged basement Police Station to rescue Sirius. However, he was stopped because the area was too dangerous to enter.

Sadly Sirius a well-trained bomb detection dog, whose life was dedicated to the dangerous job of searching for bombs did not survive the September 11 attacks.

Tributes to Sirius can be posted on the Ebay Community Discussion Board for Animals at:

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/forum.jspa?forumID=2

or at the Port Authority Police Memorial Page located at:

http://www.portauthoritypolicememorial.org/sirius_tributes.htm

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Top 3 Websites for September

Each month Scotty will share his top three websites for that month. The websites will mainly reflect suitable products for re-sale online and useful information of benefit to Sellers and Buyers.

Whilst product sourcing is a rather taboo subject with online sellers, Scotty hopes to break the silence by slowly revealing all he has found that has assisted him in the last few years of selling online.

TOP THREE WEBSITES FOR SEPTEMBER:

1. http://www.ebayliveauctions.com/

Fantastic website for live online auctions by registered (and some non registered) dealers. Auctions can start from $1.00 No Reserve. Some absolutely beautiful items available but BEWARE, very competitive and extremely fast paced. Can take a while to get used to the procedures, terms and conditions of the auction. Things to look out for here are the shipping costs of each dealer. Some require you to arrange your own shipping and others will not ship outside USA. Winning bidders are always required to pay a buyers premium (a percentage of the sale) to the dealer. Scotty has used Ebay Live Auctions on numerous occasions without any hassles.

2. http://www.bidz.com

This website always comes up in Scotty's online searches. Never made a purchase but it seems a popular website. Jewellery seems cheap for descriptions used. Some items could be resold successfully depending on your marketing procedures and the quality of the item. Jewellery is the main focus of this website however ensure you click on the "Other Categories" section to take a look at what else is on offer.

3. http://stores.ebay.com/DIAMONDGALERY

A USA Ebay seller and Live Auctioneer. Purchased 1 item from here before. Excellent customer service and cheap shipping to Australia. Item quality was a bit of a problem. It is recommended you ask about any flaws before bidding. HOT TIP NO.1: Take a look at the Feedback of Diamond Galery and you will notice that many BUYERS have purchased more than one item. Ask yourself whether those buyers could be re-selling the items on Ebay. HOT TIP NO.2: Click on the BUYER details to reveal feedback information and peruse the items the BUYER has sold on Ebay. You may very well find some items from Diamond Galery appear here!

I hope you find these links helpful. Please let me know how you go.

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Scotty's Ebay Store CLOSED

Scotty's Ebay store has finally closed.

Contributing factors include the increase in the store subscription fee to $14.95, decreasing sales due to the approaching Christmas period and the realisation that a 10 day auction for Scotty's items was more successful than a fixed priced sale.

De-tails of any of Scotty's Ebay auctions will always be promoted in Scotty's Blogspot so make sure you check back regularly or subscribe to Scotty's Boutique by entering your email address in the top right hand corner of Scotty's Blogspot.

It's Me or The Dog

Screening on Channel 7 on Sunday nights is a funny show called Its Me or The Dog. This week the presenter Victoria Stillwell visited the home of Karen Holder who owns SIX dogs, Penny, Fudge, Blue, Mouse, Cookie & Toby.

These dogs are very hyperactive and excessive barkers. Their every day delicacies include their own Mr Whippy, their own cup of tea (they have their own tea pot), icy poles, Mars Bars and other sugary treats and Karen admits the dogs haven't been walked in two years!

It is always a great idea to take your dog to puppy school which usually involves a six week program held at your local veterinary clinic. Here you will learn to teach your dog basic commands such as sit, stay and come. You will learn valuable information on the right foods to feed your dog, walking your dog and available flea treatments. Puppy school is a great way to socialise your dog with other dogs but is usually only open to dogs up to eight months of age.

I have one dog that has been to puppy school and one that has not. The difference between the two in public places is phenomenal. Pepper (aka Scotty) will bark at anything with two or four legs that moves and Lily will just stroll along happily amongst most surroundings.

Its Me or The Dog website can be found by clicking below:

Anyway, time for a cuppa....

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Ebay Express

I've discovered a new website run by Ebay for fixed priced items called Ebay Express.

The format is basically the same as Ebay however items can only be listed at fixed prices and you can drop products from up to five different merchants into a shopping cart. Sellers have their own stores but must be Paypal ready and have a feedback score of 100 to be eligible. There is not a huge range of categories available however I was impressed by the quantity of women's shoes available (179,260 pairs). Ebay Express has over 10 million products available for purchase.

The downside of Ebay Express is that selling and buying is only available to US residents at the moment.

I was a bit disappointed by Ebay Express. The items were highly priced making them unsuitable for resale purposes or finding a great bargain and the vintage bags category was filled with brand new bags. I don't think i'll be back there any time soon.

http://www.express.ebay.com/