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Auction Strategists Newsletter

Brought to you by Jenni Hunt
www.jennihunt.com

In this newsletter:
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1. Garage Sale For Inventory Plan: Your Route
2. Heads Up:
– Monthly Madness: Gymboree News and Gossip Column
– Jumping Ahead: Blogging for Revenue
4. How to subscribe or Change your subscription status
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Hi ~

When I start talking about garage sales I always get a variety of responses. I’m surprised that many don’t really understand how many true treasures (and I’m not talking about junky “treasures”) can be found. Usually those in the market for children’s items aren’t quite as picky about buying used… But, some have a hard time with the idea of buying second hand. I can understand that; however, I believe that in this economy, some of those ideals are changing.

As the going gets tough, more people are turning to buying second hand so they can save and continue to enjoy some of the other things they appreciate about their lifestyle still. This is really good news for eBay sellers because it means that more people are turning to places where they can get things used – and eBay is one of the top hit websites/resources available!

So, whether you have always looked for used items… or are just starting out – the Garage Sale Plan series we are doing is designed to give you a strategy to get your hands on quality inventory in a time efficient manner… and with the least amount of money.

As always, if you have a question… comment… tip… whatever, please share!

Enjoy!
Jenni

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1. Garage Sale Plan: Your Route
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The Garage Sale Plan – Mapping Your Route

If you have lived in your neighborhood for long, you’ll be a bit ahead with this step – but, don’t think that it means you get to skip it 😉

Everyone has limited time and planning out your garage sale day will help you use it wisely. Planning will also help you save gas since you won’t be driving around in circles all over town. You might still drive all over town – but there will be order in the route you are taking.

The night before I plan to hit garage sales I spend a little time on my computer. First thing I do is check out craigslist.com to see what garage sales are being advertised. If you are looking for something specific – the beauty of finding g-sales on the internet is that you can search for specific items (ie., baby, children, ‘pottery barn’, gap, toddler, stroller, antiques, matchbox, fisher price, etc. – you get the idea). I like to just browse all of the listings because sometimes searching for specific items makes me miss out on a treasure.

There are a couple of things that I always keep in mind when I am searching through g-sale listings… I always pay attention to the area that the g-sale is being held in. Different types of neighborhoods will provide you with different types of inventory. Know your market/niche… and you’ll be able to pinpoint the neighborhoods you should pay close attention to on Friday and Saturday mornings. For the purposes of this series, I’m focusing on finding children’s items at g-sales… and I always look at the more affluent neighborhoods for these items. Newer neighborhoods that cater to young families is also a great kind of neighborhood to scout.

If you are new to your area and don’t know where the more affluent neighborhoods are – a little googling is all you need. Check out real estate sites like zillow (www.zillow.com) and search for houses close to your neighborhood that are on the higher end of the scale. Zillow provides you with a nice google map so you can plan your route more efficiently.

Okay – now, as I’m looking through craigslist I also have a notepad file or blank word document open. As I find a sale that looks interesting, I just copy the entire listing (or at least the important parts) and paste it in my blank document that I have open. If I don’t know right where the sale is, I’ll google the address and then add some quick directions at the end of what I pasted so I have notes to follow. I find that it helps to include the entire listing when you copy/paste because I always forget why a particular sale caught my attention in the first place if I don’t.

Once I have scoured through craiglist list garage sale section… I’ll hit our local newspaper for g-sale ads. For me it is the Oregonian and they have a great search function that allows me to search specific sections of the greater Portland metro area. I do the same thing as with craigslist and just copy and paste the ads I’m interested in into my document.

After I’ve gone through Craigslist and the Oregonian I usually have about 20 sales that I’m interested in hitting. It may not sound like much – but, that is plenty for a day of shopping.

The next step is to prioritize the sales. Usually I’ll include g-sales that really catch my attention and I absolutely have to check them out… but, there are also a few sales that I’m not so sure about on my list too. I prioritize the sales by adding a number before each sale 1-20… 1 is for the absolute must hit g-sale and 20 is for the one that I care about the least.

Once the sales are prioritized, I look at addresses and move the copied ads around based on the neighborhood/area they are in. This allows me to hit all the sales I’m interested in that are in the same area at once – instead of driving all over the place. Usually what I find is that I’ll have 3-4 in one area… and if most of these are a higher priority (like 1-10 on my priority list), then, I’ll hit that area first. Be sure to pay attention to the time the sale opens as well…It’s all about making your route the shortest and saving gas and money.

Before printing, I will add notes on my list of things I’m specifically looking for. If you are a subscriber to HuntedTreasure or MyToyGuide, you’ll have a weekly list of what is currently selling on eBay – you can just print it out to get a better idea of what to look for.

Finally, I print it out and get some sleep so I’m ready to go early the next day 🙂

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2. Heads Up
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***HEADS**UP***
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Monthly Madness!
Here it is… being that it is the middle of April already – it seems a little late to do the monthly madness… better late than never though, right?

This month, Gymboree News, the premier resource for those who sell Gymboree clothing on eBay or would like to, is offering two months for $5. Since price is $5.97 for one month, this is a great deal.
You can ONLY get it HERE.

Gymboree News has just finished a complete upgrade of their website, which includes forums (Buy Sell Trade comes included in your membership), complete archives of the last six years worth of weekly newsletters, tutorials, and more.

Each weekly newsletter reports on all the Gymboree happenings, answers member questions (what’s on your mind?), updates you on Ebay/Paypal policy changes or site upgrades, tracks the hot selling items from the newest lines, and gives a thorough report on every NWT Gymboree auction on Ebay for the prior week and what the trends are so you always know what to sell.

Whether you are a new seller or a seasoned expert who just needs someone else to do the research legwork for you, Gymboree News will help you improve your sales. Your $5 tryout is non-recurring so you don’t have to worry about it continuing forever if you forget to cancel. Instead of buying a hair accessory, take your $5 and learn how to make those Gymboree clothes taking over your daughter’s closet pay for themselves!

I don’t have a clue how long this is going to last… but, if you are interested in reselling Gymboree, this is an absolute MUST. Once you get into the membership area you will know why. 🙂

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***HEADS**UP***
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Jumping Ahead… Blogging For Revenue

I am working on a step-by-step resource for you to get going with your blogging. The more I get into really understanding how blogs work in the eBay business model, the more I realize just how necessary blogs are to just about any business! I have often said that eBay is like it’s own world… blogging is too – only, I think it just might be bigger than the eBay world! If you want to grow your business to be INdependent of eBay… or if you just want to grow what you already have with eBay – a blog is an absolute MUST.

I’m not quite ready to roll out my blogging resource to you yet… but, I know that some of you are getting anxious to get started. If this is you, then you have to take a look at this amazing resource I found called the Niche Blogger. Amy, who runs the Niche Blogger, is a stay at home mom who KNOWS HER STUFF! She has put together this step-by-step online resource site to teach you how to blog for the ‘make money’ business.

I just found out that Amy has put together a f.ree report about blogging that covers:

– What caused Amy to stumble upon Niche Blogging and why she made it so successful.
– What the Heck is Niche Blogging?
– How do Niche Bloggers Make Money?
– What Should I Blog About?
– One of The Major Roadblocks Most Bloggers Face and How You Can Easily Overcome It
– How to Turn Blogging into Passive Income
– How to Know if You Are Meant to Be a Blogger
– How to Choose The Right Niche That Guarantees You Will Make Money
– How to Make The Most Money Spending the Least Amount of Time
– How to Overcome Internet Marketing ADD
– How to REALLY Achieve Your Income Goals

Get your copy here.

The Niche Blogger is a great teacher for the blogging beginner and you will likely start to see a revenue increase for your business within the first 30-60 days; however, her focus is building a blogging empire by managing multiple blogs. Once you get one going… you start another. This isn’t really my model for my business – but, even so, there is PLENTY to learn and apply from what the Niche Blogger has to offer.

If you just can’t wait and want to get started with the blogging part of your business, I really can’t recommend the Niche Blogger enough… watch Amy’s video, and you’ll see why I have been so impressed.

www.TheNicheBlogger.com

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Copyright 2009 Jenni Hunt, www.jennihunt.com

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