The eBay Life "Score of the Day" is a W. Rolfe paperweight purchased for 25 cents and sold for...

I love rummage sales.  The great thing about rummage sales is that the stuff being sold has been donated. The people in charge of these events don't have a personal connection to the items for sale and are more interested in moving product than getting top dollar.


A few weeks ago, a church in our neighborhood had a rummage sale.  To the untrained eye, the event was a bust.  A waste of time.  Not worth the gas it cost to get there.  To a seasoned eBayer, however, it was a good time.


I purchased a wide variety of items including a number of coffee mugs and several pieces of clothing.  As I was "rummaging" through a box full of junk (OK.  That was lame. LOL), I noticed a paperweight sitting all by itself in a corner.  I remembered listening to a webinar about signed paperweights.  This specific paperweight contained a dried flower.  It had some scratches on it and looked vintage.  I wasn't sure what it was made of ....kind of a plastic / glass mix. (I later found out that this material is called lucite.)  It really wasn't very attractive.


Nevertheless, I turned it over, and it was, indeed, signed. According to the signature, the paperweight was made by W. Rolfe (William Rolfe).  I researched the product on Niko's iPhone, and only a few had been listed in the last two weeks.  All of them had sold.   They were going for 10 to 20 dollars.  That was good enough for me.  I bought it.


I listed the paperweight at auction, and it sold the first week for.............
                                                            
                                 $13.00

Since I only paid a quarter for this lovely piece of lucite (a word I will add to the title the next time I list one), I was happy. I made over $10 on this product -- not bad for 15 minutes worth of work.  

Which reminds me of another recent "score"..... 

I called eBay Radio yesterday to let everyone know that I had just had my biggest week on record.  I mentioned that a bunch of my items had sold to people in other countries. Lee was interested in seeing one of the items that had been purchased by a foreign buyer.  I quickly found one: a Harley Davidson piggy bank. I had purchased it for 50 cents and had sold it for............


                                                             
                                   $22.99 

Unfortunately, this was not one of my most spectacular listings.  I always try to proofread my blog posts before publishing them. When I list on eBay, however, I only care about one thing: speed. 

"Totally cool Harley Davidson piggy bank.  Ceramic. 2002." 


                                        Get the drift?


I don't usually write one-word sentences, but my typical description is only a few sentences long.  I try to include as many keywords as possible in those few sentences, but I also attempt not to bore the reader.  I don't take the time to write a carefully crafted novel because most people won't read it.  Give them the facts, Baby.  Just the facts. 


I do, however, always include my return policy:  Don't like it?  Send it back! People love knowing that they can send back products they don't like.  Since I purchase most of the items I sell for only a few dollars, this policy works for me.  My return rate is under 2 percent.


And guess what.  My bank sold for quite a bit more than some of the others that sold at around the same time.


Well, I've gotta get back to listing now.  Got to treat this like a job, you know?  Remember:  The more you list, the more you sell. 


For the best eBay selling tips around, follow my blog. (See the "follow" button to the right of this post.) Each week I will give you eBay selling ideas that you won't find anywhere else! If you need footwear, don't forget to check out my store, Blue Frog Shoes, where I sell name brand shoes and shoes in hard-to-find sizes.