Fact - Some time ago I had sent a package by Priority Mail to Minot, ND which is approximately 200 miles from Grand Forks. It took more than three weeks to arrive at it’s destination.

Fact - Nearly fifty percent of the “when is my order going to get here?” emails I get come from buyers living in Wisconsin just two states away from North Dakota where I live.

Inquiries at my local post office regarding why this should be have never produced any kind of a legitimate response. Today a conservation I got involved in at our Post Office provided a somewhat comical (to me) insight into the fact the the good old US Postal Service isn’t nearly as efficient as they would like us to believe.
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Popularity: 21% [?]

No matter where you live, if you walk through the business district of the nearest town and ask each succssful business owner what their inventory turnover rate is, they will likely be able to tell you right off the top of their head. The answers will vary, but if they’ve been in business for very long they will know what it is and you will get answers such as 3.7, 4, 5.2, etc.

They know because inventory turnover rate can determine whether a business just survives or flourishes; succeeds or fails.

What Is Inventory Turnover?

Inventory turnover rate measures how quickly you are moving inventory through your business.

In the simplest terms, inventory turnover rate is your cost of the product you sell over a twelve month period divided by your average investment in the product over the same twelve month period.
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Popularity: 24% [?]

Ever since the 1930’s, people have made snickering remarks about condoms. No self-respecting person talked about them in anything louder than a whisper.

They were something you swiped out of your older brother’s billfold and hid under the seat of your 1956 Chevy Bel Air convertible in the hope that some night you just might get lucky.

It wasn’t until people became aware of the AIDS virus that condoms began to be talked about in other than hushed voices by the general public.

Prior to that though, a small group of collectors had been hunting through flea markets and antique shops for the small tins that condoms were packaged in for many years.

These little tins, popular with a growing number of collectors for many years, took a significant step in their search for credibility recently when a 3 Pirates condom tin similar to the one to the right, sold for at a live auction for a little over $3500.

Very few condom tins bring anywhere near the price this little beauty did, but there are enough that will bring between $100 and $1000 that they are worth keeping an eye out for if you frequent antique shops or flea markets. Most general line dealers have no idea of the real value of condom tins which means there are bargains to be found. It also means there are a lot of overpriced examples out there too.

Many of the rarer condom tins do not have anything on them to indicate what they originally contained and often general-line dealers view them as just another attractive tin and price them for only a few dollars each.

If you are going to look for these I recommend you read Selling Condom Tins On eBay. Most of the information written there is still valid, but it was written three or four years ago so be sure to do some checking in eBay’s closed sales or an eBay auction research tool such as Terapeak before spending a lot of money.

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Today I want to talk about a few things that you can do to help your eBay business ride out the economic downturn that we are currently experiencing.

1. Don’t Panic

I know someone who began selling on eBay on a small-time basis a little over a year ago. He had some success and his business grew each month until the economy started going south. He became convinced that we were headed for a huge depression. He was convinced people would stop spending money for all but the bare necessities. He stopped spending money for new inventory and his growing business died.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t be concerned about what’s happening with the economy. But the solution isn’t panicking. Stay level-headed, look at the situation, and come up with a logical plan to keep your business profitable and growing.
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Popularity: 25% [?]

In an ideal world we could spend a Saturday morning going to garage sales , thrift shops, or an auction sale and bring home a half dozen or more items we paid very little for but that would sell for $25 to $50 or more on eBay.

As most of us know though, we don’t live in an ideal world. Some days the great buys just aren’t there. Other days, someone beats us to them. If all we look for at garage sales or thrift shops are those $25 to $50 items, there are going to be a lot of days when we go home empty-handed.

The purpose of this special report is to provide you with enough information about something that can be found at many garage sales, thrift shops, book sales, and auction sales, that, when marketed properly, can provide sales of $30 to $50 on eBay. That something is cross stitch patterns and related items.

At first glance cross stitch patterns may not appear to be eBay gold. However, consider the following:

• The term “cross stitch pattern” is entered into Google’s search box more than 160,000 times each month.
• One enterprising couple has operated an on-line membership site devoted to providing cross stitch patterns to it’s subscribers for more than four years. They charge $3.95 a month and make more than a quarter of a million dollars a year.
• Some individual cross stitch patterns regularly bring $30 or more on eBay.
• It’s not uncommon for small lots of cross stitch patterns to bring $50 or more on eBay.
• When found, cross stitch patterns can often be purchased for $.25 or less. When purchased at these prices, even patterns that have no value on their own can be listed in lots and often bring $1 or a little more per pattern when listed in mixed lots of 30 to 50 or more.

Of course not all cross stitch patterns are created equal. While some do very well on eBay if marketed properly, others attract little, or no, attention. The purpose of this special report is to show the reader what patterns are worth buying and how to list them for maximum profits.

This 33 page special report covers what cross stitch patterns, pattern publishers, pattern designers, and cross stitch kits consistently sell well on eBay.

You can purchase The Auction Rebel Guide To Cross Stitch Patterns On eBay for $14.95 through the button below.

Popularity: 26% [?]

I want to take this opportunity to welcome The Auction Rebel’s newest sponsor Vzaar and to thank Vzaar for providing some thoughts about why you should consider using video in your eBay auctions along with some tips for getting started.

When you’re a seller, success doesn’t just depend on what you’re selling. Customers also judge you by how you sell and the techniques you employ to engage and persuade them. In an eBay context, this means that quality listings with winning titles, great pictures and amazing descriptions are as vital as setting the right price.

Indeed, better listings can often get higher prices than identical products from other sellers so it’s essential to review your listings regularly to make sure they’re working as hard as they possibly can for you.

The eBay marketplace is more crowded and competitive than ever before and, with the recent slew of changes, there’s never been a better time to make sure you have an edge over your competitors. On eBay, even a small change to the way you display your items make the difference between a browser turning into a buyer or looking elsewhere.
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Popularity: 22% [?]

For many years I’ve been making a twice a year round trip of 460 miles to a university town of about 17,000 people in Minnesota for their semi-annual AAUW book sale.

The sale has never had a preview and always starts at 10:00 Friday morning. I usually leave early Thursday morning and poke around the antique shops and malls between here and there. I stay overnight in a motel, grab breakfast in the morning, and if I’m in line by 8:00 there are usually roughly 10 to 20 people in line ahead of me. By the time the doors open at 10:00 there are 200 plus people waiting in line to get in.

They always have between 25,000 and 35,000 books with nearly all of them priced between $.50 and $1.00. If they feel they have something special, it gets priced at $2.00. Most years this is one of the three most productive book sales I go to.
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Popularity: 25% [?]

Although this post is five days late, it’s still close enough to the New Year to talk about where I want The Auction Rebel to go in 2009.

1. Increase the blog’s RSS subscriber count to 1500. As of today it’s currently at 655.

2. Increase the blog’s unique visitors to 10,000 a month. It averages just over 3900.

3. Make better use of the video capabilities of the theme I’m using. I chose the current theme because of it’s video capabilities with the intention of providing both tutorials and video posts that would help readers increase their income. That got shoved on a back burner. In 2009 it will happen.
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Popularity: 22% [?]

If you can’t view the video visit the blog.

Popularity: 22% [?]

2009 is here. What are you going to do to take your business to the next level?

If you are selling antiques, collectibles, books, or other used items on Amazon, eBay, or some other on-line venue - 2009 is the time to ramp up your business and expand.

That’s right! In the middle of uncertain economic times, when so many people are either cutting back their eBay listings or abandoning eBay altogether, now is the time you should become more aggressive and look for ways to expand and grow your business.

Let’s take a look at how, and why, you should.
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Popularity: 26% [?]