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Profitable Paper Piecing on eBay -- Part 2


Basic Paper Piecing Tips

Here are some tips that will help you create paper piecings that will sell!

Save some time by eliminating the "tracing" of patterns. Take your pattern, lay it over your cardstock and use your stylus to "trace" it onto your cardstock. You won't need a light box or copier for this and you can re-use your patterns again and again.

Use the Fiskars soft-tip micro-touch ones. They have an ultra fine tip that will allow you to get into small spaces and make precision cuts. You should also try to move your paper around instead of moving the scissors. This will allow you to cut a smooth and even line.

Sets that have more than one matching piece do better than a stand alone paper piecing. Even a title or matching smaller accent piece of paper helps! Other things that help are matching tags, journaling boxes, corners, borders, or stickers.

Learn how to do details. Invest in a very thin tipped black pen and a white gel pen to add detail to your pieces.

Use lots of shading on your paper piecings. Shade with chalk - use the teenie tiny pompoms with hemostates to hold the pompom to do your chalking and shading in small places. Take a look at some tole books to learn how to create proper shading on your sets. Practice shading techniques by taking a household object and shining a light on it. Note where the shadows and highlights are. Move the light and see how the shading changes.

Make your paper piecings special or unique. Try to use the latest scrapbooking trends in new and unusual ways.

Pay attention to color schemes. Invest in a color wheel and earn how to use it.

Organize Your Paper Piecings

Use a set of drawers, page protectors or other filing system to keep track of all of your paper piecings. Separate them by:

(1) paper piecings that have been bid on/sold but not sent out
(2) paper piecings that have not been sold
(3) paper piecings in progress

You can also have them packed and ready to ship as you list You may need to combine some paper piecings for a customer that wins multiple pieces, but the packing is already done and makes shipping go faster!

Setting Up An Accounting and Tracking System

Having a detailed and organized accounting system is essential for a paper piecing business.

Set up a three-ring binder, index card, folder, spreadsheet or file system that includes the following information for each auction:

Title (you may want to place a printed copy of the paper piecing along with the information)

Date Listed
Starting Bid
Date Sold
Final Bid
Winning Bidders Information:
E-mail
Ebay ID
Name
Address
Fees:
Ebay
Postage
Insurance
Packaging
Total Due
Total Profit
1st notice sent
2nd notice sent
3rd notice sent
Form of payment
Payment received date
Date PP sent to buyer
Notice that it was sent
Give feedback
Receive feedback
Other bidders

Spruce Up Your Auctions With Basic HTML

Basic HTML is easy to learn and can really make a difference in the appearance of your auctions. Go to http://www.lissaexplains.com/html.shtml and learn some HTML information that you can use in your auction description box. You can type up a "template" using HTML in Word or WordPad and just "fill in the blanks" each time you want to list a new auction. This saves a lot of time.

Advertising Your Auction

Don't count on your auctions to advertise themselves! Create an email list and ask every customer if they would like to be notified when you list new auctions. Repeat customers will become some of your best customers.

Keep your email addresses grouped in your address book on your computer and send using the "BCC" so that you are not revealing their email address to everyone else.

When you list new auctions, just send out a short email letting them know what you have listed and include a link to your listings page.

You can also send out advertisements on scrapbooking related "groups" or email lists. You can do a search on Yahoogroups.com, the MSN groups or any other email list to find scrapbooking groups. Email the list owner to find out what their policies are regarding ads. A lot of lists allow ads to be placed once a week.

There are also "For Sale and Trade" message boards at scrapbooking sites that you can advertise at. I don't recommend advertising on regular message boards, though, because most of them don't allow it and it will really get everyone upset!

Accepting and Pricing Custom Orders

You've got QUESTIONS?"I was just asked if I could do a Custom of one of my PP's for a person that lost out on the bid. How would I charge someone for something like that?"

We've got ANSWERS!You should try to charge right around the same price of the ended auction. Maybe a few dollars short of that. Only do this if you are satisfied with the ending bid price. If the price was too low, feel free to quote a higher price for your work.Be sure to make it worth your time and effort. Don't sell yourself too cheaply!

Here is a form letter you can use to reply to custom requests:

"Hello! Thank you so much for you interest in placing a custom order for XXXXXXX. I would be willing to make this paper piecing for you for $XXXX plus $XXX for shipping. Please note that insurance is optional and would cost an additional $XXX.

Custom orders may be slightly different than the set you have seen because these items are handmade. Colors may vary slightly also, but I always attempt to get as close to the original as I can.

Please be advised that I am currently allowing XXX weeks for any custom orders. You can pay for this order using PayPal, check or money order.

Please respond to this email to let me know if you still want to order this set. Include your name, address and any special instructions for the paper piecing. Thanks again for your interest!"

Providing Good Customer Service

Working with customers through online auction sites is the same as working with any other type of customer. Do your best to provide good customer service. If somebody isn?t pleased with an item that they receive, do your best to replace the item or refund the money.

You may want to offer incentive programs to repeat winners. You could offer a discount after so many wins or even offer to do a free paper piecing after the person wins X amount of your auctions.

Always answer emails in a timely manner, ship items as soon as you receive payment and be polite in all of your correspondence.

Copyright © 2002 Antuanette Wheeler
http://www.misstonigifts.com

Miss Toni Gifts started out as a small pin sales site and blossomed over the last few years into a pin/bookmark combo design business.

We are three women who have known each other forever. We have all been involved in scouting, scrapbooking and general arts and crafts for a LONG time. This is really a family affair because Glenda is the Mom, Toni is the daughter, and Missy is a friend for over 20 years!


MORE RESOURCES:

Auctions - Google News

Will they or won't they? - Sydney Morning Herald


Will they or won't they?
Sydney Morning Herald
The clearance rate was 58 per cent for the 101 auction results reported to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria. The outcome of another 36 sales is still unknown. Many commentators are tipping the RBA will cut rates by 0.25 percentage points.

and more »

Market middle ground proving elusive - Sydney Morning Herald


Sydney Morning Herald

Market middle ground proving elusive
Sydney Morning Herald
Real Estate Institute of Victoria spokesman Robert Larocca said the level of new stock coming onto the market for February was surprisingly high. ''We've got 10-15 per cent increases in stock levels for the first few weeks of February compared with ...

and more »

Got $1.8M? This Harrison estate is up for auction - The Journal News | LoHud.com


Got $1.8M? This Harrison estate is up for auction
The Journal News | LoHud.com
Its owner — international real estate developer Neill Bernstein, dubbed “Cape Town's Donald Trump” — has lived there for several years but now is returning home to South Africa. Misha Haghani, founder of Paramount Realty USA, is handling the auction ...

and more »

Tucson resort avoids auction block, for now - Arizona Daily Star


Tucson resort avoids auction block, for now
Arizona Daily Star
Starr Pass Resort Developments, the owner, took on the debt before the real estate bubble burst and the property, which opened in 2005, was only just getting its footing when business and leisure travel screeched to a near halt.

and more »

Fannie Mae's Fire Sale - Barron's


Credit Union Times

Fannie Mae's Fire Sale
Barron's
How to buy a cut-rate rental property. Fire sale! The Federal Housing Finance Agency has approved a big residential real-estate auction at Fannie Mae to help the mortgage giant unload its inventory of 122616 foreclosed houses. For the first time, ...
Tales from the Field: A Homeowner Who Fought Foreclosure and WonRisMedia.com (press release)

all 58 news articles »

Concierge Auctions to Sell Premier Residences at Auction Within Exclusive ... - MarketWatch (press release)


Concierge Auctions to Sell Premier Residences at Auction Within Exclusive ...
MarketWatch (press release)
The auction will be conducted in cooperation with Rivers To Peaks Real Estate ~ Big Sky Real Estate. "The seller developed these idyllic vacation homes ideally situated in the heart of the most luxurious amenities these communities offer," stated ...

and more »

Gold Coast back on the road to paradise - The Australian


Gold Coast back on the road to paradise
The Australian
It was - as she told her children - excellent shopping when the biggest single auction of real estate nationally was held on the Gold Coast last weekend. And the buyers, many of whom had flown in from interstate, were out in force picking up properties ...

and more »

Yarmouth Route 28 motels sold at auction - Wicked Local


Yarmouth Route 28 motels sold at auction
Wicked Local
The twice-postponed auctions drew a mixed crowd of lawyers, real estate brokers, neighbors and a town planning board member. The motels have been the focus of a civil lawsuit for more than a year. The town sued the motels' former owner for violating ...

and more »

JP King to Serve on Panels at Upcoming Conferences for Financial Solutions ... - MarketWatch (press release)


JP King to Serve on Panels at Upcoming Conferences for Financial Solutions ...
MarketWatch (press release)
Being the nation's oldest real estate auction marketing firm, JP King is frequently requested for speaking engagements and has accepted several of those opportunities in the coming weeks, the first of which begins today. "When I first came into the ...

and more »

Concierge Auctions, the Nation's Premier Luxury Real Estate Auction Firm ... - MarketWatch (press release)


Concierge Auctions, the Nation's Premier Luxury Real Estate Auction Firm ...
MarketWatch (press release)
24, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Concierge Auctions, the nation's preeminent luxury real estate auction firm, auctioned high-end properties throughout 15 states in 2011. The year proved successful for the NYC-based company, as the firm produced a ...

and more »

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