Downsizing Story; Barney The Dinosaur; Snarky Buyers; Ephemera

there. But it's just been things like Internet issues, computer issues. I got it all together. Oh, I need to take a break and eat some lunch. And then we had these hellacious storms with Earth shaking thunder and lightning and it was just too loud. So I've been waiting for the weather to calm down. Anyway, here we are, and we're going to jump in and get going. So we're going to start off with some listener comments and questions. And this is actually a feedback from my bolo book

purchase. From an established seller that I have known for many years, and this is a perspective I did not anticipate. So here is what she said. She bought a second copy of my bolo handbook for her 84 year old mom who loves to hear about her business and help her find treasures. She says mom is a lifelong bargain hunter with a house full of collections. Her mother was an antique dealer. And both of her brothers were auctioneers. So picking definitely runs in the family. When I tell her about

interesting bolos. She often replies, I think I have one of those. Just one week after receiving the book, she called to say she has an item from page 37 set aside for me. She is also scouring the closets for the item on page 36. Thank you for giving my mom a new project. And so I reached out to this seller just to chat a little bit about the situation and asked her if I could use her comments on my

social media. And she said yes, she said Just think of all the treasures hidden in parents and grandparents homes, you may just spark a new wave of downsizing. And I explained that over the years, I have helped many friends and clients downsize their parents homes because everything just was left behind. And these homes are just full of treasures. And it's just like the Wizard of Oz and Dorothy

with the ruby slippers. Because people have had the power all the time, meaning these treasures have been there all along. They just didn't realize it. Or they didn't realize how much money these things were worth. And then the other seller said so true. My siblings and I say mom's house is like an archeological dig. The downsizing is hard, but so necessary. Then I replied with you've probably heard me say this. But when I'm helping some

people learn to sell. They're doing it because a loved one has passed and they have all the stuff. But the hardest part is the decision making. It's so much easier when the person is still alive and in their right mind, I wish more people would take downsizing seriously, because it's so difficult and overwhelming once the loved one has passed away. And then she said, I agree 100%, we have been working with our mom for years on downsizing, and I am afraid it will not be complete in her

lifetime. She lives in a huge house, she doesn't need and has held on to way too much. We will have our work cut out for us for many years to come. The good news is that there are definitely some cool items in there. And then I replied with, I'm sure you are doing the very best you can, it is hard. And then everybody gets sidetracked when you find something cool, and start looking at it. So it is a long process downsizing an

elderly parent. And a lot of times you don't have the luxury of being able to ask them questions about what do you want us to do with this item, or these items, because you do want to abide by their wishes, if possible. But you have to know what their wishes are. Because I say this a lot. And I don't mean to be flippant, but nobody's getting out of here alive. And we can't take anything with us. So all this stuff just keeps cycling down to the next

generations. And at some point, somebody is going to have to make some decisions, because it's just too much of an accumulation. So I really want to urge everybody out there. And I will continue to do this multiple times, to urge you to start this project. If you have an elderly parent, or you yourself are 70s 80s, you know, you know, at some point, all this stuff has to go somewhere.

So talk with your family, talk with your loved ones about you know, if stuff is yours, what you want done with it, even just start getting rid of things, you know, a bag of stuff a day, whether it's trash, or donating it to Goodwill, because if you make it a habit and do a little bit every day, it won't be so overwhelming. But it has to be a habit and something that you attend to on a regular basis. Because this really is a big

problem. This downsizing. And it's very overwhelming when you lose someone unexpectedly or their time is short. And you've got to figure out what to do with everything that the emotional part of it is just crippling. It's it's an energy suck. And you've got, you know, to deal with that emotional part and the decision making because you don't want to make a wrong decision. And you're thinking about your loved one and what

would they want. And sometimes you just don't know, you just have to make the best decision you can. So I'm pushing you to think about that. Whether you are the younger generation that has elderly parents and relatives, or whether you are the older generation that has, you know decades of an accumulation, to start tackling that and everybody will be glad that you did whether you are the younger generation or the older generation, just start start doing it today and make it a habit.

And I had another message from a different seller named Susan, who said that she bought her husband, my bolo handbook last month, which paid for itself three times over at this point. Today he went to an estate sale and he found what is on page 19 and page 20. And so I replied with that fantastic congratulations. Those are huge bolos if you have the book, you can check what they are again, that's page 19 and page 20. The thrifting gods were definitely with him that day.

Now the $64,000 question is did he know about those items before buying the book? And Susan said, No, he did not. Now he is really studying the book. And I was like, Yes, wonderful. This was the plan was to get this book out there into sellers hands, so they can know what to look for. And people are finding the things. So what's in this book isn't just a bunch of elusive stuff that you're never gonna see. It's things that are out

there and find a bubble. And I'm just so happy to get these testimonials that this book is helping your business, I get them. Every day, people are emailing me or messaging me on Facebook to let me know that it's working, they're finding these things. So that just makes me so happy that everybody's being successful together. And yes, I have the 2022 edition. In the works, that one's going to

have clothing in it. Not just a list of brands, but very specific things to look for, that are easy to identify, for example, the Ralph Lauren, wool sweaters with the iconic teddy bear on the front. Some of those can sell for over $500. So even if you aren't a clothing seller, you're definitely gonna want the next edition of this book because it just shows you images of these very specific items that again, they are out there and people are finding them.

Another item is going to be the iconic Lilly Pulitzer patterned maxi dresses. And that was on the $100 supersize video a few weeks back, that somebody found one of those for like 10 bucks at a garage sale, and it sold for 400. And if you don't know what the Lilly Pulitzer iconic maxi dress is, you can definitely Google that. But those are the types of items I'm talking about the really big scores that are easily identifiable that we can all be

looking for. So this is very exciting that the bolo book is so successful. Okay, moving on to something new. I learned this week. This one kind of blew my mind. But I saw posted on the money making Mondays, someone sold a vintage Barney the Dinosaur t shirt for like this insane price. So I went to terapeak and went back 365 days to see if this is a thing. And it is let me read you some of these sales because if you have this item pack packed away in your attic, wherever you might

want to check on the value. My kids were born in 94 and 96. So we were in the thick of Barney the Dinosaur as our daily routine. And what's interesting is these shirts that sold for so much money are adult sizes. So the first one on terapeak and I have these sorted in descending order with the highest priced one first. The listing reads vintage Barney dinosaur fan club member HTF which stands for hard to find adult large shirt. This sold on July 10 of 2021. So just

a month ago. It sold for $250 and this was a men's size large t shirt, just a white t shirt with Barney on the front fan club member. So this was apparently rare. Buy a T shirt that sold for $250. Who would have dreamed Barney the Dinosaur would be making a comeback. The next one down is a vintage Barney the Dinosaur shirt. 1993 It's purple. It's also a men's t shirt size extra large. It's got Barney on the front with JC Penney underneath. And magic happens. This one sold for $96.

Okay, the next one is vintage Barney, the purple dinosaur, t shirt size extra large. This one sold for $77.77. And this one has Barney on the front with a soccer ball and a whistle around his neck and a baseball cap and his from 1993. And then the next one, and then I'll stop. I don't want to Barney you to death. 1993 vintage. Barney I love you dinosaur. T shirt. And this is a children's toddlers size two t it's blue with Barney on the front riding a seahorse. He's underwater with some fish and

turtles and starfish. That one sold for 4995. So your kids were into Barney. Those kids are now pushing 30. Because when it came out, you know it was like 1990. So are they are 3031. So if you have any of that stuff, you might want to pull it out and check the value. Because what's happening is these kids, the original kids that watch Barney their kids are into it. So if it's, you know, a children size, you know, they might be wanting their child to wear it for the

nostalgia. Or if it's an adult size, you know, they can wear it around their child. And that's just fun. So this business never gets boring. So that's what I learned this week. Barney is back. Moving on to what happened in my eBay store this week, there was a little bit of drama on a few issues. The first one was I received a message with a photo from a buyer who purchased the Emil Henry ceramic fondue pot, and showed me how it was broken into pieces. And I don't know how I could have packed

that thing any better. I think it was a matter of Miss handling by the post office. Because it was wrapped in bubble wrap and styrofoam and double boxed. And even the buyer said, I don't know how this broke based on how well you packed it. So I did have to file a claim on that. And I posted that process in my premium library. when these things happen, I document them and make tutorials so that other sellers can benefit from my

experiences. So the bottom line on that is things are going to break sometimes and you can file a claim. And really, this is only the third time in my entire eBay history since 2003 that I've ever had to file a claim for a broken item. So I mean, if you do this business long enough, the odds are sometimes things are gonna break. So that's in process and one thing about filing a claim with the post office is that you only get the cost of the item back. You do not get the shipping fee back.

So this cost about 15 dollars to ship. So that was a little bit disappointing. But the law of averages is on your side that most things are going to arrive intact, and there's not going to be any problems. But when problems do arise, just handle them immediately. Which is what I did. As soon as I saw that picture, I just went ahead and refunded his money. And it's the sellers responsibility to file the claim, not the buyer that is on you as the seller. So it's

never happened to you. It's not a matter of if it's a matter of when if you're shipping breakables, and you can go on YouTube and find all kinds of videos that were security cameras, and people with their cell phones, taking videos of how any package carrier mishandles packages, it's just, it's just gonna happen. And my best tip on that is don't ever put fragile, don't write it, don't put a sticker. Don't put that on your packages, that is

an invitation. For some postal carriers, UPS workers, FedEx workers, obviously not all, but for some to mishandle it and see if they can break it. It's a challenge for them. So don't ever write fragile on your packages. Just pack them very, very well. But that was one thing that happen. And then I received kind of a snarky message from a buyer who received a sweater. I'm not going to read you the exact verbiage. But basically, I

missed a small flaw. And I'm pretty sure that this buyer got out her microscope and looked for a reason to ask for her money back. Because this was such an insignificant thing that you know, it's just one of those you're like, Really? Are you serious? Really, you're messaging me about this. It's a used item. So I mean, it was the tiniest little hole. It was probably the hole where that was made when goodwill put the plastic Barb through the fabric. So it just wasn't a big deal at

all. Anyway, she was very snarky about it. And I attach some pictures so that you can see and she's got all these pictures with big red circles around it. One would have been sufficient. Anyway, she says, I see that you're a long time seller. And so am I. Well, she only has 1000 feet back. And she's been on eBay since 2014. So do not sell him very much. But the issue was, you know, I'm a seller two,

so I understand. And she wanted me to refund her the entire purchase price plus the return shipping, you know, off the books, not through eBay. And so I'm like, Okay, well, if you're a seasoned seller that you claim to be, then you should know the return process, the refund process is required, you have to go through eBay, you have to open a return and send it back so that everything is documented. And anyway, she just and she wanted to keep it. She

wanted her money back. But then she said she wanted me to pay return shipping. So I don't know if she just, you know, wasn't playing with a full deck here or you know, was confused or what was going on. But just I know everybody gets these messages from buyers and just their tone is terrible. All she had to say was, you know, hey, I received this item. It's a great item, but there is this one small issue. Can you give me $5 back, you know, or just open a return.

But you know, she had to kind of play all high and mighty like I'm a seller and I want it done this way. And what she was asking for was against eBay policy. You know that and that's what you should tell your snarky buyers when they contact you is like Oh, we apologize for the defect. Even if you really don't want to apologize, it's best to say that but we apologize for the defect, please start your

return. And we stand by our refund policy, and we're happy to refund the purchase price, you know, plus the shipping when we received the item back, so that's the way eBay wants it. That's the policy. And, you know, don't let people bully you into doing things the wrong way, or, you know, throw their weight around, if they've been selling longer than you always do things according to the eBay policy, and you will be fine. And she

did open a return. So, I hope this isn't one of those situations where I get it back. And it just reeks of cigarette smoke or some kind of, you know, disgusting, mothball odor, and I can't resell it. But I'll handle that when it happens. But I shared that story with you because we all get these snarky buyers that just kind of want to boss you around and, you know, try to hold things over you because they found a problem,

hey, just return it. And I nads item not as described are not a defect in and of themselves. eBay changed that a couple years ago. Now if you get a whole bunch of them over a period of time, that can be a problem on your account. But one item not as described here and there isn't going to hurt you. And everybody gets some. It's just part of this business. So that is why I shared that story with you. It happens to everybody. And now it's time for the vocabulary builder. This week's

word is a femora. It's spelled e p h, e m e r a. The definition is transitory, written or printed matters that are not meant to be retained or preserved. The word comes from the Greek word ephemeral roce, meaning lasting only one day, or short lived. So generally speaking, ephemera as far as the Webster's dictionary definition is, things that exist or are used or enjoyed only for a short

time. items of collectible memorabilia typically written or printed, that were originally expected to have only short term usefulness, or popularity. So you can generalize this word as old paper stuff. And this is actually a very profitable niche. I'm going to give you some examples of what some of

these things can sell for. But it's things like airline tickets from decades ago, maybe from airlines that don't exist anymore, or old receipts, or labels that have come off of food products, maybe, or postcards, handwritten receipts, from companies that don't exist anymore. All of that paper stuff. And you may have things like this in your junk drawers. In your filing cabinets. It's everywhere. It's just a matter of figuring out what's worth

anything. And some people are lifelong habitual paper pilers. And they've got papers everywhere. And that can actually be a goldmine. Once you start cleaning things out. Some of it could be because the companies don't exist anymore. Or it's the timeframe that the paper was produced, meaning if it's advertising or if it's a record of something, if it has cursive writing on it, because that's definitely literally a

dying art. So let me give you a few examples of prices on sold listings for ephemera just to open your mind to this concept. Because I guarantee if you start looking around your home for things like this, you're gonna find some that are worth some money. So the first item is match books. I actually went to an estate sale several years ago and bought a huge glass was like a vase. It was a cylindrical shaped item full of matchbooks.

Apparently the person was a traveler, and he traveled for business as well as pleasure and he collected matchbooks, but they weren't, you know, organized in any particular way. They were all just in this giant container. So I think the whole thing was like $5. So I had a blast with that when I got that home figuring out which ones to sell on their own, and there must have been about 300 of them in there. So that was a interesting experience, but I'm looking at terapeak going back

one year. Here are some of the listings and the sold prices. One of them says vintage matchbook collection 340 with matchbook album, so these were organized. So for $464 on auction that sold in January of 2021. Then we've got a vintage matchbook match cover album with approximately 600 covers $415 on auction sold in January of 2021. There's another one that says vintage 50s and 60s matchbook

collection. Huge lot over 2000 matchbook covers sold for $399.99 December 11 2020 Okay, here's one that is vintage matchbook collection is 2500 matchbooks, saloon restaurants, hotels sold for $355 this next one vintage matchbook covers huge lot from the 1930s and 40s. Americana sold for $345. So that's enough proof that this is a thing. And that people do collect these, and they will buy

them in huge lots. So if this isn't something you're looking for at estate sales and garage sales, you might want to put that on your list. Another item you might not realize has value is vintage concert ticket stubs. You might have some of these in a scrapbook or just tucked away with all your old high school stuff. Let me read you a few listings that have sold. Just to enlighten you on what is

possible. This listing is vintage lot of 70s rock concert tickets, Stubbs Black Sabbath Queen, Floyd kiss, and more. There's 86 total in this lot. And these sold for $565.55. On auction. The sold date was July 31 2021. So that was somebody who just saved up a bunch of concert tickets or maybe collected them and they're selling their collection. So it doesn't just have to be one or two ticket stubs on their own. It can be a huge collection.

Here's one lot of for vintage Grateful Dead concert ticket stubs. East Manhattan from the 1970s $472 those sold on December 2 2020. And then we've got a lot of one 149 vintage concert music ticket stubs, Billy Joel rush and other 80s artists $444.88. Now this is just for a pile of paper. So these are the kinds of things that people don't realize have value that they could have right there in their home. They just don't know because they've never looked it up. You'll see a lot

of Beatles vintage tickets. And some of these are, you know, framed or they have been preserved in some way and then others are just, it's just a pile of paper. Here's one lot of 50 vintage concert ticket stubs, 80s stones, Ozzy, the who rush, AC DC, and Dylan $305 on auction and that sold June 2 2021. So you get the idea on that you have any old concert tickets you've been hanging on to? You might want to check those out and see what they're worth.

Okay, and the last example I'm going to give you is a vintage phonebooks obviously, the older they are, the more they're going to be worth. Here are some examples. Vintage 1959 phonebook Las Vegas desert in cover. telephone directory $181.50. sold on auction. Here's another one vintage Las Vegas 1972 phonebook directory Stardust Hotel $150. There is a vintage 1956 detroit michigan phonebook. Bell Telephone directory

$129.01. So when all of the small phone companies got bought out by the big ones, and disappeared forever, those phone books are definitely collectible. Because those companies don't exist anymore. There's even a vintage pay phone cover. With bracket. That's not exactly ephemera. But those of you who remember payphones, there was like this metal phonebook cover hanging in the phone booth and the phonebook was inside of it, and they would change out the

phonebook every year. I was actually watching some shows from the 90s on Hulu. I'm watching Felicity which I never got to see that because I was busy with a two year old and a four year old and I never got to watch TV back then. But it's just funny to see them going to a phone booth or a payphone to make a phone call. Like you're really stepping back in time when you watch shows from the 90s. And earlier, because people aren't walking around with cell phones stuck to their head all

the time. They're actually talking to each other. And the phone is like a secondary thing in their life. So just a side note on that. Vintage 1962 detroit michigan phonebook. There's a different one. That one went for $100 vintage 19 8081 Detroit phone directory. It's got the tigers and lions Stadium on the front and that one went for $80. So sometimes ephemera is valuable because of what is in a photo. Definitely for postcards if the photo on the postcard is from a vintage

era, like the 50s. And there's a 50s car and the people in the photo are wearing 50s clothing and 50s hairstyles and that's what it's all about is just stepping back in time to what was going on at that in that certain era. So I know several postcard collectors and that's what they look for is what is in that photo that represents that time frame or that doesn't even exist anymore. So anyway, you get the idea on the phone book.

So, I hope that was enlightening and maybe interesting because a lot of people just don't realize how much these pieces of paper can be worth to collectors. It may have been sitting in your desk drawer for 25 years, but somebody's looking for it. So now it's time to get busy going through all that paper that you've been piling up over the years, and figure out if you can get some of it to a collector. And that was just a very tiny introduction to the world of

ephemera. I do have a course in my premium library with several segments if you want to learn more about that. But we have made it to the end of the podcast that almost didn't happen. So yay, it did happen. Sometimes you just have those days and you just got to get through them. This is Suzanne a wells teaching you how to do eBay the right way. Thank you for listening, and have a profitable and productive and fun day on eBay. I'll talk to you next week. Bye.