With all of the brand power behind the music, the marketing and history of the Beatles and other famous bands (greatful dead artwork, for example) makes their merchandaise quite collectible and valuable to fans all around the world. While shopping in a local antique store recently, i’d spotted a set of Beatles dolls. There was John, Paul, George and Ringo; dressed in Sargent Pepper era silk suits, standing about 24″ tall. Each one was in very good condition and displayed on a metal stand and still had their original hang tags. Applause had made these dolls in a limited production run (officially licensed by Apple records) and each doll was numbered as part of a set. I inquired about their price and was told by the shop owner that the set was an even $200.00.

Now, our golden rule has always been, “If you don’t know how much it’ll sell for, leave it alone.” This has proved to be a great strategy for us in that we’ve become very choosy about the store items we buy for our inventory. We only buy items we know will sell well for us and don’t take chances if we aren’t certain. No impulse shopping is allowed. If you can stick to that, you won’t get stuck with items that don’t sell.

So, after coming home, I did a little research online using Hammertap. Hammertap is a great research tool for sellers on ebay, because it tracks both the active and completed sales for items and can tell you what the sell through percentages are. So, by doing a little research on ebay on “Applause Beatles Dolls,” I found out that these items sell really well online. The John Lennon doll alone usually sold for over $100.00 in most ebay transactions. I knew that if I purchased them cheap enough, that i’d be able to turn a profit on them.

Armed with my hammertap knowledge, I returned to the antique store and talked them down to a sales price (after taxes) of $180.00, so a little bit off the asking price. That was fine, because I knew I could get far more than that on ebay. I listed them with no reserve. Surprisingly, John sold for the least amount at $77.50 (270487168137). George ( 270527499004) and Ringo (270527500166) sold each for $102.53 and Paul (270527500105) sold for $101.22.

Final sales total: $383.78

Cost: $180.00

Profit (before ebay/paypal fees): $203.78

Beatles items sell

That same week, we’d also found a Jerry Garcia Applause doll at a garage sale complete with paper guitar around his neck. Jerry was purchased for $2.00 and we sold him for $15.50. Not too shabby, so keep your eyes peeled for music collectibles and toys from bands people know and love.

All you need is love, love. Love is all you need.

Loaded and locked

Sniping ebay auctions 101:  Ebay auction sniper and snipe software explained. There are a few tricks to buying on Ebay, and today’s topic is on Sniping auctions. What in the world is an auction Snipe? Is it like hunting for Snipe? Is Wesley Snipes gonna slay vampires with a sword and win my auction for me? Well, i’ll tell you. It’s neither. An auction Snipe is a bid submitted to ebay in just the last few seconds of the item’s auction time. It can either be done manually, via software or via an online Sniping service.

The main advantages to performing Snipes on ebay auctions is so that you can try to bid on items for the smallest amount of money. When people bid on auctions on ebay using ebay’s auto bid feature, ebay automatically places a hidden proxy bid for you up to your maximum bid amount. If another bidder comes along and places a bid on an item, ebay will compare it to your maximum bid and the new bidder’s maximum bid, and bid up the price of the item to the new price of whoever has the higher maximum bid. For example, let’s say an item has a $1.00 opening bid amount. You think that’s a great price, and bid $5.00 as your maximum bid. Someone else comes along and bids $7.50 on the item. Ebay compares it to your max bid and raises the price to $6.00 ($1.00 over your max bid) and the other person becomes the new high bidder.

This works to the seller’s advantage, as two or more people can get into a bidding war by raising up their max bids in the auction. This is usually how auctions work, in that multiple people will bid against each other until the end of the auction raising the sales price. If two or more people really really want an item, bidding can go way up at any time during the auction. If you’ve ever gotten into a bidding war on an item, you know how this feels. It sucks when you get outbid, especially when you know the item isn’t worth what the new bidder is going to pay for it.

So, Sniping is a way of making the bidding process work for the BUYER, not the seller. If you have patience, you can wait on an item and try bidding on it in the last few seconds of the auction. When you bid on items using this strategy, time works in your favor, especially if not a lot of users are watching the end of the auction at their computer screens. Patience is all that’s required, and a quick click of the mouse. There are a few tools in which you can use to Snipe auctions, and here’s a comparison of which might work best for you:

Manual Snipes: Manual Snipes are the easiest type of Sniping. You have to log into your ebay account and watch the auction in real time, and submit your max bid in the last few seconds. Remember, submitting your max bid won’t necessarily be the final price, it’s just the maximum you yourself are willing to pay for that item. The best way to do a manual bid is to go to the auction and enter in the amount of your max bid anywhere from 10-30 seconds before the end of the auction. Ebay will put the auction time in countdown mode (four… three… two… one… liftoff!) during the last hour of the auction. Simply watch it, and 10-30 seconds before the end of the auction, enter your final bid and click enter. Don’t forget, sign in beforehand and remember there’s a confirmation screen to confirm the bid if you’re not using 1 click bidding. Give yourself a little extra time if you’re on dialup (closer to 30 seconds) and narrower time if you’ve practiced the Sniping maneuver on a good high speed connection.

Sniping software: There is some great free Sniping software which is available to you. The one that I use is called Jbidwatcher (click for link) and is open source freeware for multiple operating systems. Software lets you automate the process of Sniping and it allows you to set up multiple Snipes and Snipe scheduling for multiple items. It’s very useful to use these when you aren’t home or if you’re busy doing other things than watching your auctions. Snipe software frees you up to do other things and manage your Snipes on your own time. You simply configure your software with your watched auctions, set up your Snipes, tell the software when to submit the Snipes (in seconds) before the auctions end, and let it do all the work for you. The potential disadvantages to using PC based software are: A) your internet connection has to be working, B) Your computer has to be running and not in sleep mode (turn sleep mode off), and C) you have to enter your account login information into the software. For the last reason, go with an open source auction Sniping program. Open source programs allow everyone to review and potentially revise the program’s source code, so no funny business (ex: account information collection and distribution) sneaks into the program.

Online Sniping Services: There are several online Sniping websites which essentially work the same way as the PC based software. They monitor the actions for you and will attempt to Snipe them automatically just like the PC based Sniping programs. The main advantage is that they’re always running (virtually no down time) and you can set up your Snipes and forget them. The main disadvantage is, you have to enter in your ebay account information and there’s no open source security. You have to trust the Sniping service will keep your ebay login information confidential.

Romantic Valentines day ideas like Valentines day dinner and Valentine’s day getaways don’t have to be expensive. Here are some budget minded romantic suggestions that will save your wallet.

Love is in the air...

O.k. guys, put down the remote, stop playing Madden 2009 and listen up!

Just because you’re living close to the bone, doesn’t mean that you have to skimp in keeping yourself and your loved ones happy. One of the main reasons why I live as frugally as I do is so that I can save my pennies for the finer things in life, and keeping things fresh and invigorating between you and your partner is most certainly it’s own reward. Here are some ideas for how to keep the flames well kindled in your relationship:

• Romantic Getaways: There are bargains all over the place in the travel industry right now. Check out websites like travelzoo.com and cruise.com for some great inexpensive vacation getaways that regularly go on drastic sale. For a quick romatic getaway, do a little research over at tripadvisor.com for reviews on hotels and bed and breakfasts from the people who actually stay there (peer reviewed) and then contact the management directly and ask about specials and last minute reservations. Haggle for a better price. There’s no harm in asking for 30-40% off the usual reservation price if it’s last minute, and the hotel/B&B has vacancies. They’d rather fill the room in many instances and just might accept the price. If you’d rather do it electronically and don’t care where you stay specifically, Priceline.com is another option. You can pick your place, pick your price and pick your rating (two star, three star, etc.) at participating hotels /B&B’s. The only catch with priceline is that you’re committed to accepting the reservation IF the hotel/B&B’s ACCEPT YOUR OFFER. So, haggle low. Try 50% off. It could happen.
• Coupons and Freebies: Alright, let’s get over our hangups about coupons. They’re a “Guy thing,” too, and here’s my way of proving it to you. There are coupons for all sorts of things out there, and all you need to do is look. There are even coupons for family planning and sexual health. You can find some great coupons for condoms over at trojancondoms.com and they’ll also send you a free sample. You can find coupons for some great new massage oils and personal lubricants over at k-y.com and I would highly recommend the yours+mine product. It’s a faaaantastic way to spice up your fun in the bedroom and it often goes on sale at CVS and Walgreens.

Dinner in: Even if you don’t cook, it’s a pretty sweet idea to treat your partner to a nice quiet dinner in. You can find some tea candles and candle holders over at your nearest everything for $1.00 store or even thrift shops for a romantic setting. If you like to cook, break out the pots and pans and whip up her favorite meal and she’ll love you forever. Cooking shows you understand her needs and that you care. If you can’t cook your way out of a paper bag, check out coupons at places like restaurant.com and ask them if they’ll honor the coupons and gift certificates on take out orders. Usually, they will.

Video night: Redbox often offers free movie rentals and you can usually find them located in front of walmart and other major retail chains. Check commonsensewithmoney.com for codes on free movie rentals from redbox, enter the code, and get your free rental. If you have coupons for snacks like candy bars and popcorn, even better. Pop up some popcorn and M&M’s and mix them together, snuggle up, and smooch. I’d recommend picking up “PS: I Love You”, “When Harry Met Sally” or “The Notebook.”

Sunset Walks with Style: Being outdoors at sunset, hand in hand, is often magic itself. Pick a new romantic spot and take a little walk and breathe in the beauty of a nice sunset. The beach, a hiking trail or a quiet little romantic lookout spot might be all you need for a little together time. Bring along a little totebag filled with a single rose, snuggle blanket, two wine glasses and a bottle of your favorite beverage (white wine, champagne, etc.) makes for a loving nightcap on a perfect twilight. Don’t forget the corkscrew, big guy.

Find some free stuff

Guys, if you have a few days to plan out your purchases, or can wait for a little while before making a purchase, why not see if you can get it for free? Maybe you can’t get it for free, but some of these tips will help you get the most for your dollar and possibly even some free schwag for your stash.

• Tip One: Use the search engines and search for “free (insert goods or services here)”, and see what you get. Yep, it’s as easy as that. Retailers all over the world are promoting free items, and service providers are doing everything they can to attract new business. Looking for some free potato chips for the next big game? Google it. Need a free gym membership? Yahoo it. Free golf lessons? Ask at ask.com. The point is, you’re not going to know it’s out there until you look.
• Tip Two: If you can’t find it for free, see if you can find a coupon for it so you’d at least get a discount. Coupons are for girls, you say? Pfft. Get that mentality out of your head. Coupons are a smart way to save money, especially when you can couple them with a sale on the items or services you really need. Check your Sunday newspaper, your mailbox, individual stores and searching online for coupons. For example, you need an oil change and normally in your area they run $20. You’ve recieved a $5.00 off coupon in the newspaper or online at your favorite grease monkey garage, and on Tuesdays they have a “ladies day special” in which all ladies that bring their cars in get an oil change for $15. Combine that with the $5.00 off coupon, and suddenly the oil change drops to $10. See? I smell a honey-do.
• Tip Three: Ask for it. When you’re shopping in a store, it doesn’t hurt to ask the manager if you can have something for a discount, if not for free. Always ask for a discount when you’re in a store if you’re going to be buying anything. Let’s say you’re buying a case of fire logs. Grab the case and go ask the manager if they’ll offer you a discount. Tell them that you’d like to purchase them there if they’ll give you a discount, and see if they’ll toss in that lighter and/or kindling for free. Don’t be a wus, it never hurts to ask.

Remember when you were a child and you’d save every red cent you had in a piggy bank? Those piggy banks were pretty cool. My own was a rodeo clown barrel with Bozo the Clown on it. A white and blue striped barrel with a simple metal plug on the business end. The savings were simple in those days, money in… money out…. save today… buy the stuff you want later. All it took was pocket change collected around the house, out of ashtrays and car seats, from lemonaid stand sales and the sweat of my brow. Many a mowed lawn earnings went into that piggy bank. Then, you grow up, you get a job and an adult life, and some of the old childish wisdom you had when you were a kid gets lost.

I’m here to tell you that there’s gold in them there pockets.  Since times are tight, there’s no shame in putting those coins that seem to collect in your washer and dryer to work for you. Save them for a rainy day. Save them for a vacation. Save them for your kid’s education. Save them.

• First: Open a pocket change account that’s completely separate for your other accounts. Depending on if you need ready access to the savings, you can earn a lot more interest on it if you deposit the money into accounts like a CD or a Money Market savings account. I was able to find a stepped deposit CD with a local bank that earns a fixed rate of 4.15% after an initial deposit, and it allows you to continue to deposit into the CD until the CD matures. That means I can continue to deposit pocket change into the CD and have those deposits earn the same 4.15% until maturity. Score. Another option would be to open a money market account and rolling the money over into CD’s once you meet the CD’s minimum deposit requirements.
• Second: Get some coin rolls. Roll up your spare change often and deposit it into your pocket change account once a week. I was able to find an automatic change sorter at a JCPennies after christmas sale that automatically sorts and counts the coins and stores them in change tubes for easy wrapping for about $3. It was a used open box item, but it was nice executive desktop model in wood finish. Score.
• Third: Get a money bag. Ask at your bank, more than likely they will give you one for free. Any bag will do, really. Put your spare change into it.

POWER SAVING TIP: Now, here is the secret to power saving your wealth and growing that pocket change into riches quickly. My father taught me this tip. At the end of every day, take all of the small bills out of your wallet and put them into your money bag. Anything below $10 goes into the money bag. Do this at the end of every single day. Any $1.00 or $5.00 bills in your wallet go into the pocket change money bag for deposit along with the rolled coins.

If you take this advice to heart, you can grow a pocket change account into some real wealth. All it takes is time and the willingness to turn spare change into riches.