Business was slow and the only way I could think to liven it up was to advertise.

The local newspaper was too expensive to advertise in more than once, and besides, what was I going to advertise that would bring the locals to my store?

There is a solution. Leveraged Advertising.

Let your common sense decide for you.
WHICH WOULD GET THE MOST LOCAL PUBLIC INTEREST?

1. You could advertise a SALE
   Or You could advertise an AUCTION.
   
2. You could advertise in the Local Newspapers
   Or you could use your own mailing or email list of customers and pass out flyers in your store.

Turn your UNWANTED INVENTORY into a magnet to attract customers THEN SELL the Inventory for CASH.

HERE IS THE DEAL:

Pick 30 Unwanted items of VALUE from your store to be Auctioned on the net.

PUT UP SIGNS IN YOUR STORE ANNOUNCING THE DATE AND TIME for the AUCTION. Showcase the Merchandise.

PASS OUT AND SEND OUT FLYERS TO ATTRACT AS MUCH ATTENTION AS YOU CAN, ELIMINATING ANY PAID ADVERTISING. Include all information about the items up for auction.

THERE, YOU HAVE AN EVENT AUCTION.
Event Auctions are LIVE, in one session, by State, City and Your Company.

Here is what is in it for You
THE LOCAL ADVANTAGE
       NO SHIPPING

1. Use the internet to sell to local residents and bring them into your store.
   
2. Get the public’s attention by putting up AUCTION Signs. People LOVE AUCTIONS.
   
3. Renew attention of old customers from your email or mail list. You may want to place a classified ad in the auction section of the Sunday paper.
   
4. Bring people into your store to Preview the AUCTION and get info.
   
5. Bring the Winners into your store to pick up their items.
   
6. Opportunity to show and sell other items to all concerned, create activity.

You use unwanted merchandise to generate TRAFFIC FLOW and CASH Flow.
Use frequency to build a following.

This is Leveraged Advertising

Get away from Ebay. Create your Own Following and have your Own Auction.
Consider, what You could do with Your Very Own Auction on the Net.
This is a superior method for a Quitting Business Sale, Stock Liquidation, Grand Opening Sale or any type of Sale that would Benefit from an Internet AUCTION FROM YOUR STORE but THE BIDDING IS ON THE NET.

Event Auctions can have up to 1500 items.

Visit Blackwells Live Auction Here

But the company did say that with each quarter, there has been considerable increase in the number of customers who bought diamond jewelry from its Jewelry & Watches store, maybe, especially for important gift-giving occasions such as Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day.

The most sought after item during the period included the 14 karat white gold journey Curve pendant, platinum diamond stud earrings and the 2 Carat Round Cut Stone. Diamond-encrusted watches and various black diamond jewelry items reportedly also did very well. Most of these items are sold low cost, priced below $100.

Diamond sale shot up primarily for the reason that Amazon added over 150 new black diamond styles in the fourth quarter alone. One of the leading top sellers was the Black and White Diamond Infinity Pendant, and top-selling diamond watches in the fourth quarter included the Cartier Tank Divan 18 karat yellow gold diamond mini ladies watch, the Chopard Happy Sport ladies watch and Movado Kara watch.

In addition to the increase in sale of diamonds,sale of gemstone jewelry increased. Top-selling gemstones that got popular included 14 karat white gold coated Swiss blue topaz teardrop earrings, 14 karat white gold round blue topaz and diamond pendant and 14 karat yellow gold, channel set round coated blue topaz hoop earrings.
www.sparkleice.com

Don’t forget you can sell all your items, jewelry, collectibles, stamps, coins, antiques, clothing, furniture – it doesn’t matter what it is – all items are only $2.99 each to sell on Blackwells Live Auction.com.

See you at the auction!!

To extend their unique and friendly brand of customer service to their online consumers, The Trendz has announced it will now offer real-time personalized shopping service phone consultation to shoppers. 

“Many men have no idea where to begin when choosing a diamond engagement ring for their bride to be.  Our engagement specialists help you with everything from choosing the right style for her personality to determining ring size without being obvious about his upcoming proposal,” says Ashok Mehta, owner of TheTrendz.com ( http://www.thetrendz.com ).

Mehta says that many men are surprised to learn that different diamond engagement ring styles have different symbolic meanings.  While the ring itself is symbolic of a love with no end, the stones themselves can also add deeper layers of symbolism such as a trio of diamonds that represents the past, present, and future of a couple’s life together. 

Engagement specialists will work with shoppers to answer questions about choosing and purchasing an engagement ring.  Engagement specialists can also provide additional insight about engagement rings that they may not have considered, but that will show the bride-to-be that her new fiancé has put considerable thought into choosing her ring.

To take advantage of The Trendz free engagement specialist consulting services, shoppers can call 866-337-9464 between 9am and 6pm Pacific Standard Time.

“We’ve had people ask us everything from the standard questions about sizing to suggestions for how to propose.  It’s very rewarding to know that we’re helping to create a special moment that will live in a couple’s memory for a lifetime,” says Mehta.

About The Trendz:  The Trendz ( http://www.thetrendz.com ) is operated by the Mehta family – a family of jewelers in business since 1970.  The Trendz offers unbeatable prices on high quality diamond engagement rings, diamond anniversary rings, journey diamond jewelry, Croton watches, gold pendants and earrings, bracelets and many other precious jewelry items. 

Contact:
The Trendz
550 South Hill St., Suite #693
Jewelry District, Los Angeles, CA 90013

Not too long ago my daughter wanted to buy some vintage clothes so we headed off to some second-hand stores and it turned out to be a great experience. While she was looking at clothes, I was looking at “stuff!”

 I found some amazing watches ( I am a watch collector) and some great antique chairs. On this trip I didn’t buy anything, it was merely a window-shopping trip, but my daughter did find some vintage coats she liked.

One of the coats was a brown and black fur coat. While we assume the coat was fake due to the price tag, she is thrilled just the same and I am happy to know no one will be picketing our house over killing little loveable animals. I live on a farm by the way, so they would probably quickly realize we would never buy real fur.

On our shopping trip we also found a blue cape that was worn by some famous lady who ran some famous benefit ball in the 1950s. We weren’t familiar with the lady or the ball, but the $375 price tag stopped us regardless.

The best thing about our day of looking at “stuff” was that when we go back again, or go online, we will find all new stuff next time. I would love to find a really old watch worn by someone famous while conducting a famous benefit…but if I don’t find it, I can always buy a cape.

Wouldn’t it be a breath of fresh air to return to the days of olde, when you were present at a live auction, bidding on an item by holding up your paddle, and the selling fees were reasonable?

If Mr. Donald Karr has his way, this just might be possible, but with a modern twist.

Yesterday, I was privileged to speak with Donald Karr, founder of Blackwells Live Auction, for about 2 hours, and they were two of the most rewarding hours I have spent in many years. At 73 years of age, Karr is as young and optimistic as they get, and he wants to make it possible for individuals to still make money for themselves, as they sell their treasures, without giving a large chunk of what they make to the ones that least deserve that large chunk –the auction houses.

Yes, auction houses do provide a wonderful service for people who want to depose of their treasures and belongings, but over the last twenty-five years, the auction houses have truly gotten greedy. When I started in this business, as I have shared with you before, the auction fees were 5%. That was only to the seller, and there were no fees to the buyer. What a far a cry 5% is from where we are today with some auction houses, particularly those whose fees reach 50% when you include the commissions of both the buyer and the seller.

Mr Karr wants to return us to the Days of Olde in a sense, and has introduced a new concept in online auctions, Blackwell Live Auction. A resident of north Palm Beach, Florida, Donald Karr has been a long time Antique and Jewelry dealer well aware of the auction business and the changes that have occurred in the industry. So why am I so excited about this, and why is this auction different than any others? For starters, you will be a live participant at each auction you are a buyer in. Your name will be raised on a bidding paddle as you bid, and if you are the fortunate winner, you will know it immediately.

But it gets even better than that, and you’ll know why each one of us might be praying for Mr. Karr’s success. The news that landed me on my behind after the chair fell out from under me was this: THE TOTAL FEES FOR ANY ONE TRANSACTION WILL BE A MERE $2.99! Yes, I did say $2.99. You might want to pick yourself up off the floor and check out this website for yourself, because in addition to this great news, Blackwells Live Auction will be auctioning off $100 bills every day with no reserve in order to get people acquainted with the auction. Brilliant!

Let’s see what this new concept in online auctions really means to you and me as sellers. Selling a $5,000 item at the regular auction, the seller will bid 20% less than he was willing to bid on your item because of the 20% buyers fee. On the $4,000 that he did bid, you will pay $1,000 in commission. That means that your item, that should have sold for $5000, now is selling for $4000 of which you will only receive $3,000. Not so good you say? Now le’ts do the same thing if you sold it with Mr. Karr at Blackwells. Your bidder bids $5,000 because there is no buyers premium, and you only pay $2.99 for the commission. You net $4,997.01. My math might not be very good, but $3,000 verses $4,997.01 means that you’ve just made an additional $1997.01 — 66% more than if you had sold it at the regular auction. Now that is something to get excited about.

I have some hesitations about the technical parts of this venture, but Mr. Karr has assured me that every question I asked had been covered. I pray he will have enough server space, because I can already hear the thunder of the approaching stampede just around the bend.

I am always looking out for you and the 31 Club and will continue to bring you newsworthy economic and industry news as I see it.
For more information on the 31 Club, visit their website at www.31corp.com.

Palm Beach, FL – It may seem like a crazy idea, but at 73 years old Donald Karr is taking on Internet giants like Ebay by starting a live auction site where users pick up paddles, listen to auctioneers cry out and find out immediately if they have won. To prove it isn’t a crazy idea, Karr will be auctioning off $100 bills everyday so users can get acquainted with the how-to’s of his live auction.

Contrasting the young entrepreneurs who have found success on the Internet, like the developers of Facebook and MySpace, Karr is proving that the Internet is for everyone. Karr, a retired antique and jewelry dealer, recently launched his 24-hour a day, old-fashioned, live Internet auction called Blackwells Live Auction.com (www.blackwellsliveauction.com)

Karr, of North Palm Beach, Florida, came up with the idea while attempting to sell his remaining antique inventory. He felt the Internet auctions were stagnant and lacked the charm of live auctions he had attended throughout the years. So he developed Blackwells Live Auction, a fun, suspenseful and exciting alternative to the normal Internet auctions.

Modern day auction fans may not be familiar with this old fashioned concept of live biding, so Karr will be auctioning off $100 bills with no reserve in an effort to acquaint users with all of the unique features of his auction. Two of the $100 bill auctions will take place at 4 pm and 10 pm, Eastern Standard Time, each day. Between eight and ten more $100 bills will be auctioned off each day throughout several days.

Blackwells Live Auction hopes to capture a share of Internet auction users by offering customers the chance to lift up their paddles and bid during a live auction, all without leaving the comfort of their home computer. Unlike Ebay, users can watch and participate in the live bidding from start to finish and know immediately if they have won an item. Users can sell their items for a flat fee of $2.99 per item and the site is easy to use and navigate.
Karr’s innovative site is www.blackwellsliveauction.com
 
Contact Donald Karr of Blackwells Live Auction for more information. 561-842-7467 or email at Don@BlackwellsLiveAuction.com