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Comment on How to Make $20,000 a Year in Antiques & Collectibles Without Leaving Your Job by Alan J. Arthur

Alan J. Arthur — Mon, 14 May 2012 21:36:09 +0000

71 of 74 people found the following review helpful

A"MUST HAVE" for the professional as well as the part timer!, June 25, 2000

This review is from: How to Make $20,000 a Year in Antiques & Collectibles Without Leaving Your Job (Mass Market Paperback)

As a seller of Antiques both in my Retail Shop as well as via Auctions this book gives the insight needed as to what to buy, when to buy, when to sell and how and how much to sell for. It gives the hidden pitfalls as well as treasured secrets of this wacky but profitable business.

This should be a Guide Book as well as a Reference Book in any Antique Collector's or Antique Dealer's Library.

It has been written to be understood by all who read and use this valuable book.

At this price, nobody should pass it up.

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Comment on How to Make $20,000 a Year in Antiques & Collectibles Without Leaving Your Job by Don Bistrow "Glass Man, Trunk Man"

Don Bistrow "Glass Man, Trunk Man" — Mon, 14 May 2012 20:37:40 +0000

57 of 57 people found the following review helpful

Antiquated, March 21, 2006

Don Bistrow "Glass Man, Trunk Man" (Eastern Ohio) -

This review is from: How to Make $20,000 a Year in Antiques & Collectibles Without Leaving Your Job (Mass Market Paperback)

Without a fresh look at the marketplace, this book is completely outdated. While you may glean some "useful" information, this book resides in the mid to late 80's and fails to take into account 20 years of change with the advent of technology and the Internet.

The Internet has changed everything, including how sellers perceive the goods they have. Values, frequently updated online and in current specialty books change the buyers methods of approaching the areas the author suggest for purchasing merchandise.

My premise in reviewing this book includes Johnson's suggestions about garage sales, antique dealers, shops, auctions and dealer shows. I am experienced in all methods of acquiring merchandise for resale online and in newspaper ads. Sellers have a better database of information and use this to gain their advantage. With that said, because of increased competition and the Internet, deals can be had if you find the motivated seller.

The same tools available to sellers should be used by serious buyers/resellers. You must research your niche thoroughly and be armed with information and knowledge so you can get the best price. Use completed online auctions and start a library of books on the information you need.

Having some negotiating skills is important but knowledge is king. Armed with prices your willing to pay to make a return on your investment is number one. Using your time efficiently will help you obtain merchandise to sell quickly to turn over cash to keep your enterprise moving.

Johnson's book can set you on a course of where to find goods but you must visit these places in a learning capacity based on the world of information technology, which is critical and not discussed in this book. You must learn to use the Internet because the sellers are using it to estimate values and profits. Many undersell merchandise and their ignorance is your potential bonanza.

Another example is the abundance of Antique Malls, which have become prevalent and are very commercialized. These places generally have zero negotiating room since the sellers aren't present. The items for sale are usually set at top value or beyond and purchasing from these outlets won't provide you with leverage to make a profit.

Smaller antique shops with vendor booths are more reliable yet still priced very high. Once again the person in the store is not the individual selling everything so it's difficult to negotiate a fair price or come in contact with the actual seller. If you can find smaller venues it's possible vendors are occasionally present or nearby, which will provide an opportunity to negotiate. Sellers are usually willing to lower their prices in my experience, especially when you tell them you're a dealer.

Garage sales are good sources, especially if you visit block sales with each house in a community selling items. It's efficient and you may still find some gems. It's tough work but remains a fairly good source and you can negotiate asking prices downward.

Placing ads on Craig's list is a valuable method in obtaining goods. Once again, this method won't be mentioned in Johnson's book because of age.

Online auctions and online malls are a valuable source of finding good deals for items in your niche. Because Johnson's book has not been updated this method is not listed. It's easy and more efficient to find what your looking for in search engines and most times you can deal directly with the seller. You have more control and accessibility to purchase adequate inventory. You're also armed with information and your top-purchasing price.

Buy this book on the cheap only to gather some very basic and rudimentary information if you haven't any knowledge on how to get started. Find your niche, purchase specialty books to perfect your knowledge and test out the area's Johnson recommends. Live auctions are the best "offline" source to work and Johnson provides some basic information on terms used at auctions. Don't get caught up in emotions or competition at lives auctions, stick to your predetermined price and don't budge. Do your homework ahead of time.

It takes sweat equity as well as an investment. Keep good records, as suggested in the book and implement technology. It's takes time, patience and consistency but a part-time business can eventually become full-time.

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Comment on Super Baby Food by Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 13 May 2012 15:32:54 +0000

249 of 270 people found the following review helpful

Use with Caution, June 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Super Baby Food (Paperback)

There is a lot of great information in this book. However, there is also quite a bit of nutritional misinformation to go with it. So I found myself having to double-check any recommendation I didn't already know about with another source which somewhat defeats the purpose of buying the book. That said I'm a complete kitchen klutz so having a book that explains exactly how to shop for, prepare and freeze each food is very helpful.

I'd just be very, very careful about using the exact diet as recommended for a baby under 1 year without consulting with your pediatrician first. For example, in order to avoid the "evil" meat, the book recommends introducing nuts, seeds & soy into the baby's diet from a pretty early age. These foods are all high allergen foods and really are not any better for a small baby than some pureed chicken. The book also recommends liver powder -- but organ meats are high in toxins. It also recommends cottage cheese starting at 6 months but cottage cheese has all the same problems as cow's milk and should not be given until you are ready to start straight cow's milk.

So in some senses I think the "cure" (a diet full of allergy-causing foods) is worse than the "disease" (eating meat once in a while).

The book is also not very bfing friendly... if you push solids in the amounts recommended here and as early as recommended here, you could easily have supply problems or your baby could self-wean by 9-10 months.

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Comment on Super Baby Food by Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 13 May 2012 14:54:32 +0000

1,087 of 1,161 people found the following review helpful

Good reference, but some key inaccuracies, January 3, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Super Baby Food (Paperback)

As a family physician and new mother, I bought this book with interest. Overall, excellent principles of healthy baby diet, and excellent ways of preparing baby food at home. However, I was astounded by several key things. -Yaron recommends feeding a baby nuts - she doesn't give a specific time frame to start, but talks extensively about how to prepare and feed them to "baby." Nuts are HIGHLY allergenic, they are definitely not recommended before the first year and longer after that if a mother can help it. I have heard of a child suffering from anaphylactic shock from eating home made peanut butter at 8 months. -Yaron recommends preparing Spinach and Carrots at home, these two vegetables are not recommended for home preparation because of their high concentration of nitrates. Baby food companies screen these two vegetables so that only those from areas of the country with low nitrates can be served to baby. -Yaron makes comments such as, "the good old days" when you can buy tofu in a refrigerated bin where you can bag your own tofu...well this was ended for a specific reason, IT ISN"T SANITARY.

These glaring statements make this book one that I would not recommend for my patients. If you are aware of all the facts above and will double check some of her principles with other authorative text, then this is a good book on home preparing food in a wholesome, organic manner.

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Comment on How To Use WordPress – Great Tips To Creating a Professional Website Using WordPress by Eric Lass

Eric Lass — Fri, 11 May 2012 02:40:16 +0000

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

There are better books out there, April 25, 2012

Eric Lass -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: How To Use Wordpress - Great Tips To Creating a Professional Website Using Wordpress (Kindle Edition)

I'm trying to learn how to setup a wordpress website, so I bought a few books on kindle about so they can walk me through the steps I need.

You can honestly read through this book in less than 10 minutes...I didn't get much from it.

The 30 Minutes to a Wordpress Website - The ULTIMATE Guide to Getting Started With Wordpress goes through this in much better detail, and that author explains things much better so you can understand every step in the process.

(the only reason i picked up this book was because it was free and I thought it would have some more information that I could wrap my head around)

Here is what I didn't like about this book:

- Introduction is like a paragraph long saying how cool wordpress is and easy it is to use it.
- Then the author goes into how to install wordpress, but doesn't tell you how to get hosting or any tips on which packages to choose.
- The book is SUPER SHORT. It's like someone wrote this up in 15 minutes and published it.
- SEO: the only part of seo the author goes over is setting up your permalinks, which, from my understanding is just a very small portion of good SEO.
- Plugins Section: the author gives you 3 suggested plugins - and SEO plugin, and Adsense plugin, and something else which I don't think is very relevant.

I skimmed through the rest of the book but I didn't find much that would help me.

Overall, it's just too short and the images are very bad...no real information in this book.

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Comment on 7 Easy Ways To Earn Extra Money Today to help you make ends meet – 2011 Edition by Aimee Elizabeth "Author of Poverty Sucks! How...

Aimee Elizabeth "Author of Poverty Sucks! How... — Fri, 04 May 2012 21:34:02 +0000

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

Great in Today's Economy!, February 12, 2012

Aimee Elizabeth "Author of Poverty Sucks! How... (Las Vegas, NV) -

This review is from: 7 Easy Ways To Earn Extra Money Today to help you make ends meet - 2011 Edition (Kindle Edition)

With the current recession, this is a great book to help ease the pain - and earn you some extra $$ in the meantime. Well worth the purchase price of the book!
- Aimee Elizabeth, Author of Poverty Sucks! How to Become a Self-Made Millionaire.

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Comment on 7 Easy Ways To Earn Extra Money Today to help you make ends meet – 2011 Edition by Donald Nichols "author of 50 Seasons of Quart...

Donald Nichols "author of 50 Seasons of Quart... — Fri, 04 May 2012 21:03:48 +0000

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

Good ideas for a bad economy, January 19, 2012

Donald Nichols "author of 50 Seasons of Quart... (Denver, Colorado) -

This review is from: 7 Easy Ways To Earn Extra Money Today to help you make ends meet - 2011 Edition (Kindle Edition)

I, too, was looking for a few ideas to earn a some extra dollars in this tightening economy and this book fit the bill. I found the information to be both in-depth and up to date. I am looking forward to utilizing the suggestions contained with these pages. Oh wait, it's a kindle. "Within these screens?" Download and enjoy!

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Comment on 7 Easy Ways To Earn Extra Money Today to help you make ends meet – 2011 Edition by smartlivingorthoresidents.blogspot

smartlivingorthoresidents.blogspot — Fri, 04 May 2012 20:50:37 +0000

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

Good Advice for Anyone, January 5, 2012

smartlivingorthoresidents.blogspot -

This review is from: 7 Easy Ways To Earn Extra Money Today to help you make ends meet - 2011 Edition (Kindle Edition)

I'm always looking for ways to save or earn an extra buck or two...this one helped me out, and I think it's a good starting point for anyone serious about making things work. Very easy read. Would suggest looking into these ideas as well as those found on several good blogs posted online (free reading, but not as in-depth as this).

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Comment on The Millionaire Real Estate Agent: It’s Not About the Money…It’s About Being the Best You Can Be! by kdave21 "kdave21"

kdave21 "kdave21" — Wed, 02 May 2012 10:25:38 +0000

39 of 43 people found the following review helpful

Excellent, Applicable, Readable, January 19, 2004

kdave21 "kdave21" (iowa) -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Millionaire Real Estate Agent: It's Not About the Money (Paperback)

Ill keep this short cause I see my opinion is shared by many other reviewers, but I found this book to be both inspiring and applicable, and much better than other real estate books Ive read, whether you are a seasoned realtor or a rookie. Heres why:
1. Unlike other real estate books Ive read, its not full of fly by night "creative" ideas that may or may not work. Ive read several books that want to spend all there time talking about everything from FSBO's to borderline deceptive approaches. This book gives you more of ground up approach and encourages the reader to discover his own techniques for producing listings.
2. Most real estate books Ive read are either too broad, or too specific. This book blends the two nicely, giving solid principles to form your practices on, and good ideas to sharpen your techniques, suggesting PRACTICAL ways of determining which methods work for you. Furthermore, it is NOT based SOLELY on what worked for the author, the information is based on empirical data gathered from the most successful realtors in the country. Very scientific approach.
3. This book goes beyond how to close the deal with John Customer and talks about how to build a business from the ground up, and what to do on the way there.
4. Finally, it gives dozens of histories of successful realtors which are fun and interesting to read.

I highly recommend this book to anyone in the real estate sales field. Good read, inspiring, interesting, and practical.

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Comment on The Millionaire Real Estate Agent: It’s Not About the Money…It’s About Being the Best You Can Be! by J. Charles Hansen

J. Charles Hansen — Wed, 02 May 2012 09:30:42 +0000

174 of 180 people found the following review helpful

The Real Deal, Can't Recommend Highly Enough, July 16, 2003

J. Charles Hansen (San Jose, CA) -

This review is from: Millionaire Real Estate Agent: It's Not About the Money (Paperback)

After reading this book three times through I'm struck with one overriding sense, "OK, this guy gets it". Can one book successfully sum up what's needed for a successful real estate career.....yes.

I've been a real estate broker for 11 years and I've been to and heard just about every major "real estate trainer" out there: Wickman, Buffini, Stumpf, Kennedy, Ferry, Knox, Droz, DeLuca, etc. What they all offer are specifics of how they were successful realtors in their time. Which is really helpful, but what sets this book apart is that Keller looks at the challenge of treating your real estate sales career like a business. There is real wisdom here, not just about having a "successful" real estate career, but life balance, and personal fulfillment through our real estate business.

I know a number of other agents who have read this book and one thing I've heard a few times is "I wish something like this was around when I got into the business", which are exactly my thoughts. Keller has kind of a tough love approach to spelling out exactly what is involved in true mastery as a realtor producing at a very high level. Another thing I find interesting is that this book could be about any industry, any career. The disciplines and business concepts he describes are universal.

Keller starts with the open questions of essentially "what would it take for an agent to succeed at a really high level, and let's use a million dollars as a kind of random goal." He then builds with 1) finding the motivation within to climb this mountain, 2) How to earn a million, 3) how to net a million, 4) how to receive a million in passive income (a true business owner), and finally 5) how to put it all together with the key of focus driving your business.

Keller has a direct common sense outlook and writing style which I found refreshing.

This book applies to the new agent as well as a realtor who is already producing at a high level.

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