The Grand Opening of RK Treasure Center

Hello everyone,
Kim and I would like to welcome you to our brand new  website RK Treasure Center! We have a lot of neat things and will be adding more as time goes by! Below you will find our link. We are still on ebay so don't forget to stop by there as well! You never know what treasure you may find.
Kind Regards,
Roy and Kim


www.rktreasurecenter.com

Easy Shipping for Your Online Ebay Business

Opening an online business has just got easier with the online mailing system. No longer do you have to spend you gas money or stand in long lines at the post office as the post office is at your fingertips. Free boxes, envelopes, postage, and shipping supplies may be ordered on line. This entire process contributes to a stress free business when it comes to shipping.

If you are lucky to have a partner that contributes time into the business, it is always a good thing. I still work full time and my wife has taken over the shipping department, which has really helped me. I have a cover sheet telling about our business, the invoice, and shipping labels with the item ready for her to ship out. The rest is in her hands, which is simply putting it together and placing in the mailbox.

You will see how easy it is to work your on line business.

Labels and Postage

PayPal , eBay, prepaid postage sites, can be accessed to print labels with postage that can be placed on your envelope or boxes. Our first investment was a digital scale that will weigh up to 50 pounds. We knew that we would not be shipping large items so this size fit our needs perfectly.

Shipping envelopes and Boxes

Free boxes and envelopes can be obtained through the US postal service on line. With a click of the button, they are sent free of charge to your front door. We buy bubble wrap in bulk through Wal-Mart or online.

We have a table that is set up with tape, scissors, envelopes, boxes, and everything that is needed to ship an item. When I get home, I print out a shipping label that includes postage. Placing my cover letter, shipping label, and invoice, with items on the table, it is ready to be shipped.

My wife then bubble wraps the item, attaches label to the shipping envelope, packing the cover letter and item in the envelope. She then takes the invoice and part of the label with information, stapling together, and placing it in a file for safekeeping.

To read more about eBay’s tips on shipping, please check out the links below, “Best Practice Tips” and “Shipping Made Easy.” Within the guides below are other links with valuable information.

1- How obtain boxes and other supplies

2- Determine shipping charges

3- Pay and print postage

4-  How to wrap things for your buyer.

http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/shipping/shippingmadeeasy.html

http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/shipping/bestpractices.html

http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/video/shippinglabels.html

Treasure Hunting Finds

Treasure Hunting

One of the many things Kim and I like to do is to go treasure hunting. When I say that, I mean flea markets, yard sales, trade shows, auctions, and estate sales. We love to hang out in the antique stores or little stores filled with miscellaneous items. We have found through the years that there are many treasures to be found in these places. We would like to share some ideas, tips, and stories of our years of experience treasure hunting.

Finding Treasures

My wife and I differ on what we look for in these places. I head straight to the tools; she heads to the jewelry and craft items. I remember a time when we found this silver looking log about 8 inches long. You could open it up and it was hollow inside. It was unusual and I felt there was something to this piece. I was positive it was silver as it had a stamp on it. Three things happened at that moment. It had a silver stamp, the price was marked $12.00, and alarms were going off in my head, telling me this was worth something. The silver alone I knew was of value. I whispered to Kim, this is a good deal. I had a no idea how much of a good deal. Once we got home, we did some investigating. Come to find out this log was worth 140.00. We ended up selling the silver log and made a nice profit.

Another time I bought a cardboard box that contained 25 ‘no name’ purses that were brand new at an auction. No one at the auction would bid on the box of purses and I was able to get the whole box for $15.00. Most of the people at the auction were men and I could hear the giggles as I won the bid. The joke was on them. I took the box of purses to the flea market the next weekend. I placed the box at the end of the table and on one of the flaps on the cardboard box, I wrote in big letters ‘beautiful new purses’ $5.00 each. Within hours, all the purses were sold. I made my money back tenfold.

Bartering

Most of the time there is room for negotiation. Most swap meets/flea markets have items that are not written in stone. Sometimes you will be able to offer the buyer a deal and tell him you will buy ten of those items if he will go down in price. He may have marked an item $5.00 but since you are buying ten, he will go down to $4.00. There are times a seller has a price in mind, and will not be willing to negotiate. They have set the price as low as they will go. I carry my phone with me and will sometimes take a picture, looking it up on the internet to find out its value. This has helped many times.

Trading

There may be times when you are able to offer a trade, one item for another. One time I traded some foreign coins for several “Case” pocketknives. The foreign coins were not selling well but I was able to sell the pocketknives much quicker for a profit. Trading has been around since the beginning of time. I do have to say…be fare! You many think you are getting away with a great deal, but there is a difference in getting a good deal and taking advantage of a poor unsuspecting soul that does not have clue. Trading is exchanging one item for another, generally with the same value.

We hope these few tips may help you in your future treasure hunting.

Kind Regards,

Roy and Kim Thompson

RK Treasure Center

Click on the link to view more about us and our products at eBay

http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dii?ViewUserPage&userid=rk_treasure_center

A Guide For Basic Coin Collecting

How many of us have found a penny on the ground and put it in our pocket. We put our loose change in a jar until it is full and then we are off to the nearest bank to   collect our money. What if you had a valuable coin stashed away and never knew it? You may have missed a valuable coin worth a lot of money.

Now that I have you thinking, how does one begin to collect coins? You can do some very basic things. The first step of course is to collect the coins. Maybe your uncle has coins stuffed in a sock somewhere. Grandma may have forgotten about a coin collection that grandpa had in an old tin up in the closet. Let your family and friends know that you are starting to collect coins, as they may have something to contribute.

When I was a little boy, dad would randomly pull change out of his pocket and let me go through it. This all started after I found my first Wheat penny. It was not long before I had his magnifying glass and was started my own collection.

Visiting a coin store is a very good place to start as it gives you some ideas on the types of books and coins you will need to get your collection started. You may ask yourself, how do I know which coins to collect. One way to start coin collecting is to pick the day of your birth. You can add each year to present. If you are over fifty, it may take you awhile, but then you and your coins will have a nice long relationship. Sometimes there may be a coin that is passed down for a certain year. You may want to find a different coin for that same year. Every collector is different in what may interest him or her.

It is a good idea to purchase a Red Book; this is a guidebook of the United States coins. Make sure it is up to date for the present year. There is also a Black Book, which also has good information but limited in comparison to the Red Book. Some people prefer to have both books for reference.

Purchasing a magnifying glass is necessary for every collector to be able to see all the fine details. You may want to purchase a few coin protectors. These come in cardboard and mylar plastic type. Another type of coin protector is a coin folder “Whitman Folder.” This folder has individual dated slots in which to place a corresponding coin. This is very easy especially for beginning coin collectors and children who may want to collect coins. You may consider picking up a few coin tubes, especially if you have multiple coins of the same year or same type.

As you begin to collect coins, you may consider buying a pair of cotton gloves. These would be used for high-grade coins since our skin contains oils and dirt, which may be harmful to the coins and diminish the value.

NEVER CLEAN COINS!!!

Coins may look old, dingy, and tarnished but cleaning a coin can diminish its value.

Attending local coin shows is another way to gain knowledge. Many vendors have much experience in collecting and are more than happy to tell you about a certain coin.

To find out what a coin is worth takes experience. This process is called 'grading'. It is very important you gain knowledge about coin collecting by reading as many books on the subject. Two great magazines that offer much education are Coin World and Numismatic News. If you are serious, then these two items will teach you much on collecting coins.

Coin collecting takes patience. Rome was not built in a day; neither should your coin collection. Patience is a virtue in coin collecting.

Buyer Please beware! It is best to buy from dealers or collectors who have been around the block. They are usually up to date with the market values and offer valuable information.

Grading is a skill that takes years to acquire. Coin grading is being able to look at a coin and approximate its value. Picking out a certain type of coin and learning its value may be a good place to start. Quantity is not always best. Having a few choice pieces is sometimes better. Budget yourself, as this is a hobby. Some high value coins can get rather expensive. Remember start out small. As you learn about coin collecting, then you may increase your collection. Once you have the basics, then you can move from domestic to foreign coins and bills.

A simple way to familiarize with grading of coins is to go through your pocket change each day. Notice some coins look shinier than others look, but have older dates. These coins may have not been circulated quite as much. A good coin collector is not one who necessarily collects just any old coin, but will try to upgrade their coin collection. This means to find a better looking and quality coin with the same year and mint mark to replace the one they currently have.

The most important advice I can leave you is to have fun in collecting coins. While coin collecting may seem to have a lot involved, the most important thing is that it should be enjoyed. We wish you the best of luck in your new hobby!

Kind Regards,

Roy and Kim Thompson

RK Treasure Center 

Click on the Link to view more about RK Treasure Center

http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dii?ViewUserPage&userid=rk_treasure_center

Welcome to RK Treasure Center

Hello everyone,
Welcome to RK Treasure Center. We are an online business through ebay and have just launched our new store. Our hope is that you will take the time to view our store in the near future. We will be posting our items in the next couple weeks. We will carry unique items as well as merchandise that you may find very common.

We specialize in coins, gold, silver, jewelry, and some antiques. We also deal in hobby tool equipment. Thank you for stopping and visiting our on line store, we will be posting our new items very soon.
Happy New Year

Roy and Kim Thompson
RK Treasure Center
RK_Treasure@yahoo.com

Click on the link to view more about us and RK Treasure Center

http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dii?ViewUserPage&userid=rk_treasure_center