Seeing if it's easier

Oh My God I did it. If you want this item please go the MERCARI and search for Converse CT Blacl High Tops Ladies size 7.

Biting The Bullet

Yesterday I took the plunge and bought 3 mannequins from a seller on Let-go. What a great move on my part. My daughter found  the listing and made the inquiries. I wanted only one of them but the woman did not want to break them up. I pondered for days then made a few significant (ha! it's all relative) sales and decided if I was going to continue to purchase clothing I had to post them!

So Bridget and I drove to the extreme end of Preston Hwy and met in the Meijer parking lot and what a pleasant surprise. At first I was concerned because she was asking 75$  and I had 80$ and was sure I wasn't going to get any change! Besides the 3 mannequins she gave me a heavy box of poly mailers, two jewelry displays (thank good for the earring one!!) and a box of her inventory. But, beside all that which blew my mind was her advice. 

Key Words. there is a ebay blog for them

Ship International

Prom Dresses

buy from 95%off web sites - high dollar items

People buy plus sizes

the St. Rita yard sale

post at least 10 items a day

spread out over 3 web sites because of taxes

Poshmark is where its at for high dollar items

People (her and me) love vintage

She said she would price her stuff higher and it would still sell. Algorithms are all important. She had 600 items listed and had a store on Ebay because it will boost your store. 

I was really stoked yesterday not only by Lindy, (B. will keep in touch with her via FB b/c she is going to unload her inventory on Let-go)  but I also watched a video from a girl/lady in Sacramento that visited 3 Bins (lucky duck) in her area and documented her day on a video. It was inspirational.

So, to the garage and use my mannequins for the first time!!

Pretty Soon They're All Going to Know my Name

Again at the library to print a shipping label. I sold the Tastevin. For 50$ It's the next highest thing I've sold, the other being a 50 pair of roller blades that I shelled out the shipping.

This transaction scares me a little because the guy is going to give this as a gift and I kind of screwed it up testing it with the silver acid stuff. I know it is barely noticeable, you may even have to be looking for it. And I can not read the Markers Mark, I have no idea how old or what period it comes from. I offered to let the guy cancel when he asked me to include a certificate of authenticity which I do not definitely do not have.

I'm stalling waiting for him to cancel or I'm headed to the PO tomail.

I have read, just last night, that the Orange One aka our president, has handed over the Post Office to one of his big donors. I mailed a package on the 8th and it still has not arrived in Florida. It's in transit and experiencing longer delivery time than anticipated. WTF. I hate 45 and we need to all go vot this November and take our country back from this loony toon.

I'm listing the converse sneakers, the Liz Claibourne tumblers, some candle stick holders I received from SSTC...well, I won them.

That's about it for today. 25 minutes and no word.

Again with the Pirate Ship

Monday afternoon at the library getting ready to print a label for mailing the bag of doll heads, arms, little babies , Barbie heads to someone in NC. I somehow put free shipping I don't remember doing that so now my profit margin is diminished by 5.08$

last night I bit the bullet and bought myself a store front (lol) on E bay. I wanted to call it one thing and that name was already taken, so I tried another and it gave me some gobbly gook about it being non alphanumerical. Kit & Molly Vintage? Then I tried another and it would not allow that one either. I finally landed on Contrarywoman's Vintage Treasures. Sounds okay. So, I'm all excited thinking I'll get more exposure in the algorithms. Not yet. But its only been 14 or so  hours.

Today I posted a couple of necklaces and a Breyer Santa horse. I have tons of stuff to get on the site but I find I am falling way far behind. I went to the Bins and picked up some cool stuff...ha ha. I did find a Rae Dunn dog bowl, an old Pyrex quart dish that should be worth at least 20 bucks. I found a Chico's skirt that is 100% silk, also about 20 -30$ I found two Hummel needle point picture that should be worth 10/piece.

I won an auction last night. Joe was in a fighting mood last night and I missed out on the rings, but that reinforced me to get the Tarzan paperbacks. 20 of them. I hope I can sell them in small lots. I also won a Santa Fe sling pack for around 11$ and its in pretty good shape considering. I have it listed on E bay for 60$ I'm hoping to get 30$

that the reselling report. Slow, but I'm on the move!!

Yuck

I made my first really big mistake, other than mailing stuff that weights more than I estimated.

This mistake was buying a pair of Birks locally. They are pretty nasty. I ordered a cleaning kit from Amazon. I will never recover my cost of 30 bucks. Maybe, if I am lucky I can get 40 and make 6. I learned my lesson. I will take forever to clean them. The shoe bed itself is really yucky. And this afternoon I realized they smell too.

So, live and learn. If I can revive this pair I will look for them at the bins. But then I have to fight off the family that is staked out at the shoe bins and once the rotation begins, they toss everything into their carts without even examining the shoes. Just toss toss toss. I suppose afterwards, when they have exhausted all the good stuff or stuff with potential, they sort thru it.

It's exasperating and I feel waves of anger. I wish I knew when they are not at the bins. They were not there once, I beleive. Maybe on a Sunday.

I asked the other woman who is always there and presumably knows everybody, she talks a lot, I know a lot about her by just observing her with others, anyway I asked her what the deal was? She said they sell it by the container and ship it overseas. At least that's what she says. They are there everyday ALL DAY. I stay for an hour or two and spend anywhere from 28 - 80$. I can only imagine they spends hundreds a day.

That's my birk story. I'll have before and after photos. I've read a lot on  line about refurbishing these hippie shoes and am assured they will sell. At the least I will recoup some of my 30$.

The Hunt

You never know where you will find things. I went to the thrift store in down town Jeff and they were having a buy 2 get one free on their jewelry. So I picked up three bracelets for about 5.50$. I haven't sold any of them yet, one was an Ann Taylor, a beautiful elegant gold cuff understated to look expensive!, a mexico alpaca with vivid red flower on the abalone, and the most beautiful array of flowers of multiple colors intertwined in green vines. I don't know why people don't buy my "cheaply" priced jewelry more often than they do.

I found another auction company. Since the pandemic and the hunkering down at home, and no more than 50 (or less) in a crowd, they have gone to on line auctions which I love!! I over spent because I showed my hand way too early. I know to made a move in the waning hours of the auction and not set off a bidding war before hand. I know this and sometimes I just get carried away. That's why I now have 13 Barbie  dolls  for 176$ Yikes. I only have put up one so far, the Goddess of the Sun. The box is a pure mess, but she should sell for around 50$, I just need to be patient. And I need to learn how to    take better pictures. I need a micro lens. I actually need a new camera. The Nikon d-50 is 14 years old. I got my 800 dollars worth out of it, for sure.

And I occasionally look at Facebook Maketplace to both buy and sell. I've had some luck selling. I've bought a pack of Spanish Tarot cards that have not yet sold, but they will. And this week I found the cutest set of piggy salt and pepper shakers for 4$. They are a variety called UCTCI, designed in Holland and made in Japan. They are adorable and collectible. Someone who collects such things just needs to find it.They are the color of a red potato and about the same size.

I would include pictures like the good old days of AOL J-Land but I usually pound away at the library when I print labels for shipping.

This is turning out to be a good month. I could close in on 500$ in sales. More than last month and definitely more than May. May and April about the same. It's climbing. E-Bay is helping a little.

Climate Change

I know I am old now at 67. When I was young I thought my grandparents were ancient and they were my age. But, perspective is one thing, reality another.

Because I have lived for a relatively long time I can honestly say, it's fucking hot. 90 degree weather day after day after day. I hate it. I can't walk the dogs. i can't garden, I can't be in the office/photography studio I set up in the garage.

It is said it will swing back, but I beleive its hotter than the year before. And that year was hotter than the year before that.

All I can say is it can't go on like this. For my part, I am voting that orange moron out of the White House in Novenber.

Laughed out Loud

Here I am again! Sold the Tory Burch loafers for a tidy 14 profit. Maybe someday I will learn to buy low and sell high. The other day, Monday, after I left here I went to the post office and while there met a guy in the parking lot bringing load after load of boxes to be shipped. I asked him if he were a reseller and when he answered in the positive he volunteered that he had had a great week end selling shoes. He sources his shoes from Plato's Closet and fixes them up and then sells on line. I hipped him to the Bins, maybe I'll catch him there one day.

Today I go check out Plato's Closet. As if. I won two offerings on SGW last night. I got the Tarot games (2 of them) and a set of tarot cards by a famous painter whose name escapes me right now. Klimt, I think that is how you spell it. They range in price from a little over nothing to practically 30 bucks on Ebay. The last game I fount at Goodwill was $1.59 and I sold it (flipped it) the next day for $28.

If I'm able to sell them for that, Ill be okay. I paid 45 for the lot, 15/pce.

Last night Joe and I watched Pineapple Express which I had never seen before and was hilarious . I laughed myself into several coughing fits.

Danielle going home today. She spent all of the two days in bed with stomach pains.

I have not shaken this cough yet. A whole lot of phlegm every time I go into a fit. Lung cancer, I'm certain.

Joe may be going back to Versailles with Danielle. I'll find out when I go home. For one thing it will be more exciting than sitting on the couch watching to (though the Pineapple Ex. was great). So I am going to watch the Joan Didion documentary.

All the news that fits.

Old Relic

I was listening to the radio Saturday and grooving to the sounds that the Duke of Louisville was spinning on the local independent FM station. On this day in such and such year, Jimi Hendrex was given an honorable discharge from the Army 101st. Cher married Greg Allman 4 days after her divorce from Sonny was final. And there was a concert in England that sold out in a week, 30 thousand tickets. Led Zepplin was the lead off in the set.

Then he said Relics from the past.

I was stopped in my tracks. Relics. Am I a relic now as I am singing along with the tunes and enjoying them probably a little too much. After the tid bit about Cher and Greg he played Blue Skies from Eat a Peach and I had to slow down to make sure I caught the entirety of the song before hooin up with Bridget. I love that song, the twin guitars, the beautiful soulful countrified melody.

Am I a relic? I suppose so. I'm certainly closer to death than I was last week. I use to be younger than everybody. I'm a boomer Goddamnit!! Now I'm a senior citizen being blown away by Ringo Starr turning 80 tomorrow. Ringo. 80. Tomorrow.

Everything went by so fast. I was listening to a song, I'm not in Love by 10cc and was transported back to a time where that song meant something to me. Something special, someone special and when I hear it I see  him turning to me, in that Volkswagen Beetle on US 40, traveling cross country, after the song and singing "I'm not in love" but we were.

Deb tells me I need to write a book. My whole life has been looking back on those two years and some change. How it defined me, made me take a path that I did not want to take. Many more paths after that one I took that led me to here, this library, on this hot July morning.

Printing labels for my burgeoning business.

A relic, with her graying hair not cut for 16 months and about as long as it was on US 40 all those years ago. My arthritic hands which learned to type in a typing class. A typing class. Dinosaurs roamed the earth back then. I'm fat and can't stop eating the peach bread from Huber's. I've developed  a passion for mini Recees Cups. I lamented and waxed nostalgic about my grammar school  playground yesterday. Playing Marbles, the tilt a whirl of death. . I need to go to the gym but I'm lazy and have too much nothing to do than carve out some time to hit the elliptic machine. I can't see out of my right eye anymore. Therefore I am a menace on the highway. I have a lingering cough that will not go away. It's been over two weeks now. Covid 19 or lung cancer?

And I'm indignant that I'm a relic? I'm a relic with one foot in the grave.

Shopaholic Am I

Oh hell. You would not believe how much money I have spent this week on so called Inventory1 I should make a vow not to spend any more money until I clear what I have spent this week, which is close to 450.

The worst thing I did was go nuts for a pearl necklace at the auction and just had to have it! It's authentic by a now defunct company from Japan and America. But the pearls are not even in a box! Holy moly. They are in a beautiful envelope like an origami thing in red and gold. Plus, no COA. I went to Ebay and they are selling (or someone is) a similar strand, with a COA for 35 dollars cheaper than I paid.  So I think I over paid. So I just may keep them, or have them appraised and get my own COA.

other than that, I bought Tory Burch shoes, Aignier shoes, jewelry Coro (which is the bomb) and a box of earrings that are clips and screws which I love and people collect. Hope I get lucky ans score another Miriam Haskel like I did last week.

Then I bought a Disney Cinderella Castle for 25 and am trying to get 100 for in on FB Marketplace. Sometimes things just take a long time to sell. Like I finally unloaded the H-D black leather purse. I have relisted it multiple times and finally got an offer so I jumped on it. I think I have made 55 less the commission. So I need to make at the least 25 on the scarf. I may have an extra pair of gloves for H-D in that lot, so that will be my profit.

My hobby is beginning to overwhelm  me and consume me.

But, I have sod three things since last night so July is starting off grand.

Danielle went home yesterday and we have enough food left over to last us all week! So no food requirements except a bag for the dogs. She will return Sunday. It's a good thing having her around. the dogs miss her. I miss her. Joe did not misplace ANYTHING since she was here.

That is a good thing.