Somebody Stop Me!!

 I am getting much better at sourcing. My eye is getting better at recognizing what will sell and what will languish and linger away in the bottom of my listings.

But, there is so much to source from! Ever since SSTC closed its doors and I have had to rely on Hays and Harriett, not to mention Wardlow, for my items. Hays was on a HiBid web site and oh daddy! did it ever open a door for me to find other on line auctions in the area.

Today I went to two places in southern Indiana to pick up lots I had won in two auctions that ended yesterday. One was a tray of rhinestone jewelry that I was in a bidding war and finally emerged the vistor at 30$. OMG, there was a beautiful with all stones intact Weiss bracelet. What had caught my eye in the offering was a pin/brooch that said BOP and a musical note. I was so surprised to find the Weiss and a Pell marked piece. There are some very nice pieces unmarked, but cool.

And then the place out in the country side. Geez, I bid on a 2.50 lot and won it and it was a gold mine. A pair of mud/muck boots size 7, that are Northerners retail for 129$, a sophisticated travel bag, very well made and will not fall apart after two or three plane trips, a Go Bag for  Joe.. Brand new, never used with straps inside the bag. An United States Air Force Academy  bag! His name is engraved in gold, but it is so cool. It is slightly used and just beautiful! Inside the Go Bag were three   acrylic boxes. I have been looking searching for those for weeks!. I have not even opened the box of vintage ornaments yet. I spent way too much n those, but I am certain to recoup my investment with the boots.

Yesterday I went to an estate sale, also an online auction, and picked up 15 carousel horses and a box of what I thought were Fiesta wear, (not), but inside the box were 10 vintage tupperware tumblers in colors.

I am going to try and get a box of GooseNeck cook books (100 of them!!) and that is it.

Ha ha ha.   

Auctions, On-Line bidding, and Mix-ups! oh My!!

Hump day and it is hard to believe its only Wednesday. What a week. First there was the auction at Hays, then the on-line auctions (hays & Harritt & a new one in Downtown Jeff)) and then the pick ups. All week I have been shipping. All week!! It's only Wednesday. It will probably end today because the shipping situation is so screwy.

I won 11 Barbie's for 156. $14 per, Might be too high but it includes a Marilyn and one other that is high priced, so I should make my money back. Going to get everything lined up and then begin posting again after the holidays. I say that, but I know I can't stop.

I went to pick up the Cabbage Patch Kid I won at the Hays on-line auction and got the wrong one! He mixed them up and I got a girl with brown hair and brown eyes instead of the Preemie. 

Yesterday at the live auction (oh how I love them!!) I got a G.I. Joe doll for 50$. He came with a lot of items like a foot locker and clothes and something else like a fort.

I got a how wheels track I didn't really want! Geez. But, you get what you get. Then I got vintage Christmas ornaments, a Motor City mannequin head, leather knife sheaths, a Haeger black panther planter which is gorgeous, and a Yamaha guitar for Joe. And the added crap that they include at times. 

Last weeks auction has paid for itself in a few days. The train set sold for 80$ plus shipping, which Steve paid for with a discount so I got actually about 110$ The Troll dolls I obviously undervalued and sold for 25$ in less than an hour. Bad research on my part, The usually go individually for around 16$ each. I still have about 5 left to sell so I'll do even better. 

I gave away the Civil Air Patrol Shirt to a museum in New Albany. I had sold two items from the lot and was in tidy profit territory. Yesterday I sold the canteen to a lady in Alabama that is giving Xmas to a young boy who lost his Dad in the military. I took the packed item to the UPS store in NA because I was there and just wanted them out. He over charged me! The slime. I will stay true to my store in Jeff from this moment forward. I'm out $8 for the shipping. Damn him.

So all in all not bad for Xmas season. I have a necklace to go out today and waiting on being paid for a 1959 board game (lord I hope I can find it). I spend way too much time trying to find things in the garage. First it was hours looking for the red jersey, then got no response from the person asking dimensions. Again,  many hours yesterday trying to lay my hands on that dern canteen. Need more organization and less inventory that does not move.

Going to list the animals (stuffed, plush) in lots and see if I can move them. Give them 2 weeks then off to the Abused Women and Families house.

I mean it!

In The Beginning there was Shop Goodwill

I'm thinking back on how I have ended up with a million dollars worth of jewelry. Jewelry is everywhere. Costume jewelry and good jewelry. Designer jewelry and crap jewelry. It all began when I realized that Joe was probably going to be transferred again and that I needed something that would transfer easily. Something that I could do, earn an income, and it would go with me. So I got all caught up in Stella and Dot for about a month. But it was not for me. I am not much of a socializer. I do not want a million women and girls coming into my home for a party. Yikes. I'd have to clean up my house! And I don't like asking people to sponsor a party at their house as a hostess so I can demonstrate how the multi level marketing operation works.

It did not take me long to realize that the jewelry was crap. And expensive!! But I was hooked with the jewelry bug.

And then I found Shop Goodwill. A monster was born. I may still have my first purchase, a type of metal cross with purple stones. It was big! And it broke in half several years later.

But I bid on lots of jewelry and each time I won and the box was delivered it was like a treasure hunt. I can not tell you how many times I found good jewelry. 18 K gold tuff, designer stuff.

But that was then, this is now. The whole operation is different now. The shipping and handling can be more than the item! It's ridiculous! But sometimes you can still find some great stuff. This past summer I won a box of Southwest costume jewelry and in it was a silver cross designed by a very renown silversmith. It was missing a stone, so I sent it to place in Arizona to have the stone replace and it definitely increased it's value. I was thrilled. I'm keeping it.

The last and final box (maybe...?) I won the auction of 25 pounds of jewelry for about 100 bucks. After shipping and handling it was close to 150. And it was a box of CRAP. Only one Degrazi in it on a rawhide string. The Flower boy in yellow sombrero. I have another one, so I knew what it was. They are hand painted so it's cool. But not worth 150$

10 years of collection. I have been piece mealing it out now. Today i shipped my first box of a "lot" of southwest inspired costume jewelry for repurpose, ready weart, and whatever. I inadvertently make is free shipping and then made a ridiculous offer to someone who like it! Double yikes, it sold and I had to ship to Nevada (naturally! I'm surprised it wasn't Cali)   so I made less than 13. 

I dragged out the box this afternoon. I slid it under the bed because I was so discouraged by its lack of the good stuff. I'll match up some more and sell again. No 1 pound, no free ship!

Learning the curve is up up up.

Pit Falls of reselling

 Of course there are the usual set backs of not having enough postage on your pre paid label. There is the disgruntled buyer who does not like the item once it's delivered and returns it, not in a box, but the item with a return label slapped on the side. Certainly it is a problem with the USPO right now not delivering the Priority Mail in a timely manner.  Happens quite often! I have one item sitting somewhere with no movement since Nov 20th. Obviously lost. I got paid, but am I going to have to return the money? How do I request a return of my money if this happens? It is no fault of mine if the item is "lost", misplaced. I suspect it will be either delivered sometime or returned to me. I can only hope.

Then there is the damaged item. I learned the hard way twice that its all in the packing! If you are going to offer and sell breakables, you must be willing to spend the time to ensure that item arrives intact. that means extreme caution when packing. Lots of bubble wrap, insulate the hollow areas, double box. The pool noodles are not in season and the only place I can find them is at Lowes. They are not marked down, so a long fat pool noodle is approximately 4$

Twice I have screwed up the address when I buy from Pirate Ship. the first time I got very anal about checking and double checking the address. I slacked off and this week sent off a 65$ 23$ shipping 19$ investment to an incorrect address. I put Station instead of Sullivan as the last name of the road. Like Frank Station Rd instead of Frank Sullivan Rd. Gosh, I hope the PO in Franklin is excellent and the Mail Route knows the name and matches it up to the correct address. Just maybe. I'll find out.

The there is the disgruntled buyer who did not read the description and says that they expected real turquoise!! for 12? I think not. I have learned to emphasize FAUX a lot. And to emphasize PREOWNED. And to make certain that I take a picture of something to show scale. Like a coke can, or a quarter, or a campbell's soup can.  Measurements are important. Is something relaxed, regular fit, skinny, boot cut etc. etc. etc.

There is th fiasco of the library being closed! First in the beginning of the pandemic and now due to lack of sufficient staff. I print my labels at the library because my computer is so old its difficult to find a printer compatible with a 2011 desk top. I am too old to try and master blue tooth technology or something similar. Hell, I bought a new lap top several months ago and could not figure out how to use it. Well, I did mess it up somehow....returned it and stiff upper lipped it with this this dinosaur. 

But after all of that, the most insidious of them all is checking FB MKT place and inadvertently turning of a video mode that last 37 minutes of you driving around Louisville.

I'm humiliated and ever since I was alerted that I had this video on FB.  I have played over and over in my mind what Joe and I talked about and the conversation, the radio, the singing, observations, statements, and other absurd stuff you do in your car when you think no one is watching or in this case, listening.

Oh Boy. This morning I remember tuning in a station that was playing "your a mean one Mr. Grinch" and singing along. I can not sing.

Another blip is that Joe wants to go with me now. Why is this a blip? He is a distraction. Ergo, the 37  minute video recording of doing nothing yesterday.

Raylan Givens Says it All

 It had been 2 weeks since I had been at the Bins. So I decided to go and see if it is my lucky day. And right off the bat I have a confrontation with a pushy broad.

I arrived while the rotation was occurring so I stationed myself over by the hardgoods, since that is what I primarily find the good stuff. So, it's OFF! I go to the back of the first bin and begin to look and this pushy broad comes up and hogs her way in front of me and blocks me from moving on to the next bin and is in my space. So I ask her to move her cart so I can move on and she gives me some smart ass answer and I reply with some school yard banter "Well, I was here first!" and she bluntly tells me, "No you were not" Idiot. 

But, as always after these things, usually moments after, I burn with humiliation and regret. This time I just moved on and thought to myself "Why do I always run into assholes at the Bins" And I remembered Raylan's wisdom, "You run into an asshole in the morning, you ran into an asshole. You run into assholes all day, you're the asshole".

Oh my goodness, am I the Asshole?

But, this is what I found in the bins.

There may have been a 2nd one but when I checked comps and saw it was a good piece (some at 100$) when I went back to search for it, someone else had grabbed it up.

I was calm the rest of the time and tried to stay out of everyone's way. I tried to channel my Mom who probably would have just gone around that pushy broad and said a quick prayer to calm her boiling nerves. 

I also found 4 Cooli shirts (size 3X)  I think they may have all belonged to this guy. Also I am cornering the market on jeans. Ha! I have a lot of them now and have not sold a one. Gracious! I found a pair of maroon converse, two wind up lullaby toys (need cleaning but work) a gorgeous understated little black dress by The White/Black place. A cool WIndSurf  sweat shirt or long sleeved shirt. 

I love the bins. A lady stopped me and asked if I preferred the Bins to a regular store. I told her the Bins were a treasure hunt and that I had found a Raquel Welch wig and A gucci scarf. I should have included that it depends on what your expectations are for coming. To resell, its a paradise. To buy stuff you need, not so much because nothing is sorted.

List I tell Ya!! List! List!List!

I listed 8 items yesterday. Some old stuff I had lingering on one of my SD cards, the jewelry bag of stuff that cannot sell individually but as a repurposed bag, like they sell on BlueBox, it may find a buyer. I'm

pricing it the same as BlueBox, only instead of 29.95 + 5$ I'm at 25 + 10$ or 9.99$ Lets see how it goes. I have at least 2 grand in junk and costume and collectible jewelry. I need to thin it down! I hope this works.

I've listed several pairs of blue jeans in the past couple of days. The Lawman, the Lucky brand, and a Lexi's 569. I went crazy and bought many pairs at GW Floyds Knob Sunday. 8 pairs at 3.50 + tax. I have the box of 13 pieces from Blue Box that I have not listed one yet. So all in all, I have about 30 pairs of jeans to move.

I got lucky at GW. I had my frequent shopper card which gave you a Black Friday discount of 50%. I used it Saturday and again on Sunday. I don't think I should have gotten it twice. But I did! Hurray.

I am bidding on collectors toys at the HiBid web site where my Hays (new go to Auction House) has a huge selection of Star Trek pieces, Cabbage Patch dolls (a few) and several playboy Fashion Dolls!! Who knew? They go for 60$ on Ebay, so I'm bidding. 

My other go to, Wardlow, is having several good auctions. One is laden with santa cups, which I am bidding on. Maybe next year if not this year they will sell. And some other things that quite frankly, are evading my memory right now. A Nutcracker. 

Harritt is dead right now. As is Switzer. 

Sold two Audrey Hepburn dolls for mailing today. Yay. Both from the Harritt lot in Oct (maybe early Nov) (early Nov because of the beets at farmers market...lol) That means I purchased them for 72$ for the three, sold Capt. Hook for 55$, Breakfast at Tiffany's for 50$, and my Fair Lady for 25$ after fees, I didn't double my money, but  a good profit anyway.

I ordered some gray vinyl material for back drop in my "studio". Hopefully that will improve my picture quality. It's been a constant worry for me.