Garage Sale and Thrift Store Finds 9/18/13 - 9/19/13

Greetings!

Grabbed a few items over the past few days. Here's what I snagged:

Metal Marks Deluxe Lamp - Paid $2.

 Jack Daniels Clock in Wooden Box. Paid $2.

 3 old Revolutionary War Prints. Paid $3. Was thinking I could sell the 3 together as a lot, or maybe throw them in frames (I have a few antique frames lying around already - not sure if these will fit or not though.

 Pair of Nocona Cowboy Boots - Paid $5.

 Calendar from 1982 with some nice imagery. Thinking about framing some of these as well. FREE BOX.

 Vintage electric razor/scissors in kit. Looks like it says "fostoria" but I'm not sure. Will have to research. Paid $.25 cents.

 1982 ET Puzzle. Paid $.25 cents.

 Metal Lighthouse Candle Holder that says "Keeper of the light". Paid $1.

 Nautical Popout ship in frame ... Paid $2. Took a risk on this thing, don't know much about it. It's marked 1959 in the corner. Not sure if that is the production date or not yet.

 2 Antique Perfume Pump Atomizers. One has a star pattern, the other is amber glass. $5 for the pair. Might have made a mistake on these.

 Antique Jewelry Box mae od glass and brass. Transparent with little pillow inside. Really cool looking. Paid $2.

Total Spent: $22.50

Estimated Resale Value (if I'm really lucky): $200 - $300

Happy Hunting!

The eBay Freshman

Thrift Store Finds and My First Auction - 9/17/13

Greetings!

Made a quick stop at a thrift store on my lunch break yesterday. Grabbed a few things:

Ceramic Candle Holder Marked Harley 1882. I don't think the 1882 signifies year unfortunately. Will have to do some research. Paid $1.50.

 Antique American Plastic Toy Inc. Sailboat - Paid .50 cents

 Pair of Homco plastic Hummingbirds / wall decor. Paid $1

Pair of 1970s Ceramic Pilgrims. Paid $2.

I had a great time at my first auction last night. Didn't bid on anything or purchase anything but I learned a lot. I did find some items in the dumpster afterwards though. So at least I didn't leave empty handed!

Antique/Vintage Stuffed Tiger Toy. FREE

 Vintage Jacket with Unicorn Patch. FREE

 Denver Broncos Mug (1990s). FREE

Total Paid for items: $5

Hoping to make around $100 - $130

Happy Hunting!

The eBay Freshman

Thrift Store Finds 9/11/2013

Greetings!

Made a quick run to a thrift store on my lunch break today:

Rubber Jason Voorhees Mask with fabric costume. It's gonna be tough to sell this given my extremely painful love of horror, but gotta do it! Paid $6.99 which is a little steep, but with Halloween around the corner people will totally be into it (I hope - if not ... guess I'll have to keep it!).

 Dr. Marten boots. These are higher then ones I normally find and I believe more valuable. Excellent used condition - Paid $13. ALWAYS BUY DR. MARTEN BOOTS! (not necessarily the low cut shoes though ... haven't sold any of those yet).

 Cumbres & Toltec Scenic RR Hat. Paid .79 cents. This is my favorite time of year for thrifting because they always bring out giant pils of Halloween 'costumes' which often times is old clothes, hats and accessories. You gotta dig but sometimes it's worth it!

 Vintage 1973 Wooden sign that says LOVE and has cupids by Americana Decorative Wall Plaques (Wallace Berrie & Co. Inc.) Just looks awesome - paid .50 cents.

 Vintage Skeleton Key Wall Decor with Fabric backdrops. Set of 3 for $1.50. No brand name, this could be hit or miss. We'll see.

 Traveling Minstrel/Musician piece of art. Signed but can't make it out. Will have to do some research. I just think this is cool and I might keep it. Paid $1.

 Antique Spats. Paid $1.99. Not sure how I will do on these.

 1914 Print by John Duncan "Children of Lir" in Antique frame. Paid $1. I think this will do well if the right buyer comes along. Very cool!

Total Spent: Approx $28

Hoping to make around: $200 - $250

Happy Hunting!

The eBay Freshman

Thrift Store Lunch Break Finds - 9/4/2013

Greetings!

Grabbed a couple items on my lunch break at a local thrift store:

Vintage Vollrath Fondue Fork Set with original Box - Because our mid century modernists need to eat too!  Paid $1.

 Antique Alsace French Doll ( I only know this because I have another one that had the case ). Paid $1.

 Vintage Ceramic Busts of old man and old woman ... I bought these because the old man looks like a sailor with his sweater/turtle neck, beanie and pipe in his pocket. Will list as nautical decor and hopefully sell!  Paid $2 for the pair.

Total Spent: $4
Estimated Resell Value: I'd say around $70 - $100 if I have a little luck.

Happy Hunting!

The eBay Freshman

Scavenging Vehicular Transportation - Does Size Matter?

Does size matter? 

When it comes to vehicles - maybe.  For awhile I was driving a two door Mustang (pretty cool, I know).  But as cool looking as a 29 year old out of shape Dad with slightly thinning hair and awful style can look in a Mustang - There was no room to put stuff!  So if all of the sudden on your way home from work you see a giant pile of stuff with a free sign next to it - you can’t take it with you because you have no room! And that sucks.  I’m not saying buy a brand new SUV or pick up - but you might want to consider your vehicle space when it comes to picking up stuff.  The last thing you want to do is drive 20 miles to an auction or yard sale and not be able to leave with anything. But you also don’t want a gas guzzler because you are going to be driving around a lot looking for stuff.  Try to find something that brings together affordability, space and gas mileage. We recently purchased a used Jeep that has seemed to work out pretty well for our purposes, but we are spending more on gas...which brings me to my next point...

TRACK YOUR GAS MILEAGE!!! As tedious and annoying as it may seem, it is a really good idea to start to track your gas mileage.  When you go out 2 or 3 times a week hunting for stuff it REALLY ads up fast. I haven't gone through a tax season yet since my eBay store is only a few months old, but I'm assuming when tax time comes you will get a decent break on gas mileage, and any other business expenses you take on in the first year. Track that mileage!

Happy Hunting!

The eBay Freshman

Garage Sale Finds for 8/17/2013

Greetings!

Had a decent day inventory shopping and found a few things for my house too!

You already know I'm a huge sucker for vintage Halloween items. My next biggest weakness is old military related items be it medieval, revolutionary war, civil war, etc.  So this large framed and matted print of "The Bridge" by John Falter was a no brainer for $5. It depicts the beginning of the Revolutionary War. Very nice condition ... this will be a keeper for me.

 This marble top and metal table is PERFECT for our living room by our fireplace. I will be keeping this. $5.

 Call me crazy ... but this Vintage cat trinket box called out to me for some reason. Copyright Vermont Ltd. Artwork by Balliol Corp. It's just a nice metal and glass piece with a mirror inside. Paid 50 cents. Some cat enthusiast out there WILL buy this eventually.

 Vintage Porcelain Vanity Mirror. 50 cents.

 Native American Made Pouch with original tag "Made by the Cherokees of Qualla Reservation in Cherokee, N.C." Very cool piece that will sell easily. Paid $1.

 Dr. Martens. Paid $2.

 Retro/Vintage looking Disneyland tin tray. Has nice artwork of original Disney characters. Not sure what I'll get for this but paid 50 cents.

 Very Large plastic ship vintage wall decor. Paid $2.

 Pair of Old Brass/Cast iron Fireplace Andirons or log holders. Super nice find. Paid $2. I kind of want to keep these but I have a gas fireplace and there is really no reason to...so I will probably sell them.

These were a unique find. The woman at the sale said they are from East Berlin, Germany from the 1940s. They have symbols on them  and are marked Bleikristall Handgeschliffen. I will have to do some research on what the symbology means on these. Paid $4 for the pair.

 2 Vintage Pipe Holders/Pipe racks. Pipe stuff does pretty well. Paid $3 total for both.

 3 vintage metal/iron mirrors/picture frames. Marked "Made in Italy" on the back. Paid $1.50 for the three of them.

 Vintage Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer stocking. Paid 25 cents.

 Women's Leather Guess Coat. Paid $2. Not vintage, but in nice shape, 100% leather and a name brand. Should sell pretty easily.

Total paid on items for the store: $19.25

Hoping to make around $250 - $300

Happy Hunting!

The eBay Freshman