ETSY - It ain't what eBay used to be...

So, I am listing on ETSY now.

I had been putting off listing there, simply because when I first registered to sell there, and attempted to do some business there, I found it, well, useless for the types of items I wanted to get moving.

I wanted a replacement for eBay, and ETSY was not at all it.

It still isn't.

But, it is something...it creates some income, though certainly not anywhere near what I'd like.

It has its place, for sure. I managed to move a $1700 worth of NOS hat parts I had purchased inexpensively at a closing auction of a Winnipeg based uniform factory/store, so that helped pay a few bills.  I had been wondering if I would ever sell the stuff, being that I hardly had access to any hat makers near by!

But, for that sort of thing, ETSY certainly IS the place to sell. I can see that if you were to concentrate on attending and purchasing bulk and inexpensive lots of obscure parts, pieces, components, etc of things from liquidations of manufacturing facilities, you could make a living doing just that off of ETSY.

The sale itself was not something I first listed, but resulted from an inquiry as to what quantities of some items I had, and my up-selling/mentioning that I had other millinery (hat making) supplies resulted in the large sale.

Would you have bought cases of these?

Those are not all he bought, but the bulk of the purchase was cases of hat brims.  The buyer certainly got a heck of a deal when you consider the individual retail value of piece meal selling of each item they bought, but I also pretty much doubled my money spent on the entire auction....and I hauled 14 truck and trailer loads from the place.

This was my last load...

Another issue with ETSY is that it is more a venue that you list on, but you really have to to the driving of traffic to your listings. Yes, it comes with a bit of its own traffic that you MIGHT be able to captilatize, but you do really have to create a following of your own...either that or be a real master of keywords and pray to the Esty-search-engine-god excessively.......

Anyway, ETSY works for some things, but certainly is not the "sold in a week" venue eBay used to be.  There really has not been any venue open up that is like what eBay used to be.   I have been trying to promote the idea of a Co-Op vintage, auction only website, but it just seems to not have any steam. Too many people want someone else to do the work, and then join.

No one wants to be help build a site....and by build, I mean build its presence online; be a founding member.

Not many pioneers out there.

Lots of "joiners" who want to capitalize on success, but no one willing to help create the success in the first place.

I have set up an auction group on Facebook that after a year-ish being established has finally taken hold as a decent venue, with some decent items being listed, and some serious bidders participating. But, it too has taken some time to take hold, establish itself.   It is set up somewhat like I would want a site to be (in a true "going-going-gone auction format", unlike eBay;s "timed" auctions.  However,  being that it is on FaceBook, it is limited by their structure/platform, the setup has some issues, and things that we have to work around.

You can check it out here, the Bang! Sold! Auction Group.

This post is already starting to get long, so I will pretty much end this posting here, to save you some eye strain.  I will likely discuss the idea of a Co-Op auction site further in the blog, so keep checking back!

Pick safe!

Signs On the Road To the Future

I've been "out of the loop", per se, when it comes to the "hot" collectibles of the year. I have not been  delving heavy into the internet auction scene, selling my wares on the usual websites, such as eBay, Etsy, Amazon, etc. 

Nor have I done tons of "live" antiques markets, flea markets, etc in 2014.

What I have been seeing (and getting used to) is the surge in sales prices of vintage advertising signs. It is no surprise, really, that these things are starting to go a little beyond what many dealers consider realistic pricing.  

We need to consider the obvious facts that:

(1) TV, film and other "image" based media are focusing their camera lenses on such things.

(2) Considering that much effective advertising is graphic driven in the first place

(3) Those vintage graphics appeal to the masses, even if they appear "dated". 

Let me clarify point number three a bit. 

No surprise that these days vintage advertising signs appeal to more than just a die-hard vintage collector crowd.  The whole "vintage" look has been something that has been pushed in the mass marketing of brand-new-from-the-factory decor, off-the-rack at Wal-Mart, etc. Every gift shop, flower shop, decor store, (etc) that you can think of seems to carry at least one (but usually more), lines of goods with an antique-style, vintage-style, retro-decor vibe. 

Some original vintage signs I have had in the past.

The marketplace is more accepting than ever of that “dated" appearance. Some people have even come to expect it. Advertising agencies and corporations have been making their advertising dance on the nostalgia stage for quite a long time now, easily 30 years or so. It has been so long, actually, that the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s versions of previous generations memories & nostalgia are recognized as nostalgia from the very years it was "repackaged" for the wooing the consumer!

The fact is that the graphics on those of old advertising signs still do their job, which is to grab the attention of the masses.

Sprinkle in the warm & fuzzy feelings of nostalgia brings to people’s hearts, and that old advertising sign is all the more appealing. Memories of grandpa and grandma’s store, the candy counter, picnics in the country, etc. permeate their souls and strategically place a rose coloured lens between them and their memories.

You find that when those memories are not even remotely similar to yours, they still seem to make you feel content and happy.

So, I am sure the values of these pieces will continue to rise in the coming year. The bottom might fall out of the market sooner than we may expect, due to a variety of combined factors, in varying doses. Those vets of the biz have seen the same set of factors affect various categories of collectibles that have gone “mainstream” in their popularity.....

But, that is an entirely different and much, much, much longer blog posting.


Here are some of various original, antique & vintage signs I have personally picked and have had pass through my hands in the distant and recent past owned in the past.

The Big T.O.P. List - The Weekend Garage Sale Picker!

Yes, I know, this blog posting is late in coming....I also got distracted and did a "non picker types related blog post" in between...ooops....my disorganization is showing (more on that "little" topic will be covered in later postings)

It is summer here in Manitoba, and things have been hectic. Summers are just way too short here in the prairies. 

I tend to try to pack a years worth of outdoor work into just a few scant months. Plus, I need to keep up with indoor projects  (and general "life") at the same time.

Also, with summer comes garage sales & yard sales, of course. 

Garage sales and yard sales are pretty much synonymous these days. I have seen "Yard Sales" in garages, and "Garage Sales" held in yards. 

The terms are essentially interchangeable. It is all semantics, really.

That brings with it the "weekend garage sale hobbiest pickers."

Let's just call 'em WGSHP's for short, okay?  That will save my achin' fingers some work....!

So, these "pickers" are probably the "lowest" on the totem pole of picker types.  

No, no, no,  I am not saying they are "scum" or anything of the sort, they are just the lowest level at which I would consider someone to actually be able to legitimately use the word "picker" as a part of their "title".

The individual who is a WGSHP will determine by their actions if they deserve respect or not. Heck, everyone on this earth should take that thought to heart, really...

But, this blog is about picking, so I will stay away from the oh-so-tempting philosophical rant running around my brain (for the time being, anyway.)

WGSHPs do just what the title describes. They run around to garage sales on the weekends and buy items for resale. Whether they resell them online, at auctions, to dealers, at flea markets, to fellow collectors (and on and on) is all irrelevant.

The source of their merchandise is garage sales, pure and simple.

The sources of any picker's merchandise can generally be determined by the types of stuff they don't find.  If you put a pile of a picker's picks in front of them, and lined them up in a long row, you would soon see how the merchandise runs the gamut, as to the picker's picks' quality, type, age, size, etc, etc, etc. The list of differences is an entire lifetime long, really.

For example, a WGSHP may come up with the odd advertising sign, maybe a mint boxed tin toy now and then, some new/old stock inventory once and awhile, a primitive piece occasionally (if that is even on their radar), a valuable painting, etc. 

But, what you will notice is that they do not have a regular influx of certain items that a "professional picker" tends to bring to the market. 

There will/could be a regular influx of Swanky Swigs, Starbucks Coffee mugs, china, 1970s mod items, 1980s funky retro items, 1990s collectible toys, and a long laundry list of other items that can be found at garage sales with regularity.

I am not knocking these items or categories, don't get me wrong! 

Have you seen what some of the modern Starbuck coffee mugs sell for on eBay? 

Heck, it is enough to give you coffee mug envy!

The WGSHP is a part timer...well, an "occasional timer", really. Their buying activity is pretty much limited to those weekend garage sales. They might drop in to the odd auction, the odd thrift shop, and even some antiques & vintage shops. 

They might actually spend a dollar or two in those places, too. Their collecting habits might be the very fuel for the garage sale picking they do. 

Many collectors finance the acquirement of parts (or even their entire) collections in this way, using the profits from their garage sale hunting to add to their collections. 

Oh so many collectors start out going to garage sales in the first place simply as part of their hunt for the objects of their personal obsessions. On one of those outings, they see something that they know is SO absurdly cheap that they can not resist buying it, even though it is not something that they want themselves.  

After that, and maybe even during the moment they spot the bargain.....

....they figure out that they should SELL it to a dealer, fellow collector, scrap gold buyer (etc!). 

They end up grinning ear to ear after they have resold the item(s) for a "handsome" profit. With that profit they treat themselves to a purchase of a  piece that previously caught their bottomless collecting heart, but the contents (or rather lack of contents) of their wallet blocked their acquiring it to fill that empty space. 

With that little space filled.....

A Weekend Garage Sale Hobbiest Picker is born!

Will he/she grow, expand their horizons, mature? 

Some do, some don't.

Those that do mature become one of the many other "Types Of Pickers" in this world....and now you k now where the "T.O.P" of this list comes from....

So, are you a WGSHP? 

Yes?  

No?

If you answered no, keep reading this blog for more T.O.P postings! 

Heck, if you answered YES, you should keep reading, too!
You may end up deciding you want to change your picker title!
Or you just want to be entertained...it is all good! 

Safe pickin', folks! 

Bargains For Me, Bargains for You!

 ________________________________

I admit it, I have a heck of a time passing up a bargain.

 

I can pass up a bargain, but when I see that it is priced well below value, I have to stop and think...

Sometimes thinking about the item much longer than others.

If I am "smart" that day, I will leave many of those "bargains" on antique shop showcases & where they are sitting on thrift store shelves, and yard sale tables.

The reason being is that I end up figuring out that the item really is not a bargain. 

Sure, the item is priced at $5, and well should be worth $50. 

However, it is only be worth $50.00 once it is sold for that....

And I have to clean it.

And store it.

And haul it around to a dozen antiques shows.

Wrap it.

Unwrap it.

Clean it again.

"Sell" it...IE: market it to a potential buyer, talk up the piece, etc.

And then find out they have one identical and were only interested in pricing out theirs.

*Sigh*

And start again....and on and on and on, 

Until such time that someone comes along, and is willing to buy it.

But only at a discounted price....

Sold! 

Finally!

But only for $30....

And I had to absorb the tax.

Now, did I realistically make any money on my $5.00?

Nope.

I always need to remind myself that my time is worth money, and so is my knowledge & experience.  I am where I am because I have "paid my dues" over many years.

I have tons and can get tons of inventory. I find stuff where others can not. I find the things at bargain prices, without being dishonest with people.

 I have many sources, connections, etc.  

Add that to my broad scope of knowledge, curiosity, and ability to get interested in vastly different subjects. 

I can go to an auction where the competition is fierce for the advertising items, and where it seems that there will be no bargains. I will end up bidding on a lot where the auctioneer is desperate to get a bid, and thanks me for taking it away for $2, and people in the crowd think I am nuts for buying that box lot of trash.

I smile and say to the auctioneer:

  "You're welcome...and ya owe me a beer."  

My smile is not entirely due to my joke, it is due to knowing there is a  $500 item in amongst the junk.  It is not an advertising piece, but  Staffordshire Pottery. Despite a couple small chips, it depicts unusual subject matter, and will be a quick flip for $250 to a fellow dealer, after taking some pictures and dropping him an email.

 I am good at what I do. 

And I work darn hard.

I am not rich, cash wise.... heck, I'm not even "well off" financially.


 Life happens, and it has "happened" in such a way that I am not exactly where I wanted/planned to be by now, at my age.

 Then again, being retired by 40 was my plan. 

Yes, I was extra optimistic at 20!


Anyway, the point is I have tons of inventory (literally!), and really do not want to deal with it all. I am tired of the grind of wrapping, unwrapping, etc, etc, etc, etc.

Yes, there is LOT$ of money to be made on that stuff.  However, I like..(wait just a minute...scratch "like")...I  PREFER a "quick flip", a fast sale, a bulk sale, a whole pile of stuff being sold at once to one person, etc, etc, etc....and I don't care that an item/items go out at  wholesale figures. I'm not greedy, I don't need, nor want top dollar for everything.

I have tons of inventory, and really need to get rid of it. I have no time to put it all out on shelves, clean it spic-and-span, package and price it, etc, etc.

It is time to cut my losses....the merchandise is fine, salable, and not junk.  But, all the bargains I bought and really are not bargains once I "do the work." Combine that with my market access. It is tough here, really, to sell many things.   

 I can buy some wonderful art glass at a heck of a bargain, but when it comes to selling it in the shop....well, that bargain is taking up space....and slowly becomes something that is costing me money. Yes, when the item takes up space for things that will sell quicker, that slow seller begins to cost you $$$$.

The odds are I will sell 20 old tin signs before anyone looks at the Orreffors vase.....grossly underpriced at $200......no one, that is, except the little old lady who looks at the price and gasps...or brings it over to the counter with a toonie ($2) in her hand.
So, my bargain hunting eye and years of buying, bidding & rooting around all over has caused an accumulation of stuff.....lots of  inventory.  
Darn good inventory (heck, GREAT inventory) if it gets to the right market.

What I am getting to here is thus:

 I am soon going to be offering much of my inventory at WHOLESALE and BELOW WHOLESALE prices.  

The catch is, a buyer has to buy a large lot. From a 2' x 2' boxful, to a gaylord container full, to a truckload.

Instant inventory for someone to sell at their store, flea market, auction, on eBay, whatever.  Cash in my pocket, potential profit in the buyer's pocket.  Did I mention I also hate doing eBay sales of anything these days?


PLUS, not only do I have vintage stuff galore, I also have "new" stuff, modern merchandise, army surplus stuff, and more. 

I did say I had a hard time passing up a bargain!  

So, soon you can buy lots bulk from me. 

I did the "heavy lifting"
 

 The "windshield time"
 

 The dirty work,

The dangerous work,

The loading & sorting

 

And not to mention  accumulating it into larger quantities of "like" items...all the stuff you'd spend tons of time doing, when all you want to do is sell, sell, sell!

I make some money for my work, you will make money for your work. 

Let's see how it works out!

  If you are interested in this opportunity, "Friend" me on Facebook.

And keep watching this blog, too!    
  

Makin' Lemonade from Lemons - Vintage Reflections

You likely read about my mis-buy at the auction in the last post.

The remnants of the deal was a 1950s, faux-paint-textured cardboard print in a faux-antique frame. The thick cardboard these sorts of prints are made from is useful as stiffener when shipping paper collectibles and other thin items, to prevent bending in transit. So, off it went into the shipping room to be sliced up for that purpose.

I suspect in 50 years I'll be lamenting my destruction of 1000s of those things, cursing myself for not hoarding them...a potential million dollars destroyed. Then again, with inflation the way it is, "a million dollars" then might not be what it is today. So, I may only be loosing out on covering the cost of a meal at a good restaurant by not hoarding them...Ah heck, I'll probably be sucking my means through a straw by then anyway.

What to do with the frame....

It was sort of attractive...could paint it white, and distress it...

Toss a mirror into it...but, that means buying a mirror...

Or does it?

I had a broken mirror, removed from a cheap, paper/fibre-board dresser acquired from a clean-out I did. I smashed up the dresser itself, as it was beyond repair, and tossed it in the trash.  The mirror was intact, for awhile. My main storage space is, well, just that, space...outside.   It was in a frame that did a poor job of imitating real wood...other than being made of the industrial equivalent of laminated sheets of paper. That materials acts like a sponge for water...especially rain. Yes, it got wet,  warped in 5 directions, then the thin mirror fell out...and broke.  Never saw nor heard it break, so should I assume I missed out on the predicted 7 years of bad luck?

 Does a mirror make a sound when it falls, breaks and no one is around?

Anyway, there was a chunk that was big enough to cut to size to fit the frame!

VOILA, add a piece of "junk" mirror to a "junk" frame and you have a $35 - $45 hall mirror!

Two negatives DO make a positive!

Hmmm...might make some profit on my bad buy yet!

Yes, I am being melodramatic... it didn't quite happen with the "voila" with magician type flair. I already was thinking about how to make lemonade out of my lemon of a purchase, after I was done flogging myself for the stupid mistake.

The lesson here is that 2 pieces of junk can still make you MONEY. 

Combining things that are otherwise useless, have no value, etc is like creating gold with Alchemy...except in this case, using junk as your ingredients CAN create gold from combining other things, unlike using Alchemy to create gold...which is impossible...as far as anyone has revealed, anyway! And if you HAVE figured it out, let me know, I won't tell a soul! I promise!

Janet Picard, friend from years back, an artist, and the original owner/founder of Ragpickers Anti-Fashion Emporium of Winnipeg, created jewellery from found, salvaged objects. She created works of quality, long before the now commonly seen pieces with watch gears, brass buttons, bits of china, chain, etc, in a collage form. She created many wearable sculptures in the form of earrings, brooches, necklaces and assorted other jewellery.  She called her artistic enterprise "Salvage Alchemy".  After doing a quick online search, I see many others of a similar artistic bend, as well as folks in different areas of "salvage" have found/thought/adopted the use of the name as well.

To me, though, "salvage alchemy" a perfect term for what many of us in the junk business do...

Or rather, those of  us who can think "outside of the box."

That trash can be made into CA$H with a little effort, and it can pay you back in spades for that little bit of time and imagination.


If you wish to survive in the "junk biz", as a picker, antiques dealer, storage auction locker buyer, scrapper, flea market seller, swap meet seller, etc, etc, my advice is to embrace "salvage alchemy" as part of your business wholeheartedly.   

Ok, junk alchemists, now go dig into those piles of mis-buys, junk, trash and scrap and see what gold nuggets you can come up with!