Treasure - In The Eye Of The Beholder - Taking a Shot

One of the things people don't realize is that treasure, like many things, is most certainly in the eye of the beholder.

A particularly rare pinball machine ($125,000) could be treasure to one person, while a trashed car recovered from the bottom of a lake ($500,000) could be another's idea of treasure.

I generally have spent many of my days looking for treasure, and most certainly more time than the average person. I just haven't come across treasures valued in those six and seven figure ranges!

That is what I hope for, of course, but those tend to be once in a lifetime finds...if you ever find something of that sort of value.

Who knows, maybe I already own something of that sort of value, but just have not figured it out yet!

I have found things that over time have garnered me five figure amounts.

Take for example these little guys:

They are just what they look like, red, wood, bullets.

These were used in 90% of the cap gun holsters in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.

So why do I consider these treasure?

Supply and demand.

At the time I found them...oh, and wait, I forgot to mention.....I found 10 cases of these, with 1600 in each case. 

Anyway, at the time I found them, there was pretty much no supply available to collectors....

So, they sold like hot cakes.

First I sold them for $7 a dozen, then $25 a dozen, and even auctioned some off that went for upwards to $65 for two dozen.

It took a few years of sporadic selling, but it got to the point where I am pretty much sold out, save for a handful I kept as a remembrance of the find.

It still may not seem like much...until you do some math...

10 cases x 1600 per case = 16000

16000 / 12 (lots of dozen) = 1333.33

1333.33 x $25.00 per dozen (average sales price) = $33,333.25

My initial cost was $100 + taxes for all 10 cases, $10 a case.

Not too shabby for a bunch of little red bullets now, is it?

Sick of Cryptokitties Yet?

I managed to figure out how to change the kitties name. Just clicking on the field allows you to change it.

So simple I missed it.

In my cryptokittie research I did happen upon another blogger who happens to have a cryptocurrency knowledge/financial background with a blog posting on the cryto critters.

If you are thinking of the digital cat images as an investment vehicle, you may wish to read that blog.

Again, I am coming at this from the point of view as a "collectible" to invest in, not as a digital currency in itself/non-collectible investment vehicle. 

That is what may cause a fork in the road it takes, delving away from the road Beanie Babies drove down.

The wild card with Cryptokitties is the technology they are part of.

My knowledge of the Blockchain, Ether, and all the rest is minimal, and if you do decide to "invest" in Cryptokitties or a cryptocurrency, I urge you to learn, learn, learn. 

Blowing off $10, $50, or $100 is one thing, but anyone investing hundreds or thousands into this sort of thing should try to gain some knowledge.  Playing around with it with a low sum of money is part of learning, but don't get tempted to put big money in while you are learning....that is a recipe for potential disaster.

 Getting rich quick is always attractive, but is rarely the fact of the matter, nor the result for most investors in such ventures.

Bitcoin started at under a cent each in 2010/2011, and now is in the $15,500 each range or so (numbers are constantly fluctuating, so who knows where they are at the time you read this....click here to find out.)

Am I investing big money in Cryptokitties? 

Nope.   

Not that I don't think it has potential; I just see too much grey, volatility, etc, and, cash is tight. I have bills to pay that are important, and the time (for my wallet) is just not right.

But I am sure wishing I had heard of Bitcoin in 2011 and invested $100 in Bitcoin then.....and left it there. 

I would be a millionaire now....literally.

Going to Need More Virtual Litter..

I am officially a grandfather to a Cryptokitty...

Meet Fred (the name suits him, I think):

Now I need to figure out how to attach the name "Fred" to him permanently. I must be missing something somewhere...there has to be someway to name them, as obviously others have.

Something more to figure out when I have some time....but, need to concentrate on money making business, so back to work I go.

Cryptokitties Scratching the Furniture

For those of you who have come to my blog via Googling "Cryptokitties", and are not familiar with my ramblings, be scared....

be very scared....

Just kidding.

Might put you to sleep, a posting or two here might gross you out, but the blog is essentially harmless. (So I want you to think...Look DEEP into my eyes....you are getting sleepy....now send me the contents of your bank account...)

Anyway, the whole thing with my view on Cryptokitties is not from the "gamers" view...it is from the view of an old school antiques picker, and the viability of "digital collectibles" in this new age of the internet and technology.   If you came here for hints, cheats, inside info, well, this probably is not the place...though you will get some insight into how the collectibles world looks at "Marketed Collectibles".  

Only time will tell us whether Cryptokitties is a viable thing.

The software platform is certainly viable, and I can see dozens of uses for it in this business...and many with more potential than Crytpokitties itself. 

They have quite a few staff working on the site, but they sure could use an old school view of the market, someone like myself...hmmmmm, I could use another gig...maybe the change I need! 

 I do have one particular idea that would utilize the platform well, with little modification, and has serious legs to go far...who knows, it is one of those ideas that might just give eBay a run for its money on the stock market....or at least make the operator's wealthy. 

 What is the idea? Sorry, you'd have to be from Axiom Zen for me to tell you, and I'd still need that person to sign a NDA (non-disclosure agreement).  

Like the creators of Cryptokittie are bothering to read an antique dealer's/picker's blog, eh?  Too bad they likely are not....they could use some of the criticisms to tweak the site...and maybe gain some insight on the potential for the platform itself, from an entirely different point of view than they see it. 

(*in a Yoda voice*)  On the table leaving dollars they are.

I have 25+ years experience in the collectibles business, which is something that they really could use in order to get the maximum out of the platform. A totally different set of eyes, viewing the potential from totally different angles.

That seems to be the big issue with many sites....the tech side doesn't get the nuances and culture of collectibles, antiques, and this business in general.  

Take for example Canadianpickers.com...they used to be an auction site....well, it tanked because of the way it was managed and operated. The tech side had no idea how the culture works in this business. Sometimes I wish I had never sold the domain name to them....oh well, had to pay bills!

Just a picker's life!

Where is That Litterbox...

Cigars all around!

So, I am now the proud father of 2 Crytpokitties!

I bought two...one named Mau the other named Peach Otaku Anime Cat (POAC for short).

Anyway, I tried to breed the two of them together, and it turns out you need to pay even to a breed your own cats. I think I have issue with that.....seems to me they are mine, so breeding them together is my business.

Oh well.  Will pay the fee and see what results....Franken Kitty?

I am disappointed, as I thought that I would be able to create my own cat, add details, etc, but that seems to not be the case. 

So, here are the two cats:

I'll soon be a grandpa...., but apparently it takes 7 hours for them to have an offspring...so, we'll have to wait. 

One thing you may have forgotten about is the $$$$$.  It has cost me about $30 US to get this far, between buying the two Cryptokitties, fees for buying  Ethers, fees for transferring money around, fees for breeding, fees to use Erthers to pay for breeding, etc, etc, etc. Hmmmmm. 

Quite the little business, with fees everywhere you turn. I think at this juncture I will stay with whatever I have after the "birth" or rather, hatch (yes, they have eggs), and see if in time I can sell one and recoup my expenditures, or at least part of my expenditures.   I don't mind sitting on my "investment" for a little bit, at least in this case it doesn't take up a ton of space, unlike my current inventory. 

It is also an investment in Ethers...theoretically they could go up in value, also, as Bitcoin has. Ethers seem to be the poor cousin of Bitcoin, from what I can see.  

Perhaps I can eventually buy some Bitcoin from the huge profits I get from breeding and selling Crytopkitties!  

Yes, that is sarcasm you can see dripping off of that sentence.

From what I can see thus far, unless you are right into Crytokitties, a real Cryptokittie nut, who is selling to other Cryptokittie nuts, I can't see how it could be profitable....unless your Cryptokittie gets bought for some outrageous sum (like the $104 million I mentioned in a posting previously).....which is unlikely, unless there is some stoned Arab Shiek with millions to burn who is enamoured by your Cryptokittie....

Looking more like an early Beanie Baby scenario. Might be an opportunity to make money early on, but the longevity of the idea might have a limited lifespan....but, then again, the internet is the Wild West, and someone might just give it legs by spinning off the idea off into something else. 

The thing is, seeing as you own the Cryptokittie, you theoretically could have Cryptokittie races....Crytokittie breeder's shows, heck Crytokittie catfights even.... It is yours to do with what you wish, after all.

Hmmm....Crytpokittie catfights....oddly enough, that might be an idea with legs. You heard it here first!  I certainly don't condone harm to animals, but when it comes to digital cartoon animals, well I may not have as much a problem with that....!  

Now that is something you can't do with a Beannie Baby!

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!

New Year Dubstep

So, you figured you'd catch me dancing to Dubstep this first day of the New Year?

No, not quite.

Sorry to disappoint..... or, rather, for those of you who have ever seen me dance, "You are welcome."

So, what is it all about?

Boots on the ground!

Confused?

Well,  I had a vintage tin I wanted to empty before I put it out for sale....

Not an expensive tin, but I also have been needing to condition my leather work boots...

If you haven't guessed what kind of tin already, it was a DUBBIN tin.

So, seeing as I had some Dubbin handy, I figured I might as well just use it up....and a magic-al transformation from dry leather to supple leather.

The main point of the post, really, is to bring some attention to a relatively cheap collectible that is often overlooked....and that item is the lowly Dubbin tin!

Here are a couple other examples I had handy:

They also take up relatively little space, so you could accumulate a cool collection for cheap, and not taking up[a ton of display space in your residence or "man cave"...or "woman shed" or where ever you display your collections.

Pick safe, folks!

The More The Merrier - Subcultures and the Antiques Business

There is a constant debate in this business as to how to get "younger blood" involved and interested in antiques and the history surrounding the objects. 

Now, there are tons of young, mold able minds out there. Directing this throng of disorder into the antiques business would be like trying to direct a nervous bull through a dealer's show full of Lalique and Tiffany art glass. 

 However, there are tons of young minds who are already interested in history, its related objects and accoutrements.

You may have already heard of some of these terms:

Steampunk

Dieselpunk

Clockpunk



My personal opinion of such genres, subcultures, etc; like Steampunk, Dieselpunk (etc, etc) is that as antiques folks and history lovers, we should ALL embrace these groups. 

Why? 

These groups are full of people who are as like minded as the antiques crowd. the only difference is they just happen express their interest in history, the fashions, the "gear"/objects, etc in a different way than we do. 


They do throw less traditional things into the mix, and even in some ways "improve" what we know as factual history. The mixing of fiction and factual history is nothing new. The term "Historical Fiction" is a long standing tradition in writing circles.

 Steampunk is simply a a modern version of Historical Fiction. They have pulled science fiction of a "past" age into the fold, and hit "MIX" on the old eggbeater...and added a steam engine to it.

 The problem with the "antiques business" I quickly noticed/encountered when I was a young dealer/picker, was those in the business projected staid, snobbish, boring, dry, elitist (etc, etc,etc) types of attitudes. 

Not exactly appealing to a younger crowd...not by a long shot. The business has changed in many ways, loosing some of those negative traits from some circles, but it has a long way to go. 

Many of those individuals who participate in Cosplay, LARP, Steampunk conventions, (etc,etc,etc) and those such events are interested in history. However, they are not keen to be bored to death.

 SO many people make history what it is not.  Take, as an example, all those history teachers we encountered in our school years who, to our chagrin, managed to make our favourite subject a snoozefest.  

What we all know history is NOT is BORING ! 

We all need to expand our horizons, experience new things, look at the world in a different way. Perhaps picking and dealing in antiques has forced me to look at things differently. I would think that this business, more than any other, should be full of people who look at things differently than the mainstream public.

I suggest you check out these genres, even if no where else but the web, on sites like  Google Images, Google, eBay,  Etsy, Pinterest as well as the list of links I have listed at the end of this post.

Expand your horizons. You might just find you fit in to these groups, find new markets for your merchandise, make friends, find partners, meet kindred spirits and just generally open up your eyes to many possibilities of the antiques business you never even realized existed.

I have to go...I've got an airship to catch!

Part of a quickly made Steampunk outfit I created for a Halloween party I attended

LINKS 

(Feel free to send your comments with your favourite Steampunk website links! If they are not "spammy" or already represented here, I will be happy to add them to this list!)

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/steampunk

http://www.datamancer.net/ - Modern technology with a Victorian flair!

http://www.steampunkemporium.com/steam.php?gclid=CPLA566748ACFQGPaQodVz0AaA

http://steampunkartsupplies.com/

http://www.gentlemansemporium.com/gentlemans.php?gclid=CP7i_KS848ACFcRAMgodQQEAUA

http://www.pinterest.com/staceet/steampunk-fashion/

http://www.museumreplicas.com/s-50-steampunk.aspx

http://www.steampunkcanada.ca/

What the Dickens? Provenance Has Gone To The Dogs!

Everything is worth examining closely.

Even dog collars.

Yep, you heard me correctly....

Ok, ok, ok, READ me correctly....

As it is, "pet" related vintage items are collectible, from vintage dog collars, to training items, to water bowls and food dishes.

But that is not quite what I am leading to.

You see, "provenance" can make what appears to be a middle-of-the-road collectible item (or even very, very ordinary item) very, very, very valuable.'

SO many people have things that they swear up and down that so and so famous person used this, touched this, slept in, stepped on, fired, opened, closed, etc, etc, etc, etc.

Now, if you have a PHOTO of that person with that item (and it is DEFINITELY that item), or some other irrefutable documentation, ok, then you have something.  But, if you have only your great,great,great uncle's word (passed down through many other of your Uncles) that President Abe Lincoln left his pocket watch to be repaired and never picked it up...and you have that very watch.....well, the value of that word can be summed up in one word, also..."worthless."

A family story says little, unless your 3x Great Uncle was the official Presidential Pocket Watch Repair Person...and you can prove THAT...then maybe it has some credibility.

Even it WAS the case...if you can't prove it, well, hope there is some of Abe's DNA stuck on the watch somewhere...because that may be the only way you will be able to link that watch to him. There are other ways, such as photographs, other documentation filed elsewhere, etc...but, until you have copies of that other proof...it is a pocket watch that is worth just what any other pocket watch is worth.

So, what do dogs have to do with this?

Charles Dickens.

Well, Charles Dickens' dog, actually.

Check this out: That's some dog collar: Neckwear of Charles Dickens' dog sells at auction for $11,590

PROVENANCE.

And in this case, the collar has the provenance engraved right on it.

Normally, provenance is not that easy to nail down.  However, it does happen, on occasion. You just need to keep your eyes open, your mind open, etc. Weird things happen...nasty turns of life happens to the most famous of the population. Celebs loose items to banks, sports figures pawn their championship rings, noted heroic war vets sell their medals, etc. These people are just that...people, very human.


But, just because something has the initials "JFK" on it does not mean it belonged to John F Kennedy...doesn't; matter if your grandpa found that comb in a washroom in Washington.
.....well, it might have belonged to JFK, but the John F Kennedy it did belong to was a plumber from Tallahassee....was visiting a cousin in Washington, and never had presidential aspirations...not even for the top seat in the local Plumbers Union.

Those strands of hair that was found in it?

Yep, it is just some greasy chunk of some balding plumber's dome.

Just hope he didn't part his hair on his back...or lower.