Crazyness at the Estate Sale

Wow.  I headed out to an estate sale that was billed as being "stuffed with vintage treasures," a house where the people "stopped throwing out things fifty ears ago."  Looking through the pictures, I did a ton of research on what I could see, checking out how much they could be sold for by doing an advanced search on ebay etc... 

I got there an hour and a half early and I was number SEVENTY EIGHT.   78!  Apparently, the list had started the night before the sale around 6:00 P.M.  People spent the night in their cars.  The sale promised lots of antique toys, and apparently there were a ton of collectors there for those - not to mention all the other resellers/ dealers/ antique store booth owners in line (all very friendly people). After the sale started, people were taking toys out of the little bungalow by the box loads.    I wish had gotten there early instead of taking my sweet time in the morning dancing around the apartment with my kitty cat. 

What a life.

Hours later, after watching a girl who literally looked like Marilyn Monroe come out and hop in a cap to pick up the van load of vintage clothes she had found, my number was called.  YAY!  Unfortunately I only took a half day off at work (Yes I took off work to go to the sale), and I only had about 25 minutes left before I needed to leave. 

When I got in, most of the things I had scouted out were either gone already, or priced to high to buy and resell:  the Easton Press sealed editions were almost $50, the McDonald's Fire King Mugs were almost what they were selling for on Ebay and the Snoopy Fire King mugs were gone.

The owner of the house had been a school teacher, so there were shelves and shelves and shelves of old little golden books, vintage activity books, flash cards, construction paper, and posters - many with charming art.  I stocked up on what I could before I had to leave.  I have yet to photograph all the quirky classroom art I found, which were real treats to find.  I found some vintage Audubon posters that I thought were really charming...

All are in my Etsy shop!

Thanks for visiting!  Linking up at Apron Thrift Girl!

Reselling Challenge Update

Last sale find: glass of vintage swizzle sticks...

Hi folks.  With 5 days left in the month of February, Apron Thrift Girl's Reselling Challenge is coming to an end.  So far I have listed 10 items this month for the challenge, making a total of 17 items in my shop.  Not so good.  I am only half way to my goal of 20 new listings for the month of February.  I have plenty of inventory, it's just a matter of finding the time to take pictures (there is no light left when I get home!) and research the items, and - heaven forbid - actually put them on the internet.

Aside from being completely addicted to the internet, constantly checking my Etsy shop to see if I have any more views/hearts/sales... I think this has been great for my creativity.  I have a few great ideas up my sleeve for marketing my shop - which I am keeping secret until I have time to do it.

They make fun plant picks.

What I have learned:

I think sometimes I get carried away at a sale - I definitely did this weekend.  There were people rushing all around me swooping in on things they had seen in the photos and this made me feel I had to pick up anything remotely cute.  I ended up getting some things that I don't think I can sell at a profit because they were priced to high to begin with, or with items that don't fit my shop.  I suppose I will put them up anyway just to see how they do.  I have also come home with items that looked great in the store, only to take them out in the light and realized they had chips or cracks.  I want the keep the quality of the items in my shop really high... so finding chips and cracks is no good.

I've had two sales - and got burned on the shipping for both of them.  The first one wasn't too bad - I only lost a couple of dollars.  I really lost money on the second sale though.  I didn't charge enough for the item so my profit after the fees was only about a dollar.  Then I didn't charge enough for shipping so I ended up having to pay to send the item out of my pocket.  I figured since I only lost a dollar or two all together it was best to just suck it up and send it nicely and hope I get a good review - that's worth the effort at least.  

I think as I become more experienced I will develop a better eye for what sells and what doesn't, and how much it will really cost to ship.  I also will hopefully get a better idea of what will sell on Ebay, as I think I need to prioritize my time and energy into selling at that venue, as I think there is more steady money available there (at least that is the impression I am getting from the comments left on ATG).

Ok... Expect an update on my progress in the last week soon!

Thrift Share Monday: Paper Ephemera!

This weekend was a wonderful estate sale weekend... I traveled out to Skokie for a sale and got there early but was still 48 on the list.  The sale was in an empty storefront in a strip mall, so while I waited for my number to be called I had the pleasure of watching the other scouters find glorious vintage things before me.  It was a little painful.  I did strike up a conversation with a lady who owns a vintage shop somewhere in suburbia, and she reminded me that just like there are some great finds today, there will be more great finds next week and the week after that.  And after all - it's just stuff.

I need to remember that sometimes. 

Anyways, this sale was for multiple clients, one of which was an antique store that closed... so there were some nice antiques at whole sale prices.  Lucky for me.  I'll be posting some pictures of all my finds throughout the week, but for now I will share some lovely paper ephemera I found at an estate sale a few weeks ago...

A San Francisco post card book filled with lovely photos...

Available here

And some lovely wildlife stamps from the National Wildlife Federation...

Available Here

I love these stamps!  I have so many of them now that I put some in my Etsy shop and am going to use the rest to make a collage.  I have so many blank canvasses and usually so little inspiration... but I can't wait to paste some of these old stamps together!  Yay inspiration!  Finally.

Thank you for visiting.  I am linking up with Apron Thrift Girl!

Vintage: Pink Squirrels and Green Kitties

This weekend I shoveled out of my parking spot and headed to a South Side estate sale.   I found:

Squirrels!

That are pink! And winking!  With eyelashes!

I decided to put the squirrels in my Etsy shop.  

But I can't part with these yet:

Kitties!

That are green!  With little heart noses!

They are so unbelievably darling!

Boyfriend surprised me and actually volunteered to come with, which was nice because the sale was a lot farther away than I realized it would be.  He was also pretty helpful - we scored a nice chair that I wouldn't have given a second look had I been alone.  Although he teases me for being a thrift (or as he would call it - junk) hoarder, he is pretty darn supportive of my interests.  I think that's pretty sweet.

Linking up with Apron Thrift Girl!

Cars Stuck on Lake Shore Drive...

Thank goodness this didn't happen to me - how unreal!

Valentine Bunting

Hi all!  So... The past day or so I have had not one, but TWO snow days!   The snow ended yesterday morning and the plow just came through for the first time late this morning... There are still cars stuck on Lake Shore Drive.  Chicago is pretty much buried for good, I think.

I had to drive home from work during the beginning of the blizzard - I had no idea it would get so bad so quickly - my normal 45 minute commute became two and a half hours long.  By the end of the trip my windshield wipers were so caked with ice they were pretty much non functional.  Once reaching home - to top it all off - I had to parallel park.  I couldn't see a thing, but I'm pretty much a parallel parking bad ass so it was a cinch.  (Not really, actually - totally lying about that.)


But cuddling up inside and watching the snow come down was the best!

I can't even begin to describe how much I love snow storms and snow days... taking it easy and just enjoying the beauty of the weather is the best...I stocked up on hot chocolate and brownie mix and pub cheese and stayed inside and ate to my heart's content.  I love to sit and look out the window and just watch the snow.

Not too mention Chicago turns into playful dog heaven when there is tons of snow on the ground... I got to pet so many cute dogs playing in the snow...

And I crafted:

 

Isn't it pretty?  

Hi!  Look what I'm doing!

Alright... So I started this little Etsy business called Knick Knack Parade, where I sell cute little vintage items.  Trouble is - I love the treasure hunting part of the job so much that I neglect the actual selling part.  Seems kinda like I'm missing the point...

So - I am challenging myself - as part of Apron Thrift Girl's Reseller Listing Challenge - to list at least 20 items this month.

20 items...

Sounds like a paltry number... but between work, Korean language class, and God forbid - THE GYM, 20 listings will probably prove to be no small feat.