On sale starting Feb. 4

Who knew you can sell vintage fruit on ebay?? A few weeks ago I bought a bin full of plastic grapes. I was going to save it for some props for the plays I am in. I decided to try selling some on ebay. I sold about 9 bunches for 12.00. Then I sold another 12 bunches for 15.00 and another 8 bunches for about 8.00. I paid 1.00 for the whole bin. So when I saw these at the local auction a few weeks ago, I bought them (for 1.00 of course!). These are on sale right now. Why not try again??

20 vintage Valentines

Also on sale starting tonight is a LOT of vintage Valentines. These are usually pretty popular. Some people sell these one at a time but I like to bunch things together in lots. The ones in the lower left corner are probably from the 1920s. A lot of people collect these and now is the time to get them listed!

Renwal dollhouse furniture

Then there is the vintage doll house furniture by Renwal. This is a good brand name, probably the most popular, for doll house furniture. I only have the blue bedroom set but I am always on the lookout for Renwal. With the price of new doll  house furniture in the stores, you can pick up a nice bargain on eBay!

TEN 8 track tapes

The last item I have listed starting tonight on eBay is a lot of 10 8 track tapes. Yeah, when I first got a few of these I was ready to throw them in the donation bin. Then I tried selling a few on eBay and I was surprised that they sold. I’ve only gotten a few dollars each for them so far but at least they sell and I usually can pick them up for very little money. I don’t even have a way of testing them but I give a guarantee and so far have not had any complaints!

So, check my completed auctions in a few days and you can see what price these items sold for and you will know their “approximate” worth.

CLICK HERE to view my auction

listings!

vintage red poncho on auction until jan 28

If you are lucky like me you can find a mannequin at a local estate sale or thrift shop. Keep your eye open at going out of business sales or even craigs list. I finally got myself one for 20.00. I already see a difference in sales—or maybe it’s just a coincidence for now but I think the trend will continue! I always had trouble taking photos of dresses and coats. I either laid them out on the floor or hung them on a hanger over the door. But people like to see what they might look like in a piece of clothing so the mannequin really is a LOT better. Take a look at these and decide!

sold this coat for 15.50

didn't sell this one although I think it is nicer. it's listed in my store now

storing my ebay junk before it gets listed

I go to a local estate auction almost every week. I have a few favorites but usually pick the one closest to home, which is about 15 minutes away at a firehouse every Tuesday.

I don’t even need to sign up for a number there because I am number 305 every week and I don’t even have to hold it up for the auctioneer because he knows it! Normally, when you go to an auction though, you need to show your driver’s license or other ID and sign up for a number at a registration desk. You will use that number to bid with throughout the auction. Some people raise the number in the air with every bid, others just raise it once and then keep shaking their head yes (or winking or raising an eyebrow) to continue the bid. It’s best to raise the number so the auctioneer can be SURE that you are bidding.

Try to have an idea ahead of time of the price you want to stop at or you could get carried away just trying to win the bid! I don’t have any trouble with this but some people do.

Plan to stay at the auction as long as you can because you might have to wait hours for something you have your eye on. In the meantime, you can learn a lot from the other items and what they are selling for. I went to many many auctions before I started learning what was a good price to bid on the various types of glassware, pottery, quilts and other antiques that are usually available. Now I know a good deal when I see it!

where I store my junk in the garage

I have a strategy at my auctions. I don’t talk much so I can pay attention to the bidding. I don’t take many breaks so I don’t miss anything. Sometimes I wait for certain people to take their smoke break or leave so I don’t have the competition! I bid on a lot of box lots of linens and kitchen tools. When he holds them up for bid, I count how many he has and won’t bid more than 1.00 each (depending on what it is). If there are 10 items in the box, I won’t go past 10.00 because I know I can easily sell them for 3.00 a piece. I don’t bid past 4.00 on any one tablecloth. I don’t bid past 50.00 on any one quilt, etc. I know my limits and there are always exceptions!

I arrive early and check out the merchandise. If I can’t get there early, I still walk around and check it out while the auction is going on—most places allow this but it is harder to pay attention. I usually stay until the very end because that’s when the best deals are—the auctioneer is tired and many people (competition) have already left. I use the Internet on my cell phone to check out prices during the auction if I am not sure of how much to bid. (I don’t see anyone else doing this at my weekly auction –no techies there I guess!)

Here are some of the bargains I got just this week:

A box of flatware 1.00

5 cases of new high quality gel mousepads 2.00 for a case of 10

a pile of sheet music 1.00

vintage sewing caddy 3.00

4 shoe stretchers 1.00

Shirley temple mug 5.00

Box of costume jewelry 5.00

Box of ties 1.00

I only spent 47.00 this week—I usually spend about 80-100$. I had to leave early to go to a meeting . I sell these items on ebay or the flea market or the antique shows I frequent.

gel mouse pad by KNOLL

It’s a lot of fun and also addicting!

Check out my ebay auctions  HERE!

My vintage foyer

ok, I love the flea market, both shopping and selling but here is my opinion on bargain hunters–please be kind! I have lots of regular customers at the merchants square mall in Allentown, PA where I sell every month. My favorites are those who know the price is good–come on, it’s a DOLLAR!–and they will gladly pay it and be happy. My unfavorite customers are those who try to get it for less EVERY TIME! I know, everyone likes to bargain but if the price is already 1 or 2 dollars or only 50 cents, give it a rest!

SO, there is this one lady who works at another booth in the mall. Here she comes–she picks up 2 or 3 items that might add up to 4.00. She hands me 2 dollars and doesn’t even ask if I will take it–she just expects me to!! If she tries to do this on a Friday when I am setting up, I won’t take it–if it’s near closing time, no problem. She does this every month. There is a man who comes every month too and does the same thing but at least he asks. There is another young mother who comes every month and has 2 babies in the stroller and buys about 5-10 items and for each item she asks–will you take 1$ (if it’s2$) will you take 50 cents (if it’s 1$) will you take 1.50 (if it’s 3$). Now, she is not as annoying because I can see she is buying for her children and she asks for every item and she buys a lot–quantity discounts are fine.

This kind of bargaining, will actually work against you. It makes the seller want to raise the prices because he/she knows that the cheapskates will still ask for a discount, even when it’s already a steal! I like what one of my friends says when asked about a 5.00 item “can you do better?” He says, “Sure I can do better, you can have it for 6.00. Better for me!”

Bargaining on larger items like at an antique show is fine! The item might be 10 or 20$ and sure, there is room for a discount. Most sellers expect to lower a price on a larger item by maybe 20%. But at the flea market when it is already CHEAPER than dirt–I even have people ask me to take 25 cents when it is 50 cents and even had (I think once!) a person who asked if I would take less when IT WAS A QUARTER! What do you want it for, free?? I have to pay rent you know. And gas to get here and plenty of time and effort buying and setting up and eating lunch…

So, I hope you are not one of my UNfavorite customers! I give my favorites a discount even without asking so it pays to be kind!

CHECK OUT MY EBAY STORE!

I sell lots of these vintage wooden spools!

Let’s start with the shoes! I bought 2 pair of vintage shoes at the local auction a few weeks ago. They were brand new in the box. I paid 1.00 each. The first pair was by Colorifics and they were full of gold beads. They sold for 4.00, my opening bid. The second pair was by Vera Cruz and they had leather soles and suede sides with fancy lacing. They sold to a person in South Africa for 15.50 plus I had to charge them 18.00 for the postage. Not mind boggling but a pretty good investment for 1.00!

gold beaded shoes

Then there was the box of lace I bought for 1.00 the entire box. I just started to sell this. So far I sold 70 yards of white lace for 8.76, and 11 yards of eyelet lace for 5.50. The ribbon trim didn’t sell so I will list it in my eBay store. I have about 10 times more lace left in the box. That should add up nicely for my (once again) 1.00 purchase.

lots of trim--still for sale!

How about a brass doorknocker featuring a Scottish man in kilts with a bagpipe? I had 2 of these, exactly the same. I took them to an antique show and they didn’t sell for 6.00. I took one to my booth at Zionsville Antiques and it didn’t sell for 6.00. Then I listed one on eBay. It sold for 5.75 right before Christmas. I listed the other one and it just sold for 29.00 right after Christmas. You never know!

vintage tablecloth on auction until jan 12

VISIT ME AT  EVERYTHINGVINTAGESTEPH.COM

CLICK HERE for one of the best ebooks about buying and selling vintage items from thrift shops!! I use the cheat sheets and ideas in this book all the time!

Sold at the same flea market today that I wrote about last month. It was really PACKED! There were so many customers that I had people in front of my tables almost constantly. Sometimes they were 2 and 3 deep, looking over each other’s shoulders. I had one lady with a large walker “parked” in front of the jewelry for about 5 minutes and I could tell others were annoyed who wanted to look at the jewelry.

I only had 4 tables this time because I gave one to my son to sell stuff. He sold about 25$ and I sold about 170 $ just today. There is still tomorrow. I sometimes waited on 2-3 customers at once. Some people take a lot of time getting out their $$ so I just stick out my hand to take someone else’s 50 cents or 1.00 while I am waiting and then I might have 2 people digging in their purses for their money! It can get crazy but that is how I like it!

The Christmas items were still selling pretty well. People were buying purses and books and bottle openers and dolls and all kinds of knick-knacks. I had Barney back packs and tablecloths and a box of old paper for 50 cents a piece. People love to look through the pile.

If you live anywhere near Allentown, PA, check out merchantssquaremall.com and come on over!

neat vintage bedspread selling on ebay until Jan. 8 click on photo

too cute grandaughter!!

So now I can write about what I bought on eBay for Christmas presents since it won’t matter if my gift recipients read it! I got a vintage Star Wars game for Nintendo 64. Under 5$. Bought 2 mini tripods for cameras, 3.99 each. Bought one of those step on pedals that you plug into any outlet and it lights up the Christmas tree (or any electrical stuff) for 5$ free shipping. I wish I had bought more for gifts—I love it!

I also bought a Little Tikes video camera for my grandson that normally costs 75$ and I bought it for 45$. It was new.

I hope a lot of people got nice leather gloves this Christmas that they bought from me! I sold over 40 pair in the last month.

Some ebooks I bought for myself (not all for Christmas though!)…

A neat book about buying and selling thrift store stuff. Very detailed!  CLICK HERE

 A great book about selling on eBay that is really worth the $$ at  CLICK HERE.

 A great book about blogging that will save you TONS of time in getting started! CLICK HERE.

WHAT DID YOU BUY ON EBAY FOR CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR? Were you happy with the bargain you got??

Well, today was not very good for sales. I think I made about 50$ though but it was really slow! All the snow was gone and the sun was out but it was COLD! It was warm inside the flea market though…we are in a nice big building in an antique and collectibles mall. I sell there every month. The customers came but they were no mobs of poeple like there has been in the past in the winter months. I sold over half of my “junk” though and went home with 4 bins instead of the 9 I came with!

Most of the items I sell there are 50 cents and 1.00 so you know I sell a lot to get over 200$. The customers like it CHEAP! It’s all leftover stuff that I buy at local auctions and doesn’t work for eBay. I had a lot of Christmas stuff that I had been saving for a few months. Then I sold things like 2 old radios, china and pottery, milk bottle caps, old paper, cookbooks, scarves and mittens and hats–sold them ALL! It’s fun–I have a lot of repeat customers who come to see what new bargains I come up with!

some of my 50 cent jewelry

VISIT: merchantssquaremall.com

everythingvintagesteph.com

Awesome snowstorm we are having here in PA today! It’s a little crazy—some areas (mainly south) are getting 12+ inches and others about 4 inches—we are somewhere in the middle. I set up YESTERDAY for a flea market in Allentown, which is about 20 miles north of me. Well, it started snowing about 7AM here and already had a half-inch on the ground by 8AM when we left our town to get to Allentown. I was worried about the roads and the sale and the fact that no one likes to come out in any kind of bad weather, so why even bother going??

I am glad we went! There was NO snow in Allentown until about 2PM which is when the sale was about over. TONS of people came to the sale at Merchants Square Mall and I made about 200$ so far. The sale goes for another day and the snow is supposed to be over by morning so I am off again! The roads were pretty bad on the way home but my husband was driving and I closed my eyes for a lot of it! I get nervous if he gets too close to the car ahead and I don’t want to keep yelling at him!

We stopped for a late lunch/early dinner at the Emmaus Diner on the way home and there were only a few people there. Some guy in a Honda Civic was doing donuts in the parking lot while we watched out the huge front windows. Great pumpkin cheese cake!

 

 

just listed on fixed price

I just listed 4 pair of these leather gloves on fixed price and sold a pair in about 5 minutes! at everythingvintagesteph.com

Some of the grandkids...Merry Christmas!

I hope you’ve been shopping at eBay this Christmas! I buy more and more online each year. I know some people like the crowds at the mall and getting the chance to touch and smell everything before you buy it. But I like to sit in my pj’s at the computer and comparison shop and make my decisions without having to battle the traffic and the weather. I bought most of my son’s presents on eBay and Amazon this year. He wanted vintage video games and such (he’s 26). That was easy on eBay! I got some other electronics for other members of the family for a great discount too. Can’t mention what—I think some of them read this! I did a lot of shopping at Land’s End this year because I could have my girls look through the print catalog at my house and then I ordered online after they made some choices. Easy!

neat paperweight for sale!

I sold a lot on eBay the last few weeks also. My new Italian leather gloves are a very good sell and I sold quite a few socks for your crocs—still have some of those left. I had about 15 Thomas the tank Engine playmats and now there are only 2 left. My specialty is of course, the vintage items and these sell great at Christmas too. My 3 FAVORITE FINDS this week are:

2. 1938 Lionel train catalog that I found in my husband’s old attic. Sold for  22.50. Also had 3 others from later years that sold between 12.50 and 22.50.

lionel train catalog

3. 1928 copy of sheet music “Shortnin’ Bread” that I bought in a pack of music for 1.00 the whole pack. Sold for 9.51 and there’s a lot more music in the pack! Cute illustration of an aunt jemima figure on the front.

shortnin bread sheet music

I’m not listing much this week since the week right before Christmas is pretty slow but check out my bargains at everythingvintagesteph.com anyway to see what’s selling!

still selling jeans starting at 3.00!!