everything vintage/what is it worth?

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!

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 23rd, 2010 at 10:24 am and is filed under Recent random posts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.