everything vintage/what is it worth?

Welcome to my booth! No this is not my eBay site but it is an antique booth that I rent at the Zionsville Antique Mall in Zionsville, PA. You can see their website at zionsvilleantiques.com. You can’t order from the website but you can get a lot of information about antiques from the website or go there if you can!

It is an amazing place of 30,000 square feet of antiques. I took my aunt there last week and we were there for 3 hours and still didn’t see everything! This is another way that I can sell my vintage items besides listing them on eBay. Ebay is still my primary source of income and sales but sometimes I have items that are too large to mail or they just need to be held and touched to be appreciated.

I also sell at antique shows and flea markets. (Another one is coming up at the end of September at renningers.com)

If you have any questions about any items in the photos, just leave a comment! I can always remove an item from Zionsville and place it in an eBay listing if there is any interest. That is, if it hasn’t already sold from Zionsville! I sell about 50 items or more a month from my booth there. In comparison, I sell about 150 items a month on eBay. Of course, I have to list and photograph and mail each of those eBay items. With the Zionsville booth I just pay the rent and they do all the work.

I hope you have some antique malls in your area to visit. It’s a great way to recycle old items and sometimes even save some money compared to new items. This is especially true of furniture. So go green!

SWAGBUCKS IS awesome and fun. I am using it to earn 5.00 gift certificates for amazon and then using the certificates to buy mailing supplies for eBay.

Amazon has boxes for items other than priority like padded envelopes, and tape, etc.

It doesn’t take much time either. Try it. It’s FREE! Just click on the icon above.

I am assuming you already know about the free shippng supplies for priority mail. These are at usps.com. You just need to ship priority and all the envelopes and boxes, etc. are free. It makes eBaying a lot easier!

everythingvintagesteph.com

Yes, sometimes I have a few bombs that just don’t sell. I still believe that almost anything can sell on eBay though–you just have to present it properly.

Dollar store items. Sometimes they do sell for way more than a dollar! I bought these frames at the dollar store at  the Jersey shore. They are really nice! The reason I bought them is because I wanted to count my trip to the shore as a business expense if I found enough items to buy while I was down there–like going to yard sales and thrift stores, etc. Well, it didn’t really work out that way but I did buy a few things on the boardwalk to resell. I didn’t think I could get more than 1$ if I only sold one at a time so I put all 3 of them together. I didn’t sell them the first time around (starting price 4.00). The postage was for 2 pounds so that might have been discouraging the sale. I think I am going to relist them in my store though–at least for a month–and see if they sell. This is a good strategy that usually works for me.

A Christmas tablecloth in July. A lot of people know about the “Christmas in July” thing. It works on eBay too. This tablecloth did not sell though. I am going to use the keywords “Xmas in July” when I relist it and see if that helps. Try searching for “Xmas in July” and you will find a lot of items. I also have listed another really nice SANTA 1950s tablecloth that already has generated 3 bids in the first 24 hours I listed it. (auction is over on July 29)

Old Soap Opera Digest magazines—one at a time. I looked at other people’s auctions for vintage Soap Opera Digest mags. They were selling one at a time. Some sold for .99 or a little more—others did not sell. I listed 9 at a time and they are now at 25.00 with 2 days left.

It will cost me  a lot less in fees that way too and save me a lot of time by listing them all together. Check out any of my auctions at everythingvintagesteph.com and have a great day!

ride the ducks quackers

So they say when something big happens in the news, if you can sell it on eBay, then go for it! Well, this is my attempt to capitalize on that theory. There was an accident today on the Delaware river in Philadelphia involving the ride the ducks ride. It is a fun tour that drives you through the city and then goes onto the river and becomes a boat. I’ve been on it. They give you these “quackers” that kind of work like a kazoo to blow into it and make a quacking noise. They are very annoying but fun.

I saved my 2 from last year and had them in my “junk drawer.” So I got them out today and listed them on eBay. It’s a fun item and I hope they find the 2 people that are still missing as of 9PM this evening. Most of the people were not hurt badly but certainly it was very scary.

I even have a video on my listing to show how the quackers sound. Here is a link to the listing.     RIDE THE DUCKS

OR  here is just the video

Rats, I forgot to take pictures today of what I was doing at the Renninger’s extravaganza antique show. This sale is held three times a year and the end of June is the least attended of all the 3. The other 2 are the end of April and the end of September. However, I was SO busy today! I sold about 440.00 worth of cool junk! I sell mainly primitive items at this show. Some of the items were: old wash tub 8$, old towel rack 10$, old jar 7$ (it had a chip), old kitchen tools 3$ each, 7 kazoos at 1$ each, parts to an erector set 8$, etc.

It started at 10 AM and started to slow down around 1PM because it was SO hot! It was supposed to be about 95 degrees but I’m not sure what it was. I was underneath a pavilion and there was a breeze so it wasn’t too bad. Then we had a BIG thunderstorm around 3PM and everyone sort of disappeared after that. I left around 3:15 and the sale goes until 5 but everyone was leaving–no customers! I have to get more stuff to take tomorrow to fill in all the empty spaces!

If you want to know more about the sale go to renningers.com. I am at the Kutztown site.

I am selling at the Renningers antiques and flea market in Kutztown, PA. this weekend. June 24, 25, and 26. Check it out at renningers.com. It’s fabulous and huge! I will try to report my experiences each day. Tommorow, wed. is set up day. These photos from my porch are some of the primitives I will be taking. They are very popular at this sale although I don’t sell many of these on eBay. I guess I could but they are large items and would take a lot of postage!

I just made this tonight and it was so yummy and easy, I am posting the recipe for my facebook friends..and anyone else!

8 oz. egg noodles (pasta ribbons)

1 ½ lb. ground beef

2 cups spaghetti sauce

1/3 cup  onion chopped

8 oz. cream cheese

1 cup cottage cheese

½ cup sour cream

1. Cook noodles until tender. Drain and set aside.

2. Brown beef and onions; add spaghetti sauce

3. Mix cheeses and sour cream

4. In 3 quart casserole, pour half the noodles. Top with cheese and cream mixture and cover with remaining noodles. Top with beef mixture.

5. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes

The cream and cheese mixture make it so yummy and it’s easier than lasagna!

click here to view my eBay bargains! New items listed every day.

The tortoise and the hare

This is me (the tortoise with the trophy) in a play that I was in a few weeks ago. It was “Aesop’s Fables.” Because we don’t have a lot of actors, I got to play 3 characters…the lion, the grasshopper, and this one—the turtle. You know what the turtle always says…..”SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE!”

Well, that is what I apply to my business on eBay! Lots of things have changed on eBay since I started selling in 1998. Lots of people complain about the changes. My uncle complains because he used to get 100.00 for items that are now more common (because of more exposure on eBay) that sell for 20.00. My friend (nameless) complains because she has to use paypal for all her transactions and she hates the fees. These 2 people no longer sell on eBay. I am still on eBay and will stay on eBay because slow and steady wins the race! I just learn to adapt and keep going. I list about 6 items everyday and just keep going and going and yes I keep making money, whether a lot or a little, it’s still a good business!

vintage sewing and more!

eBay vintage junk

I’m not hurting for inventory. Here’s some of my junk—organized and unorganized that is waiting to be listed on eBay. I get more every week. I mainly go to local estate sales for vintage items and to the thrift stores for clothing. I rarely pay more than 1.00 for any one thing that I list. OK, a few nice things I might pay 5-10$ for. I never pay more than 1$ for clothing though!

Slow and steady wins the race so I will keep listing and selling until I get tired of it. I’ve been at it for over 11 years now so…..

platform shoes

Here’s some crazy shoes I just listed today. Click on any photo or click  HERE to go to my store and visit my slow and steady listings!

46 star flag

It pays to count your stars! I listed a 48 star flag on eBay last week. At least I thought it was a 48 star flag. I know that when the stars all line up it is usually a 48 star flag. I just glanced at it quickly. I bought it at the local estate auction as a 48 star flag because apparently the auctioneer did the same thing I did. Looked at it very quickly.

A few hours after I listed the flag, I got an email question. The person pointed out that this was a 46 star flag, not a 48. Boy was I happy! I was able to change the listing title in time to reflect the new information. A few things went in my favor. First of all, if anyone had placed a bid on my auction before I received this info, I would not have been able to change the listing. Then, the kind person who sent me the info had not bid on my auction. I do not know whether on not this person intended on bidding or not BUT they could have bid before sending me the info and then they would definitely have had an advantage. They would have known it was a 46 star flag and no one else would have known from the title (since I can‘t change it after there is a bid placed) and they probably could have gotten the flag for a very reasonable price.

Thank you kind person for not bidding, so I could change my title and attract a lot more bidders! I think I paid between 1 and 5$ for the flag. I started the listing at 5.00. By the time it ended, I had over 30 people watching it and it ended at 76.00. There was a little damage to it but not much.

So the lesson here is, count your stars before you list your flag! The 46 star flag has a few rows slightly askew to make up for the fact that there are not 6 rows of 8 like a 48 star flag has. If you have good eyes, you can see in the photo that there are only seven stars in the 2nd and 5th rows.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK MY OTHER VINTAGE FIND AUCTIONS ON EBAY!!

I just got back from an estate sale where I filled my van with old JUNK. Hey, it’s good junk! I know what I like to look for and sell and that is what I bid on at the local estate auctions. I don’t like to pay too much for any one item so I tend to buy in boxlots when possible. I take a big box with me and after I spend a few dollars filling it up, I carry it out to my van. Then I go back in for more!

This particular auction runs from 12 noon until about 4 or 5 PM—every week at a local firehouse. I usually stay until the end because that is when the bargains start piling up—people have left and the auctioneer wants to finish it all up so it goes fast.

So, enjoy looking at my junk and you can expect to see some of it listed soon at everythingvintagesteph.com. If you have any questions about any particular item, please leave a comment!!