everything vintage/what is it worth?

This is a partial shot of my “eBay room.” I am lucky to have an office I can devote to my eBay items. These are the ones that are ready to sell so I hope to have them listed SOON! I go to estate auctions, thrift stores, and (very few) garage sales, to find my items. My main source is the local estate auction. I can find one of these almost any day of the week here in PA! I know, I’m lucky!

Since I am a librarian, I love to find old books. I like to buy an entire box at a time if I can. The worth of a book is dependent on its condition and rarity and desirability. The average price for a book I might sell on eBay is about 5.00. Recently, I sold a 6 book set of American Girl books for 20.50, a 1967 EXPO Canada souvenir book for 7.00, and a Care bears cross stitch book for 10.50.

I was very excited to find both of these paint by number pictures at the Goodwill clearance store last week. They were marked 3.97 but they were half price! Yes, vintage paint by number pix can be very hot! Their worth mainly depends on the subject matter. Right now on eBay, the lowest price sold was a mallard duck for 99 cents and the highest was a ship for $150. There were no monkeys. I can’t wait to list this one!

I also love vintage sewing. I usually have to save up until I have a nice big lot of buttons or trim or needle packs or wooden spools like these to make a lot for eBay. Last time I sold a pound of these wooden spools, they went for about 10.00.

Nice tupperware can be a good seller on eBay…..especially vintage tupperware from the 1970s or so. You can spot it by the color. None of these are very old but if you can find the bright orange, green, gold, and brown pieces from the 70s, you have a good find!

Look for vintage or new scarves. A brand name is important. Some old ones to look for are Echo, Vera, and Glentex. If you can find a HERMES, you are very lucky!

Blue jeans, vintage or gently used, are always in demand! If you can pick up a pair for a dollar or two, try it on eBay! This has become my specialty in the last few months and they always sell. Everyone wears jeans, everyone looks for the perfect pair, and most people like to wear ones that are already broken in!

CLICK ON ANY of the above photos or click on everythingvintagesteph.com to visit my eBay store and see what else is selling!

I sell a lot of used shoes on eBay. I have been doing it for about 6 months so I am still learning. But here is what I have learned:

1. They DO sell!
2. You have to be able to get them at a good price (less than 5$)
3. They have to be in like new or very gently used condition.

Brand name shoes always sell — same principle as brand name clothes. The higher the price in a brick and mortar store, the higher the price you can get on eBay. Sports shoes like these Adidas soccer cleats are a great find!

I found all of the above shoes at the Goodwill clearance store for 1.50 a pair. All of the shoes at the clearance outlet are thrown onto a table. You really have to dig and have an eye for potential!  Sometimes I even have to play “find the hidden shoe” so it’s a real treasure hunt! But it is worth it.

I might have to spruce some of them up with a little cleaning but I start most of my shoes at 15.00 with free shipping. If they don’t sell on auction, I move them into my store and raise the price but add a “best offer.”

I even found this pair of marching band boots! white leather ($3.97)

Garage sales are also a good source for shoes. All of the above shoes are for sale now in my store at everythingvintagesteph.com. But they won’t be there for long! My shoes sell quickly! Click on any of the photos to get to my eBay store. Thanks for reading!

vintage quilts

Last month I sold vintage items at the Renninger’s Extravaganza in Kutztown, PA. I tagged these quilts at 100.00 (the tied one was 40.00) and did not sell any of them. The only linens I usually take to that show are quilts. Why? Because my aunt sells right next to me and she has the most beautiful linens ever! She washes and irons them all until they look pristine and gorgeous. I can’t compete with that! (and I don’t have the patience!)

Here are some of the tablecloths she was selling. They start at about 24.00 and go higher depending on the quality of work in them. A hand embroidered one can sell for close to 50.00.

Vintage tea towels will sell for 7-12$ That’s a steal!

Vintage napkins are ironed and bundled into packs of 4, 6, 10, or 12 matching sets. They sell for 12-24$ (about 3$ a napkin, depending on the size.) It’s rare to find 10 or 12 matching ones but it’s cool to mix and match them on your table.

Vintage hankies are very popular. They sell for 3.00 each. Use them in a birthday card or small addition to a gift. They come in embroidered, crocheted and my favorite, the printed ones!

I do have some vintage linens in my eBay store and on auction at almost any given time. Click on any of the photos above or visit me at everythingvintagesteph.com.

I spent 3 days selling at the Kutztown PA Renningers antique show extravaganza last weekend. Sales were great! The spring is always the best show. They also have one the end of June and the end of September. Check Renningers.com for dates! This first photo is mainly some of my pottery and vintage games. I sold the Parcheesi for 8.00 and Shifty Gears for 7.00. One piece was missing from Chutes and Ladders so I am going to try to find it on eBay because at least 3 customers looked at it and were disappointed it was missing! I still have Cookie Monster but I did sell 2 other cookie jars.

In this photo I sold the old baby dish (bottom left) to a woman who was so thrilled to find one at a good price of 8.00 (it has a crack). I sold the darts for 7.00, one of the flour sifters for 7.00, some of the button packs for 3.00 each, and one piece from the copper canister set for 7.00.

I took 5 nice quilts to sell. Most of them were priced at 100.00 (the tied one was less). I did not sell any of them but they will show up on eBay soon!

This is some of the stuff I had on the ground. I sold the suitcase for 9.00, both enamelware pans for 4.00 each, and the sewing case with drawers for 18.00. I did not sell the tapestry (40.00), table (30.00), or market basket (5.00). I ended up with over 1000.00 in sales for the 3 days. I was happy!

I never heard of swanky swigs until this week. Here’s how it happened… .. About once a month I go to a local auction at a farmer’s market. They have lots of box lots and usually a crazy mix of primitives and glassware, toys and linens, pottery and guns and jewelry — you never know! I love it.

Glassware has always been very collectible but it doesn’t seem as popular right now. However, at most of these auctions, there is always some type of glassware. This action had LOTS of it! There were some very expensive pieces and then there were box lots of miscellaneous.  Of course, I bought a few boxes of miscellaneous — I always go for the cheap stuff!

Anyway…… I got a lot of miscellaneous glassware. I usually don’t like glassware because it is breakable and I sell a lot of things through eBay which means wrapping it in bubble wrap and mailing it — it’s extra work. To top off the extra work thing, these all had large stickers on them with a price and a description and they were very hard to remove!

I did appreciate the information though, which is how I found out that they are called swanky swigs! They are about 3 1/2 inches high so I just thought they were juice glasses. According to eBay searches,  most of these types of glasses are worth about 5$ each. Animals and flowers are popular. Some of the more expensive ones I found on eBay had a baby teddy bear (sold for 31.00), bright red flower (19.50), and a set of 4 red hot chili peppers (30.00).

Apparently, there’s a whole series of these in different colors called “Bustling Betsy”. She’s running around trying to serve some men. That dates it!

Then I found these with the tulips. One is slightly taller than the other so it’s probably not a “swanky swig.” Maybe just an ordinary juice glass! I’m going to sell them together on eBay anyway because the tulips are really cute. (I learned this little trick to put a white paper in the glass so you can see the design better).

These were marked with a big sticker that said “jadite swanky swigs.” So I’m going with that in my description. They are the right size and they are the color of jadite. Also in excellent condition! I only got 2 of them.

Click on any of the photos or on everythingvintagesteph.com to watch the auctions of the swanky swigs and other great vintage items!

I learn something new every day when selling on eBay. I am learning about men’s ties today. I found these J Garcia ties at the Goodwill store. I thought they were beautiful. I was surprised when they sold for 24.00 for the both of them.

Got this Rush Limbaugh tie at the same time. It sold for 19.50. So I started researching other ties and the prices they were going for. I never heard of a Chick Fil A tie but apparently they are rare and are selling for over 200$! Other names selling for about 200$ are Hermes, Armani, and Giorgio. I kind of expected that but I didn’t realize they were that expensive. I live at the Goodwill store, that’s why!

So I think this Perry Ellis tie I have listed now in my store for 7.00 is a steal! Other brands that are selling for between 20 and 40$ are Burberry, Van Heusen, and Ralph Lauren.

I also bought about 5 Tasmanian Devil ties at the Goodwill. This is the only one I have left and it is only 6.00 in my eBay store! There are some ties listed on eBay right now for 2 cents with free shipping!! How can they do that?? It doesn’t make sense. BUT it does prove that eBay is a great place to get bargains on men’s ties!

CLICK on any of the photos above or click on everythingvintagesteph.com to visit my eBay store and see what’s selling!

Good question! It’s one I face every time I list and I have come up with a few guidelines. I do have an eBay store with many vintage items and some great used clothing. I like to keep my store full of great stuff so sometimes I just list items in the store to get it more filled up. I have about 350 items in my store now and my next goal is 500.

However, I do like to list clothing on auction sometimes when I am not sure how much it is worth. The high end brands such as 7 for all mankind, Lucky, Diesel, should all go on auction unless you have researched a good fixed price. I usually don’t find these brands in the places I search for clothing!

Although the brands that have their own store such as Bass, Ralph Lauren, Liz Claiborne, Columbia, Gap, Old Navy are also very popular. Sometimes I will list these on auction if I have a unique pair but I usually put these right into my store with a fixed price of 9.99. Again, I am talking about used clothing for the most part and 9.99 is still a bargain!

I normally don’t bother with brands that are sold exclusively by Walmart or Kohl’s or other department stores. Although Route 66, Riders, Sonoma, and Faded Glory are popular, they don’t bring the prices of the other brands. However, I still might list those in my store and see what kind of response I get.

So, how do I decide?

1. Is it a higher end brand that is worth more than 9.99, even if used? Then put it on auction.
2. Is it a brand that has it’s own brick and mortar store? Then maybe put it on auction, but fixed price in the store might be a quicker sale.
3. Can’t decide? Then put it on auction with a buy it now of 10-15$ and see what happens!
You want to give the customer as may choices as possible.
And when it sells, thank yourself, don’t second guess your choice!

When it is a vintage item, always list on auction. I had no idea these mags from the 70s  would sell for more than 10$ EACH!

And this FBI shirt sold for 26.00. (I bought it for 85 cents).

Click on any photo to visit my store or click on everythingvintagesteph.com.
THANKS FOR VISITING! Leave a comment if you would like my opinion on what something vintage might be worth.

I was selling at an antique show this weekend in Allentown, PA. The weather was slushy and cold so we did not  have a very good attendance. However, I did sell about 3 times my table rent so it was worth the few hours I was there.  I would like to give a report on what I sold as well as some of the items I sold on eBay lately. The Karting News magazines above were sold for about 10.00 a piece. I sold them in various lots. They were all from the 1970s.

I had this really neat alien registration card from 1942. It sold for 5.00. I like paper items because they are easy to transport and mail.

This cool looking purse sold for 10.00. I think it is worth a lot more but… that’s always the story! I found it at a Goodwill store for 4.00.

This poetry book was dated 1905. It had a leather cover and you can see how the design is shaped like a necklace. That sold on eBay for 10.50.

I took this vintage cookie jar that I got for 5.00 at an estate sale. I actually got 2 of them for 5.00 because they were selling this larger one and a smaller one setting on top of it as one cookie jar. They are actually 2 pieces from a canister set. I priced them at 8.00 and 12.00 for the antique show but they did not sell. They got some attention though since they are really cute!

This last item is pretty unique! It is a vintage braided rug that was started and not finished. It has all the wool ready to go. Some of it was cut into strips and rolled up and other fabric was still uncut. I paid 3.00 for this at a local estate auction. I listed it on eBay starting at 5.00. It sold for 45.97. I was very happy! And hopefully, my customer was also very happy!

Click on any of the photos above or go to everythingvintagesteph.com to view my eBay sales, both current and completed. Thanks for stopping by!!!

I had 2 great shopping trips this week to get more items to sell on eBay and at my flea market and antiques mall booth.The first trip was on Monday. I went to an auction in Leesport, PA. It is held once or twice a month in a large room at a farmer’s market. My bill was for about 150$ and I came home with a VAN load of stuff!

Everything from vintage pyrex to vintage pixies! I should be able to 5-7 times my $$ on this van load alone. In some cases, I bought an entire table’s worth of “junk”  for 1.00. That is great flea market stuff.

From vintage gadgets to vintage games! The games should be worth about 10.00 each or so and the gadgets 5-10 at an antique sale and less at a flea market.

My next shopping trip was on Thursday—to my favorite Goodwill clearance store. Where every piece of clothing is 85 cents each. I found some great brand names and even a few items with the tags still on them! I have at least 20 pairs of jeans plus t shirts and caps, career pants, and even some Tommy Hilfiger shoes that look like new! I spent about 70$ on all of the items and if I sell each one (and I probably will over time in my eBay store) I will get anywhere from 4-10$ a piece (maybe more if I auction a few of the better choices).

So visit me at everythingvintagesteph.com to see how my items are doing!

These are some of the brands of jeans that I am offering right now in my eBay store everythingvintagesteph.com. I sell mainly vintage items but I have a great source for gently used, like new clothing, so I have branched out into that area. What are they worth? I start them at 4.00 on auction and list them at 9.99 in my store (shipping not included).

Since you are reading my blog, I will give you a special hint: I always use best offer on my listings and I almost always accept anything over 4.00. Why? Because I buy them for 85 cents a piece! Keep reading and you will find out where and how.

I listed these flannel lined jeans (LL Bean size 4) and they sold in one day! My secret source: the Goodwill clearance stores! They just raised the price in the clearance outlet from 75 cents to 85 cents per item. In Morgantown, PA, they change the bin clothing every single day. I only go about once or twice a month but they are loaded with great stuff every day! I just found out that this store will be moving soon and expanding to about 5 times the size and only offering clearance bins. I will be spending the day there!

Click on any of the photos or everythingvintagesteph.com to see what I am offering. Click on my completed auctions if you want to see what I have sold lately.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND THANKS FOR VISITING!!!