everything vintage/what is it worth?

This is one of the items I had for sale at the Kutztown PA Renningers antique extravaganza  this past weekend (end of June). It didn’t sell! I should have displayed it better — it was off to the side. A fellow vendor said I should sell the animals separately so I bagged them up. About 5 minutes later, someone bought the cow for 7.00.

Usually the summer sale is not as well attended as the spring and fall sales. I expected to sell about 600$ but was happy to come away with almost 800$. I didn’t have anything priced over 40$ (except for one quilt) and most sales were $5-10 each. Many vendors said it was the worst they had ever done. The weather was gorgeous! We had one big thunderstorm but that is normal for the summer.

I had some really cute animal pottery. The vendor next to me bought 6 of the pots and then I sold a few more. I had about 10 of them in dogs, mice, pigs, etc. I had them priced at 5.00 each cuz I got a whole box full for 5.00.

This was probably one of the best things I had there. It is an old print of 2 boys playing with their toys from the early 1900s. Someone asked me if it was a circus painting. I said no, it is a print, and this is how boys dressed in the early 1900s and they played with a hoop by rolling it down the street. Times have changed! It did have a good bit of damage around the edges and although it did not sell, it got a lot of attention!

I have a lot of vintage hats right now. I went to an auction where they sold the entire table full of hats and purses and ties in one bid. I bought them all for 25.00. There were over 50 hats on the table. Some of them are showing up on my eBay store now. Click on any of the photos to visit my store or click everythingvintagesteph.com.
THANKS!

I wasn’t going to stop this week but the thrift store is just down the street from the gym. Had to stop! Glad I did. Everything was 25% off. I got 4 Jerry Garcia ties, 3 other ties, and 2 mugs. My bill was 4.77!  That’s a good day for sourcing for eBay!

These ties are so beautiful. They look like watercolor  paintings. I can usually spot them without even looking at the tags. Who knew Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead) had a designer tie collection? I’ve gotten about $10-12 each for these ties on eBay.

This Alien neck tie is pretty cool too! The one with the cars and surfboards is a clip on. I will be listing these in the next few days. Today is June 10. CLICK on any of the photos or on EVERYTHINGVINTAGESTEPH.COM to view my auctions. If you don’t see these ties after June 12 or so, they might already be sold!

The mugs are a scrabble mug and a Disney mug. Probably keeping them for myself—unless I have a request!

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!

Where do you find all the stuff you sell? I get asked that question a lot. I love my junk. I love to buy junk and sell junk. I keep a little bit of junk around the house to decorate with but I’m NOT a hoarder. I’m addicted to selling junk, not keeping it. I went a lot of places in the last 2 weeks and found SO much junk, I can’t wait until I’m finished writing about it so I can get more listings done! I have about 450 items in my eBay store right now but my new goal is 500.

These first 2 photos were from the same local estate auction I attended last thursday. This guy has an auction every other week. You can see the great variety! I bought a table full of shoes for a few dollars. The green depression glass will go to the Kutztown extravaganza at renningers.com later this month. Miss Piggy and the stuffed anmals will go to merchantssquaremall.com for the monthly garage sale. Some of the  shoes will go on ebay at everythingvintagesteph.com. I also have a booth at an antique mall zionsvilleantiques.com.

Another day I went to Liberty Thrift shop. Their special this week was shoes and linens 50% off and all yellow tag clothing 1.00 each. I bought a bag full of yellow tag clothing. Gap, Express, Liz Claiborne, Old Navy, and more!

Also made my bi-weekly trip to the Goodwill CLEARANCE store. Everything is 85 cents a piece but you have to DIG through the bins that they change every day. Spent over 60$ so I got a LOT of great stuff. Again brand names like Bill Blass, Tommy Bahama, Larry Levine, LA Blues, etc.

I’m not ashamed to buy new stuff either! Got a box in the mail this week with 40 bathing suits. Unbelieveable price from topper liquidaters. I can make such a good profit from these that I’m afraid to say what they cost! Just check it out at everythingvintagesteph.com.

Here’s a few more items from the local estate auction!

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!

This is a quilt I sold this week. It sold for 66.00. I paid 35$ at the local estate sale near me. It is a beautiful quilt. The condition is like new. I do not know the exact age but I am guessing it is around the 1970s or so. How do I guess this?

1. I feel the fabric. It feels like a cotton blend rather than all cotton. Cotton blend was  invented as a “no iron” fabric in the 1950s. Anything with a cotton blend is probably at least 1950s  and on.

2. I look at the style of the quilt. It has raised sections for the flowers and most older quilts were all flat.

3. I feel the batting. The older the quilt, the less thick the batting. This one is somewhat thick. Again this has to do with the introduction of polyester to the batting.

Here is a group of neck ties that I sold this week. I bought a box of them for 1.00. There were probably 20 or so in the box. Some were dirty (threw those out), some were newer (sold those at the flea market for 1.00 each), and some were vintage like these (the novelty ones with special designs are the best–these are all nautical). I sold them for 9.57  total. Two of these were marked “Rooster” on the back. I like that brand—they are always unique.

My last favorite find is this Hallmark pop up book. I bought it in a box of books for which I paid 1.00 or less for all. It sold for 11.73. I even made a mistake on the title! I got a bid within a few hours of listing it and then I noticed that I spelled the word “might” instead of “mighty”. I don’t know if this affected the search or not! You can’t change the title once it has a bid so I was stuck with it that way. It sold to someone in Germany.

Those are my favorites for this week. Below are some items that are listed in my store right now—if they are still there! Check them out at everythingvintagesteph.com. OR click on any photo above to visit my store of over 350 items. (vintage also means used clothing!)