Phreed83: My eBay Stockroom

Moving a little slowly this week

2009-01-11T13:25:00.002-05:00

My listings are going a bit more slowly of late as I am learning a new listing program. I have used eLister for many years, but am a bit tired of paying a license fee every 6 months. Since I have a Mac, there aren't a lot of options open to me -- I just don't like Auctiva - even though it's free -- too clunky.

I'm giving Garage Sale a try and it's working pretty well. Saving me a lot of time with my photos, since it uploads directly from iphoto to its own photo-hosting system. But after years with one software, it's hard to get used to the quirks of another, so bear with me.

Cheating on eBay with another site

2009-01-09T11:09:00.005-05:00

I've been unfaithful to eBay before, but I consider my dalliance with Amazon's Marketplace to be a whole separate relationship. However, my new fling with Art Fire is a little more symbiotic.

Art Fire is a little start-up online marketplace that specializes in hand-crafted items -- a competitor with Etsy -- and also has room for vintage items, antiques and craft supplies. I started a store - they call it a Studio - there a couple of weeks ago. I've been incredibly crafty lately so may list some original items, but was really thinking of it as an outlet for the vintage craft supplies, pattern books and items I find that need a little creativity applied to them -- all are often overlooked on eBay.

So far the site doesn't have that many buyers on it, but the price is right -- $7 a month for life if you sign up now (you can list 10 things at a time for free), rising to $20 per month for those late to the party. But there are no other fees for your sales -- no listing fees, no final value fees. If it catches on it could be a very good thing.

As it is, I am just migrating over craft-oriented listings that have been sitting in my eBay store for a while. I think until the site gets more eyes on it, the plan will be to list it once on eBay and then send it over to Art Fire. I'm planning a bunch of back-issues of some terrific PieceWork craft magazines, etc. for this weekend.

Register on ArtFire.com. Check my Studio link in the sidebar.

New Year's Resolution -- Make more time in the day

2008-12-29T21:02:00.002-05:00

I'm currently in re-grouping mode -- I'm working on cleaning up and organizing the old stock room so I can work more effectively on eBay. I got a mini photo studio for Christmas, which - I hope - will improve the quality of my photographs for smaller items. But I need to make space.

I'm also working on several little side ventures -- a store on Art Fire a new site, similar to Etsy, that will sell handcrafted items as well as vintage -- I'm moving my vintage arts and crafts patterns/books and some kitschy little things that get lost on eBay to this site. I've just started stocking it, but you can check it out here. I'm also hoping to make some original products to sell here -- my mind is buzzing with ideas for arty little items, I've just got to get going on them. I am addicted to crochet right now and am devoting too much time to that and not enough time to eBay (so now I'm too broke to buy yarn)

I've also been writing articles on eHow and am finally making a tiny bit of cash from that, so I need to keep up with writing (check the side bar for some of my eBay-related articles) -- and what seems almost more important, promoting my articles so people actually read them.

Anyway -- I'm having a brief year-end sale to clear out Christmas merchandise and other items that have been in my store several months -- buy it up, people, many bargains to be had.

O Sweet Electricity!

2008-09-20T11:13:00.002-04:00

After 6 long days without power, I'm back. I managed to send out a batch of packages mid-week by hanging out in front of The Apple Store at the mall and using their wireless connection --- much fun on my tiny little iPod Touch. I don't have a laptop, but it does do in a pinch: I got addresses - transcribing them into an actual paper notebook (shocking);sent a bulk email to let people know the reason for the delay (with the help of the conveniently located Apple Geniuses); and relisted a number of items.

The only thing I couldn't do was new listings. So I am planning a bunch for the weekend -- the lack of auctions closings through the week will put a serious crimp in my pre-payday cash flow. Luckily I have had a fairly steady stream of store purchases -- keep on buying people!!

Now off to work.

Surprise sale of the week

2008-09-08T19:19:00.002-04:00

Well the Vested Gentress dress sold, though not as well as expected -- 12 watchers, but only 2 bidders. I did get an unexpected surprise though with this Eileen Fisher wool jacket -- picked it up for only $5 -- making 21 times that is a nice way to end a Sunday evening.

Fun Find of the Week -- Vested Gentress dress

2008-08-30T12:49:00.008-04:00

This charming dress is from collectible maker Vested Gentress of Valley Forge, Pa., which according to the Vintage Fashion Guild's Label Resource was in business from 1961 to the late 1980s. The company specialized in brightly colored novelty prints made in to simple, very well-made clothing for Ladies Who Lunch and other country-club types.

I have come across a number of VG pieces over the past few years and they never fail to be decent sellers, though don't quite bring as much as I think they should. I wish I had saved photos of the first couple of pieces I found -- a skirt suit with a print of tiny tigers and a terrific white dress -- styled just like the one shown here - with a print of large bright yellow running horses around the full skirt. I'm sure it was worn to the Kentucky Derby.

I did turn up a pic of the last piece I found, a shift dress with the same cute cartoonish dog. This one was sold to a buyer in France, I think for about $36. At one point I had found a site of a VG collector with a ton of items shown, but can't find it anymore (note to self - when in doubt, bookmark). If you want to check out more VG designs, take a look at this recent post to the Palm Peach Blog.

Right now there are about 5 auction listings for VG dresses ranging from $10-$24 and 15 store listings from $16 to $125. There are 14 closed listings with sold prices from $10 to $177. I'm planning to list my current dress - a very wearable size 10 -- on Sunday for a starting bid of $32 in the vintage category. Check back here to see how it does.

Who would have thought?

2008-08-26T07:55:00.002-04:00

I almost didn't list this vintage miniature cap gun. I found it in a toy box at an estate sale a few weeks ago and paid just a quarter for it. Quite a nice return on investment.

In doing a bit of online research, I found there is quite a community of miniature cap gun collectors and some of these little items can fetch quite a good price.

Just goes to show you, there's a market for most everything on eBay. Today I'm off to the thrifts to see what can I dig up next.

Trash pick-up day for iPhoto

2008-08-21T14:50:00.000-04:00

Here's a little tip for all you eBay sellers who use Macs and process your photos with iPhoto -- empty your trash.

I have been using my same un-updatable version of iPhoto 2.0 for about 5 years and lately it has gotten so sluggish that it would actually take hours to get my photos from my camera to my .mac photo host. I would regularly delete photos from my iPhoto library, but (naive me) they weren't really gone.

Lo and behold there was a little file at the bottom of the file menu inside iPhoto labeled trash. I clicked on it yesterday and there sat more than 10,000 photos -- virtually everything I had sold for the past 5 years. I briefly considered going through them to pick out a few favorite items that I could write about, but using the program was like old-fashioned water torture, so I just clicked Empty Trash.

Last night when I uploaded a few photos it was pretty much back to its old self -- I was able to do a few listings and still make it to the couch in time for "Project Runway."

Home Shopping

2008-08-14T18:37:00.000-04:00

I did something today as an eBay seller that I haven't done in a long time. I shopped my own house for stuff to sell -- just the way I started out 8 or 9 years ago. One reason for this is I'm homebound. My car is in the shop so my options are limited.

However, some thinning out really is in order -- everytime I opened the kitchen cupboards an avalanche occurred. I came away with several fancy baking pans I used once or twice, a British Aga kettle, a vintage electric kettle and a nearly new toaster with its original box as well as some dishes, glassware, some vintage flower frogs and the cutest little pair of art glass bluebirds.

I also pulled out a pile of stuff of not quite eBay quality that went into the yard sale box (no it still hasn't happened, but I'm closer). Check my listings and Happy shopping.

Welcome back bidders!

2008-08-13T22:34:00.000-04:00

My kids went back to school today and the bidders seem to be back - coincidence? Yea Fall! My store also seems to be hopping -- that really goes in bursts, I can go for weeks without a single store item selling and then suddenly, for instance today, 7 items went.

Now I just need to replenish them. I made a quick run this morning while I still had wheels - my car has a transmission problem and is going to the shop -- I scored some vintage Atari games in their original boxes and the cutest Free People dress. The only problem is that it is black -- I have the worst time photographing black clothing, I can never catch any detail. Any tips?

So far, so-so

2008-08-07T10:28:00.000-04:00

Well at least I'm sticking to my goal -- yesterday I listed about 12 items and the day before 10. A few of those first 10 were conversions to auction from my store listings. If you've had a store for a while it's good to go in, probably seasonally, and pull out a few items - some overlooked gems -- and give them better exposure by re-listing them as auctions. Since auctions come up more reliably in searches, you'll get a few more eyeballs on them.

While I have stuck to my part of the bargain, I can't say that bidders have been doing the same. I had 2 days in a row where no auction item sold and yesterday, only a $5 item. Boo-hoo, though not unexpected for August.

August eBay goals

2008-08-04T16:41:00.000-04:00

Traditionally -- at least in the last 5 years in which I have been seriously doing eBay - August has been a slow month -- both for me getting listings up and for buyers who have more to do. Since we moved to Kentucky from Michigan, I have been getting a bit of a jump start when the kids go back to school in the middle of August and I get my house and my time back.

I seriously need cash (when don't I) and I still have a boatload of stuff (No I still didn't get to the yard sale), so I am going to set a goal of 8-10 new listings per day for the month. I'll go with the idea that -- If I list it - buyers will come! Here's hoping.

Garage Sale Part 2

2008-07-24T08:03:00.000-04:00

Well, the sale just didn't happen last weekend, so I am trying again. The weather is much nicer this week anyway --- it dropped down to the 80s and the humidity died down to a tolerable level.

The plan for today is --

sort through and organize the huge pile in the center of the garage -- put clothing into boxes by size -- pulling out things that need to hang on racks.

price glassware and collectibles already in the garage

go through our closets, kitchen cupboards and basement for more items

For Friday.

make signs and price lists

post sale on Craigslist (our paper raised their prices again and it's over $25 for a 4-line ad)

clean up items for sale that have been outdoors (basketball hoop and baseball net)

move patio tables to driveway

post signs by 5 p.m.

Garage Sale

2008-07-18T10:32:00.000-04:00

Not everything I buy to sell on eBay actually finds a new home. Sometimes, no matter how cool the item - the right bidder just doesn't see it. Other times, when I bring it home I find something wrong with the item -- just not eBay worthy (at least for me)-- or I decide it's too heavy or otherwise difficult to ship.

When I get a whole pile of those things -- as well as assorted flotsam & jetsam from the family mucking up the works, I just have to purge with a garage sale. Strangely enough, this usually coincides with the week before a vacation when an extra couple of hundred bucks are never unwelcome.

That time is now. If I can get my packages out quickly I'll get sorting and pricing and see if I can pull something together for tomorrow. I like to go 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and take the leftovers directly to Goodwill (where I have to remember not to repurchase the items the next week). Off to work.

My Amazon closet

2008-07-17T11:51:00.000-04:00

Off the metaphoric back of my eBay Stockroom is an Amazon Closet. A few months ago I decided to start listing all my books using Amazon's used book service. I'd never had great luck on eBay with books but they are hard to resist when you're a frequent thrifter like me -- only 50 cents so there is a nice margin for profit.

I started my Amazon store as a way to introduce my 15-year-old daughter to the world of work and to get a little business started that she could take with her when she goes off to college. My store is Elirie_Books, named for a character in the comics she draws.

I love it because it is so easy -- usually no picture to take or description to write, just plug in the ISBN number and the pic and description come up for you. You just have to fill in a note about its description, set your price and you're good to go. Anytime any one searches for that title on Amazon your book will come up as an option to buying new.

When a book sells, you get an email (or if you're like me you check your account a couple times a day), click print invoice (which has a label with the buyer's address you can slap on the front of your package) and send it out. The buyer has already paid Amazon. Amazon sends your your share of the sale every 2 weeks. Each book sold includes a $3.99 shipping credit (about a $1 more than it costs to send a book via media mail).

I've got my daughter started plugging in the ISBNs and listing the books - I buy the books and do the shipping. She just got her first "paycheck" for $40 - a third of the 2-week profit.

Couldn't be easier -- all you sellers with books laying around should give it a try.

7 for Someone Else

2008-07-15T19:58:00.000-04:00

Last week in my favorite thrift, they rolled out a new rack just as I was going to check out -- I detoured and thought I had hit the jackpot. There were not one or two, but 5 pair of 7 for All Mankind jeans, all new with tags. A bit fishy, right - but hey I've pulled Prada shoes, new Coach bags, Escada suits and more from these same racks. The fabric felt a bit light, but I thought it was worth a try for $15 bucks.

So far I've never knowingly sold a fake (and no one has complained of getting one either), so I wasn't going to list them without some due diligence. A quick search brought up a killer eBay Guide that briefly raised, then quickly dashed my hopes for big profits -- thanks a lot jenuine_bruin (no really). Everything was good until I got to the part about the top part of the 3s on the size labels not being rounded and the undersides of the rivets - all marked with 7s - not being flat. That's how good the fakes are now -- all the hardware is stamped - even the tags are the same.

My next dilemma was what to do with the 5 pair of worthless-to-me jeans (you know my butt wasn't squeezing into them). I felt like a dweeb taking them back to Goodwill (they do have a 10-day return policy) -- "These jeans I paid $3 a pair for are not real designer jeans, boo hoo." But I swallowed my shame -- hey $15 bucks is $15 bucks!

New Frontiers

2008-07-15T09:07:00.000-04:00

After plugging away at just listing my items on eBay -- and doing pretty well, but not quite well enough -- I'm trying to take advantage of some of the marketing tools that eBay offers. Today its uploading my stuff to Google Base -- I'm on attempt number two -- didn't put in my store URL the first time (can we say newbie). I'll let you know how it goes.

I'm also trying some customer discount programs (more on that later) and to do a store newsletter. It seems I have 10 subscribers but no newsletter -- which is sad, because in my past life I spent 7 years as a newsletter editor!

There is so much information out there on eBay affiliate programs and other ways to boost your eBay bottom line -- but it all seems a bit shady, like it's some sort of scam. I'm thinking I may start a separate blog just to provide practical seller info that tells you what's working and what's not from my own perspective without the sale's pitch.

Up Way Too Early

2008-07-14T08:10:00.000-04:00

Woke up at 6:45 this morning -- shocking for summer. There are just not enough hours in the day. I was posting eBay items -- some nice vintage -- until about midnight but still didn't sleep that well. Not too many items sold last night, but I still have about 10 packages to get out this fine morning -- plus 2 large glass items that need extra attention (and materials and time). When will I learn to resist oversize items, no matter how cool they are - especially when breakable! Enough moaning -- to work.

I'm back

2008-07-13T17:49:00.000-04:00

Well .... what can I say blog, it wasn't you, it was me - me and my laziness and altogether selfish attitude about my free time. I'm sorry I've been so neglectful. Now that I'm back, I swear it won't happen again.

Mystery couple

2007-02-22T07:46:00.000-05:00

I found this terrific pair of paintings yesterday. I believe they depict Peruvian peasants -- based on the clothing. Each is signed ESE and dated 58. They are painted on what looks like twill canvas. The only problem I see is that they were stretched over cardboard, which has warped a bit leaving them looking a bit wavy in the frame, but the canvas is pretty supple, so it looks like that could be corrected.

Such an unusual pair -- I'm just not sure whether to list them under Collectibles: Cultural/ethnic or Art.

Store Update

2007-02-04T15:21:00.000-05:00

Hurray! Thank you carla37865 (who I think is a repeat customer)! She's my first store customer -- 3 items purchased! Not even 24 hours after I started. Hopefully that bodes well.

My New Store!

2007-02-03T13:24:00.000-05:00

Well I finally took the plunge and opened my own eBay Store. I took the advice of the Queen of Auctions (at least her articles and newsletters) and will use the store mainly as a way to sell my poor little orphaned auction listings. The rule will be list it twice at auction and move it to the store. There are so many items I list that I can't believe didn't sell -- the store will give them a bit more time for people to find them.

It is still pretty basic -- I'm going back through expired listings for the past year and adding things -- about 50 items in there so far. I used a standard template and just adjusted the colors so there is a cohesive look between my store and my listings. I would like to do something with a bit more personality but my html design skills are zilch -- I'll need to find something to adapt. At any rate -- check out my store here.

Tax time -- ugh

2007-01-28T10:40:00.000-05:00

Been a bit slow at getting the listings up this week as I am working at our taxes. I use Turbotax online which seems to work pretty well -- it has the bonus of throwing in - It's Deductible -- which lets you easily calculate and import the value (incredibly high) of all the junk I cart off to Goodwill several times a year.

I'm still not taking a home office deduction, since it's basically my dining room, but I am thinking of taking the inventory storage area deduction because of my new ebay area. This is the first year that I've had a full year of eBay Reports, which also makes it so much easier to add up the eBay and Paypal fees -- I paid eBay $2800 last year! Paypal's bite was about half that. When you tote up all the expenses -- packaging supplies, the actual amount I spent on all the merchandise - it's surprising there's any profit left at all.

Enough griping - this hasn't kept me from going out and spending more! I went to an estate sale on Thursday and picked up some nice clothing and a few collectibles -- some vintage mohair capelets from Scotland, a Griffith Gray St. John Suit (which I later found had a tiny hole in the sleeve - boo), a men's Brooks Bros. Camel Hair jacket, an adorable child's strawberry quilt & pillow sham from The Company Store and a Porshe belt. The next day I picked up a pair of 1915 tankard-style mugs with portraits of dogs on them - very nice - and a pair of Cole-Haan boots. You never know what you'll find next. That's what gets me - the "thrill of the hunt" -- and why my merchandise expense is so high at tax time!

Mid-winter blues

2007-01-20T16:09:00.000-05:00

I set out for the solitary estate sale in the paper this morning with high hopes -- it was nearby, said house was filled, low-prices and I got an early start. When I arrived it turned out it was the 2nd weekend of the sale and I only found a few things -- then 2 items turned out to have been broken and repaired when I saw them under better light, so boo!

I took a trip through a couple of thrifts and scored a bunch of expensive shoes in like new condition and a great cashmere blazer. Of course when I got home I found that one pair of boots were actually mismatched -- again boo! Both of these instances tell me I need to pay a bit more attention to details -- rather than get caught up in the thrill of the hunt.

Anyway -- I did many listings this week -- partly due to the 20 cent listing sale eBay had on Thursday and partly because I am a even more of a Warcraft widow this weekend than usual. The expansion pack came out on Tuesday and apparently my charms do not compare to that of the Blood Elf. If you know what that means you are probably in the same boat!

Support your local Girl Scouts!

2007-01-16T07:57:00.000-05:00

It's that time again! Girl Scout cookie time. Now through Jan. 28 you can order your favorite cookies from your local troop. Individual troops receive .55 per box to use for service projects, trips and other troop activities. Each council receives funds to support larger scale regional activities.
My personal favs are the coconut/carmel Samoas, with peanut butter Tagalongs a close second. This year they've discontinued the Lemon Coolers and introduced Little Brownies - a crunchy chocolate-chocolate chip cookie that is sugar free. I've had a sample and they're really pretty good.
In our council cookies are $3.50 per box and will be delivered the week of Feb. 22. It is actually a no-no to sell GS cookies on eBay (Girl Scout rules), so please support your local troop. No one knocking on your door -- find your local council here . Still no joy -- shoot me an email and my troop can hook you up.

My new eBay workspace

2007-01-13T19:10:00.000-05:00

It is still a work in progress, but so much better than what I had previously -- It makes photographing, measuring and packing my items much less of a job. It also gives us a place to play and store board games and lets my daughter pound on the keyboard or get out messy toys without anyone hassling her. I originally intended to put another TV out there, but the electric wiring would not handle it. I had to rewire all the sockets after the space heater blew one out.

Like I said in my last post, I still plan to finish the floor with some concrete stain. I also need to rehang the matchstick blind I'm using to cover the closet. You can't see it in the photos, but I created a closet using the Rubbermaid wire shelving that was all over the garage -- I fit it into an 8-foot alcove to give me storage for clothing -- as I seem to be selling more and more clothes. Actually the whole project was all about recycling items I already had. All I bought was 2 heavy-duty plastic Sterlite 5-shelf units (on sale for $25 each), 1 gallon paint ($10), the gray couch ($30 at Goodwill), the 5-arm floor lamp ($19 at Target), and 2 orange area rugs ($7 each at Goodwill).

I read that garage renovations that take out the doors so it can't be used as a garage anymore actually hurt the value of the home, so I didn't want to do anything permanent (and couldn't afford to anyway). Luckily the interior was already dry-walled and the ceiling finished. To make the doors blend in I painted them the same as the wall (I thought the beige I bought would be darker than it was) and brought in the huge Algerian Ivy plants I had on my porch all summer. I moved the sports rack to the center of the garage doors on one side and hung the ivies on each side. I took apart the Sterlite shelf I already had and combined it with the 2 new ones to create 5 3-shelf units that I arranged in an L-shape to make a 3-1/2 foot half-wall around the utility part of the garage. Backing the shelves with some vintage grasscloth wallpaper I found at an estate sale a couple of years ago blocked out the lawn tractor, bikes and tools that needed to stay in there. Topping them with 3 large Boston ferns that needed to winter inside helped mask the 2nd garage door.

My work area is a bank of Sterlite drawers and shelves that I had - just reconfigured, with one of the rubbermaid shelves covered with grasscloth as a display area above. I made an island to hold my boxes and to use as a staging area for shipping from half of a heavy-duty utility shelf I had and a big piece of MDF board that was already in the garage. I also made cheap casings for the door and windows out of some scrap wood bought, but never used for another project. The curtains were made from a piece of linen I had been using as a photography backdrop and a tablecloth I also used to back my photos. To unify the fabrics (and make them wide enough) I edged them with part of an old green bedskirt I found in the basement. Oh -- to cover the bare bulbs I made fixtures with up-turned cloth lampshades - super easy. I have a ceiling fan (new in the box from a yard sale for $4) that I will try to put in my spring. Like I said - work in progress.

Resolution #1 -- Update this blog!

2007-01-13T18:31:00.000-05:00

Geez -- I can't believe I've been such a slacker blog-wise. I did list like a maniac through the holiday season and that kept me busy -- as well as all the general holiday hoopla.

I'm now trying to recover from the holidays -- got all the decorations stowed away and spent time actually cleaning things so I feel a bit better about the old house. When you work from your home you can get really tired of the place -- especially when the junk starts to accumulate (since apparently I am the only one who knows how to put anything away).

One thing that kept me away from the blog is something that will actually help with the working from home thing. We gave up thinking that we might eventually park at least one car in the garage and I re-designed the space as an eBay workroom and game-room (with a little nook for the lawnmower, tools, etc. It has made for a much more pleasant and organized workspace -- though I still need to stain/seal the concrete floor to make it look good. I will post a few before and after photos of the space.

Jump start the holidays

2006-10-29T12:05:00.000-05:00

Yes -- I know -- Halloween isn't even over yet and I'm already starting with Christmas. Well last year I hesitated and didn't get everything out during the holiday "window." I've been collecting Christmas items all year and have some real treasures -- old and new. My particular favorite is the 1940s-50s Shiny Brite Christmas Tree all made out of ornaments -- in its original box. A wonderful wooden creche nativity scene that is also a music box is also quite nice. I also have a collection of Christmas-themed German pottery, some 1980s-90s Hallmark ornaments in their original boxes -- including one Frosty Friends, some PartyLite, cookie cutters, a great set of Santa mugs with the hard-to-find pitcher and some Department 56 village pieces. Not pictured are some unusual 1920s-30s outdoor or porch 3ft holiday candles that need rewiring, some old holiday-themed linens, and a collection of vintage Christmas pins.

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

Busy Busy

2006-10-04T09:33:00.000-04:00

I've been a bit busy to post lately. I've been trying to wade through my stockpile of stuff rather than going out every day for more. It is so addictive, though (I've heard so many people say that) it's like "But if I don't go I might miss something amazing." It's very much like gambling.

Anyway -- I cut my losses as it were this weekend with an actual yard sale and unloaded a bunch of items that either (A.) had been listed already a bunch of times to no avail (B.) I determined weren't worth listing or were too heavy to list or (C.) just every day household stuff. I made about $265 then took a van-load over to Goodwill immediately -- I do not every put the stuff back in the house after it comes out. The pic was taken about half-way through the sale - during a lull.

Out on the hunt

2006-09-21T13:29:00.000-04:00

I've spent a few days out on the hunt this week and came away with some interesting stuff. I went to an auction on Tuesday but didn't come away with too much. There always seems to be someone with the same taste and an unlimited amount of money. I got a few vintage toys and texiles, but am most excited about the kitchen island/table I found for myself for only $15! Yesterday I scored a funky vintage men's denim and leather suit that I'll be listing shortly along with a sweet boho flower child wedding dress -- I like to imagine that they went together.

On the clothing front, today I found a J.Jill cashmere blend jacket, an Escada sweater, an April Cornell dress and a couple of cute purses and pairs of shoes. Later today I'll be listing some vintage textiles including a gorgeous tapestry bed cover and a chenille bathroom rug.

Vintage clothing on its way!

2006-09-14T17:57:00.000-04:00

I keep buying vintage clothing -- mostly from the 60s-70s -- with the plan to do weekly MySpace/eBay auctions aimed at all the hip indie-minded young things out there. I finally got the myspace page up under the name Circular Vintage. I hope to get auctions going -- maybe a dozen every weekend -- starting this week.

Sadly I only have 2 friends (and one comes with the page). Here is my pathetic request (this is so much like junior high) if you're on MySpace please add me as a friend -- we'll be BFF:) And don't forget to check out the vintage togs. MySpace Friends will receive $1 off shipping for the first item won through any of my auctions as well as the $1 off additional items that is my standard shipping discount.

Great sales this morning

2006-09-08T18:55:00.000-04:00

I actually got out the door early this morning. There was an estate sale right in town at 8 a.m. -- and I got there by 8:30 and walked out with 3 big boxes. Some wonderful leather and cloth gloves, jewelry, fabric and patterns and Christmas stuff. There was a large church sale -- advertised as more than an acre of merchandise and there certainly was. It was a bit overwhelming and I actually wish I had gotten to that one first. I found the most wonderful set of glasses -- see right. A lot of cute vintage planters a set of barkcloth drapes - 6 panels. A bunch of nice purses and some cool lace-up zodiac boots. My eBay area is full to bursting. My goal for this week is 8 listings a day -- 16 on Sunday and Monday.

Busy Shipping Day

2006-09-05T09:24:00.000-04:00

It sure feels like a Monday -- I have a lot of shipping to do! The 99 cent sale was moderately successful -- I sold about 30 items, about half of them at 99 cents so buyers will be happy and I cleared out some things. A lot of combined items though so at least shipping will be less trouble. I have 20 packages with about 36 items to power through this morning -- thank you multiple bidders. A lot to do today -- and I've already wasted most of the morning on this dumb machine -- so off to work.

I love my Post Office

2006-09-03T10:51:00.000-04:00

People complain about the post office, but mine is great. Believe it or not, this pic was taken at high noon on the Friday before Labor Day. My "lovely" minivan is the only non-employee car in the lot. Plus it is only about a mile and a half from home and all the people are nice and know me by name -- and I them. It is kind of like having co-workers in this often solitary business. The hours are the only problem -- only open until 4:30 on weekdays and 11 a.m. on Saturdays. Though they didn't slam the gate on me when I arrived at 11:02 on Saturday with 2 packages -- even when I admitted that I'd been sleeping until 10. Now that's a good P.O.

eBay foodchain

2006-08-31T22:28:00.000-04:00

Usually the items I sell go to people who use them themselves -- sometimes they are resold by others further up on the collectibles food chain as it were. I just signed off paypal and saw a link to a vintage clothing store that I recently sold an item to - some very funky vintage men's pants. I clicked over and there they were for about 8 times more than I sold them for. More power to her! I know my sister's had the same experience with a dress she sold to a vintage dealer.

Over the last half of the summer I've been hording vintage clothing myself with the idea of holding special weekly vintage auctions -- maybe under another ID -- in conjunction with a MySpace page. I've been inspired by a number of seller's I've seen who do good business using a MySpace page to increase interest in their vintage clothing eBay stores. The only thing holding me back is my inherent uncoolness -- these are mostly skinny 20-something boho arty types who model the clothing themselves. That's just not gonna happen. I considered getting my daughter to model -- but in the past - the only way MySpace was on my radar screen was as a thing to keep my daughter away from if you know what I mean. Plus she's more of an arty slacker girl not into the dress-up thing. Well, I'll come up with something. Here's an example of the kind of thing I'm thinking of -- showing a mix of old with new pieces.

I can't stop buying

2006-08-31T08:20:00.000-04:00

Everyday this week I have been out hunter-gathering and using up vast amounts of time better spent actually listing the things I have already bought. It is like an addiction -- "but if I don't go I might miss something good." So far I've actually been right -- the cool sinks yesterday (plus a really neat metal table base for myself), a great J. Peterman 1910s repro midi dress, some Chico's stuff and some fun vintage clothing including the most gorgeous brown leather elbow length gloves. I have some shipping to do this morning so that may keep me home a few hours. I really don't have room for anything else though. Here are a few of my finds that I will be posting -- if I can keep myself in the house.

End-of-Summer 99-cent Sale

2006-08-25T21:06:00.000-04:00

I just realized that next weekend will be Labor Day -- the perfect time to clear out some older stock so I can refill my shelves with more recent finds -- currently overflowing all over the house. I'm planning to start bids at .99 on all items that I have relisted more than once over the summer. So if you missed an item because you weren't around when an auction closed (some people have forgotten that it is allowed to bid before the close of an auction -- you know who you are) this is the time to pick up a bargain.

This will be kind of a test for me. I've been reading up on eBay "best practices" and 99-cent "Vegas Style" listings were recommended as good for buyers and sellers, but we'll see. There may be some steals. I'll get some going this weekend to close Labor Day weekend. Take a look and see how it goes.

Friday is Estate Sale day

2006-08-25T19:33:00.000-04:00

I got a bit of a later start than I had hoped this morning (don't ask me why I scheduled the repair guy to come on a Friday at 8 a.m.) but there was still some good stuff to be had. I hit 2 estate sales and a church sale here on the east side of Louisville metro (lately I've been sticking to my home area to save gas). The first was just around the block and had plenty of good stuff. I picked up some stellar Christmas stuff including some unusual metal counter-weighted tree candle holders with musical instruments on them, a figural Henry VIII ornament and a set of standing brass candleholder made to look like altarboys holding candles. Some other fun stuff from that sale includes tiny metal doll-size cutlery made in Germany, a ceramic bank in the shape of Boston's Faneuil Hall, the Dutch children tablecloth pictured and some pulled-thread linen pillowcases to die for.

When I approached the second sale I sensed a mad house -- there were cars lined up for blocks on both sides -- so much fun with a minivan and the narrow streets common in the 'ville. There were three floors packed with stuff -- shelves and tables piled with glass and ceramics, books, sheet music, linens, old Christmas ornaments, furniture, jewelry and compacts. Much of it was very high, though I still came away with a fair amount -- a knitting needle case filled with needles, the mother-of-pearl inlaid Japanese tray, a set of EAPG footed dessert dishes, Estee Lauder perfume compacts and a bunch of cool vintage clothing.

The church sale was the most fun -- gotta love those church ladies -- especially since it included a bake sale (good chocolate muffins). I found this neat deco perpetual calendar/pen holder, another Waechtersbach mug (I'm hording them for Christmas), a wonderful Sunday-supper hammered aluminum platter, some lovely vintage silk scarves and clothing. So funny they had a stage at the side heaped with clothes and there was a little boy about 3 rolling around, covering himself up and bursting out, he thought it was better than the ballpit at Chuck E Cheese -- it did make it a bit hard to look, but you gotta laugh (especially since it wasn't my kid).

Anyway -- hopefully some of this will get listed "soon." I am so behind in my listings. If you've got any requests for an item to jump to the head of the listing line let me know!

Love the steamer

2006-08-22T19:30:00.000-04:00

This Whirlpool steamer is my new favorite thing. I have been using it many times a day -- each time proudly showing my family the results (much eye-rolling ensues). However, since I don't iron (except for eBay items) Steve will have to admit that he's glad to be going to work not looking like an unmade bed. And while I know this will confirm my daughter's opinion that I am totally weird -- I did a little before and after thing on this vintage dress I found that was crumpled in a box for the past year.

More Goodies Coming Up

2006-08-22T19:21:00.000-04:00

Posting with the new template is taking me a little longer to get used to, so I'm a bit behind on my listings -- but not on my shopping! I told myself I wouldn't buy anymore eBay stuff this week - I have such a back log - but I can't help myself. It is so much more fun to find things than to process (clean-up, photograph, measure, research) and post them. Here are a few more things I found -- including a pic of the gorgeous Italian plates I found last weekend and other estate items including a big lot of chocolate molds, a turned wood humidor (I think), a piece of old Bybee pottery in a deep eggplant purple, a 1972 Pigeon Forge Pottery artist signed pitcher and Eastlake style Quadruple plate trinket box and a gorgeous Jacquard woven yellow and white bedcover. I also will continue listing clothing -- I've got a lot of trendy casual tops up now and have quite a bit of career wear to post - Ann Taylor, Talbots, Ellen Tracy etc.

Back in Business

2006-08-20T23:04:00.000-04:00

Yay! People are finally buying again. After a dismal couple of weeks I'm busy again. I will be spending plenty of time listening to my audiobook tomorrow -- I've got a lot of shipping to do! Thanks all!

Unfortunately converting last week's relists to my new auction template has taken longer than I thought, so I haven't gotten too many new listings completed. Maybe I can get one or two more done before Deadwood & Entourage (at least I have my priorities straight).

Oh Happy Day

2006-08-19T14:56:00.000-04:00

Well I rolled out of bed a bit later than I should have on a yard-sale morning, but I'm still quite pleased with my finds. I hit a nice estate sale right here in town -- the family who owned the original grocery/general store. The sale was run by the family though, so most of the prices were at or above retail/book, so I had to pass some things by. I did find a gorgeous set of old Italian faience plates, some Bybee and Pigeon Forge pottery and some old patterns and knitting books. Otherwise I mainly found things for myself -- a ceiling fan still in the box for my eBay office, some bamboo chimes for the garden and a kit for making easy raised bed gardens.

What I'm most excited about however is what I found at Lowe's. We went in for mouse traps (there's a small visitor behind the stove) and Steve - the husband - spotted a floor display Whirlpool Fabric Freshener on sale for only $75 -- they're $225 at Best Buy. I'd been coveting one, so I snapped it up. I'm testing it out as we speak. It should save me so much time in ironing and $ in cleaning my eBay duds.

Today's Haul

2006-08-18T20:27:00.000-04:00

I did pretty well today. I started out at a small estate sale in Middletown and picked up a few things -- though some prices were quite high and I had to pass over some nice yellowware and EAPG glass (one of my personal faves). I especially like this children's picture book from the early 1900s about a family moving into a new home. I also got a very cool Eames-era booster seat - very sculptural - a pile of 1970s fine art photography books and this ultra cool glass lamp - which I will likely keep. After the sale I went and checked out a few spots I hadn't been to in a while - and found some very nice clothing for work and play as well as some Tony Lama and Frye boots. Check out this slide show (if I managed to get it running) to see what will be coming up. I hope to get most of the clothes up over the weekend and the collectibles Sunday and/or Monday. I love that school is back in session and I don't have to drag poor Bailey around all day - though she had started to develop a sense of what kind of stuff has "good eBAy potential."

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

A Narrow Escape

2006-08-17T15:17:00.000-04:00

Just back from the hunt with a bagful of trendy little tops for trendy little girls -- Princy, Ing, Etoile, Do & Be, Tempted to drop a few name brands. Also a really sharp Ann Taylor pant suit. I went to unload in the old eBay area and AHHH! A rack of clothing had fallen over barely missing a tall shelf full of glassware and pottery. It's always something -- that will teach me to make-do with cheap-y clothes racks - it virtually crumpled under the weight!

Building a Mystery

2006-08-17T10:34:00.000-04:00

Well web site building at least is a mystery to me. I haven't been out hunter-gathering for the past couple days because I've been tangled up in the web -- making changes to my auction template, ebay me page and adding this blog. I found a number of cheats (after many time-sucking searches) that made things relatively simple for an html-illiterate like myself. Still wrestling with this new Blogger beta -- that cooqy showcase just wants to move all over the page. Still trying to figure this out, but I can't sit still any longer -- it's 10 a.m. on a Thursday morning, so I'm wasting prime treasure hunting time.