Jump start the holidays

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.