I Sold Some Stuff on The Marketplace.

If you read my previous post, you'll recall that my daughter had been going through all her things in storage and weeding out items for donations or to sell. It would have been very easy for me to take it all to the thrift store, but I saw some value sitting there and thought I could drum up a few bucks for her, so I got busy listing on Facebook Marketplace. 

I remember that years ago I had sold some Littlest Pet Shop figures on Ebay. They were and still are very collectible apparently. Megan had this playset up in the attic. It's probably 15 years old. I thought it might be worth something so I listed it for $25. I got a follower right away and a message from someone who had a daughter that was interested but didn't want to pay that much. I told her to make me an offer but she never did. After a few more days, I decided to lower the price to $15 and it sold. A lady came all the way from Pensacola for it. She told me she had a 4 year old that was obsessed with Littlest Pet Shop stuff but that they don't make it anymore and it's hard to find. 

I had listed a box lot of Barbies and Bratz dolls on the Marketplace too, but for some reason it didn't comply with their policy so it was never made public. I didn't understand why because there were plenty of other Barbie and Bratz dolls listed. I got annoyed and just deleted the post. So when I went to meet with the lady for the Pet Shop toy, I showed her the box of dolls and offered it to her for ten bucks. She couldn't pull the money out of her wallet fast enough.

Megan's collection of cat figurines and miniatures sold for $50 to a crazy cat lady. Don't we love those people? I have a friend who has 19 rescued cats. Yes, 19! She's a very nice lady, but she didn't buy this collection. Someone came over from Mobile. Many of the figurines are vintage and one pair is Goebel. I bought these for Megan over the years when she was little. She loved them but didn't know what to do with them at this point in her life, so she let them go.

Megan used to be in competition tap. She had a lot of beautiful costumes and I had sold some in the past but there were three that she kept for sentimental reasons. After looking at them again, she decided it was time to let them go.

I listed them for $30 for all, suggesting they could be used for dress up, talent shows or Halloween. I got an offer for $20 and took it. What a shame though. These three outfits represent hundreds of dollars and hours of time spent gluing on Swarovski crystals. Oh the memories.

The lady who bought them was very nice and said they were for her granddaughter. For all I know she could be a reseller in disguise, who knows? But they are gone and all totaled I raised $95 for Megan.

I have one more item still listed and that's this Barbie Airplane.

I had it listed for $25 with no interest so I knocked it down to $15 and got two messages yesterday asking if it was still available. I replied "yes" and never heard back from either of them. That's just rude and the part about selling on Marketplace that is super annoying. So if this sells, it will be a few more dollars for Megan.

Her college textbooks are listed on ebay totalling around $200 if they all sell but I'm not counting my chickens. The closer we get to the start of school, the better my chances of them selling will be. I may also add the Best Offer option to help move them out.

I admit that there's a rush to selling and I remember why I loved doing ebay so much in the beginning. I was good at it and made some decent money. I have photos of every item I ever sold and once in a while I go back and look at them. The thrill of finding treasure and the rush of selling it for a profit was very addicting, but then the pain of dealing with buyers and restrictive selling policies really soured me on the whole thing. 

If you need some quick cash, go through your closets and see what might sell on the Marketplace. I can tell you that my hubby's favorite daily pastime is scrolling through all the manly stuff to see what's new. lol 

*A note about decluttering. I know a lot of people have watched the Marie Kondo show on Netflix and I have watched a few episodes myself. I even bought Megan the Manga version of her book. Coming from my personal experience, I think that her method is not realistic for some people. Decluttering is a process that can sometimes take many years. Possessions that mean a lot to you today may not have the same sentimental pull a few years from now. My daughter is the perfect example. Five years ago she would never have parted with some of the above items, but she is at a crossroads in her life now and her priorities have changed. The hardest things for her to let go of were her stuffy toys. She had so many and each and every one had a memory, whether it was a birthday gift, a reward for a great report card, or a beanie baby that topped off her Christmas stocking. They all held her childhood memories. But memories are a part of you and you can take them with you everywhere you go. Sit and mediate and they will come to you anytime you need them.

Wednesday Odds and Ends. The Holy ____! Edition.

Holy Mary.

There is a grotto on the church grounds where hubby works where a lovely statue of Mary sits. A nice lady who lives nearby has volunteered her time and money to beautify the grotto. She's been working on it for a year and she has trained all those vines to grow up around the columns. We went to visit it on Father's Day and it really is pretty. Hubby has to make sure all the plants get watered daily.  We haven't had rain for a while, so it's been a challenge keeping this all looking so beautiful.

Here's a before and after of what it used to look like compared to what it looks like now.

And a long shot.

This is a great spot to sit and have a nice quiet moment.

***************

Holy Crepe!

Guess who made homemade crepes for Father's Day? No, not me. It was Megan! Yup! It was something she wanted to try and she did a great job. She even shopped for all the ingredients. We had a variety of choices for fillings like peaches, blueberries, bananas, peanut butter and chocolate sauce. They were really delicious. She is getting really good at cooking breakfast foods. 

*******************

Holy Hairball!

A few nights ago I awoke to the sound of Mister making a low howling sound. I jumped up out of bed to find him, but before I could I stepped into a giant puddle of pee on the hall floor and it was surrounded  by poop nuggets. Uh oh! Something was terribly wrong! I could hear him throwing up.

He brought up a hairball. But what on earth was the other mess he made in the hall? The only thing we could think of was that the force of heaving made him lose his bodily functions. Either that or he didn't know what was happening and he got scared. The same thing happens when I take him to the vet. He messes his crate something awful. Such a tender soul. He's been fine ever since. Eating, drinking and using the litter box like normal. Nothing out of the ordinary. I've been checking. I bought some special treats for him that have Laxatone in them to help with hairballs. I hope they work! We'll be away for a couple of days and we hired a pet sitter. I just hope nothing like that happens while we're away.

***********************

Holy Crap!

In preparation for her big move, I asked Megan to go through her boxes of stuff in the attic. There was WAY more up there than we thought. Hubby brought down a few boxes at a time. She went through each, made piles to keep and piles to get rid of. A lot went back up in the attic, but a good amount was donated and some was listed for sale. I put a few items on Facebook Marketplace and (GASP!), I even listed some things on ebay. Yup! After three years, I dipped my toe back into ebay. She had some textbooks from school that she decided she didn't want and a couple of them are worth a good bit of money. With a new school year on the horizon, now is a good time to list them. So fingers crossed that they sell. 

We took 4 boxes of crap (well, good crap) to St Paul's thrift store, one bag of books to my friend who has a Little Free Library on her property, and we took 3 giant bags of stuffy toys and beanie babies to the children's librarian at the library. It was really hard to part with those plushies because they each held a memory from Megan's childhood. They were her friends. She thanked each and every one of them and said goodbye. She kept one and I took a couple small ones. Some toys I listed on Facebook like her Barbie airplane, a Littllest Pet Shop set and some Bratz and Barbie dolls. No takers yet, but I did sell her entire collection of cat figurines that I had personally bought her over the years. Although she loved them, she realized that owning them was a burden and decided to let them go. I got $50 for the entire set yesterday from a lady who loves cats.

So back up in the attic went some toys she was not willing to part with just yet, including a Lego pirate ship set. I'm sure that's worth a few bucks, but it won't lose its value. Overall, she did really good and I was proud of her for letting go of so many things. 

*********************

Holy Boulder!

Last weekend Hubby and I were coming back from the park with Zoey and the same house that had put rocks out on the curb for trash pickup a few weeks ago had once again put rocks out, except these were bigger! We slammed on the brakes and hubby, threw those puppies in the back of the van like they were, well, puppies.

He hosed them off in the driveway and lined them up along our walkway until we can figure out what to do with them. We are planning a rock garden on both sides which will add some curb appeal. We just need some fill to build it up and of course some plants. It's going to be awesome, so stay tuned!

*********************

Holy Honda!

For Father's Day, Megan did an ink drawing of her dad's new addition. It's a Honda Shadow.

Here it is next to the one she did last year of his Kawasaki.

She has mad skills. I could never do that!

***********************

Holy Angel.

This sweet little Yorkie died unexpectedly recently. She belonged to a friend of mine and I made this portrait for her as a gift. 

It was the last dog on my list to paint and just when I thought I was done, I got more requests. Wouldn't you know it? My next rock is a mermaid for a very special little girl. I only have the background done because I haven't figured out just how to approach the rest of it yet. Maybe I'll work on it today.

*********************

Holy Crown.

I got my crown put in last week. It went well. I was in the chair about 3 hours from start to finish. My dentist's office makes the crowns onsite. It truly is a miracle of technology. I didn't have any pain or discomfort other than having my mouth open for so long. 

************

And so ends this holy edition of Wednesday Odds and Ends.

As they say in the south, have a blessed day! lol

Checking in with some recent sales.

I finally get a week off and I'm down with a cold. Figures, right? Well, it's giving me the chance to organize my office. I'm scaling back my online selling because it's just way too much for me to deal with now that I'm working full time. I also want to make my office a little cozier by getting a small sleep sofa or futon so it could be used as a guest room. I took down all the shelving I bought and gave it to hubby to organize the garage. I made a big pile of stuff to take to the flea market on Saturday. Hopefully I'll sell at least half of it. I like the extra space and the feeling of less stuff around me.

Meanwhile, I did have a few sales recently. Here's one that may make you snicker (or not). I sold this Starbucks Christmas travel tumbler for $11.95, f/s. Not a huge sale, but with all the hubbub about their red cup, it's possible that these older Christmas/holiday ones may become more valuable.


I bought two really nice Bombay Co tree skirts last spring for $2.00 each. They were quilted and lined. I sold the first one a couple of months ago and the second one just sold yesterday for $29.99 f/s.

I got this big lot of tapestry pillow panels at an estate sale and they just sold for $30.00 f/s. These were part of a big bag of fabric that I got for just $5. I also sold a small fabric remnant on Etsy that had images of Shari Lewis's Lambchop character on it for $10.00 f/s. I have some vintage Pooh fabric to list also from the lot.

 One of my favorite movies of all time is Toy Story. The toys are usually really good sellers. I bought this Woody at GW for just a few bucks. I put fresh batteries in him and he talks up a storm. The really cool thing about him is that he has "hat recognition." When you take off his hat he knows it and when you put it back he's so happy. He says so may different phrases that I put a video in the listing so buyers could hear some of them. He sold pretty quickly for $29.95 f/s. I made sure to turn his switch to off so he wouldn't talk in transit. Always remember that Woody's hats are good sellers on their own. Just be sure to state the size in your listing.

Sales on Etsy continue to come in. I got an offer on my big Ganesh brass statue that I bought over the summer for $10. I had originally listed it for $250, then lowered it to $180 and got an offer for $125. Well, I need the cash, so I accepted. The buyer said it was for her daughter and asked me to include a "Love, Mom" note inside. She was so happy I accepted her offer and she promised to leave feedback. The item was delivered last week and there has been no response as of yet, so I hope her daughter liked it. That sucker weighs almost 10 pounds! Luckily it fit into a medium flat rate box.

This brass lion sold for $30.00 f/s. 

And this antique cast iron Sessions clock pendulum bob sold for $18.00 f/s.

It's the time of year when I start winding down my listings and usually end them the first or second week of December so I don't have to deal with crazy customers who have waited until the last minute to buy gifts that need to be delivered yesterday. It's also when I think about getting out of this business completely. Then I remember some of the cool things I've flipped and I feel like the thrill of being able to do that will never leave me. I have become more particular in what I buy to resell. I'd rather have 10 really good "sure thing" sales than 50 crappy low end ones.  The extra money sure does help, so you'll still probably find me scouring yard sales and thrift stores looking for neat stuff.

Meanwhile, I'm here at home trying to get well. I hope everyone in blogland has a wonderful Thanksgiving. 

Wednesday odds and ends.

Finds and sales.

I've been having sales and that makes me happy. I was worried about what would happen when I gave up my ebay store, but I'm actually doing better now than I was before. Etsy sales are slow but steady with one or two each week. The main thing now is that I'm picky, picky, picky when it comes to buying items for resale. I'm on a very limited income, so my budget for buying is pretty small. I have to make every dollar count.

I found these vintage round bottom orange bottles at an estate sale. There was another box, but someone else snatched them up before me otherwise I would have bought both of them. They're made in Japan and they came with their original box. I paid only $3 for the set. I was going to list them for $50 on Etsy, but I put them up at $30 f/s instead. (Dope!) They sold in two days to a buyer in California. They were delivered today and fingers are crossed that they arrived intact. 

Remember the Old Homestead flatware I almost threw away? Well, the lot sold for $40 f/s about a week after I listed it to a buyer in Washington state. I was lucky enough to fit these into a padded flat rate mailer. The buyer left me positive feedback. Yay! The Canoe Muffin flatware has not sold yet, nor is it getting much attention on Etsy. I'm afraid that the popularity of that pattern may have passed, but I'll be patient. If nothing happens, I'll move it over to ebay.

I found these fondue forks in a kitchen drawer at the same estate sale as the orange bottles. They are also made in Japan. It was the second day of the sale. I brought them over to the cashier and asked, "How much?" The guy asked me, "How much do you want to pay for them?" I said "$3." He said, "How about $2." Okay! These are similar to the Canoe Muffin set except that the handles are square and not round. I put them up on Etsy and someone included them in a treasury. Cool!

I went through the clothes at the estate sale and found this NHL hockey jersey in with the men's things. I remember reading that you should always look out for sports jerseys. Mind you I had no idea what team logo it was when I bought it. A few mouse clicks and I discovered it was the Phoenix Coyotes logo. Not only that, but it's their original logo from the 1990's. Back in February they had a retro night where the team all wore jerseys with this old logo. This shirt is in like new condition. I listed it high for $59.95 f/s. No action  yet, but hey, it's summer. Paid $2.50.




Finally, the big sale of the week and I'm hoping it's not cursed. I had this lot of LPS figures listed at auction last week starting at $24.95 with a BIN of $69.95. No bids. I checked the listing and noticed that my flat rate shipping was not showing up. When I clicked shipping details, it told me to put in my zip code, so I did and it told me it was invalid. What?? I went into the SYI form to check the listing and everything was right. I hit continue, but it gave me an error message, something about the quantity was wrong, but there was nowhere to fix it. It was the strangest thing.

At the final hour, I got an email from a wannabe buyer that said she was unable to place a bid. She got a message that said it was already purchased. She was confused because the auction was still live. Well, I was confused too because nobody had purchased it. Clearly there was a glitch in the listing. I had 13 watchers and almost 300 views and I ended the listing one hour before it ended. I was upset, but I didn't want to take any chances. I waited a couple of days, re-did the entire listing at fixed price with a BIN or B/O at $69.95 f/s. It sold in a couple of hours. I've decided for sure now that really HATE auctions. The possible bad part of this sale is that it sold to a newbie buyer with a 6 feedback. I checked her fb left for others and there's just one. It says "This seller honors Money Back Guarantee and was very prompt!" Okay so I'm nervous, but hoping for the best. I put in some extra freebies in the package for good measure.

Recovery

Megan and I have fully recovered from our wisdom tooth removal surgery. We just have the annoying stitches to contend with. They're supposed to be dis-solvable, but it's probably going to take a while.

I didn't know my face could rain.

Hubby and I worked on more landscaping this morning. We got an early start at 7 am  It was a mere 76 degrees this morning with 1000% humidity. Yes, that's one thousand percent! I started digging and my face started raining. No lie! We finished the side of the house along the driveway. Here's what it looked like when we bought the house last November.

And here's what it looks like now:

Did you just say "Wow?" Because I did when I put these two photos together.

Taking those big old shrubs out was a job and a half. 

Getting the stumps out was not easy either.

Before

After

I finally got my palm tree!

We were done at 9:30 and we were just soaked. I weighed myself before taking a shower and I was two pounds lighter than I was at 6 am when I showered the first time. It's going to be in the 90s all week. Thank goodness for air conditioning!

Steampunk Sunday and some good finds.

Aether: The Rise of Specter, proof of concept film has been released. It's a little over 8 minutes long and it gives you an idea (maybe?) of what the director was/is hoping to achieve. You can see the video HERE. Megan can be seen walking down the steps at 1:36 (green coat), followed by Chris at 1:40 (carrying suitcase), and Chris can be seen again drinking a glass of wine at 3:40. If you make it past that point I will be impressed. Although we are hoping that the film gets picked up, that possibly there may be more work for Chris (maybe prop-wise?) and/or as an extra, we're not sure the concept is clear enough for the general public to grasp. Chris has been trying to promote it at his booth during conventions, but there's not that much interest. These scenes were all filmed locally near Mobile at Fort Gaines on Dauphin Island.

In other news, I've been finding some good stuff lately at yard sales. I rarely have to venture out of my development these days as there's always a bunch of sales within a 5 mile radius of where I live which is nice.

We went to an estate sale on Friday and I scored these size 15, brand new Dingo ankle boots for $5. The cashier asked me if I actually knew anybody who was a size 15. I said "no" and didn't elaborate. I was hoping they were worth $125, but sadly they are not. Still, I think I can sell them for a nice profit.




Yesterday, just down the street from where I live, I got a box of flatware for $5. I spied what I thought was Danish modern flatware in the box. It was marked "Ekco" and "Eterna" and "Japan." I got home to the computer and after a few mouse clicks I found out that this pattern is called "Canoe Muffin" (which is the strangest name I've ever heard of), but apparently it was quite collectible a few years ago and, if I'm lucky, I'll fetch a tidy sum for my lot. Let's hope.

Also in the box was some flatware that I almost threw out because it felt cheap. After some research I found out it's called Old Homestead and it's worth a few bucks, so I listed it.

Another little find mixed in was this little spoon. It's made in Germany and has the Lufthansa logo on the handle. It's always fun to find a little extra treasure in a box of mixed up stuff.

At another sale, I bought a bag of Littlest Pet Shop animals for just $5. I listed these at auction yesterday and have 6 watchers already. Do you know that there's a rare little brown dachshund LPS figure that sells for $300? Apparently there are fakes being made, so beware. I didn't seem to have any super rare pets in this lot, so I listed them all together. Hopefully the bids will add up to a nice sale.

Last week at a thrift store, I paid $5 for this Klafrestrom Swedish enameled cast iron dish. It weighs 5 freakin pounds! Who would want to cook with something this heavy? I listed it on Etsy but something tells me this may be a hard sell.

I also scored this big vintage picnic basket for just one dollar. I washed it and sprayed it down with bug spray before bringing it in the house. I'm keeping it because it will be great for storage.

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know that I'm trying to declutter my home, my mind and my life. For me to keep something I've bought at a yard sale is a big decision these days. Sometimes I'll hang on to it for a while until I'm over the excitement of having it and then I'll sell it. I continue to edit my possessions on a daily basis. The less I have around, the better I feel, the easier it is to clean and maintain my home and the less I have to worry about losing in a hurricane or decide who to leave it all to when I pass on. Seriously, my daughter doesn't want any of my crap. I really don't miss any possessions I've parted with, except maybe all the garden tools we sold back in PA. 

There is a lot written about decluttering, organizing, minimalism and all that related kind of stuff. I found an article online that goes against that grain. It's called, Let's Celebrate the Art of Clutter and you can read it HERE. It's kind of funny and I totally understand where the writer is coming from, but I think more and more people are going the other way. Really, you can't take it with you when you go and whether she likes it or not, her kids are going to sell her crap and take the money instead.

Relax and have a simple Sunday.
:-)

The most interesting things I've sold: Toys and dolls

In my series of interesting things I've sold, this is the toys and dolls post.  Here's a list of the top ten most interesting ones I've sold, in no particular order....

 1. Creepy dolls.

Some of you may remember an older post where I had purchased a giant bag of old baby dolls at an estate sale. They were moldy and very creepy looking. Sadly, I was only able to salvage a few of them. I listed them under the "Everything Else" category and included "Creepy Dolls" in the listing title. It took awhile, but they actually sold. If you've got some old creepy dolls laying around somewhere, list them now and include "Halloween Props" and/or "Creepy Dolls" in your title.

2.Trolls.

The original vintage troll dolls with real mohair hair and glass are valuable. I found these at an estate sale. The lot of three sold for $67.00. The one with green hair and eyes sold for $28.00

3. Vintage Miniature Barbie Doll.

This miniature Barbie doll was actually mine as a kid. It goes with two of Skipper's outfits named "Me N my Doll" and "Day at the Fair." It's worth anywhere from $15-30 depending on condition. Mine sold for $25.

4. Texaco Fire Chief Helmet.

This was a cool find last year at only $5. It was filthy when I bought it, but I cleaned it up and it sold for $65.



5. Tron Identity Disc.

The movie was a bomb, but this toy wasn't. I got it at GW for $1.59 and it sold for $59.99. Keep an eye out for one of these. I've been looking for another one ever since I discovered their value, but haven't been able to find one.

6. Breyer Horses.

Not all Breyer horses are valuable, but some can be. I've sold a few over the years and I think the most I've gotten is $25 for one, but I always hope to stumble on one of the rare horses.  If you're lucky enough to find them at a good price, here is a website that will help you identify your model. They're a nice quality toy. Look for the Breyer stamp inside the leg.

7. Vintage GI Joe Dolls.

Who doesn't love GI Joe? He's such a cool guy. I got these three at the same sale where I got the creepy dolls above. I paid $20 for the three of them, listed them for $99 or best offer and they sold for full price 25 minutes later. A great flip!

8. The General Lee Car

This was a great find at a church sale. Love those church sales! It had lights and sounds and I put a video in the listing. It sold for $29.99. 

9. Robin Doll.

This doll sold too quickly because, like a jerk, I under-priced it. My search of completed listings led me to make the wrong decision when pricing him and he sold almost instantly for $25. I was lucky to get him at a very low price. Vintage toys like these are not easy to find at good prices, that's for sure.











10. Little Bear Figures Set.

I may not know about Little Einsteins and other popular current kids' TV shows, but I know the stuff that was popular when my daughter was little and Little Bear was one of her favorite shows.

I got this set at a flea market for $7.50 and it sold for $76.50.

Toys can be fun to source and very profitable to sell, especially vintage ones.

My next post in this series will be about bottles.