Good Stuff Left Behind and What Finally Sold!

I’ve been staying home lately, but occasionally I venture out to drop off some orders. When I go out I always pop into my neighborhood thrift store. I found some intriguing items, but most I left them behind. I think I made the right decisions! What do you think?

Thursday’s Visit

Ran into Curtis waiting outside the store before it opened. He is a young man who works part time at my church but we have gotten to know each other at Goodwill! He’s a jewelry guy, looking for gold and silver, but he told me he had recently purchased a bag full of sterling silver flatware for $15, at another Goodwill!!! Be still my heart. What an amazing score and it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

---

Here’s how it went down: Brass items are fairly popular and I was excited to spot two solid brass pelicans, but they were priced at $7.39 each. A quick lookup showed they were quite a few for sale and some just $20. Sadly not worth buying as a reseller. The wood religious plague with the snake was so interesting and religious items sell for me I just wasn’t sure about this piece.I loved the French wood bread plate, but it had a huge gouge above the word “nous.” Darn! And the last item that I thought was just fantastic was a crib blanket made from John Wayne movie poster fabric. How cool is that? But perhaps too quirky. How many parents would want a John Wayne crib blanket? If the blanket had been bigger and backed with a non-nursery print, I would have bought it. [All of these were gone two days later.]

But I did buy this 1950s “Bags of Josef” navy blue beaded clutch made in Japan. It is in pristine condition. Likely a purse that spent more time tucked in a drawer than used. My mom had a few of these type of cocktail purses back in the day saved for just “special” occasions.

Saturday’s Visit

Ran into another friend Bruce waiting to drop off a donation. I haven’t seem him or his wife in a few years so we had a good natter. His wife Jane weaves beautiful textiles on a loom. Isn’t that fabulous?

---

Here’s how it went down: I found a Sanes (of Spain) snake skin purse (not sure if it was real or faux) but it was in very good condition. Oh gosh, I went back and forth about this. Finally deciding that $22 was too pricey for me. (Comps were not that strong.) This James Kent “Old Foley” pot ($8) was a nice bit of blue and white pottery which everyone loves, but it’s not worth that much ($15-$22). It would have been worth more with chinoiserie images. Merry old England is less desirable.

Still I did find a bit of absolute prettiness–a Korean black lacquer jewelry box lavish with abalone/mother of pearl shell decoration ($15). It’s not old (with Philips head screws), but in beautiful condition. The shell has lovely flashes of pink and blue. I was happy with this. Joanne, a sweet manager I often talk to, told me she had just put that out yesterday. I’m glad I looked up to the top shelf!

What Finally Sold

This is a crazy sale. Crazy because I held onto this item for so, so, so long. Years ago I went to a ramshackle estate sale with my friend Rosalie and one of the few things I bought was this huge Margot de Paris needlepoint tapestry. I was so excited. And initially when I listed it on Etsy it had some interest. One seller wanted to know if I wanted to do a trade for something in her store, but none of her items excited me or were worth as much. Another gal wanted to know if it would fit her piano bench. I gave the exact dimensions of the finished piece in the listing and had no idea how big her bench was. It was a curious question.

And on it went. But it didn’t sell. I played around with prices and info. Eventually when I opened my Chairish store I moved it there. No traction. Finally when I started selling a few items on eBay again I listed it there. It sold. In six months.

But when I look back at my records it took 10 years! Ten blooming years. Oh heck. I no longer have that kind of time for items to sell. I mean who does?? Ten years!! No reseller/dealer in their right mind hangs onto stuff that long unless it’s super valuable. This wasn’t. Still unless the buyer decides to return it, it’s finally gone! Fingers crossed!

Wishing you happy hunting,

Karen