The Winnowing Starts

At present I have over 700 items in my Etsy store, 17 on eBay and on a couple on FB Marketplace/Nextdoor. In these last few weeks of 2024 I am starting to earmark items that will become my future garage sale/flea market and thrift store fodder. It’s a painful process. So many things that I thought would sell didn’t. They are nice enough, but average. Nothing special. And to be honest I can’t see the younger generations of today wanting any of this. Not one single thing! And most of the people my age and older are downsizing.

So who is buying this stuff? Not many I can tell you!!! I am certainly questioning my judgment.

Here are a few I’ve tagged for removal at the end of December…

Moving forward I’ll have to spend more time sourcing to get the best stuff. I’ll definitely need to get back to estate sales. I used to go all the time, then Covid hit and I never got back into it the same way. Of course, a lot of estate sale companies price high, but sometimes you’ll find undervalued items, and typically on second and third days stuff is marked down.

A few years ago I found this teeny, tiny antique sterling silver trophy for $35 at an estate sale (first day) and I snapped it up. Sold for $125. This is just the kind of thing I want to sell.

But I know I should STOP acquiring (at least for the rest of this year!) but I am still doing a little. There’s always a bit of FOMO!! If you’re in the biz you always worry about what you’re missing. And frankly, many of us have to go out hunting a lot to find a few gems, so it’s not totally unfounded. Still I really don’t need to buy more stuff this year. I don’t.

But I found myself am at my crowded neighborhood thrift store the other day. I saw three Waterford wine glasses but they were Marquis pieces, not worth picking up to resell. A signed crystal vase was nice, but a smidge cloudy and I wasn’t looking for a project. Then I spotted this huge (18″) hand-painted Italian pottery jester wall hanging/tray. Made by Murmac, it gave off zany, mid-century vibes and I just couldn’t leave it behind. And bonus, it’s rare (or at least darn scarce) because I can’t find one like it anywhere, current or sold.

Does this fit my 2025 biz direction? I think it’s on the fringe. Mid century modern. Italian. Not common. Quirky. But it will likely appeal to only a small pool of buyers and it’s going to take some mad shipping skills! So I’m on the fence whether I should have bought this or not.

In a couple of days it’s Thanksgiving here in the U.S. I am thankful for much. But also grieving much. So many family members are gone. Still. Still I am thankful for all the wonderful people in my life.

Happy hunting,

Karen