Posted by It was the weekend for both our monthly local flea market and our library book sale and I love these events. They are great sources of inventory for me and so fun. And even though the sun was shining and it would have been a grand day to go, I didn’t. I made the hard decision to keep focused on other aspects of my biz, including downsizing my Etsy store of lower-value, more common items.
Like many who resell items online, it’s so easy to keep buying inventory. For most of us, that’s the fun part. The high. And it’s common for our buying to outstrip our selling and we end up mired in too many items. I follow a YouTube vlogger who has a successful antique business and sells via his own website. He finds amazing and valuable things at car boot sales and thrift stores. But in one video he showed us two large trailers on his property full of unprocessed inventory. Things he bought years ago that are still just sitting there. And he still keeps buying.
I am not judging him or anyone because I’ve been there too on a smaller scale. Many of us have. But at some point you have to put the brakes on. Even if you have everything listed and nary a death pile in sight, if your buying continually outpaces your selling, storage and inventory management become big issues, which for me is so stressful. Plus there’s the unnecessary outflow of money!
Frankly I wished I had learned this sooner. I convinced myself that I needed to always be on the hunt and always buying. But in reality I didn’t. Especially as a part-time seller.
So last Saturday instead of going to the flea market and buying a tote full of stuff I took another box of discarded inventory to charity. A small step. While there I did go into the store but came out empty handed. I was tempted by these goodies but thankfully left them behind.
I was most tempted by the vintage brass fishing reel. It was a wonderful, sturdy, handsome thing and much better than the plastic/metal fishing reels I used as a kid!
Another Saturday task was digging deep into my remaining unlisted items and stored personal items. I found this collection of 1963 to 1988 Kennedy-related magazines. Not in mint condition, but not bad. I’ve listed them as a lot for $40.
This 1800s Asiatic Pheasant ironstone meat platter was a gift from a dear friend 10 years ago, but for most of its life with me it’s been stored in a cupboard. I knew I would never use it or display so I finally decided someone more appreciative should own it. Listed for $148.
I’m not even sure where I got the 1949 “The Berlitz Self-Teacher French” book, but it is gratifying that I can still read some of it! I had three years of high school French and one in college and was certainly never fluent or gifted at languages. Listed for $18.
One a different note–this month it’s my lower-value items that are selling. Still even after I’ve finished my store purge of those very type of items, I will continue to sell books and sterling silver charms just because I like those categories! Plus they are easy to list, store and ship.
I know on the books front I can’t compete with the big book sellers and the huge book selling platforms, but one advantage I do offer is actual photos of the book you’ll be receiving and the precise damage if any. And for some folks that makes the difference.
I would love to hear if you’ve ever had a problem with overbuying!
Hunting for Vintage 