Posted by I’m looking at the calendar a bit agog these days. Seems crazy to be in the “holiday season” already. Am I right??!! I was visiting an older friend this week and her caretaker had put on Christmas music. I didn’t mind it but it surprised me.
At my house we’ve planned our Thanksgiving meal–a few traditional things, some not. A new item this year will be a Moroccan lentil lamb stew. Honestly I love a good stew where all kinds of flavors meld together into something wonderful. Even better by the second day. But we’ll also have a classic stuffing and a zesty home made cranberry sauce too.
Popped into my neighborhood thrift store the other day. It had been days since my last visit and I was hoping to see lots of new stuff on the shelves, but was disappointed. Some shelves were ridiculously bare–like the metal aisle. Good grief. I know this store receives tons of donations, but bare shelves seem to be occurring more often.
The Christmas shelves were full, but it was all new stuff and nothing exciting. (In years past I have found some amazing vintage Christmas ornaments. Some that I kept.)
That day I did find this sweet 1950s/60s Whiting and Davis gold mesh purse ($8.59), but I have mixed feelings about buying it. The last one I bought, smaller than this, just wouldn’t sell on Etsy. I ended up selling it at an estate sale making enough to cover the cost I paid for it. So I’m not feeling 100% convinced this will sell despite the good brand.
I also bought a 1960s biography of Anton Chekov as one does. It’s the second printing of a 1936 book and I’m hoping some erudite person can’t resist it.
I would love to expand my book offerings (I’ve only got about 100 listed between Etsy and eBay), but honestly I haven’t been doing much to make that happen this year. Still I enjoy finding a few books here and there.
My November sales have been good so far but I’ve learned not to count on them! There have been some astounding, unexpected dry spells this year too. That said, here are some of the items that have sold–a good mix of older and newer listings.
And as much as I complain about my neighborhood thrift store’s lack of offerings (and I do come out empty handed a lot), three of these sales were recent purchases that sold in short order. (Paid $3.49 for the chrome menorah, sold for $70. Paid $2.49 for the Mottahedeh tray, sold for $38. Paid $6.49 for the two Minton & Boyle 1800s plates, sold for $112.) Though I never buy much at this store, it remains a worthwhile sourcing spot for me. In August I scored 10 Waterford wine glasses here. Haven’t sold any yet, but at least some have made it into carts. Hoping a few sell this holiday season!
My charms have remained popular so I’ve bought a few more bracelets on eBay to harvest. But I overpaid for this one knowing there was no big money-maker charm on it. (Sigh.) Oddly when it arrived the seller had included a note saying that I should check out the charms because some were individually worth $50+. Well, I knew that wasn’t true. Don’t get me wrong…there are some cool vintage 1960s/70s charms here but nothing close to that price range. It will take a while till I make a profit on this bracelet.
So mid-November finds me both plugging away at my vintage biz and starting some holiday preparations.
Would love to hear about your finds and sales!
Karen
Hunting for Vintage 