Posted by I’ve started writing a number of posts for this blog over this past week and either got bored writing them or thought you’d be bored reading them! My mojo has left the building. Some weeks are like this. Lately I’ve had USPS problems, lots of customer questions/offers, have not sourced much and just feel, well, a bit meh. Still I plodded along managing to list a bunch of new stuff and deal with orders and messages in a timely fashion. The only thing I’ve bought in days is this heavy slag chalkware bookend. He actually looks like polished marble in places. (He’s listed for $40.)
On the plus side this week I will be flying to Tennessee to see my brother and dad. While I dread the tedious, uncomfortable full day of air travel, it will be good once I’m there. We’ll eat out a few times, talk for hours, go antiquing, maybe get in a short hike in the Smokey Mountains and if I’m lucky we’ll use the fire pit one night. My dad turns 95 in a few weeks so each visit I am reminded it could be my last time seeing him.
Sales and revenue wise, April has been a slightly better than average month. Here are a few recent sales which have been heavy on vintage silver charms and vintage books. The carved leaf studio pottery vase was definitely a long-tail item taking two+ years to sell. I paid $20 for it at the flea market and it sold for $75. The “MAD” paperbacks are not something I would source but these belonged to my husband and he wanted me to sell them. Vintage songbooks from groups can be surprisingly lucrative. This 1973 one from “The Byrds” sold for $58. (I paid $2 at an American Cancer Discovery thrift store.)
The sale of pottery bull is one of my USPS headaches. It arrived at its destination, the mailman said it had an “insufficient address” and shipped it back to me. The address looked fine to me, but when I googled it I discovered it’s a small apartment building and the buyer did not include an apartment number. (Don’t they usually just leave packages in the lobby??) So I’ll receive it back today. I’ll let the buyer know and refund him in full and I’ll be out of pocket the $13.25 shipping cost, which is frustrating.
The Bing & Grondahl porcelain butter pats are something I would not buy again (sold for $40, paid $7). Just not what I want to be selling. One gal I follow on YouTube shared that one of her popular selling niches are butter dishes, and while I have sold a couple over the years it’s not something that interests me either.
There are folks who will send you offers even if you don’t have the offer feature set up. Many sellers, like me, will sometimes accept reasonable offers or are willing to negotiate on the price of some items, but sometimes the price is just the price.
Lately, my antique sterling silver listings are bringing out “the guys with offers.” Some are head-smacking. Most recently a fella offered me $230 for a $598 bowl and I wondered why he thought I would accept it. Why?!! Okay he did offer the inducement of becoming my friend if I give him this deal. Seriously the melt value alone is around $500. He then asked what my lowest price was and stressed he was a collector not a destroyer. Which is what they all say. I just replied I wasn’t offering discounts on it right now.
Another guy offered me $650 (his top dollar) for this bowl I have priced at $998. (Melt value is around $850.) I know my price is a fair one for this bowl. If this was being sold at an auction house like Bonhams it would sell for a lot more. But I think because I rarely have items priced above $250 in my Etsy shop, potential buyers assume maybe I’ll be happy with less $$ or think I’m out of my depth with higher-priced items. Regardless, I’m not selling precious metal pieces below melt value. I’d rather keep them.
I’ll close for now wishing you happy hunting!
Karen
Hunting for Vintage 