Tallying up the Flea Market Treasure profits and the Fickle Nature of Antiques & collectibles

Recently I blogged on my frustrations with Ebay on this post, but also admitted that it has the most traffic of any selling site other than Amazon.  I all but said I was going to quit selling on Ebay because of their new fee schedule, but changed my mind as I picked up some yard sale and flea market collectible bargains over the last couple of months.  And it's also helped that Ebay has been a little more generous about listing fees hoping to pull back some of their old sellers and gain some new ones for holiday sales. 


I showed you some of the items I purchased and told you I would follow up on what it sold for.  I'm happy to report that I made enough off my Ebay selling to buy all my Christmas presents this year for my children and grandchildren.  Here's a quick recap.


June McKenna collectible Santas that I mentioned in this highlighted post brought me in a profit of $300 and I haven't finished selling all of them.  Department 56 villages in this post netted a profit of $175 plus I got to keep a lot of pieces to add to my collection as I showed you in this post.


Some jewelry that I showed you here did well also.  The Hattie Carnegie brooch that I bought for $10 sold for $55.  A pretty Corocraft brooch that I bought for $3 sold for $94 and a couple more pair of earrings netted a profit of $20.   I was so happy to have come out so well.  And there were a lot of little odds and ends that I picked up bringing my total profits to well over $600.


I know this sounds like it's easy money, but it's not.  I've spent years pouring over books on antiques and collectibles.  I've browsed hundreds of antique shops and malls paying attention to what is selling well and what carries a big price tag.  I've spent many, many hours researching on the internet what's hot and what's not, and it constantly changes as new generations become adults and want to collect things that remind them of their childhood.  Things that we Baby Boomers were willing to pay so much for twenty years ago are no longer hot because we're aging out and living on fixed incomes.  It's the Gen Xer's now who have the expendable income to buy memorabilia from their youth.  It's a very fickle market with it's ups and downs.  My advice to you if you're holding on to a hot collectible hoping it will get hotter - sell it now for it may be worthless if you continue to hold on to it.  Ten years back, my daughter could have padded her pockets with about $1000 with her Holiday Barbie collection.  Just a few short months later, the bottom fell out of the Barbie market and now she would be lucky to get $300 for them. 


I kid about it and say that I have an "eye" for spotting a bargain, and I suppose I do, but the "eye" had to be trained and has used many magnifiers and corrective lenses over the years.  Some people go at it full force but to me it's just a hobby - but it's a productive hobby that turns into a little nest egg if I'm lucky.

You know where you'll find me on Saturday mornings - along with my eagle eye and magnifying glass.  If I pass you by and don't speak to you, it's because I'm focused - very focused - much like an eagle honing in on his prey.

Weekly Saturday Morning Flea Market Treasure Hunt turns Christmasy

If you read my blog regularly, you can predict what my Saturday afternoon blogs are about and you'll know how I spend 99% of my Saturday mornings - treasure hunting at local flea markets and yard sales.  


From October through December, I have an eagle eye for spotting anything vintage Christmas and today was a no exception.    I spent a total of $12 today so let me show you what I found.

Department 56 North Pole Beauty Shoppe - one just sold on Ebay for $35

 Fitz and Floyd Candy Dish 1984 - Ebay price: $20

 Clothtique Le Possible Dreams Santa:  Ebay $10 - $15

 Very vintage - never used tinsel Garland - Ebay price $14.99 for 2

 Very vintage Icicles - new in original box - Ebay price $14.99 for 2

 Very vintage Union Wadding spun glass Angel Hair new in original box: - Ebay prices $10 - $30 

 Enough vintage poinsettia fabric to make a 120" tablecloth plus a little extra for other projects - I didn't price it on Ebay because this will be mine.  I paid $1 for it.

 hundreds of vintage miniature ornaments for feather trees and other small trees - worth maybe $15

All of this for a total of $12.  What a bargain.  I do enjoy my Saturday morning treasure hunts!  Now to find time to list all this stuff on Etsy or Ebay.  Ebay's new fee schedule made me want to just quit selling there, but it's still the best place to get the most money for vintage items.  Grrrr....

Saturday Morning Flea Market Treasures - June McKenna Santa Sculptures - What a find!

Today as I searched for treasures, I found them in an unlikely place.  Fifty plus Santa's spread out on the back of a flatbed trailer.  I started not to even pick one up, but seeing that many together looking like they may be from the same artist intrigued me.  I picked one up - June McKenna - 1986 - 2414 of 4000.  OK, it was signed and it was limited edition - but who was June McKenna.  I had never heard of her. 


I so love my iPhone!  I clicked on my Ebay app - typed in June McKenna - and up pops hundreds of Santas.  So she's well known - that's a good sign.  I started browsing through completed items and saw that they sell very well.  That was another good sign - now just to get a price from the seller.  The price was very reasonable so I bought all that she had.  She was flabbergasted that I wanted "those old ugly things" that had belonged to her husband's grandmother.  Poor grandmother!  If she knew that those unique Santas that she had collected so many years ago would end up on the back of a flatbed trailer, she would be sending some evil elves after her granddaughter-in-law. 


But...they were dusty - which when selling is a little detrimental to the value.  See - collectors don't like for you to clean things up - it may damage the paint so they prefer to do the cleaning.  Which means that I'm going to have to post pictures of dusty Santas and they don't show as well when you're asking a nice sum for them.   I asked the young woman how they got so dusty and where the grandmother lived.  She told me that grandma had lived in Ashland, Virginia and she had kept them in a room displayed all year long and as she got older, she failed to dust them as often as she should.  Once again, as she was packing them up, I heard her tell her husband that she thought they would never sell even one of them - much less all of them.   "Hurry up", she said, "before she changes her mind". 


When I got back home , I researched them a little further on my laptop.  Apparently, Ashland is where the sculptures were made which explains why she had so many, and why there were a couple of "samples" and "Artist Proofs" and also several artist signed limited edition pieces.   They had been bought locally by Grandma.


This goes to prove, once again, that one man's trash is another man's treasure.  I'm just grateful that I keep finding other people's trash.  And I'm also glad that I didn't go with my initial reaction and just pass them by - those "ugly, old, and dusty boys".


Here's a sneak peak at just three of them.  I did use a soft toothbrush and lightly dusted them a little bit. 

The one in the center is called Season's Greetings and is signed "Artist Proof".  His eyes have not been painted.  I wonder if that makes him more valuable or less valuable?  I'll just have to see.

I'll do a post later and let you know how well I did....or if I lost money.  Do you like to go treasure hunting? Tell me if you have found any treasures lately.   Also - how many of you have heard of June McKenna and would you have passed them by?

Flea Market finds and Treasures - Saturday morning treasure hunt continues...

A crisp and cold Saturday morning found me all bundled up in a heavy wool sweater and scarf at the flea market as I went in search for treasures today.  My goal was to find enough things to sell to compensate for the things I would buy for myself.  It was a fairly fruitful day.

For myself, I found this great old McCoy white vase for $3.  I've been looking for one with that shape for a long time.  I would have preferred a larger one, but you take what you can find.  The reason I wanted this shape is that I have a picture of a vase with the same shape hanging over the small table where I'm putting it.  I'll keep looking for a larger one and when I find it, I'll sell the other.  See how pretty it looks with an arrangement of Red Berry Nandina, branches from my "Burning Bush", and a few Dogwood leaves.  It's meant to be a transitional look from Fall to Winter.  I bought the little Squirrel with nuts salt and pepper shakers today for $1 and four placemats like the round red one under the vase for $2.  Paired with my Fenton bird and a church decorative birdhouse, it looks pretty cool, I think.

Below is the picture that hangs above the little table above. That vase is dark, but it's still the same shape.  OK, it's not ideal, but I like it.

Next, remember the napkin rings that I found on Ebay after a fruitless search for "leaf" napkin rings for my Fall Tablescape found here?  I had looked everywhere locally and everyone was sold out of Leaf napkin rings.  I could find them on Ebay for $12 for four rings, but I didn't want to pay that much for them so I settled for some vintage orange and brown wood rings from Ebay.  Today I found a set of eight, yes - I said eight - leaf napkin rings at the market and I paid a total of 50 cents for two sets of four.  I couldn't resist although I was pretty happy with the ones I had.  They are less bulky though - which do you like best?

All of these things are keepers, so where does the selling stuff come in, you ask.  I have this new fixation for Department 56 Christmas in the City snow villages.  A while back, I wrote about buying several pieces in this post.  I sold the piece I really didn't need and more than paid for the rest.  Today, I went over and bought several more pieces from the same person I bought the others from.  She had given me her phone number, so I left the market and went to her house.  I bought two buildings and several people and cars for $120.  I fell in love with the Harley Davidson Store below.  And I also bought a Department 56 Studio Building Anniversary edition just like the one HERE listed on Ebay.  I do plan to sell it because look what its listed for!  I would love to get that much for it, but I think the person listing this one is dreaming.  Here's the one I'm keeping.

And the one below is what I hope will pay for the other treasures I bought today. (smile)

I had a pretty good day, don't you think?  I love treasure hunting! 

The week in review - from flowers to vintage Saturday Flea market finds

This past week has been a little chopped up since we stayed a few days longer at the coast than we normally do.  We did a little fishing and I had my chance at the "big one that got away".   He gave me a run for my money though - it was exciting just to have the big guy on my hook for a while - but  alas, he broke my line and away he went back out into the deep blue sea.  Little did he know I would catch and release anyway (unless he was a giant flounder - my favorite fish to eat). 

It was a nice relaxing week.  When we got back home, I had lunch with some girlfriends one day and carpooled the grandkids and the foreign exchange students around here and there.  My youngest daughter now has two exchange students - one from Spain and the other from Germany.  They are both such sweet girls.  Nadir, from Spain has been here since mid-August.  Sarah from Germany had a difficult host family, so now my daughter has taken her in also.  Now Nadir and Sarah are part of our family until the end of the school year in early June.  My daughter now has four girls - and three of them are teenagers - to shuffle around and schedule their many activities.   It's a wonderful experience to have these girls in our family - it's like instantly adding two more grandchildren for a while.


My Knock-out roses are knocking themselves out for their last big hurrah before the frost gets them.  Look how pretty they are!

Another wonderful thing about the week is that my husband took pity on me and went down to the coast on Thursday alone to work - leaving me here to do many needed things around the house.  It's a feeling of freedom! 


I also got to visit the local flea market today and found some good buys as usual.  I found some glassware that will look good for the holidays coming up.  I got these pretty glasses for $6 for all 6.

Then I found these pretty goblets that were made by Libby Glassware in the 1980's for the fast food chain Arby's as a give-away with the purchase of a combo meal.  I love them and will use them at Christmas.  I got ten of them for $1 each.

I also found some wonderful Department 56 village pieces to add to my Christmas village I started last year.  I already own plenty of of the quaint little shops, houses, churches, etc, but not enough people and trees.  These were all in their original boxes from the 1990's and the retail price stickers were still on the boxes for a total of $232.50 for all the pieces.  I paid $55 total for all the pieces which was a steal!  One of the pieces is hard to find and I think I can sell it on Ebay for the amount I paid for all of them.  I sometimes do that sort of thing so that I can justify my purchase (smile).  I can't wait to start setting up my village and I will...right after Thanksgiving.  I love decorating for Christmas!

Some of the "Christmas in the City" Department 56 village pieces I found today.

The large "Town Christmas Tree".  It's sticker alone was $45.

I also lucked up with the vendor who buys department store closeouts / overstocks.  He let me buy several purses by Fossil and Jessica Simpson for a paltry sum!  Here's a couple of the Jessica Simpson ones that I'll be carrying.

This one is a small clutch

This is a large tote

All in all, it's been a good week.  I even found the time to list some things on Ebay and in my Etsy shop.  If you like vintage jewelry, take a look at my Etsy shop which you will find if you click the link "Etsy" on the right-hand side of my blog.


Hope all of you have had a good week!  Mine has been splendid.

Saturday Treasures - Yard Sale, Thrift Shops and Flea Market Finds

Since I've been bragging about my little treasures I pick up at yard sales, flea markets and thrift and consignment shops, I'll start showing these on my blog each week.  Saturday I got all these vintage treasures (except for the leopard brooch) at a consignment shop while we were in Shallotte, NC this weekend.

The leopard above is a vintage Hattie Carnegie brooch.  The red and green festive clip earrings with rhinestones are vintage Trifari, the glitzy amber clip earrings arevintage Kramer and the black lucite with pave' rhinestones are vintage Weiss.  They're circa 1950's and 1960's.  The lamp / candle shade is beautiful etched irridescent glass made in Romania that I plan to use on a large vintage candle stand that I have.  I'm pretty sure the beaded shade cover was added later.   I was excited about my jewelry purchase.  I love to collect and wear vintage jewelry, but I'm thinking this will be sold in my Etsy shop online. 

And I did get a bargain.  I paid $10 for the Hattie Carnegie at the open air market (hope it will bring about $60) and I paid $15 for everything else (hope the Trifari will bring $15, the Weiss $18 and the Kramer $20.

Not bad for a Saturday morning, is it?  Do you like looking for treasures?  It's my favorite way to spend a Saturday morning! 

I AM A THRIFTSHOP JUNKIE - THERE, I'VE ADMITTED IT

In my spare time, you can find me strolling through small consignment shops, thrift shops, flea markets and occasionally the Goodwill stores in whatever towns I happen to be passing through.  I'm all about finding bargains - trying to balance my purchases between happiness and hoarding, smile.

There's a new Hospice Re-sale shop in a town closeby that I plan to visit soon - the non-profit, charity shops are my favorites - it's almost completely staffed by volunteers and all the dollars you spend go towards funding the Hospice program.

Some people think shopping at thrift stores is somehow demeaning, but I'm not one of those.  I look at it as being a good steward of the resources God gives us.  I don't need the latest fashion items to make me feel good about myself - I would rather donate what I've saved by being thrify on making someone else feel good about themselves.  Buying a wig or cap for a cancer patient in Hospice - or helping to fund someone's employment by buying from Salvation Army or Goodwill is what makes me feel good.

Looking at related articles today, I happened upon another blog that I enjoyed reading.  Ruth at Living Well, Spending Less has some great ideas for bargain shopping.  Run on over to her blogsite and get links to coupons and ways to save money.

I have a niece and also know of two young mothers from our church who are coupon queens.  Heather, Ashley and Julie get free groceries all the time by being diligent coupon shoppers - they are organized and efficient and save tons of money on each shopping trip.  I don't have the time, organizational skills, or patience for coupon shopping - everyone has their own bargain shopping style.

Flea market browsing has also been a good source of extra income for me - aiding and abetting my "junkie" pastime.   I've found many an antique or vintage item there begging for a new home.  I still have a leftover glow of excitement at my two favorite finds.  A rare vintage Candlewick glassware mayonaise dish that I bought at a yardsale for $1 brought $531 on Ebay a few years ago.  A pair of prints by artist Terry Redlin that we paid $20 each for brought over $2000 for the pair.

Terry Redlin print similar to my flea market finds

 

So what does that tell you?  Sometimes it "pays" to be a bargain shopper.  Get out there and give it a go.  You'll be hooked just like I am.