Vintage Weddings and Flea Market Wedding Ideas

Aren’t these vintage 1930’s-1950’s vintage bridge and groom wedding figures and salt and pepper shakers so cute? Today’s trends are all about up-cycling, re-purposing, and re-using so I thought these adorable vintage bride and grooms pictured here fit just perfectly into this theme for a wedding. Many couples today plan their ‘Vintage Wedding’ and even ‘Flea Market Weddings’ as these are very trendy wedding themes today (there is even a new magazine called Flea Market Weddings) and with June upon us,  wedding season is in full swing. So, for couples planning their ‘big day’ and want some vintage charm added to their event, I hope they consider placing these adorable vintage bride and groom shaker sets on their guest tables, or make them part of the wedding favor that your guests will leave with. You can find these vintage goodies on Etsy, Ebay, Rubylane and at flea markets sand collectibles shops and many can be had for $9.99-$25 but expect to pay upwards of $60+ for the German-made Goebel shakers. Cheer!

You can find Crazy4Me on Ebay, Etsy and Rubylane

Share

Estate Sale at Historic Monroe House

With not too much to do this weekend I was hoping to find a good estate sale so I looked to see if there were any in my area on Estatesales.net and one poped up as ‘going on right now’ just down the road from us. The sale had been going on for just a couple hours and was advertised as an estate sale at the ‘Historic Monroe House’ in Sebastopol, CA. Cars and people everywhere. Walking up the front stairs I run right into Selena Cate from Apron Thrift Girlcarrying out large furniture items, she had a few tables and such so she got there in time to score!! I wonder if she is taking the items to her booth at the Antique Society antique mall just down the road. Anyway, walking inside I am immediately struck with the beautiful house that already has a sale pending. The house is a grand turn of the century home. The Monroe House, built circa 1894, has a wonderful presence and stately and spacious rooms with lots of period details in the moldings. Gorgeous house. It seemed like most everything was already sold except for the usual mugs, old tools, pots and pans. Only the main floor was open to the public and the top floors were closed off. The kitchen sure had that vintage charm with its turquoise counter tops!! I saw a couple stunning stained glass panels but they were also sold. Oh well, even if I didn’t buy anything I got to see a stunning turn of the century home and got to admire some very pretty items.

You can buy our finds at our Crazy4Me Ebay store, Etsy store and Rubylane store where we constantly are adding NEW items!

 

Share

8 Steps to Successfully Selling Antiques, Vintage, and Collectibles

I can’t believe I still have so many items to get through listing. I listed a bunch of the treasures I found in Portland in my EBay, Etsy, and Rubylane stores already but then tonight I went into my ‘room’ and see that I still have so many to get through. It is really something I enjoy so much…the hunt, the find, the cleanup, the write-up, the picture taking, the listing, then finally the sale and the packing and shipping. I guess you can call it an 8-step process J and it could event go as high as 10 steps if I add in the communication with buyers and also leaving feedback. Time consuming indeed but truly something I enjoy.

I am looking forward to the weekend as I am invited to an exclusive event and I hear some top EBay and Etsy folks are going to be in attendance. I am really looking forward to talking with them and seeing what future plans are. That has got to be one of the neatest things living an hour away from Silicon Valley as you are really in the ‘hub’ of so many companies that are in essence impacting the world!!!  Hope you are all having a great summer.

 

Share

Flea Market Finder – Lets Shop

I wanted to share with all my readers a great new website I just found called Flea Market Finder and it is based on a map of the USA and lists all flea markets that happen in that state/city. Spring is approaching and that is a great time to be outdoors at the flea market and Flea Market Finder can be a great resource when planning your flea market shopping days.
Please visit us at:
Crazy4Me Ebay
Crazy4Me Etsy
Buon Giorno Rubylane
Share

Put it Down or Pick it Up? Tips for Buying Antiques & Collectibles




This is the time of year when folks begin their search for gifts as the holidays are (as of this posting) 53 days away! This is also the time of year when it is more important than ever to try and snag some bargains. All my loyal readers know that I am a eBay Power Seller and also sell on Etsy and I wanted to share some tips and tricks with you all when you are shopping that can save you money and get you some really great items.





Lets start right off with the “Pick it Up or Put it Down” scenario we have all faced at some point. Today, shopping at thrift stores and flea markets is a very “in” and “hip” thing  to do and we will focus our article on shopping for Vintage/Antique items and the best part is you can actually hold these item(s) in your hands and get a really good look at them as opposed to buying online where you are taking the sellers description and photos into consideration and not able to actually see and touch the item.





Pick Right Up:

  • Designer & Name Brand Clothing
  • Designer Accessories (Sunglasses, Handbags, Shoes, Belts)
  • Limited Edition Items
  • High-end Pottery and Dinner (Spode, Lenox, Herend, Roseville, Moorcroft, Vietri Deruta, Limoges, Prussia) items Made in England, France, Germany and Italy.
  • Collectibles With Tags and Boxes
  • Singed Items With Artist or Makers Marks
  • Items in Good Over-All Condition
  • Items That Are Strange, Unique, and Weird (these can be valuable & highly desired)




Put Right Down:

  • Items That are Dirty, Broken or Have Damage
  • Items That Have Been Mass-Produced
  • Items That Are “Fakes” Replicas” and “Knockoffs and “Designer Inspired”
  • Books That Are Previously Loved (Ripped Pages, Stains and Damage)
  • Items That Are Primarily Made in China (Lots of Pottery and Dinnerware Fall Into This Category And Are Not Vintage or Antique and Very Common)
  • Stuffed Animals (Although Very Collectible, Usually Not Clean And Damaged)
  • Items That Still Retain Their Thrift Shop or Garage Sale Tags (Look These Over Well as There May be Something Wrong With the Items Because if it Didn’t Sell at The Garage Sale or Thrift Shop You Need to Wonder Why?)




TIP:
There are a lot of online sellers on eBay, Etsy, Rubylane, Tias, Bonanzle aka Bonanza, Shabby Lane Shops, Lollishops, Beautiful Shops and Shabby Cottage Shops and also Craigslist where you can actually contact the sellers and “make an offer” or have them create something unique and one-of-a-kind for you and actually buy at auction and totally score fabulous items at next to nothing!! Etsy and eBay allows buyers to view seller ratings so you can easily see what other buyers are saying about their experience with the seller and quality of merchandise etc… Other sites, you need to be a little cautious and Ask, Ask, Ask, when in doubt. Hope this article is helpful to you and Good Luck with all the many things that are starting to take place as we near the Holidays!!

Share

Part 3: What it is, What it’s worth, and How to Sell it!

Continued Part 3….

We have previously covered 3 Steps to Figuring Out What it is and What it’s worth. Continue reading below to Figure Out How to Sell It-


How to sell it?

Congratulations! Once you have made it to step 3, you should know what the item(s) is and what it is worth and have formulated some type of description for the item so you can sell it……you will also need to take some photos of your item(s) as a photo really is worth $$$ when selling the item online.

You need to decide how you plan to sell your item. Will you sell it at a garage sale, estate sale, consignment shop, eBay, Etsy, Online Mall, Amazon, Newspaper, Craigslist, etc. as each method yields different results. Hopefully when you spent all that time performing research on your item you were able to determine what the demand for your item is and if it is considered a “hot” collectible or something that is“not currently in demand”.

Selling at a Garage Sale:
Okay, first things first, you are ready for your garage sale! We will assume you have already researched the ordinances in your community and city and know the rules pertaining to having a garage sale and placing signage around town and your street advertising the garage sale. You have probably also placed ads online and in your local newspaper too. NOTE: After your garage sale has ended, remember to take your signs down and pick them up from all the places you put them. Since you have researched the ordinances in your area you already know if fines apply to leaving your signs up.

Loose all emotional connection you have with the item(s) as people shopping your garage sale will not treat your item(s) as lovingly as you have as they are not emotionally attached to it and will negotiate the pricing.

Alright, let’s get to the main point here and it is PRICING. How do you price your items for a Garage sale – is the question? A good method to determine pricing is the item should be priced “at a third of what it would cost if buying it brand new”. And if your item has damage then pricing it much lower will help sell it. Be prepared, as no matter how fair you have priced your items, someone will always want to negotiate for a lower price.

TIP: If you are selling electronics or appliances then have an electric cord and electric outlet nearby so potential buyers can test the item(s) out and they will ask if they can test it out to ensure they are operating.

If you are selling clothing, then be prepared for folks to negotiate as they will say they are not able to try the item(s) on so they should get a discount.

Be sure that you are selling items that are clean (no major grime, bugs, dirt, food stains). Items that are not too damaged (you can always have a “free” pile). Selling items that are not in the worst condition will encourage buyers to shop your garage sale and not run away!

If you have attended garage sales and yard sales you know that things priced in the .25, .50, $2.00 range are what sells. Garage sales are not the place for your high-end collectibles as buyers are looking for bargains. But, if you do decide to sell your more expensive item(s) that (appear in books, magazines, or catalogs, or online web pages) because it is a very collectible item, a tactic you may try is printing out the information and photo of the item from that book or online website or wherever you have the information and attach it to your item at the sale, you may have a better chance of getting the price you are asking as individuals will see it is an “in-demand” item. Good luck!

Selling Online:
In this portion we will discuss the three most popular online venues for sellers- eBay, Etsy, Online Malls.

Continue reading

Share