Tag Archives: tias

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

Posted on by




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!

Posted on by

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

3 Steps to Figuring Out: What it is, What it’s worth, & How to Sell It!

Posted on by

Even though the Internet has been around for many years and actually the concept was being worked on back in the 1960s and the project was called ARPANET, many people today think only about eBay when it comes to the antiques and collectibles market on the Internet. eBay is certainly a great resource for buying and selling items as well as a place to conduct research but it is not the only place as there are numerous other resources like collector’s clubs, online malls that specialize in items you are interested in,  and antique and collectibles shops as many items are already identified and valued and a description of age and purpose can usually be found right on the item’s tag or label. Also, eBay is indeed a great place to sell your items but as you keep reading you will see that there are also many other options for selling your treasures too!


Identifying what you have
For many the first step to selling an item is figuring out what the heck it is.  Is it a figurine or something that looks like it should be in a kitchen, or a piece of furniture? Perhaps it is a book or a collection of ephemera. What if it could possibly be some tools – but are they for a garage or kitchen? What if you have clothing, handbags, or jewelry? Yes, identifying the item is the very first step!

Step 1. How to identify what your have:
The first thing I do when I have a new item in my hand is to look on the bottom for any possible identifying makers marks, patent numbers, country where item was made stamp, tags or labels, and then I also look the item over to see if there are any signatures. Also, this is the time to check the item condition for damage, repairs, chips, cracks, crazing, dings, flea bites, tears, rips, holes, stains, smells, discoloration, etc….

If your item has any of the above identifiers then you are in some luck as you can now take the information and proceed with researching it. But, if your item has none of the above ways to identify it, then you will need to do even more research in the hopes of identifying it.

Continue reading →

Share