Top 10 Thrifty Finds of 2014

It was hard to choose 10 favorite finds for this year. Next year, I'm going to write down my favorites when I get them so I don't have to look back over 100+ blogs. Some of these items I have kept, most have sold and a few are still for sale. Here they are in no particular order.

#1. Vintage library card catalogue.

I have always wanted one of these and found it at a consignment shop. I almost didn't get it as I was uncertain whether I wanted to pay $40 something for one missing a drawer. I'm glad I went back and got it. My hubby added wheels so I could easily move it by myself.

#2 Kitchen cart

I saw this on a preview page for an estate sale. I wasn't able to make it to the sale and a few days later, it showed up at the thrift store by my house. I think I paid about $10

#3 Mohair Paddington Bear

I found him recently. This is not your mass produced bear but one handmade by Gabrielle Designs in England. He is currently for sale in my Ebay store.

#4 Lot of vintage little Golden books

I found these at a church tag sale. Some of them are 1st editions. Most have sold and some are still up for sale on Ebay.

#5 Big Hug mug

By the time I found this, the novelty had worn off and prices dropped on Ebay. I did manage to get $45 for it on Etsy.

#6 Vintage Bert and Ernie hand puppets

These have the rubber face and hands with the cloth body. I sold them on Ebay back in October for $99.98

#7 Henry Dogs

I found 2 Henry's this year and 1 Henerietta All 3 have sold.

#8 Hot Dog skateboard by Sears & Roebuck

It's a little beat up but I'm still holding out hope there is someone who needs to have this item. It is currently listed on Ebay with the Best Offer option.

#9 Vintage sewing table

I don't know how to sew so I am using this as a desk for my computer

#10 Last but not least: My velvet painting

I think I paid about $14 for this. It is pretty big. I love the cabin

Look What I found

I went to the thrift store on Friday and saw him sitting on the top shelf of the antiques section. I meant to buy him but forgot about it until I got home. Luckily, he was still there this afternoon.

1981 Paddington Bear. This is not your mass produced bear (Eden) but one handmade in England by Gabrielle Designs. He stands a proud 14 inches tall and comes with his original P.B. Wellies which are usually lost. In his pocket, he has a red and white checkered drawstring bag. I'm not sure if this is original to him as I have not seen other bears with this bag. He is missing his blue swing tag but he still has his luggage tag: Darkest Peru to London, England. His fur is a nice soft mohair. He is an expensive little bear. A few have sold for over $100 and one sold recently for $281.45 from the United Kingdom. I'm hoping with the new Paddington Bear movie coming out, someone will want this for their collection.

I have also been looking for a vintage tree skirt. I found this cute one for $1.99 but only paid $.50c because Christmas was 75% off. Some of the felt designs needed to be hot glued back on and luckily I have a hot glue gun.

check out Paddington here

Christmas Decorating Thrift Style

Almost all my Christmas decorations have come from Goodwill or secondhand stores. A few things I bought off Ebay. I found a really nice honey hole last week in all places down town. I wish I would have brought my camera. There was so much stuff but I only got this animated Santa.

I had to move my other decorations to the bookshelf to make room for the Santa above.

My aluminum Christmas tree with not one, but two color wheels. Yes, it's ok to be jealous. I'm still hoping to find a pom pom tree or even a pink one.

ornaments

I thought this was a tree skirt when I bought it but it is a round table cloth.

If you have been following my blog for awhile, you will know I got my green tree at a consignment shop. I love the little fireplace. When we moved 2 years ago, one of the bulbs got broken for the fire. We have not replaced it yet.

It does have lights but every time I tried to take a photo with them on, it ended up blurry. Here is the angel topper.

I also found a few things to resell on Ebay. It maybe a little too late but I'm hoping there are still some people buying Christmas decorations. I know I buy all year long.

some vintage blow molds

This one is Tiny Tim. His cane tip is broken off.

This snowman blow mold is double sided. There is only one other like it listed on Ebay and that buyer is asking over $100 for theirs. I wasn't sure what to price mine at so I added Best Offer.

mini nutcrackers

unbreakable ornaments

Hallmark peek thru ornament. I thought about keeping this but most have been selling for over $15

Some Christmas Finds

There hasn't been much at the thrift store lately that I have been interested in. In fact, I have not listed anything new on Ebay because I can't find anything decent to sell. I did find a few Christmas decorations for myself.

PEACE stocking holders. This was $5.99 for the whole set. The had JOY which was in better condition but they wanted $2.99 for each letter. Not sure why they priced them that way when peace was one set price.

I'm not sure if this is a gnome or a Santa Claus. It was in with the Christmas decorations. It was more than I normally spend ($5 and that was half off) but he was too cute to pass up. The bottom says Made in Sweden. Maybe that is why it was priced high?

This tiny camel did not have a string for a hook, so I used the price tag string. He was only .80c

I originally bought this star topper for my tree but the cone was too small. I sold it on FB for $3

I ended up going back to the thrift store and getting this angel topper from the 80's for $1.50

linking to Sir Thrift A Lot

Do Not Hesitate

Anyone who buys second hand knows if you see something you want, get it right away because it may not be there when you come back for it. The same is true buying on Facebook garage sale pages. I'm still kicking myself over this.

The post was up for 7 hours when I first saw it. No one commented and at $100, I was really thinking no one would. I turned on the notifications and bookmarked it to come back later. Big mistake. 10 minutes after, there was a question asked. On this page, asking a question gives you first dibs. I had to act fast. I commented I was interested if the lady above passed. I sent the seller a message letting her know I had cash on hand and could get it anytime. She said she would let me know as the first lady hadn't message her yet.

I was feeling hopeful. There was no response when the seller asked if the first person was still interested after giving her the answer to her question. I'm not sure on this page how long an interested person has to respond but I think it is at least 12 hours. Right at the 12 hour mark, the lady responded she wanted it. I was so disappointed. If only I had commented first instead of bookmarking it, this would be mine.

Yes. This beautiful tree and the color wheel could have been sitting in my living room this afternoon if  I had not hesitated. I bet I will never find a bargain like this again. I hope the buyer enjoys it as much as I would have.

From The Weird Files At Ebay

At the beginning of October, I sold an item at auction and the buyer never paid. Ebay opened an unpaid item case and it closed in my favor. I got my final value fees back and relisted the item. Ten days later I get a message from the buyer "It shows payment still pending. Can you update me when payment clears on your end?" I called paypal and asked if I received a payment from this buyer or if one was pending. They said no. I then called Ebay and the rep also confirmed there was no attempt at payment and he checked to see if the paypal email in the listing was the correct one. It was. I wrote the buyer back and told her I never received a payment from her and that an UPI case was opened and closed in my favor.

She continued to argue with me (I did make a payment. In fact, you were so quick to open a case against me you have no idea what went on. It still shows payment pending.) If this was true, I would have never been able to open an UPI case. I held my ground and told her to call Paypal to get her payment back if she had actually sent one. I left out the last part. I did not hear back from her again so I thought it was done.

Last night, before I went to bed, I checked my email and there was a request (they are now calling cases requests) for item not received. Can you believe it? It was for this item that was never paid for, that opened an upi case and was closed in my favor. I was beyond livid. I called Ebay. There was a 10 minute hold. After 25 minutes of holding, I get a rep. I explain the situation to her and she says she will need to put me back on hold to look at the case. She comes back on the line and says she needs to transfer me to someone in escalations. After another 25 minutes on hold, I get the second rep. I explain the situation one more time. Once again, I am put on hold while he looks into it. He finally gets back to me and agrees that she never paid for the item and is not entitled to a refund. He escalates the case and about 15 minutes later, it closes in my favor.

I'm not sure why she was able to open a case but I'm glad I stood my ground and waited over an hour on hold to resolve this. I have blocked the buyer and hope this is the end of it.

Some Thrifty Finds

It's been awhile since I posted some of my finds. Here are a couple of things I found over the last month.

There is a lady at the thrift store that saves me old Fisher Price toys. I almost did not come in that day but wanted to check real quick and she had save me these 3 play sets. The School House I did not take photos of but here are the other two.

Fisher Price Family Home

Fisher Price Family farm

She also sold me a big bag of people and furniture that I'm keeping for Ryker. I have not listed these 2 play sets but if you are interested, send me a message.

Toy Story blanket

When my son saw this My Buddy doll, he said "That is one scary doll"

I sold this Rainbow Brite doll on FB for $20 I thought she was vintage but she is the talking one from 2004

A vintage afghan. My mom used to make these when we were younger.

I don't have much luck selling these, but I have a hard time passing up vintage bibs. This is the third one I have found still in the package.

I found a recalled Snuggle bear. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with him since I can not resell him and I would not want to redonate him. The eyes and nose are suppose to come off easy but I tried biting them off and they did not move. Guess those babies have a stronger bite.

I love Paddington but I have a hard time selling him. The market is over saturated.

I read in one of my FB Ebay groups that these oxycisors can go for big money. So far no bites on mine.

and some owls

See something you like? Check out my Ebay store here

Repurposed Sewing Machine Table

A few weeks ago, I noticed a folding sewing machine table at the thrift store. I instantly fell in love with it until I saw the price. It wasn't a bad price $20, but I'm real cheap when it comes to stuff I really don't need. I kept thinking of uses for it to justify the price, but I never pulled the trigger until Friday. My thrift store was having a 50% off the entire store except new items Thursday to Saturday. I went Thursday and thought if it was still there on Friday, I'd get it.

To my amazement, it was still there Friday afternoon. I happily paid my $10 and am now currently using it for my desk. I sold my old one for $25 that night. That top piece can also lay flat if I want a longer table.