Top 10 Finds of 2017

I was blessed to find a lot of good things this year so it was hard to narrow it down to 10. I decided to pick the top 10 of items I bought to keep not to resell.

#10 Vintage Bookcase: I found this for $5 at a church sale. I was lucky enough to run into a friend who delivered it to my house as I had walked to the sale. I have since filled this with stuff I collected from my childhood.

#9 Shoe rack: I purchased this at a thrift store for $4.99 as it has some damaged shelves.

#8 Tile end table: This was bought at a thrift store for $6.99 A friend of mine thought one of the owners of a cafe here painted it.

#7 Orange Canisters: These came from the same store as the end table. Fans of That 70's Show will recognize these are similar to the set in Donna's kitchen. Hers are yellow. I paid $10 for all of them.

#6 Vintage floor lamp: I spotted this at Goodwill. I texted a picture to my husband and asked if I should get it. He said yes, it was cool. I'm not sure if he was serious but I bought it anyways. It was $14.99

#5 Bath clock: This was another Goodwill purchase. I can't remember if I paid $3.99 or $5.99 I almost didn't get it because it wasn't working. I got it to work at my house.

#4 Starburst clock: This was the year of clocks. I must have bought around 15. This was at the thrift store I found the shoe rack at. $6.99 Unfortunately, it loses time.

#3 Mirror shelf: I have been wanting one of these for quite some time. $4.99 at the same thrift shop above.

#2 Flower clock: This has to be my favorite clock. Unfortunately, when checking out, the cashier placed it on it's clock hands and bent them. It also loses time. $9.99 Same thrift store as shoe rack.

#1 Contigo water bottle: This was one of my cheapest purchases of the year. I have really wanted one since I saw them at Walgreens and I was more than happy to pay .99c for it. It also came from the same thrift store as the shoe rack. 

So those are my top 10 finds. What did you find this year? Leave a comment below.

Research Research Research

Hey kids Here is an expensive lesson on learning to do your research. This cat had no tags and I assumed it was a Hasbro Kitty Surprise. Since the last Kitty Surprise has been sitting in my store for over a year at $21.99 obo, I listed this for $19.99 with free shipping. It sold within a few hours of listing and I knew I messed up. The seller who bought it, is now selling it for $199.99 Too bad she didn't mention the hole in the pouch or the fact that the velcro doesn't close. I hate people.

Her listing is here

Who, Who Made This?

I found this cute owl today. It measures about 4 1/4" inch high. It appears to be resin or some type of stone. One the bottom it says Italy but what did the rest of the tag say? Unfortunately, a price sticker was placed on top of the label and the label came off. Why do thrift stores do this? Whatever this says could make a difference in the price. Any help? Thank you

Please Don't Take My Photos

Ebay policy states "When creating listings, members should write their own descriptions and take their own photos." You can read the policy here.

I spend a lot of time photographing items: from adjusting my lighting, taking photos from all different angles, cropping them, resizing them and uploading them to Ebay. To have my hard work taken from me with a click of a mouse is frustrating to say the least.

Today, I was listing some items that ended without a sale. I usually recheck to see what the items are currently selling for and I stumbled across a listing using my photos. Not only that, she copied my title word for word. The title I didn't really care about because I probably used someone else's keywords to begin with, but the photos No I wasn't going to let that slide. Had my listing sold and she had asked to use my photos, I would have had no problem with it. 

This was the listing in question.

I sent her a message asking her to remove my photos from her listing. She never responded to my message but has since taken her own. Because she removed my photos, I won't post her seller id.

I also redid my photos. You can view my listing here

I do have a question for anyone familiar with these dolls. Is one of the hands suppose to look like a claw? It has a wire in it and pinches like one. It looks odd.

Thrift Store Finds

Not sure if I already posted these but here are a couple things I have found at the thrift store.

I actually found this at an estate sale. It was more than what I wanted to pay but since it was my birthday, I splurged.

Vintage stool

Hand painted tile table "I've got my eye on you"

Metal art clock. The clock part was broken but my son was able to fix it.

Fire King grease jar missing lid Although my husband and a few friends thought it was a light fixture cover.

Rainbow Dash coffee mug

Mirror shelf

and I found Jesus

Don't Be A Jerk

I volunteer at a local thrift store a few hours each week. It's a pretty fun job but sometimes it can get unpleasant. Please remember these few thing when donating or shopping at a thrift store. This is my personal opinion and may not reflect the opinion of the thrift store I volunteer at.

DONATING:

Please do not donate broken items. We do not have anyone to make repairs plus we do not sell things for parts as these may take up room and sit for quite some time.

Please do not donate items with missing pieces. Again, we can not use these items and they will get thrown out.

Please do not donate breakable items with chips. This poses a safety hazard to workers and shoppers alike. Even if you think someone might buy it, it will end up in the trash. Some exceptions are nick knacks but dishes and glasses will be tossed. Either give it to someone you know who would still like it or throw it away yourself. Trash removal costs the store money and this gets reflected in the cost of items being sold.

Unless you know your thrift store accepts torn or stained clothing (to use as rags), please throw them away.

We can not sell toys with missing battery covers, again safety issue, so please toss those as well.

Please clean items before donating. We do not have a washing machine to clean your sheets, blankets, clothing, stuffed animals etc. We do wipe down some items, such as toys, but do not have the time to deep scrub them.

Please be sure what you donate is not your trash. Sometimes you might get confused if you use the black garbage bags for your donations and your trash so please double check your bags. This happens more than you think. 

Please do not remove items from the dumpster. This can cause a safety issue as there might be broken glass inside. Also, the dumpster is on private property and you are stealing. 

SHOPPING:

Please be considerate of other people around you.

Please ask before you remove items from the stock cart.

If a worker is holding something in their hand, please do not grab it from them unless you ask.

Please do not ask a worker to lower the price of an item. We do not establish the price. You may want to ask the store manager but unless your store specifically says make offer, you might be turned down.

Please do not open the clam shell packaging on new items. You would not do this at Walmart so please do not do that here.

If you open a box to see or verify what is inside, please be sure to close the box and make sure everything you took out is put back in.

Please return your unwanted items to the spot you originally found them in.

Please do not leave your children unattended in the toy aisle. If you feel they can be safely left there, please clean up the aisle before you leave. Toys scattered across the floor causes safety issues for other shoppers and workers alike.

Be sure to know your store policy on paying for your items. Some thrifts accept only cash while others also accept credit cards or checks. The one I volunteer at does not accept checks. We do have a credit machine while others may not.

Thank you for taking the time to read this . Again, this is only my opinion and may not reflect the opinion of the thrift store I volunteer at.

Sad World

There was a shooting today in our town. 4 people are dead including a police officer. They haven't released any names and the shooter is in custody. The first shots were fired at a bank near a Chinese restaurant we were going to go to today. Instead we went to another buffet a few miles away. When we were leaving, a friend of Will's came into the restaurant and told him there was a shooting there. I kind of blew it off because that sort of thing seldom happens here. When we got to the parking lot, we saw a bunch of police cars going down the road to the apartment complex the shooter was holed up in (we didn't know this at the time) It's pretty scary that sort of thing can happen here.

read the story here

Thrift Store Finds

I found a few good things this week at the thrift stores. My favorite find is this hand painted tile table. I spotted it at St Vinnie's in the children's section. I looked at it, debated for a minute, walked away and then decided I needed it in my life. Who wouldn't right?

My second favorite thing was this mirror shelf. My dear hubby put it up yesterday. I also got the mini lava lamp at Goodwill and a pocket Jesus.

Scrub a dub dub

Today, I spent 3 hours scrubbing down about 10 big toys at the thrift I volunteer at. I don't mind cleaning the toys but damn, at least wipe them down before donating them. One toy was so bad, the lady marking books told me I should throw it away as it was far too gone. I managed to save it with a lot of spic and span and scrubbing.

What's That Smell?

The people who go through the donations at the thrift store I volunteer at are called grubbers. They sort the donations and put them in the proper bins to be priced.

Today, I was was pricing kitchen wares and a grubber drops a big box on my table. She knows I also price toys and she says there are a bunch of toys in here if you want to go through it. She then states something in the box stinks and she will throw it all out. I said let me look first because I saw some Lalaloopsy dolls and MLPs

I come across one of those plastic sandwich containers and for some dumb reason, I opened it up. That was the source of the smell. Someone donated a moldy sandwich!

I did find a Charlie Mccarthy doll and another Big Hug Mug though.

 

 

What's Happening

Hey guys. Anyone out there? Sorry I have been MIA for the past few months. I started volunteering at a thrift store and have been quite busy. My dear brother in law passed away in November and I'm still trying to accept that and in the process, I've seen to have lost my love for blogging.

Anyways, here are some things I found recently at the thrift store or estate sales.

Pyrex and a yellow cart. I was third in line at this estate sale. My sister was second and she grabbed the cart for me.

Two paintings by the same local artist

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A creepy clown

A Woodstock glass (sold)

A Ziggy mug and Cincinnati Where Pigs fly mug

and a cat figurine (sold)