Thrift Haul

Its been sunny the past 3-4 days around here in the Seattle area - hallelujah! This means warmer weather, spring flowers starting to bud and yes, the early season garage sales! Today was the first day we've set out this season and it was only to one sale at a church about 10 miles from here! But I LOVE a good church sale and it turned out to be very good so I'm happy the little dude and I ventured out there today!

This was almost the first thing I saw when I walked through the door, I beelined to it and had a nice fellow watch it for me while I shopped so no one would steal it!

I've actually been looking at antique shops for one of these vintage baby scales for over a year now but I've never been able to bite the $75+ bullet to buy one. Voila! $20! I will be using this as a prop for my newborn photography sessions and luckily I have two coming up soon so I'm really excited to clean it up and get it ready to shoot! I also picked up a few books, a Brittany Build A Bear (again, I know I said never again, BUT she was only 10 cents and she sings!) and an almost brand new pair of Keen hiking boots for only $3!

After we finished up at the sale I decided since we were close that I'd drive a little farther to a little town nearby and stop into their antique shop to talk to the owner about a booth space. Sadly it didn't work out because the store is going to be closing in a few months but I was able to pick up a vintage Gremlin plush for a few bucks, we'll see how he does, he's in pretty ratty condition but who can resist Gizmo?! I've reached a stand still on the booth front. Everywhere close by has zero space availability with long wait lists and the one store I did find that has space is very strict on what they allow, has super high rent plus commission and is a long drive from here.

Well I wasn't done yet, on the drive back home we hit up Value Village too! I had a $3 off $10 purchase coupon and we found some GREAT stuff! Here's a few shots of the rest of what I got today!

Lotso plush, books, brand new ink cartridges, Beauty & the Beast Polly Pockets, and a brand new with tags Laurel Burch canvas bag!

These are the Keen hiking boots, I'll probably list them for around $75 with best offer. They are lightly used but still really nice and have the box and for only $3 I'm good with anything over $50!

This was the find of the day: Mason and I decided that Sissy would love it for her doll clothes so for $8.99 we put it in the cart, I didn't even notice until I got home that it was American Girl!

Its pretty big and heavy but check out the completed listings on this bad boy: HERE. This is the problem though, I know that the second Naomi sees it she is going to love it and want to keep it and since she just got an AG doll for Christmas I might just let her. That payday sounds soooo nice though!

How were your finds this week? Are there many garage sales in your area or is it still full on winter where you are? We are going to Leavenworth for the weekend and its buried in snow so I doubt there will be any sales unless we get lucky and find an estate sale or indoor sale, fingers crossed! First thing next week, back to listing and more spring cleaning!

Craigslist Sales

So a week ago I posted about my awesome Little Einstein score on Craigslist. (I've since sold another set of figures as well from that lot, still waiting on the big boy to sell though.) Well this week I want to talk about selling on Craigslist! Ebay and Etsy have been pretty good this month but I am in major purge mode right now since I know that garage sale season is coming up really quick I want to be sure I have lots of room to store all those fabulous treasures when I find them!

I have been listing all of my old inventory online and have also been going through closets, kids rooms and the garage too! I have had a couple of awesome sales on Craigslist the last week so since eBay has been meh and not too exciting I'll show you what I've sold locally!

I purchased these two Pottery Barn Bar Stools from a lady off my Facebook shopping group; I knew that I could flip them and flip them I did! Originally she had them for $50 ($25 each) and I thought about snagging them then but I waited and a couple of weeks later she dropped the price to $25 for BOTH and I jumped on it. I listed them the same day I bought them because less time in the garage the better - we don't have an abundance of space out there.

Well I started the listing at $200 since I looked them up and they still sell these exact stools at Pottery Barn for get this - $269 EACH! Crazy! But there they sat so I lowered them to $160 for both and a week later they sold to a lady who was buying them for her 2nd home. Hubs was a little upset about it but I let her take them for $140, I was happy with that since I only invested $25 but he thinks I should've stuck firm at $160 since they are totally worth it. They are gone out of my garage and I am happy with my $115 profit. Plus the lady got a great deal, good karma right?!

This is the reason that, as a mom, I buy 2nd hand. I purchased my Ergo carrier when Mason was just a wee little sprout a couple of years ago from a nice fellow mom off Craigslist for $75. This was a good deal because they retail for about $129 and in my area this was the carrier to have. I was excited to try it out because I knew when Naomi was born that I didn't like the Baby Bjorn, it hurt my back and I liked this one because you could wear baby on the front or on your back up to 45 lbs. I used the HECK out of this carrier for the last 2 1/2 years, almost daily for a long while when he was between about 4-12 months old. In fact, I was still using it up until a few months ago when he decided that he absolutely would not ride in it anymore! I loved this carrier. Here is a picture of us using it at the Grand Canyon!

Sadly since Pickles has decided that he won't be riding in it anymore I decided it was time to pass it on to another mom who could love it as much as I. I listed it yesterday afternoon while Mason was napping and within an hour I had set up a meeting with another mama who is in her 2nd trimester. Smart mom preparing ahead and buying second hand! This is the best part of the story - I sold it hours after listing it for $80! I bought it for $75, used and loved it for 2 solid years and sold if for a profit.

This is why I'm an addict people!!

I have bought and sold Ergo carriers in the past on Craigslist as well. I sold one that was a really popular pattern along with a waist extender and an infant insert with it for $120 - I had bought it at a yard sale for $25 and sold it just a day or so later! I also bought a less desirable color Ergo for $5 once at a yard sale and sold that one within a week for $65. In no uncertain terms - if you see an Ergo Carrier or any of the accessories that go along with them at a garage sale for a good price, buy it, you won't be sorry! They do well on eBay too but with fees and shipping I usually have a higher profit just by selling locally.

...And finally, do you remember the My Artsy Husband post from a while back?

My hubs made these awesome lamps out of salvaged vintage plumbing pieces. He turned nothing into something by simply adding a lamp kit a neat light bulb. Well they sat on craigslist for a loooong time and I was going to add them to my antique store booth (when that happens, I'm in the process...) and price them high. I had tons of emails and intrest but never anything serious, mostly it was: Hey I'll give you $25 for the parts or I want to buy them for a wholesale price of $50 - no and no.

I knew the right buyer would come along and voila, there she was! My husband met up with her this afternoon. She was super excited for the lamps and gave us $200 for them! Now hubs is validated that what he made is actually really cool and hopefully it will motivate him to make some more and maybe we can find some cool parts this summer when out at estate sales! What a fun hobby and a great profit; I told him he should sign them, maybe someday far down the road they will be on Antiques Roadshow... haha!

I've also sold 2 bikes and other random things this week, its been a busy week with lots of meet ups and I love it!

 

I hope you've enjoyed my stories this week and maybe I've inspired you to clean out your garage or start creating as well!

Little Einsteins!!

Occasionally during nap time if I have nothing going on I will cruise around on Craigslist to see if there are any listings for great eBay items that I can flip for good cash. Most of the time they are fellow sellers who know what they have and are trying to avoid having to sell the items online by selling for full profit to someone local. BUT sometimes the stars align and I find something REALLY good!

Last year you may remember my awesome Stitch backpack find that I flipped $5 for $65 - if you missed the post you can read about it HERE.

So a couple of weeks ago I met a lady who had an entire collection (yes collection) of Little Einsteins toys for sale on CL for the low price of $30!  I wish I'd taken a pic of all the toys together but it was a very large bag that included the much coveted PAT PAT ROCKET complete with figures, a Transform and Go Rocket, some plush, books and a bunch of bath toys! I currently have the rocket listed for $109.95 on eBay and hoping it sells quickly, that would be a nice pay day, although I have had a few quick flips that have already made me my original investment back!

So what else was in the lot?

June and Rocket plush beanie toys - sold for $17 with free shipping the second day after being listed!

 

A set of figures and a rocket bath toy for $25 with free shipping - sold within 2 hours of listing!

Transform and Go Rocket with Leo figure sold for $37 the day after listing.

I've got a couple of singing dolls, the bath toys, Pat Pat Rocket and a set of cake topper figures also listed currently, I really hope it all sells so keep your fingers crossed for me! I have found LE stuff before but never of this magnitude! Although I'm a little worried about the condition of the figures, they were very well played with but everything still works!

My "Be Picky, Sell Quicky" rule is still running strong. I have had a few other good sales and I finally went through my storage area and pulled out all items I've had longer than a year. Some are being donated, gifted on the Buy Nothing group and all my vintage items are going to the booth space I've decided to open. Now I just need to find a local antique mall and display pieces so I can get this thing started, after cleaning out my space I have realized I have a TON of great vintage that would be perfect in a booth space and I'm really excited about this new prospect!