American Girl!

Well I am still not sure if it was a good buy or not, and I'll explain why in a minute but its worth blogging about I think!

A couple weeks ago I saw a post on my Facebook group for a Kit Kittredge American Girl Doll and several outfits each priced out separately for a decent amount and at the bottom of the post they said they'd sell all pieces for $150. There was the doll, a stand, her scooter and plush puppy dog, an AG bed with bedding and an additional 7 outfits included. I emailed the lady and asked if they could take an offer of $140 and I could pick it up the next day.

My daughter got Saige for Christmas and has been obsessed with outfits and accessories for her ever since and has been saving for a bed for her for the longest time. The bed was really cute and they wanted $40 just for the bed at the priced separately rate. The way I saw it was if I paid $140 for the lot I could sell the doll for around $100 and if I got $10 for each other piece it would make it a good deal especially since the bed alone was worth about $40-50 on eBay. Of course this doesn't factor in fees and shipping at all. hmmm...

I decided to go for it and purchase the whole big lot for $140. My daughter was so excited when she got home because she thought it was all for her but I explained that just the bed and bedding was hers and the rest she could play lightly with until the pieces all sold. She seemed happy with that.

Well Kit along with her nightgown, stand, scooter and dog sold within just a couple of days so it didn't work out to well in my daughter's favor but nicely in mine! I sold her for $134.95 with free shipping and it cost about $18 to ship it. So after fees it came to about $99 back from the $140 spent. I probably could have asked a little more and held out longer but I'm happy that it was a fast transaction and the new owners have already left positive feedback, whew!

One of the bummers when I got it all home was that not all of the outfits were American Girl Brand and a few of them had stains and holes. I gave a few pieces to Naomi to have for Saige and the rest got listed.

 

Rebecca's PJ set - Sold for $14.95

 

Red Cloak Sold for $14.95

Bloomers from Kit's Meet outfit - Sold for $6.95 

I have 3 more outfits currently listed and if just one of those items sells then I'll have made my original investment back, plus the others are more complete outfits not just single pieces. Not a huge amazing grandiose flip however, the way I see it is that I got Naomi's new doll bed and a couple of extra outfits for FREE! Plus if she ever gets over it and decides to part with it she'll make some easy money on it because its a SUPER cute blue daybed that is now retired from AG.

Remember this awesome American Girl storage locker that I found at Value Village a while back? It had a price tag on it for $9 but I had a 30% off entire purchase coupon so I got it for around $6. Naomi never really showed much interest in it so I took picks and put it out in the garage. I started with craigslist because this thing is BIG and heavy! Its retired and hard to find and the completeds on eBay are for about $120 when they sell, not bad until you calculate out the shipping. I'd have to buy a box for it, and to ship it would have been around $40 if it was cross country! Crazy!

So up on Craigslist and Facebook it went. I had a couple of low offers for about $40 and was about ready to take one of those until this morning! A father off craigslist emailed me and said he wanted it and could meet at noon. We met, he handed over $60 and said he wasn't sure if it was worth that much but his daughter wanted it and that was that! The way I see it is that is probably more than I would've gotten for it off of eBay after fees and shipping. So glad I held out for the extra 20 bucks!

 

Moral of these stories, American Girl sells, as well all already knew hopefully! Anyone find any AG at yard sales yet this year? Its always on my radar but I never seem to find it! 

My 1st Month

Well I'm pleased to announce that I met my $150 sales goal for May at my booth space in the Whitehouse Antiques Shop!

The way I figured it was that with my rental fees ($60/Mo + 12% commission + 8hr shift) that I'd need at least $150 in sales every month to make doing this "Worth It". My first month, while I got a check and that's great, was kind of a wash because I had to work 2 shifts as you have to work a floater once a year and the owner likes you to work it in your first month so you are fresh from your training shift.

Anyways, here is a breakdown of items that sold last month:

1. 2 Vintage Paint by Numbers Dog Pictures - Paid $0 for them as they were out of an estate I'm helping with - sold for $10 (These were SOOO ugly I couldn't believe it when they were the first thing that sold for me!)
2. 9 Pc Vintage Children's Kitchen toys - from the estate as well, $0 investment - Sold for $12.
3. My husband's old Speak and Spell toy - I didn't test it so I had no idea if it worked, paid $0 - sold for $6.00
4. Mickey Mouse Tea Cup - Paid $.25 - sold for $3.
5. Vintage Metal Measuring Spoons - Paid $1.08 - Sold for $3
6. Vintage Triple Opening Metal Picture Frame - Paid $.50 at a yard sale - sold for $10.
7. Set of 3 Vintage Framed Owl Prints - Paid $9.95 for these over a year ago - sold for $15, glad they are gone!
8. Vintage Oven Serve Aqua Custard Dish - Paid $1 at yard sale - sold for $6.95
9. Folding Table that I got for free and refinished and Chalk Painted Turquoise - $10 in paint and supplies - sold for $20.
10. Vintage Suitcase - Paid $1 at a yard sale, it was in terrible condition, caved in and inside was peeling - sold for $6.
11. Decorative Wire Bird Cage - Got at yard sale forever ago can't remember how much I paid but less than $5 - Sold for $11.95.
12. White Sandstone Owl figurine/paperweight - Paid $2 at a Thrift store - Sold for $5.
13. Vintage Green Shoe - $0 from estate - Sold for $5.
14. Another vintage suitcase - Paid $4 for this 2 years ago and used it a lot to carry photography props, had to upgrade to a bigger case so I put this one in the shop. Sold for $16.00.
15. Vintage Rusty old Rake Head for someone to repurpose as a jewelry or wine glass hanger. Paid $0, found it under our house - sold for $14.
16. Cute wire birdcage framed picture from Hobby Lobby - Paid $5 off FB group - sold for $12.95.

Total Sales was $156.85 + $14.90 Sales Tax which I'm responsible for paying to the DOR.
After Commission ($18.82 and June's Rent $60) I got a check for $92.93 - just about enough to cover my 2 shifts at the store haha! Hoping next month I can actually turn a profit, this whole bookkeeping thing is super confusing so I am looking for deductions everywhere!

Last week I decided to rearrange a bit, here's what my space currently looks like, I've only had a few sales so far this month totaling $25, hopefully it improves!!

I think I might start a Facebook page for my business. I can post updates about new items I've taken to the shop but also new items I put on Etsy and eBay too as well as garage sale finds. Does anyone else have this currently? Do you have lots of fans or do you ever generate extra business from it or would it be just one more thing to add to my plate?

Still Here!!

Sorry for the crickets lately folks! I have been SO busy, I mean busy to the point of exhaustion so I do apologize I hope that everyone is doing well and that I haven't lost any readers due to my lack of posting!

The first month at my booth went really well considering that it was the first month. I didn't have any huge sales but lots of smalls sold and I will be getting a check on the 7th and a detailed report of what everything sold for so I'll do a post next week with a booth update and new photos!

My final consignment sale of the spring season went way better than expected; it was actually the most profitable of the 3 I did! I didn't have much invested in the sale, maybe $30 total and my check is going to be just over $250! I averaged $200 for each sale this year so over $600 for the season... stellar!

Max is still here and doing well; he seems to have good energy and still loves to lay outside and chase the shadows. I'll keep everyone posted but for now he's still with us!

I have also been very busy with my photography and end of our year of Kindergarten events so unfortunately online sales have been SLOW. Fortunately I don't think I'm missing out much as I think everyone is pretty slow right now so its been a nice break and I honestly haven't stressed much about it at all. I have sourced a few items and I actually found some time to photograph them today so I'll be getting a chance to list tonight for a bit and maybe make a few sales over the weekend! I think I may too have to bite the bullet and open a store here soon, maybe once school is out and we are officially on summer vacation I'll have some more time and can make online a priority again!

That's pretty much it for now. Remember how I said I was getting back into men's shirts? Well here are a few sales in that dept that have been a success!

 

RJC Made in Hawaii Cruise Ship Shirt XXL - Paid $2.97 at a little senior center thrift store. Sold 2 months later for $21.95 and after fees and shipping I made about $11 profit.

 

Reyn Spooner XL Trader Vics Drink Shirt - Definitely a BOLO! Paid $5.65 at Value Village and it sold within a month for $59.95!! After fees and shipping that's a profit of $41.01!

 

Happy Sales Y'All!