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!

Change Your Passwords!!

On the off chance that you missed the message on the main page (as I did, my husband emailed me about it!) go change your eBay passwords right now as they got hacked!

Information

In other notes I have almost nothing to report on! Sales online are zilch because I'm just not putting in the effort at all this month, I'm too busy with all my other projects like photography, my final consignment sale of the season next week and my little Antique store booth.

I worked my 2nd shift at the shop this week and it was pretty slow and went well. I sold a few things last weekend so I've officially made my rent for the month (Whoopty do, but at least I won't have to pay anything for June.) and now I just need to make enough more to cover the 12% commission so I can actually get a check in June and make this whole thing worthwhile! I went through the store and looked over what the other dealers have sold this month (All the sold tags go in each dealers book so I was able to look and see what they sell.) and it looks like the aesthetic of the store is more that of lifestyle than antique meaning that the vintage items aren't always what end up selling so I'm going to focus more on the design aspect rather than the old factor when I'm out sourcing for things for my booth.

Anyways, hoping for some good finds over the long weekend, fingers crossed! We are heading to Leavenworth which can produce some really good garage sales!! We also are hoping Max does ok in the car for the trip, he hates the car but loves Leavenworth so we want to get him in the river at least one more time!

Summer's Comin!

Well this week it feels like summer has arrived! The weather is sunny in the high 70's to low 80's and we even broke out the hose last night!

Of course they were freezing afterward but hey it was good fun while it lasted!

Max is still hanging on. The vet says he would not give us more than a couple of weeks to 90 days with him. They put him on some steroids and pain meds to help him be as comfortable as possible and he's actually bounced back quite a bit. He's still very tired and does not want to eat anything resembling dog food so I've been making him chicken breasts and giving him as many treats as we can get in him and he seems to be pretty content. The vet's office said to pick 5 things that Max loves to do and once we get to the point where he isn't able to do those things then it will be time. This is hard to think about but we decided that since all he really loves to do at this point is lay outside in the sunshine in the grass all day that once he's not able to get himself outside to do that then it will be time. Until then we will spoil the crap out of him and give him as many hugs and cuddles as we can. Its going to be hardest on my daughter I think. They are very close and once she realized what was happening and we talked to her about it there were lots of tears and ever since Max has gotten lots of get well soon cards from school every day. This will be tough...

At any rate, our lives are kind of on hold for the moment but everywhere else life goes on as normal which means I have photos to edit for clients, sales to package and ship and my booth space to worry and fret about some more!

On the booth front, I worked my first shift on Monday and it went really well. I signed up for my 2nd shift next Monday and I'll be at the store all day so if its slow maybe I can re-arrange my space a bit and make it really pop! I have so far sold a total of 6 or 7 items totaling only $45 and had one $3 item break. Its 1/2 way through the month so hopefully a piece of furniture sells or something valuable in the next week or so so that I don't have to actually pay her for June's rent. I feel like with such a small space that my stuff is over crowded so maybe I'll actually bring a few things home and wait til more sells? I don't know, we'll see how this week goes!

Online sales have tanked but only because I'm just not putting in the effort to list like I was earlier this year. Last week I went a whole 7 days with no Cha-Chings so I did get a little listing does and a couple sales over the weekend. LOTS of things going Internationally which always makes me cringe and nervous because its just so scary to put something in a box and not be able to track it or know who is going to be handling it once it leaves the country or if it will even make it to the buyer.

Anyways, enough rambling for me, I'll leave you with a few of the items that have sold for me in the last month, I'm going to go enjoy this early taste of summer and plant some flowers or something!

 As always, Lilo and Stitch are BOLO's for me. Sometimes it takes a while but they always seem to sell and for a good profit. Bought in January for just over a buck and he sold this month for $35, netting me $23 after fees and shipping. Worth the wait!

 Another random Disney Store plush. This is Rosebud from Super Buddies - I paid $.28 for her in April and she sold with a best offer of $44 netting me $33 after fees and shipping! This is why its so addicting to do this!

Starbucks high relief NYC mug that I picked up for $2 back in March. It sold within a month of listing for $35 making me $22 after fees and shipping.

 This is Little Bear - I remember when I used to babysit when I was a teenager that all the kids I sat for LOVED Little Bear. My kids never caught on to him but he's still on TV years later in reruns and that means parents are on the lookout for his items because you don't see LB in stores anymore. I snatched up this little backpack for $6 and almost returned it when I got home because it wasn't in the best condition but I'm glad I didn't because it sold within a couple of days for $50 making a profit of $30 after everything, whoop!

 These silverplated spice canisters caught my eye at a yard sale a couple of weeks ago. I thought they were so neat looking so I bought them for $4. I was kind of surprised but they sold within 2 days to a buyer in England for $50 and they are on their way now so hopefully they make it safely, knock on wood! $4 turned into $36 profit after fees and almost $18 for international shipping!

Well that's it for now!

A Hard Week

Well I feel like I'm reliving something that happened recently to one of us in the blogger community. I don't want her to have to relive her pain but Lorraine over at Clamco lost her beloved dog Coco a while back here and I remember being so heartbroken for her at the time. Our pet's are other forms of our children and losing one is one of the hardest experiences we have to endure and we willingly get these pets knowing they won't live forever.

My husband and I got our dog Max back in early 2006 when we were in the middle of planning our wedding. I took one look at his sweet little face and just melted. Practice Baby otherwise known as Max came home with me that evening.

Man it was HARD work having a puppy and planning a wedding but we quickly became a threesome instead of a twosome and we adored him even though he pooped on everything, ate the carpet, ran away all the time and generally made us fret he was the sweetest, well mannered little guy I could've ever hoped for.

Fast forward to 2008 when Naomi came along... He wasn't too sure about this noisy little thing we brought to live in his house but he loved her and always has, they are totally buds.

Now Mason on the otherhand... He's a boy and I think poor old Max is a little terrified of him sometimes!

We LOVE Max and cannot imagine our lives without him. He's only 8 and a half but would still play like a puppy and chase shadows all the live long day. Then last week, BAM, all of a sudden we noticed he wasn't eating. Our boy has always been so great about self feeding and we fill his bowl when its empty. Well my husband and I just thought each of us was doing the bowl filling until we noticed that the bag of dog food we'd bought him hardly had a dent in it. We got concerned so we called the vet and took him in yesterday.

 

 

My sweet little practice baby has liver cancer. I'm heartbroken over it. Mostly feeling guilty that we didn't catch him getting sick sooner and also that we are facing the end of his life that we weren't quite prepared for yet. Hubs is at the vet with him now getting an ultrasound on his belly so we can fully understand and prepare for what comes next. There's a slim chance that he could have surgery and get past this, but the vet says he's 75% sure that it is more than just a small tumor and that we could be coming to the end. I have been a total wreck the last 2 days and haven't been able to get much done, I knew this time would someday come but I was hoping we'd have him for at least a few more years.

 

I don't mean to depress anyone by posting this but I just felt like I needed to get it out and this blog is the best outlet for me to do that. I am anxiously awaiting them to get home so we can make a plan and I'm praying that it isn't going to happen in the next few days but maybe we'll have a little time to at least get some family portraits done with him before he leaves us.

 

I'm working my first shift at the shop on Monday, I'm always wondering how my items are doing and if anything is selling so hopefully I'll see good news there on Monday. I've had a few eBay sales but I don't really have any BOLO's to post most of it has just been stuff we all know does well and has always been good sellers for me like plush, mugs and cross stitch kits. It's rainy here this weekend so I'm not counting on many garage sales, plus I kind of want to be home as much as possible for my pup.

 

Sorry for the depressing post, I really hope all of you have had a much better week than I. Hug and love your pets and children as much as you can today!



I Did It!

Well I did it! I finally opened my own space in an antique shop!

I apologize for being "blog-sent" for the last few weeks. I have been busy painting furniture, creating jewelry hangers from old windows, pricing items and finally moving into my space!

My little spot is called the Alcove and it's in the basement of the Whitehouse Antique and Candy Shop in Bothell, WA. The location is in a great little shopping place called Country Village and its a very popular spot for people to visit during the summer. There are cute shops, food, a train and even a pond where you can feed ducks and chickens. I'm hoping this will mean lots of traffic and business to the shop over the summer and hopefully lots of sales!

Let me tell you after I moved in on Thursday I worried and fretted all weekend that nothing would sell or that it didn't look right or my prices are too high or etc etc etc! I am going to be taking some stuff I found out at yard sales on Friday to the shop on Tuesday morning I think so I'll be excited to check on the booth and see if anything sold over the weekend. I'm used to instant gratification with my sales so it will be a hard adjustment for me to do the wait and see method!

My booth space rental costs $60/month plus a 12% commission and an 8 hr shift once per month in the shop. The way I see it is that I need to make at least $150 in sales per month just to break even. I'm hoping with my furniture pieces that I will surpass that goal. Fingers crossed for me and if any of you have ever done this or currently do, ANY tips and comments will be much appreciated, I want to actually make money at this!

What do you guys think?!

** UPDATE ** I went to the shop yesterday to rearrange a bit, add more to the walls and check sales. I sold $22 over the weekend which was just 4 days between trips! First thing to sell? Those awful boxer paint by numbers for $10! Amazing what sells and what doesn't! Can't wait to see how I do this week! 

Gaining Wisdom

Or losing it?

I finally bit the bullet and had to have my wisdom teeth removed. "Why didn't you do this when you were like 18?" Is what the oral surgeon asks me right as he's giving me the gas and I can't think of a good reason other than I just plain didn't want to do it!

I went for all four of them and was awake and shaking with fear and pain the whole time. I was seriously ill for 2-3 days and my husband was a rockstar helping me and taking on full time mom duties while I was laying on the couch completely out of it from pain meds! I am just about a week out from surgery now and finally feeling a lot better although my jaw still is all bruised and hurts I can chew small bites and usually only have to take pain meds at night after a full day of use on my jaw. It has been frustrating and miserable and I HATE having work done on my mouth so its been a rough week.

I had big plans for the week too, painting furniture and frames in prep for my new Antique Store booth (that is going to finally be opening on May 1st!) and lots of eBay items to list and photography work to finish up. I haven't been able to get much done and I hate feeling this way so hopefully after this weekend I'll be back to 100% and have a couple of solid work weeks ahead of me!

Sales have been steady and so so, quite a few international items lately I've noticed and lots of plush which is good and easy to ship! I have put myself on a buying freeze the rest of the month just because I need to prep for my booth and clean out all the stuff before I add more stuff.

My goal the next 2 days is to get all my unlisted online inventory listed and to gather all my vintage items into one area of the house so I can begin to tag them! I can't wait to start this new venture even if it isn't a huge money maker its going to be nice having all this stuff I've been storing out of the garage! I will be sure to do a post with lots of photos when it opens at the beginning of next month as well. I've been doing a lot of repurposing projects in hopes that they will be good money makers to cover the rent and then all the vintage items will be icing on the cake!

Anyways, here are some fun plush items that have sold in the last couple of weeks!

 Disney Store Finding Nemo beanie plush - Paid $1 and made a $7 profit after fees and shipping!

Lotso Huggin Bear from Toy Story 3 (Which is currently on for the 2nd time today, my son is obsessed so I'm surprised he didn't adopt Lotso when I brought him home. Instead he called him Mean Bear and wouldn't have anything to do with him!) He sold internationally the other day so I'm hoping he makes it safely - I paid $1.09 for him and made a $14 profit after fees and a higher than expected international shipping price.

 

Characters from Spirit are still and always will be on my BOLO list! This is Rain, Spirit's girlfriend and she sold for $40 after I paid just $1.09 for her about a month ago, $25 profit after fees and shipping, wahoo!

 

Another thanks to the show Thrift Hunters. I have started keeping my eyes out for funky men's shirts again thanks to them, read my last post if you have no idea what I'm referring to! I was a little worried about this one because it wasn't the big boy size just a large but it was a funky print, Hawaiian style and made in USA so all of those combined made for a great sale!

I paid $5.45 for this shirt at a "Thrift Boutique" aka a we charge more store. I priced it high and accepted an offer of $40 a week later netting me a nice profit of $26 after fees and shipping! What man doesn't want a shirt covered in Sushi?! haha!

Thrift Hunters

Have you guys watched this show on Spike TV yet? It is a new series on right after Auction Hunters and it features 2 dudes who do what we do, yard sales, thrift stores and antique shops then they bring it all home and sell it for a profit! I like seeing what they find and sell things for and I've even taken a few pointers from the show! It's on Saturday nights I have no clue what time probably 9:30 but I always DVR and watch it when I get time!

You can watch episodes on the Spike website HERE!

One of the good pointers I've taken is the episode where they get advice about craft kits. I've always known they do well but never knew why. It's because the mom & pop craft shops are all slowly disappearing and the big box stores aren't carrying some of the kits now so some of them go for insane-o money online! BOLO for Dimensions Gold kits and kits that are made and printed in the USA.

Taking these tips I stopped by the craft area on one of my VV runs a couple weeks ago. There was another lady seriously hoarding the kits with her phone in hand and staring rudely at me so I figured she'd take them all and I got lost. Well I randomly walked by the area again on my way to check out and noticed she left a couple behind. I grabbed one, looked it up and gladly paid the $3.99 asking price!

This isn't the gold brand but Dimensions none the less. Paid $3.99 - sold within 10 minutes of me listing it for $39.65! Profit of $27 after fees and shipping. So strange this sale - I listed it at $39.99 with Best Offer and got the offer 10 min later for $39.65 --- why?! I'd have probably accepted anything over $30 but why not just do the BIN for the .30 more? Maybe they had exactly $39.65 in their Paypal account? I thought maybe the person had made a mistake and I would get an email saying they had but then they paid so I shipped!

I've since bought a few other kits but none have sold yet so its definitely going to have to be one of those things I need to be picky about because I don't want to end up being a hoarder of craft kits!

Thanks to the show I've also gotten back into men's Hawaiian shirts. I don't know why because none have sold yet but here's hoping... Clothes are easy to list, cheap to ship and generally make a good profit but can be boring to sell and usually I end up with way more returns so we'll see how this goes.

March was my best month of the year so far but sales have completely tanked in the last week, maybe because of spring break? I'm hoping they will pick up again soon. We go on spring break this next week and are taking a trip to Idaho to visit my pops. I love this trip every year because where he lives has about a million tiny little thrift shops and my dad loves to thrift with me so I usually can find some interesting things! Hopefully the kids behave well, my hubs has to stay home to work and take care of our aging golden retriever, Max. There is a pool at the hotel so I'll tell them to be good at the stores or no swimming! Fingers crossed....

This is my first baby Max, I am not sure I've ever posted a pic of him before on here! He's almost 10 but still acts like a crazy little puppy!

Happy Spring Everyone!

800!

I finally hit 800 feedbacks on my profile, YAY! I am really hoping I can reach 1000 by the end of 2014 and can finally get my new color star. I love purple but red would be a nice change of pace! Funny, the way the mind of an online seller works right?! Is it just me or does hardly anyone leave feedback anymore? I feel like 2 out of every 10 sales actually comes back and leaves feedback. Granted I'd rather have little to none then neutral or negative so I'll take what I can get in the positive department and be happy about it!

Sales have been pretty steady, nothing super exciting to report but a few things heading to new homes which makes me happy. I have really not been shopping much at all and my shelves and drawers are getting a little sparse. I actually feel really good about that though as I'm sure the piles will accumulate again over the summer!

My "be picky sell quicky" plan is still in effect when I do shop too, which is good and bad. Good because I'm not bringing home anything that isn't going to make me a decent profit, but bad because I'm not finding much these days that's worthwhile. I get really sick of  going to  thrift stores this time of year; mostly because their prices are getting semi-ridiculous. A mug at the GW or VV used to cost between .49 and .99, now I'm lucky if I can pick one up for $2 and most of the time they are priced at $3.99 and $4.99! For a Starbucks mug that will only sell for $15 its just not worth it to me to pay those prices so I am ready to start hitting some garage sales in a big way.

Like I said above, I really don't have anything exciting to even show you guys in the sales department so here are a few pics of some of my recent items just because I can't do a blog post with no photos!

Carter's Tan Musical Monkey - Paid $1 at GW - Sold within 2 weeks for $38.95, after shipping and fees I cleared $27! There is a brown version of this monkey that is more common and doesn't sell for as much, I guess I got lucky and found the tan one so BOLO for this little sweetie!

 I picked these up before Christmas at a little thrift store in Lake Chelan for $3, they are A1 silver plated spoons and said, "Walt Disney Productions" on the back sides. I thought they could really be something and since I didn't have phone service at the store I took a chance. They sat for a long time at a high price and I finally accepted a BO of $15 only clearing $6 after fees and shipping. Not bad for a gamble but I'll probably leave them if I find them again.

 

Vintage Care Bear Lot - Picked up at a charity thrift for $1 each which is way more than I'd usually pay but I got all nostalgic because I had these as a kiddo. They actually sold overnight once I finally listed them for $25 but only $8 after shipping and fees... See paid too much for a thrift store!

Another Carter's lovey - I bought her the same week as the musical monkey and she sold over the weekend for $29. This is what I like; she sold within a month and made me a profit of over $20; just need to find more stuff like this to keep the money rolling!

Here's hoping sales pick up for all of us this week! I would love to hear that cha ching sound today sometime; nothing picks me up on a rainy day better than the sound of making money!

Spring Forward!

Did anyone forget to turn their clocks forward an hour yesterday? We got most of them except the one in the car so I got a bit confused but at least it wasn't a Monday or something and I got my daughter to school on time this morning!

We live in the great Pacific Northwest, which I love, most of the time, except I have Seasonal Affective Disorder so by February I REALLY start to dread the dreary days. Luckily, even though its been pretty rainy we occasionally get a break and its now warm enough to at least go run around in the grass for a bit. Spring is here, and I'm excited for the next month or so. I want to get out in the garage to start painting furniture again and of course, more garage sales! I went to one this weekend that was inside, it was a fundraiser for my daughter's elementary school. We spent about $17 and got a few good things for resale, a game, a basket to use in my newborn photography, some clothes for Scooter here and a Little Tikes slide!

Sales the last couple of weeks have been pretty great. I have sold off all of the Little Einsteins toys I bought from Craigslist for a really great profit, looks like everything has been delivered according to tracking as well! I'll still keep the money in Paypal for another week just to make sure that I don't get any returns though. I'm still doing well with the quick flips and spring cleaning. This morning I was putting dishes away and noticed some crumbs in a drawer which spurred a 2 hour kitchen cleanout complete with purging of all the things that haven't been used in over 2 years. It feels sooooo good to get rid of some of the clutter around our little house!

Looks like around the blogosphere that sales have been pretty consistent with everyone so here's hoping we ALL have a great spring! I have another consignment sale this weekend (2 of 3 spring sales) and I'm hoping to make around $100-150, not much but I'm selling everything really cheap in hopes that I don't have to pick anything up afterward! I want to get all new items for my last sale in May from early season garage sales!

Remember my church sales finds from last week? A few things I bought that day have already sold! Whoop! I'll leave you with those sales for now, have a great week!

Keen Gypsum Athletic Shoes with Box - Paid $3 at the church sale - sold within 2 days for $59.95.
Makes a nice $35 profit after fees and shipping!

New with Tags Laurel Burch Cat Print Canvas tote bag - Paid $6 at Value Village, sold the next morning with a best offer of $28 and already got a rave review on my feedback profile!

This next item wasn't from last weekend's finds, but its another example of my non-main character BOLO list! He's from Lilo & Stitch but was not a main character. Therefore less sold originally, which means harder to find now and that equals more money!

Jumba Plush Beanbag Toy from Disney Store - Paid less than $1 at a charity thrift store - Sold in its 2nd month to a doctor in Manhattan for $43! $30 profit after fees and shipping, he's small too, less than 8" tall!