If you have been reading our blogs, you might have caught on that we generally sell our finds on eBay.  Sure we have a store section on this website to showcase some of our better items, but let's be realistic.  eBay sees a TON more traffic than our website.  I know, this may come as a shock to some, what with the amazing photos, engaging articles, and clever blogs.  But eBay brings the world to your storefront.  And speaking of storefront, I was referring to our virtual storefront.  With selling on the internet, we have no lease, utilities, store hours, employees, etc.  Our eBay listings are available 24 hours a day.  And believe me, people buy at all hours of the day and night.  Yet this access does come at a cost.
    Just to prepare you, if you decide to sell on eBay, there are fees.  There are listing fees associated with just listing an item for sale.  This is currently only 30 cents per item.  And there are final value fees that is a percentage of your sell price (including shipping).  The final value fee is currently calculated at 10% of your sell price plus shipping.  And there are fees for you to receive your money.  By and large, eBay users sign up for PayPal.  This is a separate website that is linked to your eBay account (PayPal is a subsidiary of eBay - how convenient).  The PayPal account is also tied to your checking account.  This lets you move your money from PayPal to your bank account so you can actually get the cash in your hands.  Paypal is also generally used to directly pay your eBay fees on a monthly basis.  You can also use PayPal on other websites to pay for goods.  And there are some brick and mortar stores that are starting to accept payment via PayPal.  Paypal also has fees for each transaction that generally figures to 30 cents plus 2.9% of the transaction amount.  I will give an example of all of these fees in a bit.
    First, we have to decide the best way to sell an item.  Lets say you have a Super Terrific Widget.  It is red and has three stars on the side of it.  The first thing you need to do is determine what you think your Super Terrific Widget is worth.  If you go back to our blog on "Knowledge is Power", you will see some of the ways to determine value.  If you are selling on eBay, you always want to check the price for which other people are selling their Super Terrific Widget.  In your search you find all kinds of Widgets.  Some are reproduction widgets selling for $5 and some are authentic widgets selling for around $25.  There are a few red Super Terrific Widgets that are selling for $40.  However, there is only one that has three stars on the side and it sold for $100.  How lucky for you!
    So now you have an idea of price.  It is easiest to click on the one that sold for $100 and just click on "Sell it yourself" to bring up the selling dialog box to insert all your pertinent information.  It uses the same categories and title.  I always edit the title a bit so I'm not just copying someone's work.  The important thing about the title is that this is how searches are accomplished in eBay.  If you search for "red Super Terrific Widget", you won't get search results for blue ones.  So the title is very important.  eBay allows 80 characters in a title.  Use every character that you can to describe your item.  In our example, I would do something like this:  Rare Red Super Terrific Widget - Three Stars on Side - Excellent Condition - WORKS!  It is amazing how many items are just listed as Widget or Cute Little Widget.  If there are hundreds of widgets listed for sale, good luck getting someone to find yours.  The key is to be as specific as possible. 
    Aside from the title, the next most important thing is pictures.  Actually, this may even trump the title.  I go to great pains in taking clear, crisp, and in-focus pictures.  The smallest details are critical.  And since you don't want to misrepresent an item, photos of flaws are just as critical.  eBay allows up to 12 photos.  Use them all.  In all honesty, your photos sell your item.  You can give a great, detailed description about the item, but if your photos are of poor quality, forget it.  People are generally quite visual so your pictures will largely dictate whether someone buys your item or passes on it.  Also, keep in mind that the first photo that is uploaded will be the photo used when doing a search.  I use a photo box with a graduated white to black background and lighting.  Camera flashes are not very helpful since they tend to mask any shadows and make the photo look more two dimensional than three dimensional.  I also use a digital camera with a macro setting for close-ups.  Some items, especially glass, are very difficult to photograph without having reflections or glare.  It takes some doing, but you can work with light filters and camera angles to minimize these problems.
    After uploading your photos, it is time to describe your item.  You don't need to write a book.  Just describe what you have.  They can generally see what you are selling by the photos.  However, you do want to highlight any special information about the item, like your widget has only had one owner or possibly how you determined it is in full working order.  You also want to accurately describe any defects you noted.  Depending on the item, I may give a very brief history of the item or the company, especially if it adds to the item.  For instance, I recently sold a lighted sign by the first company in the US to offer lighted signs.  That is a pertinent detail.  Telling about who the president of the company was is not a pertinent detail.
    The next item to decide is how you would like to sell your item.  eBay allows two general methods: Auction-style or Buy-It-Now.  You can select both.  For instance, you can start an auction at $25 with a Buy-It-Now price of $75.  However, I never use that.  I mean, who will pay $75 if they think they can get it for $25 or $50?  I generally have been using Buy-It-Now recently, especially since they have added a Best Offer option.  This allows you to set a price, but allows people to make you an offer for less.  For instance, you list your Red Super Terrific Widget for $100 or Best Offer.  If someone has been looking for one for a while, they may pop (buy) immediately for the $100.  If there are some others listed, they may make you an offer for $85.  It is up to you whether you accept the offer or counter the offer.  I feel like this is more like a real antique shop.  People going into antique shops expect the proprietor to come down on the price some.  I am fine with that.  As long as I make an acceptable profit, I am happy to let the other person feel good about getting a good deal.
    One item not to just brush over is shipping options.  When you are setting up an item to sell, you have several options for shipping.  You can ship via US Postal Service, FedEx, UPS, or even request no shipping with local pickup only.  Local pickup may work if you live in a larger metropolitan area.  But it will limit your sales.  If someone in California wants your widget, they aren't going to travel to North Carolina to pick it up.  I generally use US Postal Service for my shipping.  Their rates are competitive and they offer discounts when shipping is purchased through eBay.  If the item is large, FedEx is generally a better option, at least for me.  Shipping is really up to you.  This is just how I roll.  You can also select Free Shipping on any item.  This definitely has its merits for smaller items.  Some people are really drawn to free shipping and may draw more people to look at your item.
    Finally, you need to determine the conditions of your sell.  Will you accept returns?  If so, what are the conditions?  I always select the option of accepting returns as long as the item is received in the same condition as it was shipped.  A lot of people that sell on eBay do not accept returns.  However, my goal is making a happy customer.  I am human.  I may miss a defect or critical detail.  If so, I will gladly refund someone's purchase and will generally even eat the shipping costs.  I feel that is only the right thing to do.
    For our Widget example, lets assume you list it for $100 or best offer.  You take amazing photographs.  You give a clear, concise description.  You proof read everything.  And you read it all again just to be sure.  Then you hit the button to list your item for the world to see.  Depending on your item, the supply and demand laws of retail, and many other factors, your item may sell quick or it may take a while.  If it is an auction style, it can be exciting to watch the bids, assuming you have an item on which people are willing to bid.  For our widget, it sales in a few days for $100.  You are thrilled, excited, ready to take on the world!  However, now you need to carefully package and ship your item.  Packing an item for shipment is really a whole other blog.  The buyer pays the $100 plus the $10 shipping charge.  After eBay fees ($0.30 + 10%($110)) and PayPal Fees ($0.30 + 2.9%($110)) and after you pay for shipping (say $9 for our example), you can withdraw $86.21.  Hopefully you bought the widget for less than, say $45.  Generally speaking, the goal is to double your money on the investment, unless the item is worth several hundred dollars.  If that is the case, you need to decide a good profit margin.  Congratulations!  You sold your first item!!

Very early in my picking and selling, I quickly came to the realization that there is a collector for everything.  One fascinating, if not a tad eccentric, group of collectors I have found is one who collects things that are radioactive.  It is somewhat surprising how many antiques and collectibles give off some level of radiation.  I’m not talking amounts that will require the big yellow hooded suits.  But they are radioactive, nonetheless.

I looked into this topic when a friend of mine, Stephanie Riley, posed the question about flying back home to Arizona after buying a piece of Vaseline glass in West Virginia.  Vaseline glass is an antique glass that is generally transparent and has a yellowish or greenish hue.  However, when you place this glass under a black light, it looks…well…radioactive.  It glows a vibrant, bright green.  This glass is also called Uranium Glass because Uranium Dioxide was used in the molten glass to give it the greenish-yellow color in the final piece.  Most pieces of Vaseline, or Uranium, Glass were made in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.  However, there are companies that still make the glass today.   Pieces made today are decorative and not intended to be used with food or drink consumption.  Just to give you an idea, a worker transporting the Uranium Glass from the factory to the warehouse would receive, on average, 4 mrem/year (millirem/year).

Another collectible that is radioactive is clocks and watches with glow-in-the-dark faces or hands.  The faces or hands were painted with radioluminescent paint containing radium.  The peak era of production of these pieces was the early 1900’s (what is it about that time frame?).  Radium dials were hand painted, generally by young women.  Who has licked the end of a paintbrush to make very fine lines when painting?  Well, these young women did too and suffered the consequences of the radiation in the form of jaw bone degeneration.  Once the connection was made to the radium, the women sued their company, the U. S. Radium Corporation, who told them the paint was harmless.  The Radium Girls, as they became known, won their suit.  These watch and clock faces can still give off 20 to 100 mrem/year.  So you may think twice about wearing a watch with a radium face.

One widely used collectible with serious amounts of radiation is Fiestaware.  Now, before you go and call in a hazmat team for your Fiestaware collection beside your dinner table, you need to know that only the pieces made before 1972 may contain varying amounts of radioactive goodness.  Generally speaking, the reds and oranges contain the highest amounts.  Again, it is not recommended to eat or drink from Fiestaware that was made prior to 1972.  Higher amounts can be found in pre-WWII pieces.  Red pieces from the first years of production have been measured to give off between 30 and 40 mrem/year.  However, if you have a collection of the old red pieces, you can multiply that amount.  For instance, an 8 place setting containing a dinner plate, salad plate, and bowl would give off about 720 mrem/year.

While it is generally safe to own radioactive items, it is good practice not to lick them or wear them.  Some common sense goes a long way.  When I was going through college, I was in a work program where I went to school a semester and worked a semester.  The place I worked was the North Anna Nuclear Power Station.  That was a different story.  I did have to wear the big yellow hooded suit a few times when I went into highly contaminated areas of the plant.  It was all very safe though.  Extremely safe.  As a part of my attire, I wore a digital dose meter when I went into these high radiation areas.  I think the highest I ever saw on my meter was around 40 mrem/hour.  I was only in that area for about 10 minutes, so my dose was still quite low.  The limit allowed in a year was 5000 mrem.  On average, the public receives about 500 to 600 mrem in a year from background radiation and medical procedures.  I hope you can see from these numbers that having a collection of bright red Fiestaware will increase your radiation levels only slightly.  Even with the background radiation, if you carried around the 8 place setting mentioned above every day of the year, you would still be at only 1320 mrem.  The key is the same thing we learned in our safety videos at the power plant – time, distance and shielding.  It may be difficult to put up a lead wall in front of your China cabinet.  But a little common sense would tell you not to use the Vaseline glass tumbler for your rinse cup when brushing your teeth twice a day.  Oh, and Stephanie made it back to Arizona with her Vaseline glass just fine.  And that was even after being selected for pre-screening at the airport.

I quickly learned early in my career as an engineer, i.e. my day job, that there was no way I could remember every equation or procedure that I may need. It isn't my elevator doesn't make it all the way to the top floor. I graduated at the top of my class. There were just too many squares, variables, cube roots and quadratic equations. However, I could learn and remember where to go to find the equation that was required for the various problems I may face. As long as I knew which book to use and could quickly find what I was looking for, I could be productive and confident. The same holds true for picking.

Just like in engineering, I quickly learned in picking that there was no way I could remember all the particulars about the millions of items out their or their value. However, I found several resources I could go to for answers. Some of those are in book form, some on the internet, and others through word of mouth and experience.

Early in my picking “career”, I tended to lean more towards glass. The funny thing is that when I started out, I swore I would stay away from glass. There are just too many makers, types of glass, colors, patterns, and on and on. And a lot of reproductions (repros). However, after seeing tons of glass at auctions, I figured the supply was in my favor. Being from West Virginia, the glass capitol of the world at one point, there is a lot of glass available in the local market. Even though the laws of supply and demand are diminished in this global internet market, I knew there was a great supply I could tap. So I bought some glass price guides. I have a depression glass book, one on Fenton Glass, one on Blenko glass, a pattern glass book, a couple of carnival glass books, a book on glass lamps of the 180 and several others. I also have found some great websites for determining glass patterns, colors, etc. The daunting task of figuring out a piece of glass was becoming less daunting. There is still a TON of stuff that I don't know, but I'm gaining a better of understanding of where to look to find out.

One place that some may not consider as a resource for information is Facebook. You would be surprised how many Facebook Groups exist for all kinds of collectors. There is a Facebook Group for carnival glass, Fenton glass, depression glass and many others. And that is just some of the glass pages. There are pages for knife collectors, camera enthusiasts, pottery aficionados, and just about anything else you can imagine. There may even be a collector's page for belly button lent. You'll have to look that one up. I'm not even going to look. The thing is, if you get a piece that you may not be sure about, you can post a picture on one of these pages and people seem quite eager to lend their knowledge.

Other free resources online are blogs (like this one), mailing lists, auction companies that list their “sold” prices, eBay's completed items searches, and websites specific to your particular interest. There are also some pay sites that provide great information. You can find price guides like Worthpoint, Invaluable (previously ArtFact), Kovels, FindArtInfo, and a lot of others. The thing is, even with the monthly fees, some of these resources can easily pay for themselves during the month when you can easily find the right information. For instance, lets say you go to a yard sale. They have a widget that is somewhat rare. They looked online but couldn't find any real information or prices. However, you take a quick look at Worthpoint on your smart phone, and voila, you know the widget is worth 83 rubles. Or whatever. Well, you get the idea.

While it may seem a bit overwhelming with all the potential resources, the key is knowing where to go for a particular item. And that knowledge is definitely power. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.” So sit back, read some great price guides, peruse internet forums, and learn.

Jacob

Today I'm going to talk about my first "mega-pick" that really jump started this full-time "hobby" of mine.

One day my cousin emailed me and said that her best friend's dad lived in Knoxville (about 3 hours from where I live).  He was getting up there in years and was getting ready to sell his 40 year collection and move to Cincinnati to be closer to his daughter. He only wanted to sell everything as a lot. He didn't want to be cherry picked for the good items, leaving him left with the not so good items. Also, I would have to meet him on a Saturday morning and have everything loaded and out of there by that evening.  Sounded like a plan. I knew he had quite a few old tools but that was the extent of what I knew about his collection.

During the next 3 weeks I was both giddy and nervous with anticipation. I went to a Barnes and Noble and found a pocket price guide on tools. These little pocket books are great for a quick reference. They can teach you what to look for between the true gems and the average item. I studied this book quite a bit leading up to that Saturday.  I also studied "completed item" sales on eBay.  It was all I knew to do because I really didn't have a clue about tools.  I also didn't have any idea what else this gentleman had in his collection. Looking back, even though I thought I had a good idea of what to look for in tools and in their values, I knew nothing. I was as green a newbie as they come. This has taught me that it takes years of hands-on experience to become even somewhat familiar with any specialty, whether it's glass, sports memorabilia, or civil war artifacts.

Leading up to the pick, I knew I might need more money than I had. So it was time to find an investor. Not only an investor, but someone willing to take a chance on me. I had only a few months of buying and selling items under my belt. I had a really good, but short, track record.  After talking to the seller's family I determined I needed about $5,000. This was at a time when the most expensive item I had purchased was about a hundred bucks. What could possibly go wrong with this situation???  My wife thought her dad might be interested so I talked to him about it. He was all for it. He sent me the money.  We came up with a repayment plan and percentages of profit that we'd split. When I withdrew the money I felt like throwing up. I was in WAY over my head.  Shhhhhh. Don't tell him I said this.

The Friday night before the mega-pick my wife, son, and I drove to my step-daughters house to spend the night. She lives in Knoxville and was close to the seller's home.  I had my truck and trailer in-tow.  At least i didn't have to rent a box truck. I hardly slept that night. Both my nerves and excitement were getting the best of me. 9 a.m. couldn't come fast enough.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!  I finally fell asleep just a little bit before I had to get up. My alarm was not my friend. I wanted to throw it out the window. I quickly realized why it was going off and the nerves were back. I got ready and headed to the seller's home. It was a few miles out a country road. That got me excited. Really excited. I finally found the house and pulled up. It was a pretty old house and looked like it was in pretty bad need of repairs.  All of the bushes had started to overgrow the house. You couldn't really get an idea of what the house even looked like.  My excitement quickly turned to disappointment.  "Surely there can't be anything too good in this old house", I thought to myself. Then after a short introduction with the son-in-law we stepped inside.

Have you ever watch "Hoarders" on television?  This house wouldn't qualify to get on the show but it sure was an aspiring candidate.  Boxes. Tons of boxes. Mountains of boxes. I was going to need a u-haul. A really big u-haul. The living room had a path to the front door, kitchen, and bedroom.  Other than this 2 foot wide path, there were boxes. Anywhere from knee to chest high. There were lots of items not even in boxes....just piled up on top of one another.  The floors had even started to cave in  from the weight of everything. I recognized old lanterns, signage, crates, books, and more. The vast majority of items were tools. Some I had seen. The vast majority I hadn't. However, everything looked old. Very old. So I knew there had to be a market for it. There was no way I could go through everything to get an idea of value. So it was time to wing it. Wing it with $5,000 of someone else's money. Yeah...nothing could go wrong with this. I asked the gentleman how much he wanted for everything. He said $6,000. My heart sank and I felt sick all over again. I'm sure I was sweating. This was my first huge negotiation. I had seen American Pickers.  I knew I had to haggle. I started talking about expenses, u-hauls, storage I was going to have to pay while I tried to sell everything. I came back with $4,000. He countered with $5,000. I countered with $4,500. After a long pause, he agreed. I was the proud new owner of a lot of stuff. I was super excited.

Quickly the honeymoon phase was over. "Okay...now what", I thought.  To make a long story short, I had two huge things go in my favor. I was allowed to just pile up the trash and items I didn't want in a room. They would take care of it. That was great because I had to be out of there that night. There was no way I could get it all in a day...or in one 27' truck. The seller's son-in-law also had connections at a local college to get me some cheap college labor. Big blessing there too. I called my wife and tried to explain what had just transpired and frantically told her I needed her to drive over to the house. We needed a u-haul, boxes, tape, etc. I had 4 college boys showing up soon and we had a ton to do. I think I lost her somewhere between u-haul and hired labor. Last she knew, it was all fitting in my truck and 8 foot trailer. Not so my dear. Not so.

The look on her face when she walked in to that dilapidated house was priceless. I wish I had captured it on camera. Luckily the college kids showed up at about the same time. That probably saved my life from a quick gruesome strangling from my wife.  The next 8 hours were a blur. Somehow we rented a truck, bought a lot of boxes and tape, and packed the truck. I told the college kids to fill the boxes as quick as they could. There were hundreds of items that I didn't even see until unpacking that particular box back at home. A few hours in I was realizing how quick we were filling the truck and how many items we still had in the house. I started moving ahead of the college kids and began consolidating boxes to make as much room as possible. In the end, I would have loved to have gone back to see what we left when I was rested and had fresh eyes. In the end, we had packed a 27' box truck, my full size pickup, and an 8' trailer and were able to leave that evening. It was such a long exhilarating day...but the fun was just beginning. In one of my future blogs I will talk about my first few weeks with all of my new finds and what I've learned about vintage and antique tools.

As Jason told you, this past weekend was our annual pilgrimage to the Nashville Flea Market. For me, it is a great opportunity to do a little spring cleaning to make more space on my shelves for better items. And once in a while, a nice piece will sell. My goal was to come back home with empty totes, but I know that is stuff of fantasy.

We were very fortunate to have a gorgeous weekend. Crowds were very steady throughout most of the days. As Jason told you, my dad and I had to man the booth on Friday due to his bout of Montezuma’s Revenge. As you may have noticed already in the blogs, Jason has been dealing largely in tools from one man's collection. He had planned on tagging some of his items on the first day, but that didn't happen.  I know next to nothing about the value of old tools. Since my brother was looking greener and greener, I made quick notes of some of the prices for his items on the tables. Of course, I had no clue as to the value of most of what I sold of his. I kept telling the folks buying his tools that what he doesn't know won't hurt him. I'll just hand him the cash and say we sold a lot of “things.”

Thankfully, Jason was back to near 100% by opening time on Saturday morning. Crowds were very good and sales were rather brisk. The cool thing about working with my brother is that we can draw several types of people to our booth. Where Jason has a lot of tools catching the eyes of men, I have a lot of glass, silver and antique items to keep the misses busy too. Yet there were a lot of women going through his boxes of tools and tool parts. It is amazing how so many things can be used for decorating and the creative juices were definitely flowing as I eavesdropped from time to time.  And in all honesty, I probably sold more glass to men than women.  I knew I wasn't weird.

One of the “trade secrets” that we use is to have certain items out in front of our booth to catch the eye of someone passing by. It may only take a quick glance to bring someone into our booth. They may not buy the thing that catches their eye, but they may buy something else. We were constantly moving our inventory to best attract potential customers. One of those items was a Coca Cola cast iron sign base that was used for either a lollipop coke sign or for a crossing guard sign at a school zone. Even though it didn't sell all weekend, it definitely stopped a lot of people in their tracks. Another eye catcher was a couple of large amberina Blenko pieces. Thankfully our booth was mostly in the shade of the shed roof, except for our front tables. The sunlight hitting those large glass pieces brought people in from booths in other sheds even. Again, even though they didn't sell, they definitely served their purpose. One final item that was used to attract attention (much to the chagrin of Jason) was a battery operated yodeling old lady. The face gestures and that song that just sticks in your head all day really drew attention as well as keeping the kiddos occupied while parents shopped. Somehow Jason sold this item while I was helping another customer. Now that I think about it, I bet he bought it, stuffed it in one of his boxes and is now on its way to the dump. Either way, I made a sale and it drew some people to our booth.

Finally, even though we made some extra money, what I took away from the weekend was a better knowledge of the business. There are dealers that specialize in certain items such as vintage clothes or antique radios. I am what is called a generalist. While I presently know more about glass than other vintage or antique items, I am constantly reading and studying about all aspects of the trade. It was fascinating talking about a tool collection with an elderly gentlemen that brought pictures of his collection to share with anyone that was interested. It was awesome to talk intelligently with another dealer about the arts and crafts movement and learn about other artisans of that era. And it was eye-opening to find out about the collectibility of vintage magazine advertising – just using the cool ads in frames for decorating. So next time I see a box lot of 1930's magazines, I will know the value may be inside the magazine and not in the name on the cover.

We would love to hear about your favorite flea market finds.  I know there are many stories that could be shared, so feel free to share yours in the comments below or on our facebook page.

As many of you know, this past weekend, Jacob and I set up a booth at the Nashville Flea Market.  This was our first time selling together as Rust and Relics Revival.  Many hours of work and preparation came down to this three day monthly sale held at the Nashville Fair Grounds.  Jacob and I sold here last Memorial Day too, but as separate companies.  Here’s a little bit about the weekend…

On Thursday, my dad (who came in town to help us sell) and I loaded up our truck.  Jacob was driving in town that afternoon and we met to set up.  Around 2pm or so, we were in the fairgrounds unloading our trucks.  Set up was pretty easy.  There was some threat of rain so we didn’t want to put out too much and run the risk of getting everything soaked.  We knew with the threat of rain, it wouldn’t take a long time to get the booths ready for action.  As we were setting up, as is customary, many other dealers were already going through our boxes seeing what we may have that they would want to purchase.  You see, a lot of action is taking place before the show among all of the dealers.  It’s almost its own economy.  Matter of fact, we talked to one of the dealers who we’ve seen many times.  He sets up a really small booth every month just to get in early every day (including Thursday).  He uses this time to hunt for deals and items that he thinks he will have an easy time reselling.  He gets free parking every day (typically $5 a day).  Most days he isn’t even manning his booth.  He has a phone number on a table so if anyone is interested in an item, they can call him and he’ll be there in a minute or so.  For him, these flea market weekends are all about finding mispriced items from other dealers.  To him, his booth fee (probably around $50 for the weekend) is completely worth all of the perks…even if he doesn’t sale a thing.  I can say I’ve never done this….but it’s not a bad idea.  After looking around a little bit too, we headed to the house.  That evening, we worked on a sign to hang over our booth that Jacob had made.  We’ve had many comments about our business cards and sign….well they were all created by Jacob.  We’re very proud of them.

Friday morning the show was from 8am to 5pm.  To beat the rush hour traffic, we left the house at 6am.  After arriving, we finished setting everything up.  We were ready to go by 8.  Unfortunately, there was one issue…I was sick at my stomach all morning.  I felt really nauseous.  I didn’t know if it was food poisoning, vertigo, a virus, allergies, or what.  I know this….it sure wasn’t a fun morning.  Friday morning, Jacob and I were making lots of sales, but I don’t remember much.  Every little bit I had to head to the bathroom.  I was sure I was going to throw up but never did….until….. (Due to the graphic nature of the following, this portion of the blog may not be suitable for all readers…you can just jump to the next paragraph).  I exploded!  It was the most violent bout of throwing up that I’ve had in a long time.  I really wanted to die for a while.  We are talking the movie “Sandlot” where after eating chew for the first time, all of the boys are on a spinning ride and none of them can hold it in any longer.  Thank goodness no one was in the bathroom at the time to hear the exorcism of Satan’s child from my body.   Even while all of this was going on Jacob kept the booth running.

Back to the action in the booth….I felt quite a bit better after my little “bout”.  Sales were still brisk.  After a time though, I started to feel bad again.  I was thinking “here we go again”.  Luckily, Mysti (my wife), my son, mom, and dad showed up.  Dad was there to assist in the booth.  Mysti and mom were there to do some shopping (there go my profits).  My son was there because he had to be.  Like most 13 year olds, he’d rather be on X-Box or playing sports.   Unfortunately, after just a little bit, I had to have my wife, mom, and son take me home.  The rest of my day was spent in bed or on the couch.  So I don’t know much more about the sale, other than Jacob and I did alright for our first day together.  I’m going to let Jacob tell you about Saturday and Sunday in his next blog.  I’m going to leave you with a few observations from this weekend.

1.        If a potential buyer tells you that “I’ll be back in a little bit to buy that” it probably won’t happen.  After countless times of being told that, only one person came back to actually purchase the item they were interested in.  Unfortunately I had already sold it.  This brings me to the 2nd point.

2.       As Mike Wolfe says, the time to purchase something you want is when you see it.  If you see something you’ve never seen before, chances of finding it again are slim.  Don’t regret not purchasing something that in your gut you know you should have.  I did that one time when I first started out.  I had the opportunity to purchase an old Pepsi machine for what I thought seemed like a cheap price, but the owner didn’t know if it worked or not so I passed.  I ended up thinking about it for a while. 30 minutes later I drove back to buy it.  Too late….it was gone.  I got home that day and found out that if the machine didn’t work, I would have still made about $400.  If it worked….well it would go up exponentially from there.  I should have followed my gut.

3.       The early bird USUALLY (not always) gets the worm.  Some of the best stuff sells on Friday morning.  Most of your serious collectors and dealers are out shopping on Friday morning to get the best of the best….however; it’s at the steepest prices.  As the weekend goes on, prices will drop, but so will the selection.  There are exceptions.  A dealer found a great hand hammered copper pot from the 1800’s on Sunday that many people passed over.  He could tell it was old.  He looked and looked with his jewelers loop and finally found a maker’s mark.  His $15 purchase will probably net him $500.  Those items are out there…but it takes a lot of work and digging (and a little luck). 

4.       There are some people who just kick tires.  No matter what you price something at, you can tell they just aren’t interested in actually buying that piece.  They may have the same thing and want to see what it’s worth.  They may just want to get an idea of value.  Could be as soon as you tell them, they realize that no matter what the price, even $1, they really don’t want the item.  This is just part of the selling process.

I love selling this stuff and money is only one aspect of it.  I love to talk to other collectors.  I love to tell the stories of these pieces.  I love hearing the buyer’s own stories.  I especially love to learn from long time collectors.  There is so much to learn from people who’ve devoted parts of their life to their collection.  That’s why we do this blog and website.  Please feel free to ask questions below in the comments or just tell us about your collections.  You may be able to network with someone else on here that has your same interests.  We can all learn from each other.

Jason

As you read the previous blog, my brother described how he ended up in this crazy world of antiques and collectibles.  You also heard how he is much smarter than me.  I will give him that.  I’m just thankful I was born with all the good looks!

I have to be honest.  When I heard that Jason lost his job in Tennessee, I was nervous for him.  I knew he would land on his feet.  But how long would that take?  And what would he do in the mean time to pay the bills?  When I heard he was going to yard sales and storage auctions, my feelings of empathy turned to feelings of hilarity!  I even rubbed salt in the wound by emailing him a clip of the theme song to “Sanford and Son.”  All the laughing came to an abrupt end when he told me what he bought and how much he sold it for on eBay.  I told you he got all the brains!

Thing is, I’m no dummy either.  Not long after I heard about his endeavors, I decided to try my hand at it.  My wife and I decided to front $200.  If we lost our money on true junk, then we wouldn’t be broke.  However, if we made a profit, we would use that to buy more “product.”  And no, I’m not talking about the product that Lamont Sanford used for his afro.

Our first purchases came from a country auction not too far from our house.  Sadly, I still have the very first item that I purchased.  I bought two glass plates still in the box from Pilgrim Glass, a glass maker that had just closed its doors nearby.  I figured, since they were no longer in business, the plates may be worth good money.  Well, I was wrong.  However, I also bought a metal air tool of some sort.  The auctioneer had no clue what it was and no one in the crowd knew either.  He kept bringing the price down.  No bites.  I yelled, “$1”.  He immediately said “Sold!”  When I got home, I decided to do some research on vintage air tools.  Come to find out, it was an old rivet gun just like Rosie the Riveter used to make airplanes for WWII.  I listed it on eBay, and it immediately started getting bids.  At the end of the sale, it sold for $140!  I was instantly hooked!

Our second auction came a couple of weeks later at a different location.  This auction had a lot of nicer antiques.  I felt definitely out of my league.  However, I had done some research prior to the auction and had a good idea what some of the items were worth.  One item in particular was a mahjongg set.  I thought this was only a game of matching tiles on the computer.  Turns out, it is a very serious game with clubs and groups all through the world.  The set I purchased for $65 was in a cool black box with little draws that held the tiles.  I thought it may bring $120.  I spent a TON of time researching the set that I had.  After several hours, I found that it was a French Ivory set from the 1920’s and was imported from China.  Stuff imported nowadays from China is mostly true junk in my opinion.  However, this was before the plastic era and was actually a well made set.  I used all of that information in my eBay listing, and the price soon doubled my initial investment.  In the last few minutes of the auction, the price soared.  At the final virtual hammer, it sold for $430!  Yeah, I was in this thing hook, line and sinker.  Lock, stock and barrel!

I guess you could say the rest is history, but we are still looking for more ways to expand.  Most of all, I am still trying to learn as much as possible.  I think I could buy and sell vintage and antique items for 50 years and still not know half of what I would like to know.  So come back, share your stories about relics you come across, and join us in learning more about this great endeavor.

Jacob