Monthly Archives: March 2013

Table For 50?

I’ve heard it said that old horse traders were so successful at what they did because they really loved horses. Not many folks do actual horse trading these days; however, the need to bargain runs strong in my blood. Yesterday, I got the “fever”. I needed to go treasure hunting, aka, hitting yard sales.

I live in a rural area with several small towns. The first sale was in a town I’m familiar with, but the streets twist, turn, and have more dead ends than my hair. I swear a wino has laid out this town. Where the heck did 5th street go? It was just here two blocks ago. I go from giving up to never give up, back and forth. I’m making my retreat when I see 5th street, right there all along, who knew? Probably Rand McNally.

The hunt pays off. The first thing I spy is a table of glass and pottery. Oohshiny…I say hello to the seller and start looking. He asks me what I’m interested in and I say I love it all. I find a small vase that looks pretty cool, but it doesn’t have a maker’s mark. I ask if he knows anything about it. He doesn’t, but he’s pretty sure it’s old. There’s Frankoma, which is always worth a look. Some pretty blue dishes that I later learn are Fiesta. I’m mentally calculating the cost of what I want to buy when I hear, “would you be interested in buying the entire table?”. Of course I would, but I’m not sure it’s in my budget. I ask how much and he shoots me a price that $10 less than the one I had in mind.  The bargaining blood begins coursing through my veins. I can’t resist going just a little lower. I make an offer, he says ok, and we have a deal.

The next stop is a small community about 10 miles away. I’ve never been there, but I assume there will be signs. There are 3 signs in 5 miles. I follow the curve in the road.  Wrong way, back to the big curve. Drive the other way, no signs. I’ve decided to call it quits, and, as I’m turning around, I see the cardboard “yard sale” sign out of the corner of my eye. It’s 180 time.

Oohshiny! This sale is bigger than the first. It’s a beautiful day, almost noon, and the seller is a woman who would rather be fishing. I say hello, we chat, and I ask if she’s ready to negotiate yet. To my happy surprise, she says “oh yes”. I’m pretty sure she’s expecting me to bargain for a few items, but I offer to buy the entire table. She’s caught off guard, but wants to be finished, so she asks me for a price.  I make an offer I’m pretty sure she won’t take and she doesn’t. However, it gives us a starting point and soon we reach an acceptable bargained-for sum.

Nothing like a truck load of shiny to make my day.

 

 

Daily Quote: Silver Screen: Women of Steel

“Oh, Sammy’s so confused he don’t know whether to scratch his watch or wind his butt.”

Why yes, I do love chick flicks, my favorite being Steel Magnolias. And yes, I’ve been pretty confused of late. Sell on ebay they said, it’s fun they said. I thought they said it was easy, but now that I mull it over, nope, nobody said it would be easy (is that another movie quote? can’t remember).

Are you confused yet? Sorry, I’m having an ooh shiny moment (see first post). I mentioned in yesterday’s post that I’ve been selling my shiny objects on ebay for 2 or 3 weeks. And much like Sammy, I’ve been confused. Very confused.

When I started selling, I wasn’t sure where to start. Being a “just do it” type, I grab something and go with it. I’ll sell this vase. What to do first. Weigh it? Okay, it weighs 1 pound 8 ounces, but wait, I need the packaged weight.  Here’s a nice box. So I lovingly lay OohShiny vase to rest in its box, wrapped in bubble wrap, surrounded by packing peanuts, all cozy comfy ready to ship to the buyer halfway across the US, who’s anxiously awaiting the wonderful treasure I’ve found. Okay, it weighs 2 pounds all packaged up in the box. Great, let’s list it. Oopsie—no picture. Take it out of the package, strew packing all over the office, you get the picture. Before I can take the pictures, the packing materials must be cleaned up and put back in the box for later. I then take the pictures, load the pictures, now let’s list it. Wait–how much is it worth? Is anyone else selling a vase like mine? Woa, how are they selling it so cheaply?

Eventually, I do get my items listed. Now where’s my watch?

 

About The Shiny….

Hello, and welcome to OohShinyCollectibles. Whether you’ve stumbled through here accidentally or you’re a facebook friend, twitter follower, or just a garden variety creeper,  you might be wondering, just what is a shiny? Here’s the deal: I get easily distracted. I’ll be looking at one thing and then all of a sudden, notice something else and my attention is immediately drawn to the new “shiny”. It doesn’t matter what it is. Could be jewelry, could be food on a menu. I see something, then I see something better, something shinier! When it happens and my husband is with me, he says, “Ooh shiny!” Thus, the name of my blog, and my business, OohShinyCollectibles.

I started the business OohShinyCollectibles to sell collectibles and antiques, primarily on ebay. They’re my favorite type of shiny! I’ve been selling for about 3 weeks now and it’s been interesting, frustrating, fun, and at times a little crazy. I thought I’d just buy some stuff, put it on ebay, someone would buy it, I’d pack it up and sell it. Simple, right? Ah, noooo. Is anything ever that simple? Ah…no…..

Up to now, I’ve collected a good variety of items to sell. China, glassware, pottery, figurines, old magazines, old records, they’ve all become my “shiny”.

What’s your shiny?