Gathering Dust

Why Won't Anyone Buy This?

This morning I made a visit to my booth at the antique mall to straighten up a bit and add a few new things. 

Instead of my usual pictures of "look at this awesome antique I brought in", I snapped some pictures of things that seem...like...they...have...been...in...my ...booth...forever.

I don't mean "props" like glass bowls, wicker baskets or books that I use as to make displays.  I usually price these items, but most of them are generic enough that I don't expect people to buy them.

I'm just curious if anyone has any ideas about items that just don't sell.  Is it just the law of averages that some things will take a long time to sell, or do I have a blind spot for some merchandise that is just doggy?

Like this architectural bulls eye.  It's only priced at $4, has chippy paint and is appropriately distressed.  I'm pretty sure it's been in my booth for at least three years.  It's small, makes a nice stage or backdrop, so it doesn't bother me to keep it in my booth, but I'm surprised no one has wanted to take it home.

These shoes are super vintage- patent leather and clear plastic.  Chances are the only person they would actually fit is a seven year old, but I'm surprised no one has bought them as a display piece- they're only eight dollars.

How about this?  New Old Stock baby bonnet in a gift box with an unused card.  I know that yellow is not a "best selling" color- a green, blue or pink box would probably have been gone long ago, but at $3, I'd think someone would want this.  It's probably only been hanging around for 6 months.

This candy tin definitely shows some age, but it's not UGLY ugly and I don't think I've seen another one like it.  I think its been hanging around for over 2 years.

This old metal mail box hasn't been around for too long.  I think I brought in as part of a display last Oct, but I'm surprised that someone hasn't bought it to use to hold a spray of flowers, or tucked some vintage letters and lace out of the top.

This tobacco tin/lunch pail is fairly common, but it has nice graphics and at $18 would make a good piece for a beginning collector.

So, I'm just curious.  Any ideas why these pieces are still hanging around?  To be sure, I'm not worried about them.  Like I've said before, I have GREAT customers and I'm lucky to sell most of what I bring to my booth.

Is there anything that you other dealers just can't sell and can't figure out why?

I'll leave you with one last picture of things I've just brought in.  If I have my way, they won't be in my next "Why won't anyone buy this?" post.

What I Saw at the Old Summit Antique Show vers. Jan 2014

 

Once again, the Old Summit Antique show had an abundance of great displays and country ware.  This baritone and boiler in a tin bathtub made me smile.

I love everything in this picture- old drawers, old books, but the woman in the picture looks like she might reach out with a ruler and slap your hand if you touch her books.

Sweet vignette with a doll, hat, parasol and baby shoes.

I LOVE the embroidery on this "low color" skirt and blouse.  Speaking of low color, it was so nice to have customers mention that they had read my post about being excited about finding cream colored books, and they completely understood.

Another customer was buying a handmade craftman style stool that had some really intricate cutwork, but had also been repaired.  When I sell something that is less than perfect, I try to point out the flaw to the customer.  I don't want someone to get home and be upset because they didn't get what they expected.  I pointed out the repair to the woman, and she said "Well of course it's been repaired, it's old and its seen a lot of life- and that's why I want it my house". 

It's so nice when people "get it" and realize that imperfections are just part of the story.

Sweet little calico dresses.

I think these are old croquet balls, well worn and well used, and that is part of their story.

The show was very successful for me.  I'm lucky to have great customers who like the same things that I do, and show up at every sale so we can catch up and visit.  The show gets to be almost as much of a social event as a sale.

This is my booth about 1 pm.  The dress form and stool on the back table were sold to other dealers, but they left them in my booth so it wouldn't look so empty.  It still looks kind of forlorn but for me, it's a good kind of forlorn.

Low Color Books and The Antique Dealer's Workout

Oh yay! At this morning's estate sale, I found "low color" books- books with tan to creamy white spines.  Unless you regularly shop for "pale" items, like dishes, flower pots, candlesticks etc, you've probably never thought about how hard it is to find light color books to go with a shabby country decor.

(And you've probably never cared. I'm fully aware that in the whole scheme of things, the color of your books is oh so minor, but sometimes it just takes a little thing to make me happy...)

Like six volumes about Casanova that I will NEVER read.

Besides the exploits of Casanova, I found these books with the most charming prints on the covers. Again, no real idea what the books are about, but aren't they darling?

The Old Summit Antique Show is this weekend, so I also picked up a few other "staples"  -good looking old leather books, pin cushions and scissors. 

And the price of all this?  Just under 50 lbs, carried in two tote bags for about a block back to my car.  Those books are HEAVY...and dead weight pulling my shoulders straight down. 

But it was worth it...for low color books.

Why I Won't Be Shopping at Your Next Estate Sale

Image from here.

I've often said that Kansas City has to be close to estate sale heaven.  I've written on my blog about sales that have made me giddy, saying silent "thank yous" to the people that saved everything, giving me the chance to buy it 40 or 50 years later.

Kansas City has lots of great estate sale companies.  They also have plenty of bad estate sale companies.  When I say bad, that is, of course just my opinion, but I'm talking about companies that don't do what I think the main purpose of an estate sale is; namely, to clear goods out of a house or apartment because of moving, downsizing or death. 

Image from here.

So, even though there is a dearth of estate sales right now, in the dead of winter, there are some sales that I won't be going to.

So Mr & Mrs Estate Sale Company owner, here is why you won't be seeing me:

• Your prices are too high for new stuff. 

This seems kind of obvious in any buying and selling situation, but there are some companies that consistently price items at amounts that bear no relationship to real life.  For example, the price of a set of 20 brand new small size Rubbermaid plastic storage containers at Target is $9.99.  That's $.50 a piece.  How can you charge $1.00 a piece for USED containers?

• Your prices are too high for OLD stuff.

If you're going to run an estate sale company, you should have at least a passing knowledge of what's currently popular and what prices the market will bear.  Jadeite, German rose plates and Hummels used to be super hot and could command a good price.  The prices have come down, you need to reflect this in your pricing.

Another thing to keep in mind- even if your prices are exorbitant and you still manage to sell a grossly over priced item, it doesn't mean you priced the item correctly, it means you were lucky.  Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Image from here.

• You limit entry to your sales when it isn't necessary.

There are very legitimate reasons to only let a certain number of people in to a sale at one time.  Namely, crowd control, theft prevention and fire and safety issues.

But, when you make me and other shoppers wait outside in the rain while 10 or 15 people leisurely browse through a 2 story house with a basement that has plenty of room to safely hold three or four times as many people, you're not practicing crowd control; you're on a power trip.

If you can't handle a sale with 30-40 people in an average house, you probably shouldn't be holding sales.

Image from here.

• You don't start on time. 

If you say you're going to open at 9 am, open at 9 am, not 9:10.  I know that things come up and sometimes a delay can't be helped. However, regularlyopening late is unprofessional and shows disrespect for the people waiting in line for your sale.

Wow, this has gotten to be kind of a long rant and I'm only about half way through with my list.  If you'd like to hear more of my list let me know.

I recognize that anyone has a right to run their business however they want, these are just my observations and opinions.

AND ON A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SUBJECT:

I've started a Facebook page for my business.  If you'd like to know when I've listed new items in my Etsy store or if you're local to Kansas City and would like to know when I've brought new things to my antique booth, please "Like" my page on Facebook. 

Here's the link.

Of course, all this assumes that I won't get kicked out of estate sales for what I've written and will still have stuff to sell!

 

 

 

 

Resolutions, Recaps, December Reverb and Word for the Year

If you read blogs much at all, you've probably heard of Project Life, December Daily and other organized, but simplified ways of documenting your memories.

I decided I wanted to play along, and since I like Hope Karney's journaling style so much, I used her prompts to create a Reverb 2013 journal.

Creating the journal was fun.  I papered old book covers and made my 31 pages (one for each day of December) out of a lot of bits and pieces I had on hand. 

For example, for Dec 3, I used this photo of three girls.  Since there wasn't room to write on the photo, I just added an index card as a page behind the picture.

A lot of the pages were bits and pieces I had already put together for other projects but ended up not using.  For example, this bingo card was part of something I made for the Birdsong art event, but ended up not using.

This was a piece of tissue paper that I've had for I don't even know how long, but I had to keep it until I found a place to use it.  This journal was the perfect place.

At first, I tried to find a different font or image for each day of the month.  For example, this was Dec 6.

But I didn't want a lack of fonts to keep me from getting started, so for some pages I just wrote the date.  I can always go back later and replace it with something a little fancier.

I had most of my pages in place and was ready to start journaling on Dec 1, the day of the first prompt.  I even had a brand new pen!

The first prompt:  Did you try anything new in 2013?

...I really put some thought into this, but honestly, I don't remember.  I'm sure I must have tried something, probably several things, but I just can't put my finger on anything.

Second prompt: What was the most memorable gathering you attended (or held) in 2013?

Again, I don't really remember.  Did I even attend any gatherings?

After a few more days of fumbling for answers to the daily prompts, I decided that I am either a socially inept boring loser, or else I just don't remember things the way I used to. 

I'm choosing to go with the latter, which brings me to the idea of a word for the year.  I'd never heard of  picking a word for the year until I read blogs.  Some people pick words like "courage", "truth", or "persevere" - words they'll use to guide  their actions and choices through the year. 

I never thought I needed a word, or I'd use a word- but my experience with the December reverb has made me decide my word for 2014 is going to be "mindfulness"- meaning I want to be aware of how I spend my time.  Not just so I can write things down at the end of the year, but so I can make sure I do keep trying new things, and I do attend gatherings and social events. 

My life is pretty simple, uncomplicated and comfortable.  It's really easy for me to spend most of my days in more or less the same way.  Some accounting, a few auctions and estate sales, a little time in my booth, some crafting and then I start all over again. 

For me mindfulness is going to be an antidote to complacency.  Not that there's anything wrong with complacency, but I think with a little effort I can do better.

My blog posts don't usually have so many words and so few pictures, because I'm rarely this retrospective, but sometimes putting it down in writing does help clarify what you're thinking, and I guess that's what this blog post is about.

Oops...mindfulness only has one "l".