I'm Baaaaack!

First of all, let me say that I apologize for virtually disappearing from the blogosphere without much notice. I can't really blame it on any one thing, more a combination of things that has kept me from posting. That being said, I am going to try to keep things updated as much as I can.
"What's new" you ask? Well, quite a few things. On the non-thrifting front (yes, there is such a thing) we got our 13 year old dog Saphire who is plagued with hip problems a wheelchair to help her walk. Getting her used to the chair has taken up quite a bit of time. She is now used to it , but her back legs continue to get weaker.
We used to go thrifting every Wednesday, which in our area is 50% off day at the Salvation Army. This was a great way to get new merchandise, but the expense was adding up quickly. We have since decided to eliminate these trips and focus on going to the Goodwill Outlet Store instead. For the unfamiliar, the Bins as they are called, is where items (clothes, shoes, housewares, books, etc.) go when they do not sell at regular Goodwill stores. Items are sold by the pound here and at 50 pounds or more, you pay 0.79 per lb. So this has become our main source of inventory now. Every time we have gone, I have gotten at least 50 pounds so it is well worth the trip (about 3-4 hours there and back) plus we spent at least 6 hours or so there.

I have branched out into the Lego world. I have opened a store on BrickLink called Pioneer Valley Bricks. I have had great luck this summer scoring Lego at yard sales and have decided to expand out of Ebay. BrickLink focuses on Lego exclusively, and buyers can buy as many or as few parts as they wish. So if you only need 1 part to finish a set, this is the place. I currently have over 7000 parts in my store and have a ton more to add.
Yard sales have been quite good this summer. The season is slowly winding down, but we continue to make some great scores. Best find so far: a White's Coinmaster metal detector that we got for $20 and sold on Ebay for $160.00.
That's it for now, stay tuned for updates when I have something interesting to post. Adios!

Guest Author

I am taking today off, so please welcome my guest writer, Sylvester. She is 20 years old and her likes include napping, a nice warm sunny day, napping on a nice warm sunny day, Tasty Treasures, eating Tasty Treasures on a nice warm sunny day followed by a nap, and (as of today) writing a blog.  Enjoy!

Thrift Store(ies) 12/26

Yesterday was the single greatest thrifting day we have had yet!  We wound up hitting 4 thrift stores (3 Salvation Armies, and 1 Goodwill).  The total haul includes:

• 21 Shirts and Jackets
• 9 Pairs of Shoes
• 6 Pairs of Pants
• 3 coffee cups
• 2 Pyrex

We left the house at 9:30 am and did not return until 6:00 pm!  The best part was that we found items at all four stores.  Usually when we go to multiple stores, 1 or 2 will suck, and the others will be good.  So without further ado here is the breakdown:

The shoes include:

• 5 pairs of Converse (including a pair of the knee highs)
• Nike Alpholution basketball sneakers
• 2 Pairs of Clarks
• Dansko Jade Maryjanes

Jeans:

• Coogi
• Big Star Boot
• Carhartt
• Citizens Of Humanity Ingrid Stretch #002 - SOLD! $45.00
• Miss Me Gabrielle

 
T Shirts:

• 2 The Mountain
• 2 Life Is Good
• Jimmy Buffett 

• Mirage Notre Dame Collegiate jacket (reversible)
• Tommy Bahama and 4 Ralph Lauren polo shirts
• Robert Graham dress shirt
• Tommy Bahama fleece jacket
• Also (not pictured) 2 Carhartt, 1 The North Face, and 1 Kenny Rogers Short Sleeve shirts
• Polo Ralph Lauren Blake shirt
• 2 Tommy Bahama Silk shirts
• Carhartt Long Sleeve work shirt

 We came home with 41 items! That works out to less than $3.00 per item, so we should do quite well with this.  We also had a nice lunch at Five Guys on the way home.  Today the listing begins, and I should be done in a few days.  My plan is to list 10 or so items a day from now on, and i have been successful so far.
In other news, it has been snowing for about 10 hours now and we have a few inches on the ground.
Have a great day!

Merry Christmas!

 

A Visit From St. Nicholas

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads; And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap, Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter. Away to the window I flew like a flash, Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash. The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer, With a little old driver, so lively and quick, I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick. More rapid than eagles his coursers they came, And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! On Cupid! On, Donder and Blitzen! To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall! Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky, So up to the house-top the coursers they flew, With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too. And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof The prancing and pawing of each little hoof. As I drew in my hand, and was turning around, Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot, And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot; A bundle of toys he had flung on his back, And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
His eyes -- how they twinkled! His dimples how merry! His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry! His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth, And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath; He had a broad face and a little round belly, That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly. He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf, And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself; A wink of his eye and a twist of his head, Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk, And laying his finger aside of his nose, And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, And away they all flew like the down of a thistle. But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight, "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

1000!

I have just gotten my 1000th feedback on Ebay!  This is important to me for a couple of reasons:
About 2/3 of them have come this year since I have become a full time seller.  It makes me glad to know that my buyers are happy with the items they have bought.
This particular feedback (1000) was left by a buyer from the Netherlands who bought a fragile ceramic Coca-Cola cookie jar from me on November 27th.  I packed it up as well as I could, and was a nervous wreck that it would be damaged.  It was delivered on December 10th.  I figured that if it was damaged, I would hear about it, this being the classic "no news is good news" scenario.  So I was very pleased that it arrived safely and she liked it.
Finally, looking back over the past year and remembering the highs (and a few lows) that I have enjoyed and learned from, I want to thank two people, without whom this achievement would not be possible:

• Autumn - my girlfriend, partner, and head of the mighty Pioneer Valley Fashion Footwear Division.  A great picker - almost as good as me, though she will tell you different ;), several of the stores top performing categories are due to her suggestions. She has put up with me through everything and is still here.  She's a keeper, that's for sure.  Honey, I love you!
• Meinard Agraan - the man behind The Thrift Store Reseller and the reason I got into this whole thing.  It was his guidance and friendship (and eBook) that helped me out and pointed me in the right direction.  

I thank you both, and all the buyers whom I have interacted with. I look forward to 2013, and wish everyone good luck and happiness! Thanks again!!

Freestyle Thrifting

As a general rule, Autumn and I only go thrifting when there are sales or promotions.  As resellers, we look to pay the absolute lowest prices possible.  Sometimes however, we go thrifting for the heck of it, or in yesterdays case, to kill some time.  Our daughter got invited to a birthday party at a roller rink about 30 minutes from the house, so we decided to kill two birds with one stone by hitting the thrift stores in the area.
First we went to a Goodwill, which has never been that great of a source for us.  I immediately saw a shopping cart full of shoes with a sign that said $1.50 each on it.  Very cool!  I dig out a nice pair of SAS Whisper, Autumn finds a pair of Clarks, then I find another pair of SAS. Autumn also picks up some doodad, and our total is $5.65.  I use my $5.00 off card ( talked about here), bringing the total to .65 cents! 
On to the Salvation Army.  This particular SA is one of my favorites.  For those unfamiliar, SA has 5 different color price tags.  Each week a certain color is half price except Wednesday when 4 of the 5 are half price. Today blue tags were half. Right off the bat, I find a pair of Z-Coil shoes.  Full price, but at $7.99 I buy them.  Autumn finds a few things, and I find a bunch of stuff but all full price so I pass.
When we get home, I clean and polish the SAS Whispers and the Z-Coils and get them listed.  Well lo and behold, when I wake up I find the Z-Coils have sold already!

I looked at completeds to see what I could hope to get for them, and they were all over the place. At first I thought $49.99, but finally settled on $69.99.  Glad I did!  So keep your eyes open for these things, quite strange looking, but they sell!

In other news, my 1000 feedback milestone is right around the corner.  This however, will be the subject of another post.  Have a great day!

Thrift Store(ies) 12/19

Autumn and I went to 2 Salvation Armies yesterday.  Everything was 50% off except for items with pink tags. We have quite a few SAs in or area, so we divide them into "zones" and go to a different zone each Wednesday.  Yesterday we went North.  We had not been up here in over a month, so we were excited to see what was new. At the first one we did well. After this we went to a Pizza place that we really like and had a nice lunch.  Then off to the second Salvation Army.  This one is smaller than the first, but we consistently have good luck there.  We did well there also.  Here is the breakdown, clothing wise:

• Ermenegildo Zegna shirt
• Marvel Spider Man button down shirt - SOLD! $29.99
• NWT Mountain Hardware shirt
• 3 Under Armour shirts
• 2 Life Is Good shirts
• Polo Jeans shirt, Polo Sport shirt, Polo t shirt
• Columbia shirt
• Ralph Lauren Blake shirt (71% silk)
• Spongebob t shirt

We also did well in the shoe department:

• Cole Haan penny loafers - SOLD! $29.99
• Converse One Star
• Clarks loafers
• SAS - SOLD! $39.99
• Born Maryjanes
• Merrell Chameleon Stretch (not pictured) - SOLD! $49.99

Finally in the housewares department:

• 4 Orchids of Hawaii Tiki Mugs
• 3 Orchids of Hawaii Hula Girl Mugs
•  Hilo Hattie Coffee Cup
•  Microwave Turntable

 I am off to photograph and list.  If the world does not end tomorrow, I will continue to update this blog on a regular basis.  If it does, this will be my last post.  Good luck, all! :)