My Forray into Global Commerce

In all fairness, I've been selling to international customers for some time now.  But recently, my finds seem to be travelling further and further--to Russia, New Zealand, Finland, Israel and Slovenia (which I had to look up on a map).  Just as I love to imagine the backstory to some item I find in a box at Goodwill, I like to imagine its new home somewhere across the globe.  What will Dentist Barbie's life be like in Morelia, Mexico?  And those Robeez baby shoes that went to Slovenia--will the baby wearing them be the talk of the town (or village??), or are Robeez all the rage there already?

This week I had my first sale to China. Two weeks ago (at my major haul--for those of you who have been keeping up with this blog), I purchased a slew of needlework kits for $1 each.  Mind you I don't do needlework.  But I love the idea of it.  And I imagine the life these kits had stashed in someone's craft basket gathering dust, and the new life I'm sending them to where they will hopefully finally be opened and stitched to completion.  This "Asian Bellpuls" was bought by "Waxdoll22" in Chongqing City.  Although her address originally showed up looking like several pillars--eBay obviously hasn't mastered Chinese translation.  I had to email Waxdoll22 and ask for her address in English.  I was a bit afraid she wouldn't pay.  She'd never bought anything on eBay before and bid $34 for my cross stitch kit.  Additionally, she purchased a Baby Sampler cross stitch kit, for a grand total of $55.23 including shipping.  But Waxdoll22 came through, sent me her address and her Paypal coin. 

But I'm wondering about the new home of these kits.  The baby sampler, after all, has a chart to personalize it with the name of the baby and the birthdate.  Will Waxdoll22 be able to translate without the chart?  Does Bucilla offer a chart somewhere online in Mandarin? (I actually have no idea if that's what they speak in Chongqing.) Or is Waxdoll22 an entrepreneur herself, maybe ready to design her own cross stich baby sampler to market to China?  And speaking of that Chinese market, in my urge to picture the Yubei District of Chongqing City, I googled it.  And now I know that Chongqing City is known as the Chicago of the Yangtze.  And that there's a huge Chinese middle class with money to burn.  I think it's time to do a little market research on eBay China and find out what they're in the market for.  Luckily, I have another "Asian Bellpulls" kit!

Hanukkah in October

In fact, Hanukkah is practically in October this year--starts December 1st.  I do need to get my butt in gear.  But today was Hanukkah for me. 

I had to hire a sitter so I could get to my favorite sale of the year--St. Theresa's Flea Market.  Go figure, Hanukkah comes at the Catholic Church.  Anyway, it was worth every babysitting penny I spent.  I couldn't grab stuff fast enough.  They have at least five rooms filled with stuff, plus a huge parking lot with tables set up.  And it's all staffed by elderly volunteers who charge 10 cents for things.  Who still charges 10 cents?  You can't even buy a gumball these days for 10 cents.  I bought two lovely vintage linen tea towels for 10 cents a piece.  Add in the cloth napkins and my total came to 70 cents.  The volunteer helping me was having trouble finding correct change, so I told her to keep the 30 cents.  She said she needed to go hit some one up for smaller change.  Or, I suggested, stop charging 10 cents for things.

OK, so here's just a portion of my haul...I also visited another church, so I really did look like Santa dragging my black garbage bag full of goodies into the house (FYI: did not enter through the chimney--we don't have one.  Not a big concern in a Jewish home).

Someone please help me out with these guys...I bought a box of them (yes, 10 cents a piece.)  They're from the mid eighties and when you pinch their shoulders their arms open. You can clip them on to things.  Anyone remember what these are called???

In addition to my box of 80s hugging plushies, I got a slew of needlework and cross stitch kits (had to spring a whole buck a piece for these).

I also found these old wooden shoe forms ($1 for both).  I think they looked like they hopped right out of Country Living Magazine. 

Also found a great vintage Vendome crystal brooch (in the middle of the top photo) for a quarter.  I love the blue glass Christmas balls I found (free--because they dropped as the seller was loading them into my bag and two broke).  I will be finding a new home for those as I don't believe in the Hanukkah bush.

I also will be rehoming the vintage Strawberry Shortcake ornaments (50 cents) and the unopened pack of Del Monte stuffed fruit ornaments (50 cents). 

Also purchased: and old badminton set for $2 (birdie is missing, but the kids can still use the rackets to smack each other over the head); a bunch of books (yes, 10 cents a piece); a 1960s round Springbok puzzle (shown above, picked for $1) which I now think I need to try to assemble to see if all the pieces are there; 4 new Mad Libs (for when the kids aren't smacking each other over the heads with the rackets, $2 for all four); a vintage ravioli mold (50 cents) and an old, but never used Wilton Marseilles cookie mold (50 cents); a few winter coats and miscellaneous other items.

All in all I spent about $40.  Good times, good times.

Oh, one last thing.  I did promise to report on the Jean Cocteau Limoges cat plate I found for $6.  It sold for $33.50.  Not the windfall I was hoping to retire on, but I'll take it.

A Thrifty "Aha" Use

If any of the Womens' Mags still doled out money for household tips, I'm pretty sure I'd score a five spot for this one.  I use a lot of tissue paper packing items I sell on eBay.  And being the thrifter that I am, I absolutely hate to pay to buy packaging materials.  So yesterday I was sorting through my stash, deciding what to list in my eBay store, when I came across a vintage sewing pattern for a cowboy costume.  I spent a good fifteen minutes unfolding all the sheets to the pattern, checking to see if all the parts were there.  Then, I went to take photos of the pattern.  Midway through, I decided I'd better check on the value of my find.

Now, I thought this would be quite a hot ticket item with Halloween right around the corner.  Obviously a lot of other eBay sellers did too.  Not exactly a rare item.  So here I am having invested all this time into a worthless item.  The only thing I'm pleased about is that I don't have to try to refold the pattern and shove it back into its now seemingly small envelope.  I am about to pitch the whole thing into the recycling bin, when my "Aha" moment occurs.

The pattern is essentially tissue paper.  And there are a good 5 or 6 large sheets of it in one pattern. My "trash" will now be used to pack my next shipment.  And I will be on the hunt for cheap patterns (aka packing material.)                                                                

Not Much in the Neighborhood

I was so excited for today's "Summit Goes on Sale" I could hardly sleep.  In years past the neighborhood association had a spring yard sale to raise money.  This year, someone had the brilliant idea to skip all the hard work and instead convince everyone else to have the sale.  The neighborhood association collected fees for getting on the map and then publicized the event. 

Unfortunately, they may have made it too easy to participate and many of the sales consisted of a table of overpriced odds and ends.  Oh well.  It was a beautiful sunny day and I did find a few treasures.  Not the haul I was hoping for, but you can't win every time. 

My favorite find is this antique pitchfork.  I paid $10 for it.   I already have an old wood pitchfork hanging in my living room.  Now I just need to find a wall to display this beauty.  Not sure what it says about me that I seem to be collecting pitchforks...

Probably my most fruitful find was this vintage hand loom I scored for $1.  I'm hoping to resell it for around $30.  I also found this great vintage trim...

These fun paper napkins...

And these tulip-shaped candlesticks.  I think they're silverplated and hope they'll polish up nicely.  ($2, by the way.)

All in all I think I did better at Saver's this week (found a Jean Cocteau cat plate by Limoges for $5.99--it will go up for sale tomorrow night.  Fingers crossed!) But it's all about the journey, right?  And I did have a good time.

Goodwill, Used Clothing, and the Meaning of Life

First off, the photos have nothing to do with this post—just some great vintage wrapping paper I found while thrifting the other day. On second thought, maybe they do. We’ll see…


Today’s post focuses on a deep, internal struggle I experienced this past weekend.

I ate on Yom Kippur. But I did not thrift. This was actually quite a sacrifice for me as Yom Kippur fell on Saturday. I showed great restraint as I passed a yard sale sign while out walking with my daughter. It took everything I had to continue on my path and not veer off in search of treasure.

I had to ignore all the posts on Craigslist, turn the page when I came to the Classified section in the paper, and ignore any brightly colored fliers stapled to the telephone poles. I’ll admit, I don’t think this type of sacrifice is what God had in mind when commanding us to fast on Yom Kippur. I’m no Talmudic scholar, but from what I gather, we’re supposed to ignore all bodily needs. It’s supposed to help us focus more on our spirituality, bring us closer to God, or something like that.

I’m sure I’m not alone, however, in feeling that the only thing I can focus on when I’m fasting is my next meal. I don’t find lightheadedness from hunger to be spiritual at all.

What I do find spiritual is a fully stocked aisle at Goodwill. There, as I leaf through worn sweaters, I find myself falling into a deep meditative state. The surrounding noises of the busy store recede into the background as I enter the Zone, waiting patiently for the bold pink of a Lilly Pulitzer flamingo pattern to spring forth.

So herein lies my deep philosophical struggle –that I find I am most grounded, perhaps most spiritual , not while I’m balancing in tree pose, crossing the finish line of a 5k, or dehydrating in a sweat lodge, but sifting through half-used craft supplies at the Salvation Army.

What does this say about me --that my true joy comes from sorting through others’ refuse? That materialism (and base-level materialism at that) brings me peace? Or is it like panning for gold? Am I a recession-era treasure hunter?

I have no answer. What I do know is that I enjoy thrifting. And I’m good at it. And who am I to question my god-given gift? If I’ve been put on earth to rescue vintage Channel from landfill, so be it. Perhaps I’m like a pop archivist—preserving all the crap from today (and yesterday) that might mean something to some sociologist or archeologist down the road.

Take this gift wrap I found, for example. It spoke to me with its tales of a simpler time. I imagine someone will buy it from me on eBay for a scrapbooking project. And the effort to preserve the past will continue.

As will my philosophical struggle. Especially when Yom Kippur rolls around next year and I debate whether to fast or not, how I want to show my faith, and what exactly that faith is.

Finger on the Pulse

Always love it when I can think of myself ahead of a trend.  Last month's issue of Country Home magazine featured vintage Paint By Number paintings as highly collectible (not that Country Home is at the forefront of trendsetting, but still...)  My daughter has a wall in her bedroom devoted to vintage paintings and other artwork (like cross stitch and needlepoint) featuring animals.  She has quite a few Paint-by-Numbers up there already.  Last week I spotted this pair shown above at the Goodwill store.  At $8.49 a piece, I thought they were a bit pricey, but anything for my daughter...  When I got to the checkout, I realized one was missing the glass from the frame.  Not really a deal breaker, but I pointed it out to the cashier.  She said the $8.49 price tag must be wrong, managed to find a $2.99 on the edge of one frame (clearly peeled off from another item) and charged me $2.99 a piece.  Thank you Goodwill!  And Country Home editors, start reading my blog!

Love My Smartphone Apps!

One of my favorite things about thrifting is trying to find out just what some strange object is.  And I've found my Droid can be paritcularly helpful.  My most used app is called Pocket Auctions. I use it to search eBay for items I'm wondering about as I stroll the aisles of Savers.  Another super cool app I just discovered (quite by accident as my 7-year old aparently downloaded it) is called Goggles.  Take a photo of what you're interested in , connect it to Goggles and it will search the Web for a matching image.  I used it for this treasure I've shown above, but came up empty-handed.  Guess I shouldn't have been surprised as this shirt is clearly a unique item! I'm certain it's worth a mint.  Why, it even has the Twin Towers featured in the background!  That coupled with it's fabulous neon green color is sure to make it a collector's dream come true.  Just what type of collector I'm not too sure. The shirt is a child's size medium.  I'm thinking some retro hipster shacking up in Brooklyn might want it, but it's probably too small. 

But I digress.  Back to my search to track down info. on this gem.  The shirt is by K.A.D. Clothing Co. and I found some items by this maker on eBay, but nothing as fabulous as this.  I was sure the Gotham goons featured on the shirt are some classic characters, so, while lying in bed at 9:30 p.m. I texted my nephew in L.A. (a comic book afficianado) with the photo.  Two minutes later I got a response--basically the equivalent of "get with the program Auntie, these thugs are so not anyone special." I chalked up his reply to his inability to spot something truly cool--he's been away from N.Y.C. for too long.

Bottom line, I still haven't found out much about the shirt.  But it was fun trying!  Now it's up on eBay waiting for the right, pint-sized trendsetter to find it.