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Booth Sales Report for August 2019

Aqua Stool

August was a great month for sales in the booth! I worked hard at it, college students and their moms were shopping, we had one big piece and several smaller pieces of furniture available, and we had General Finishes chalk-style paint half price. (General Finishes is discontinuing their chalk-style paint, so it was time to try to move it out.) These things combined made sales be almost $1900 before rent. To some that’s paltry. To me, it’s “rite nice.” Remember, we’ve had to pay rent a couple of times this year.

First, just to get it out of the way, we sold 36 cans of paint, mostly chalk-style, but also milk paint, stain, etc. for $439.00. A nice chunk. BUT… we were only getting our money back out of the chalk paint. Actually, if you figure shipping, we lost a bit there.

Also, 10 old photographs (out of about a hundred +/-) sold for a total of $34 and 10 vintage postcards sold for a total of $12.00.

This post is fairly long. I’ve reduced the “loading” size of the pictures, so hopefully, that won’t be a problem. Also, I edited them on my new laptop. The laptop that DOES NOT do white on the pictures I take. I hope, hope, hope, they aren’t too weird looking. Here are pictures along with commentary:


A large, newish, green clock that likely originally came from Hobby Lobby. I paid $3 for it at a church rummage sale.

Green Clock
$12.00


In the following photo, the 2 blue books, the light cage and the gym basket:

Blue books — $7.00
Light cage — $6.00
Gym basket — $12.00


Kitchen items from this picture: Oval grater, green handle juicer thingy, green handle strainer, Pet Milk can opener, red handle masher.

Total $26.00


We’ve had these corbels for years. While in my wild-hair-get-rid-of-it-mood I decided to let them go.

Unfinished corbels
$19.00


Something else I’ve had for years and years. I got this at a store going out of business and have used it for display in the booth. Actually, even as far back as when I had a shop! I had it marked $25, which was too much, because I really didn’t care to sell it. But someone looked at it while I was there one day and I told her she could have it for $12.00.


I loved this oval table! It was part of an estate we bought and was in rickety condition. Ricky sturdied it up and painted it. I did the distressing. It didn’t last long. (Looking at it on this computer, the color looks pinkish. It wasn’t. It was white with dark wax.)

Also sold in this picture the silver plate pitcher.

Table — $57.00
Silver plate pitcher — $12.00


I didn’t get a picture of these planters in the booth. The three square ones sold either the same or the next day and the big round one sold within the week. Total cost? $13.00. Yeah. The people just wanted them gone. Don’t-cha love it?

Three square concrete planters, $20@ for a total of $60.00
Big round planter — $29.00


I got this Swans angel food cake pan at the same sale as all the other kitchen utensils.

Swans cake pan
$9.00


I had intended for us to paint this French desk top and wanted Ricky to make a base for it but needed some surfaces in the booth, so took it there. Someone loved it just the way it was. Also sold in this picture, the pink swirl pieces, the ruffle vase, and the green stripe creamer.

French desk top — $65.00
Pink swirl plate, sugar bowl and berry bowls — $15.00
Green stripe creamer — $6.00


This bookcase has been with me for quite a while as well. It has served its purpose over and over. Surely it was sold to a student.
Also sold in this picture, the Ucago bamboo look planter on the bottom.

Bookcase — $45.00
Planter — $7.00


Another picture that doesn’t make the piece look good. The color and distressing looks weird. Anyway, this is something Ricky built. We had $449.00 on it and someone offered $350. Sigh. We countered with $375.00 and they took it.

Hand-built sideboard
$375.00


We got a good deal on this hutch last summer but as with everything else, Ricky had hours of work to do on it to make it useable.

Small, green hutch
$175.00


A stool from my dad’s:

Industrial stool
$25.00


Another stool. This one I had for several years and suspect I went crazy and paid $15.00 for it. Then again, it could have come from my dad’s when he moved. I just don’t remember. Anyway, it began life as dated, antique-ish gold-ish (think 1980s-90s) with a not so attractive cover. I painted it aqua, whitewashed it and made a new cushion.

Aqua stool
$32.00


The dish drain looked good at the sale and looks good in this picture but it had dirties I couldn’t get rid of. Hence the low price.

Red dish drain
$7.00


The next two chest of drawers were given to Ricky from a storage unit clean-out. A benefit of renting the woodshop building from storage unit owners. The white one needed a LOT of work. It was the cheaper particle board and needed sturdy-ing. The yellow chest, however, was solid wood.

Also sold in the picture of the yellow chest is the black wire stand and the aforementioned green stripe pitcher.

White chest of drawers — $58.00 (after they took the 10% discount)
Yellow chest of drawers — $95.00
Black wire stand — $14.00


I show this odd wire thing because it hung around like this for several months. Then a dealer friend suggested I clip some postcards to it. I did and it sold the next day. Only $2.00 but still. Just goes to show how important presentation is. (And they bought the postcards with it.)

Wire scalloped thingy
$2.00


End table from my dad’s

$50.00


There were several other things I don’t have pictures of.

3 tier wire kitchen basket — $10.00
Naturally dried cotton stalk bundles $16.00 total
An orange (for Auburn) task lamp — $9.00
A cookbook — $4.00
A single antler — $10.00
A new-ish Hobby Lobby metal tray — $8.00
Half-pint milk bottle — $4.00
Plate with purple flowers — $5.00
A page from an old pattern book of a square dance dress pattern — $2.00
“All You Need Is Love and A Cat” thing — $2.00
2 Joseph girl figures (Not birthday numbers. I still have one of those.) — $7.00 @
A couple of old frames $5.00 and $10.00
….. and a few other things


If you stuck with me this long, I thank you! One of these days I’m going to get back into blogging more. I keep saying that and keep being lazy. Or busy. Or whatever. But someday….. !!! In the meantime, I invite you to follow me on Instagram @justvintagehome . (You can follow over on the right side here –> Scroll up to see the IG feed.) Not that I’m prolific on Instagram but certainly more than here.

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June Sales Report

June….. Ahhhh, June. The month of weddings and summer freedom. June at the mall was fairly decent. We at least got a check. I’m seriously debating my online selling presence at the moment and haven’t worked at it much in months. Despite that, sales do still trickle in.

So here’s a recap of booth and online sales for the month of June 2019. I wish I had pictures of everything but well, this is me we’re talking about here. Of course I don’t!

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May Booth Sales Report

May 2019 booth sales report

Booth sales this year have been up and down. Feast or famine. Pay rent one month, make a little the next. May was a “feast” or at least an “eat” month. “Feast” might be pushing it a little.

I need to say that this post won’t be a visually appealing one. I’m having to scrape up pictures and the ones I can find aren’t very good. I had pulled away from the internet this year and last and rarely took pictures of the booth or items in the booth. But I’m trying to get going again and figured I’d get this series started back with or without pictures.


First up, a corner shelf. This and another corner shelf, among a lot of other things, came from an estate we bought. I use the word “estate” loosely. It was two rooms of furniture and nick-nacks. And not packed in at that. But we did okay with the buy.

The other corner shelf sold a few months back. I seriously did not want to have to paint these things and lowered the price to $25.00. They were handy to use in the booth, but looking at the picture below, at least this one might have been the kiss of death. Nothing on this shelf has sold and all have been there for a while. I’m not sure anything ever sold off the shelves. It’s not undesirable stuff and not priced high at all!

Corner shelves
$25.00


 

These antique fashion prints didn’t last a week in the booth. I forgot to get a nice picture before taking them and forgot to get one the day I took them in. I just happened to be in the mall the next day and hastily took a picture of each one. It’s a good thing too! Two days later they were sold!

Antique, framed fashion prints
$24.00 each


 

Maybe I should stop turning my nose up at new Hobby Lobby type decor. This is a young town. This is what I find at the yard sales and perhaps it’s what the people are looking for. This little drawer/shelf thingy only lasted a few days. Warning: Horrible, horrible picture below! It doesn’t even show the correct color!

Newish drawer/shelf thing
$15.00


 

Plain, no pattern, butter press

Butter press
$7.00


 

This next item, a Sadler teapot, has been around a couple of years. I typically put it out in the fall just because it looks good with the fall things but this year, instead of packing it away when it didn’t sell, I left it in the booth. I had $35.00 on it. And it sat there, wanting so badly to go home with someone.

I was leaving the mall one day and saw a lady with it in her hand — and putting it in the return bin!! I grinned and said that it was mine and I thought it really wanted to go home with her. She said she was overspending and had found a German coffee set that reminded her of her daughter or something which put her spending too much. I told her she could have the teapot for $25 and when she hesitated, I blurted out $20.00. She knew a deal when she saw one and took me up on it.

I don’t regret it. It was a nice teapot, but it was time to move it. And she was a nice lady.

Sadler teapot
$20.00


 

I had a bunch of these Garrett Snuff notebooks. Two left at the time of the picture below. The buying of them must not have been memorable…. (Um….. maybe it was that fabulous sale out of town and these were just some extra little things…..??) and had sold all but this one. Now the last one has a home.

Garrett Snuff Notebook
$1.00


 

I bought this tin bottom chair years ago and used it until we moved into the new house last year. You can read the acquisition story –>HERE<–. It hung around the booth a year before someone saw the beauty in it as I did.

Tin bottom chair

Tin Bottom Chair
$30.00


 

The two red and white surveyors’ poles. The tripod and the measuring sticks haven’t sold as of yet.

Surveyors' poles

Red and white surveyors’ poles $35.00 each but buyer took a 10% discount
$63.00


 

That’s all I have pictures for. Here’s a list of other items sold. Note that the links are various sellers on Etsy with the same item in case you want to know what the item looked like. These are affiliate links.

  • Glass cookie jar like –>this Etsy item<–
    $12.00
  • Different glass cookie jar like a Tom’s jar
    $12.00
  • Wire hat stand similar to –>this one<– but not as fancy. Mine was swirled curves rather than angles and had 3 places for hats. I didn’t research it first and now that I see this one I feel sick. You’ve gotta see the one I linked to.
    $14.00
  • Small, rectangle basket with a lid. That’s the best I can do with a description. Sorry
    $5.00
  • Bag of about 15 pen nibs similar to –>these<–. Mine were generic. Nothing special.
    $4.00
  • Ceramic frog sponge holder kinda like –>this one<–
    $9.00
  • Wall hanging, wire scroll, plant/flowerpot holder. Not very old, but awfully beat up.
    $16.00
  • Small stoneware jar a bit like –>this one<– (That is a lovely product picture!) only mine had straight sides. Nothing special but still sweet
    $7.00
  • Vintage printed tablecloth with a vibrant tulip border. I might regret selling that.
    $29.00
  • Tooled leather coin purse very much like –>this one<–
    $9.00
  • Small moonstone bowl just like –>this one<–
    $5.00
  • Simple, black metal, scrolly brackets $8 each
    $16.00
  • 3 diecast model cars that my husband bought, not old, $18.95 each
    $56.85
  • A big-a** roll top desk that we bought new from Ashley furniture 15-ish years ago. The best place we could use it in the new house was upstairs but it was too doggone heavy so we decided to sell it. Apparently, I never got a picture of it anywhere it ever lived.
    $279.00

And then there are these things I have no clue what they were!!

  • 1970s glass bowl
    $24.00 — You’d think I’d remember that!
  • Glass bowl
    $7.00
  • Fostoria candlestick(s)(??)
    8.00

Also sold were

One book for $3.00 and 10 cans of paint for 197.75.


 

So our total for the month was $922.60. Yippee! Now next month we’ll probably have to pay rent. LOL

Wanna know what I sold on Etsy? My Etsy shop that has been terribly, terribly neglected? I thought it was only going to be one thing, but at the last sold two more items

Brass Russ owl keychain

Brass Russ owl keychain
$20.00 with free shipping

Vintage Harlequin clicker. (I have another one of these for sale.)

Vintage tin clicker with Harlequin lithograph, made by US Metal Toy Mfg
$4.00

Brass music stand photo album.

Vintage brass lyre design photo stand for 3 x 5 pictures
$37.00


 

I’d love to hear how your May sales were. Is May typically a good month for you? Were you surprised or was it about what you expected?

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What To Buy To Resell — The Fall Vintage Version

Fall Etsy Sales Report - What To Buy To Resell On Etsy

Everyone always wonders what to buy to resell? Even the pros are always looking for something to add to their repertoire. There’s always something out there we hadn’t thought about selling that sells quite well. It takes a lot of research to find out what those are. So today’s report is:

What To Buy To Resell — The Vintage Version

I’ve been remiss in writing my Etsy sales report (And booth report, too!) for the past three months. Why? Beats me! The sales weren’t good but, there were some and I’m thankful for even that little bit. Still, it would have been a waste of your and my time to do a September and October report. So. Because I’ve committed to sharing the bad along with the good, I’m doing it. Combining August, September and October sales in this one post. It won’t take long to read. Sigh.

(Also check out these posts for more things that routinely sell on Etsy and my friend, Florence’s latest sales report at Vintage Southern Picks. Hint: She sold more than I did.)


August:

I’ve mentioned before that vintage patterns can be a good investment. I got lucky last year and bought a box full of patterns for under a dollar. I kept a few and culled a bunch. The rest have gone on Etsy. This was one. 

Vintage Simplicity jacket pattern, 3038. Sold on Etsy

Vintage Simplicity jacket pattern
Sold for $15.00
Continue reading What To Buy To Resell — The Fall Vintage Version