Standing Room Only
I’m almost scared to write again about the Plymouth auction that Zach and I frequent on Saturdays. I don’t want all of you marching up in there and bidding on my goods. So far, this place has been like my own personal ATM machine, only it is linked to someone else’s bank account. Buying and reselling from this auction has seriously been a goldmine. Last Saturday was no different.
When we arrived at the auction, it was so packed. The seats were all taken and you could barely stand anywhere without having to bear hug someone next to you. We decided to stay though because the items looked pretty good.
My first bid was on this illustration from 1968, which I bought for Timmy because it was Tigers and World Series related. This is original art, not a copy, although probably not worth a TON of money. It was just too cool to pass up.
Zach won an amazing cast iron bank for $17, when others go for upwards of $150 on ebay. It is really neat and living on our bookshelf.
I then won the quilt squares that were mentioned here on the blog a few days ago. I panicked that I had made a bad buy on these ($20) but they already have bids over that on ebay, so I am relieved.
At this point, I noticed an old charm bracelet in one of the display cases at the front. It was LOADED with charms, and when I looked closely, most of them were marked as sterling silver. The rest were also silver but not as pure (marked 800). My sister started me a vintage charm bracelet a few years ago, and I learned from her that sterling silver charms alone can sell for $20-50 each! Sometimes more. A whole bracelet full of them had to be super valuable.
I told Zach that I wanted to stick around for this bracelet, and so we waited and waited and waited. During that time, people bid crazy amounts on crazy items. $30 for a Superhero poster that you could get at Toys R Us, $50 on an old stereo receiver that no one knew if it even worked. It is seriously unpredictable what people will pay for things.
I told Zach that my limit for the charm bracelet was $100. I was hoping I would only have to spend about $50. Finally, it came up on the auction block. The charm bracelet was placed in a lot with a bunch of other bracelets, so I assumed that would kick the price up pretty high. But then the auction started at $5 and it was only me and one other woman bidding! When the price got to $18, the lady backed out. EIGHTEEN DOLLARS.
I went up to collect my bracelet lot and was shocked to see that not only had I just won the charm bracelet, but THREE other vintage sterling silver bracelets.
I will probably scrap these 3, which should pay for my $18 investment. As for the charm bracelet, you can follow its progress now on ebay.
Zach and I sat at the auction for a few more minutes because I was all sweaty and flush. I had gotten so worked up about the score I just made, and when I get excited, I turn into a beet. A sweaty beet.
-Erin