Dig This Treasure!

Hi all. 

I can’t believe I’m posting these pictures, but I promised Erin that I would post something today, and I’m frantically finishing a bunch of work before I’m off for summer break, so you all get to benefit. 

I am currently growing a baby, who will be out of my body and in the real world sometime in late October/early November, and he needs a place to sleep! So eBay World is turning into Baby World… except there’s a lot of work to do.

So here’s what has come of eBay world in the last two years or so. Meaning, here’s all the stuff I have to get rid of. 

In an effort to complete operation Move Junk Out and Move Baby In, I will be documenting the purge on a weekly basis. You see something you like? Tell me and I’ll list it on eBay first! 

I hate to admit this but there is also stuff in other areas of my house. Oh, the shame. 

I’m excited about and terrified of the challenge that awaits me! Wait, I’m not even talking about taking care of a baby. I’m talking about getting rid of this sh*t! 

Wish me luck! 

-Sarah

Two Fridays ago, Sarah and I hit a couple sales that looked packed.  And even more exciting, packed with good-looking treasures!  The first one was obviously the estate of former antique dealers/hoarders.

When we walked in, the person at the front door said we had to give up our purses, and stash them in a big ol’ purse pile behind the cash-out area.  This always bugs me.  It is true that people steal from estate sales (remember “THAT GUY”), but I know I’m not going to, so I instantly feel offended.  It’s like, “We must steal your purse from you, with all of your monies and car keys and lip balm before you are able to steal from us.”  Oy.

And in the end, I wish this sale actually turned out to have more worth stealing.  The photos online had looked so good, but things seemed picked over or too pricey.  

If you aren’t familiar with that new rap song on the radio that says, “I WOKE UP IN A NEW BUGGATI,”  then that’s ok because it sucks.  In other news, this is what a Buggati looks like.  Seems practical.  Also, $6,000 seems cheap.  Is that cheap?

I did find this hilarious magazine that explains 10 ways to make your wife “more useful”:

Seriously, so rude.  Someone give me a magazine article that teaches husbands to find ANYTHING in the house without having to ask where it is first.  AMIRITE LADIES?

I did buy a couple things.  First was this adorable stocking that reminded me of those stalker snowmen I keep seeing at every sale.  It will be the baby’s stocking this Christmas.

I bought this old cap gun to resell.  It was only $8 and other ones sold for good money on ebay.  Mine isn’t in as good of shape, but worth the risk.

At the next sale, there were a lot of knick-knacks and typical household goods.  Here is Sarah and her monster broken-toe boot looking at stuff:

I was striking out pretty bad here, until I went in the basement and saw this:

The top part of this chalkboard turns, and there are tons of cool vintage graphics to choose from.  At $25, this was a total steal.  I snagged it for the baby nursery.  Here it is now, after I stenciled on future baby’s name:

The cowboys and Indians scene at the top was my favorite, and perfect for a little boy’s room.  

Sarah found some slides at this sale, and due to her recent success with slides, she decided to plop down and check them all out.  It was mega hot in this house, but somehow she convinced me to help her.  It was torture.  All of the slides were of plants and buildings, but Sarah was convinced there were good ones in there.  

I stopped helping after probably 30 seconds.  Sarah endured another 10 minutes or so and then decided not to buy any of these.  Whomp whomp.  I’ll let her tell you about all of her other finds this day.

-Erin

Update from Sarah: Erin failed to mention so many important details from this first sale. First, the person who told us we had to give our purses away was no more than 13 years old and they had her manning the door. I’m cool with that, I’m just saying–it’s weird to take orders from a little kid. Second, this sale had three different areas with entrances, and when you were in each place, they made it sound like the next was going to be SO much better. As it turned out, the next was always worse. 

I did find some treasures, though–mainly of the paper variety. But before we get to those, check out this awesome pixie Erin snagged for me at the last minute!

She’s not in fabulous shape, but she was only $3, and the more important part of this find was that it led me to discover that there are TONS of these figurines with hair but not all of them are on the phone! Instead, many of them are “pixies” and can be found by searching that way. Totally rad, and I just spent the last hour buying more on the Internet instead of writing this very blog entry. I just made a boatload of cash on eBay, so I can afford more cuties like this. 

I also found some very cute mini dogs. My favorite is this one, who really DOES look like my dog, Betsy. It’s head comes off the top so it wobbles. so stinkin’ cool! 

One question: Have you ever seen a cuter dog? 

Ok on to the paper… there was a ton of it, but they were pricing it all individually, which was sad. I’ve gotten some really good deals buying mass quantities of paper from the people running this sale in the past, so that was a bummer. In the end, I bought a few photographs, some vintage greeting cards, and a couple of postcards.

I had to buy this old illustration. Rock of Ages was (still IS) a record store near where I grew up. True story: I bought a purple Jellyfish t-shirt there when I was 16 and then gave it to Zach when I met him because he was a megafan just like my own husband. Man, where is that thing now?

I had to buy this postcard because IT MAKES NO SENSE.

Ok, so the worst thing about this sale was that no matter where you were at any given time, 4 other people wanted to be in that EXACT PLACE. I was standing near the check out area where they keep more valuable stuff, and there was a box of postcards that I was sorting through. As I am sorting through them, I sh*t you not, this lady comes up behind me and grabs HALF of them, and moves to the side and starts looking through them. I was so stunned that I didn’t say anything but Erin looked like she was going to lose it. Are you kidding me, lady?! 

The only thing worth mentioning about the other areas of the sale is that Erin and I bonded over this: 

I thought it was bad enough that I was told by a therapist when I was in my early 20s, after confessing my extreme fear of house fires, to purchase one of these. But Erin actually had one under her bed as a child for the same reason, and her dad used to help her take it out and practice using it. People, this is why we’re friends. 

It’s true that at the second sale, I left without any slides, but don’t you worry–I’ve already made up for it. Stay tuned!  

Erin has mentioned getting some freebies at auctions in the past. Usually these are things that people end up getting in lots but don’t really want. I’ve been known to leave behind some stuff that I didn’t want at auctions too. Hey man, one person’s trash is another’s treasure!

I forgot to mention this in the entry about our adventures at the Tecumseh auction a few weeks ago. The people who run that joint are always willing to let you tell them what to put up next. I had eyed this adorable planter amid some gross rubble. It was dirty as heck but it didn’t have any chips or cracks or anything like that. 

I went to the front of the auction and grabbed it, and took it over to one of the homies working there. He asked where I found it and I gestured over to the table and he said, “Oh all that stuff has already been bought!” I felt like a giant ass, and then he said, “Those people are the ones who bought it all.” I looked at the couple and they kept making a “take it” gesture. I mouthed, “Are you sure?!” and the woman looked at me like I was crazy–like who in the heck would want that dirty sheep? Anyway, awesome for me because not only did I get my treasure but I got it for free! 

It cleaned up so beautifully and I have it up on eBay now. Seriously, I wish I had documented how filthy this thing was before I cleaned it up. Here it is now: 

Are you dying from the cuteness? I sure am. 

It seems like sometimes these things can go for crazy amounts of money, but so far none of the Relpo planters I’ve sold have gone for a whole lot. Then again, I’ve only sold one other. It was also adorable but it only sold for $10. I mean look at this one.

 It’s cute but is it worth $262?!

Apparently so! 

Anyway, if anyone has any idea about what makes some of these guys more valuable than others, let us know!

-Sarah