Friday, January 24, 2014

Share Your Treasure Hunting Stories

Vintage Barbie similar to the one in the story
One of our favorite treasure hunting stories is about a Barbie Doll. We were at an estate auction. We arrived early, as is our practice, to examine the items up for auction. We like to check for any damage, condition of the items, maker's marks, etc. We spotted a vintage Barbie. She was in good condition and had on an original Barbie dress (it had the tag inside). We decided we might bid up to $20. I know that seems low but we try to keep our bids low so there is some sort of profit margin for us. We had seen other buyers there (we knew they were buyers because they frequent many of the auction houses we do) looking at the Barbie. When the bidding started they put her with another doll (I think it was Skipper). We started at $5. The bidding went up. It got to $20 and I looked at my hubby. He said to keep going. We got the dolls for $22.50. We came home and listed Barbie after checking her out carefully. We took lots of pictures. Barbie buyers are a particular bunch and want lots of details. We answered a lot of questions about her. In the end she sold for over $600. We were thrilled with this purchase. Just one of our picking stories.

We thought it would be fun to have you share your treasure hunting stories with us and our readers. Maybe about your favorite pick. Just put the stories in the comments below. Happy Hunting!!

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Thursday, January 23, 2014

Thoughts For A Snowy January Morning

As I sit here enjoying the snowy view from our window (notice I said from our window) my mind goes to my To Do Today List. Since we do attend estate sales fairly frequently I have some treasures to get listed so our buyers can have a look. Here a few of our finds.                              

Vintage Brass Perfume bottle decanter.
 We are always on the lookout for vintage Perfume Bottles. This one is brass with a floral design and a pearlized inner shell. The dobber is intact as is the perfume holder. This beautiful vintage perfume bottle is very functional. Happy to find this.
Handcarved Wood Ducks
Hubby is always on the look out for wood ducks or decoys. These ducks are handcarved and superbly painted. If I can talk him into letting these go we will get these listed for our buyers. Right now they are part of our decor.
Vintage Pyrex Carafe

                                                                      I really like vintage kitchenware so when I spotted this Pyrex carafe with a metal warmer stand I just had to have it! It is in wonderful condition. Sometimes if you are the only one at an estate sale looking for kitchenware you can come up with some nice finds at fairly reasonable prices. We have a very good friend that also attends sales that we like so we try not to sit by him because he also likes many of the same type of items as we do. We prefer not to bid against him out of courtesy but if he sits somewhere we cannot see him then we bid more comfortably and come up with some very special finds.

Well, that is about it for now. If I do not get started soon this day will be gone. Seems the older I get the faster time flies. Enjoy every minute and learn from every mistake. Until later . . . . .


Blessings,
Diana

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