Etsy Vintage Street Team Scavenger Hunt!

The Etsy Vintage Street Team is holding its first big promotion this Sunday from 10am to 10pm EST - a scavenger hunt! The prize for completing the hunt is 25% off one item in each participating shop! Click here to visit the team blog to get all the details...

The future of eBay...

I posted a few days ago about the newest changes that were announced by eBay, and I started out my post by saying:

"eBay has a master plan, and they are executing it in small steps. The final goal of this plan is still a mystery, but the more changes they roll out, the more I feel like my small business isn't welcome there anymore."

Today I checked in on Skip McGrath's blog, only to find a very similar post - except he actually made a list of possible outcomes:

• Will eBay eventually abandon the auction format altogether?
• Will eBay eventually abandon the sale of used goods including antiques and collectibles?
• Will eBay announce tiered listing fees for large sellers or continue to seek out and do private deals with large sellers?

Skip is one of the most knowledgeable and trusted eBay experts around, and to see him speculating about these scenarios really makes me worry...

If you have a small business selling vintage on eBay, my advice is to start branching out. The days of being an eBay only business are pretty much over - and the chance that at some point in the future being on eBay at all no longer being an option is growing every day...

Spring/Summer Vintage Clothing Collection is Here!!

Yes, finally! I have started listing the spring and summer clothes that I have been stockpiling all year. I am so sad that I am not a size 4 or 6... most of the dresses I have came from one estate, and they are small - if you are tiny it is your lucky day!

The sale where I found them was great, they just had a few pieces outside with the rest of the things, and when I grabbed them the lady running the sale said, "I have a lot more clothes inside, I didn't bring them out because they are so outdated."

Score! Music to my ears...

I bought them all of course. ;)

This floral dress is so perfect for summer, and it comes with 2 belts!

This one has the cutest little keyhole button sleeves!

This beaded evening dress is amazing - and it comes with a sheer cape!

This party dress is actually a medium, maybe a 10 or 12... it doesn't have any tags but it sure looks like one from the 50's to me - check out that bow!

There's lots more, and you want to know the kicker? I still have more to list! I should get them all up by the end of the week...

I also listed one of the paper mache trays that I got in Springfield... It's got a bid and lots of watchers, I'm excited to see where it ends!

There's lots more - a set of Edwin Knowles Plaid dishes, several lots of Volkswagen magazines, a few vintage cookbooks... we didn't hit our goal of 90 auctions, but we did get closer than we have in the past couple of weeks! ;)

New on Etsy this week!

A really pretty vintage painted and carved wood jewelry box from Germany...

A fun retro plastic snack bowl set...

A working Lady Norelco electric razor - complete and in it's original box!

A pair of large 3-D floral ceramic decorative wall plates...

And last but not least, a Better Homes & Gardens Baby Book from 1951!

And the winner is...

I used Random.org to pick the winner of the free 1 year subscription to Country Home - congratulations #8 - Mama Brook! And a big thanks to everyone else for entering, I wish I had more to give out! ;)

eBay is at it again...

eBay has a master plan, and they are executing it in small steps. The final goal of this plan is still a mystery, but the more changes they roll out, the more I feel like my small business isn't welcome there anymore.

Yesterday they announced that starting in July you can no longer have links to outside websites on your About Me page, which was the only place on eBay where you could link to your own website or blog legally. I can't even include outside links in the eBay store newsletter I send out every week, so I have to type cumbersome instructions to people when I talk about things - "Just click over to my About Me page to get the link to my website to visit my blog/Etsy shop" - bleh!

And now I won't even be able to do that.

They also announced changes to the rules about listing multiple items, which I find completely confusing. I would take the time to research it, but I'm too busy getting set up on OnlineAuction.com.

I love eBay. I still think it is the best online marketplace in the world for finding things that you can't find anywhere else, and I love selling (and shopping!) there. The majority of buyers and sellers on the site are amazing, honest people. I'm scared that eBay is going to drive off all those good people, and in the end we will be left with only big box sellers!

I'm not leaving eBay, but I am going to give OLA a try - I'll keep you posted!

Want a 1 year subscription to Country Home magazine?

At the flea market this weekend they gave away cards for free 1 year subscriptions to Country Home magazine with admission - they were having their Antiquing Festival there, which I missed because I was too busy shopping... kind of ironic, since the whole reason I went was because the Country Home people were going to be there!

Anyway, I am going to try to use my card to extend my subscription, but my friend Gary didn't want his so I have an extra! No elaborate contest this time, just leave a comment and I'll draw a winner on Wednesday...

Springfield Scores!

Out of the thousands of things I looked at at the flea market on Friday, these were the only ones that managed to find their way home with me. Honestly it is more than I was expecting to come home with - it was a very pleasant surprise to find so many cool things at prices I could handle!

My first purchase of the day was the box of vintage Christmas cards - they are so cute! The chalkware bird plaques I really love, they are from Miller Studios. I'm tempted to add them to my bird collection in my kitchen, but I can't - rent is due soon!

I couldn't pass up these adorable Lacquer Ware containers from Japan. Their hats come off so you can put candy, nuts or trinkets in their heads, and their heads also come off so you can put even more what-nots in their bellies!

The two floral trays are also from Japan, they are actually painted paper mache. I sold one recently, I guess they are pretty hot right now - so I was super happy to find them!

I was also very happy to find a nice big set of 8 burlap melmac tumblers - a couple of weeks ago I found the ice bucket that goes with them! So now I have a nice juicy set to list, which always makes my day. :) The pitcher is the polka dot Federal glass one I mentioned in my last post, it isn't marked, but there was one stray matching glass on the table that had their little F in a shield logo on it.

And last but certainly not least, I found this awesome Kromex aluminum canister set! I was excited to find it, in the past the ones I have seen were either in really bad shape, or there was only one lonely canister to be had...

I had a good shopping day today out at the sales too, but I'll wait to show you those things once they are listed, except for this:

1968 - and I got it for one dollar!! Now all I need is 1956... Don't worry, scans will be posted eventually, after I finish up with the ones from the 1961 version, which is on my to do list - I swear!

Springfield Antique Show & Flea Market = Love

Who says there's no such thing as love at first sight?

Take this image and multiply it by 2,500 - yes, you read that correctly - and you will understand the beauty and overwhelming awesomeness that is the Springfield Antique Show & Flea Market.

It had me at hello....

Here I am, 7 hours into the day - I held up pretty well for someone who woke up at 5am (!!) and spent all day walking, though I had to down a couple of Advil and take a nap when I got home...

My partner in crime for the day was my friend Gary, he was such a trooper - he carried my bags for me! A girl can't ask for anything more...

I was pleasantly surprised by some of the booths, like this one - the stuff was cool (I almost bought that dog - isn't he just the cutest?!?) and the prices weren't outrageous. Of course there were plenty of booths that had things priced high too, but they were fun to look through anyway!

All the people I talked to were super nice, and there was a good crowd, but it wasn't so busy that you couldn't take your time and move around easily. And people were *shopping* - no hint of recession or hard times today!

And the food!! There were a ton of great fair style food stands, like this Chicken On A Stick stand that I couldn't help taking a picture of. I opted for a shredded chicken sandwich instead though, and a beyond yummy chocolate peanut butter milkshake. :)

Of course there was a bit of angst involved, as I knew there would be. If only I had about a grand to spend... I would have been in heaven! What would I have bought with my imaginary stack of hundreds?

Figural planters - they were *everywhere*, and I loved them all. Figural salt and pepper shakers were in great abundance too, but I couldn't find any at a price I could justify...

Lamps - oh, the lamps I saw! Total drool fest, let me tell you. Especially this table:


*swoon* - Lamps AND a ton of polka dot glassware! I think this was my favorite table at the entire show, actually. I spent a long time drooling over it. I showed restraint though, and only bought one Federal glass pitcher - with polka dots on it, of course.

I'll try to post a few photos of the stuff I did buy later this weekend, and I also have a little giveaway to do too, so stay tuned! ;)

Featured Collectible - Vintage Paint By Numbers

The June issue of Country Living magazine has a great feature about a couple who turned their boring stairwell into a gallery space for their vintage paint by number painting collection. As you can see it turned out beautifully, and I am so incredibly jealous!

It's always fun to find well-done PBNs out at the sales or at the flea market, and usually they can be found for a decent price. But if you are trying to build a large collection like this one, or you are looking for specific themes, eBay is the way to go. There is always a large variety to choose from, and the prices seem to be all over the map, depending on subject matter, quality, size, and, of course, your competition.

A few of the most popular (and highest dollar) subjects are animals, birds, flowers, Asian themes, tropical themes, and women, especially if they are partially or all the way nude. In an effort to keep my blog rated PG, I won't show the boobies here, but check out what this pair sold for recently... yowza!

Here are some of my favorites that are currently up for sale:

I'm so tempted to bid on this set - it's Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher - too cute!

This one has a very unique subject matter - a lady peeling potatoes - and I love the blue of her jacket!

Here's one that is a great whimsical, dreamlike scene - and the seller has another similar one up for sale as well, so you could have a set!

This little still life would be so cute in a vintage style kitchen - especially one that is occupied by a little black cat...

You can also find unused vintage and new kits, I'm in love with this vintage miniature songbird kit - they would be so cute with the other birds in my kitchen. I think as long as the paints are oil paints you could still use the old kits, but if they have gone bad you could always buy new paints...

The newer kits that I looked at weren't all that inspiring, most of them lacked that vintage style charm, at least to me. I did find a couple simple, modern styles from a company called Dimensions, my favorite being this one of Ferns. It might be fun to give actually painting one a try!

Ok, I could go on all day and I really need to get back to work, so if you want to see more (and there is so much more to see, I really just scratched the surface here!) just click and enjoy... ;)

The Country Living Fair - Sept. 12-14 2008

The June issue of Country Living came today, and as usual it's a good one! I'm working on a post about vintage paint by number paintings, which they did an amazing feature on... Before I get to that though, I have to share what I found while poking around on their website:

The 2008 Country Living Fair is coming to Columbus! Literally like 3 minutes from my house! I can't wait, and you bet I'll take my camera and cover the whole thing here on the blog.

Which reminds me - I'm heading out to the Springfield Antique Show & Flea Market on Friday morning - look for a couple of posts next week after I've recovered! :)

Happy Birthday, Business!

It's hard to believe, but my little business had its first birthday this week! What a year it has been...

Changes to Etsy search - how to find the vintage...

Most of you who are regulars on Etsy are probably already aware of the major change they made to their search function on Monday. Vintage items are no longer included in the default search, you have to choose to search the Vintage categories from a drop down menu next to the search box.

Vintage Indie did a nice write up about the change here. I think it will have a positive effect in the long run - as long as the Vintage shoppers know that we are there, and they have to click the drop down menu to find us!

I feel loved. :)

I'm feelin the love, from several different places!

Etsy Vintage Street Team:
My turn as featured shop of the week on the street team blog resulted in an awesome post where I got to talk about my business, and also having one of my items chosen as a Daily Dose!

Auction Wally:
My good friend Walt from the Auction Wally podcast just started writing for a site called the Examiner, and he did a post about the sci-fi magazines I had up at auction called 'How Come She Can Sell That But I Never Could?' - too funny, as Walt often is, and he makes some great points about how personality affects an online business.

Vintage Indie:
I bought some ad space on Vintage Indie, and as part of the package I got a VI Headliner blog post about my business - how cool is that?

Auction Moms Newsletter:
I got an email saying that the Striving For 5's graphic I made to put in my eBay auctions was discussed in the Auction Moms newsletter! I'm glad that other people are finding it helpful, we need all the help we can get on eBay these days! ;)

New auctions this week...

We didn't hit our goal of 90 auction listings this last week. I could tell we weren't going to make it by the time Thursday was rolling around, so I dug out some really great stuff that I have been sitting on to try to make up for it!

I've had this Fire-King vitrock Red Flower Pots range set (a grease jar and salt and pepper shakers) for a while now, and I was hoping to find the sugar and flour shakers to make the complete set... apparently they are pretty hard to find, because the ones that did pop up were always out of my price range. So I decided to go ahead and list what I have, it's a great set just as it is!

I've also been working on building a Hazel Atlas milk glass shaker set, they are decorated with black roosters, which are coming back in a big way right now for people that are decorating retro style kitchens. I was able to find large range size salt, pepper, sugar, and flour shakers, and also 6 smaller spice jar shakers! It wasn't easy, let me tell ya - but the result was so worth the work - it's a great set!

I found this awesome vintage Redmon picnic basket at a sale, and decided to fill it with goodies - one auction and you have most of what you need to have a fun retro style picnic! There's a tablecloth, a set of 4 green metal divided plates, some Lustro Ware tumblers, a pair of cute little vintage Tupperware salt and pepper shakers... Sorry I couldn't include any yummies, you will have to take care of those yourself... ;)

Remember the red metal cake saver I showed you guys a while back?

Well I cleaned it up - I got the grime off, but of course some of the paint came off with it. I was really bummed, but it was just too dirty as it was, I had to do it! I still love it, those graphics won my heart and nothing can change that, and I know it will end up in just the right vintage style kitchen eventually...

Some of the other gems I got listed are a Ransburg ceramic cookie jar, an RRP ceramic cookie jar, several Taylor Smith & Taylor bowls in their perfectly atomic Cathay pattern, a pair of Hazel Atlas juice decanters, a Pyrex Flameware coffee pot... the list goes on and on as always! Click here to check it all out...

Before I go, I also listed some Corelle dishes, I don't know how many of you are fans, I am 100% through and through, in fact we use the exact same set that my Mom used when I was growing up! That's how great Corelle is - it lasts forever!

Anyway... have you seen the commercial they are running now for their new designs? They have models on a catwalk showing off the dishes - but they greased the runway so one of them falls right on her unpadded tush... The plate doesn't break though, of course! Priceless, I laugh every time I see it... ;)

The American Look - 1958

Here is a great video - 28 minutes about design from 1958!! Grab a snack and settle in - it's totally worth it!