Tag Sales and Dumpsters!

I’m so glad that there are some tag sales popping up again. The weather was beautiful last weekend and being able to go to a few sales was great! I even found a few fun items. At the first sale I picked up this Puma purse which I had never seen before. She only charged me $1 so I took a chance on it and I’m hoping to get between $25 and $30 for it. She also had a few Martha Stewart craft punches which I grabbed. At another sale I paid $2.00 for a large unicorn Squishmallow. It’s not one of the rare ones but I am hoping to get $20 for it.

The most fun part of the day was when I passed a small sign that said “Moving – everything must go.” So of course, I drove to the address. It didn’t look like a sale. It looked like someone was moving. There was a dumpster and some furniture on the lawn. I asked if they were having a sale. The lady said “We just need to get rid of stuff. Take whatever you want. There’s glassware in the dumpster.” Hmmm. OK. Well, the dumpster was a walk in with one side open. On each side of the dumpster it was piled high with boxes of items wrapped in newspaper. Right away I spotted a Pyrex primary color fridge set because it was in a clear plastic bag. I asked how much she was asking for it and she said “Just take It. You’re helping us out.” The set is not perfect but it’s great for the price. I took that and did a quick peek in some of the other boxes. I wish I could have taken my time and really looked more but it was kind of awkward being in the dumpster.

One of the sales I went to that day was an estate sale. The advertisement said something like “unimaginable amounts of stuff” which sounded good. But when I got there, first of all, there wasn’t that much stuff and it was all very expensive. I found one stuffed animal which was not priced and they sold it to be for $1 which was a good deal.

The rest of my finds for the week came from the thrift store. They include a leather Franklin Covey agenda binder, some Disney figurines from Dickens A Christmas Carol and a mid century ice bucket featuring a fox. I think the fox is dressed like a fox hunter which maybe is a statement about hunting. I don’t know. When I was in the doll area I found this felt doll purse which I thought was really charming.

Two more pick ups from the thrift store include this vintage Tonka fork lift and a Jurassic World dinosaur that I am lotting up with two other dinosaurs I already had.

That day gave me a much needed morale boost and I hope there will be more sales to come!!

Breyer Horses, Longaberger, Toys and Vintage Goodies

I was having no luck at Goodwill and I went to look at the small toy area they have. I saw a plastic horse and then I saw 7 more. They were all marked Breyer and I don’t know much about these horses but I bought them all at $2 each. They are not selling fast but I’ll be fine if only three sell. I sold one so far for $19.99. In the same area I picked up this cute Gund groundhog from 1987. I am hoping to get $20 for him. He was $3.

I found some new in the box items at the thrift store including this Made to Move Barbie doll and a Rumble Robots. I thought this Hello Kitty telephone was unique and fun. Hello Kitty is big but also very saturated but I’m hoping this is rare enough to get some interest. I also picked up this vintage Rainbow Brite horse. Unfortunately some of the hair has been cut and the hooves are very worn so we’ll see if it will sell. Rainbow Brite can do pretty well, especially the older items. The horse is from 1983.

I attended two estate sales that were quite expensive where I picked up some vintage items and some artwork including a ceramic horse shaped incense burner, a metal bird candle holder by an artist from Israel, a mid century modern painting on fabric and a colored print of a street in Paris.

One of my favorite recent sales was for this vintage set of playing cards featuring big eyed girls. I think these would be from the 1960s or 70s. These were in a bag on the wall at the thrift store for $2 and they sold together for $30.

Finally I will share some miscellaneous items. These unusual vases are from a set that originally came with 12 pieces. The 12 piece set can sell for upwards of $150 but I don’t know what these three will bring. I picked up a Longaberger bread basket. The regular Longaberger baskets don’t sell for me but I have had luck with the more unusual pieces such as a tissue box and game set. I also picked up this wooden duck decoy and a pair of cloisonné Chinese vases. Really going for a broad mix of items here!

Disney Figurines, Toys and Original Artwork

There have been many finds at the thrift stores lately, but I’m still hoping that tag sales will start up again. I have been finding some interesting toys and plush. This large bear is named Feelicia and she was made by the Filene’s department store in the 1980s. I picked up this vintage Kangaroo pull toy. The baby Joey bobs up and down as it is pulled along. It was made in China so I don’t think it is very old but maybe early 1990s. I was surprised to see that this doll was labeled American Girl. This is part of a 14″ doll series called Welliewishers. Unfortunately whoever owned her before colored all over her shirt.

There were some bags on the wall that had some Disney porcelain figures in them. I bought three bags that included four Disney figures and a Hagen Renaker cat.

I had never heard of Glassybaby before. They are colorful collectible votive candle holders. I picked up two of these and they each sold at auction for over $50. It’s nerve wracking to ship fragile items like these and I also picked up this reproduction glass panel which is based on a Tiffany design and sold by the Metropolitan Museum of art. It sold for $70 and I was holding my breath but it arrived safely at its destination. Another fragile item was this large conch shell which sold for $25 and also arrived safely. I have been using up a lot of bubblewrap!

Two surprising finds were art pieces. This woodblock print is by an artist named Leo F. Dorn. This work features a beached boat and according to the writing on the back, it was created on Martha’s Vineyard. It is signed by the artist and numbered. The second piece appears to be a horse racing themed cartoon by artist Pierre Bellocq. It is a pen and ink drawing with some collage included. These were exciting finds.

I really love the boat scene and will keep it if it doesn’t sell. Those were my recent finds. Spring is around the corner!!

Vintage Dolls, Toys and Perfume at an Estate Sale

My favorite kind of estate sale is a packed sale with dolls and toys and that’s where I was able to go last weekend. In the photo I saw three separate areas that looked to be filled with vintage toys so even though it was one hour away, I went. I got there about 1 1/2 hours after opening and I’m sure much of the really good stuff was gone. I knew I would have to search hard for items for resale. The first area I looked at was in a bedroom. I spotted a leg that belonged to a yellow Fisher Price stuffed rabbit. It is similar to one I have sold before so I grabbed it. I also saw a plate dated 1974 that was covered in Looney Tunes characters.

As I was leaving the bedroom I spotted a small stuffed cloth dollhouse. It had a tag inside that said “Knickerbocker 1977.” It came with two pieces of soft furniture that coordinated with the fabric on the house. I have no idea what it is worth and haven’t been able to find any information about it online but I couldn’t leave it behind even though it is quite misshapen.

When I went into the basement I saw a trunk bursting with dolls that I had seen in the ad. Many of the dolls in the trunk were in very poor condition or very inexpensive generic dolls. I found a newborn Baby Tender Love which I hope to get $20 for. Near the trunk I picked up a Fisher Price Happy Apple chiming toy. I have sold these before for about $20.

In another area I found a few smaller items. I was digging down to the very bottom of the boxes to see if I could find objects that were overlooked. I found this 3″ Rainbow Brite yellow Sprite toy, dated 1983, from Hallmark. This has already sold for $15. Another small item I found was this Kid-A-Long wind up roller skating doll by Tomy, dated 1979. This stuffed mouse was only about 4″ tall. I picked her up because she is covered in hearts and I thought someone might want her for Valentine’s Day. Going along with the small theme is this little purple haired dinosaur. He measures about 3″ tall and is dated 1985 from Playskool. He is part of a collection called Snugglebumms and I am hoping to get between $15 and $20 for him.

In another bedroom I picked up three perfume items including Windsong dusting powder, a bottle of Golden Autumn perfume and a Magnetique gift set that includes dusting powder and perfume. I don’t know the value of any of these items but have learned to pick them up if I can get them cheaply.

One of the favorite items I picked up were this pair of chick salt and pepper shakers that have that big eyed vintage look. I didn’t realize until I was taking pictures of them that the girl chicks foot had a chip. Another pair I picked up were these two dolls in coordinating red and white outfits making me think again of Valentine’s Day. They are not dated but look to me to be from the 70s – 80s. There were a few other items but these were the highlights to me. When I checked out they looked at my pile and said “How about $40” and that was fine for me. It was worth it just for the fun!

Mid Century Modern, Dolls, Figurines, Strawberry Shortcake and More!

I found several mid century modern pieces at the thrift store these past two weeks. I was very excited to find this bright blue Kobenstyle Dansk enamel pot on the shelf. I paid up for it at $15 but I am hoping to make a good profit from it. It is a large 4 quart size pot. This coffee pot caught my eye because I thought the geometric design looked very mid century modern. It is marked Melitta and I believe is from Germany. I don’t know too much about it but I really like the look of it. I found another Dansk piece which is this chunky teak candle holder.

I spotted this Annalee bunny on the shelf and grabbed it because Easter is coming up! It is from 1991 and comes with an umbrella and basket of flowers. We are having a major snowstorm in the northeast today and she makes me think of spring. I found this cute set of vintage caterpillar figures in a bag on the wall. They are in rough condition but I couldn’t leave them behind and hope someone else will appreciate their charming vintage look. I picked up this vintage doll. She is marked Royal, 1965. She is missing some hair and has quite a few discolorations on her but I hope someone might like to restore her. In good condition these can go for around $50.

I found two pop culture pieces. One is this Strawberry Shortcake looseleaf binder. The second is this Peanuts figurine featuring Snoopy and Charlie Brown.

This next item was found at an estate sale. It falls under the category of “I love this thing but how I wish it was in better shape.” I love vintage Christmas and have never seen anything like this before. It is an elf carousel made in Japan that also plays a song from Swan Lake. The wheel is not connected to the base anymore and one of the elves is missing. Also in the category of unusual finds is this Tomato Fairy by Mark Roberts. He was from the thrift store. During the same visit I also found this cloth doll. She was in a plastic bag and I picked her up because she has that Waldorf doll look where they have very simple faces. When I got home I got a big surprise. I could see that she came with a baby. Little did I know that she is equipped to nurse and also give birth to the baby. How about that!

Finally I bought a few small toys. There is a small rabbit from the 90s. She is a tea bunny and is supposed to come with a tea cup and saucer. I picked up a bag of plastic Disney Cars that I believe are cake toppers because their wheels don’t move. Finally, in the plush area I bought this Jellycat snow tiger. It looks like this one is a bit rare so I am hoping to get at least $20 for her.

I hope they clear the roads soon. I have to get to the thrift store!!

Best Finds Assorted Categories 2020

There were not as many top finds to chose from this year for this post. I usually do a Best Doll Finds post but didn’t have enough good doll finds to do this. Still I found enough good things in other categories so here goes. In the last spot I picked this Zoomer electronic dinosaur who spins and rolls around. He did not come with his remote control so I was glad that he still had some value. He came in a facebook pick up of bags of free plush. He was the only non plush item in the lot and was the first item to sell. He sold for $29.99.

The next item was found at the thrift store. I thought it was very charming and had that vintage anthropomorphic look that I love to find and sell. She was also different because instead of just being a straight forward figurine, this elephant was also a toothbrush holder. She sold at auction for $31.

The next item was a construction calculator. I am including this item because this is something that I normally would not pick up. I picked it up because it was new in the package and it was a specialized type of calculator. I paid $5 for it at a tag sale and sold it for $39.99.

I love and miss church sales so much! There was only one that I was able to go to this year and it yielded several items, including my most valuable sale of the year. This item was $5. It is a honey pot shaped like a bee with silver plated wings marked Godinger. Even without the spoon it should come with, it sold for $39.99.

At another tag sale I spotted this electronic toy, called a My Meebas, which I believe is from the 80s or 90s. I looked it up because it was still sealed even though the box was very worn. I was surprised when it sold for $74.99.

This next item was a very exciting thrift store find. I was in the figurine aisle when I saw this glass apple. When I felt how heavy it was I started to get my hopes up. I searched on the bottom where I finally saw a Steuben signature. I believe I paid $6 for it and sold it for $74.99.

I went to a small community sale near a lake in September. I remember being glad that it was outside because it felt safer. At one woman’s table I found some great bargains. This Kate Spade planner was $10 and sold for $94.99.

At the same table I bought a collection of necklaces for $10. In that group was this gold Celtic cross which sold for $99.99.

Another find was from the thrift store. I hadn’t found anything to buy and was heading out the door past the shoe section when I almost tripped over this box. For some reason it was in the middle of the floor in the shoe area. It was a collection of figurines from the show “The Year Without A Santa Claus.” I knew that the figures from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer can do well but I had never heard of these before. It was $8.00 and sold for $99.99.

My best sale of the year came from the church sale I mentioned above. It was marked $4 and I picked it up because it had a mid century modern look. It was an interlocking animal puzzle from Italy from the 1970s and it sold for $299.99.

For a number of reasons, including the pandemic, sourcing opportunities were very limited for me this year but I am grateful to have been able to find what I did and have so much fun in the process! Hoping for a more normal year and new adventures!

Dolls, Mid Century Modern and More!

I hardly found any dolls in 2020 but it looks like things will be better in 2021. In the past few weeks I have found 3 American Girl dolls at the thrift store. Two are Bitty Babies which are not as popular as the regular dolls but I won’t complain! One of the baby dolls has blond molded hair and the other has soft blond hair. I’m selling the one with the molded hair with a baby backpack for Bitty Baby that I have had for a while. I found one other American Girl doll which is this African American doll. I believe it is one of the Truly Me dolls where it can be customized with a variety of hair colors, eye colors and hair styles.

I found some mid century items including this Westclox alarm clock/night light with an iconic starburst design. This sold at action for $51. I was excited to see this green Catherineholm pot on the shelves. I collect this pattern myself but it is not in one of the colors I collect. I also found this Dansk candle holder. It is very tarnished so I think it may be silver plated but it is not marked.

I have also bought two purses. I paid up for this Dooney & Bourke purse with a colorful village print. It was $25. I’m hoping to get at least $50 for it. This was one of those cases where comps looked higher in the store. I love this octagon shaped wooden purse. It is dated 1974. I believe this was a crafted piece with decoupage flowers. It was $7.

I found a pink Build A Bear Workshop Hello Kitty plush with a heart print. She is supposed to come with a bow but unfortunately it is missing. When I walked over to where they have a wall of toys in bags I saw that there were about 7 bags of Build A Bear clothes. They were $4 each. I know some Build A Bear clothes can do well but I don’t know that much about them. One of the bags was filled with Hello Kitty branded clothes. I got that one to pair with the plush. Then I bought a bag with 5 dresses, and another bag with shoes.

I will end this post with some random items I picked up. They include a Canadian tribal drum, a striped Franklin planner, a glass and brass octagonal shaped display case and a Pottery Barn photo display. The glass display case is going to be very challenging to ship.

That’s all for now! Still hoping the tag and rummage sales will come back in the spring!

Top Plush Sales of 2020

This has been an unusual year to say the least. My sourcing/selling was greatly reduced due to several factors including the pandemic. I was able to sell and source about half of what I usually do in a normal year. But I am grateful for that considering I could do most of the work from home and am no longer working at the preschool. Here some of the top sales of this year, ranging from lowest value to highest.

This plush represents a big lot of Pokemon plush that I bought at a community sale. It was the end of the day and I was not too optimistic about finding much but at the last spot there was a huge amount of Pokemon plush. The woman said they were only $1 each. I think they may have been more expensive earlier and didn’t sell so I filled three bags with them. This is the first one that sold for $24.99. His name is Greninja.

This plush was from the thrift store. I picked him up because he was unusual looking. It turned out he was and Egyptian figure named Sobek. I bought him for about $5 and he sold for $35.

The next plush was an item I found at the Goodwill bin store before the lockdown. Because things at the bins are sold by the pound this polka dot elephant only cost about $1. He is from Rudolph the Rednosed reindeer and sold for $39.99. He had some added value because he still had his paper tag.

At an estate sale I attended before lockdown there was a toy filled attic. I don’t think I know of anything better. I picked up this Animal from the muppets because he was very large. I think I was charged about $2 for him and he sold for an offer of $45.00.

After the lockdown was lifted I attended a neighborhood sale where I picked up this Bill the Cat plush. I paid up for him at $15. I thought he would be worth a little more but I was happy to get $45.99 for him. Obscure characters can sometimes do well because there are not too many of them.

The last sale that I went to before everything shut down was a great high school sale. I was so excited because I thought that tag sale season was just beginning. Boy was I in for a rude awakening!! I bought this plush Pokemon Gengar backpack for about $2.00 and it sold for $49.99. This is an unusual character and hard to find as a backpack.

This next find was also from the thrift store. I bought it a long time ago but I had it unlisted because I needed to do a sewing repair on his foot which I disclosed in the listing. He sold a few weeks after being listed for $49.99. He is Llama in Pajamas from a book of the same name. He is by Gund.

This next find was a more recent thrift find. It sold only a few days before Christmas. This is a Hallmark Jingle Pals featuring a snowman and a penguin. It lights up, moves and plays music. It’s pretty cute. It cost about $5 and sold for $54.99. Depending on the design some Jingle Pals can sell for a lot of money.

This next one was a bit of a surprise because when I bought it I didn’t know what it was and couldn’t look it up. I believe it said it was from the 1980s on the tag. When I got it home I found out that it was from a line of plush called Yum Yums by Kenner and Hallmark, and this was Lemon Lion. He sold for $65.99. What’s funny was that this was from a tag sale where the lady was telling me she sold on Ebay but was just cleaning out some of her son’s old toys.

Here’s the winner of the year. This was at a community sale that was after the lockdown was lifted. I remember there was an argument between a woman and a seller because she was wearing her mask below her nose and the seller, and others in the area, were upset with her. Anyway, I wasn’t really finding much there but I picked up this plush because it had that unique Anime/Japanese style to it. It took a long time to research but I finally found its name was Kai Kai Kiki and was a rare plush. It sold for $110.00

Well that’s the 2020 plush report. I am grateful to have been able to have some sourcing fun and success during this stressful year. I hope everyone is doing well and getting through these interesting times we are facing.

Teapots, Mugs and Pottery Finds

I haven’t picked up mugs in a while. I go through times when I pick up and sell mugs and then go months without finding any good ones. I guess I got inspired because I was at the thrift store and saw this interesting mug with a Paris theme. It was marked Linea Carta and when I looked it up I saw the comps were good. I bought it for $2 and it sold quickly for $44. So then mugs were on my radar and I picked up this Molly Hatch Dachshund mug, a Starla Halfmann initial mug and a Greene Turtle beer mug.

After I sold the teapot with the shoes from a recent post I have been picking up more teapots. I found this Blue Sky Clayworks teapot with ladybugs and flowers as well as this vintage elephant teapot with very big eyes.

Some other pottery I recently picked up includes a set of 4 Boleslawiec dessert plates and a Nicholas Mosse pitcher from Ireland. This glass egg with curvy white lines and a millefiori design caught my eye. I found similar ones attributed to Murano but this one is not marked.

I also bought these two unusual paperweights. One is the iconic LOVE sculpture by Robert Indiana. The other is in the same style, but features the more recent phrase OMG! The last item I will mention was one of those items I just couldn’t leave behind. It is a painting of a hamburger. It appears to be an original and it is signed. I think it’s a really good painting of a hamburger. It was only $2.

Happy New Year to all! I hope we can all return to rummage sales and flea markets this year!!

Fun Holiday Finds and More at the Thrift

The Christmas shelves at the thrifts store are still full of fun items. Last week I picked up this musical, moving Hallmark decoration featuring a snowman helping a penguin decorate a tree. It was so cute that it caught my eye right away and when I looked it up I saw that they can sell for around $50. There was a similar item next to it but that one didn’t have good comps. The penguin item already sold for $54! I also picked up this tea kettle decorated like a snowman. I think it is very charming and it will decorate my house until it sells, hopefully for between $20-$25 dollars.

In the housewares area I bought a Temptations rolling pin with the stand. Some items in this pattern sell fairly well. This milk glass juice bottle is from the 1960s I believe. It isn’t very rare put I’m still hoping to get about $20 for it.

From the toy area I picked up this Magic Attic Club doll by Robert Tonner. It’s been a very long time since I’ve been able to find an American Girl doll at the thrift store but sometimes I can find lesser known brands that can still bring some money. I picked up this Build A Bear cat wearing a Harley Davidson jacket. It was $4. One of the youtubers I watch always advises to sell the Build A Bear separately from the clothes so that’s what I did and the jacket sold quickly for $15. In the bagged toy area I picked up these three forks from the Dreamworks movie Robots. It was only $1.99 and two of the items were sealed so I picked it up. It was a cereal premium from Kelloggs from 2005.

The last two items I will share fall under the fragile – not looking forward to shipping these – category. When I first saw this glass object I thought it was a vase but then I picked it up and saw it had a hole on the bottom so it was a lamp shade. I found similar ones online that are being identified a Murano glass so I hope that is true. I think it is beautiful. My favorite recent find is this ceramic elephant from Japan. She has some chips on the flowers in her hat but they are a little hard to see. It is a toothbrush holder which I thought was unique. I have her up for auction which ends today.

That’s all for now! Wishing everyone very Happy Holidays!!