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Has anyone here found a way to prevent yourself from buying things that look so cute at the yard sale and then you come home and wonder what the heck you were thinking?
I have been able to stop myself from buying bookends, salt and pepper shakers and trinket boxes. I overcame that compulsion somehow but this Santa addition is tough!
What do you say to yourself when you see something that you should not buy but you feel compelled to do so?
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Sigilini I struggle with the same issue, you’re not alone! I have not yet found a way to prevent myself from buying vintage sewing patterns and vintage craft kits. I’ve tried telling myself “it’s inexpensive because it won’t sell for much, it’s not worth your time and effort to flip it” but despite knowing that the item is probably not worth flipping I still struggle with leaving that type of stuff behind.
If anyone does know a way to stop buying cheap stuff that you like to sell because it’s cheap and you’re telling yourself, “well of course I can make my $ back on that” I’d love to hear it!
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Thank goodness I am not alone! Thank you Vintage Treasures. Let’s hope someone here comes along with some good solid advise that does not involve hypnotherapy or duct tape.
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Sigilini and Vintage Treasures, I feel ya. I have been buying ties and hats after donating a bunch of ties that I could not move. “What” is wrong with me? I am glad to see I am not alone. I also started this mug buying thing. Not sure where that came from! I will say, I did sell one today, so that is a good thing!
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Daisy, I know ALL about the mug addiction. What keeps me coming back for more mugs is once in a while I catch a good one. Yesterday I picked up a Rae Dunn #Hashtag Mug for $1. I have it listed for $38.00. I almost left it on the shelf but then turned around and grabbed it. That was at the same place where I picked up the Santa Mug! So I had no qualms about the Santa Mug but I hesitated about the Rae Dunn — what’s up with that!!????
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Sigilini your duct tape/hypnotherapy comment made me laugh:) I do think that might be what it takes though…
I think your comment “what keeps me coming back is once in a while I catch a good one” is probably my problem with the patterns and craft kits. I had one of each sell once for nearly $100 after paying a quarter for each of them. Combined with easy to store and ship a potential profit like that is hard (or in my case, impossible) to pass up. The problem? There are so many that I buy that I can’t even give away:(
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Vintage Treasures, what are some examples of “patterns and craft kits” that I might be on the lookout for? I need a diversion.
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Hahahaaaaa, how about lotting them up? Someone will like them.
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Sigilini,
I know exactly what you mean. I am right there with you. However, do be on the lookout (bolo)
for these mugs: Three Dots and a Dash {by} Tiki Farms”. I came across one-to be fair it did not look like a mug at all. It looked like a sea urchin. I thought it was a tealight holder and I picked it up and put it down 2x. Ultimately, I left it. Only to find out I could have sold it for about $80.! However, I did redeem myself when I went the next day to anther thrift store and found a different style of anthropomorphic mug with the image of what I thought was initially John Lennon, but no, it was a popular Chicago based mixologist/bartender by the name of Paul McGee. I listed it the 24th and it sold on the 27th for $150. I almost left it on the shelf and hemmed and hawed about paying the $2. sticker price! Sometimes, you just gotta follow your gut! I’m so sad I left the sea urchin.0 -
pythonesk, I do end up lotting together the individually unsellable ones, but I’m still just barely making my money back on some of them. It’s a poor use of my time and effort if I’m just breaking even.
Sigilini do you really want me to enable you? I can be more specific if so, but in general I look for vintage Vogue sewing patterns that are uncut, unused, complete and still factory folded – generally from the 1970’s or earlier. With craft kits I look for vintage needlework kits (usually from the 1980’s or earlier) that are unstarted, factory sealed and complete. Needlepoint kits usually do really well but cross stitch and crewel embroidery can also be good sellers.
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There’s a saying: “The pain of change has to be less than the pain of staying the same.”
If you really want to break the habit, you have to make it hurt. Give yourself a new rule: if you buy another Santa mug, you have to immediately donate it back and take the loss. Two or three donations later, you’ll think twice before you actually take Santa home with you! 😉
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Daisy, thank you! I looked up the mugs you mentioned and will definitely be on the lookout. Here are my mug BOLOs: Some of the Starbucks mugs are good sellers, particularly the international ones with cities, also 3D Tasmanian Devil mugs. And some of the Mara of Mexico mugs.
Vintage Treasures, thank you. That is very helpful and gives me a direction on what to be on the look out for. I appreciate that.
Amatino, that is brutal! But that might work! Come to think of it, I did donated a bunch of stuff and it does make you think twice before buying it again.
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Sigilini, another vintage pattern addict here! I sew myself, so I’m really drawn to them. Light and easy to ship, but I can’t restrain myself to just the unused patterns. If the pattern is cut I go through piece by piece to make sure it is complete which eats up a lot of time. I have a growing pile of incomplete patterns that I can’t bring myself to throw out. I’m thinking there must be some artists out there who would like to use the envelope illustrations for collage work and have thought about lotting up just the envelopes to sell. Anyway, vintage patterns bring me a lot of joy if not very much money, so I will probably continue to buy them.
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PDX-Cyndy, you have the patience of a saint which I can only hope for but never achieve. My mother is like you, she can get very interested in something and do it for a long time. For her, time is a never ending, always abundant.
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Ready to gasp?
I use sewing patterns to wrap my items when I ship them out. When I’m at the bins, I grab any ones that are uncut. I love those huge pieces of tissue paper. They are so good for having a protective layer of paper under bubble wrap or instead of a plastic bag inside a box.
I don’t bother to look up their value unless they are Vogue patterns – those I look up but haven’t found any worth selling.0 -
OMG, Antarestar! (just kidding of course)
I use plastic wrap. I get a huge role from Costco and it lasts and lasts.
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I try to use as little plastic as possible and recycled plastic whenever I can’t get by without it. The sewing patterns are working out really well for that.
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The biggest price I ever got for a sewing pattern was not Vogue and not very old. It was Simplicity 5201 Daisy Kingdom apron that sold for $40. (Why? – because someone blogged about it apparently)
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Good point about the plastic. I will definitely have to reconsider my plastic wrap.
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