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Anything tiki/Hawaiian related is worth researching. Some of those matchbooks go for quite a bit.
I found some evidence it was active at least from the late 60’s until about 1971 —
https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1KMZB_enUS573US573&ei=0RUjW6-fHKjX5gK8xJmQCw&q=%22Central+California+Sports+Car+Association%22&oq=%22Central+California+Sports+Car+Association%22&gs_l=psy-ab.3…3547.7601.0.7941.2.2.0.0.0.0.137.235.1j1.2.0….0…1c.1.64.psy-ab..0.0.0….0.xewKDNB-cuMI second Ryanne’s idea about taking it out of the frame. It’s very often a good idea.
I (far too often) get so swept up in the excitement of what I *think* I’ve found, or how good something *could* be, that I totally don’t see crazing, chips, cracks, stains — you name it. The thrill of the hunt can overtake me; it’s one of many things I’m working to improve.
I think we both live in areas with a decent amount of history, and I think that’s part of it. My area also has a ton of old money cheek by jowl with “swamp Yankees” and everything in between, as well as that infusion of items from retired NYC publishers and advertising folks who summer here. I bet good scavenging is harder to come by in areas of newer development and sprawl.
Ryanne, I found this listing: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/45262083_japanese-signed-original-gouache-painting
I almost never go to Goodwill; I live in a small town, but I’m 5 minutes away from 3 very nice independent charity thrift shops and I do the majority of my scavenging there. I’m between Boston and New York and live on the “wrong side of the tracks” in an area peppered with high-end summer enclaves for people from NYC. Our thrifts get some very interesting items and even our dump has great stuff from time to time. Since September, I’ve been swooping in to a thrift shop for the 30 minutes between when I get off work and when the kids get home, and I’m still consistently finding decent things. There are a lot of scavengers around, but we each seem to have our own niche (with some overlap, of course.) I occasionally hit estate/rummage sales. I haven’t been to an auction since September but may drag the kids to one once school is out. Goodwill is about 30 minutes away, so it’s way less convenient.
Happy birthday, Jay! My teens and 20’s were also pretty rocky — my 30’s and 40’s have been much better.
This past week was a good one, after a few too soft — nay, flaccid — to discuss.
Total store items: 250+
Number of items sold: 7
eBay sales (not counting s/h): $1325.00
Cost of items sold: $37.50
Highest price sold: $650 Robert Indiana sculpture replica
Average price sold: $189.00
Returns: 0
Money spent on new inventory: $150I got out and hit two big sales on Memorial Day weekend. Between the two sales, I bought a carload of items for $150. I’ve already made back everything I spent and then some, with more good items to list. The Robert Indiana sculpture replica was just something I grabbed at a thrift shop because I liked the look of it, it was cheap, and I thought I could probably clear $30 on it. So glad I dug into the research before throwing it up for sale! My next highest sale was some Japanese woodblock prints that, had they been in good shape, could have sold really well — unfortunately, they were quite old and the worse for wear. They sold for around $330. I also sold an art pottery plate for around $100 and some carved wood American primitive Christmas Trees for $100. I’d never heard of the brand before — Wolf Creek — but it’s worth knowing. I also had a pair of $50 sales (a broken clock which — again — had it been functional would have been really something, and some old china). All in all, not bad. I also listed quite a few items (well, quite a few for me) and have about 270 at the moment.
The school year (and the school income) comes to an end in just 2 more weeks, and soon I’ll be trying to fit my scavenging in around everyone’s volunteering/social/camp schedules. I feel like working at the school has been a good experience. I get a different kind of fulfillment there than I do scavenging and selling — I feel more explicitly like I’m helping people, which is important.
Oh, and finally — re: cars, etc. — our neighbor splashed out on a fancy muscle car. He drives it only when its nice outside, etc… I don’t understand it at all, but at the same time I can see that owning it, and working on it, and polishing the engine (I’m not kidding) and washing it every week even when it hasn’t been driven (ditto), and turning it over and letting the engine rumble in the driveway and rattle our windows… it all gives him such immense pleasure, such JOY, that I can’t argue with the expense, for him. It’s money well spent.
New England here. I see both of those things EVERY. SINGLE. TRIP. to ANY thrift shop.
I feel like this is more likely to be a spool holder than a loom, because it seems like the solidity of it would interfered with any kind of weaving or knitting.
I meant to say earlier — there’s no reason at all to be intimidated about contacting an auction house about your piece. Even the toniest auction houses have different levels of auctions, so just because they’re selling a Van Gogh for millions doesn’t mean they’re not interested in thousand-dollar pieces for their decorator-level auctions. And, anyway — what’s the harm? If the NYU/RISD art history student intern in charge of answering email inquiries doesn’t think your piece is interesting, you shouldn’t feel ashamed — nor should you feel like their determination is any kind of a final assessment of your object (or your personality!) — I inquired at Skinner about an absolutely amazing piece by a known Boston artist and was told “Meh, it might fetch $200” at auction. I later sold it on eBay to a Russian buyer for nearly $1000 (and paid less in auction fees, etc., to boot.)
Christine, thanks for sharing that Youtuber. I’m always looking for good ones who aren’t all about the hustle and hype. One question — what do you mean by “goal is $2 or less into $30”?
OP, I’d absolutely put any military items on eBay rather than Etsy. No question.
I always have my eyes open for cool hats, but I never seem to find any. I think they’re popular with resellers around here.
