view on the way up

take a deep breath down below...

I’m on mini vacation again. I only got out for a bit yesterday. I just didn’t see to many sales (probably 7) so I came home early. I was out late too…but no one gets up early around here…its kinda nice being able to leave at 7:30 and still be an early bird!! Here is the rundown on what I did find…

4 LP’s $1 for them all…its the radio shows…probably not worth anything but the cover art was cool.
Garcia reel $1 non working…flea it
brass mail box $2 The seller swore it was an antique because she got it at an antique shop. I’m 99% sure its a reproduction…still…its cool and I can turn a profit on it.
hubley Texas cap gun 10cents flea junk
annalee doll 25cents flea
Pyrex covered dish 25cents flea
2 Pyrex bowls I think were 50 cents each…flea em
framed dog charcoal $2 its signed…not a print…and somewhat old…kinda cool…should be a good flea sale
All the glass/items on the back row came for the same sale I paid $10 for it all. Including 2 Hoosier style depression glass pieces. A depression glass berry set (I don’t have my book with me…I don’t know that pattern off the top of my head…colonial block?). American 3pt relish. A blown orange pitcher. And a Pyrex covered dish. That right there was a good sale!

And I did all my shopping in style this week because my truck got a nit unhealthy last weekend and lost some compression. So I was cruising the convertible…fun to yard sale in…not economical…but fun!

I never got a chance to post last week…I was working on my truck and then I had left town. But I didn’t find much…2 old Ouija boards for $1, a few older fishing reels for $5, a few starrett calipers, and a few box sets on DVD’s I wanted to watch…could have been something else but I forgot about it…no pic from last week…sorry…bad week anyway…

I was up and a little earlier then normal. I was gone by 5:15…not that it really mattered. There was an estate sale I had a good feeling on…and I really wanted to make sure I was first. That and on Saturdays I have a hard time sleeping past 5. I was first…and it was inside and out. They opened about 6:30. And the prices were right…they just had nothing. Its not like someone had picked it either…I had to use a pocket knife on the old boxes…and a flashlight. But it (anything “good”) was frustratingly not there. Its one of those sales that everything looked right. Just the glass was clear…or glasbake. The tools were old…but s/k or plain USA. They had silver items but it was all plate. Everything dated right and was close. But not quite. It took me about 30/40 minutes there before I gave up…I spent a whole dollar. Not even I can win them all…

Then it was around to garage sales. I made a nice fenton score at my second sale of the day (the basket). Then some fishing tackle at the 3rd yard sale. So after that I was happy. I ended up adding a Fenton lamp to the mix…so I made it a nice day.

Here is the breakdown

Snap-on ratchet and Mac tubing wrench $1ea I’ll pay $1 for snap-on all day long.
Remington Crate $2 Interesting item…the lid screws down in 4 spots…the walls are 1″ thick. Its marked “Small Arms Primers Remington Arms Bridgeport Conn.” I can’t find one on ebay…
2 vintage aluminum pieces $1 I got these at the estate sale…
vintage holster $2 I think its for some sort of quick draw setup…
Old Desk $10 older piece…good patina…I sold the tables I got last month quick…so maybe tables are selling again? Yeah…I doubt it too…

pic 2
Tackle box $10 If you look close you will see a heddon no snag river runt…always popular…I think I’m going to sell it all…not my style.
4 vintage pennants $2 The other 2 will be in the next pic
penn jigmaster 500 box only free

pic #3

lot of Tiki mugs and stuff $10 I have no idea…I’ll ebay it…I don’t know what price to set so I can’t flea it
pink pyrex casserole $1 Flea

pic #4

a silver dictionary $1 Its marked 25 but when I asked the price she said $1
Wagner cast iron pan 50cents flea junk
jewelry $1 That’s for the religious stuff…I had to pay $1 for the silver .925 bracelet
south pacific record it came with the tick stuff. The best part of buying that tiki stuff was watching the seller and his boyfriend argue over what to charge…that right there was worth the $10…pure comedy gold

pic #5

VERY very very nice Fenton cranberry opalescent daisy and fern basket $20 Its the tall (12″?) basket. I considered making an offer…but I liked it to much…and didn’t want to upset the seller. So I got it before they could change their mind.
Fenton gone with the wind lamp $40 I did make an offer on this one…but no. I think the problem was it still had the original tag…its hard to offer 30 on something when the tag reads $340…apparently her mother in law gave it to her as a house warming gift and it didn’t match or something. Still when you see something you can get 4x your investment on…you buy it…even if you have to shell out 40 or more…

I got more then I thought yesterday. I started to unpack my truck this afternoon and was wondering where all this stuff came from. I think the Pyrex had babies because I do not remember picking up that 3 piece set…I’ll put it all in a box and by the time it gets to the flea market maybe I’ll have a few more sets?! I thought I had a pretty slow day overall…but now looking at what I got I wouldn’t call it slow…although I didn’t set the world on fire either.

I was up and out early…went to an estate sale (where I got the clock) and not much else after that I scratched out a day at garage sales. I called it a day around 12 and came home for lunch…ran some errands…came back home to relax put on a DVD (The Shield Final act) and couldn’t stop watching…before I knew it the sun was setting and the series was over. I’m out of DVD’s now so here is the rundown on my finds…

pic #1

Morris Vintage? guitar $10 I don’t know a thing about it…but it looked nicer then the normal $10-20 ones I find…
yard fork $1 Never would have got this a few weeks ago. But last time at the flea my neighbor had one…and she actually sold the thing for $15. So when I saw it I figured if she can find a sucker…err buyer…maybe I can too!
compressor hose $3 The price was right…I already have a few…but well…now I have more…

pic #2

Pyrex 4pc set $2 Its brown…but still the price was right
Pyrex black casserole $1 Don’t see to much of the black…
yellow Pyrex bowl $? I remember getting this one at least…
3pc set of Pyrex I do not remember where this came from…not that I’ll complain. The Pyrex seems to sell good. Not $35-40 good that some of the other flea sellers seem to want to for it. But I can always get about $5 a bowl…more if its pink…

pic #3

horse clock $5 Not sure if it works…but these always seem to sell good!
Tiara sandwich basket $1 I HATE reproductions…but people buy it…and who am I to turn down $10 even if I think the buyer is insane…
hand painted footed candy $1 people always seem to love these…
sailfish wall plaque $? I don’t remember what I paid…think it was 50cents…its flea junk…
hocking ball juice pitcher $1 Nice pitcher…I had the tomato one not to long ago…I think this one has an orange on the side…although I’ve never seen an orange leave that looks like that myself…

pic #4

modern? lamp $1 It was only a dollar…so I got it…it has more dirt on it then one would think possible…
Italian nativity set $5 Its that…fantanini…or however you spell it…flea it…maybe ebay it…

Sorry about last week. I was pretty sick and only made it out for a few minutes before I ran home. I only found a few items so unless noted everything is from yesterday.

Today I was selling at the antique flea. Not a bad show…a bit below avg. But when you remember last month is was good. I did have an odd one at the show. This is stuff you can’t make up! You probably remember the Zebra skull from a few weeks ago? Well I sold it today ($45). But the odd part was the buyer. I figured my key demo with a zebra skull was a male over the age of 40. Not a 10 year old girl. Seriously! She walked over with her father and stared at it. Asked the price…she looked at him and he said “I’m not buying you another one. How much do you have.” She had 45 on her exactly…and said it was “The best day ever” and how she had to go right home to “put it with the others.” I asked about if she collects zebras. And she said no and rattled of a bunch of animals names…turns out she collects animal skulls. A 10 year old girl that collects skulls…future wild animal vet or serial killer??? To put some perspective on it another little girl about an hour before that saw it took 3 steps back and said loudly “that’s creepy.”

Anyway here is the rundown

Pic #1

pile of santas $5 I got these yesterday and I saw the one that was labeled rushton and remembered that name…so I took the chance…

pic #2

Mr Christmas light set $1 flea it?
cuckoo clock $1 I saw it that she told me to make an offer. I didn’t really think she would take it…but…
hand full of tools 25 cents each match a plomb and a nice snap-on adapter…I don’t have anything in that size…but if I ever do now I have the adapter…
2 brass props $5 Good price…nice props…this one should be a winner on ebay!!
fly line and reel $1 I like the fly line box…keep it…reel flea it
pentax camera $1 Not sure if it works flea it
holster $1 flea it

pic #3

Fenton vase $3 I probably could have offered less…but it was so nice I paid the listed price!!
nemadji wedding jug $2 flea it
haeger dutch girl $1 Older one foil label…
hazel atlas vase $? I got this last weekend…you can tell I was sick…no way it ever sells…
jadeite candlesticks $1 my gut tells me they are newer…but for $1…
milk glass grape covered candy $? last weekend…flea junk
yellow glass powder box 50cents flea junk…but it is old…

pic #4

little brown jug $? I got it last weekend…flea it
fire extinguisher $5 I go 3 years without and bam 2 in 2 months…
books 25 cents ea I got them to flea them out…although that little cookbook looks old and interesting…I need to look it up.

What a long weekend…I was out of town for the garage sale mania that happens every Memorial Day weekend in our local mountains (it didn’t snow this year!!). The sales start on Friday and run all weekend! I got up there on wed this year. It always takes me a day to get in the swing of things. So this way I wasn’t dead tired on Friday when I started hitting sales. I also brought up a load of junk with me to sell. So I had to get that unpacked and my truck clean!

Lets start on Thursday (it was my birthday btw). I got up around 7 made some coffee and went over to get the local paper (all the sale ads come out Thursday). I spent the most of the day lounging and circling the sales I wanted to hit. Then for dinner I went out with some friends who live up the mountain and had a nice time. Then it was to bed early with visions of Fenton dancing in my head!

I was up early on Friday and out of the house quick. And from then on it was a fast paced yardsale frenzy until I threw in the towel around 2pm. Most of the people stay out later around there (3/4ish)…but even with a load of caffeine I just can’t keep going from 6am until much past 2pm. I have to say all of my finds have blurred together and for the most part I can’t remember what day I got what…

On Saturday I was up and out early again…only I called it a day around 9:30 and went back…putting up signs on my way and had my own yardsale. Most of the items I sold were flea market rejects and other misc. clutter. I did pretty good. I sold about $400 worth of junk (about 75% of what I brought…the rest I donated to a thrift up there). I go up the mountain ever year for the sales…but I’ve never held one. So it was a lot of fun talking to the other shoppers. People come from all over to hit the sales/vacation/antiquing I even talked to one guy from MN! Others were from Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, ect. It was nice sitting out and chatting…weather was perfect 70′s in the afternoon and sunny with a slight breeze!

On Sunday I was up and out early again…and hit sales from 6am until around 12noon…I didn’t want to drive 25 miles for more sales so I just came home. Plus a lot of the sales were the same ones who were out friday/saturday. It was slow for me finds wise sunday…that I remember…probably why I called it earlier…

On Monday I was up and out later…around 7…I did find some sales…and I got a few items but not much and I stopped around 9am for breakfast and after that I turned for home…not really caring if I ever see another sale again. Hey even I have a limit! So I came home and got started packing my truck and boxing all my finds…

And one Tuesday…well I came home…now lets get to the loot!

pic #1

coal boxes and fireplace screen $5 All from the same sale…I asked about the screen and got quoted such a cheap price I took them all!

Pic #2

Nice old print…I don’t remember the price. I doubt it was over $3 It has a very nice shabby look to it. Old wavy glass. This should be a good quick flea sale.
Antique dated 1709 loan doc $5 Its from England…really cool…I haven’t read it all yet. Its a hard read. But very cool!

Pic #3

2 old farm tabled $7 for both They said 5ea I counted and it was a deal. Very old looking homemade farm type tables…good patina.
3 old plates (38,56 ca…70 michigian) $1 for all 3…going up on my wall
Mitchell saltwater reel $1 flea junk
Penn jigmaster 500 $? I’m sure it was cheap…flea junk
old tool carrier/holder $2 The seller said he found it in the wall during a renovation of his cabin…it was built in the 20′s. The tool carrier looks that old too…
2 pocket knives $? flea junk…I need to look them up
Wallace sterling bowl 25cents (its holding the knives) I remember the price because I couldn’t believe anyone was asking 25 cents for sterling…and it was still there at 1pm!
army flashlight $1 newer one but it included batteries and colored lenses!
Zebra skull $2 Again it was so cheap I couldn’t believe it was there so late in the afternoon. Easy flea sale!
graymarine/chris craft gauge cluster $? ebay it? This might be a sleeper?
a history of modern architecture free pile…flea junk?

pic #4

Winchester ammo box $? Cool…anything Winchester sells…
gold prospecting guide I know it was cheap. I got it for a friend…he went panning for gold about a month ago for the first time ever and found just under $100 worth and has been back a few times for nothing…thought he might like it.
Tackle box $5 (it still has the price tag on top!) all junk IMO…I’m starting another ebay lot…
popcorn tin $2 I remember I tried to offer $1 but no dice…cool tin!
wood wheel $? flea junk

pic #5 (I need a break)

hall teapot flea it
“Made in England” chamber pot $1 It still had yardsale price the sticker on it…flea junk??? Looks old could be another sleeper? Its old I think…
Fenton heart hobnail bowl $1 flea it
Very nice Fenton handpainted bowl $1 Another I remember thinking why is it still here this late???
HA cocktail shaker flea junk
Christmas stuff $1 I thought it would be expensive reading the box top…but nope!
1958 palm spring rodeo program $? I think it was 50 cents…very cool…might try it on ebay.
van briggle vase $1 price tag was still on it…cool vase…I’ll pay $1 for van briggle all day long!
Pyrex bowl 50cents ea nice blue dot one!
Fenton covered candy $? Still has the Fenton sticker inside!

pic #6

Cool poodle $2 I saw it in the yard asked if it was for sale and she said sure how about $2 very 50′s looking!
bedwarmer $? flea it
spool of grounded coax $5 steal of a price…it still has a lot left (about 40lbs) I was running low and new it would cost me about 150/200 for that much…plus its the good quality stuff.

pic #7 (best for last)

Light pink Fenton lamp $? For the life of me I can’t remember the price. I know it was cheap…nice lamp!
Cranberry Fenton lamp $35 I remember this…I wanted to get it for 25…but they wouldn’t deal. Still its a steal for me…this is a nice one!
Vintage oil lamp $? I have the memory of a goldfish… unfortunately someone electrified it…but still its a very nice cranberry glass with a milk glass base lamp!
Royal Doulton Toby mug $2? I think it was $2 good easy sale!

I need a nap…

Same same…early early…estate sale first thing. I got one clock at the estate sale (a very nice clock I think though). After that it was a hunt and peck at garage sales. I put together a pretty darn good day for myself. At least I’m happy with it!

Here is the run down

Pic#1

antique phone $5 The ear piece is broken…but for the price how can I complain?
graniteware coffee $1 flea it
bunch of snap-on tools and 3 fishing reels $5 yes for all the tools and 3 of the reels…everything was 50cents ea at the sale. I only found 9 items I wanted but he started to look for change and I told him to keep the 50 cents…his prices were good enough!
Mitchell 440 reel $5 most mitchells don’t sell good (aka I wouldn’t pay over 2 and they are flea junk). This happens to be one of the mild exceptions. I should be able to clean it and get 30 on ebay
Vintage headphones 50 cents cool! Wonder if they are iPhone compatable?

pic #2

antique lure lights $2 If those aren’t me nothing is!
all the toothpicks were $1ea 3 fenton, 5 st clair, and 10 art glass ones (terry crider).
vintage mickey watch $1 flea junk? I need to look it up…
vintage ca playing cards 50 cents cool…but still flea junk
green depression glass lamp $2 Checked it…glows nice…cool lamp…needs some work but should sell good!
precious moments thing 25cents flea junk

pic #3

Antique Ansonia clock $25 they wouldn’t deal. But it looked nice and I liked the handpainted porcelain part…might be a winner?

pic #4

3 amps $20 all It was 10ea but I ordered 20 and it was a deal. One is a fender (200?) the other is a spider (to light to be good) and the third is a vintage olson? Amps are not something I really look at but I saw the fender and asked…the price was so low I got em!  Those things weight a ton!  I need another motrin just from looking at the picture!

I’m not sure I can put into words (AR least one I can use here) how bad this today was. I was selling at the flea…I’m not sure if its the economy…or if the media has everyone spooked about the swine flu. Maybe just bad luck? But it was I think my worst day at this flea EVER! After space and help I cleared right at 300…normally that figure is something around 1k. It was like a ghost town (see pic on blog…taken at 10am).

Yesterday at sales was also slow…I had one great (better then great?) find. But otherwise not to many people were out selling. I think it was the chance of rain the news hyped all week (it didn’t rain one drop where I was!). Because I went to a neighborhood sale and about 60% of the houses that had signs in front (from the agent) no one was out. Oh well…what can you do? I wasn’t to upset…I found my tool box first thing so everything after that was gravy…

finds pic #1

2 pyrex bowls $1 flea em
2 orange Fenton vases $2 Already fleaed them…got $15
lefton relish $1 flea it
Vernon dish set $2 (it has about 15 pieces in the box) flea junk…and sorry for the bad pics today…

finds #2

Snap-On Allen set $1 nice keeper!
Mitchell 400 $1 I have about 5 Mitchell’s saved I’m putting together a big lot!
vintage saddle bags $5 Already sold today for $60
Stetson hat $5 Flea it

finds #3

Gerstner machinist tool box $50 And the top section is full of tools!! I saw it walked right over…saw the tools inside…asked the price…the seller mulled about for a few seconds and thought it over. All the while I kept thinking…say something under $200…please say something low! He came back with 50 I didn’t try to beat him up over the price…I might have been able to get it for $40 but when you find that kind of deal…just buy it! I got that out of there fast! Happy to find that set!! And because I have no use for it I’m going to sell it…even though it is really cool…really really cool! It even has the keys!

and that was my weekend. I hope yours was good!

I was selling at a flea market today. So no yard sales this morning. I did okay at the flea. Not as much as times past…I’m not sure what I did last year but I think it was around 1,800. This time it was right at 1,400. Still not a bad day. But I wanted to beat last years mark. I got a lot sold. Nothing high priced sold…I took a stack of 50 baggies and used them all (had to go back to my truck around 11 for more). So I sold a ton of little crap. It was a $5 and $10 kind of day. My largest sale of the day was 60 (the Fenton cranberry small hurricane lamp from a few weeks ago). So I got a lot of nice stuff boxed up and ready to go for the next sale!

But just because I didn’t hit any yardsales this morning is not to say I went without! On my way home (after 4pm) I glanced down a street and saw a sale (or at least a very messy yard). No signs up but I went back and was told he was setting up for tomorrow but I was welcome to shop now! I never need encouragement to yardsale shop so I took my time and got a few goodies! He had really good prices.

pic #1

4 annuals from the 30′s $1ea flea em
Brass fire extinguisher $5 I see an okay number of these at sales but the sellers always seem to want 25+ So I was very happy to walk with this for 5!
old blow torch $1 flea it
Group of fishing lures $5 One good one in there…Heddon punkinseed in yellow shore ($50+)…then a few middle of the road lures (20 +/- ea) 2 ccbco pikes, 2 jinx w/box, musky wood jitterbug…and 2 pieces of junk. The punkinseed will have to be pryed out of my cold dead hand…

Very nice way to top off an already successful day!

looks like it might have something...but no

nothing here

candlewick

I'm so there...

bad picture...looks like the fun house mirror. I got the flowbee here...see it?

nope nothing here

or here

finds 1

finds 2

finds 3

finds 4

Up and out a bit earlier today. I was gone by 5:25…went to an estate sale first thing. Got some tools there but not much else…guys sale. Then it was around to neighborhood sale after neighborhood sale after neighborhood sale…I could go on. If the ads in the paper were correct on the number of home I probably hit something around 150 houses today? And I was still home around 12noon! Most of the sales were the baby junk variety that don’t require me to get out at. But there was also some down right good ones!

I got a few pictures today when I was up at or heading to the sales…so you can check that out on my blog if you wish.

All in all a nice fun day…but it sure does wear you out quick…its warm today…about 88-90 now.

picture #1

nose to a row boat $2 It looked kinda cool…should be able to turn a profit at the flea??
vintage wood/wire bird cage $1 to quote the seller “an antique store would get it paint it and put a $150 price tag on it. But I want it gone…$1″ He was my kind of man!

picture #2

Newer tiffany style lamp $5 It was only $5 with no cracked glass…nice metal base…people seem to love these at the fleas.
Sterling Silver $20 for it all I asked about the bigger bowl first (its reed and barton BTW) and was told it was the only piece of real silver he had and wanted 15 for it…okay with me…but I checked the rest and found a few other sterling ones. I asked the price was told 20 for it all. Fine by me…

pic #3 (this should have been 2 pictures…I almost cut out the Fenton!)

Forest green bubble set $1 Flea it…I think…I haven’t looked it up yet to make sure…
candlewick bowl 25cents flea junk
fire king jadeite bowl $1 Nice bowl! Good price!
Hall Aladdin teapot w/ infuser $1 I almost asked are you sure when they quoted me the price…nice find!
Niloak vase 50cents still has some/most of the original sticker. You know it sorta bugs me I’ve never found a good piece of Niloak…I’ve found roseville…weller…gold watches…all kinds of really nice items. But not a single piece of good niloak…
kings crown blow $1 flea it
iris and herringbone bowl 25cents flea junk
Fenton banana $5 This was my last find of the day…when I hit the last neighborhood sale…I thought you know I haven’t found any Fenton today and it would really cap things off good. And 15 minutes later there it was…

pic #4

flowbee $5 in box I’m supposed to buy these right??
leatherworking tools $5 I need to sort these…
metric nut driver set $2 keep
Craftsman 1/2 torque $5 nice one…I didn’t have a 1/2 torque…now I do…
2 craftsman tap and dye sets (one metric) $10 for both. The estate sale seemed to be $5ea for everything in the garage…
proto gear wrench 9/10mm $1 keep…I was missing those one too…
2 mitchell reels $2 for both…one is a 308 so it will sell…

What a bad day. It sucked on a lot of levels…not a lot of sales. A lot of sales that never opened? And not to many sales overall…

I got up and went to an estate sale first thing…me and about 10 others were in line for this 7am sale. And by 7:30 no one was there and I left (and fought the urge to throw a rock through the window). I saw an on Craig’s list this morning around 6 for an okay sounding 8am sale so off I went. But I found another sign on the way (had the address and time on it… 7am…I went back and checked). Drove by…nothing…lights were on…but no one out. I didn’t feel like knocking on the door so I kept moving. To the 8am sale…got there about 7:45…nothing…drove off found 2 junky sales (nothing at em) checked again at 8:15…still nothing. You can just guess how mad I was at this point. I still think its a conspiracy…

So I threw up my hands and went hunting for other sales…only found 2 items and gave up early. I didn’t see to many sales…I think its the holiday…or a conspiracy aimed at me…or people are just plain stupid (present company excluded).

The 2 items I did get are items I learned about on the board…so thanks everyone. If not for you I would have had nothing! Also if your starved for more oldkeet adventures check my blog I hit another thrift yesterday and took more pictures!

BTW on my way home I did check both estate sales again…they never opened. The Craig’s list one removed their add…I wanted to send them a nice “happy” email. A sign in front of the house would be nice people!!!!

picture one (and only)

30lbs of legos $10 With the container its 36lbs…so I figure about 30..not a bad price…now I just have to ship them
cuisinart blades $3 for all I think I’m supposed to buy these when I see them right? There are 13 of them…

That’s it…it should pay for my gas today…