One of the most fascinating things that I find about my career as a "picker" is the history that I pick up when I have to research different pieces that I find in the field. I am a history buff anyway and always was keen to soak up quirky facts and figures about different things, so this is right up my alley! I have learned many fun facts about flatware or silverware as most of us call it.
Who does not remember going to Grandma's house when they were young for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner and having the good silver brought out as well as the china? My grandmother had a wonderful set of Rogers Adoration 1847 International plated silverware that she got in the 1940's that was kept in a chest in the dining room except for special occasions.
For years, we thought as many people do that the silverware was "sterling" due to the fact that it was made by Rogers. Many people make this mistake today. However research will tell you that most of the flatware that was produced after the turn of the century was silver plated. If a piece does not state sterling or is not marked .925 on the piece, chances are it is not sterling. The only exception to this rule is pieces that were produced in Great Britain that contain British sterling hallmarks. To find out more about these, google sterling or sterling silver hallmarks. You can find which marks have been used and can identify pieces through these pages easily. Don't discount flatware pieces due to the fact that they are not sterling. They still have value! It definitely does not detract from the beauty or durability of these pieces and many are still being used in dining rooms and kitchens today.
Rogers is one of the most popular flatware companies that is coveted by collectors today. They made hundreds of different patterns over the years. One thing that is common with all the pieces is that they are all heavy duty and they are all of great quality. I believe those are two great reasons that they have withstood the test of time and are still desired so highly today.
In order to be able to "pick" flatware, you have to know a bit about the history of the Rogers company or companies as it may be. William Rogers started as a silversmith in the mid 1800's. He produced awesome sterling pieces that are still around today. Later he was joined by some relatives and the name of the company has changed over the years. To muddy the waters even more, two other companies have actually bought very similar names Wm Rogers and Sons (purchased by International Silver in the late 1800's) and Wm A Rogers which was purchased by Oneida who produced silver plated flatware in the same time period that Wm Rogers flatware was being produced.
1847 Rogers IS flatware is made by the original Wm Rogers company. Flatware made by Wm Rogers and Sons or Wm A Rogers are made by other companies as stated above. It is good to know which company makes the pieces that you collect or sell. As stated above, you have to know your history.
The next fun step in picking flatware is to know how to find what pattern your flatware is. Some patterns sell well while others are more obscure and may sit for awhile and be harder to market. Finding patterns can be a chore as stated above Rogers made hundreds of patterns alone. This does not even account for patterns made by Oneida, International Silver, or any other company out there.
Stay tuned for my next post. I will tell you more about how to identify individual patterns in flatware. Want to see the vintage flatware I have for sale right now? Check out my store!
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Ebay Home Runs What Keeps Me Running!
We all need those special scores in order to keep the adrenaline pumping and keep the thrill of the hunt alive. It also makes it exciting to hear about what has been a "home run" for someone else. What we call a home run in the business, is something that we have found in the field and purchased then resold for a good price!
Needless to say, home runs don't come along everyday. It would be wonderful if they did! However, if that was the case then hunting new things would become routine after a while. This way "home runs" or "scores" are still what makes a treasure hunter get out of bed every morning and hunt!
So I am going to share a few of my home runs with you as I know how much fun these are! I am going to try to do a home run posting at least once a week and would love to hear others home runs as well. I will put information on how to get your home runs published below.
One of my recent home runs is when I researched I found to be very highly sought after by collectors. Harley Davidson merchandise, especially vintage Harley Davidson merchandise is usually sought out by collectors. There are a lot of Harley Davidson collectors out there as well! Harley items will bring in good money if you find it in good condition. This even includes the tee shirts!
I found a vintage 1988 Harley Davidson pewter belt buckle in excellent condition at an auction a while back and placed it for sale on Ebay. I have included a picture of it above. It sold very quickly for $100.00. I was thrilled! I definitely call this one a home run! If you want to see more treasures like this, come visit my store, Kim's Kreations & Rare Finds!
So tell me about your home runs! Send me your information with your closed listing and I will include them in my next home run blog post! I want to hear all about them. Lets share the wealth!
Needless to say, home runs don't come along everyday. It would be wonderful if they did! However, if that was the case then hunting new things would become routine after a while. This way "home runs" or "scores" are still what makes a treasure hunter get out of bed every morning and hunt!
So I am going to share a few of my home runs with you as I know how much fun these are! I am going to try to do a home run posting at least once a week and would love to hear others home runs as well. I will put information on how to get your home runs published below.
One of my recent home runs is when I researched I found to be very highly sought after by collectors. Harley Davidson merchandise, especially vintage Harley Davidson merchandise is usually sought out by collectors. There are a lot of Harley Davidson collectors out there as well! Harley items will bring in good money if you find it in good condition. This even includes the tee shirts!
So tell me about your home runs! Send me your information with your closed listing and I will include them in my next home run blog post! I want to hear all about them. Lets share the wealth!
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Packing Shipping Fun Facts
Probably one of the least favorite parts of my business is shipping. I don't mind sending packages to people at all. It is just the mundane actual act of putting things in boxes and having to do all the packing work that I don't like. There is a lot more to shipping packages than most people think about. If you don't know the basics of shipping, you cannot run an online business.You have to know a lot about how the US Postal Service and UPS work if you use both those services. I tend to use the postal service exclusively so I try to keep up with their rules and regulations.
Here are some things that will help start anyone on their way in basic shipping etiquette and knowledge.
USPS has a great website USPS.com that will give you all the information that you need about shipping or tracking packages. The site will also tell you about shipping both domestic and internationally. You can track all your packages that are shipped on the site itself. You can order supplies from the site, schedule a pick up of packages, figure costs of shipments as well as do lots of other cool things there. I use the site a lot!
I will admit that I was very hesitant about shipping internationally when I first started selling merchandise on Ebay. I started selling to US buyers only. I belong to a great message board called Ebug which stands for Ebay Underground. The group there is great to help out sellers learn how to do new things. My friend Jessica did a tutorial on the We Sell On Ebay Blog about how to sell internationally. Once I found out how easy it was to do, I opened my selling channels up to international buyers. In the meantime, I found how valuable the USPS site was for individual country restrictions as to what is allowed and not allowed to be shipped into that country. I use the site often as there is no way to remember all the restrictions for every country around the globe!
UPS has their own site at ups.com that will allow you to track packages from the site. You do have to set up an account with UPS in order to ship with them. UPS tends to be more cost effective for larger and heavier shipments so I don't use them very often.
Shipping can be a chore but it has to be done. In addition to knowledge there are a few must haves for a seller in order to ship packages. I am including what I consider these below:
1. Postal Scales-I suggest a digital set that will go up to at least 35 pounds. These can be purchased easily and inexpensively.
2. Packing Tape- I use this continuously!
3. Bubble Wrap-For fragile Items
4. Boxes- The Post Office will provide free boxes for Priority Shipments and for Regional Priority but you will need boxes for non-priority and for merchandise that does not fit
5. Paper- For filler
6.-Shipping Labels- I use the half sheet self adhesive ones. These are not absolutely necessary but do save a lot of time!
7 Scissors
8 Sharpie
9 Printer- I use a wireless Canon that allows me to print from any laptop in my business.
10 Poly Bags- I use these for clothing and other items that are not fragile. They are much lighter than boxes and save a lot on shipping.
With these supplies and the know how you are in business to ship just about anything for your online business. The rest is patience and a lot of hard work! Until next time!
Here are some things that will help start anyone on their way in basic shipping etiquette and knowledge.
USPS has a great website USPS.com that will give you all the information that you need about shipping or tracking packages. The site will also tell you about shipping both domestic and internationally. You can track all your packages that are shipped on the site itself. You can order supplies from the site, schedule a pick up of packages, figure costs of shipments as well as do lots of other cool things there. I use the site a lot!
I will admit that I was very hesitant about shipping internationally when I first started selling merchandise on Ebay. I started selling to US buyers only. I belong to a great message board called Ebug which stands for Ebay Underground. The group there is great to help out sellers learn how to do new things. My friend Jessica did a tutorial on the We Sell On Ebay Blog about how to sell internationally. Once I found out how easy it was to do, I opened my selling channels up to international buyers. In the meantime, I found how valuable the USPS site was for individual country restrictions as to what is allowed and not allowed to be shipped into that country. I use the site often as there is no way to remember all the restrictions for every country around the globe!
UPS has their own site at ups.com that will allow you to track packages from the site. You do have to set up an account with UPS in order to ship with them. UPS tends to be more cost effective for larger and heavier shipments so I don't use them very often.
Shipping can be a chore but it has to be done. In addition to knowledge there are a few must haves for a seller in order to ship packages. I am including what I consider these below:
1. Postal Scales-I suggest a digital set that will go up to at least 35 pounds. These can be purchased easily and inexpensively.
2. Packing Tape- I use this continuously!
3. Bubble Wrap-For fragile Items
4. Boxes- The Post Office will provide free boxes for Priority Shipments and for Regional Priority but you will need boxes for non-priority and for merchandise that does not fit
5. Paper- For filler
6.-Shipping Labels- I use the half sheet self adhesive ones. These are not absolutely necessary but do save a lot of time!
7 Scissors
8 Sharpie
9 Printer- I use a wireless Canon that allows me to print from any laptop in my business.
10 Poly Bags- I use these for clothing and other items that are not fragile. They are much lighter than boxes and save a lot on shipping.
With these supplies and the know how you are in business to ship just about anything for your online business. The rest is patience and a lot of hard work! Until next time!
Thursday, May 3, 2012
The Thrill Of the Hunt The Doldrums of The Mundane A Day in the Life
A Day in the Life of a Treasure Hunter!
Any treasure hunter will tell you that their palms get itchy when they start thinking about getting out and finding new treasures. It gets the adrenaline flowing when you start looking at new sales every week or you are planning your route to your favorite thrift stores or yard sale to see what new goodies have been stocked on the shelf that very morning! Or you might be a storage auction hunter planning your route for the day.
You rush to get ready, grab a cup of Joe and run out the door. After what is hopefully a very fruitful day you arrive back home hot, tired, hungry, and with a vehicle full of merchandise to fill your inventory shelves with! After driving, walking, searching and digging through countless amounts of new goodies, you hopefully have found some great new things to stock your store. You grab all those bags and boxes and pack up your truck and start the long drive home. Once you get back home and lug those bags or boxes into the door, that lovely adrenaline starts to fall through the floor!
Now it is time for the real fun to begin! It is time now for the inspection, cleaning and photographing process to take place. You grab a quick bite to eat and stare at the mountain of boxes and ask yourself where do I start first? Do I start scrubbing the ten years of dirt off those pottery pieces or do I start an inventory of the set of dishes and wash them first?
The thrill of the hunt wears off quickly and the mundane starts to set in. It is time to roll up your sleeves, grab some gloves and get to work! A picker or treasure hunter's job is never an easy one! OK, you decide to start soaking the pottery because you know underneath all that grime there is a gorgeous piece! It will be worth the wait and the work! Tell that to my hands later please!
Once clean up is complete, time to get those lovely photos done so they can be put up for sale. We all know that photos are the best part of an Ebay listing. 30 minutes later photos are complete. The dishes are washed and now time to get some listings completed. Wow now you can sit down now finally! Oh no, you forgot to measure all the merchandise. Time to go back and do that! Oh my, the life of a picker is so much fun!
Two hours later the listings are done. Time for a nap!!!! Then time to start it all over again and get ready to pack up some things ready to ship that have sold. It is also time to answer those 10 questions that have come in about the items that you have up for sale. Ahhh, the life of a treasure hunter! I would not have it any other way.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Treasure Hunters or Pickers Going Green Rescue, Recycle, & Reinvent!
I just found out that Anderson Cooper recently dedicated a show to Treasure Hunting (yard sale and flea market shopping). He had Lara Spencer from the Antiques Roadshow who has authored a book called "I Brake for Yard Sales" on his show. He also had a segment set up showing a flea market on stage. Dan who is one of the storage auction buyer's that I follow was on the show as well. His part of the segment was cut unfortunately! Paul Brown from Auction Kings which airs on The History Channel had a segment and was his usual entertaining self. Lara talked about her philosophy on shopping at yard sales and flea markets and it struck a cord with me. Here is a link to Dan's You Tube video about attending Anderson's TV show.
One of the highlights of the whole show was an audience member who had found a Picasso print worth over $10,000 at a local thrift store! We all know this is not something that happens every day but it keeps all of our adrenaline pumping and hopes alive for our own treasures and "home runs" as we pickers or treasure hunters like to call our scores of the day.
One thing that Lara brought out was how old vintage items can be reinvented or repurposed. This really resonates with me. I really dislike the fact that we have become such as disposable society. I was brought up with the principle that you looked at things with the eye of recycling or repurposing them after use if possible. My grandparents lived during the depression during some very lean years. They learned to live with very little. They taught us to be frugal and to use everything that we had wisely. That is one reason I really hate to see beautiful things from the past going into a landfill somewhere.
Lara really seems to think along the same lines. She goes to sales with the mentality that she is rescuing items from another person's trash. Other items she takes and recycles them or reinvents them as she calls it. This is something else that we have in common. She is really creative and takes things that others would just toss aside and makes them a decorator's dream. For years, I have been reinventing vintage or antique items and giving them new life as handcrafted projects or decorative arrangements for the home.
I feel that this is one way that we can keep things green. Less things go into the landfill and our history is preserved and not forgotten. How can we teach our children about our past if we have thrown it all away? Some days I wonder what we will have to hand to the next generation? Will it be a remote to a television or a video game? I hope that we have much more to offer them!
Here is a link to a segment of the Anderson show with Lara! Take a look! Lara also gives viewers some great tips on how to reinvent their yard sale finds into new projects that can be used to decorate the home. Take a look.
One of the highlights of the whole show was an audience member who had found a Picasso print worth over $10,000 at a local thrift store! We all know this is not something that happens every day but it keeps all of our adrenaline pumping and hopes alive for our own treasures and "home runs" as we pickers or treasure hunters like to call our scores of the day.
One thing that Lara brought out was how old vintage items can be reinvented or repurposed. This really resonates with me. I really dislike the fact that we have become such as disposable society. I was brought up with the principle that you looked at things with the eye of recycling or repurposing them after use if possible. My grandparents lived during the depression during some very lean years. They learned to live with very little. They taught us to be frugal and to use everything that we had wisely. That is one reason I really hate to see beautiful things from the past going into a landfill somewhere.
Lara really seems to think along the same lines. She goes to sales with the mentality that she is rescuing items from another person's trash. Other items she takes and recycles them or reinvents them as she calls it. This is something else that we have in common. She is really creative and takes things that others would just toss aside and makes them a decorator's dream. For years, I have been reinventing vintage or antique items and giving them new life as handcrafted projects or decorative arrangements for the home.
I feel that this is one way that we can keep things green. Less things go into the landfill and our history is preserved and not forgotten. How can we teach our children about our past if we have thrown it all away? Some days I wonder what we will have to hand to the next generation? Will it be a remote to a television or a video game? I hope that we have much more to offer them!
Here is a link to a segment of the Anderson show with Lara! Take a look! Lara also gives viewers some great tips on how to reinvent their yard sale finds into new projects that can be used to decorate the home. Take a look.
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