So, I will admit that I have been away from this for a bit, and I can explain. This is done solely as a hobby for me, and I tend to get bored with things that are too time consuming. I want to blame it on the man inside of me, but who knows. I sit and work on blog posts for hours, and it is disheartening to see that the main views I get are from scanners/spammers from Russia. Then again, who knows! They may just really like my antique finds. Anyway, I feel that it is time to leave the blog.
I plan to maintain the Facebook account. If you have followed us on Facebook, you probably noticed that our photos are the same from the blog. The goal is to keep our Facebook page light and breezy. We want to share the locations and finds with you, but I don't want to build in too much of a personal opinion. The only issue will be when a store does not have an online presence... but that's out of our control. We will do what we can do, and that's all we... can do?
I also plan to maintain the Yelp account. If you want to know my true feelings about a location, Yelp does it. However, I must leave this disclaimer about Yelp. If you own a shop or know someone who owns a shop, don't read my reviews and get your feelings hurt. It isn't worth it. If I say something bad about your favorite shop, do your own review. Don't try to cause a fight with me because you won't get it. I will laugh, show your ignorance to friends, and move on. If you get to me too deeply, you will get a strongly worded e-mail. As I said before, I do this as a hobby. I am not making money from this in any fashion or form. I find antique stores by going out and looking for them, so I am not endorsed by anyone. (However, I might think about it if you want to help fuel my antique obsession...) I understand that opinions differ on places. There are places that I absolutely hate, but my parents and the wife love them. I try to include the wife's opinions in some of the reviews, but they are all coming from me as a person. We do not own a shop or sell antiques, so we are not competition to any of these places. So... If I talk trash on your place, have your loyal customers talk it up (not talk trash on me)!!
School is starting up again next month, so most of my time will be shot with studying. In fact, most of my summer has been shot with studying as well. However, we will still be looking for awesome stores to visit, and we will probably be spending money even though we told ourselves we needed to save more. I will try to convince the wife to help me get some awesome photographs of some of our new finds. Since the last post, I have been all over Iowa and Nebraska. Also, we went to another craft/antique festival. We have stuff to share, we are just lacking the time to share it. We will get there eventually.... I think.
As always, Happy Hunting, and please keep up with us.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Monday, July 1, 2013
eBay: To Bid or Not To Bid
Everyone should know what eBay is unless you have been living under a rock. If you have been living under a rock, welcome to the new age of shopping.
So, if you have read many of the posts on here, you will have seen the trend of things I collect. I am huge on promotional glasses. Why? I'm not sure. I think they are neat, and it is something of the past that most companies are not using today. I decided I was going to start collecting the Super Series glasses from Pepsi last year. My parents started me off by buying me several for my last birthday. While they were looking for them, they found the entire set of the Superman movie glasses from 1978. Well, that started an interest. That's why most of the posts show at least one glass.
What does this have to do with eBay? I use eBay for various things, and I feel that eBay is a great source for a lot information and opportunity to a collector. However, I feel that most people, who do not use technology often, can be ignorant about some of the risks of eBay, especially when it comes to antiques.
Know Your Product - When you are looking for antiques on eBay, know what you are looking for. There is nothing wrong with going out and browsing. I like to cruise through eBay to see what I can find. That's normal and sometimes interesting. But, when it comes to making the purchase, know what you are looking for and what you are attempting to purchase. Do a little research, so you aren't buying something you aren't expecting. For instance, with the glasses, there are a lot of reproductions out there. You can go to department stores and find superhero glasses that closely resemble the glasses from the 1970s. However, you could spend a higher amount on a 1970s glass reproduction that could have picked up at the local store for $10.
Read The Description - The description is the best way for the seller to give the buyers an idea of what is actually being sold. I remember when the XBox gaming console first came out, and there were people selling cardboard boxes cut into the shape of a X and various other scams. However, the description said exactly what it was. Make sure you read the description. I have also seen people have a picture of a complete set of something and state in the description that only one of the items pictured is for sale. It is lazy way of doing things, but you need to protect yourself against such things with all of the resources provided.
Pictures, Pictures, Pictures - The best thing about antique stores is you get to touch the merchandise. If you are shopping for glass, you can look it over for chips, cracks, or flaws. On eBay, you don't have that option. You have to rely on what the seller gives you. Some of the sellers are great sellers and honest. Others are not that great. I tend to lean towards a seller which shows several photos of the item they are trying to sell. The more photos, the better. Sometimes, a photo might unintentionally reveal something that the seller isn't mentioning. But watch for fake photos. Once, I saw an auction for Happy Birthday, Mickey glasses, and the photo showed the Pepsi logo. The issue was that the logo had Warner Brothers 1973 above it. Disney has never, and probably will never, be owned by Warner Brothers. Also, Happy Birthday, Mickey was released in 1977 and 1978. If you ever notice anything like this, walk away. It might be a good deal, but you are going into some potentially troublesome waters.
Ask - eBay gives the option to ask the seller questions about the product. Granted, nothing says that the seller will be honest with you. Usually though... you will be getting pretty straight answers. This will allow you to make sense of some of the photos. Most of the sellers, especially the ones with high ratings, are going to be honest and nice like a vendor at a store. Most of them operate as a business, so they treat you like a customer.
Shipping - Watch your shipping. You might be getting something for a dollar and paying $11 for shipping. Some sellers are notorious for supplementing their winnings by adding outrageous shipping prices since it is not commissioned to eBay for the sale.
Not everything about eBay is bad. There are a lot of good things that come from eBay.
Price Checking - Everyone has a smartphone now, and the internet is accessible almost everywhere we go. So, say you see something at your local junk store, and you have no idea what price is a decent price. What do you do? You could get a buyer's guide and attempt to find it (usually not a good method since buyer guides only list certain things and don't account for fluctuation in pricing). Or, you could search for it on eBay. Since there are people all over the world using the site, you are bound to find the item or something similar. eBay pricing is usually pretty accurate when it is the bidders who are determining the price. If it is a Buy Now option, it is what the seller is thinking it is worth (which puts you back where you started in the first place). A Buy Now option is not accurate pricing!
Hard to Find Items - eBay also allows a collector to find things that are not common in his/her area. For instance, I was looking for some glasses that were put out by 7-Eleven. In Kansas City, 7-Elevens are few and far between. I have only seen one in my life, and my parents claim they were around more in the '70s. However, they were offering Marvel glasses in the '70s, and I had never seen one in person. Through eBay, I was able to find the complete set.
Discover New Items - This ties into the previous point. While you are looking for your item on eBay, you might discover something you never knew existed. When I was looking for the Super Series glasses, I found a Supergirl glass that I wanted. I noticed that she was being sold with two other glasses. The glasses looked like ones I already had, but I noticed that the bottoms were rounded. After some research, I learned that the set was released at the exact same time and the round-bottom glasses tended to be rarer than the set I had been collecting. Without the search, I would have never known the glasses existed.
Bargain Central - Another great deal about eBay is the pricing. Most sellers start low and hope to sell high, but some of the auctions don't ever get to the high side. This makes it a buyer's heaven since the buyer will be able to get some great stuff at really cheap prices. If eBay is over saturated with an item, it is likely that people will overlook stuff. Also, are you looking for a seasonal item? Search for it off season. You would be surprised how expensive Christmas items get during Christmas but can be picked up in auctions during non-Christmas seasons for dirt-cheap prices. I have benefited from this bargain central several time. I bought a near-complete set of Happy Birthday, Mickey glasses for the price of one glass.
There are a lot of pros and cons about online auctions. Everyone has their own personal views on them as well. So, if you are nervous about it or new to it, test the waters. Don't dive in, and spend a lot of money the first time. I'm always skeptical about new things, so I started off small. Also, even though I have the world's variety at my fingertips, it is hard to beat a good antique store. Antique hunting is about discovery, and it is easier to get excited about something you found in a store than something you found while casually browsing the internet. However, there are treasures to be found online as well.
Until next time... Happy Hunting!
So, if you have read many of the posts on here, you will have seen the trend of things I collect. I am huge on promotional glasses. Why? I'm not sure. I think they are neat, and it is something of the past that most companies are not using today. I decided I was going to start collecting the Super Series glasses from Pepsi last year. My parents started me off by buying me several for my last birthday. While they were looking for them, they found the entire set of the Superman movie glasses from 1978. Well, that started an interest. That's why most of the posts show at least one glass.
What does this have to do with eBay? I use eBay for various things, and I feel that eBay is a great source for a lot information and opportunity to a collector. However, I feel that most people, who do not use technology often, can be ignorant about some of the risks of eBay, especially when it comes to antiques.
Know Your Product - When you are looking for antiques on eBay, know what you are looking for. There is nothing wrong with going out and browsing. I like to cruise through eBay to see what I can find. That's normal and sometimes interesting. But, when it comes to making the purchase, know what you are looking for and what you are attempting to purchase. Do a little research, so you aren't buying something you aren't expecting. For instance, with the glasses, there are a lot of reproductions out there. You can go to department stores and find superhero glasses that closely resemble the glasses from the 1970s. However, you could spend a higher amount on a 1970s glass reproduction that could have picked up at the local store for $10.
Read The Description - The description is the best way for the seller to give the buyers an idea of what is actually being sold. I remember when the XBox gaming console first came out, and there were people selling cardboard boxes cut into the shape of a X and various other scams. However, the description said exactly what it was. Make sure you read the description. I have also seen people have a picture of a complete set of something and state in the description that only one of the items pictured is for sale. It is lazy way of doing things, but you need to protect yourself against such things with all of the resources provided.
Pictures, Pictures, Pictures - The best thing about antique stores is you get to touch the merchandise. If you are shopping for glass, you can look it over for chips, cracks, or flaws. On eBay, you don't have that option. You have to rely on what the seller gives you. Some of the sellers are great sellers and honest. Others are not that great. I tend to lean towards a seller which shows several photos of the item they are trying to sell. The more photos, the better. Sometimes, a photo might unintentionally reveal something that the seller isn't mentioning. But watch for fake photos. Once, I saw an auction for Happy Birthday, Mickey glasses, and the photo showed the Pepsi logo. The issue was that the logo had Warner Brothers 1973 above it. Disney has never, and probably will never, be owned by Warner Brothers. Also, Happy Birthday, Mickey was released in 1977 and 1978. If you ever notice anything like this, walk away. It might be a good deal, but you are going into some potentially troublesome waters.
Ask - eBay gives the option to ask the seller questions about the product. Granted, nothing says that the seller will be honest with you. Usually though... you will be getting pretty straight answers. This will allow you to make sense of some of the photos. Most of the sellers, especially the ones with high ratings, are going to be honest and nice like a vendor at a store. Most of them operate as a business, so they treat you like a customer.
Shipping - Watch your shipping. You might be getting something for a dollar and paying $11 for shipping. Some sellers are notorious for supplementing their winnings by adding outrageous shipping prices since it is not commissioned to eBay for the sale.
Not everything about eBay is bad. There are a lot of good things that come from eBay.
Price Checking - Everyone has a smartphone now, and the internet is accessible almost everywhere we go. So, say you see something at your local junk store, and you have no idea what price is a decent price. What do you do? You could get a buyer's guide and attempt to find it (usually not a good method since buyer guides only list certain things and don't account for fluctuation in pricing). Or, you could search for it on eBay. Since there are people all over the world using the site, you are bound to find the item or something similar. eBay pricing is usually pretty accurate when it is the bidders who are determining the price. If it is a Buy Now option, it is what the seller is thinking it is worth (which puts you back where you started in the first place). A Buy Now option is not accurate pricing!
Hard to Find Items - eBay also allows a collector to find things that are not common in his/her area. For instance, I was looking for some glasses that were put out by 7-Eleven. In Kansas City, 7-Elevens are few and far between. I have only seen one in my life, and my parents claim they were around more in the '70s. However, they were offering Marvel glasses in the '70s, and I had never seen one in person. Through eBay, I was able to find the complete set.
Discover New Items - This ties into the previous point. While you are looking for your item on eBay, you might discover something you never knew existed. When I was looking for the Super Series glasses, I found a Supergirl glass that I wanted. I noticed that she was being sold with two other glasses. The glasses looked like ones I already had, but I noticed that the bottoms were rounded. After some research, I learned that the set was released at the exact same time and the round-bottom glasses tended to be rarer than the set I had been collecting. Without the search, I would have never known the glasses existed.
Bargain Central - Another great deal about eBay is the pricing. Most sellers start low and hope to sell high, but some of the auctions don't ever get to the high side. This makes it a buyer's heaven since the buyer will be able to get some great stuff at really cheap prices. If eBay is over saturated with an item, it is likely that people will overlook stuff. Also, are you looking for a seasonal item? Search for it off season. You would be surprised how expensive Christmas items get during Christmas but can be picked up in auctions during non-Christmas seasons for dirt-cheap prices. I have benefited from this bargain central several time. I bought a near-complete set of Happy Birthday, Mickey glasses for the price of one glass.
There are a lot of pros and cons about online auctions. Everyone has their own personal views on them as well. So, if you are nervous about it or new to it, test the waters. Don't dive in, and spend a lot of money the first time. I'm always skeptical about new things, so I started off small. Also, even though I have the world's variety at my fingertips, it is hard to beat a good antique store. Antique hunting is about discovery, and it is easier to get excited about something you found in a store than something you found while casually browsing the internet. However, there are treasures to be found online as well.
Until next time... Happy Hunting!
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