Travel Time Again

It’s that time of the year again. We are planning a road trip. South Carolina, Savannah,Georgia, and then to St. Petersburg and Tampa Florida.

I have no clue why hotels have nearly doubled, so we are looking for a cottage to rent. Much cheaper.

I plan to do some Thrifting along the way, so hopefully I will have some more interesting conversations to share. Yes. Yes. I know it’s wrong to be sharing other peoples conversations for entertainment. 🤪

What else? We are off to try to find my daughter some prom shoes today, once the exterminator leave. She has two proms this year. Hence, two gowns and two pairs of shoes. She already bought two dresses. One is an ANTHROPOLOGIE and the other is a Ted Baker. Both pink!

I thrifted these really cool Nikes last night.

Size 8.5 I can’t wait to list them! They even came with their dust bag. I guess everyone is getting new tennis this time of year, as I’ve been finding so many good ones. Last week I found some mens Nike Air Force 1’s. I also found some Women’s Tods, that already sold. Lots of Cowboy boots with the Good year tire soles. Too bad no prom shoes.

I have started sourcing from Jomar this past month.

When I first started reselling, back in 1999, I sold toys and antiques. There is still a high demand for both, but my interests have changed, and I need to enjoy my work.

It’s so nice to find a source that delivers, that’s actually good. Currently I’m waiting for a hat box to arrive. When I thrift locally, I’m looking for bras, swimwear, nightwear, purses, quilts, and designer items. I’m fading away from hard-goods, as they are harder to flip and take up too much room. Not to mention wrapping breakables and hoping that they arrive in one piece.

I guess that is it for now.

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Summer Festival & Shopping

It’s that time of year again. Nothing mind blowing, but as always, I do enjoy taking pictures and sharing.

Notice the No Dollar Store sign. I bet I was the only one supporting another dollar store. There are a lot of “fixed income” elderly people in town that also don’t drive. The more Dollar General stores within walking distance to these people, the better. Many do their week to week shopping at these stores because regular markets are just not in their budgets.

Downtown Festival

Kids don’t need dated bounce houses, they need a continuous Video games to make them feel as if they are at home. 🤣

The old local one screen movie theater that shut down in the 60’s is going to be reopening on the close future. It was very cool taking a tour of it.

On to the local Country store. aka’ antique store. This old puffy back is probably from the early 70’s, judging from the colors.

Someone had a ceramic shoe collection judging from the looks of this booth.

These 70’s Libby, Coca cola Tiffany stained glasses match a set that I currently have. I found myself be at the Goodwill for $2.

This praying beanie baby plush made my heart skip a beat, as it’s like the one my daughter received when she was only one years old.

This 60’s golden wheat plate set is like a set that I currently have up for sale. It’s always neat seeing things that I have.

These unique ceramic face mugs caught my eye. I love them.

I stop by to look at this old picture each time I’m in the country store. I try to imagine what this little ones life was like. And, why didn’t the family keep this framed picture of him.

This butcher block was amazing to see. A newer piece. So well constructed!

This vintage armadillo handbag has been on my way list to find, for many years. I’ve found gator ones, but never an armadillo. I want to find it for $5 to flip though. Like my gator bags!

Another one of my favorite booths to look in. That doll has been sitting there for at least six years now.

Buy me! Buy Me!

How about this duo? Do today’s kids ever know who Raggedy Ann and Andy are?

Old Makeup compacts are a soft spot with me. I did not in plus buy any this time because we have a road trip coming up that I’m budgeting for.

This Ester Lauder powder compact was full! Just a beautiful site to see.

I’m pretty sure they stopped making these in the late 80’s.

These are the type of things grandkids would get their grandparents for the Holidays.

Late 50’s or early 60’s vinyl and metal high chair of wheels.

Beautiful old quilt that I would have picked up to flip, had it been cheaper. I generally buy quilts for $6-15 and flip for $300.

This booth was stocked with cast iron pieces.

This wooden cat bird box was very cool. It was $79

This booth was new. This was the first time I came cross clubs. I bought a new set last year though, so we do not need any. Cool to look though!

Very old washing machine. My son was intrigued by it.

Pretty Oil painting.

Friday Wrap Up

Another week has gone by. I cooked today and cleaned. I decided that For this weekends larger meal, to make Beef Stew over rice and Banana Cream pudding for dessert. (My sons favorite)

I also shared my online closets. No sales for the past three days. *sigh*

I binge watched Messiah on Netflix in the past two days. Was not very fond of the ending with the church scene. I also started a series called YOU, on Netflix. Psychological Triller.

I took my evening walk, then showered and did another Bella Flash laser treatment. I’m still stuck on number four. Already seeing major results. I am on week ten.

Oh! And I went to the store for fruit, eggs and milk. And of course, I took more pictures. The truck was obviously there when I was, because boxes upon boxes were throughout the store. Meats were in more abundance. And there are now signs up that tell you to keep six feet apart. There was also yellow tape in the cashier lines to tell customers where to stand. Pics below!

I guess nobody buys those square over priced tissue boxes anymore, they remind me of my childhood. We always had them in all the rooms with those decorative tissue box covers.

No Toilet Paper our yet, but it looked like the boxes were delivered.

I’m
In line here, see the yellow tape that lets me know where to stand. 😉

Fun times on Vacation…

It’s just the little things when it comes to our family. Which is a super relaxed one.

So far we have lounged by the pool.

Hooked up with another homeschool family.

Ate out way too much.

Went to the mall.

Went to Royal Nails, which is said to be the best nail salon five years running. And yes they were!

Tomorrow we are taking the kids to Hannah’s Mirrored Maze. (Will post pictures then.)

We have been doing ubur again on vacation. It really is nice.

Per usual, the resort beds do not compare to our temperpedic back home, so I had to buy tiger balm for the back pain.

I also went to target and found this cute photo prob for eBay. 😉

I have noticed a huge difference between people in SC, verses people in NC. I’ve never noticed it before. I won’t say which is which, but one state has friendly people then the other.

Christmas 2017

It was a very special Christmas Day this year. Not to say that others were not, but there was a different feeling this year that previous years didn’t quite have. I never though that I’d enjoy my kids any more then I could possibly enjoy them, yet, with each year.. my heart grows and more love over flows.

Praising God for his wonder and Love. ❤️

Random pictures in no particular order from this past week.

https://videos.files.wordpress.com/xlPUrIER/img_1885.mov

https://videos.files.wordpress.com/qz2aOd1L/img_1900.mov

Charlotte, North Carolina

Here are some pictures from our trip.

It was a whole lot of fun.

Much different from where we currently live.

We dined at Ruth & Chris’s steak house. Very good food, but a bit pricey And I don’t like the stuffy atmosphere of upper class type of places. But other then that, it was nice. 😆

Amelia’s Bakery & Coffee House.< strong>Wells Fargo Plaza.Where we stayed-Christmas Concert- We were Center stage in row O. 😃

My favorite treat in the whole world is dipping dots! I live for them..despite their absurd price tag, I just can’t resist. Cheers to Microbiologist, Curt Jones! He’s brilliant! ❤️

We also visited the aviation museum. It was so tranquil, I would have loved to have spent more time there. We used ubur and Lyft the whole week, because city traffic was crazy.More views from Where we stayed-And that was our Final 2017 vacation. ❤️

Ebay buyers who Stalk

Shortly after I became a Christian, I started praying for patience. It’s not something I would suggest anyone to pray for..but I did. During that time I went through a lot with dealing with people. I try extra hard to see everyone how the Lord sees them. Through his lens.

We don’t know everyone’s circumstances. We don’t walk in their shoes. We can’t always judge a book by its cover. You get the point. 

But sometimes; especially recently, it’s been a hard pill for me to swallow. I guess I still fall short. As I still get flustered.

But I’m never going to pray for paitence ever again. *grin*

I haven’t had too many bad apples this past year on eBay, but in the past four weeks, a particular lady has really irked me.

So much, that I finally just blocked her. About a hour ago.

I love that you can block ebayers. The only thing is…that I wish they couldn’t private message you once blocked. They can! 😐

They just can’t bid/buy any of your items. And eBay tells them that they are blocked. 😳

And I should mention, as an eBay  store seller, if you don’t reply back to private messages, it goes against you.

Back story: 

Last month I found my first plus size 8x cardigan. It was sparkly, and well… Large! Very!

I wasn’t familiar with the brand, but I figured that it may be something that I could flip for over $50, so I bought it. It cost me $5. I listed it for $70

It was new with tags, so it didn’t need much preparation. I snapped a few pictures, added some measurements, and put it right up for sale.

That evening my phone went off at midnight.

A lady asked me if it really was a plus size 8x.

I responded to her right away. Yes. Yes it was.

12:15am she asked for measurements.

I told her that they are in the description, then I screen shot them for her. (I know, not very professional. But I was in bed. Tired.)

I thought that was the end of it but then I woke up to two more messages from her.

1. Are you sure this cardigan will fit me? What if it’s too small?

2. What are your return policies?
Again, I replied back to her.
Then I had several days of not hearing from her.

Then she messaged me once again, and told me that she will buy it now, but she will pay me in two weeks when she has the money.

(Not exactly buying it tomorrow)

I replied back to her that that was not an option.

Again, a few days passed.

Then she messaged me again and asked for more pictures. Ebay allows 12 pictures per item, so that what I took. I couldn’t imagine what other pictures I could possibly take, but wanted to keep good customer service, so I unwrapped the already wrapped cardigan, and took six more pictures of it. Then I messaged them directly to her.

Later that night she replied that the cardigan now looks smaller then the pictures that are in the auction listing, and why is that.
I replied to her that the first group of pictures were taken with the cardigan on a hanger, but the second bunch were taken as ‘flat lays’

Meaning, I laid it on the floor and stood on a chair and took them straight down..to give her different views.

Otherwise they would have looked the same as the pictures in the listing.
She replied back and asked if I’d take any less for the cardigan.

I replied back no, that I’m sorry but the price is firm.

She then told me that she’s on a fixed income, and that is why she’s asking.

I then sent her to the actual website that sells the cardigans, and added that there are many similar ones in all sizes, that are on clearance now. Which was the truth because I went to the site and checked myself. You can buy up to 10x.

She then replied back to me and told me that she wants the one that I have listed. Not something similar.

I then needed a breather and ignored her.

The next day I thought I was in the clear.
But I guess that me not responding back to her right away, upset her. She asked me why I didn’t reply back to her the previous night.

That, is when I should have taken the points against my account and not replied back to her. She’s a stranger to me. I do not own her an explanation. 😔

But I didn’t. Instead,  I lied and told her I’ve been busy working. Which is always true. I am always busy now… but it takes only a second to reply back to someone… So, I lied..

A couple days passed. I thought she was gone. But nope! 

She messaged me in detail about the wedding that she needs to attend..

I replied back okay. 

What was I suppose to respond back? She’s not a friend.

She then messaged me to say that she really needs something for the wedding but simply doesn’t know if the cardigan will be too small or not.

By this point I was ready to tell her that I’d decided to keep the dang cardigan and use it for a blanket, or a table cloth… or maybe make a sparkly tent fit for a king!

I know.. I’m sounding like a big meany.. but I was at breaking point.

So I sent her the measurements yet again, and told her to measure a current jacket and compare the measurements.
She responded that she doesn’t have a measuring tape and really needs the cardigan.

And told me that pay day was in a few days.

She also added.. that she’s on state assistance.

I didn’t reply back. This is irrelevant to me. Business is business. I already went out of my way and sent her to the site to purchase one cheaper.

The weekend came and she told me that she now has the money and will just do the Buy Now’ Option.

I told her okay, sounds good.

And I even added a smile emoji.

But a week went by and she didn’t buy it, so I figured she changed her mind. Which I was delighted!

But no…

It was midnight when my phone went off again.

She asked me if the fabric was forgiving, and did it have a lot of stretch to it.

I replied back that it did… and added the exact fabric content. (Which was also in the listing.)

The next day she replied back that she’s going to pass on it.

That was music to my ears! I even opened a bottle of wine to celebrate. I was that happy! 

That was the end of this month long headache.

But it wasn’t…

Last night at midnight she messaged me again and told me that she really needs the cardigan for a wedding in two weeks.

Before I could reply back, she messaged me and asked what my return policy was again. That she’d forgotten.

I replied. Then went to bed hoping that I wouldn’t have nightmares of her.. or that dumb cardigan which I now resented. In fact, maybe it needs to be cut up for rags! 

This morning she messaged me for more pictures.

I told her no, that the cardigan is already in a poly bag shipper once again.

Then.. I had a very bad feeling that she was going to buy it, wear it to the weddjng, and then return it. Ding! Ding! Ding! 

So I added her to my eBay blocked list.
But–

Apparently,  she went to buy it but eBay sent her this message—

And that is the message she sent me.

Then she sent me this one:

I told her that I took it down because I sold it to a friend and that she may want to consider the website that has them on sale right now. Cheaper then what  I’m listing mine for…. And to take care… and I hope she finds what she needs.

Bam! Done!

Or so I thought…..

Ignore….

Ignore:

Ignore…..

And here it is… 3:30pm

I have not heard back from her..

Praise the Lord!

Week in Review

It has been the start to a busy new season for me.

These past couple of weeks I started Birthday and Christmas shopping, on top of my weekly sourcing. And yes! I’m getting mentally prepared for Black Friday. Well, Thursday, actually.

Four out of five of my kids birthdays are coming up. And my husbands birthday is the month of October too. Not to mention my own birthday. Which I don’t actually celebrate anymore. I mean, 29 forever, right?! 😉

The weekends are already booked with parties and Fall Festivals.

I did manage to spend the weekend with a couple friends who I have not hung out with in a while.
I have no internet service up where they live, so I was able to not work at all.

I am on my phone a lot… either listing, looking for inventory, researching or editing pictures. So it was a much needed break,  to just relax and catch up.

When I came back home I was right back to my normal routine of taking care of my family and well, routine. People ask me if doing the same thing week after week ever gets boring.. and the truth is, it doesn’t. I’m very maternal, so I love taking care of my kids and spending time with them. We start talking and three hours easily passes by.  I have one daughter in College. She’s coming home for Fall break this weekend. So I’m really looking forward to that.

I do my best to utilize time when it presents itself. But I’m definetly not perfect with time management. I bought a pretty vintage daily planner, but I just can’t bring myself to use it. I like to have the option of changing plans at the last minute. As much as I want to go back in time and plan every aspect of my life… I just can’t go there.
Getting back to boring….

What I would find boring is having a regular job and dealing with the same people all of the time. Even though I am a people person, I like talking to different people all the time. Whether through the Internet, or just out sourcing.

That said,  I’m very particular to who I share my time with nowadays. And it has made me a much happier, stable person. Either you are an investment to my life, and we lift one another up some how, or you don’t.  Life is too short to not live life to its fullest. 

Regardless of your circumstances…Is what I mean. I love life!

What’s new with Inventory…

Six out of the ten pairs of shoes I bought this past week  have already sold. I also picked up some scrubs that have been selling. I’m currently contemplating on whether to get into toys. I just gave away about $500 worth of zu-zu pets, with their accessories… Along with all my kids old Polly pockets and barbies.

 To be honest,  I have looked at toys for so many years, I’m just over it. Gosh! That sounds harsh. New life chapters began though. And that has been my focus.

I have a few things to list today after school.

Some Luluroe leggings, a couple of purses, and some statement sleeve tops.

I’m pretty set for this month. I do like to keep a dozen shoes in all sizes available though. Shoes sell very well. In fact, I just made an extensive list of shoe brands to share here.

Enjoy!

And if your business is thrifting…. 

It’s hard work, but keep it up! 

You WILL reach your goals. 😉
Extensive shoe list:

Top ((((Flats)))) that sell for over $50 per pair.

Chanel

Louis Vuitton 

Fendi

Burberry

Valentino

Chloe

Tory Burch

Tieks

Salvatore Vergamamo

Lanvin

Gucci

Celine

Alexander McQueen 

Henry Cuir

Paul Green

Free People Royals

Kate Spade

Gianvito Rossi

Sofia Webster

Aquazzura

Jimmy Choo

Prada

Miu Miu

Paul Andrew

Stubbs & Wooutton

Arche

Charlotte Olympia 

Tods

Beautifeel

Nickolas Kirkwood

J Crew color blocks
Comme Des Garçons 

Corso Roma

Repetto

Alexandre Birman 

London Sole

Ted Baker

Pucci

Rothys

Cole Haan

Stewart Weizmann 

Repetto

 Madewell

Jenni Kayne

AGL

Roger Vivier

Balenciaga 

Jack Rogers

Dolce Gabbana 

Frye

Certain Algeria prints 

Certain Dansco prints

Disney crocs

Vionic black ballet 

Jeffery Campbell

Vince

Lilly Pulitzer

Everlane

Birkenstock 

Doc Martins

Certain Coach

Certain Micheal Kors 

Marc Jacobs

Korks

LL bean 

Embellished Aldo

Sam Edelman

Donald Pliner flats

Keep in mind that these are flats only, I have not checked on these brands in heels, boots, oxfords, etc. but for flats, these brands are currently selling well.

Testimony & Weekend Sales

The month of August, I had a 22% drop in sales. It happened last year too. My guess, is that everyone’s extra money goes to school supplies, etc. 

Totally understandable, too. 

I was standing in line at Walmart a few weeks ago, and a there was a lady behind me who I felt called to give money too. I did not see her, I just heard her voice. 

I’m positive it was the holy spirits lead, as I did not know what the lady behind me looked like, or who she was, etc. I didn’t even know if she was a teacher. But I distinctly heard the Lord tell me me to turn around and give her all the cash I had. Not too much, as I rarely carry cash with me.  But I had taken out $30 the previous day, Not knowing why…

As I turned around to see who this lady was I heard her continuong on..talking to her kids, but I currently had no other details about her life.

I watched for a few seconds, as she begun taking a bunch of school supplies from her cart. I then noticed that her kids did not seem to be ‘school age’

So I reached in my purse and pulled out the money and asked her if she would mind if I helped out with all of that…(school supplies)

She told me that she had money to pay for it. That I was fine.

I asked her if she was a teacher. She said yes! 3rd grade. I told her that it would mean a lot to me if she would take the money. She smiled and said alright, and then thanked me…. then she thanked me several more  times, and shared that the stuff was for her class, and that it was going to be her first full time teaching job. I then cashed out, wished her luck, and left the store.

As I am getting older, I’m reallly recognizing the Lords voice to me, more and more.. it’s a wonderful feeling when you directly hear the Lord speaking to you and you are able to respond. Amen!

Getting back to my sales—

Even with my sales down last month, I didn’t fret, and continued to pick up cheap yard sale finds for the next couple months, in conjunction to my weekly thrift hauls. 

I tend to put 20% back into the reselling business each week. God has been so faithful in providing and guiding..
So tonight I’m sitting here with a smile on my face… feeling very happy that with this weekend sales alone, it cover the cost of two of my kids Christmas gifts.

My son is getting a Kindle upgrade, and my daughter is getting a keyboard like her sisters.

I was also able to spruce up the house with a few needed things.

What did I sell over the weekend:

Two pairs of shoes. 

Two Halloween costumes.

A new SpongeBob Halloween DVD

And two blouses.

I have twenty more than myself to list this coming week, which were unplanned freebies, which will be 100% profit.

Did I mention how fauthfulnthe Lord is?! ❤️

Savannah Georgia

We visited one of the many tourist destinations in Savannah, Georgia. 

This ice cream place opened in 1919 by the Leopold Brothers. 

All the ice creams are home made. And it’s still owned and operated by the same family, generations later. 

I sampled several flavors before deciding on Lemon Custard.

The kids enjoyed the triple chocolate raspberry swirl and peanut butter chocolate chip ice cream. 

So if you are ever in Savannah, you must stop and try their ice creams. The prices were very reasonable too. 🙂