A Picker's Journal

Thrifting As A Professional Picker/Antiques Dealer

2012-03-01T23:46:00.001-06:00

Yes, I am a picker, and yes I do go to thrift stores.

I'm a hardcore picker...I do it all!

And why not? Thrift shops are sort of like a daily garage sale, but indoors...and when it is -20C outside, shopping in a heated environment is welcome!

When I am out picking, and happen to be cruising through a little town, I keep my eyes open for such places, and take note of them for next time I am in the area. This includes second hand stores, consignment stores, etc, etc. I will stop in and check them out, if convenient, and they are open. If they are closed, I will check for a phone number posted in their window, which is usually an invitation to call and have the proprietor/proprietress open up. Usually, I do weigh the possibilities of the place, my schedule, and will pass of the store if other places in the area that may hold more potential at that moment.

I have done well from such places, especially in more rural areas where many/some/certain antiques & collectibles are/may not be recognized as having value, and not immediately snapped up left, right and center.

Last week, en route to pursue up a lead, I stopped in at one such country thrift store. I suspect I spent about 3/4 of an hour there, as it was one I have never been in before, so I didn't have a set "search pattern" already in mind as I was looking around. I left with 3 bags of items, as well as a a few bulky things.

As part of the $42 (and change) that was spent I acquired some neat items, including:

2 bunches of 100+ year old, glass trade beads.

Yes, of the type that were used for trading for furs and such during the Fur Trade period in North America. What most people do not know, or not realize is that these were also used for the same sort of trade in Africa and other nations during that period. Being found here, though, their intended purpose was for trade with the native population here, over 100 years ago.

Cost?

$1.00 for the lot. (These I have already been sold, by the way...so you won't see them for sale in my inventory.)

These were a fun and cool find, and the oldest item from that buy, but not the most profitable. I also bought a hand tinted photo, done by a noted, and heavily collected, Eastern Canadian Photographer. It was $15. My retail price is $75. Am thinking I may also be able to work a decent trade with a local collector of his works. If not, it will go with me to a show, or maybe it will end up sold at a wholesale price to an eastern Canadian dealer. Also in the purchase was a painting that may turn out to be of decent value, but am still researching it.

Also as part of the finds, I bought 2 large, heavy, well made, shallow, bowl like plates....which are actually collection plates.

No, not "collector plates"... I do mean collection plates, from a church! They are only from the mid/late 1950, but for $3 each I couldn't leave them there!

Maybe I can use them in my new picker cult!

Wanna join?

Toss your $50 bills in this plate please....'cause I need it to go pickin'!

Buying Old Junk - Business VS Hobby - Is That Item Truly A Bargain?

2012-03-01T10:07:00.002-06:00

You are going to find that passing up on what you initially see as a bargain, and highly "profitable" inventory is a constant struggle.

Why pass up a 25 cent buy that you are pretty sure is worth $15 in a store? Well, read on, and you will find out.

Some days resisting the urge to buy every "deal" you see will be far easier than others. If you are like myself, our addiction is the hunt and the big rush we get when we find some cool treasure, especially if it was CHEAP.

After awhile, like any addiction, it takes something more and more spectacular to give us the same "rush" we crave.

But, when it is a significant part of our income/business, also, we need to temper that treasure hunting addiction with common sense and good business acumen.

Yes, that ornament is only priced at 25 cents, and it is salable for $15 in a shop or online, but is it truly worth the time? And the cleaning? The supplies you use for cleaning? The time spent on cleaning? Time spent photographing it? Editing the photos? Listing it online? Fees for listing it online? Emailing and answering questions? Invoicing a final buyer? Packing? An the packing materials? Time spent packing it? Mailing? And the gas to the post office? Time spent standing in line at the post office? Emailing the buyer to say it is in the mail,and sending tracking info? Customer service after to make sure it arrived and they are happy with it?

A the markup on that item was a theoretical profit of $14.75. But there is an argument to be made that it actually cost you money to deal with that item.

So, that 25 cent purchase may well have turned into a loss when you factor into the equation all your other expenses.

I struggle with this daily. I have lots of "low end" inventory.

However, I don't buy that many low end items purposely for resale, anymore. Only the odd quarter from my pocket are spent on an item that is only worth $15.

I have lots of that sort of "shelf filler" already. But, I still acquire that sort of merchandise for other reasons, by other methods, an din other situations.

When I am out picking, sometimes spending $5 on a $20 item is what you need to do to get in the door.

Making a pile of quarter priced items at a second hand shop can show I am a serious bulk buyer. Might even eventually lead to the "good stuff" in the back room, and/or make a long time and good contact in that area. Perhaps end up with referrals to some of their sources, for items that are priced too high for them, but are bargain priced in your view.

Local thrift stores I go to, I do spend some of my quarters. Some places are run as money making enterprises in support of charities, and are worth supporting. I'll get my twenty five cents back, hopefully, and end up breaking even (once I factor in the $14.75 worth of expenses I have incurred by buying that item!)

For me, it is sort of the equivalent of any expenditure for items of "pleasure"...like buying a soda at the convenience store, a coffee & donut at the local Timmies (Tim Horton's) , popping it in a video game, dropping it in the coin slot of a slot machine, etc. IN the case of "in support of such and such charity" thrift stores, it is akin to buying a overpriced giant chocolate bar from the local neighbor kids who are raising money for a new bunch of basketballs.

The difference is that I can write it off as a purchase of inventory. I slaked a bit of my thirst for a "score" and made the world a better place for only 25 cents!

That is how I rationalize it, anyway!

That said, I now pass up more "bargains" than I buy. China and glass items are one of those things I pass up more and more, unless the potential resale value is significant, or it is something I am curious about, and/or want to research it as part of my ongoing self-education in a variety of collecting areas. I also do buy the odd thing just as a 3-D reminder of an event, place, etc. A souvenir of that stop, and a bookmark in my memory to stop by there again.

Plus, there are those items I buy solely for some of their "parts". A lamp I can cannibalize for a part or 2 to make another salable. The parts may be obsolete, but still are not intrinsically valuable. Even of they are still available new, it is cheaper and/or more convenient to buy the junk lamp than make a trip to the hardware store, or order it online. Plus, the "patina" of age is already there, and the replaced part of the repair/restoration doesn't stick out like a sore thumb.

I get plenty of the $5 to $25 items in box lots at auctions, etc. Even now that I strictly limit my garage sale purchase, thrift shop buys, etc, those $5 - $25 items still pile up, and I still need to be careful as to how I deal with them. My accumulated knowledge means I buy more than the newbie, as I recognize more of those 25 cent items as being worth far more than 25 cents. So, the struggle will be eternal. More you know, the more you can buy, because you see more bargains on the tables than the part-timer standing beside you at that garage sale.

I certainly still do not make tons of money when it is all said and done. I'd be lucky to make $10 an hour.....which is less than minimum wage, here. If it was ALL about money, I'd be able to do very, very well with a 9 to 5 job. Heck, on the "oil patch" in this area, even a kid fresh out of high school can get a job with a starting wage of $25 an hour (+benefits)...PLUS they get a pretty new 4x4 company truck to drive.

However, I am "happy" with what I do. One of these days my chosen profession and skill set I have created, honed, add to and constantly improve on, will all pay off big....

Or so I hope!

And now it is time to get back at it. I have a stack of boxes to deal with, full of things with 25 cent price tags.

Pass me that bottle of Goo-Gone, will ya?

Makin' Lemonade from Lemons - Vintage Reflections

2012-03-01T08:54:00.001-06:00

You likely read about my mis-buy at the auction in the last post.

The remnants of the deal was a 1950s, faux-paint-textured cardboard print in a faux-antique frame. The thick cardboard these sorts of prints are made from is useful as stiffener when shipping paper collectibles and other thin items, to prevent bending in transit. So, off it went into the shipping room to be sliced up for that purpose.

I suspect in 50 years I'll be lamenting my destruction of 1000s of those things, cursing myself for not hoarding them...a potential million dollars destroyed. Then again, with inflation the way it is, "a million dollars" then might not be what it is today. So, I may only be loosing out on covering the cost of a meal at a good restaurant by not hoarding them...Ah heck, I'll probably be sucking my means through a straw by then anyway.

What to do with the frame....

It was sort of attractive...could paint it white, and distress it...

Toss a mirror into it...but, that means buying a mirror...

Or does it?

I had a broken mirror, removed from a cheap, paper/fibre-board dresser acquired from a clean-out I did. I smashed up the dresser itself, as it was beyond repair, and tossed it in the trash. The mirror was intact, for awhile. My main storage space is, well, just that, space...outside. It was in a frame that did a poor job of imitating real wood...other than being made of the industrial equivalent of laminated sheets of paper. That materials acts like a sponge for water...especially rain. Yes, it got wet, warped in 5 directions, then the thin mirror fell out...and broke. Never saw nor heard it break, so should I assume I missed out on the predicted 7 years of bad luck?

Does a mirror make a sound when it falls, breaks and no one is around?

Anyway, there was a chunk that was big enough to cut to size to fit the frame!

VOILA, add a piece of "junk" mirror to a "junk" frame and you have a $35 - $45 hall mirror!

Two negatives DO make a positive!

Hmmm...might make some profit on my bad buy yet!

Yes, I am being melodramatic... it didn't quite happen with the "voila" with magician type flair. I already was thinking about how to make lemonade out of my lemon of a purchase, after I was done flogging myself for the stupid mistake.

The lesson here is that 2 pieces of junk can still make you MONEY.

Combining things that are otherwise useless, have no value, etc is like creating gold with Alchemy...except in this case, using junk as your ingredients CAN create gold from combining other things, unlike using Alchemy to create gold...which is impossible...as far as anyone has revealed, anyway! And if you HAVE figured it out, let me know, I won't tell a soul! I promise!

Janet Picard, friend from years back, an artist, and the original owner/founder of Ragpickers Anti-Fashion Emporium of Winnipeg, created jewellery from found, salvaged objects. She created works of quality, long before the now commonly seen pieces with watch gears, brass buttons, bits of china, chain, etc, in a collage form. She created many wearable sculptures in the form of earrings, brooches, necklaces and assorted other jewellery. She called her artistic enterprise "Salvage Alchemy". After doing a quick online search, I see many others of a similar artistic bend, as well as folks in different areas of "salvage" have found/thought/adopted the use of the name as well.

To me, though, "salvage alchemy" a perfect term for what many of us in the junk business do...

Or rather, those of us who can think "outside of the box."

That trash can be made into CA$H with a little effort, and it can pay you back in spades for that little bit of time and imagination.

If you wish to survive in the "junk biz", as a picker, antiques dealer, storage auction locker buyer, scrapper, flea market seller, swap meet seller, etc, etc, my advice is to embrace "salvage alchemy" as part of your business wholeheartedly.

Ok, junk alchemists, now go dig into those piles of mis-buys, junk, trash and scrap and see what gold nuggets you can come up with!

COUNTRY AUCTION - PART 3 - There are no such things as "friends" at an auction!

2012-02-27T23:36:00.004-06:00

They say there is no such thing as a "friend" at an auction. We all know what we will bid, what we want to pay, what we need to pay, the values, retail, wholesale, whatever.

However, that said, sometimes it is a good idea to make sure that if there are people at the sale you know well and are good friends, you may want to sit near enough to them to chat a bit.

A buddy and picker friend of mine just started back into the picking game after a bit of a hiatus. He's hitting the road, auctions, yard sales, flea markets, cold calls, etc, and hitting them fairly hard, hoping to make it a full time living. He has picked for years prior to his hiatus, as a collector who was tired of not being able to find very many objects of his desire at antique shops and shows. Apparently, my shop was one of the few stores where he always seemed to find something fresh for his collection.

I was always adding fresh picks to my inventory, and my tastes were in line with his, where as many of the traditional, older dealers inventory tended to grow stagnant and/or was overflowing with glass, china, and what was then "traditional" fare.

Anyway, we have reconnected after several years, and he's back at it, and hoping to make it a living. He is a guy with an advantage over most of the "newbies"..as he is not "new" to picking....but he is new to making a living in the junk biz. I hope it works out for him, I really do. His horizons are expanding, the blinders are now almost off, and his focus has broadened, interests are widening in scope, and his brain is absorbing all it can.

Being in Manitoba, it is not going to be easy, which I think he is well aware of. He's seen all sorts of folks come and go in this biz, and only a handful who are still at it after many years. I guess my pickin' life could be one of those inspirations, tho my career could be a cautionary take on this, too!

If you never make mistakes you are not learning a damn thing, in my opinion. He may (and will) make some of the same mistakes I have made, and some uniquely his own. Being a friend, I am doing my best to steer him clear of many of the ones I made. Someone else might as well benefit!

Anyway, one mistake I made at the auction was sitting where my wife wanted to sit.

She likes the front row. I prefer the middle, back or standing at the sides, wandering around if I get bored, or need to get out of the line of sight of those folks who decide that just because a (knowledgeable) dealer is bidding, that they should bid, too. If you are one of those folks, a word of caution...that really is a bad idea...which I've discussed in one of my previous posts.

Anyway, I sat with her, but did get that wandering itch, and did cruise around the hall a bit, re-examining things, looking deeper, taking a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th look at items I had only casually examined initially.

Bidding was strong, prices were going far higher than normal. Thus, buying items that weren't quite what they appeared to be, were damaged, missing pieces, repaired, faked, etc, could have a negative effect on my finances that I'd regret.

Had I sat near my buddy, we'd both have saved some money.

One of the lots of note was 2 1950s prints....bad, bad, bad 1950s prints. Both were those textured cardboard prints popular in the 50s,60s,70s, 80s, and even to date, of famous master's works. It is the sort of stuff that is sold for "cheap" prices to the masses by stores of the Woolworth's/Woolco/K-Mart/Wal-Mart ilk.

The one I was after was a copy of one of a series of Van Gogh's Sunflowers.

Why the heck would I want one of those???

I know, you are thinking: "Surely it HAD to be temporary insanity!"

Nope.

A sharp eye, knowledge and experience made me want it.

Or, rather, what was HIDDEN in it!

You see, when I flipped it over, I could see a surface tear on the cardboard backing.

In the shape of the mark that an "easel back" piece had been fastened.

And I could see that the cardboard had some writing on the other side, via a spot where I could lift it ever so slightly. But, if I got looking TOO close, or even yanking out some of the fasteners, and pulling it right out of the frame would make my observation and discovery too obvious....and potentially incur the wrath of a consignor, auctioneer, etc.

Plus, old cardboard can be less than flexible...sometimes even so brittle it will crumble upon being lifted with any sort of strain on it.

So, I had to decide if I was going to gamble on it.

For $2 or $4, it is what I call a "lottery ticket"....a "sort of" a gamble....though, the odds are better due to the knowledge I have of its potential contents. About all I could make out was some blue lettering, and what I recognized right away as the winged boot logo Goodyear uses.

I also had a strong feeling it had been trimmed, however, which will make the value plummet, if not eliminate it from being any more than a chunk of worthless cardboard. Upon close inspection, I recognized that one edge was not 100% straight, and had a few stray strands of cardboard on its edge, like small tails...tell-tale tails...of a not 100% steady hand, with a razor knife in it.

But, these sorts of pictures sell for next to nothing at auctions...shouldn't have to pay more than $5, TOPS.

The auctioneer, well aware of the fact they sell for little, put two pictures together as a lot. Both were as worthless as the other for what they were. One had a fancy "carved" frame that was semi-attractive, in an old, faux antique-ish sort of way.

Bidding started at $2...and ended with me owning them at $20.00.

Hmmm.....Seems that I lost control of my mind...maybe it WAS temporary insanity.

Well, not really...I let my curiosity overtake intelligence, knowledge, experience and gut. A rookie mistake, but one which long time vets will still make from time to time. Usually 4 beats 1, but curiosity is powerful.

Frankly, when it is under control, it is a good thing when picking...but sometimes it can be a bad thing at auctions.

Only one other bidder was bidding.....and I quickly figured out it may have been my buddy sitting in the back with his family.

Damn!

I couldn't figure out why he would bid...the odds were against it 1000 to 1....

I went right over with the 2 pieces, and as it turned out his wife wanted the Van Gogh print. What she wants she will get, which, being married, also, I understand. Good to keep the wife happy, especially after sitting in a hall of people, partly bored, and with a small baby to tend for. If she isn't kept happy, odds are he won't be attending many more auctions, with or without her!

Twenty bucks is a small price to pay for that....but I outbid him....unfortunately.

We made a deal to split the cost, and I would keep the cardboard backing of the Van Gogh and the other picture, which I really did not want. He'd get the Van Gogh and his wife would be happy.

I took it apart there, and he gained some knowledge that may serve him well in the future.

I gained a cut, and thus worthless, chunk of 1950s cardboard, that used to be a collectible, vintage sign. I gifted it back to him on the spot, as it was worth more as backing for that picture. It saved him the hassle of cutting a new piece.

I took my other ugly, cheap print and tossed it on my pile of purchases, only having lost $10 for my curiosity getting out of control.

Let that be a lesson to you......actually, TWO lessons! One will save you money the other will make you money.

Plus, I am going to toss in a THIRD lesson...but you will have to read the next post for that one.

Country Auction - Part DEUX.

2012-02-24T09:23:00.001-06:00

I thought I better finish telling you about the auction, as some of you are expecting a grand finale...but this is not it. This is only part deux.....I mean, TWO.

Usually, if there is some decent stuff in the auction, and nothing else to drag me away to greener pastures, I will stick around until the very last item is sold.

This was the case with this sale. I stuck around only because it was the first sale of the year I had attended, and there were some interesting bits I wanted to get, or at least chase.

The sale was jammed with tables and tables of smalls, maybe 40, 8 foot long banquet tables....and there was a fair bit under many of the tables as well.

Usually that means a LONG day with these particular auctioneers, and some fantastic bargains to be had in the last hour of the sale. Crowd will start really thinning out, prices will drop, groups of items being offered by the auctioneer will be made much larger, hammer comes down faster, etc. The scenario of getting a whole table of items for a dollar, including many you would have bought individually for double and triple digit figures, becomes very feasible.

Today was not to be one of those sale, however.

Spring and late winter sales in this neck of the woods, especially when accompanied by clear, sunny weather, and good driving conditions, tend to do quite well. Winter on the Canadian prairies tends to narrow down the number of country auctions being held to maybe a couple a month.. I have seen many winters with zero sales being held on some months, especially December, January, and February.

Those are the months that I used to suffer with the shakes... from auction withdrawal! When I lived in the city, the 3 permanent flea markets and thrift stores, house calls and the occasional country picking trip, had to suffice in slaking my thirst for that "score".

Sale prices were high overall, with lots that would normally sell for a couple bucks hitting $10, $20, $30 and even a few topping out at $65+. A pre-teen girl locked her eyes and emptied her pocket book of $65+ for two home ceramics class figurines, one being a moose (or was it a bison?) that she was going to own no matter what. Apparently it was her first foray into the bidding world. The determination in her eyes was cool to see, but I shuddered to think that she paid that much for what I considered near valueless items....but, she was happy, and that is all that counts, I guess. She will hopefully enjoy the pieces...maybe a new collector has been born! Or, perhaps she knew something no one else in the crowd did.

Frankly, that is how I get my bargains at these sorts of sales.

Just because prices are going high on many things, does not mean EVERY good item you see will go high.

Why? Well, because the good items YOU see are not necessarily the same "good" items everyone else sees.

I bought a nice piece at that sale, and when another bidder started bidding, I expected I would not get it at all. Amazingly, I did buy it....and it is pictured below.

Measures over a foot high, and stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the jumble of more "man-ish" type stuff that it was surrounded by....tools, boxes of hardware, that sort of stuff.

I had looked it over fairly casually, and had not noted any chips or cracks. Plus, there were no makers marks or stickers, either.

I had overvalued it in my mind, though hadn't planned to bid more than $40 - $50, despite my feeling it was a $200 - $250 piece. I stray away from heavily chasing some breakable items when cash is low...one false move and your investment is GONE.

SO, bidding started..and, oddly, started quite low, at the $10 mark, I think. I let the auctioneer drop to $2 before putting my bid in.

Then another bidder upped it to a whole $4.00....and in the tone of the rest of the sale, watching pretty much every previous lot starting at a $2 bid turn into double and triple digits, I thought:

"Damn, this is going to get chased up to way past what I wanted to pay."

But I was not surprised, so I went with the bidding, might as well make the other bidder pay something for it.

And at $2 increments it went...$4....$6....$8...

and at that it oddly stalled....I was positive a more knowledgeable bidder would jump in...

In a couple seconds, to my surprise, it was mine.

The thought of :"I MUST have missed seeing/hearing a huge crack in it....or it is a repro I had never heard about....got to be something wrong with it......" went through my head.

Got it, checked it close, and it was still intact, no cracks, no chips. I can;t call it mint, as it had wear on the bottom....but that is a GOOD thing...honest wear on the bottom of a glass piece means the odds are very high that it certainly been around for quite some time.

After research at home, I discovered my on-site valuation was high. Made by Consolidated Lamp & Glass, the value was actually bout $125. I have it tagged it at $110, with room for negotiation.

Not bad. It is those "scores" that make up for the things you paid dear for, too much for, or should not have bought in the first place...which I managed to do at the same sale...but those are later blog postings.

"The Wild Factor" of a Local Country Auction

2012-02-15T08:18:00.004-06:00

Attended a local country auction this past Sunday.

First auction sale I have been to this year. In the winter months, auctions tend to be scarce in this province, especially in more rural locales.

Winnipeg, Manitoba's capital, tend to have a couple auction houses in /around that have regular weekly sales. But, as for country auctioneers, well, most are relegated to renting community halls, and other larger, heated venues.

Once in a blue moon there might be a liquidation/bankruptcy/estate auction that HAD to be held ASAP, and there might be a major outside component to the sale, but that is quite rare.

In this neck of the woods, no one wants to stand around in -40C windchill to bid on much of anything. For those of you who think in Fahrenheit, that is -49 degrees. No, our winters are not always that cold, but Murphy's Law says that the very day and outdoor, winter auction is scheduled, it will be one of the colder and windier days of the year!

So, the few sales that are held are located in rented community halls of small towns, or similar venues. There are more being held monthly now in the winter than in past years. Not sure why, though. I remember not so long ago that December, January and February sometimes held no auctions, save for livestock sales, and charity fundraisers.

Perhaps the baby boomer bulge nosing into retirement age is part of the cause....and I suspect auctioneers' general need for more income is likely also part of it.

Yesterday there was 2 auctions, one local, within a 5 minute drive, advertised as a estate, consignment and "Warehouse Liens Storage Auction." The other was a put together antiques & Collectibles auction, and considering I attended a couple of this auctioneer's "collectibles" sales, I knew prices would be high...and would cost me $50 in fuel to drive to, at least. Also, some of his consignors have a nasty habit of bidding on their own consigned items. Yes, it is technically illegal, and constitutes fraud....but is rampant at some auctioneer's sales, who openly allow it, or turn a blind eye to it, and feign ignorance.

I opted for the nearest one. I could easily go home or even do some local picking if it was really bad....and I knew it was unlikely consignors would be bidding their stuff up, at least not obviously, nor with the auctioneers knowledge.

I drove up, 15 minutes after the doors opened for preview. Normally, at this site, I tend to be one of the first half dozen people in the door, so I was relaxed....then I drove up and saw this:

At least 15 vehicles.....maybe 4 could be for auction staff....but usually I drive up at this time and see 5 vehicles at most.

I parked, walked up to the tools and junk that were outside,. With these indoor auctions, having box lots and tools can/usually means there is too much inside for them to bring all the stuff ALL in. Too much stuff can be good for a bargain hunter/reseller who has patience. Too much stuff can mean some real bargains may be had, for various reasons.

I went inside, and saw that there were cerainly already roughly 20 folks there.

Hmmm...I had suspected the mention of "Warehouse Storage Liens" might create a larger crowd, guess you can call it the Storage Wars Effect. (See: Urbanpackrat.com - Glendon Cameron - a Storage Auction guru...)

I was there for not more than 10 minutes, and overheard a guy commenting to his friend, who was looking at some of the offerings on the other side of the row of banquet tables.

He uttered: "If I hit The Wild Factor, I'll split it with ya."

I resisted allowing my eyes to roll....though I may have audibly let out a sigh.
For those of you who are now looking confused, the slogan "That's The Wild Factor, baby!" is a favorite in Darryl Sheet's vocabulary on Storage Wars (the original show)

The "Junk TV" Reality TV shows that have been flashed onto viewers screen have gotten viewers out of their recliners, off their couches, and up and attending auctions, garage sales, etc. Some are driven only by curiosity. However, some I am sure figure they are going to hit it rich, ignoring all the evidence to the contrary...wearing blinders to the information on the reality of the junk business that is available. I am seeing a larger crowd, and a younger crowd attending sales of all kinds. It is fine with me, I know what I am buying, though I now am very aware I may have to pay more for some things. Along with that comes a better market for the things I want to GET RID OF...Maybe auction would be the best way.......

"LONG TIME ANTIQUE HOARDER'S ESTATE FROM THE COUNTRY - BEEN IN A STORAGE LOCKER FOR QUITE AWHILE - ENTIRE CONTENTS TO BE AUCTIONED OFF - LOTS OF DUSTY SEALED BOXES"

Hmmm....oh well...

Back to the auction preview...

This was beginning of what was to be a long day.

At least there seemed to be plenty of home made pies being unpacked at the lunch counter... Hmmm..and I didn't have a huge breakfast.

I already knew where my first $2.00 will be spent...

Treasure Hunters All - (Teremity Magazine Article)

2012-02-11T08:20:00.002-06:00

This is a copy of an article I did for Teremity Magazine - published Feb - 2012

__ Treasure Hunters All__

Yes, I am a real picker.

I have been in the antiques biz, as my primary (and usually only) source of income, for half my life…20 years. Add to that the fact I have been “into” "treasure hunting" of one sort of another for as I can remember!

I briefly owned a metal detector, but it was pretty much the cheapest one on the market....I could see metal objects it had passed over, barely settled in the grass, which the unit could not seem to locate no matter how many times I carefully moved the head over the spot!

Why did I buy such a crappy detector? Dreams of a kid, and one I wanted to fulfill as soon as was possible. My parents worked hard for every dollar, and had little to spare, aside from the 25 to 50 cents allowance I acquired every Saturday. Thus I worked hard for pretty much every cent I ever had, also.

That crappy metal detector was paid for with hard earned nickels and dimes. The dollars were painstakingly accumulated, 5 and 10 cents at a time. I searched for soda and beer bottles high and low on weekends, holidays, and after school. I dug them out of clumps of winter killed weeds on boulevards and rescued them from their precarious perches amongst thorn spiked hedge branches. On family camping trips I scavenged them from cigarette butt strewn campsites. I popped them up out of the sun baked mud of roadside ditches, snagged them from their hiding spots in waist high grass, all the while shivering, soaked to the skin, the result of early morning dew wicking off the switch grass into the denim of my jeans and shirt sleeves. I even tolerated the stench of the clumps of rotting cigarette butts, insects and mouse corpses, some of which stubbornly stuck to the insides of their glass walled coffins. I am all too familiar with the stench these mini-greenhouses can create out of the mish-mash of debris that may end up in them. The goo sometimes lost its battle with centrifugal force, mid-swing. I can vaguely recall moments when a piece of chunky slime would shoot out of the bottle neck, then, to my horror, took an unintended, but oddly graceful acrobatic arc, seemingly in slow motion! Sometimes I dodged the wad of rot, the ground being its final destination. Other times my shoes, jeans or shirt became the landing sites.

On my return home from such an outing, there may have been the disposal of a pair of favorite-one-sole worn-through-running-shoes. They were given a proper burial in the outside trash can. Sometimes a pair of knee patched jeans or shirt followed them.

If it was clothing I was fond of, or I knew I'd catch heck for throwing out, the article would become part of an existing laundry pile, usually in my bedroom closet. Sometimes they shared their odorous prize with the rest of the clothing until washday, on the occasions that I forgot to make mention of them to my mother.
(Sorry, Mom!)

I had found & cashed in literally hundreds of “deposit” bottles to pay for that detector.

I guess the word “found” is not actually correct. The term really should be "picked."

Hmmm, come to think of it, I have been honing my "picker's eyes" for a LONG time....since I was 6 years old!

That is the thing with picking, you rely on your eyes quite a bit. However, a really good picker uses all his/her other senses, also. Yes, every sense we have, we use.

While walking on trash/debris strewn wooden floors of old buildings, I have learned to be highly aware of what is underfoot, not just being aware of things in my line of sight. You never know, you could be
far closer to a real treasure than your eyes can see, or even your arms can reach. But, of course, safety is very important, too. I want to be able to go out picking for a long, long time.

I can be walking along, stepping gingerly, feeling the floor's boards give slightly, listening for the structure underneath the planks creak just a little more than in an average old building. I strain for that initial sharp splinter of wood fibers, groups of them simultaneously letting go of their 100+ year grip they had on their neighbors...sort of a timber's own nearly-too-late-warning-scream of "OH CRAP!"

Or, it could be the barely audible squish of waterlogged, sponge-like, rotten wood fiber, ready to imitate that trap door on a stage, and in a blink of an eye, recreating that classic magical illusion of "now you see him, now you don't!"

So, all the while I am walking, I listen carefully, feeling each step, making sure I am not about to fall through a floor to my demise, or in impale my foot on yet another rusty nail. With the next step, the feel and sound of that footfall is noticeably different than the previous. The general "feel", combined with the tone, echo (etc) of the sound differed dramatically from my previous footfalls. It is likely not something anyone else who has tread on the same spot has taken any notice of in the room's 75 years of human traffic.

I realize there is metal beneath that foot's resting spot! No electronic metal detector required. Moving aside, still aware, but with some anticipation clouding my usual careful steps, I brush the debris aside. What is revealed is a sheet of metal. Brushing away all the debris past the surface's edges reveals a streaked mix of smooth, streaked glassy, but grunge smeared surface. With a slight shift of my eyes, they follow the flashlight beam tracing the outer edge of the whitish smeared chunk of steel. Visible upon careful inspection, almost obscured by an oily floor wax/dirt residue, are holes at the corners and middle edges. Most people would not have even not noticed them, but the smears of green, indicative of verdigris growing on the brass grommets the holes sport, are obvious to me.

The odds very high that it is an old enamel sign covering some hole! Maybe even a very VALUABLE sign!

Experienced 'digger's are familiar with these sorts of feelings, I am sure. The detector sounds, you bend or crouch down to the spot, and get out your equipment. With the first push of "whatever preferred excavation tool you use" into the ground, you hear/feel the pebbles, rocks, rotten wood, tree roots, and anything else it rubs against, or hits, including the target your detector sounded when it skimmed over the ground's surface.

Odds are you even have a pretty good idea of what it is, or at least it's composition. You may even know the object's shape and size, just from the feel of that little vibration.

These skills are the things we develop. We fine tune of our senses; hone them for, and by the pursuit of, our specific treasure hunting interests. We really think little about them, until they are pointed out to us. I am referring to observations by that friend/relative who tagged along with you. They come along with you on a hunt, maybe invited, sometimes out of curiosity, or maybe from pure avoidance of chores they needed to get done around the house.

Besides, it is a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Over the afternoon's hunt, you have calmly ignored their rolling eyes and their bored yawns. It is mid-afternoon, and over the past 2 hours you have politely answered their moronic or/and annoying questions, which are getting close to being akin to a five year old's whining queries of "why?"

As you bend down, and excavate the target your detector sounded on, you audibly mutter that you think the item is only a 1950s quarter.

After you excavate the prize, and show your companion for the afternoon, their eyes widen and with an amazed and almost incredulous tone say:

"How did you know it was going to be a quarter and not another bottle cap? And how the heck did you know it was from the 1950s????"

Yes, it is like that for me, as a long time picker, also. I don't know how many times people have said things like:

"I can not believe I walked by that thing pretty much every day, for 40 years, and had no idea it was there!!!"

Diggers.

Pickers.

We are all part of a worldwide treasure hunting fraternity. The treasuring hunting experience is something that unites us in more ways than we realize.

*****************************************************

Link To Article On Temerity Magazine (online) - SEE PAGE 70.

LOOKING BACK AND FORWARD - Recycling, Upcycling, Repurposing

2012-02-10T10:24:00.005-06:00

One of the things I have been doing for years is "up-cycling" vintage items.

To save space in this blog, and help me to stave off carpal tunnel, check out Wikipedia's definition of the word HERE.

I come across all kinds of cool junk....and to most people, it is just that...junk.

And, frankly., it is that to me, also...BUT, it the operative word is COOL. It is junk with obvious POTENTIAL!

Pretty much 99% of the junk around has potential in my eyes.....which can be a problem....think HOARDER.

No, no, I am not a hoarder by definition (a pack rat, maybe), though I am sure those who do not know me (and some that do!) believe I am. The thing is, I can get rid of items without remorse. It is all for sale, or can be disposed of if needed to be...even (HORROR OF HORRORS) dumped in the trash.

Experiences in my past, stressful, soap opera-esque and as unimaginable to some as they may have been, have hardened me to getting rid of things when required.

But, this blog is not about that. For the curious, yes, you shall get a chance to hear/read about some of those experiences...some day. You might have to buy my/one of (future) book(s) to read about them, but they likely will be revealed at some point.

So, that junk you got with the good stuff in that auction lot, that estate clean-out, that scrap pick up....yes, it is all TREASURE..and salable merchandise, if you know how to go about making it such!

I will offer you some of my unique takes on this sort of thing in videos and future blog postings.

Imagination & creativity are important to survive in this business....you need to maximize your profits. You can't always afford to donate the rest of that "box lot" to the thrift store. Word of caution to those getting into the junk biz, if you don't have an imagination, nor are creative AND inflexible in your thinking, well, forget the "junk business" in its entirely and go work at a Rotten Ronnies....otherwise you are on a road to going broke.

Things I used to view as junk are now valuable. Not because I can upcycle them, but because my knowledge had increased AND times have changed. As an example of times changing, those mass made/marketed tacky 1960s, 70s, and 80s stuff is now collectible and desired by certain segments of the market. My stepdaughter has fallen in love with 1970s love seats and couches...and I don't mean those ones with funky, nigh end designer patterns......I mean GRANDMA'S/AUNT MAUDE's couch.... with the not-really-paisley, shiny green fabric, with copper or gold thread, stiff button tufted upholstered things...the bad Victorian-esque copies of every 1970s/early 1980s household.

I can see the appeal, but that is because I have learned to observe those younger buyers, and what they would have seen at Grandma's & Grandpa's...the fondness I think may well grow from that exposure. We gravitate to things that have been imprinted on us early on...so early we have no or little recall of the time or place. You likely messed your diaper while lying on one of those couches...

Early thought "ahhh...of that feels good...such relief, and is so warm....."

It is probably a good thing idea we don't remember the exact thoughts and moments that drive some of our interests....shrinks out there would have a field day and get wealthy off of the books of comedy they could write. Besides, it is already a bizarre world....we really don't need it to be any more bizarre.

When looking around, and thinking about it, my upcycling past reveals valuable things I have destroyed.

I have made lamps from vintage parts for years. I take apart lamps of all kinds, and re-envision them. I have disassembled an uncountable number of 1950s/60s/70s floor and table lamps.

Before you start screaming BLASPHEMY, BLASPHEMY, BLASPHEMY, hear me out...

Many were rough, incomplete, plain or damaged anyway, though some were repairable, but not salable, even when in mint condition. There was simply no market for them. All they were was an old, out of fashion, cheap, second-hand lamp.....and the parts in them were of more value than the $2 (or less) that I might have been able to get out of them. The sockets in some of them were worth more to me as repair parts for my 1920s/30s/40s designer 1950s lamps I restored. Lamp parts have not changed all that much in 100 years, by the way. I have seen 1970s parts used in the 1980s...take this chrome 1970s "Ball" lamp, as an example:

I have seen identical steel balls to the one used on this goose neck....but on 1980s lamps & light fixtures. They are the IDENTICAL part, some being plated or painted a different color. Then, in the 1990s they popped up in other lamps, and even right now are being used to make "repros" of those same 1970s "Mod" chrome ball lamps and light fixtures, as well as assorted "retro" lamps and light fixtures....plus being incorporated into "brand new" and "ultra modern" styles of lighting. Just look closely in the lighting sections of various big box stores, and specialty lighting stores. Take notice of these things,.it will help when you are are picking!

Take this cool piece as another example:

The 1950s "atomic era" floor LAMP what I am referring to....not the flamed motorcycle helmet, mannequin, out of print VHS movies or other stuff in the photo!

Congrats if you did spot that stuff...ya got a picker's eye!

If you were to take this lamp apart, pretty much most of the identical parts in it have been used in lamps 30 years it's senior, some even older. Even the identical shape of glass shade has been made before. Change the colors, angles, styles, use of the parts, etc, and VOILA you have the "latest thing" the "modern" lamp....again, and again, and again.

There really is nothing that is a brand new, a never thought of idea...not in its entirety, anyway. If you pick most things apart, do some digging into the past, you will find those things are copies of forgotten old, reintroduced, revised, reinvented, recycled ideas, plans, designs...rehashed, reassembled, combined with other ideas, etc.

Many parts in the lamp manufacturing industry 50 years ago are still being used (and newly manufactured) right now....they might have a different color plating, a revised use, etc, but they are essentially the same part...some lamp companies produced so many or one part that they are still using up parts that were made up to 40 years ago!. Read up on CHASE Copper And Brass, who essentially maximized the potential of this concept, and used it to survive in the 1930s. They used old plumbing parts and other "dead stock" they already had in inventory to create lines of Art Deco decor items, kitchen items, etc. The retail/manufacturing industry did not ignore Chase's and similar firms' successes with the idea....and it was not a new idea to begin with.

Here is a lamp I made years ago...one of my favorites I kept for myself.

I realize it looks old. For all intents and purposes it IS old....it varies in age.....the parts ARE all old...but they vary in vintage. I'll go over the parts in another blog posting. Let's see if you can figure out what valuable piece I scavenged some of the parts from. (HINT: Think EAMES ERA designer!)

Other dealers, pickers, artistic/creative types do/have done this sort of thing. One fellow in Winnipeg (Manitoba) who dabbled in this business, made some similar sorts of lighting. His lamps are wonderful in design, fantastic even. They tend to emulate the 1880 - 1920 eras of lighting. This fact is in part because of, but not solely due to, the use of vintage parts. However, 99% of the population would be hard pressed to tell the difference between a legit, factory assembled, circa 1900 piece and many of his "made-up" lamps. He didn't mark them in anyway, and many were done 20, even 30 years ago (or more?), so have now acquired a bit of patina even, making it tougher to nail down their origins. He was just that sort of fellow; maybe thinking along the lines of purposely passing them off as old, or perhaps just didn't care, figuring this is a "buyer beware" sort of business.

It is really too bad he didn't sign all of his creations. My thoughts on that are not actually so much a concern with them being mistaken as "real" old lamps or even as restored originals. Personally, I look at this "re-creating" things as a real art, as it does take talent, and a natural instinct for design. It is not easy for "Joe Blow" to source the parts, and put them together to make a piece look "right" and pleasing to the eye. His "art" will likely never, ever be recognized of acknowledged now. His pieces may even end up attributed to some designer/artist who died 50 years prior to him. He will not receive due recognition as the true artisan who actually created the piece.

I signed, and usually dated, all the pieces I created and/or modified heavily. I usually marked them as being "RE-DESIGNED" or "RE-CREATED." This one is from 1995.....you will see it has already acquired a bit of a patina already....I hand polished them, as I like a softer tone to the brass, and didn't clear-coat them, so they would age naturally, and evenly. You could say their natural aging is part of my artistic vision.

I am still creating cool lamps and "functional art" as my time permits. I've always leaned toward an industrial look, and now industrial is "in", so I will be leaning harder that way. I like keep my pieces refined, not crude, but still industrial...sort of a "Steampunk" look at times. Most of the sculpture/projects are in piles of pieces, waiting for that certain "perfect" component to pop up to make them complete, or bring them one step closer to completion.

"Spare time" is a scarce commodity in a hardcore picker's life!

I'll post some pictures of the creations as they are done, in this blog, for your enjoyment!

This post is very RARE! AND ONE OF A KIND!

2012-01-27T16:31:00.003-06:00

Many veteran dealer's long list of pet peeves includes the common mis-use of terms. I could blog, and blog, and blog about various terms being mis-used. "Fumed Oak" is one that, for some reason, seems to really "get in my craw"...(whatever that means!)

The terms RARE and ONE OF A KIND (also even more misused is the term in its popular abbreviation OOAK) are two that get tossed around a fair bit, and the majority of what you see posted on websites like eBay tend to be neither rare, nor one of a kind, despite the sellers proclaiming that.

We all make mistakes. Some make more than others. However, research is part of this game, so if you don't do your research and you arbitrarily declare something is "rare", you list it on eBay as such, and when you do a search fr the item, yours appears amongst 3247 identical 1995 McDonald Happy Meal toys...well, then you're just an idiot.

If there are only 2 others, and they don't have the same color combo yours does...well, we can excuse that.
I do, however, suggest you change "Rare" to "Scarce" or "hard to find".

If you had put ONE OF A KIND on your listing...well, then you are just a complete, moronic idiot.

If you know that yours is the prototype for those pieces, and can prove it is the one and only one ever produced, OK, then "One Of A Kind" is warranted......slap "OOAK" all over the place at your hearts content. If they made 2 prototypes, and they are identical....slap OOAK anywhere...then I get to slap YOU.

We can not really lay the blame so much at all those sellers' feet, though. As I recall, I remember when eBay actually SUGGESTED you use those very terms! I remember shaking my head when I saw the suggestion of using "RARE" (among other terms not really applicable to most items sold on eBay)....seems to me it came up mainly when you were re-listing an item. Not sure if they do still, they might have finally nixed that little bit of "advice."

Anyway, instead of me going on and on...I suggest you check out this article on Worthpoint.com, as it covers the bases!

Happy picking!

The 3 F's - Future, Family, Furniture

2012-01-19T13:29:00.000-06:00

Made a trip to Winnipeg last week; mainly to take my stepdaughter back to her home. With us we brought an antique wardrobe she had purchased from a friend of ours. The unit is quite large, being about 7 1/2 feet tall. Quite the beautiful piece; exterior components being made with single super-wide planks of oak, 1880s, sporting hand cut dovetails and machine cut square nails. It is likely European (more than likely British) in origin, considering it had evidence of the type of woodworm occupation seen on many European pieces. Woodworm, of which the sort that this piece shows damage from, does not occur in Canadian made items, due to our climate being less than ideal for that pest to survive in.

Being the loving step-dad, I got to load/pack/secure the wardrobe, deliver it, help unload it, and even repair/re-glue it, etc once it was in her apartment. Her dad (yes, her dad and I are on friendly terms) supplied the claps and assorted tools I did not have with me. She's lucky to have 2 loving dads and a loving mother, all interested and plenty of experience in the antiques business. That has helped her in various past endeavors and interests, and will help her in the future. She will realize this more and more as she goes through the years, but at present, she is young (21) and may not realize how much help this support will provide & educate her. No matter, she is on her own life path, and we are here to assist her.

Sometimes I am sure she thinks we are being a pain in the butt, critical, annoying, stupid, or just plain irrational....all of which might be true on occasion! She'll just have to sort out which times are legitimately "nutty" and which are truly our attempts to help steer her in a positive direction. That is part of life experience, and she's an intelligent sort. As with anyone young & newly "out on their own," the haze created by the glitter, dismay, annoyance, sadness, excitement, anticipation etc, of her current daily experiences, many of which are fresh and new, will become "ho-hum" and commonplace.

Once that occurs, the fog will clear, and she will see things far more clearly, and in ways she didn't view them before.

We love her, and wish to see her succeed in whatever she wishes to pursue.

The lives of those in the "junk biz" are quite different from the "mainstream", and thus seem unusual to those who have never been part of this lifestyle. We are the same as everyone else in this world, really. We have faults, needs, desires, goals, ups, downs, wishes, fantasies, dreams, interests, dislikes, good habits, bad habits, and all the other long list of positive, neutral and negative attributes which comes with being human.

So, now that everyone is weeping and feeling all gushy, it is time to change the subject!

This particular piece I had seen at an local antiques auction. I didn't stay for the entire sale, as I didn't need stock, and had bills to pay. Knowing that it was a good piece, I had no doubt it would sell for $400 at minimum, despite some of is issues. It was a well advertised sale, and every good item that was being sold received bids that were at retail levels,and most were actually exceeding retail levels.

Tip, just because it is an auction, does not mean you are buying it wholesale no matter what you pay!

And that includes bidding against a dealer....we collect, too! We also bid & buy on behalf of friends, relatives, collectors, etc! Plus, we are not stupid...we know when you are just trying to "bid us up"...and that is a dangerous game to play....it may cost you far more than you would think, and I don't mean just in dollars and cents, though you will take a hit in your pocketbook, for sure....if not at this auction, it may be the next. The antiques community is far smaller than people would think, and with online social networks, your little game may have consequences that reach further than your local community.

No, nothing occurred at this auction to make me venture into that little tirade...just some good, solid advice for those newbies out there who may be tempted to play the games that some reality shows portray. Real life is not like Reality TV.. The true REALITY is that when you find the consequences of your actions coming back to haunt you, affecting you in negative ways, it is suddenly no longer amusing, interesting, nor entertaining.

So, back to the wardrobe....

I found out later that an "oak" wardrobe at the sale sold in excess of $600. There happened to be two wardrobes at the sale, only one of which was really oak.

My assumption was that it was the oak piece that had sold for $600+, and I was not surprised. Well worth that, and with a few repairs/restoration, and if assembled properly (the auction company's staff had assembled it with the base upside down!) it could garner $1500 - $2000.

The other wardrobe sold for $50, and it was a local used furniture dealer who purchased it, who we deal with and are friendly with.

I heard another friend of ours bought the wardrobe, and for a still cheap amount of $250, delivered. Good profit for the furniture dealer, and a decent price for the wardrobe, which I assumed was the "faux oak" (see my "Test Time" posting) one. It was maybe worth $450, in my opinion.

When our friend showed it off to us, I was stunned to see it was the REAL OAK one...The "faux oak" one had sold for over $600!

The truly valuable one sold for a bargain basement price of $50!

I thought that the base being flipped over was quite obvious, but in retrospect, it perhaps was not obvious to all of the potential bidders. I can only assume that they looked at the (typical) heavy wear present on the upright facing underside's 125+ years of floor contact produced wear as severe damage...to what they assumed was portion of the side that was meant to be visible. .

Goes to show that, despite an item being at a well advertised, well attended auction sale (or ANY sale), you well may be the only person in the room that recognizes the true value of that object.

If Only I had Picked That....& No Regrets.

2012-01-15T12:00:00.000-06:00

There are many potential "treasures" that people overlook, discard, pass over, ignore, etc.

"Prototypes" can be worth big money. But, finding one is the trick....but before you find one, you will have to figure out how to identify an item as a prototype! And a historically SIGNIFICANT one at that...

Late last year (December 2011) one of two known prototypes the "hobble skirt" style Coca-Cola bottle was sold at auction, with the original drawing.

The lot only sold for a mere $228,000.

Not bad for a chunk of glass and a piece of paper!

If you tripped across one of these bottles in some attic, basement, storage locker, would you have dug a little deeper as to it's origins?

Learning to identify such things comes down to more than just reading.

You also need to get over the "if only it was me"...and that is one of the things we all struggle with....some will not admit it, but at times, I wear my heart on my sleeve. I admit it. I wish I had found that prototype.

But, I know that if I come across something in the same vein, I will recognize it...hopefully!

All I can do is prepare, learn, train, and live life as best I can.

If you follow my blog, you will end up with tips & hints, and links to information you may well have not found on your own. I will also be adding some videos to future postings, with some "how to" segments. I am one of the few true pickers on the web that is willing to give away information. Sure, there are lots of "self proclaimed pickers" out there professing prowess, and spouting rhetoric about "how easy" it is to make money, even make a living, from "picking."

When you view and listen to these self proclaimed experts, you need to:

Beware.
Be cautious.
Be critical.

And turn on your B.S. detector to MAXIMUM.

If someone has done garage sales for a few years, that does not make them a professional picker.

If someone has gone to 50 auctions, that does not make them a professional picker.

If someone has done storage auctions all their life, that does not make them professional picker. it might make them a professional storage auction buyer, possibly only in their own minds, but determining that is a whole different topic, and I will leave it up to you to check out Glendon Cameron's wise words at www.urbanpackrat.com. You will probably find that Glendon and I have slightly different views on what a "picker" is.
Thus far, it is a friendly banter/debate. LOL.

As a result of the Reality TV trend diving into the "Junk Biz" and many aspects related to it, I have found myself having to refer to myself as a "hardcore picker". Glendon calls me a "hustler", and that is a positive term in his realm....but that term, up here, has yet to take on a 100% positive connotation...so, I will stick with "hardcore picker".

IE: I do what I need to do to make a buck from buying/obtaining, selling and marketing "junk", and using my skills in that arena to the best of my ability. I adapt, and "multi-task" when I am picking. By that I mean evaluating situations, sites, and prospects that may not profit one way, but could profit very well another way. Taking an attitude of looking at things from different angles...such as seeing value in things that someone with limited skills and/or blinders will not recognize.

Surviving in the "junk biz" in Manitoba is no easy task. Any Manitoban antiques dealer, second hand dealer, auctioneer, picker etc, etc will likely back up that statement....as will those from other provinces who have had experience in the Manitoban/Canadian Prairies marketplace.

Thus, I have "trained" in one of the toughest markets in North America for over 20 years.

I jumped in "green", and those surrounding me said to my face and behind my back that I would not be in business for long

Twenty plus years later, many mouths that made those statements have respectfully retracted their words, and stepped up, giving respect where respect is due.

Others have denied they even uttered such statements, but yet are unable to hide their embarrassment.

Many others' mutterings have entirely disappeared from buzz of the junk biz entirely, their statements having predicted not my demise, but their own.

I have asked myself "Will I survive the new trends?"

For me that is easy to answer....I live, breath and will die in this business. I've adapted, changed and learned, took chances, tried, failed, tried again, failed, tried again...day in and day out. I will be making a living from the junk biz, in some shape or form, until the day I die.

The question is:

Will you survive in this business?

Follow my writings, videos, etc, and you may gain some insight on how I have survived in one of the toughest markets in the "first world." I have not even managed to chip an ice cube off of the iceberg of accumulated knowledge gained from my experiences.

This is hardcore stuff, from fun, humorous and hilarious happenings, to devastating & heartbreaking experiences. It is all coming in the new year, laid out, spread out for you to read, view, see, and, most importantly....

learn.

.

THANK-YOU!

2012-01-02T12:07:00.003-06:00

SO, been thinkin' and there really is one reason...well, in a way, many reasons, why I keep writing here.

And those reasons have been growing in number, slowly, but still growing.

Those many reasons are all living, breathing....and they include YOU.

So, thank-you for reading, participating in my indulgence, putting up with complaining, opinionated rants, etc.

Hopefully you have gotten something out of my ramblings, and will enjoy reading for many blogs to come.

Again,

THANK-YOU!

Formula: Storage Wars:Texas + Moe Prigoff = Storage Wars: Barry Weiss

2012-01-01T23:00:00.000-06:00

So, with STORAGE WARS:Texas hitting the tube, we now have another "professional storage locker" buyer who has that antiques/collectibles buyer sort of slant.

I realize these programs follow a "formula." Thus, the plan seems to add Moe Prigoff to the Texas crew to create that vibe that Barry Weiss gives to the original Storage Wars.

I like junk TV programming, I do...it is my business, after all. I am also intelligent enough to see it as "entertainment" and not "that is REAL LIFE"...it is a polished, edited, buffed up, TV representation of life, but not real life. Heck, for one episode of AP they film about 50 hours of footage...so OVER 49 hours worth of footage is edited out! It is entertainment, and I like it, usually.

I have to admit, I am already a little tired of the way the spin offs seem to be going....ALREADY.

Though, I guess if I got a call to be a buyer featured on what would undoubtedly be called "STORAGE WARS: MANITOBA" I might consider it.

Cash is cash, after all.

However, I have substantial doubts it will get to that point....as I really doubt that following the "formula" they have will really work for long. Unless you really change things up, and make the next "spin-off" its own program, independent from the parent, the formula based clone is destined to fall to the wayside...some quicker than others. The offspring might well bring down the parent into the pit of cancellation, also.

Reality TV hasn't figured out what producers of successful fictional TV program franchises have figured out.
Let's take the Law & Order franchise, as an example.

They are all DIFFERENT. Yes, they target a similar/same audience, but, their STAYING power lies in the fact they have very DIFFERENT characters, a DIFFERENT formula for each series, and DIFFERENT settings.

Yes, there are some crossovers in characters, even the odd plot, and they are similar in a some ways. However, in other ways they are VERY different from each other.

Many of the reality TV franchises can not lay a legitimate claim to their shows being VERY different from each other. Some of the spin-off programs have had the embarrassing misfortune to have hosts that even opt to use the same lingo used by the parent show's hosts!

That is just, well, tacky.....I find those TV moments down right painful...I cringe. It makes it a little too obvious that the hosts are not "legit"....

That is, unless you are unfamiliar with the trades they are depicting, and you assume that the lingo used on the parent program is the common lingo used right across the trade. Yes, we have trade terms used right across our business...some examples:

Patina
Mint condition
NOS/New-old stock
Hallmark
Reproduction
Fake

Let's take some lingo yanked from American Pickers as an example. "Honey hole" is not a term I had EVER used (nor use now) to describe a great picking spot.

From what I have been told by a few veterans of the metal detecting hobby, the term is used in the metal detecting world...and has been for as many years as the hobby has been out there. That actually makes more sense to me...you dig holes when you metal detect, usually.

The first time I had ever heard it related to picking was on AP....and I have been in this biz for just as long as Mike (Wolfe) has. (Though I am younger than Mike....might not look it, but it is true! Hey, I've earned my grey hair and weathered features, damn it!)

The first time I heard Mike say "honey hole" on American Pickers I did a triple take...

If you weren't aware of the fact already.; aware of it already, "honey hole" does have some other definitions that were far more commonly meant when those words were spoken.

As you see, neither of which relates to the antiques business...well, directly, anyway...but any of those sorts of stories are strictly kept amongst a group of pickers, sitting around a bonfire, and after several bottles of beer have been consumed....

Wikipedia nails it down as a mainly hunting & fishing term, though they add American Pickers as a "Popular Culture" notation.

The power of TV is pretty strong in the popularizing of terms and their uses, eh?

I am betting that there will be a "UK PICKERS" or "BRITISH PICKERS" or "PICKERS IN KILTS" or whatever, that is almost inevitable. A change of country can potentially work as a twist that may well hold viewers, if the casting is right.

I have to admit, I was initially a bit excited about "Canadian Pickers" being produced.....until I saw the first episode....and the rest of the episodes. I was very hopeful....I am an optimist, believe it or not.
Their 2nd season is going to air (finally) in January 2012, so I will save you from any rants, critiques and reviews....at least until after the new episodes air.

Though, I would really like to hear YOUR opinions of the show....

Actually, comments on ANY of the junk biz TV shows are welcome!

I'd also like you to honestly note how long you have been a professional/making a living/supplementing income/etc in the "junk biz", if you are a long time junker but not pro, or if you are a rosy cheeked fresh newcomer, inspired by the programs you have seen. I actually think it is GREAT there are newcomers, fresh faces, etc, so do not feel shy that you have become hooked on "junk"...there are MANY of us "addicts" out there.

I have found one thing, in analysis of the last couple years worth of Junk TV programs. The take on things in the "junk biz" by Reality TV seems to have a focus, or at least a "chunk" of attention is paid to, one basic thing..

It includes "getting a deal"..."negotiating"..."appraisals"....."how much"...."it could be valuable"....which are all connected to:

Making MONEY.

The almighty buck and its children (bastard and otherwise), get tossed up on our screens to the point of near absurdity when it comes to those programs.

That is all fine and dandy, with the economy and all, they are trying to lure people in to watch.

However, too much of it can really make this biz look like a bunch of money hungry folks whose focus is just on that dollar sign...or Pound sign, or Euro sign...whatever.

Ok, I admit that we do like the cash aspect of it, sure, but that is not the appeal for most of the "players" out there in this field. We have personalities beyond the almighty buck....and reasons we are in this that go beyond that. Mike shows that in AP...he goes batty over bicycles. Frank goes owly over oil cans. They are legit in their passion when it comes to "old junk", and it shows.

Me? I LOVE the thrill of the hunt. That is my motivation.....my addiction!

Hell, pay me a realistic wage for what I do, the experience I have, education I have accumulated (etc), back me with $$$ for buying and I will PICK antiques and other assorted cool/neat/weird/odd sundry items on a salary basis! Will have your shop filled to capacity in a matter of weeks....heck, under a week if you have no particular category of vintage items you want.

Problem is, I need cash to buy the stuff....no cash, no hunting for dusty treasures....so paying too much doesn't work....keeping stuff does not work....

Yep, a true addiction...and I am doing what I have to in order to feed my addiction.

I need AAA......no, not AA....I need:

Antiques Addicts Anonymous.

My name is Bear, and...umm......I am self-employed...I am an entrepreneur....

So, um, now when do we get to have that coffee & those cookies? I haven't had lunch...spent my last $20 on those tin cans over there by the door......say, what is in the basement of this building?

All in all, viewers who are even just on the fringes of "the junk business" are smart enough to realize that Reality TV's take on the "Junk Biz" thus far is not realistic.

SO, now think of those who are newbies....just how long is it going to take for them to figure out it is just not like it is on TV...and some/many of the things said, done, experienced, etc, is not the day to day reality of it...now that they themselves have experienced the "junk lifestyle" first hand?

And what happens after they have expressed this to ALL their friends, and relatives...who tell all their friends and relatives, who tell all their friends and relatives, who.......)

Got the picture?

Even the "good" junk biz programs will start falling in popularity. Reality TV is crying wolf.

No pun intended....if I had intended a pun, there would have been an E on the end.

That said, I;d think that Mr Wolfe's original premise (which was to focus far more on the people, especially the real characters we pickers encounter) is actually a more long term survivor, in my opinion.

What do most of us do with an antiques/collectibles price guide once it is a few years old?

Compare that to your other reference books in the bookcase...the many "book of silver marks", "pottery marks" or other books we use for research purposes? And that favourite novel you read and reread?

What about the spin-offs that are pure "follow the formula" of the successful parent Reality "Junk TV" show?

Well, they will be the first to fall....if they didn't hit circular file called "cancellation" after their first season....or first few episodes.

What I clearly recognize that is needed for "junk TV" keep a grip on the audiences long term is simple...non-formula based spin-offs.

Fans have clearly and loudly expressed this about other programs.

Danielle Colby-Cushman of American Pickers is a PRIME example of this.

She is founder of a BURLESQUE troop for crying out loud...and a former roller derby queen.... ....she makes/remakes/designs CLOTHING, is an ARTIST...and a MOTHER...man, COME ON, can no one (in the production company) not see "SPIN-OFF MATERIAL" flashing in bright orange tubing of a huge (but of course rusty) neon sign???

No, I am not a fanboy of Danielle's. She seems to be a cool person and all, but so are many folks I know in this biz, who think for themselves, and are "eccentric" in some ways...and are not on TV, nor ever will be. Frankly, many SHOULD be...they are certainly all far more interesting than some of the folks that have been cast in these shows.

Don't get me wrong, there are lots of interesting & simply cool folks out there that have been cast/given shows (some current, some gone) that are certainly quality TV characters, but some are just NOT...and who ever cast them is not doing their job well at all.

AH, that is IT, I know what the next big Reality TV blockbuster will be!

"CASTING DIRECTOR - THE FINAL CUT!"

Resolutions Of The Junk Biz.

2012-01-01T12:00:00.002-06:00

I have been trying to decide what my New Year's resolutions should consist of.

So far, the list is short.

VERY short.

Non-existent, actually.

I tend to try and work on things all year round, sometimes not accomplishing the resolution, sometimes blowing it away 100 fold.

So why should I create a special list just for New Years?

Working on yourself year round is your best bet.

So, what are YOUR resolutions?

Ah, I hear a number of you saying the same and similar things...

By next year you resolve to be a professional picker, professional storage auction buyer, thrift shop owner, antiques store dealer, etc, etc, etc...

Well, for many of you, my best advice would be to forget trying to keep that resolution..that is, for THIS year.

Accomplishing those sorts of things takes LONG TERM resolve...and EXPERIENCE....LOTS of it!

If you MUST make a resolution leaning in those directions, how about you resolve to WORK HARD AT learning to be a picker, professional storage auction buyer, thrift shop owner, antiques store dealer, etc, etc, etc...

Start small.

Why?

Those who start BIG crash even BIGGER.

*BOOM*

(There goes one already...)

"Bigger they are, the harder they fall."

It is true, very true. PLUS, those who go big, but start on a flimsy foundation, that consists of:

a lack of knowledge,
few connections,
little (or no) experience,
(etc)

crash hard...very hard....and tend to have a very, very, very slim chance of recovery in that field. They will likely have to go back to working 9 to 5 for someone else, if they haven't landed themselves in a psychiatric ward. For those going huge, without the background required, the crash will undoubtedly be far too traumatic for them to handle.

With all those folks I see and hear about, who are diving head first into the "junk biz", I can clearly and certainly predict that there is going to be lots of lost storage lockers, bankruptcies, trauma, broken families, suicides, and yes, even murders that will result.

I know this sounds like doom & gloom, but it is fact.

Think about it. Any "fad" or "promoted" type of business will have essentially 2 groups, in the end.

(1) Those who (will) do well - IE: Those educated in that area already, are naturally talented/gifted in that area, those taking a step up, have already been mentored, taught, trained, did it as a hobby for years, etc, etc.

(2) Those who end up breaking even, loosing a little, loosing a lot, or...loosing EVERYTHING.

How many people bet their entire life savings on a stock tip that everyone else has heard, also?

"Get in on the bottom floor!" "Make billions!"

Some will risk it all, but not many, usually.

TV is a persuasive media. We really do know that we can not really believe everything we see on TV. Then along came "Reality TV" as a mainstay in the TV world.

But, usually it is a pretty positive slice of "reality"....or, the opposite, a pretty negative - See: HOARDERS)

Boredom?

Naw, doesn't exist.

"Anyone can do this!" (ie: picking valuable items out of a barn in the middle of nowhere)

or

"It could happen to YOU!" (ie: filling your home with 50,000 toilet paper rolls, newspaper, twist ties, rotting ferret tails, and of paperclips....but just the smaller loops of them, not the whole thing.)

But, I digress....

This is not a business for the feint at heart....or those looking for a quick buck or a fast way to get out of debt or just to be "famous" on Reality TV or to find that "BIG SCORE" that sets them up for life......

The BIG SCORE...hmmm....

There are thousands...scratch that...heck, likely millions of us junk biz vets out there who are STILL looking,searching,striving to find that "BIG SCORE" that will set us up for life. The (sort of) sad fact is that many of us will (and do) find ourselves at the end of our lives never finding that score.

Ever.

So, if you have decided to jump into the junk biz, and you are certain you will succeed, well, congratulations kid, you do possibly have on trait required.....optimism!

Why do I say "possibly"?

Well, there is one other trait that you may be mistaking for optimism.

This trait will keep the facts from entering your decision making process.

With all the TV talk, you should have guessed it by now....

PLEASE, before you commit to your "resolutions" for the year, honestly ask yourself:

"Am I being REALISTIC?"

Junk TV - Yet Another Show...Wait, Hey, I KNOW THAT GUY!

2011-12-27T17:27:00.000-06:00

Well, well, well...I guess it was only a matter of time before I would see a show with someone I have crossed paths with in this business!

OLN will be debuting "DEALS FROM THE DARKSIDE" TONIGHT!

This twist on the junk biz features Extreme Escape Artist Steve Santini, who, really, is already a vet of Reality TV, seeing as many of his escapes have been televised, and there are multitudes of his videos to see on You Tube.

He has also managed to earn the moniker of "The World's Most Extreme Escape Artist." His videos online will be proof enough to that...and am sure that he will do some of his escapes as part of this latest show, also!

Yes, I do know Steve...or, rather, knew him. It was when he was starting out in the 1990s, and was calling himself "The Great Santini." We had a mutual friend at the time; a fellow dealer, so yes, we have crossed paths.

I would think he has dropped the moniker of "The Great Santini", long ago, considering the fact that there was a novel and then a movie (based on the novel,) utilizing the same title. I would think that really could have really confused the issue for some people.

Anyway, from the videos I have seen online, and photos, etc, he has actually developed more into a "character" (but those of us dedicated to this "junk" all are, when it comes right down to it!) than when I knew him. That is a good thing, really. Guess he has found himself, which is cool. We all need to do that, really! I'm workin' on it! Figure I am a project 90% completed!

Anyway, I am actually looking forward to the show. He has been a long time collector of Titanic items, handcuffs, and "dark" items, and as I recall was enthusiastic about collecting way back then, so I hope that is still the case.

Congrats, Steve! Lookin' forward to the show!

Junk TV - Let Me Count Thy Programs

2011-12-27T16:49:00.000-06:00

Was just thinking about how many "Junk TV" shows that have popped up in the last 2 years.

The most recent (at the time of my writing this) is "The Big American Auction", which I mentioned in my last posting.

Another new show called "Real Deal" aired Nov 27th on History Channel (USA).

Others that have aired in the last 2 years include (in no particular order):

American Pickers
Canadian Pickers
Cash & Cari
Pawn Stars
Hardcore Pawn
Picker Sisters
Storage Wars
Storage Wars: Texas
Auction Hunters
Storage Hunters

Born Dealers / Natural Born Dealers (retitled "Born Dealers" for Discovery TV of Canada)

Another recent spin-off of PAWN STARS is about to air, also. Surprise, surprise...not.

It is set in central Louisiana, entitled.....wait for it.....CAJUN PAWN STARS ! Actually, I don't know if that is the official title.....

Damn, it IS the official title...!

Oh well, guess it was the only natural choice.

Now, I am also waiting for an AMERICAN version of THIS show to arrive!

The blogger of that article calls it "Antiques Roadshow With A Sledgehammer!"

Personally, I think that would actually make a darn fine real name for the American version of the show....and I'd LOVE to host it!

As a dealer who is SO tired of repros, fakes, etc messing up the market place & values, and causing anguish among beginning collectors and long time collectors alike, not to mention us dealers... it would be SO cool to see some of that crap get what it deserves!

Imagine, smashing the crap out of fakes, repros, etc...a dream job for some dealers! Imagine the satisfaction you would get from your job!

Hmmm.....I think I am going to go now....I need to get my resume ready....and hone up on my sledgehammer swingin' skills....

Dolly's Dear Dolls' Destiny

2011-12-26T21:52:00.000-06:00

With Boxing Day having arrived and departed, I got thinking about all the soon to be ignored toys that parents around the world will be tossing into boxes marked with phrases such as "give away", "4 garage sale", "Donations","Charity", etc. One of the things I see many of in the toy sections of thrift stores are dolls. Yes, I do check out those as well...vintage Barbies and other dolls can be worth good bucks! Usually what is in the jumble or "displays" tend to be... well, bedraggled...abused, chewed and generally in what some would term as "loved" condition...but, if that indicates they had been "loved," then I think that the kids who played with them should be closely monitored when they grow up and have kids....!

So, in my avoidance of doing some work (it is the holidays, after all!) I got doing a few random searches for related blogs.

I figured I would share a few of my finds in the world of "Thrift Store" related blogging. Yes, I do some thrift store picking as part of my buying, and see funny things, but so often do not have my camera with me...tho I do buy some of the things that make me laugh...or want to say WTF?!?! And, yes, I will post them from time to time. Already posted a picture of one bizarre item, which you likely read about already....yes, it was the "plastic bag space helmet!"

So, now check out these 2 bloggers' posts....

WARNING, if creepy dolls haunt your nightmares, DON'T CLICK THESE LINKS lest you view more freaky plastic faces will haunt your dreams!

This post made me laugh.....and shudder...! Let's Go Thrifting: What The Thrift!? An Army of Undead Dolls

Another gem from the same thrifter/blogger: What The Thrift!? The Knock-Off Doll Head Edition.

And one more creepy doll post from another blogger, ONE GAL'S TRASH

Hmmm......almost makes me think I should start a website just for people to post photos of creepy dolls....!

And with that, I am headed to bed...to dream of dancing, disfigured, disjointed doll heads...

Realities of the Junk Biz Lifestyle VS Reality TV - Part One...of many to come)

2011-12-26T18:15:00.000-06:00

Ah, you are back! GOOD. At least you want to learn!

(Oh, warning, no pictures exist in this posting.)

Just the facts, period.

The thing is, when you are in the "junk biz" "stuff happens," just as it does to anyone else.....and sometimes "stuff happens" even more-so.

Times can be tough.

An expected/unexpected bill can pop up.

You could get so overworked/tired/stressed that you need a vacation or you will loose your mind and/or your family.

You may need to take an urgent trip via airline, and not be able to pick up a "cheap flight" and have to pay the airlines top-end rates.

You need to take some other emergency trip, maybe rescue of friend from a bad relationship, or just "be there" for someone.

You may wish to take time off just to be with a friend/relative in the last months/days/hours of their lives.

You suddenly may have health issues of your own arise, or need to assist a family member or friend in health related issue.

You may trip on a half-buried wire while in a scrap yard, resulting in a face-meets-chrome impact, and leave some extra patina and scuffs on that Dodge DeSoto bumper you were after...but at least you know roughly where to look for the other halves of your front teeth....seeing as you did hear 2 "pings" as they ricocheted off the grill.

Of course, I could keep going on and on and on. However, those of you who have been on that long road of life for more than, say, a quarter century, without the family safety net constantly hovering underneath their tightrope....well, you all don't need reminders of the past.

I do want to make those who are new to the junk biz well aware of the realities of the junk biz lifestyle.

ATTENTION ALL of you who fall under these categories,

- Reality-TV-Is-Real-Life-True-Believers
- newbie-but-I-AM-A-PROFESSIONAL-Storage-Locker-Buyers
- Wannabe-Pickers
- among other hoards of those people, falling under multiple known (and currently unknown) categories of those who are bushy-tailed-bright-eyed-earnestly-peering-through-their-rose-colored-glasses with that 100 yard I-am-going-to-be-rich-buying-and-selling-other-people's-junk sort of dazed stare

PLEASE CLOSELY read the next 6 points:

(1) EASY MONEY DOES NOT EXIST IN THE JUNK BIZ....nor anywhere else.

(2) YOU CAN NOT KEEP ALL/MOST/MUCH OF THE GOOD/COOL/VALUABLE/NEAT/INTERESTING/WEIRD/USEFUL/BIZARRE STUFF AND EXPECT TO MAKE A LIVING.... unless your business plan includes being a paid regular on Hoarding: Buried Alive and other similar shows..

(3) IF YOU ARE A COLLECTOR WHO AGONIZES OVER SELLING OR GETTING RID OF THINGS DO NOT GET INTO THE JUNK BUSINESS....at least until you have seen a shrink, the therapy is complete and worked, allowing you to finally no longer hate your mother for giving away your Optimus Prime Transformer to the neighbor kids after you FINALLY moved out of your parent's home... for the first time, anyway.

(4) IF YOU TRULY BELIEVE YOU WILL IMMEDIATELY MAKE ENOUGH MONEY TO SUPPORT YOURSELF (LET ALONE YOUR FAMILY, TOO) YOU ARE DREAMING...AND PURSUIT OF THE DREAM WILL MEAN A NIGHTMARE IS SURE TO BE NEXT...it is better to "keep dreaming" rather than live a nightmare and have a stress induced heart attack....and never dream again.

(5) IF YOU ARE A MAJOR GERMAPHOBE, BE SURE TO ADD THE COSTS OF EXTENSIVE THERAPY INTO YOUR "EXPENSES" SECTION OF YOUR ACCOUNTING RECORDS....and do let me know...as I want to buy as much stock in glove and hand sanitizer makers....that way I can retire within a year.

(6) IF YOU THINK YOU KNOW IT ALL, YOU DON'T....but, if you still insist you know it all, let me know when and where you set up to sell your wares. I love to buy things from people who are such experts. It gives me such confidence! I am constantly awestruck while in their presence....especially when I think of the huge profits I will make from the items I buy from them. I also thoroughly enjoy the stories they tell, as historical fiction is a favorite of mine.

- THE END -

(7) DO YOU FIND THAT ANY OF THE FOLLOWING DESCRIBES YOU (OR YOUR BUSINESS PARTNER)?

- CAN NOT LOOK, NOR THINK BEYOND WHAT SOMEONE SAYS IS "THE END" (if you are reading this, congratulations!)

- DO NOT LIKE THE UNEXPECTED

- CAN NOT THINK WAY OUTSIDE THE BOX

- CAN NOT IMPROVISE

- PANIC EASILY

- FALL APART UNDER ANY STRESS

- HAVE LITTLE/NO PATIENCE

- GET BORED EASILY

If so, you are far better off to stay on your couch, and keep watching Reality TV.....

You see, (and do realize that I do say this with utmost sincerity,) your favorite "Junk TV" shows are as close to real as you truly ever wish to experience....I'll bet your sanity on it.

The "New" Collector Celebs - The other side

2011-12-26T16:49:00.001-06:00

Reality TV's foray into the "Junk Lifestyle" has created a number of newly minted "Celebs".

We already all know that many celebs are known to be collectors, including:

Louie Anderson - high quality Mission/Arts & Crafts Furniture - Especially Stickley

Whoopi Goldberg - Bakelite, rare books, Maxfield Parrish prints (and other Parrish items)

Oprah Winfrey - Black Americana

Bill Cosby - African-American Art

Demi Moore - Dolls (and no, I am not counting Ashton Kutcher, for those of you who are so inclined. As for me, the only thing I like Ashton Kutcher for is the fact he made 1970s & 1980s trucker/farmer caps a cool fashion thing...helped me sell 500 or so of the 2000 I had...)

Barbara Taylor Bradford - Victorian Silver Spoons

Donald Trump - (yes, he collects more than cash, real estate, and supermodels!) - Art by Mark Gonzales, marble figural statues

Jay Leno - Antique & Classic autos and other vehicles

and I can go on, and on, and on, and on....

But, the new crop borne from Reality TV's "Junk Lifestyle" programming have one major difference...they were heavy collectors before they were celebs.....and quite likely were collecting before it was "trendy" and "fashionable."

And many (if not most) were collecting well before they had access to ready cash to heavily finance their collecting habits, and have that extra spending cash to shell out for those "Holy Grail" items when they do pop up. Their celebrity certainly makes those items more available...with millions of fans, you have several million eyes looking for those items for you, not to mention TV's long reach to those who may be knowingly (or unknowingly) harboring those items.

Before that, many of the same collectors would have to make some major sacrifices to be able to afford some items they wanted, pass those items up entirely, or buy them and own them for a very brief time before having to sell them to pay bills, or risk financial ruin, minor and major.

Reyne Haines, a a junk TV celeb in her own right, and blogger for The Huffington Post (as well as being 1/3rd of the group of cupcake queens extraordinaire) did an interview with "American Pickers" Mike Wolfe, which can be found on The Huffington Post HERE.

The collectors I truly admire are really not those who have bank accounts to back them up, and buy anything that they desire, or think will impress those around them.

Now, I myself am a collector. However, my collecting habits now tend to lean towards items that have some historical, and mainly local, or at least historical Canadian significance, and are not as readily salable as items.

This vein of collecting, for me, does allow for those items to remain in my hands for longer periods than, say, collecting high quality Coca-Cola items, Petroliana items, etc.

"Why?" to the second power

Ah, now you are confused....!

Ok: Why do I have more respect for those who are not well off/wealthy who have created wonderful collections?

and

Why do my collections now lean towards the areas mentioned?

Yep, it is another cliff hanger...you will have to read my next blog posting!

What the Dickens? Provenance Has Gone To The Dogs!

2011-12-22T22:18:00.000-06:00

Everything is worth examining closely.

Even dog collars.

Yep, you heard me correctly....

Ok, ok, ok, READ me correctly....

As it is, "pet" related vintage items are collectible, from vintage dog collars, to training items, to water bowls and food dishes.

But that is not quite what I am leading to.

You see, "provenance" can make what appears to be a middle-of-the-road collectible item (or even very, very ordinary item) very, very, very valuable.'

SO many people have things that they swear up and down that so and so famous person used this, touched this, slept in, stepped on, fired, opened, closed, etc, etc, etc, etc.

Now, if you have a PHOTO of that person with that item (and it is DEFINITELY that item), or some other irrefutable documentation, ok, then you have something. But, if you have only your great,great,great uncle's word (passed down through many other of your Uncles) that President Abe Lincoln left his pocket watch to be repaired and never picked it up...and you have that very watch.....well, the value of that word can be summed up in one word, also..."worthless."

A family story says little, unless your 3x Great Uncle was the official Presidential Pocket Watch Repair Person...and you can prove THAT...then maybe it has some credibility.

Even it WAS the case...if you can't prove it, well, hope there is some of Abe's DNA stuck on the watch somewhere...because that may be the only way you will be able to link that watch to him. There are other ways, such as photographs, other documentation filed elsewhere, etc...but, until you have copies of that other proof...it is a pocket watch that is worth just what any other pocket watch is worth.

So, what do dogs have to do with this?

Charles Dickens.

Well, Charles Dickens' dog, actually.

Check this out: That's some dog collar: Neckwear of Charles Dickens' dog sells at auction for $11,590

PROVENANCE.

And in this case, the collar has the provenance engraved right on it.

Normally, provenance is not that easy to nail down. However, it does happen, on occasion. You just need to keep your eyes open, your mind open, etc. Weird things happen...nasty turns of life happens to the most famous of the population. Celebs loose items to banks, sports figures pawn their championship rings, noted heroic war vets sell their medals, etc. These people are just that...people, very human.

But, just because something has the initials "JFK" on it does not mean it belonged to John F Kennedy...doesn't; matter if your grandpa found that comb in a washroom in Washington.
.....well, it might have belonged to JFK, but the John F Kennedy it did belong to was a plumber from Tallahassee....was visiting a cousin in Washington, and never had presidential aspirations...not even for the top seat in the local Plumbers Union.

Those strands of hair that was found in it?

Yep, it is just some greasy chunk of some balding plumber's dome.

Just hope he didn't part his hair on his back...or lower.

TOYS & KID'S STUFF - Totally Spaced Out

2011-12-21T17:06:00.000-06:00

So, in the flavor of the season, I figured I should do a few blogs on kid's stuff.

No, not goats, children's items.....toys, cartoons, whatever...

In my hunting for forgotten treasures, I come across some weird things. Usually toys generally do not fall into the category of "weird", even being vintage or truly antique.

But, some items I have found do fall into the "WTF were they thinking?!!?!?" category.

Take this 1950s piece as an example:

YES, it is a PLASTIC BAG with a space mask printed on it!

What sane parent would hand this to their child????

But, hey, there are places to cut out eye holes and mouth holes...so, you know, it is surely safe....

The even more potentially alarming thing is that I suspect it was a "premium"...that is, something that was a giveaway, maybe a mail order thing...send 3 box tops to Station Z, PO Box 123....but more than likely it was something that was included in food...and food that was marketed for children's consumption....

Say, like dry cereal.

So, imagine a kid on a early Saturday morning, getting up to watch cartoons..or that cool Indian chief in a headdress image, or the target style test pattern (perfect for those suction darts!), whichever was on, and pouring themselves a bowl of Sugar-Smacker-Os...

And out pops this little gem of a prize into the bowl !

"COOL! A SPACE HELMET!!!!! NEAT-O!!!"

Nice, a 1950s, child's self-suffocation kit in a box!

But, perhaps kids in of the 1950s were a little more savvy...they did have tin toys with sharp edges all over the place, and I rarely see blood stains all over 1950s toys, and in 50s houses. Or, maybe the baby boomers have many "missing" siblings....yep, plastic bag space masks...they were all some nasty Commie plan to wipe out America's future...

Nazis And Recycling: A Sort of Hitler Youth Knife - Part 3

2011-12-19T21:07:00.001-06:00

Ok, so, this knife we have been talking about...or rather, I have been talking about....ok, ok....I have been TYPING about about...(You happy Ms/Mr Fussypants???)

ANYWAY, this knife is termed a "Ridgeback"...and also commonly called a "sawback".

Story goes that this style of back was meant for inflecting the worst damage possible and entry and exist of a human body part...

Who knows what the true facts are...they may be lost to history, or maybe someone out there has official paperwork that will clarify the facts, who knows.

It is noted in Wikipedia that: "One of these multipurpose designs was the sawback bayonet, which incorporated saw teeth on the back spine of the bayonet blade. The sawback bayonet was intended for use as a general-purpose utility tool as well as a weapon; the teeth were designed to facilitate the cutting of wood for various defensive works such as barbed-wire posts, as well as for butchering livestock. It was initially adopted by Great Britain in 1869, followed by Switzerland in 1878, and Germany in 1905. The sawback proved relatively ineffective as a cutting tool, and was soon outmoded by improvements in military logistics and transportation; most nations dropped the sawback bayonet feature by the turn of the century. The German army discontinued use of the sawback bayonet in 1917 after protests that the saw-toothed blade caused unnecessarily severe wounds when used as a fixed bayonet."

So, what ever the real story is on "sawbacks" this one is still an oddball....why does this post WW2 knife, with NOS Hitler Youth grips have a sawback blade? Again, who knows. One can surmise that there were WW1 era surplus bayonet blades lying around this particular factory, or perhaps there was active production of sawback blades for some other purpose in the Nazi military or other Nazi organizations of the period.

Whatever the reason, this sawback blade makes this knife an oddball. It has obviously been ground down from a longer blade, as the sawback notches continue right to the point of the point where they disappear with what the blade has been re-ground.

Now, just to throw another bit of confusion in, the Nazi German Red Cross EM Daggers also had the sawback.What its purpose really was is thus far unknown, and it seems, as happens during/shortly after wars, documentation has been lost, destroyed, misplaced, hidden, etc. There is lots of speculation out there....this thread happens to cover it a bit. I suspect that the answer lies in the the far more mundane idea that it was intended for use as a saw in making splints, crutches, etc on the field.

PLUS, the sawback feature seems to appear on other "dress" bayonets of the period...German Firemen's Dress bayonets, and more than likely others.

So, that is where I have ended my research. Thus, I have decided to price it at $125, seeing as it is an unusual example of what it is, but not a "real" Hitler Youth knife.

At this point, I am tempted to keep it, and start collecting these not quite Hitler Youth knives...but, I already have one knife collection going, and one that is more Canadian....fur trade/pioneer knives.

That is another blog post all on its own!

Nazis And Recycling: A Sort of Hitler Youth Knife - Part 2

2011-12-18T11:19:00.001-06:00

Ok, those of you who are still befuddled by my closing statements as to the Hitler Youth knives that are not really Hitler Youth knives, this is for you!

I talked with a long time militaria collector recently, who has 5 DIFFERENT examples of this same knife.

He doesn't have this one.

Serious collectors will identify differences in things.

Goes with all areas of collecting. Variations in styles, images, marks, signatures, base materials, colors, parts, compositions, age, etc, etc, etc. Some serious collectors tend to want all the different variations of something they collect. Depending on how advanced (or just plain obsessed) the collector is will determine just how minor the variation is to become something they desire to add to their collection of examples of that particular item.

Will the fellow I talked to buy this one?

Maybe. My gut says that if he was having some good sales at the show I talked to him at, he would have said "save it for me." But, the economy the way it is, and the fact being that these knives are part of a sub-collection of his main collecting interests (WW2 militaria & weaponry), it doesn't quite "fit" perfectly in his "I Really Need This For My Collection" line of thought. Thus, it is not a "must have that at any cost I'll eat Kraft Diner for a week instead of real food" type of item.

As for this knife, the difference in it is that "ridge back"....but, the fact is, this may well not be the blade used on the Hitler Youth Knives.

Also, I am NO expert on Hitler Youth knives. Nor Nazi-Germany related items, period....so I will need to do a little digging/research....you can come along for some of it.

Warning, am about to go off on what initially will seem like a tangent, rant, spewing of political opinion, etc, etc, but bear with me and work with me through this, ok? There is a point to it, unrelated to "opinions" I may hold.

There are a couple reasons for me not becoming an expert or highly knowledgeable in Nazi items.

(#1) It is an area in which there are FAKES galore (not to mentioned modern neo-Nazi crap, fantasy items, movie/TV props, etc.) American Civil War items are the only other category that seems to contain more faked items..and only because the Civil War happened long before WW2....(*DUH*).
And, a fact lesser known/realized/considered is that the events being of "recent" history, there are still NOS and previously unknown/unseen items coming out of the woodwork, especially with increased ease of any individuals access to the Internet.
I don't mean by "Fred down in Florida". I mean by those residing in countries which had been "closed" (or sealed tight) after WW2. These are countries that collectors in the "Western World" have had little or ZERO access to until recently. Formerly communist/dictator/regime ruled countries' entrepreneurial residents are digging into their "archives" of WW2 artifacts (IE: hoards/warehouses/caves/lake bottoms/river bottoms/battlefields/basements/attics/vets' war souvenirs/estates/etc/etc/etc) and stuff is popping out of the wood work. (Remember when East Germany opened up?)
Some of the real stuff look more fake than the fakes themselves...only because Mr Brawnosovitchki's uncle owned the stamping factory where the originals were made, who now owns the place, and he found a barrel of not suite perfect, but darn close, "rejects." Originally stamped out in 1942, and got lost in the back storage in 1943, and never got melted down. Now Mr Brawnosovitchki has now discovered eBay....much to the chagrin of the half dozen collectors who have coveted their "one of 6 known" badges, all of which were brought back as battlefield souvenirs by vets. Oh well, there goes the market! (FYI, Mr Brawnosovitchki is a figment of my imagination, so don't bother Googling him...)

(#2) WW2s is an era that was...well....horrific when it comes down to it.
War is war, blah, blah, blah, but when it comes down to the purposeful extermination of any human group I get a little...mmm...let's just say (and I say this being VERY conservative with my terms), "annoyed." No, I am not interested in a debate about Nazis, Aryans, or even diverting to the politics of abortion, capital punishment, etc. I'll keep those views to myself, as should you....you may even find your views start to change with knowledge & education.

I will tell you, I do know of the existence of ORIGINAL photos of Auschwitz as it was when the first allied soldiers arrived.......BEFORE a CLEAN-UP of the site was undertaken, which is what all the currently published photos show. Humans have done horrible things to fellow humans...we don't even know the worst of it.

Unimaginable horrors that your most warped, psychopathic imaginative horror flick producer could not envision. Fact IS stranger (and more horrific) than fiction. Take the worst movie, "Real" YouTube video, etc, and times it by 1000 fold...then you might get halfway to envisioning the things that have occurred in reality.

Yes, the things you can potentially learn in this business goes beyond "making money from junk" can permanently alter your view of the world, and the people who inhabit it. Sit down and talk to a vet from WW2 who experienced the front lines...if they are willing to talk about the horrific side of war. Those who wage war are not the ones who have to deal with it, nor its after effects....and that is why war still occurs, IMHO.

Yes, this business, for me, is not all about making money. If you are good at what you do, you will not be able to help but learn things not related to the $$$$ values of things. History wraps itself around objects.

To truly understand value, "provenance", etc, you need to listen to an object's history. I don't mean in a "New Age" sort of "this object has an aura/soul/life force of its own" sort of thing. I mean that an object was created for purpose, and was potentially used for that purpose...or was used for some other purpose, for some other reason.

And that brings me full circle...back to this particular knife and it's "ridge back" blade....and pushing it into ANOTHER separate blog post. Many folks have short attention spans, you see!

Nazis And Recycling

2011-12-18T11:10:00.001-06:00

I picked up a piece at an auction back in early July, in a box lot. I did buy the box lot specifically for this particular item, and was excited to get it. Not sure what the box cost me, but it was under $10, possibly as low as $2. Bought a van load of box lots that day, and spent $175 total, and never paid more than $15 for any lot I bought.

Sort of like a mini-version of a storage locker auction, except you can check out the boxes, most of the time. Like those sorts of auctions, you get a bunch of junk you can't really use, and sometimes there are surprises.

This item was not a surprise, though. I was pretty sure as to what I was bidding on. Considering the piece, and it's value, I was the only one who did. Not that it is worth big money, but I have tagged it at over $100. Darn good markup. Might be even worth more than that to the right guy, but we'll see.

By now you are thinking:

"What the heck does any of this have to do with Nazis???"

Patience, my little grasshoppers, patience.

The item I bought the box lot for is pictured below:

It is a very good quality knife, dating from the mid to late 1940s. The sheath is a little chintzy in comparison...which should be your first clue something is "off."

I know, it has a symbol that looks like a Fleur-de-lis on it. So how can it be related to the Nazis of WW2?

Yes, at first glance it might be mistaken for a Boy Scout knife..but, the style of the Fleur-de-lis is not like any of the images the Boy Scouts use.

As a matter of fact, the knife is of a style used by one country's youth group.

Nazi Germany's Hitler Youth.

Actually, the grips ARE actual Hitler Youth grips.

The blade I am not so sure is a Hitler Youth blade, but I will get to that in a later blog,

Here is an enamel pin from the Hitler Youth, shown beside the knife's handle.

And, as you can see from the photo below, it conveniently matches the size and shape of the Fleur-de-lis insert!

As it turns out, the same enameled logo was used for these knives, but with a post-style back, from what I understand.

AH, now I recognize the look on a few faces in the crowd!!! I've seen it before. Those of you who are a little...well, devious, may be thinking, "AH, I can "create", a sort of real Hitler Youth knife with this little tip."

Forget it. Ethically, IMHO, it is wrong.

But that is neither here nor there for those of you who lean in that direction.

I can tell you for a fact that as far as time spent compared to resulting increase in perceived value.....well, it WILL be a waste of your time. The way these are put together, it is not worth the effort, AND odds are, you will not be able to match some key components with period replacement/period-appearing parts ANYWAY...so any real collector will not give you ANYTHING for it in the end.
SO, you will end up destroying a good piece that has ready market among militaria & knife collectors as the knife exists now, and in truth you will not really increase the value all that much to begin with...IF you know what you are looking at and how to determine what it is worth by its current composition of parts.

Confused?

Going to keep you in suspense, and give you some details in a later blog posting!

THE TRUTH BEHIND THE JUNK CELEBS: Barry Weiss of Storage Wars

2011-12-11T20:55:00.001-06:00

Came across an interview with Barry Weiss of Storage Wars fame. It may well sort out much of the fact from the fiction, the truth behind rumors, end speculation, blow away unfounded stories, stop (or start) trash talk, etc.

Is he a TV producer?
Is he married?
Is he real?
Is he a picker?
Is he a reseller?

and more questions will be answered!

Enjoy!

CLICK HERE FOR INTERVIEW

Or cut and past this link into your browser: http://www.aoltv.com/2011/08/03/storage-wars-barry-weiss-interview/