Wheeling And Dealing
For about five days spanning the end of the week before and the beginning of this past week, I spent so much time at my desk that I was ready to jump out of my skin. Putting up ten new estate sales will do that! Not complaining, but I needed to mix things up a bit so in between I continued to polish the sterling jewelry so I can price it and offer it up for sale. I started backwards with my most recent purchases because the jewelry was out in the open. I tried this group on a plain white background but I am not a fan and will use a backdrop next time. The only soft piece I have large enough for a group photo is brown vinyl but it is not shiny so I think it will be an improvement. I have said this before but the plain white backgrounds are not "me" and I do not have the time to make them perfectly white.
At any rate, there is some beautiful jewelry in this group including necklaces from Lois Hill and Carolyn Pollack as well as several cool bracelets from Mexico including the Medusa cuff and the floral clamper. There are Southwest Style button covers and a little pill box too! The piece in the center with the four emerald cut smoky topaz stones is actually a pendant. It is one of the most unusual pendants I have ever seen. There is a hole on each side at the top where a necklace or beads can be strung all the way through. As soon as I can find a necklace to pair this with I will be offering it for sale. The vast majority of the sterling jewelry which needs polishing is in Scottsdale but at least I will easily have time to take care of everything I have here before we head back in the fall.
We are heading into the dog days of summer but my work posting new items online is paying off. I sold the necklace and the pendant on Facebook Marketplace (with shipping) which means that they charge a 10% fee. Their fee has recently doubled as it used to be 5% but even at 10% I feel it is very reasonable. I am good with any way to get the word out! Even though the pendant was a pricey statement piece I thought it was very beautiful and would not last long. It can be worn by a man or a woman and was purchased by a man in Las Vegas but I am not sure if he is the one who will be wearing it. After negotiations over a period of two days we came to an agreement. The necklace went to New Mexico, no negotiating necessary.
I posted the necklace below for Mother on Thursday night and the very next day I sold it on Poshmark. A reasonable offer was made and I quickly accepted it. Keep in mind that I can negotiate the online pricing on most items, especially if they are purchased through my Shopify store as the fees are substantially less than other online venues.
After the marathon preparation for the estate sale newsletter, I decided to take a little breather and consider ordering some tops for the online store in the middle of the night. For my first larger order, I went with Blue B. Most of their line skews very young but I have been seeing the tops with the ruffled sleeves advertised online and was intrigued. I am always looking for tops which are good to wear with jewelry and I am sure I am not the only one. There are four different colors available but I chose the black and the red. Red is normally my least favorite color but I like this red which is more subtle. I thought these Western motif sweatshirts were adorable as well!
I also chose these two T-shirts - the one on the top has a vintage look with designs inspired by a novelty tablecloth from the '50s-'60s era and I love the apricot color and the real embroidery on the one on the bottom. Half the pieces will be available in July and the other half in August. Sizes are Small, Medium, Large but the ruffled shirts are oversized and will fit plus sizes. I am looking forward to adding these cute tops and sweatshirts to my inventory! It will also be great to put up one listing with multiple items, as opposed to everything being one of a kind.
I posted or revamped 15 items this past week, going in order of the unsold pieces from jewelry purges this year. I am getting there, I am now up to April 7. It has been a bit of a slow go because all of the pieces lately either need supplemental photos like the one above which show how earrings look "on" or all new photos because I am in the midst of shooting all new earring photos all on the same sample card. My choices are kind of limited because all of the stamping supplies are in Scottsdale but I do have a few pretty cards with me.
I got through a bunch of earrings and next up are ten watches featuring vintage tips. I have posted three so far, all multi-stone inlay by "Supersmith" Charles Willie. The popular thing to do right now is to take these watch tips and put them on Apple Watches. If I had an Apple Watch, I would be keeping the owl watch tips I currently have online. They are so adorable!
I am afraid to get an Apple Watch though because I am not sure of the long-term effects of wearing a device that emits radiation right on the skin will be. The watches have not been around long enough to determine this. There is a line of touch screen purses called Save The Girls, the company was founded when the owner's sister in law developed breast cancer because she always carried her cell phone in her bra. The affected area was exactly in the shape of her phone. The purses have a clear window and it is possible to use the screen and talk on the phone through the bag. I do have one and I like it but I love the Bandolier cases most.
My go-to is the Dillon bag, which has a pocket in the front for my phone and a zippered compartment large enough for a small wallet, keys and sunglasses. I keep my phone in a matching Bandolier case which has rings on it so if I like, I can add a strap and only carry the phone. It has a little pocket on it large enough to hold my license and a couple of credit cards. The Bandolier products are worth every penny, they always look as good as new. I never carry a purse anymore!
I was able to accomplish a lot this week, in part because I "only" had one sale package to complete, which was Mother's. Happy that this one is squared away. Since Mother cannot get to the bank right now (even taking rideshare is very dangerous for her in this heat) I am making Zelle payments. There is a sending limit so will need to make a total of four payments which I will hopefully be able to finish up next week.
Saturday night I did take some time to go through one of the laundry baskets filled with "stuff" which were found in Mother's furnace room at the last minute. This basket was loaded with photos of all sorts. There are baby photos of my grandma, Mother, Rachel and me. I had never seen the newborn photos of Rachel. There are not that many but I will send Rachel all of the photos with her alone or her with other people. Maybe Mother has more of them with the group that was sent in the U-Box. I was really happy to find my favorite photo of all time and I found a really cool '60s photo with Dad as a teenager seated in a restaurant booth with my grandparents and other folks. I will share some of the photos next time!