Selling on the Internet - Lesson One

Selling on the Internet 

Lesson Number One - Find a Schedule that Works

It took me some time to figure out a schedule that worked for me.  Being used to working Mondays through Fridays at a full time job I did love my weekends off.  Sadly, Saturday and Sunday can be some of your the best selling days on the Interent. So after a number of years of trying to figure out the schedule that best worked for me, I came to the following schedule which I try to follow religiously - unless I am on a trip or something unexpected comes up.  

Monday  - Drop new listings onto Ruby Lane.  Process orders, switch funds from Paypal to my bank account, prepare the mail for a Tuesday drop.  Answer e-mails.  Crop photos for new listings.

Tuesday - Do the mail.  Go to one of my favorite sources for jewelry and see if they have anything new.  Come home.  Eat.  List.  Crop photos in the pm. 

Wednesday -Eat.  List.  Crop photos in the pm. 

Thursday - Process any orders that have come on.  Eat.  List.  Crop photos in the pm. 

Friday - Drop new listings onto Ruby Lane.  Do the mail.  Grocery shopping.  Eat.  List.  Crop photos in the pm.   

Saturday -If I'm feeling energetic, then go to an estate sale.  If not, copy the Ruby Lane listings to ETSY, drop a few items on EBAY, and add items to Robins Troll Market, my new website.  Crop photos in the pm.

Sunday -  Same as above.  

Again, things happen to disrupt the schedule - like telephone calls, meetings with potential clients, a heads up on getting into an estate sale early.  Changing out inventory at the one mall I am in.  Running an emergency errand.  Disruptions will always occur and you just have to roll with them.  The other thing you have to contend with is your income.  You will not be paid every 2 weeks with taxes deducted and your SDI paid.  You will get paid when your Paypal account gets paid and then you have to have the courage to separate your money into different categories and keep it there.  

Check Book 

Day to Day Expenses - Bill Paying - Internet Payments

Savings

For Emergency and Taxes

Paypal

You always have to keep some money in your account just in case you get a chargeback or a return.  Yes, you have to contend with these as well.  

Emergency Cash

Yep, the proverbial "piggy bank" in the apartment just in case you get that call about an estate sale or you see something you absolutely need to buy because you know you will be able to sell it for more.  

So, there's the first lesson you have to think about.  When I left my job back in 1998, I had exactly $16,000 in my account in cash.  I had $15,000 coming to me in my pension from one of the law firms I worked at - another $2,500 from my last law firm.  With that money I thought I would be fine while I tried being in business for myself.  It was but only because times were different.  Since the Internet was fairly new it was still a novelty and everyone was trying it out.  Dealers used to joke it was a "license to print money" and for a time, it was.  Not anymore.  

At the beginning I worked solely on EBAY.  It was the website that was making the biggest name for itself and it was the site where the action was.  Still is to a certain point but when EBAY moved out of vintage items to BUY IT NOW in terms of electronics, DVDs, CDs and cars, well, we poor dealers in antiques and vintage knew what was going to happen - our sales would suffer.  And they did.  But by that time, the new websites had come along - ETSY and RUBY LANE.

And here I will leave till my next posting.  

Victorian Paper Lace Pretties

Sometimes, during the course of a day, you spot something so pretty, you just have to share with friends.  I don't know if anyone will ever read my blog, but I can certainly add tidbits every now and then (especially since I am in the middle of my life story right now and trying hard to get it up to date).  One thing I do like is looking at Facebook and seeing all the creative people and their designs, as well as antiquers who display at antique shows and brocantes.  Goodness knows, I sure miss traveling overseas but travel these days is a very scary thing and I prefer to remain closer to home.  Anyway, here's a few goodies I just have to share.  There is beauty in old age - and these items just prove it.

If you're wondering, the background is old ANTIQUE VICTORIAN paper lace.  The graphic is an old Victorian die cut.  The decoration, which is  hard to determine is either ribbon embroidery or a painted embellishment.

These beauties would have been crafted with love and then framed so that they may remain in pristine condition their entire life.

I like to think of the above image as having been on a decorative box - gifted to a little girl.  You know, they really knew about decorating the outside of a gift as well as the inside!

Till my next writing.....

2018 Cont'd

My last trip to London was in February and I must admit I had a good time. There was no side trip to Paris but there was enough to do in London with the many shows that went on. Portobello of course (which is mentioned below), Kempton Park and the Horticultural Hall show all kept me hopping and contributed to my collection of jewelry. The weather cooperated quite nicely and the trip to and fro had no problems at all. Not like my upcoming trip which is in 7 days. I'm wondering if the volcano in Iceland is going to keep quiet and if I am going to have fair weather while I am over in England. This time I will be taking in the French Antiques show at the Place de la Bastille and I am hoping to add some French flavor to my inventory.

My condo is a little further along now in the decorating arena. Not only do I have the aforementioned painted walls, but I also have a wonderful 36-drawer apothecary sideboard sitting in my dining room though my dining room is NOT a dining room - more a catch-all at the moment for holding boxes yet to be unpacked. I am still waiting to find the right pieces of furniture for my condo and my bed is still lacking a headboard.

Do you like the above pieces? They're Essex Crystals set in yellow gold and they are probably the finest I have come across in a long time (now sold). Essex crystals are quite collectible and if you are wondering, each piece is a half portion of a round rock crystal lovingly carved from the back and then handpainted. The result, if done correctly, yields a piece of artwork that shows all the nuances of the designer's choice of coloring. The crystal is almost always backed with a flat piece of mother of pearl to highlight the painted piece. The MOP backing is almost always white so that the design seems to have a 3D effect. One mishap in carving, one mishap in painting, and the artwork is spoiled and the artisan must start again. The best Essex Crystal jewelry was manufactured in the late 1800s and more often than not manufactured in England. A Victorian era Essex Crystal shows clarity that is not seen in later pieces. As the years progressed, the painting grew haphazard and plastic replaced crystal. There is no substitute for the best and the pieces shown above are premiere quality!

Anyway, I'm getting off track. Let's go back to London.....

 

London used to be full of what I call the "daily" markets, but property speculators decided that two of the best shows just had to go.....

Camden Passage was the fare of the day for Wednesday. You could get up early, take the tube to ANGEL and exit the station, turn right, and hit the start of the market. Open air stalls combined with small booths inside buildings. The walk was quite refreshing and you could find all manner of goods from the old to the new. I don't think I ever left Camden Passage without buying at least one thing. I knew one dealer at the market that started out in the open, then moved inside to one of the buildings, moved to better spot (got kicked out), moved to a better spot again (got kicked out again), and now she's in her own little cubby hole of a shop in the one remaining area of dealers under cover. You see, the property speculators decided that the Islington area of London was "up and coming" and that the antiques dealers just HAD to go! So now, what was once a thriving area for antiques is now a real "hit and miss". You might be lucky to see maybe 30 people outside. And if some of the remaining shops are open, you might see a few more dealers. But for the most part, Camden Passage died a death a long time ago and basically, it's a crying shame. I still mourn its loss to this day.

The same thing happened to the Friday Bermondsey market. If anyone has been to the market in the past, they will know that it was composed of three sections, along with a few buildings on the outskirts that held the overflow of dealers. When word got round that there was going to be a new tube stop in Bermondsey, everyone thought the stop would be right where the market was. Well, it turned out that that wasn't the case but instead, rumor grew that the space would be converted to flats over some retail shops. Well, over a great period of time, the market began to shrink. First, the "powers that be" closed off one section - the dealers moved to the other 2 sections. Then another section closed down - the dealers converged some more. Then finally the show shut down completely for some time. When word finally came through that the show was open again, a visit to the new site verified my worst fears. No, the new owners of the development did not provide the "cover" they always seemed to show in their promotion about the fact that they weren't going to change the market (HA!). Instead, they placed the wonderful dealers who braved wind, rain, even snow, right smack in the middle of a wind tunnel between two buildings! And because of this now ridiculous happenstance, only a handful of dealers even opted to brave the show. I ventured out to the show in 2008 and was sadly disappointed and terribly upset at the new promoters. A few dealers were huddled under layers of clothing trying to stay warm in the new "wind tunnel" and there were so many gaps between sellers that the time it took to get to Bermondsey from my hotel was not worth the trip. I managed to find a few things, mostly I bought because I felt so sorry for the dealers. There they were, cold and in circumstances that were not what the promoters had promised to them. I was so angry I could have screamed but what was there to do but spend some money and try to take home a few things. I haven't been back to the show since and maybe one day, if word improves and the promoters provide the "cover" they promised, the show might find its footing once more. Until then, I'll stick closer to town and the shows that are still surviving, if not thriving.

Stay tuned....

August 2018

It's almost August and try as I might, I must admit I never seem to find the time needed to do a little blogging. Every time I think I am going to post a new column, something comes up. With running a business on one's own, it's hard to find "free" time. It seems I am always listing on one of my sites, or shooting pictures or doing the bookkeeping (which I hate) or cleaning house. Balancing working hours with household hours is probably the hardest thing to do! But I try.





Buying and selling antique jewelry is a wonderful profession, but I find myself longing to go back into crafting. I did so many shows in the 80s and early 90s that there are, at times, moments when I want to go back to a show to see what I have been missing. Well, one thing I have not been aware of is Where Women Create, a magazine that (once I got over sticker price shock) I found to be the most amazing magazine. To have discovered its sister publications was like a Godsend. Not only did I bring myself up to snuff on the current "name" artisans, but I also found myself revisiting people whom I had known personally when I was still in Los Angeles.

Anyway, after seeing WWC I decided that I simply had to get my studio together. The only question was WHEN?? Well, I don't think it's going to happen this year as there are just too many things on my plate. My father is getting on in age and I have a trip to Vancouver at the end of August, back to back trips to London in October and November, and a cruise to Mexico with my father in December. And in b etween all that, I still have to file my 2009 taxes as I am on extension. Yep, that's enough.

But I do have time to make a few items at night so I did bring out a few bits and pieces and have been busy listing them on my sites on ETSY and RUBY LANE. Now when I break out the Christmas stuff, that will mean I am getting a little more organized!

Do you like the earrings I made? Here's a couple more pair.....

Things continue to change as I travel.  Every trip there seems to be one less shop open, one less market open. I had thought about moving back to Vancouver before I moved to St. Peters, but the realization that I would never be able to afford a home meant I had to choose where not only I could purchase a home for myself, but also where the inventory was. And it certainly was not in Vancouver. Like Los Angeles, Vancouver doesn't have much of a history whereas St. Louis goes back to the late 1790s. So the potential of finding goodies in Missouri was a lot higher than in British Columbia!

Like Vancouver, St. Peters has the same seasons - something Los Angeles did not. I love the turn of fall colors and I love to see snow. Imagining snow in Los Angeles is a bit of a stretch! Anyway, I'm happy here and the "green" certainly has put my soul at peace. If I can't live in Vancouver, St. Peters is the next best thing. Now if they could only do something about the heat!

I have made a promise to myself to get back into crafting. I think I have a lot of ideas to offer but I also realize that to offer them means having lots of inventory in place. Right now, I have little in the way of what I really want to produce. So my listings will continue to be slim on the handcrafted side, but hopefully larger on the antique finds side.

Here's a few of my latest antique jewelry finds..... 

And that's it for now. If you've stopped by, many thanks.

Take care.

2007 to 2018 - My Poor Condo

Now back to my condo problem...........

I visited my neighbors and sure enough each had the same noise, only my upstairs neighbor a little lighter hum, but my downstairs neighbor - well, let's just say if I had it 100 times, she had 1000 times. The only difference was she didn't stay home 24/7 and when she went to bed she had the TV on. She thought the hum was being caused by ME!

So with this new information I again began to make some calls. I think I am talking around mid 2008 when this happened. And since that time, NO ONE has helped me. But something funny began to occur. As each month passed, the hum started to get softer, more manageable. The vibration stayed but it shrank in intensity. When it rained, it got softer still. When winter 2008 came, it was practically negligent. So much so that I began to paint more walls and think that I was going to fully move in. But then the winter would end and the noise would come back. Which led me to a conclusion.....

New buildings were still being built around me and one of the construction people had suggested that since my unit was the first to be built, all the power for the construction was being drawn from the electrical box near my building. As each new building went up, the drain increased and my hum would subside. Okay, that's one theory. But the other is more plausible.......

Construction on a new freeway began at the same time the condos were being built AND as they worked, the electrical company started installing new power lines. So in fact, there were two sets of power lines running and perhaps I was getting the "overload". Once the freeway is completed, the extra lines will come down so that only the new remain. Again, could be the problem.....

But here it is now 2023 and yes, I still have my hum but it's the lowest its been. Yes, the floor still vibrates as does my bed but I can sleep now with just one pillow over my head and no ear plugs. I can tune the noise out with a loud TV and I can tune it out entirely with headphones. In other words, I can think and I can work and I can go to bed not having cried my eyes out because it was too noisy.
Friends and family visit and sometimes they can hear "something", other times they cannot. I realize that no one can understand my problem because they have not experienced it. 

A girlfriend of mine in England sent me an article dated April of 2009, about a "hum" epidemic within a certain community. So I was proved then and there NOT to be crazy.  And now, in 2023, if you do a Google on "hum in condo" you will see just how many problems there are with new builds.  Yep, the Internet has progressed since 2009.  Anyway, a "hum" is a nasty occurrence that I hope happens to no one. It's a horrific nightmare and I pray every day that one morning I wake up not hearing the dreaded sound. We shall see. 

Till next time.....



 

 

No noise.  That's all I wanted but in the now 11 years I have lived in my condo, I do not know what the word "silence" is.

In trying to explain my problem to others I was met with skepticism.  Since some people couldn't hear it, I know they dismissed me as crazy.  To those who did hear it, they couldn't locate where the noise was coming from.  They knew it was in the walls (you could hear it if you pressed your ear to the surface) and they agreed that if it was in the walls, it was certainly in the floor.  It really wasn't until 2016 when an Ameren employee came out and turned off the power to the entire building.  Even with the power off the hum continued and he suggested that it most likely had something to do with the Fire Alarm and Sprinkler system that was put into the building since it had a back up battery that NEVER went off.  But trying to get my Homeowner Association "Management" to do anything about it has resulted in a lot of e-mails, phone calls and nothing being done about the problem.  Even after the maintenace gent discovered that the panels in Buildings One and Two were different from the other buildings and HUMMING like there was no tomorrow.  Lighting a fire under CMA to get something done is like pulling teeth - they don't want to acknowledge the problem, instead they just want to ignore it.  Well, I am not going to rest until it is fixed and so I will continue my struggles in getting my condo to "go silent" through my blog!  Oh, and if my readers don't believe me, just go a GOOGLE for a "hum" in a condo.  when I first googled in 2007 there was nothing - today, the pages of Google are fairly filled with complaints!

I will prevail - it just might take awhile longer!

It is now December 9, 2018 and Christmas is right around the corner.  I haven't been back to London in a long time, 6 years I think, but I do manage to go somewhere at least once a year to do some shopping.  I was going to Brimfield for a spell and that was doing the trick for some time.  Then the Columbus Ohio area but as the years passed, something happened to all the femmy stuff in the area - it seemed to just disappear and because of that the malls started to lose their attraction.  The last time I was there one had closed and the others were decidedly more MASCULINE than feminine.  So I stopped going.

Shopping in the Internet is still a way to find inventory but not at the pricing I like.  So I went back to estate sales and auctions and now, I am starting to mix up my inventory on my web sites - I'm not just doing jewelry, I'm doing everything - antiques, collectibles, paper, photos, silver, fabric, you name it I will be doing it.

Oh, and I will also be featuring my handiwork here on my Blog.  Yes, some stuff is in my ETSY shop, actually come to think of it, no, there's not much there now.  I closed Gypsy Madonna on ETSY and instead am listing a little more diverse array of items on Robins Nest Midwest on ETSY.  Gypsy Madonna (the website) will eventually have everything from A to Z.  But it's taking me time to fill it.  Robins Nest Midwest on RUBY LANE will also be changing a bit - it will be more eclectic and not just jewelry.  So you can see, I am making changes!

So, starting now, enough with my past - let's get down to the present.  Think it's easy making a living on the Internet?  It's not.  So in order to show people just what I do, I will try to do a daily blog - things I do each day to ensure that I can pay my mortgage each month.  And buy groceries.  And pay my bills.  And buy inventory.  And buy supplies.  And gas for the car.  In short, what I sell pays my expenses.  Forget about a salary.  The money comes in and the money goes right back out.  It's not a bad way to live but if you are thinking about doing it yourself, well maybe you can take a lesson from me.

So sit back, stay tuned and please, if you are reading this, leave a comment.  I want to know if I am reaching someone or just blabbing to "air".

Till next time!

Taking a Break....

A brief respite from the story of my life....

For those who don't know what I do for a living, well, I sell on the Internet.  I have been doing so since May of 1999 full time.  That means every morning I rise, brush my teeth, wash my face, get into some clothes and walk the 23 paces to my workroom/office and turn on my computer.  From 10:00 am to 9:00 pm, most days, I am in this room either shooting pictures, cropping pictures, listing items, delisting items, preparing a mail, paying bills, crafting or placing orders for more inventory to sell on the Internet.  It's a job that I love but it IS very time consuming leaving little time for Blogging, Facebook, Twittering and Pinterest - frankly, it's hard for me to do all those things as I mostly do my sites (Ruby Lane, Etsy, EBAY and now, my website Robins Troll Market) before blathering on about me or my products.  Frankly, I don't know how so many people do it all but then again, they're probably not making a living full time from the Internet.

Working on the Internet, buying and selling, is a wonderful job and one I wouldn't give up.  But it doesn't exactly "feed the soul".  So I craft on my downtime and I will admit to the occasional trip to my local casino.  Yep, I love a good slot machine.  Having just entered the autumn of my life, I realize that feeding my soul is just as important as keeping a roof over my head.   

 

  

Well, welcome to the world of a middle-aged woman trying to make an honest buck!  It's certainly been a fun journey so far! 

Till my next posting. 

 

Oct 2007 to Dec 2007

Everyone tells you that a "real estate closing" is difficult.  Well, mine wasn't so bad but having to transition the move from a rental unit to my own unit was going to take me a lot longer than the 5 days that the seller wanted me to do.  So they actually kicked back to me one month's rent so that I could "close" on the right day - I guess they needed the bigger sum from the bank rather than my $650 a month rent.

Here's the outside of my building.  Pretty nice, eh?  I'm on the middle right (you can't see the lower units because there is a retaining wall at the level of the shrubs. 

So I moved into my unit in October 0f 2007 and by November I still hadn't done much.  





Yep, just a bed and a few things around. No chest of drawers, table, lamp or even a TV. Oh well.










And here's the view from my couch looking towards my entry way.


And looking towards the kitchen from my sofa......














Well, that was the quick move in - painting the walls was still to come as was trying to put some sense of order into all my crafting items that were still stored in boxes at my aunt and uncle's house. 

And then I found out that the local cable company wouldn't hook up the first two buildings until at least 5 had been built.  So I had to settle for dial up and good old AT&T.  How I HATED that! 

Time passed and I continued to list on the Internet (Ebay and Ruby Lane) and I even found time to open up a booth space at the mall across the street from where I lived.  Things were fine and moving along as I thought they would.  Life was good.  And then the building started across from my unit......














Noise, Noise and more noise.

Yep, I definitely put up with a lot while the other buildings were being built and my waiting for the cable to arrive. I think that was the hardest part - waiting for the cable. Do you know what it's like to go months on end without TV?  or a fast download?  I had to resort to watching the same DVD movies over and over and over again. Thank goodness I LOVE movies! I think I went through my library of films several times over. So when cable finally arrived, I welcomed it with open arms!

Once I had my cable in place and my connection to the Internet greatly improved, I settled in as best I could. At least I had pre-ordered a refrigerator but it managed to get put in place without my having painted the back wall. To this day, I still have THAT to do. And I did manage to paint a few walls to get my colors right - olive green for the kitchen - dining area and brick brown for the living area. I found the perfect sage green sofa (deep and comfy) and ordered it post haste (it went well with the hardwood floors and brick walls). One of the two oversized comfy chairs I had purchased when I first arrived in Missouri sits in the living room and once it is re-covered, it will fit in perfectly with the scheme of things. While waiting for the sofa to arrive, I managed to get to JC Penny and pick out some curtains. They laid on the floor, in their original packaging for a VERY long time! When the sofa finally arrived, I was able to stretch out full body length to watch television. I thought I had died and gone to heaven! Until then I had only sat in the comfy chairs and there's hardly room to stretch out in them!

So things were progressing. I was in love with my condo, knew that eventually everything would find its right place and had only to drown out the pounding of nails and screeching saws to keep my sanity. A small price to pay, it seemed, at the time for owning my own home. But things were to change.

Approximately 3 weeks after I moved in, my unit developed a "hum". Yep, I went shopping early one morning and came home to a noise that is simply indescribable. Well, think the clashing of puts and pans in a metal duct - VERY LOUD and constant; by that I mean 24/7 constant.  I quickly ran to the salesperson's on site office, dragged her over to my unit, and together we tried to track down the noise. It seemed to emanate from the main bedroom bathroom but as the day progressed it seemed to be coming from the main bedroom wall where the window was located. Putting my head to the wall, I could hear the most horrendous noise - like someone having left an electric razor on. Only amplified 100 times!

I ran outside to try to figure out the problem but I could find nothing. I checked the electrical boxes BELOW my window and I thought I could discern a light hum. So I called the electrical people and asked them to come out. They did and found 2 things wrong with the set-up though neither was my hum.

The drone went on and on. Hours turned into days - days turned into weeks - weeks turned into months. I tried everything to keep the noise at bay. Earplugs. Head phones. Loud TV. Sleeping with pillows over my head. Everything. The hum went on and on. And slowly but surely, my feet started to tingle. And tingle. And tingle until I finally realized that the floor was vibrating and that the hum emanated from under the floor boards.

I called the builder. The City Inspector. The sales people. No one could hear the hum - no one could feel the vibration. Why?  Because they were in the condo a very short time and were not attuned to the noise.  Either that, or they just didn't want to acknowledge there was a problem with the unit.  I began to think I was going slowly mad.......

When it rained, the noise was less. Go figure.  When it didn't rain, the hum along with the construction that was outside kept me awake ALL the time. I didn't sleep much and I certainly wasn't thinking straight. Whenever I had to go out of town I loved it so much I didn't want to go back to my condo. My dream home had become my nightmare!

No one could help because no one knew what was causing the problem. And when it finally dawned on me that if I had the problem, maybe my upstairs and downstairs neighbor ALSO had the problem. So a check was in order. But that outcome I will save for another post.....

Stay tuned!

2002 to 2006 - My Life In Missouri

It's just a small antique mall but it is located right across the street from where I live - both past AND present.  Currently, I have 2 glass cases in the store, mostly items I feel are better suited to a retail outlet rather than the Internet.

To continue my story - once the decision was made that I really was moving to Missouri the really big issues started to kick in - like how I was going to dispose of my furniture, where was I going to live and which route was I going to take to get there.  Well, believe it or not, I sold all my furniture on EBAY - yes I was amazed I sold my large pieces on the Internet.  A few other things went at a disastrous yard sale I decided to throw in my apartment (needless to say it didn't quite work the way I wanted it to).  After all the odds n ends were gone, I packed my car to capacity and found that I couldn't pack my  wonderful 1930s Art Deco bed with all the gingerbread (that REALLY hurt).  Even now I wonder who claimed it after I let!  Once my apartment was empty, I got into my Ford Aerostar and drove to Las Vegas, the first stop in a 2-1/2 day journey. 

Las Vegas was strictly overnight.  Then, due to storms in the area, I decided to go the north route through Colorado rather than the south through Arizona.  I don't know if it was a mistake or not but I will never again take the northerly direction - with the rain, the wind and that horrible canyon drive near Vail, I really was half scared out of my mind thinking at any moment I would lose control and plunge into the river below.  I still do not know how I did it but I arrived in Denver completely exhausted and NEVER wanting to see another canyon as long as I lived. 

Morning broke and I drove through Kansas into Colombia, MO and stayed overnight with my cousin and her husband.  The next day, I drove into St. Louis and stayed with my Aunt and Uncle.  Both of them couldn't believe that I was actually there.  Well, I guess they had some inkling as the 35 boxes of personal belongings I had shipped from Los Angeles resided comfortably in their garage.  I think the postage of everything I shopped cost me around $1,000.  Yep, I had a lot of stuff. 

The next day I went around to the apartment building I had picked from the Internet and found that my unit would not be ready for another week.  Thank goodness I could bunk with my aunt and uncle. 

The week's respite from moving into my apartment gave me the chance to go out and purchase a bed and 2 fabulous comfy sofa chairs that I could sink into.  I had decided pretty much that I wasn't going to buy anything else as I wanted to buy a condo or house in the area eventually.  I didn't know if I'd ever be able to do it but why spend money on something you don't need.  Soon enough I was moving into a 2 bed unit with fireplace and a washer/dryer for the horrendous sum of $600 per month.  I thought I had died and gone to heaven as my apartment in Los Angeles was costing me (when I left) $800 per month AND it didn't have the washer/dryer. 

For 6 years I went to garage and estate sales, antique malls and scoured the Internet for items to buy and sell and I was doing just fine.  By the end of 2006, I had saved $10,000 for a down payment on a condo and my father rewarded me by matching my $10,000 with the same amount.  Now I could buy the home of my dreams but where to buy and when.  That was the next problem to be solved. 

And on that note, I will save the next part of my story for my next installment. 

Stay tuned.

1997 to 2001 - St Louis I Love You

Picking up where I left off once more.

Teaching myself how to sell on EBAY with my boss's computer was fine for a time but the day did come when I had to buy my own.  I loved my Gateway computer and managed to teach myself how to use it.  I actually got quite good with buying on EBAY but selling was another thing.  But I was resolved to be a success and to NOT have to find another job.

With the Clash of the Titans toys I had stored and the Beanie Babies I was now buying, I did quite well attracting the attention of EBAY.  I was profiled by Newsweek (the magazine) and featured on ABC News Los Angeles.  Things seemed to be going well - I was making a living, paying my bills and still managing to go to London each year.  There was a short spell where I actually went in for a job interview but it didn't work out and I thought maybe that was the Universe's way of telling me to stick to the Internet.  So I did.

Trips to England were getting to be a little expensive so I decided to look elsewhere for inventory.  I decided to visit my aunt and uncle in St. Louis as they had told me that the garage sales and antique malls there were good.  So off I went and there I learned that the Midwest was absolutely the BEST place to find inventory - well, next to London that is.

My aunt and uncle lived in Maryland Heights and one of the first places my aunt directed me to was the Warson Woods Antique Mall.  I would that particular location the "high end" mall of St. Louis.  Wonderful items with (what I considered) fair prices that caused me to spend my money as quickly as I could pull it out of my pocket.  In 2 days I had spent every penny I had brought to St. Louis and even had to resort to borrowing from my uncle.  When I got back to Los Angeles and hit the antique shows, I sold everything right away.  So what else to do but schedule another trip to St. Louis!

Trip after trip after trip I made to St. Louis until finally it dawned on me that I probably would do a whole lot better if I just moved from Los Angeles to Missouri so I decided to do just ONE more trip to St Louis and vowed that if I sold everything I bought once more - either at a show or on the Internet - I would make the move.  Well, I did and I did and that story will be the subject of my next post.

Until then. 

1997 Cont'd

Teaching myself how to sell on EBAY with my boss's computer was fine for a time but the day did come when I had to buy my own.  I loved my Gateway computer and managed to teach myself how to use it.  I actually got quite good with buying on EBAY but selling was another thing.  But I was resolved to be a success and to NOT have to find another job. 

With the Clash of the Titans toys I had stored and the Beanie Babies I was now buying, I did quite well attracting the attention of EBAY.  I was profiled by Newsweek (the magazine) and things seemed to be going well.  I was making a living, paying my bills and still managing to go to London each year.  There was a short spell there where I actually went in for a job interview but it didn't work out and I thought maybe that was the Universe's way of telling me to stick to the Internet.  So I did. 

Trips to England were getting to be a little expensive so I decided to look elsewhere for inventory.  I decided to visit my aunt in uncle in St. Louis as they had told me that the garage sales there were good as well as the antique malls in the area.  So off I went and there I learned that the Midwest was absolutely the BEST place to find inventory - well, next to London that is. 

I always enjoy my trips to the U.K., short as they are. I can cram quite a few antique shows into a small space of time and usually could spend all my money on new inventory.  I have my own little corner of London that I stay in - a small B&B on Sussex Gardens just down from Paddington Station. I've stayed in the same B&B for 25 years now, without a toilet in my room (it's around the corner) but yes, there is a shower.  With hardly any heating (you have to beat on the radiator). I must admit I missed being warm! I know all the businesses in my small area. My money changer is there, my grocer is there, and I'm right around the corner from Paddington Station where I can enter London from Heathrow via the Heathrow Express. 15 minutes rail time, a short walk, and I end up at my "home away from home." There's something quite comforting about seeing faces you've known for a long time at the end of a journey. They're more than faces really, they're friends.

February in London is always iffy. It's always cold but it can also be wet, dry or snowy. In my case, it was a little of all three. Portobello Road was clear and dry and cold. Victorian Horticultural Hall was rainy and cold. Covent Garden was snowy and cold. Kempton Park was just plain cold.




PORTOBELLO ROAD

I think a lot of people's first glimpse of this popular London road was in the movie "Notting Hill" starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. While Mr. Grant could be seen strolling through the food and clothing sections, it was the antique section that I think moviegoers really wanted to see. Well, they didn't and so I will try my best to explain the antiques section of the road. 

 

Portobello Road starts at Chepstow Villas and runs downhill from that point. In the early morning taxis congregate at this starting point letting out eager customers for antiques and yes, souvenirs of a London trip! Running for two full blocks is the antique section - hidden in little "cubby holes" of buildings running along the left side of the street. Enter these small tunnel like alleyways and you'll find a myriad of antique dealers eager to sell their wares. Jewelry, paintings, prints, clothing, statues, woodwork - you name it, you will find it on Portobello Road!

 

I search for jewelry and it seems that almost every stall along the road has a little bit of silver, gold or costume. Prices vary by dealer as does quality. But when you've found the good stuff you'll know it because your mouth will begin to salivate!

 

For the last 25 years I have been walking down Portobello things had hardly changed. But this time, I noticed something quite disturbing. A large block of dealers in a corner section of the road had been displaced by a clothing store called All Saints Spitelfields. In the old days, these section would have held close to 100 dealers in individual stalls - now there was just a big retail store selling modern day clothing. It was quite a shock. The store had attempted to "blend in" with the flavor of Portobello - its window was stocked with every old fashioned black Singer Sewing Machine that the store could find. The effect was amazing and people lined up in front of the window to have their picture taken. I felt right then that what I was seeing was the beginning of the end. Hopefully, I will be proved wrong and Portobello will stay the same for the rest of my lifetime. 

Anyway, after seeing Spitalfields I wondered how much more of Portobello Road had changed. Thankfully, not much. But I guess the writing is on the wall. 

Till next time....

1992 to 1997

From 1992 to 1997 I stayed with the same law firm and traveled at least twice a year to London - one year, I even got to visit the place 3 times!  That particular year I was finally upgraded with American Airlines (having purchased my favorite airline, TWA) and could get the best deal on a Business Class ticket.  At first I'd fly Coach over and Business back (to save on miles), then I was finally in a position to be able to fly Business both ways - what a treat that was!  There was nothing better than flying business on a Boeing 747!

In 1997, I quit my law firm job and jumped to yet another law firm.  The pay and perks were a lot better and it was at this time that the personal computer was starting to make an appearance.  The Internet was new and buying/selling through a computer was also new.  EBAY was all the rage in 1999 (having begun life in 1998) and while I was mildly intrigued with selling via the Web, I didn't have the resources to purchase a computer as yet (they were still very expensive) nor did I have the money to purchase an AOL subscription.  I can still hear that screech AOL made when you were finally connected to the Internet.  To teach myself, I used to stay after hours at the law firm and use my boss's computer to log onto the Net - his was the only computer in the firm that would do so.  Good thing.  The minute I tried it, I was hooked.  I taught myself everything about EBAY, saved my money and finally bought my own computer.  A prepackaged deal from GATEWAY.  Anyway, once my package was opened, and my personal computer operational on my  desk, the next thing to do was to come up with inventory to sell.  And that was easy!

Recognize the critter?  Well, guess who had a wholesale account with TY.  Yep, me.  Because of all the crafting I did before getting into antiques, I had bears by Ty Warner up the whazoo in my apartment.  I also had been a bit of a hoarder and managed to keep a lot of toys in the apartment from the 1980s that I thought might grow in value.  The Clash of the Titans toys were the ones I had oodles of and when I saw their value on EBAY, well it was time to get rid of them and buy BEANIE BABIES!

And I will leave now to continue a bit later with this story.

Till next time.

1987-1991 Los Angeles Flea Markets & London

From just west of St. Louis (isn't this a pretty view).......

Soooooo, after my Culver City debut I was anxious to get back into the show again.  At that time, wait lists were common and it took me a bit of time to get a spot.  But every time there was a vacancy I eagerly gathered inventory and participated in the show.  As I sold, I learned.  And as I learned, my eye got better.  And as my eye got better, my pocketbook opened a little further, taking a chance on big (and small) but BETTER stuff!

So the cycle started again.  I'd buy something I loved, would live with it for a spell but because I was holding onto something a bit better, I had to let something go.  Oftentimes I would buy a lot more than I needed but would eventually separate the better from the best. 

I attended all the Flea Markets in Los Angeles - Rose Bowl, Long Beach, Santa Monica and in 1991 (after finding a new job at yet another law firm) I booked a trip to London for April. 

Now my first trip to London in 1976 was when I was married.  My second in 1984 with my then-room mate was a complete disaster so in order to erase bad memories, I had to take another trip only this time by myself. 

Flying TWA and going for a week, I managed to hit every flea market I had ever heard about - Bermondsey, Portobello Road, Newark, Covent Garden - it was one of those dream weeks that every antiquer dreams about.  Only problem was, I didn't have much money.  And by the fourth day of my sojourn, I had pretty near spent every penny I had.  But I went back to the States a happy lady having found some really good bits 'n pieces that I was so sure would sell. 

Going back to a law firm after having had the time of my life in London was hard but I justified the job due to the fact that it would afford me another opportunity to visit London to purchase even more goodies to sell. And the next Culver show proved that point.  I sold EVERYTHING that was new in my booth, in other words, all the new stuff from London!  I commented to other dealers how weird I thought it was, selling only the new stuff.  "Radar" was what all the dealers told me - "antique radar, all the regular customers here have it."  Again, I went home with more money than I thought possible and I started salivating about heading back to London even sooner than expected.  But it was not to be.  April and October seemed to be the best times to shop in the UK so I had to wait quite a few months to cross the pond once more.  But I did purchase my plane ticket right away.

My October trip to London proved to be better than the prior April.  And when I showed up at Culver yet again for another show, it seemed that every dealer knew where I had been and between them and the buying public, I yet again sold out of all my new inventory.  Everyone, it seemed, was in love with all things Victorian or Edwardian - the want lists at that show came out in full force.  Could I get this? Could I find that? October 1991 in London may have passed but I couldn't wait for April, 1992.

But that story will wait until my next Blog.

Stay tuned.

1987 - Antiques, Crafts and More!

With the move into the new apartment on Sawtelle I was more concerned about storing my "craft stuff" than anything else so I separated the living area/dining area into a living area/craft area. One table, many shelves, one chair and a TV that could move from back to front was all I needed to keep me happy. I would come home from work, eat dinner, then start crafting while I watched TV. Well, you know what they say about idle hands. Every now and then I would participate in a craft show and sell my goods. I did well. I specialized in Christmas ornaments but I also did other things - I decorated baskets and Teddy Bears, I sewed lingerie bags, made purses, sachets and well, to be honest, I think I tried to make everything from every "how to" book ever published. And with each new learning experience, I knew that somewhere down the line, all the knowledge I absorbed would would be put to use some day. With the money I made at the craft shows I was able to purchase more and more antiques and collectibles. And of course the inevitable eventually happened - I had more stuff than I knew what to do with. But I also still wanted MORE!

This is the learning curve that every dealer has to go through - how to hone the eye, to learn to purchase the "best" and then discard the "less than perfect" piece. Everything I had purchsed in my "early days" I considered a learning experience, and yes, I made mistakes. Never anything major mind you, but I did get "taken" at times. Oh well. So as I bought new things for the apartment or for my Treasure Chest (every dealer has a treasure chest), I placed the "old" into a box. And so it happened that one day in 1987 I simply had too much stuff in the apartment and needed to SELL!

Santa Monica had a small 1 day antique show at the corner of Lincoln and Santa Monica Blvd. Well, somewhere in there. It was held in the parking lot of an antiques shop and it was where I honed my eye. I didn't make much money at first but I certainly learned about linens, quilts, prints, jewelry and so much more. I had some of the best teachers at that time and they were more than happy to point me in the right direction. From that show I learned of another antique show in the area, the Culver City Antique Show (now defunct) held once a month on the 3rd Sunday of the month. Yep, it clashed with the Long Beach Flea Market, but at least it was inside and air conditioned. Even today, I just can't take outside heat!


I managed to secure a space at one of the shows due to a cancellation and I showed up with high hopes. The first person I met was Pat Bates and the second, Richard Fauteux. Pat dealt in (mostly) textiles but she also carried furniture. Richard specialized in jewelry and small collectibles of the silver sort. Both were great dealers and both made their living by their trade. I was honestly amazed that one could make a living just by selling antiques/collectibles. At the time, I couldn't have existed without my job as a legal secretary at a law firm. How times have changed!

Pat welcomed me to the show and with one eye on the inventory I was unloading, she was quick to cry "I want that" every time I pulled out something that pleased her. Soon, she disappeared and the next thing I knew was that my booth was filled to bursting with other dealers from the show. No customers (we weren't open yet), just dealers. And they picked me clean! I couldn't believe it. My pockets were filled with cash and my booth was practically empty. It was one of those moments when I thought I could do this forever and I envied those who did it full time.


Well the doors to the show finally opened and when the customers approached my booth, I was greeted with groans as obviously they knew something I didn't. But even with the limited inventory still in the booth, I sold. At the end of the day, I had practically nothing left of my old inventory. Instead I had a purse full of cash and checks and, of course, couldn't wait to spend it all.

As I was packing up to leave Pat wandered over and asked how I did. I told her I had done well, $1,300 to be exact. She nodded her head and replied "that's good but do you want to know how you could have done better?" Curious I said yes. And here's a lesson for every antique newbie out there.......

"How did you price your inventory?" Interesting question, I thought.

"Well, what I paid for it and then doubled but with the best stuff, maybe a little more to the price" was my reply.

"That's what everyone does at first. Now let me ask you this, did you do any research before you put a price tag on your stuff?"

"No" I said. And Pat began to tell me how researching the market was what I had to learn. Who was selling a similar item for what price - how scarce was my item - was it common - unusual - possibly one of a kind? Well, the questions were such that I couldn't really give any answers and that's when Pat dropped the bomb.

"Okay, let's take a look at some of the stuff I bought. You sold me a quilt for $75. I'm going to ask $250. You sold me a mink wrap for $65 - I'm going to sell if for $500. You sold me a pair of beaded shoes for $125. I'm going ask $500 for them." My jaw dropped! The prices she were quoting were unfathomable to me. Even today I think back on those prices and still think they were high. But....

So, with my first lesson I was prepared to do battle. I would learn more, research more, and sell better. After all, since I had a full time job, I could afford to take a few more risks. Well, as much as my pocketbook would allow.

And on that note, I will end now and continue later.

(All images on this page are from a past CALM Antique Show held in Santa Barbara, a show where I exhibited for a few years.)


Till the next time....