Garage Sales, Thrift Stores, Antique Malls. THEY NOW KNOW WHAT THEY HAVE! - Collecting Tiki

HC Hula Cat Member Bellows Falls Vermont Joined: Jul 14, 2006 Posts: 171	HC Hula Cat Posted posted on Sun, Jul 30, 2006 11:43 PM Well gang..here is a thread that stokes me up...I've been buying and selling since 1972..for a living of sorts. While I've always loved the things of history and pop/tiki culture, it's been the fear of having to work for someone else (not that they'd hire an A.D.D. poster child!) that's kept me looking for more stuff. At first it was "real" antiques but after years of learning what was supposedly good... the PRICE guides came out!...Heck, because some "experts" in East Oshgoosh said it was so some folks believed it AND stuck to that price. I always had an eye for the fun/weird stuff that regular dealers shunned....like Tiki! now we have EBAY..., a real marketplace where we can see what someone might pay for something at any given time. But there's SO Much Stuff! mass produced Fads and past trends (but TIKI Is BACK!)...The dealers (and there's so many more than ever) don't bring as much Tiki to the fleas any more and when they do it's often overpriced. But believe me it's harder to find stuff for everyone. I still find a little something with a limited budget every time, an Orchid's "surfer" in a co-op, a coco Joe tiki at a Salvation Army(even thou it's not as "thrifty" they do some good things) or a black velvet Hawaiiana painting some "real" antique shop undervalues. There is usually some booth or box under a table with a mechanical hula doll or Martin Denny record...Cheap! Face it , something's "worth" whatever someone's willing to pay when you have or want to sell it. I like it best when I've made a bit for finding the stuff and connect with a buyer so they feel great about the sale...And there's the joy of the hunt!!...I keep/rescue too many things..love to party..and live off my own wits..Some pickers just want the $$ but for me it's the STUFF (besides I'm lazy and get up too late) ..but it is only stuff...luckly I'm in a place where that's okay...try finding Tiki in a rural state like Vt. !...after 34 years I realize if I don't LOVE it I don't buy it for myself ..something else will always turn up...(I have broken this code way too many times) .....spendaholic !!..hoarder!!.....(easy now ,you'll be okay )....Ookoo lady has it right, a lot of us are just making a living {I drive a1986 GMC diesel truck)...what drives me nuts are the shops where almost anything is labeled "vintage" (and broken or not is overpriced!). Oh yeah, those dollar store tikis, I bought a bunch to give to my "normal"friends and there's still a bunch left in that store after 2 months, but now i wonder..... if I shouldn't have given them away....I could drive up demand for TIKI ! !.. At least we can still All make a great Mai Tai and drink to life no matter how much our mug costs ! Yum !

Well gang..here is a thread that stokes me up...I've been buying and selling since 1972..for a living of sorts. While I've always loved the things of history and pop/tiki culture, it's been the fear of having to work for someone else (not that they'd hire an A.D.D. poster child!) that's kept me looking for more stuff. At first it was "real" antiques but after years of learning what was supposedly good... the PRICE guides came out!...Heck, because some "experts" in East Oshgoosh said it was so some folks believed it AND stuck to that price. I always had an eye for the fun/weird stuff that regular dealers shunned....like Tiki! now we have EBAY..., a real marketplace where we can see what someone might pay for something at any given time. But there's SO Much Stuff! mass produced Fads and past trends (but TIKI Is BACK!)...The dealers (and there's so many more than ever) don't bring as much Tiki to the fleas any more and when they do it's often overpriced. But believe me it's harder to find stuff for everyone. I still find a little something with a limited budget every time, an Orchid's "surfer" in a co-op, a coco Joe tiki at a Salvation Army(even thou it's not as "thrifty" they do some good things) or a black velvet Hawaiiana painting some "real" antique shop undervalues. There is usually some booth or box under a table with a mechanical hula doll or Martin Denny record...Cheap! Face it , something's "worth" whatever someone's willing to pay when you have or want to sell it. I like it best when I've made a bit for finding the stuff and connect with a buyer so they feel great about the sale...And there's the joy of the hunt!!...I keep/rescue too many things..love to party..and live off my own wits..Some pickers just want the $$ but for me it's the STUFF (besides I'm lazy and get up too late) ..but it is only stuff...luckly I'm in a place where that's okay...try finding Tiki in a rural state like Vt. !...after 34 years I realize if I don't LOVE it I don't buy it for myself ..something else will always turn up...(I have broken this code way too many times) .....spendaholic !!..hoarder!!.....(easy now ,you'll be okay )....Ookoo lady has it right, a lot of us are just making a living {I drive a1986 GMC diesel truck)...what drives me nuts are the shops where almost anything is labeled "vintage" (and broken or not is overpriced!). Oh yeah, those dollar store tikis, I bought a bunch to give to my "normal"friends and there's still a bunch left in that store after 2 months, but now i wonder..... if I shouldn't have given them away....I could drive up demand for TIKI ! !.. At least we can still All make a great Mai Tai and drink to life no matter how much our mug costs ! Yum !

Post #245847 by Hula Cat on Sun, Jul 30, 2006 11:43 PM