Post #422914 by leleliz on Tue, Dec 9, 2008 3:57 PM

If you went to the Alameda Fair on Sunday I am not sure if the pricing there reflects the tiki market on a whole.

I always find super cheap tiki items there because of the nature of the seller.

Usually I purchase my items from non-professionals. You know folks who hit garage sales and thrift stores all month then pool their items and sell at that sale. If they can make money above the set up fee (I think its like $175 or so) then they do well for themselves and their scavaging pays off.

I bought all of these Harvey mugs on Sunday for $5:

My seller was a woman who had a few tables set up with her friend.After talking to them they said that they were 2nd time sellers at the fair and do this to make extra money and to feed their thrifting habits.

They had priced all their items to move--mainly because of Christmas coming and also because they both indicated they had tons of stuff still packed away to sell.

Just a hint - At that sale it is always best to start at the back because all new sellers seem to be set up there. Thus they seem to have better prices and a wider range of items. I have found so much tiki stuck inbetween random collecibles over the past few months at the Alameda sale and never have a paid very much for any of it. Too bad it is only once a month!

Not including that monthly fair I think the economy is affecting others now--esp antique malls. First time in a long time did I see my antique mall start to discount their pricing. I think this will benefit collectors of most anything , including tiki, but you have to keep your eyes open and hit such places more frequently to catch those discounts.

This same reasoning is why it seems the amount of garage/estate sales around here are multiplying. Nothing like a fast approaching holiday and a cruddy economy to push people to sell what they can for cheap.

I have no opinions about Ebay pricing because I think that is hit or miss.

That is my take on the pricing matters. It would be interesting to see what others have observed in their neck of the woods.