Tiki Finds - Collecting Tiki

J johntiki Member MD Joined: Mar 31, 2002 Posts: 1528	J johntiki Posted posted on Thu, Apr 29, 2004 7:39 AM I must have done something right this week or something because I've stopped at the local thrift store twice this week and have been rewarded on both visits! Tuesday I stopped, did the initial scan of the glassware and immediately made contact with the mug you see on the left. The bizarre thing was that I saw the exact same mug on Ebay the night before in the vintage tiki section with only 6 minutes left to bid, 0 bids and a price of $7.00. I don't know what it was but if I find an item about to close that I remotely find decent I will snatch it up but that night something told me to let it go. The next day I found my mug with a $1.00 mark on the bottom...so I basically saved about $13.00 after I included shipping and handling. It is an unmarked, 2 faced, handled mug and I welcomed it into the collection! The next morning around 2AM I had just left work and was pumping gas for the ride home when I was approached by an older man who just got out of his Corvette. He told me a typical con-man sob story about not being able to buy gas because his credit card was unreadable by the gas pump and that he had a long drive home and not enough fuel to get there. He asked me for money and told me he would mail it back to me...blah, blah, blah! Whatever! Something told me that the guy might be telling me the truth - I saw that his credit card looked wallet worn and he showed me the bill fold completely empty besides a couple ATM receipts. I handed the guy $5.00 and would you know it, he went in and paid for $5.00 worth of gas! He offered to send it back to me but I told him he didn't have to bother. The guy probably pulled off a decent scam but I felt pretty good - he seemed desperate and he didn't just take the money and drive off like I expected. I chalked it up as doing a good deed and completely forgot about it by the time I got home. The next afternoon I did my usual stop at the Goodwill, did the preliminary scan - glasswares, wooden junk, owl shelf, furniture - nothing. I picked up a Little Golden book for my son but put it back when I saw a giant line at the register. I was just heading toward the door when I paused to take one last look at the bottom owl shelf and lo and behold with an audible gasp...the Moai on the right. At first I only caught sight of the top of his head and the bridge of his nose and immediately thought, some new "tiki" themed junk from Wal-Mart. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the thing was huge and not new at all - over a foot tall and marked clearly on the back - Treasure Craft '58 - Compton Calif.! If anyone had seen me they probably would have thought I lost my mind when I fell on the floor and started sobbing uncontrollably with joy - no just kidding. Seriously I must have been smiling ear to ear and the $3.00 scribble on the back made it even more exciting! This ranks up there as one of the best thrift scores ever in these parts and it's made my week! Was it good mana?

I must have done something right this week or something because I've stopped at the local thrift store twice this week and have been rewarded on both visits! Tuesday I stopped, did the initial scan of the glassware and immediately made contact with the mug you see on the left. The bizarre thing was that I saw the exact same mug on Ebay the night before in the vintage tiki section with only 6 minutes left to bid, 0 bids and a price of $7.00. I don't know what it was but if I find an item about to close that I remotely find decent I will snatch it up but that night something told me to let it go. The next day I found my mug with a $1.00 mark on the bottom...so I basically saved about $13.00 after I included shipping and handling. It is an unmarked, 2 faced, handled mug and I welcomed it into the collection!

The next morning around 2AM I had just left work and was pumping gas for the ride home when I was approached by an older man who just got out of his Corvette. He told me a typical con-man sob story about not being able to buy gas because his credit card was unreadable by the gas pump and that he had a long drive home and not enough fuel to get there. He asked me for money and told me he would mail it back to me...blah, blah, blah! Whatever! Something told me that the guy might be telling me the truth - I saw that his credit card looked wallet worn and he showed me the bill fold completely empty besides a couple ATM receipts. I handed the guy $5.00 and would you know it, he went in and paid for $5.00 worth of gas! He offered to send it back to me but I told him he didn't have to bother. The guy probably pulled off a decent scam but I felt pretty good - he seemed desperate and he didn't just take the money and drive off like I expected. I chalked it up as doing a good deed and completely forgot about it by the time I got home.

The next afternoon I did my usual stop at the Goodwill, did the preliminary scan - glasswares, wooden junk, owl shelf, furniture - nothing. I picked up a Little Golden book for my son but put it back when I saw a giant line at the register. I was just heading toward the door when I paused to take one last look at the bottom owl shelf and lo and behold with an audible gasp...the Moai on the right. At first I only caught sight of the top of his head and the bridge of his nose and immediately thought, some new "tiki" themed junk from Wal-Mart. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the thing was huge and not new at all - over a foot tall and marked clearly on the back - Treasure Craft '58 - Compton Calif.! If anyone had seen me they probably would have thought I lost my mind when I fell on the floor and started sobbing uncontrollably with joy - no just kidding. Seriously I must have been smiling ear to ear and the $3.00 scribble on the back made it even more exciting! This ranks up there as one of the best thrift scores ever in these parts and it's made my week! Was it good mana?

Post #88861 by johntiki on Thu, Apr 29, 2004 7:39 AM