How do you choose your purchases?

I was just curious as to how you guys pick what you are going to buy as far as Tiki mugs go. Do you buy what appeals to you personally? Do you buy what you know to be rare or of high value? Do you buy mugs of a certain style or from a certain place? Do you only buy from one designer or do you just buy whatever you can find?

I don't have many tiki mugs, and none of them are rare or of high value, I actually got all of them as gifts. One is a green one that came from a little store in the back of a candle shop in St. Augustine's Old Town and the other four are a set that my husabnd bought me, they are short squatty, mass market sort of thing. I really have little luck finding anything hawaiiana or tiki around here, and have NO luck finding mugs. I frequent every antique store, thrift shop, flea market and rumage/yard sale I can find in a 50 mile radious but never find any. Mostly what I find are hawaiian theme wooden bowls, platters, etc. I found a few stone tiki statuelike thing-a-ma-bobs and some bamboo placemats, trays. I have a vast collection of coconut monkeys however, lol they are redilly available along the coast here.
Where do you guys find most of your tiki mugs? Do you get them online? I see alot of them online but I never know what I should or shouldn't buy.

[ Edited by: Swanky_Tiki on 2003-12-27 11:54 ]

I tend to buy what I like as opposed to it's value or collectablity. On the otherhand if I see a bargin on a rare mug I will go for it as well.

What I find in thrift stores and antique stores for a reasonable amount. The common stuff I rarely pay more than $5 each for. The more uncommon, I will pay $10 each and if I know it's rare, who knows. But I prefer the hunt. I buy what I find, not on Ebay unless I have a specific need, like I found 3 and want a 4th to serve from.

I only buy on Ebay when I find a spectacular bargain, and I only hunt for them on and off anyway. I prefer to find them 'in the field', they are much more special to me that way. Other fun was to aquire are trading, and getting them from friends. I like the ones that have a 'how I got this' story to go with them...

I scour flea markets and antique stores whenever I get a chance. I have found quite a few mugs locally. I started collecting about six months ago and have around 70 different mugs thusfar. I have yet to pay more than 25 bucks for anything.

I always buy on what appeals to me on a personal level.

Here in Florida I have trouble finding mugs as well. I do find them but they are far and in between. About three weeks ago I found a high value Steve Crane mug, a pair of sweet tiki lamps, and an assortment of other mugs and tiki goods.
However I have been searching my ass off for the last two weeks at about five flea markets, couple dozen thrifts, and about 50 antique stores and all I found was a nice tiki pendent necklace. I said this before and I'll say it again it's hard to find stuff in Florida. 85% of my collection I bought up north while living there for a year and a half, as apposed to the other 15% in 5 years in Florida collecting.
I agree with Swanky about prefering the hunt. For as much time and gas money I spend I could just as well buy them on ebay. Don't give up the hunt, one day you'll find something amazing and that's what keeps you going back out.
I checked out your homepage. I love the indoor koi pond, awesome!
I also found this last month which I think you will dig.

THAT is a cool tank, is that yours??

Things are very hard to find here, alot of the antique dealers tell me they see them when they are out buying in other states, but don't buy them because who would want them? LOL.
Thanks about the koi pond, I have been meaning to redesign our site to just be a family sort of site. It used to be for my husband's aquarium business, but he no longer does that since he joined the Navy. We figured that the name still fits though seeing as how he is a submariner. LOL.

We found a terribly ugly lamp at the Goodwill the other day that sorta looks like palm fronds in a screwed up sorta way...

and we got this set for free, it had horrible fabric on it so we reupholstered the chairs, the table is a round base similar to how the chairs are done, but it needs a top so we don't use it... We liked the bamboo design of the metalwork

The pic of the tank I snaged off the internet but the one I found is identical. Paid $30 for it. Total score.
Haven't even thought about setting it up though, not till I figure out were I want it to stay.

Oh, I never get any mug or bowl that the buyer doesn't kick me down $100 to take off his hands.

(hey, don't I sound cool now, huh?)

I buy stuff that hits a certain chord in my mind. I guess I dig a style that goes well with '60's garage and surf music, but most of all it has to look good while I listen to The Sy Zentner does Martin Denny album...

I think artwise, I dig stuff that I look at it and think; " If my artistic talent hadn't stopped growing at the "challenged" level, thats the way I would have done it."

TG