Saturday was a whirlwind for me. It had been a bit since I was up at the antique booth and brought in new goods. We had a couple good days with good sales leaving a few blanks spaces. We didn’t sell a HUGE bunch of stuff but the stuff that did sell took up a lot of space.
So my plan was…go to Decorah. Stop at an auction. Go to Harmony. Come back to Decorah and get the groceries and do the Wal-Mart run.
I was up early and sewed…then off to stop at the auction. I really had no intention of staying at the auction. The goodies they had shown in the pictures really weren’t anything I was interested in but, auctioneers can get late additions to the sale or what I think is valuable isn’t valuable to them.
Well I got to the auction and “HOLY POTTERY”!!!!
It was never ending!!
The tables were filled and under the tables were filled.
Ah…I spy little lamb planters. I would definitely bid on these.
I haven’t really bought pottery like that before so I had no idea how that would sell. I didn’t know what it was worth…Oh I hate that. I get to an auction and suddenly feel dumb about what I’m bidding on but at the same time think it’s something that would sell. We’ve been told that it’s a good idea to display several like things together in the booth so that it catches the eye of people who collect it. Well…there were enough lambs. Hmm.
Well I continued looking around. Costume jewelry…again something I know nothing about.
Um…Button jars. They would sell.  
Salt and pepper shakers. One would think I had enough but if they sold cheap, I would consider them.
I loved these boats. Would they sell? They would make a nice display in the summer. Hmm.
…and then there was more. More of everything. Again notice the loaded tables and under the tables.
Oh…I spy this…Pyrex casserole bowl. I’d buy that.
Sleds, yes please. They sell. I loved the step back cabinet next to it too.
…and then there was stuff in the back. These please.
This is a turn table. I wonder if Karl wants one? or does it work?
I ended up calling Hubby to tell him I was staying at the auction.
Pat, a fellow auction goer, was there and we chatted. I looked at my phone and realized it was time to start. I looked at the crowd. No one was there. Seriously…maybe 25 people.
I took a seat up front and before I knew it I was bidding….bidding a lot. Flats of buttons went for $12. Salt and pepper shakers…$8 a flat.
Then they started selling the planters. I hadn’t really-really looked at them before the auction. I didn’t know anything about pottery and planter. NOTHING. I only knew the lamb ones were cute. Next thing I knew, boxes were selling for anything from $1 to the highest $10. Oh my word. Some were McCoy, Haeger, Shawnee…others not labeled but cute. AHHH. What do I do?
BID.
The couple I did scope out that I wanted before the auction I got for $10 each. Once I bid I kept bidding….bird planter-$3 for the box, geese and duck planter-$6 for the box. I bid and bid. At one point I called Hubby and said come and rescue me.
About then the auctioneer had done choice many times. Then they split up everything they had left onto two tables and were going to bid choice of tables. No one bid. There were no antiquers there. Oh my. I bid $1 sure someone else would bid more. There were about 7 boxes on each table. No one else bid. No one. The auctioneer said, “You want both tables, right?” I shook my head yes.
Then I started to wonder how I was going to explain this all to Hubby. HOLY POTTERY!!! I have about 35 boxes of pottery. I spent 91.50 on pottery/planters/cookie jars. Will I be able to sell it all? No. But I’m thinking I should be able to turn a good profit on it.
For the most part, three or so other people bought the pottery. One of those buyers was the person who brought it in for sale. They were sick that it was selling so cheap. It really was sad.
As the sale went on I started hauling stuff out. I missed a couple things but got other things I had spied.
One guy came up and offered to buy one piece out of one of the pottery boxes. He was almost rude about it. He kept telling me how bad he wanted this one piece. I said they weren’t for sale. Finally he said, “What are you going to do with it?” I told him we have the booth. He said “How much will you mark this at?” I was trying to haul, trying to consolidate boxes, trying to pay attention to what was still selling…I finally said, “For $12 you can have it”.
He gave me $12 and took it. He badgered me later so I started hauling more quickly and missed a couple other things I wanted.
Hubby showed up. We loaded and he stayed a bit.
I went to Harmony with the stuff I had previously priced. Then back to Wal-Mart and to the grocery store. It was after 5:30pm by the time I got home.
Then I had to put ALL OF THAT STUFF AWAY!! It was about 25 trips up and down the steps to the basement. AHHH.. I was so pooped. My knees don’t work the way they used to. I have been up at 5:15am so I could get some sewing time.
From there I made supper…priced three flats of stuff…and actually sat in the chair watching an hour of television before I sank into bed. It was a LONG-LONG day.
Well…I am set now for “filler” items for the booth.
In the meantime….flat full of elephant planters anyone???
Oh my goodness, they are so stinking cute!!
What a day! What an auction!!
Holy cow were you ever so lucky. I’m a collector and would have died if I was there!!!!good luck. You will make out very well indeed
Elephants???? Too funny!!!
That was a good auction regardless!
Would the pottery make cute pin cushions?
Were you able to get the Pyrex?
I didn’t get he Pyrex. UGH. The old guy was bugging me to buy something just then.
I seriously need to come visit you this summer. We just don’t have good auctions like that.
Congratulations on the amazing haul of inventory you made for your booth! The next time someone wants to buy something on the spot before you’ve had a chance to assess it though, tell him to write down his name and number and you will call him when, and if, you decide to sell. After that, refuse to talk to him and ask for assistance if he keeps stalking you. First, badgering you is creepy and second, he likely knows more about that item than you do so he has an advantage. You are under no obligation to sell it to him just because he wants it! You also don’t have to tell him what you are going to do it.
My brother in law buys and sells pottery and is quite knowledgeable. Just last week he bought a piece at a flea market for $35 (after haggling) and sold it the next day to a collector for over $500.00. He showed me a picture of it and I wouldn’t have given $2.00 for it at a garage sale! He can do this because he knows what he is looking for and most importantly, know where to sell it privately. Your stalker guy may or may not have bought a valuable piece (cheaply) from you but you’ll never know since you didn’t get to check it out yourself. Just my two cents worth.
Oh my. I can’t believe the price difference between there and here in SC. You made a haul! I am Not interested in elephants but, since we have a sheep farm, would you be at all interested pricing the lamb planters? (I am Not a lamb planter collector and have no idea of value.) I do know what I like though.
After you come up for air. LOL
Deb
Jo, Be sure to check eBay for the prices on the pottery you bought. We have been in the “antique” business for quite some time. I was with a friend who bought a cute Indian mug for 50 cents and sold it in the antique mall for $350. Yes $$ 350.00. There are hidden treasures in boxes like you bought!
Be sure to check on the salt and pepper sets. We bought a pair of fish ones and they were unbelievably desirable and we made something like $100 for the pair.
Our good friend got us interested in antiquing and we love to get together and tell stories of good buys and the mistakes we have made. Your area of the country seems to be a great place for auctions and thrift stores.
Sherri
Have a few pieces of McCoy. Bello glassware from West Virginia. German lead crystal…..all in boxes.
In Washington state last spring we hired an individual to hold an estate sale of my parents household stuff after we removed what we wanted and everything was pre-priced, most of it individually. Day 1 the sale was for a couple of hours for the antique dealers he had sent word to, day 2 was full price for everyone that saw the ads and came, day 3 was 50% off and day 4 was make an offer. Interesting how different things are done in different parts of the country. I’ve never heard of an auction like you describe in my area. I LOVE pottery and will be looking forward to what you blog about cleaning, pricing, and selling it!
I use to go to auctions like that with my mom. That was many years ago. I haven’t seen any around here like that for awhile. Sounds like you got a lot of items for your booth. Nice going. Thanks for sharing.
Please put your unsold items up for an auction on your site. Others as well as myself, I’m sure are very interested in the items you bought, even before you put them in your resale booth. Thanks for sharing everything you purchased!
Jeri in South Texas, slobbering over your good fortune buys!
I do have a friend who might be interested in the elephants IF you do decide to sell them.
What is wrong with the elephants? I happen to have a house full of elephants. I say you bought something
for everyone. What a haul!!!
Whew I’m tired just reading about your day! glad you got lots of smalls for your booth.
Had so much fun zooming in on your photos and spying lots of familiar things. It was an adult I spy lol. You will be very busy with all, as I’m sure you know. Sounds like you have a few buyers from the blog already. I personally love McCoy…..
Whoo, sounds exhausting. Next time somebody badgers you, tell them $50! He wouldn’t be badgering you if it was worth $12. But congrats, you should do very well.
I think you’ll be surprised at how well the elephants sell. They really are stinking cute. Hope you got the lambs too. Both are very collectable.
What fun! Thanks for bringing us along. There will be some elbow grease but maybe not as much work as some of the wooden furniture you’ve refurbished. Here’s to nice profits! Way to go, Jo!
Elephants are supposed to bring good luck. My aunt loved them and collected elephants. I used to live in a country that was pretty much all barter. I set a price in my head that I was willing to pay (that is: what the value to me was) and then I was happy. It was the same for everyone because that was how you shopped. Some people were willing to pay more and some people not. Easier in some ways then marking a price and hoping/guessing that it would be a price someone else was willing to pay. :)
Every time I put a plant in a planter it sells so quickly. I’ve even dug up violets from the yard, or put small cuttings of succulents and plants I had already. I make sure my plants cost nothing, Your purchases look great! Wish I’d run into that.