Featured Pick every day ?

Anyone here pick every day (5-7 days week) and-have you noticed much of a change in quality ?

 

Took me a while to figure out what you meant.

(I can pick a day, but how do I pick every day, then it isn't picking, is it.)

 

The real answer for me is: I don't pick at all...except outta my own hoard. The hobby became an obsession, an' then an imperative. 35 years later, I wised up enough to turn my attention within, an' began to mine the collection for items that might appeal to others...eBay has been, in that sense, a 2-way street for maybe 4 years now. It ain't the money...oh dear, no...it's the gain of free cubic feet of space in my dwelling (an' in 3 storage spaces), along with the feeling of having triumphed in a modestly significant way over a long an' costly habit. The task will never be completed by my efforts, but I don't care...the kids an' grandkids will deal with it...or not.
I love all my stuff...don't get me wrong. But it is certainly time for me to re-focus in these last few precious years.

 

I don't either.

 

I used to go to every estate sale, yard sale, garage sale and thrift store I could. I have stopped doing that as online selling has changed.

I see less quality items at higher prices at sales. There are some good finds too but unfortunately I see the decline in people buying now due to having less money.
During covid everyone was home and shopping online, so it was my best ever time selling. Also what people are buying now IMHO, has changed from just 2 years ago and also how much they will pay. And shipping is thru the roof.

Of course I was much younger when I started and things were much less complicated for selling online. I remember when buyers could send a money order or a check. Being older now means less energy and dealing with harsh weather is now more a factor. I can no longer stand in freezing cold or extreme heat. I miss the good ole days for sure.

 

I remember when buyers could send a money order or a check.

that's how I got hooked on eBay.... after my pal showed me a fist full of checks that could choke a gator !!!!!

 

Sorry AJ-I meant do you shop (ie: 'pick') for antiques regularly or even every day.I wondered if the folks here who share new finds every week find it easier or harder than they used to?

I don't buy much now either.I've got about 150 things I should list right now before the global economy completely...who knows what ?

 

I hear You Whit.I'm trying to catalog better pieces for the heirs -concentrating on monetary value of each piece,so they don't just truck it all to Good Will !
I'm pretty sure they won't care much about aesthetic historical matters, but cash is cash.

 

If that Hoodwill wasnt right up the street Id probably only go once in a while as opposed to 3-4 times a week. I used to be a fanatic,but like others have mentioned its rapidly getting time to de-clutter. Again. I go thru this every other year yet I fill right back up. Between the resellers and the stores researching everything its nigh impossible to find anything good now. i miss the hunt but I just cant deal with crowds and idiots anymore. I wasnt a "seller" in that sense of the word,but i did have a friend that had several booths in a mall and I would let him sell some of the more valuable things on occasion but hes since quit the business . On occasion Id sell on FB or Craigslist but havent done that in a while. Got tired of dealing with the loons on there too ! Upon thinking about it,I think Ive just turned into a curmudgeon ! People annoy me now !

 

Damn RIGHT!

 

My first sale on ebay was a glass from Lake George and I accepted a money order.
Of course the buyer thought he would string me along since I was new and not send the payment. I waited 3 weeks and I sent him the glass when the mo came.
My tolerance level these days is much lower.

As a newbie buyer on ebay, I won a listing for delphite bowl. 3 weeks later I never received it. The seller contacted me finally and said she had been husy with her family summering with her. I had paid with PP so there was no excuse.

 

I got hooked on eBay in the early days. It was a hobby for me, I've never earned a lot of money in my life to DH's chagrin. OTOH, we have two terrific children and two lovely granddaughters. . I sold stuff for what I thought was big money for the items, but then people didn't really know what they had, so values were all over the place. It was FUN, though. You had feedback to rate sellers and buyers, (Elon Musk got his seed money from PayPal), you could take cheques, shipping was usually cheaper than the item, and ebay let you just run your stuff with little interference. But, as we know, that didn't last long. I no longer collect, and only sell locally any stuff that occasionally comes to hand.

 

Weirdly-I still get a kick out of hunting for goodies.I don't pick to sell anymore,just mostly to get my steps in.One out of every ten or twenty expeditions bag something.
I may dabble in Ebay again just for the hell of it-got to stay Zen re the results though. Have to keep a 'sera-sera' attitude or it's hypertensionville !

 

I go out to the Charity Shops twice during the week, a couple that were good aren’t so good any more. Weekends it’s usually a jumble on a Saturday and table top sales on a Sunday. Car boots not now as I don’t like getting up early. I go out for fun really, the good finds are a bonus. Never done EBay, looks like I missed out when it was good.

 

I still sell on eBay (even though they do make me bat-sh-- crazy at times) & still do okay. For the most part I am selling things that I bought sometimes years ago but got buried on a shelf in the garage. I do allow myself occasional trips to the local GW but haven't been to the auction house in months.

 

A very kind & happy curmudgeon!

 

I was in the physical auction house world for years before starting our estate sale company - back then I had time to pick. It all began with eBay. I started with eBay back in 1998 when I knew nothing about anything. I had been a social worker and then had 3 children. In 1996, my middle child was 2, he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. I started going to garage sales as a way to get used children clothes, toys, household stuff cheap. I remember buying an art glass lamp that I thought was cool but knew nothing about it. A neighbor told me about eBay and the message boards and that was it for me. Taking pictures and having them developed and then scanning them to upload - so much work and then came digital cameras! Back then, eBay was a marketplace of such fun unique items. You would get 'cookies' from the pinks for helping out other members on the message boards! Now eBay doesn't seem to support their sellers anymore. I still sell but you have to be so careful with the scammers. I just purchased a bunch of hologram stickers for higher end items to prevent the 'switch-a-roo' I keep hearing about. Sad that it has come to that!

 

I figured that out after a while.

Decades ago I had a bricks and mortar antiques shop, but I never went 'picking'. I went to auctions, and people who wanted to offload their collections knew I was a potential buyer. That was how I got my stock.
I still look at auction sites for my collections, but also other sites where interesting items turn up occasionally.

What I noticed here on the forum is that 'pickers' are after any item that sells, even if it is only ten yrs old. They rarely buy antiques because it can be a difficult market.

The members who buy antiques are usually collectors, who only sell because their hobby got out of hand (guilty as charged). They know the market for their field of interest, so they know how to find the right buyers. That knowledge makes it a bit easier for them to sell antiques than for the pickers.

 

The thing about the economy is that even if it goes down, it will go up again at some point.
And some buyers are not affected by economic fluctuations. That is a good market to target, if you can.

 

When I had my booth in the antique mall, I used to go out 3 times a week. To yard sales, estate sales and thrift shops. Before COVID, there were great things out there. I had some fabulous finds.
But now that I gave up the booth, I only go out occasionally. I love to add to my personal collection.
I still maintain a full time job, so I can't go every day.
Most times I leave empty handed, as the pickings are dismal these days.