Movie memorabilia has a great following of collector's - even these seemingly mundane film reels. Not only do they make for a great decoration but it wouldn't surprise me if the person who bought them actually intends to use the reels.
Most anything related to military service is generally collectible with some items having exceptional value - especially true when they are 100 years old or more.
I'll spare you the history lesson but these notes were printed between 1862 -1876 as a way of compensating for the lack of actual gold and silver bullion / coinage. If you ask me, this was just the beginning of sordid banking and treasury practices which have lasted well over a hundred years. With all the screwy 'fixes' Uncle Sam has initiated over the years it's a wonder we're not back to trading seashells and stones. Check out William Meredith - does that guy look shifty or what?
Never underestimate the value of random animal figures. If they have some age to them, be sure that some collector is looking for them. Pieces like these are donated to thrift stores every day and turning them around on-line can put money in your pocket. One of these had a small chip but fortunatley we have a friend that can touch up ceramics and pottery. Damaged items are usually worthless and that's no bull.
We all know older comic books are collectible but coloring books?!!? Really anything that has some age to it with good subject matter will have at least some value !
Movie memorabilia will always have a following - even in less than perfect condition, original pieces are very sought after.
While old pieces like this still have some value, they are usually a chore to sell. While it was posted on eBay, it sat on my shelf for months waiting for a buyer and that buyer was in another country! So while it was worth $100 to me - it's not the type of thing we want to handle on consignment which is why I usually just offer to buy pieces like this for a token price.
We've learned never to underestimate anything and old toys in particular can have surprising value. This little green plastic monster from the 1960's sold in a matter of minutes for $100!
A good picker has to know name brands and anything by Chanel just had to be expensive. We found these in a random box with assorted bathroom stuff at our last storage unit dig. Most people would have thrown them out but we knew there was a Benjamin to be made!
I mentioned that last week, we went 3 hours out of our way and spent thousands of dollars in labor and cash to acquire a couple storage units that were up for grabs. It was a huge gamble but every blue moon we get lucky and all it takes are a couple surprisingly good pieces like this to make the numbers work. Collectors have real jobs and therefore don't have time to dig like we do and will pay a premium for finding things at their fingertips online.
We've learned never to underestimate anything and oddball novelty items from 50 years ago are always of interest
Older and unusual costume jewelry pieces can command good prices and are easy enough to identify and ship. Similar bracelets have previously sold for as much as $200 but sometimes this business is about taking an offer as having an item sit on a shelf doesn't pay the bills.
More vintage lighting that sold for a great price!
While model kits were not as popular as other types of toys, finding one from 50 years ago that had never been built definately made a nice sale.
Keeping with tradition of sharing the fun vintage lighting pieces we find and sell.
This Santa had been in storage unused for about 50 years and looked as good as new. People love Christmas and old decorations in good condition can be worth big money - Halloween isn't even over yet and we're selling Christmas stuff already - I guess that makes us as bad as Walmart
Another great sale price on an unassuming cheap plastic trinket from 50 years ago. Right now elderly folks downsizing their homes are throwing things just like this in the trash because they don't know - let us be the first call you make when mom and dad are ready to move into a smaller place!
This was another Gerardo pick that I would have left behind. An old blown plastic castle - essentially a scenery piece for model soldier dioramas. It sold within minutes of posting so it just goes to show you even I don't know it all.
For the most part, I have written off the value of old American art glass as the market has been dead for years. A customer brought this in and told me it was a good piece and I almost didn't believe him as everyone thinks their stuff is worth big money. As it turns out - this jar was only made in 1941 and is the 'Holy Grail' of Fenton and I was able to verify this and sure enough, it sold for a great price. My ignorance of the cookie jar almost kept me from earning my cookie!
Vintage seasonal stuff - especially Halloween pieces can do very well. This pack of drug store decorations was still unopened from about 40 years ago and sold within 30 minutes of posting it for sale. Things like this that weren't meant to last are always of interest to collectors and our timing in selling it was perfect.
Another strange lamp we found a good home for...
There is a buyer for just about everything and it's our job to put it out there to the world in a presentable fashion. Sometimes giving buyers a clean picture and the convenience of shopping at their fingertips nets us good prices for items that really just aren't that great...
This was a cool old piece but packing it and shipping it to Cali was a chore. Itens like this can sit around the store for months before a buyer comes along whereas things sell on eBay in days or a few weeks at most. I wish we could sell more things like this in the store but traffic just isn't that strong. We encourage local shoppers to check out our eBay listings as this is how we have to sell most of the best items we get! http://stores.ebay.com/id=4997262
We've mentioned before that Native American primitives are highly collectible... knowing the tribe of origin and approximate age increases value immensely as there are so many non-authentic 'souvenir' and 'in the style of' pieces on the market.
Old quality textiles can have surprising value. This was yet another Asian collectible from our last big haul that sold on eBay and is going back to China where it originally came from.