Friday, August 30, 2013

What I Didn't Buy at The Thrift Store: Batman, Toys, Pop Culture, and Vintage


My home's purged and I'm about to drink some tea and take hundreds of photos. Definitely makes me I feel better about hitting up the flea market this weekend again! But no matter what, I'm always careful not to bring home too much or anything that costs too much. This is hard with the market can yield much goodness. Here are some things I left behind at the flea market the past couple of visits:


I pass a LOT of these pop culture goodie tables! I want it all, always! Thing is, it always costs too much. And I have enough to sell. And enough toys on display. I've been resisting toys unless they're the right price and extra special. Hoping to find a glass-front case to display them with my art supplies.


More pop culture, I'm a nineties kid and was raised with this show. Love it, never know they made a board game.


The dolls don't tempt me but I do enjoy seeing them grouped together like this. Nice assortment.


As potentially offensive as this is I always enjoy Blue Q merchandise. It's too colorful and kitschy not to love.


I used to enjoy putting eye patches and battle scars on My Little Ponies for fun juxtaposition. Having G.I.Joes and Transformers mount their candy colored steeds is always fun, too. Had to stop to take a photo, it's like a barrel of diabetes. So colorful.


I adore succulents, pretty awesome that they had them set up at the flea market. I've been wanting to do something like this with mod plants and fun props but they don't really sell around here.


And lots of fun salt and pepper shakers. Another case of something that doesn't sell well, people just don't use 'em any more. Not very practical, although cute to display in your kitchen.


Beautiful shot glasses! I love 'em! Again, not something that sells so well, though they always tempt me. I only bring home extra special ones.


Another shot of beguiling shot glasses. Guess my inner lush cannot resist.


This is from a vendor with very high-priced merchandise. I'll often see things I like but they are way out of my range of affordability.


I keep wanting these beautiful owl salt and pepper shakers but they're priced around $25.00. I like the beer bottles, too.


This mod children's chair was glorious but I didn't want to go through the labor of repairing it.


This Coca Cola cooler isn't vintage but it's appealing nonetheless, fun to have out for a party.


Books! How I love them! Love the retro art on these paper backs, forbade myself from digging deeper.


Love kitschy jelly jars and glasses like these. Rarely pick them up though, in this case they were really expensive.


I desperately wanted these robots! They were priced way too high and weren't in working order, it wouldn't make sense. They remind me of a robot fan in this exact retro 80s style that I still crave!


I love chalkboards but this Raggedy Ann was was a BIT too Raggedy. Would have been nice to put in the antique mall.


And a scary find for last, creepy clowns to haunt your nightmares! Nice book but I already have a couple of clown things to get online.


Not a find but I really appreciate this dealer's sign at the flea market. I always appreciate digging/mining/treasure themed branding with thrifting and vintage. So appropriate.

What have you been leaving behind at the thrifts and flea markets? Anything in this post that you'd be powerless to refuse?
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25 comments:

  1. Van -

    Sometimes it's tough to resist the temptation!

    I've gotten to the point where I have to REALLY evaluate items I purchase for resale - what kind of profit am I going to make? Is it a $1 here or there? {Yes, that can add up, but NOT worth my time to price tons of it and/or get stuck with it for months before it sells!}

    I know many dealers who go out junkin' everyday ~ their booth {and home} are filled with an overabundance of stuff! Most of the stuff sits there for months and months and doesn't sell. They buy almost everything they see - like squirrels adding to their pile of found treasures! LOL!

    I have to remind myself ~ Do I REALLY need it OR how much profit can I make from it?

    PJ

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    1. Yep, that's what I do now. I was a hoarder-seller at one point. I was working full time, had a car port type garage thing to store stuff in, and disposable income to spend on stuff that wasn't worth the time to sell. (No time to list it immediately like now.) In a year I'd accumulated WAY TOO MUCH JUNK and a lot of it had to be donated. It's too easy to end up in that boat. Ashamed to admit that but at least now I'm very cautious about what I buy and list it ASAP.

      Thanks for always saying your expertise and experiences on the up and downs of the reseller's life!

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    2. I may switch to purely small, easy-to-ship mid century modern pottery and fun little pop culture bits but I'm struggling to stick to selling only certain types of things, my likes are broad.

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  2. Van - Those owls are scary! And I don't just mean the price tag! Alien owls! Alien!

    Also, for future reference, I have the full set of the Welch's Dino Jelly jars sitting in my cupboard. Not on display. Very sad. Next time, maybe we can orchestrate a long distance vintage trade. I love them, but have no where appropriate to put them these days. I'd be happy to get them a good home.

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    1. They are really damn weird but maybe that's why I like them! We may have to try a vintgae trade someday. I wouldn't do the dino jars since I'm trying hard to diminish home clutter but perhaps you have other thangs? :D

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    2. Oh you know I do! ;) I've got a purgatory cupboard. Stuff not in the house, but too nice to donate. Next time you've got a must have for me, we'll exchange photos! BTW - my kawaii owl is awesome. So happy with him. He's my current fave.

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    3. Glad he got to you safely :D He was a beau.

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  3. Yeh I'm pretty selective these days. I don't re-sell (although I should) so it's just stuff I like. And I'm a cheapskate. I also buy quite often stuff for others. And my kids of course.
    And I love big groups of stuff too. Is that one kid's barbies?! WTF?!

    On the salt and pepper table I prob would have gone for the cat planter looking thing..

    That Grow up to Be Gay is just plain bizarre!

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    1. The Barbies are sold by a vendor that exclusively sells kid's toys at the flea market. I love to photograph his displays.

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  4. Would have a hard time l leaving books behind at that price. I'm a book hoarder.

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    1. I used to be, now I mentally remind myself that there's always the library!

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  5. I like that all the Barbies are dressed.Lately,whenever I see a pile of Barbies it's a naked orgy going on,lol.
    The original My Little Pony's can go for a nice chunk of change,but I don't think I could make myself dig through that bin.Too much.
    I totally have that Pilsbury Dough Boy figure.He's sitting in a little Pyrex bowl on the windowsill-I pretend he's in his hot tub,lol.Wow,I guess he's worth the quarter I paid for him.
    The jelly glasses are cute-it looks like Jerry is concerned about the T Rex chasing the Brontosaurus.

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    1. That's how I usually see them too, always have the same though, too ;D

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    2. Had to look back up at that photo, you're right, they're ALL dressed. Super rare!

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  6. Yeah, I want those robots. I would have had a hard time leaving them behind, but I'd have to consider the cost (I don't know what you think is expensive vs. what I think is expensive) for something that doesn't work.

    Are You Afraid of the Dark?... do you know the tall guy? He was also on Ready or Not? (If you don't know that show, Van, I think you might get a kick out of it..) I am pretty sure he comes & shops at my work, especially because I was telling someone about it & I accidentally said the name of the show really loud... & he looked over awkwardly & said HI.

    My fav scene in Ready or Not is when she gets her period & goes to buy a box of tampons & they become as big as a freezer & the whole store starts laughing at her. hah.

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    1. I must check out this "Ready or Not" ! :D Awesome that you had a run-in with the actor. If wikipedia is directing me right that was probably Ross Hull, the bookish looking lead with the glasses. I always thought he was cute.

      The robots might have been around $15 to $25 if I remember right. Just more than I was willing to pay for merch that may never work.

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  7. Hmmm, my diabetes doesn't quite look that festive.

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  8. That flea market looks like fun! We saw the exact same "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" game at the swap meet last weekend! Weird! I know what you mean about being more selective. I cleaned and re-arranged last weekend and we ended up donating a bunch of stuff we bought to sell that just wasn't worth it. We're starting to get more picky about what we buy and to stop getting projects (it's hard for me!).

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    1. More crap is hard to resist but it's so necessary! I gotta photograph ALL the boxes behind me before I conceive of getting more. :P

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  9. Okay, that clown book is just downright creepy O_o Those owl salt&peppers are so cute, but $25 is way too overpriced...

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    1. It's creepy indeed but something in me is drawn to the strangeness.

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  10. Oh dear. This just brought back a seriously repressed childhood memory: Picture it Sicily (or not), I'm about 7 sitting on my front porch playing with my My Little Ponies and some man stops his car and gets out. Asks if I wanted some more ponies (in hindsight this really could've ended differently but I guess in the early 80s parents weren't nearly as attentive) and I said sure. He got in his car drove off. About 15 minutes later, he pulls back up, drops off a ginormous box of ponies and then drives away. WTF? Where did he get them from? None the less, mom never let me play out front by myself again. /weird memories And on a sidenote, those prices for succulents are really affordable. Even our nurseries sell them for double sans pots.

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    1. Oh, that IS weird! I've had similar weird occurrences happen while I was living in Naples with receiving random candies or being dragged off to meet people (as a tan-skinned curly-haired foreign novelty-child) but never a giant box of ponies from a random potential creeper! Haha, you're story just bought me back too.

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  11. ooo just wanna jump into the barbies and my little ponies...i am a total kid at heart! and the swan and the cat on the wagon ceramics would have come home along with a bag of books! lovely x

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