Happy New Year!

Finally, what I hope is a very short respite. My sales have slowed a little bit since the day before Christmas Eve. I have a few sales each day but nothing like the past few months! And that is a good thing! I needed to stop and catch my breath.

It has been quite a while since my last post (one of my New Years resolutions is to do at least one new blog post each week). An exciting developement from the summer... I got an assistant and all of a sudden, I got more productive! My eBay store room was organized and every single item has been accounted for and it's location has been noted. I have also been listing 50+ new auctions each week. My store inventory is up to almost 2400. I have actually been well over 2400 various times this fall but sales have been so great that I keep dipping into the 2300's. That is another good thing!

I have sold quite a bit of flatware recently. I sold an entire large set (individually pieced, of course!) of gold electroplated stainless at auction! That was a nice surprise but I have also sold just lots of various pieces from different patterns. Buyers are probably trying to complete or add to their sets in preparation for holiday dinners. China and stoneware has also been selling well probably for the same reason.

I made a huge purchase of magazines at an estate sale a few months ago. This person had an unbelievable and huge model train collection that I stayed away from, there were buyers who knew what they were looking at and the people running the sale also knew the value of those trains. What I did was look around in the basement for related items and came across a well stored and organized stash of old model train magazines! ("score!" I said to myself very quietly) There were also old Karate magazines and Gun and Ammo magazines. O my gosh, I have been selling these magazines like crazy!

Well, here is my first post after getting back to it! It is also the last post of the year! Happy New Year, everybody! Have fun and be safe!

Weird coincidences....

I have mentioned before about my weird eBay coincidences (co-inky-dinks). They are not always eBay related. Some are just strange and totally random.

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When I was in Palm Springs last week at Lynn Dralle's Boot Camp, what I think is another arbitrary co-inky-dink happened: I sold some flatware that Lynn gave me at the first Boot Camp I attended in 2007! We were supposed to bring flatware with us to practice researching, describing, photographing and listing. I didn't bring any so she gave me a set. (isn't that nice?!!) I believe I got it posted on eBay at that Boot Camp in '07. It has been in my eBay store ever since... until one week ago while I was back at this year's Boot Camp with Lynn, a few of the forks sold!

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Just the other day, I listed a men's porkpie or fedora hat. Lynne's mother found it, again while I was in Palm Springs at Boot Camp. I had mentioned that it was a porkpie hat which she had never heard of before. I learned about them a while ago while researching some other men's hats that I sold. So, when I got it listed, I sent Lynne an email with the info to pass on to her mother in case she was interested.

Right as I was hitting the "send" button for that email, on Turner Movie Classics which I usually have on in my office while I am working, I heard someone say Buster Keaton. That got my attention because I had mentioned him in that email I had just sent Lynn. Anyway, they were interviewing old movie fans and this one happened to be a Buster Keaton fan. The interviewer said "I see you are wearing a porkpie hat". (Buster Keaton was famous for his straw porkpie) Isn't that weird?? How many times have you said the word "porkpie"?

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I really need to always make note of my co-inky-dinks because I for one am so fascinated by them! ;oP

Just a quick note...

Even though I was only gone for a few days, it feels like I am catching up. I also came home re-invigorated and ready to roll! Unfortunately, the yard sales have been slim this summer so I don't have that much to list.

So, I have been hitting those old boxes that I have been tripping over for about a year or more. Those are the boxes with things I didn't know how to describe or things that I was not sure were worth listing on eBay. I got through a bunch of miscellaneous things this week and feel really good about it! My work table is almost completely cleared off! Yay!!!

Turns out a lot of that "stuff" is really interesting and I enjoyed going through it. I've already sold more than a few of those items and just listed more today. Check out my eBay store. The items at auction this week are varied, some are antique, some are Mid Century (my fave!), books, decanters, shoes, hats, pins, magazines, mugs and more. But no dinner sets!

Mid Century Modern Dinnerware

Did I happen to mention how much I am drawn to Mid Century Modern collectibles, dinnerware, everything? Well I am. I would love to decorate my house in 1950's kitsch.

Anyway, one Saturday morning not too long ago I found not one, but three dinner sets circa 1950! They aren't large sets, but they are in good condition and they are classics.

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Homer Laughlin Skytone Stardust is a really neat discontinued pattern that was made about 1955 or so. Most, if not all the pieces are marked with the date they were made. The Homer Laughlin Skytone line started in the 1940's, the basic pattern was the distinct blue with white handles on the cups, etc. The pattern "Stardust" is from the Skytone line and features a black and white floral center decal with red accents.

Click here to see all the pieces of Homer Laughlin Skytone Stardust that I have in my eBay store.

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Another great Mid Century China maker from the U.S.A. is Edwin Knowles. Here is the pattern "Chalet" which features a stylized center floral design with purple, green and turquoise blue flowers on a cream colored background with a platinum rim.

Click here to see all the pieces of Knowles Chalet that I have in my eBay store.

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One more Knowles set that I have recently added to my eBay store is Edwin Knowles Vintage. It has the same coupe shape and cream background but with a grape center design.

Click here to see all the pieces of Knowles Vintage that I have in my eBay store.

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Another great set of vintage dinnerware that I was unable to find much information on is from Carrollton China. It features a center design of an ornate bird on a tree. It was in a box marked "Aunt Josephine" at an estate sale.



Click here to see all the pieces of this Carrollton China pattern that I have in my eBay store.
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These are just a few examples of Mid Century Modern that I have for sale. Check out my store for lots more vintage collectibles and dinnerware and even clothes from the 1940's, 1950's and 1960's.

Back from Boot Camp!

It was an intense weekend! After an entire day of travel on Thursday flying from Baltimore => Denver => L.A. => Palm Springs, we started bright and early on Friday and didn't stop until Sunday afternoon. Lynn Dralle, The Queen of Auctions, packs a lot of information into 2 1/2 days of her eBay Live Boot Camps.

I decided to fly home Sunday night thinking that I could sleep on the plane and relieve my sister, Janet, early on Monday. She was pet sitting for me at my house while I was gone. It sounded like a good idea when I booked the flights. My itinerary had me flying Palm Springs => Phoenix => L.A. => Baltimore. Unfortunately, due to the late arrival of my connecting flight out of Phoenix, I had to be re-booked adding one more plane change to the itinerary. And don't you know that the gates are never near each other. I must have walked miles last night!

But now I am home. A little ragged but too wired to sleep thanks to a couple of lattes this morning.

I first went to Boot Camp in 2007 when I was a complete novice. Lynn's enthusiasm is infectious so not only did I learn a bunch, I was rarin' to go when I got home. Last year, in 2008, I went to my first eBay Live! in Chicago and came away very motivated. Going back to Boot Camp this year seemed a great place to go where I knew I would get the shot in the arm I needed to get me through this coming buying season.

So I am home and I am ready to make some money this holiday season! But after I get a good night's sleep {:-o yawn... zzzzzzzzzz...

Old Magazines - Why Not?

A weird eBay coincidence (or co-inky-dink, as I like to say) happened yesterday.

This week's ezine article from the Queen of Auctions was about bulk buying. I always love Lynn's ezines and strangely enough, they almost always relate to something happening in my eBay life. I had just sold a lot of back issues of POPULAR MECHANICS Magazine. I bought almost 30 years worth of the vintage magazine about a year ago and listed them in lots by calendar year. They have been selling slowly but steadily. Anyway, I wrote Lynn yesterday to comment on her article and tell her about my occasional successes with bulk buying and mentioning specifically about how magazines are another great bulk idea.

And then, yesterday evening, what do you know? I sold 3 lots of EQUUS Magazine! And then in the middle of the night, I sold another lot of POPULAR SCIENCE Magazine! Isn't that a strange co-inkydink?

I especially like vintage back issues. The ads are fun, the articles are interesting and I love looking at the old pictures! I recently purchased a stack of 40 movie magazines from the 1950's but I won't be listing them until I have had a chance to read and savor every one! ;o)

I currently have vintage 1970's PLAYBOYS like these (I also have many more) for sale in my store:

and I also have quite a few lots of vintage POPULAR SCIENCE, AMERICAN RIFLEMAN Magazines and more:


Just click on any of the above images to go directly to that eBay listing in my store or go to Sales by Trudy and search using the keyword magazine to see all the great vintage magazine back issues that I have for sale right now!

I hope you are having a great weekend and if you are yard saling, don't walk right by the box of old magazines... stop and take a look!

Cool Vintage Estate Sale Finds...

Until I started selling on eBay I had absolutely no interest in going to yard or estate sales. I still hate getting out of bed before the sun comes up on Saturday mornings to go to these sales. But I really enjoy finding interesting things to sell!

Estate sales are the most fun! Many times the prices are too high but even those sales have tables with odds and ends that are affordable and end up being the perfect find.

A few weeks ago I went to one of these sales.They had beautiful china and glassware but way too expensive for me. I continued through all the rooms and found these adorable vintage aprons and tablecloth on a table, in a spare bedroom of all places.



They were at auction on eBay last week with lots of watchers. They didn't sell so they are now in my eBay store Sales by Trudy waiting for the right person. Just click on any one of these three items to look at it and the description of it in my store.

A while back, again in a spare bedroom of another house holding an estate sale, were tables with the most awesome vintage ladies hats. Many were very pricey so I chose a selection of a few of the more reasonably priced ones. How fun are these...



Again, just click on either one of these pictures to see my actual store listing and more pictures.

There was also a really cool turban hat that I just sold yesterday.



Isn't that just too mid century chic! And how do you like the "head" that I am using for the picture? It is an old hat form that I was going to sell, until I realized - I need it!

These are just a few examples of the really cool vintage items in my eBay store that I found at estate sales and garage sales, too. Stay tuned, I go out every Saturday morning... and I also have lots of really neat items already in my store from previous excursions that I still want to tell you about. :o)

Live Boot Camp with the Queen!

This coming September marks the beginning of my 3rd year of seriously selling on eBay. I am celebrating the occasion with a return to "eBay 3-Day LIVE Boot Camp" with The Queen of Auctions - Lynn Dralle. This Boot Camp is a three day seminar in Palm Springs covering everything about selling on eBay, and I mean everything, even including field trips to real garage sales!

I first heard of Lynn "The Queen of Auctions" Dralle in March of 2007. I subscribe to the Kovels Komments weekly email newsletter and they were running a special on one of Lynn's "100 Best Things I've Sold on eBay" books. I was very interested in figuring out how to sell on eBay and bought the book. That was when I became aware of everything Lynn had to offer. I immediately subscribed to her ezine and was blown away by all that I learned from just reading about her experiences. She has a very positive outlook and makes eBay fun!

Then I signed up for her on line course which takes you step-by-step through everything you need to know about starting to sell on eBay. I learned so much!

I began to "dabble", listing things that I found from around my house. Thinking back on that time, I spent a lot of money on eBay fees! My starting prices were usually under $5 and I kept things at auction for weeks, basically until they sold because I didn't have a store... yet.

I was having so much fun but I was also stressed because I wasn't making much money. When I heard about the Boot Camp, it was the next logical step... and I was ready for it! My dabbling had me exposed enough to pretty much know what I needed to learn so I went to Boot Camp ready! My goal was to soak up everything I could and finally open my eBay store - Sales by Trudy.

I feel grateful to have found Lynn. She helped me get started on this journey and has also been there along the way. I am really looking forward to this upcoming eBay 3-Day LIVE Boot Camp to not only learn more but to see Lynn again because I consider her to be a good friend as well as my eBay mentor.

Unexpectedly good day!

I always prepare for Saturday yard sales on Friday and this week I chose only a few of what looked like the best sales because I wasn't sure how early I would be able to get started. My horses were down to their last bale of hay and delivery was scheduled for this morning. I only get hay about once every 9 months so it is an appointment that I can't miss.

The truck pulled in bright and early and they unloaded pretty fast so I was able to head out by 10 o'clock, leaving me only about 2 hours of shopping. I didn't want to waste time so I drove by some yard sales where I normally would have stopped to look. At about 11:30, way out in the little town of Federalsburg MD, I almost drove right by a little house with a little front yard just full of electronic looking stuff.

When I saw all the old radios, I knew I had to buy them, even if they didn't work! There are lots of collectors out there who either like to display or tinker or need parts, so I chose an assortment. And there were a lot to choose from.


There was also an old Zenith TV front with the curved glass that I couldn't resist.


I don't know how I am going to ship this thing if it sells! ;o) I am excited to start researching. This is the kind of stuff that I love to list.

After starting so late and driving so far, today turned out to be very invigorating! Be sure to check out my eBay store "Sales by Trudy" in the upcoming weeks to see what happens with these fun vintage items.

A very frustrating day...

This has been a very frustrating day! I only have two packages to ship today. One is going to Poland so I have to take it to the Post Office and the other is just a UPS Ground pickup. I also have a few errands to run so the plan was to do my packing and head into town.

Not going to happen. I first noticed the problem with PayPal. I got in but it timed out when I tried to turn a page. I tried a few times and decided that I should proceed with the UPS label, so I tried to go back to eBay. No luck there either. I kept trying because sometimes the problem can be a "hiccup". It wasn't. I always assume it is my problem so I restarted my computer. Didn't help. I located a few emails that I had received from eBay (I don't have their email address - it is on the website!) so I sent some emails to them to ask about the problem. One was returned. I Googled "eBay support telephone number" and after a very frustrating menu I finally spoke to someone about 1 1/2 hours ago.

I was first told that the problem should be resolved in 24 hours. I asked if that was fair to my buyers since I advised in my listing (per eBay's own mandate) that items will be shipped within 2 business days. I was put on hold for quite some time and then advised that they were working on the problem and it should be resolved within an hour or the phone support person would call me back.

That was over 1 1/2 hours ago. I had a lot to do today and thinking that the problem would go away sooner, I haven't started anything else. I could take pictures but that requires some set up and I was going to take pictures this afternoon after the errands.

Errands are my very least favorite thing to do. In fact, I hate running errands! I had my day fairly well planned and I am really really irritated by this ebay problem!

Just had to get that off my chest... thank you for listening!

To follow up on the above mini rant, eBay was working again as soon as I finished the post. I should have written it earlier! } :o)

What to do? What to do?

It is going to be a beautiful summer day today! Low humidity, mid 80's, not a cloud in the sky... I think I will eBay tomorrow! This is the beauty of working for myself!

This past Saturday was another frustrating day of yard sales. I must have driven over 75 miles and I only picked up a few books and other odd items and only spent $15.00!

The plan was to hit the thrift stores today. That is an all day excursion for me since the good ones are so far away. And they aren't even that good. It seems like the thrift stores have caught on about eBay and now they are researching and raising their prices. I have seen some nice dinner sets at the Goodwill that have been there since last fall because they are priced so high. I rarely go to the thrift stores any more because of their high prices but since I am not having much luck at the yard sales, I have no choice.

I live on the Eastern Shore in Maryland and my garage saling is wide spread. There are lots of small towns with plenty of farm land in between. I have been to some awesome yard, garage, barn and estate sales in these small towns and out in the country but I have also driven by a ton of yards with just piles of clothes. And like I said before, there is a lot of driving involved.

I am about an hour away from Annapolis which is across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. I love going to Annapolis! Once there, the population is so dense that different neighborhoods are not that far apart. I almost always have good Saturday mornings in Annapolis.

The problem with Annapolis is the traffic. The Bay Bridge is the only way to get to the Atlantic Beaches and on Saturday mornings the east bound traffic back-ups (which is the way home for me) can be pretty bad. I don't usually go to Annapolis in the summertime but after my bad luck this past Saturday I will have to. I'll just be sure to make a potty stop before I get into the bridge traffic! ;0)

This may be a slim week of auctions for me. The weather is changing tomorrow and the rest of the week they are calling for scattered showers and higher humidity. I will try the thrift stores later in the week. I am also hoping there is a change for the better with regard to yard sales when I go across the Bay Bridge on Saturday mornings.

My goal is to have 2500 items in my eBay store by the end of the summer when I go to 3-Day Live Boot Camp. I think there is still time to to meet that goal!

* Policy violation - ARGHH!

I just got an eBay policy violation this afternoon for trademark infringement. Sooooo frustrating!!! It was for a Kate Spade (or so I thought) handbag that I purchased at a yard sale my wealthy neighbor had last weekend.

What do I know about expensive purses? Nothing! What was I thinking? I am sure that my neighbor wasn't trying to deceive me any more than I was trying to pull one over when I listed it for sale. But I know that there are certain companies that watch eBay like a hawk for this type of thing. And they are right to do it. But I am innocent so please don't give me a violation! That high pitched sound you may hear right now is the sound of me whining.

I will never (unless I forget) try to sell or even purchase any name brand clothing or accessory items again!

* I am desperately in need of a dinner set!

After my May hiatus, I have been trying very hard to have lots of items at auction at all times. June has been pretty good... so far. Every week I have had 100 items at auction.

But now we are three weeks into June and I am getting behind. I really need a dinner set or two to get my auction numbers up. Unfortunately the garage sales that I have been to have not had what I am looking for in dinner sets. I am finding interesting things to sell, but it takes more time to get my numbers up one item at a time.

Dinner sets are so fast and easy to list. I tend to take a lot more time with the single items. I always get bogged down with research and composing the item descriptions.

Today I found a large set of bamboo patterned brass flatware from Thailand. Yeah! I got it written up quickly and when it is photographed, I will have 33 items to list at auction. This flatware plus the "singles" that I spent a good half day writing up, my total for this week will be 78 auctions.

So, it looks like I am not going to make my 100 auctions this week. It is a good goal and if I continue to take it seriously, I should make some progress. The more I list at auction, the bigger my store inventory and that equals more sales and more money!

Gotta just keep plugging away :o) !

* The month of May

It looks like almost the entire month of May passed by without a post. The truth is that I haven't even had anything up for auction in the last two weeks. Luckily my eBay store is full and during these last two weeks, I have sold almost $600 in "buy it now" store items. I probably would have done even better if I had auctions going.

My shed arrived and I have been busy putting together shelves and slowly moving my eBay store items. It is slow going. I am moving stuff outside in order of when the items were purchased. I am filling the bottom shelves first because I hate to squat and I am not enjoying the process!

Since I am not sure how the heat and cold will effect some of the items, I am not going to put glassware and the better china in the shed. Stoneware, mugs and flatware are going and after that I am deciding one piece at a time.

My living room is so crowded that I need to pick up the pace and get this inventory out. I have over 100 items written up and ready to be photographed but then where do I put it?

Next week is June and that was the month last year that I slacked off and didn't list like I should have. It showed in my sales. This year I have so much in my store that sales didn't fall off too much when I had nothing at auction. That's a good thing but it is time to get busy again. I guess I needed a little break!

* Another great place to source... your own home!

During this past winter, the garage sales were hard to find and the thrift stores are getting pricey so my pile of items to list and sell on eBay grew very thin. I still have the inherited china in my attic but I am only ready to sell a few of those pieces here and there.

My "formal" living room is now my eBay store and photography studio. Although never used, it was decorated but as eBay started taking over, my furniture left the house, one piece at a time, and the knick-knacks went into cupboards.

One day as I was looking for something in one of those cupboards, I stumbled across a lidded glass jar that I used as a candy dish at one time. I have fond memories of helping myself to Hershey's Kisses from one that my aunt had on one of her end tables. When I was decorating my first house back in 1989, that glass jar was one of the items purchased to decorate my fancy living room. It used to contain Werther's toffee candy.

Anyway, I have been slowly building my research library and had recently purchased a few of the Gene Florence glass reference books. Since I didn't really like the candy jar that much, I took it out of the cupboard and sat down with my new books to see if I could identify the pattern. What do you know? I found it - the Elaine pattern by Cambridge Glass Co. I then looked it up on replacements.com (I use them for pricing strategies) and discovered that they called it an ice bucket (I later found out that it was actually a biscuit jar). Theirs was listed without lid for $219.00!!! Mine had a lid!!!

HAPPY DANCE!!

I started it at $99.00 and immediately got bids. The auction ended at a whopping $1338.19!

Who knew? My little nephew used to go into that candy jar all the time when he came to visit. After the auction was over, I was so afraid that when I took it out to wrap and pack I would find a major flaw. But it was in perfect condition (whew!), the buyer paid right away and was very happy when they received it.

With that kind of score, you would think that I would clean out every closet and cupboard in my house. I haven't done that (even a $1300 score can't motivate me to clean closets ;0) ) but last week I did sell some bedding that I bought a few years ago and never even took out of the package. My own dinner set was built by pieces I picked up each week at the grocery store over 20 years ago. I sold all of the cup and saucer sets last year. That dinner set is Churchill's Blue Willow made in England.

My closets and cupboards still need a good cleaning and spring is here so you never know. Happy hunting...

* A Tale of Two Dinner Sets

I love to buy and sell dinner sets because they are so easy to list. I break them up and sell the pieces separately. Most buyers looking for dinnerware on eBay are trying to replace broken pieces or to add to existing sets.

Goodwill used to be a great place to pick up nice sets for good prices but they have gotten expensive! You can get dinnerware for really low prices at yard sales but that is not the most consistent source. Last month I found a great set at Goodwill and an elegant set at an estate sale. Two very different sets and two very different purchase prices.

I was lucky to pick up a good sized set, 31 pieces, of Mikasa's Garden Harvest at Goodwill. I knew this was a good pattern because I sold every piece of a set that I had purchased last year. I broke up the set and listed the pieces at auction and in about 3 weeks I have sold 20 pieces... and I still have more to sell.

The elegant set was purchased at an estate sale here in Easton at the beginning of March. It was a large set of Haviland Limoges which was displayed beautifully in the dining room. It was very tempting but the sale price was too high. It is a simple white pattern with gold scalloped edges that I later identified as the Ranson pattern. The set consisted of 40 pieces including a covered casserole, gravy boat, plates, bowls and cups and saucers. They had also included pieces from a few other patterns that were very similar to the Ranson pattern (white with gold trim) but by different makers.

The people holding the sale were taking bids in the event that the set didn't sell. I gave them an offer and was very surprised the next day to get a call telling me that it was accepted. I've sold 17 pieces so far. I still have a ways to go before I make back my investment. And... I haven't sold the serving pieces, yet. Stop by Sales by Trudy to see the remaining pieces.

Two very different dinner sets - one every day and one elegant. One was a great deal and the other was a moderately big investment. I made a nice profit on the Mikasa set and I am still short on the Haviland. But... I have no regrets because more, if not all of the Haviland pieces will eventually sell from my eBay store.

Having a variety of items at a variety of prices is a great way to encourage traffic. That way there is something for everyone. Window shoppers are more than welcome. Someday I may just have the perfect item for them!

* A New Place to Put Stuff!!

A pretty exciting new development... I am getting a storage shed and I can't wait! When I started garage saling and thrift store shopping and selling on eBay I had no idea how quickly I would become overwhelmed with merchandise! Not to mention the boxes and packing supplies.

So far I have been managing to contain everything in my office, a guest bedroom and the living room...but just barely. The boxes and peanuts are in the garage.

Here is a breakdown of my eBay from purchase to sale:

• Shop
• Stage - When I get home from my shopping excursions, I unload in kitchen.

• Write-Up - Next, I unpack and bring things into my office where I measure, examine for flaws, chips, etc and come up with a title and short description. That information goes on a separate inventory sheet for each item.

• Pictures - Those items and the inventory sheets then move into my living room where I have a table set up to do photography. After taking pictures, I pile the dinner sets, mugs, glassware, collectibles wherever I can find a somewhat clear space (did somebody say space??) still in that living room. The books and smaller items go into the guest bedroom.

• Auction - The inventory sheets come back into my office with me where I edit the pictures and list at auction.
• Sell! (hopefully) - I pack and ship in my office (a story for another time).
• No Sell - The items that do not sell at auction immediately get re-listed into my eBay store.

Sounds like a great system, doesn't it? Sometimes (a lot of times) I don't get everything written-up. Those items get stashed in yet another place in my overcrowded house. Remember the chandelier parts? They sat under a chair in my kitchen for over a year. ;-)

So, the new shed is long overdue! I am hoping to be able to stage in the living room where I take my pictures. I am going to set up a system for locating sold items. It is true, I have no system right now and have been extremely lucky that I haven't lost anything... yet :-o ! Mainly, I am hoping to get my house back!

This is how I want it to look!

* Barn Sale

Speaking of sourcing product, I went to a barn sale last weekend. The two ladies who hold the sale, or two chicks as they like to call themselves, have a passion for auctions and antiques. A couple of times a year in the loft area of a restored 1940's barn they have a sale.

I always look forward to their sales. The ambiance is very warm and inviting, there is a little table with coffee and cake, and the antiques and furniture are displayed an intimate and tempting way. And there are unique treasures everywhere!

One of my best finds at the first sale I attended back in October of 2007, was in a drawer of an old chest full of crystal chandelier parts. Prisms, bobeches, dishes, arms, lots of pieces. At the time, I knew nothing about the collectability of these parts but it just felt like I should buy them... all! And I did, for a great price, about $35! All the pieces were packed up in newspaper and they came home with me and stayed in that box for well over a year.

I recently unpacked every piece. The idea of how to go about listing them was really scary. What I did was break the whole lot into about 25 separate auctions. I found a really great chandelier parts web site to use for research.

I ended up selling 22 of those 25 auctions for about $390!!

I didn't buy too much at last week's barn sale but I did get another box of lamp parts. It is mostly brass fittings and a few glass shades. I am pretty sure I will make back the $10 that I paid. But then again, you never know and like I previously said, I have a lot to learn! :-)