The DU Lounge

I got to keep a lot of family heirlooms, and gifts over the years. If I described my early collecting focus on top of that, I tried to stick to pre-1920, and any bargains. For a long time, I imagined a fantasy auction, where I had at least one sample of every heading in Kovel's. If I wanted to collect one thing, like paperweights or Santas, I tried to limit the number of that collection to 12. I made the mistake of mentioning items like that to friends and relatives, so I have about 60 Santas, mostly gifts, and 30 paperweights.

I collected books, too. I got most of the books from my family's collection, and added to it over the years. I'm in a group on Facebook called Talking Antiques. There's a book dealer on there who helped me value a couple of old books I had. About 2 years ago, I started buying signed 1st editions from him for gifts.

When my husband retired, we started selling things on eBay. He really got into it. If we sold a brass apple for a few dollars, he'd look for more brass apples at sales. Just an example. The kids laugh their heads off when they're helping me sort. He passed away in 2017, and I stopped buying. The last couple of years we had together, buying got out of hand. I've been downsizing since 2019. Sold boxes and boxes to local dealers I knew. In 2022, I opened a vintage booth and I've sold almost 1400 items, out of 3200 I've added to my inventory. The basement and my storage rental are still full of boxes to unpack, but I am debating if I want to keep the booth. I make rent most months, and I think of it as storage with benefits

At least having a booth, I can see what people will buy. Advertising, 70s and 80s characters and decor go well. I keep the prices low, because downsizing is my goal, so I have some loyal customers who know they can get a bargain. I am only selling what I don't want or my kids won't take, so it's a good situation for everyone.