I just have to bitch a little.

[Vinca]

Church fundraisers . . . I love them, I hate them. While standing in line waiting to get in, one of the people working the thing passed by carrying a bowl filled with gorgeous, rhinestone brooches. Lots of them. My hopes were raised that maybe there would be great vintage jewelry for sale. Apparently there might have been if the place hadn't been pre-shopped. Everyone in line was left with smelly clothes, dollar store trinkets and broken china. Very depressing. I even went back the second day just in case they added the rhinestone pieces back in. Not a chance.

[Paper Roses]

1. I just found out recently that the local 'best' church rummage

offers a paid 'day before' chance to buy whatever they have to offer. $15.00 to get in.
I never knew about this and was a little put out.
We give our dollars for an equal chance at whatever there is to offer, seems like we have no shot at anything but used clothing. That $15.00 does not promise anything of value. The workers come out with the goodies.

Our local school thrift shop now has dealer to come and view all jewelry, another reviews other stuff.
Now there is no chance of finding something other than 'used' clothing. Nothing else reaches the public shelves except run-of-the-mill used glass and china.
It is becoming harder to find worthwhile goods.

I don't know how I feel about this except I wish I was one of the dealers with the OK to review and buy whatever is worthwhile.

[Vinca]

2. I'm a dealer, but I don't think it's fair someone can pay $15 to get in early

and pick the place clean. I've seen that at book sales in our area. Ultimately, an event will get a bad reputation among buyers and people won't show up. Same with thrift shops. One of the local charity shops created a more upscale offshoot store with prices above retail. I don't know how they're doing, but I never see anyone in there and never find anything affordable. One item I spotted marked $175 was identical to something I had just sold for about $40 retail.

[peacefreak]

3. I'm not a dealer, just a nickel & dimer.

What really makes me crazy is the thrift stores that have an "expert" who will jack the price up on an item that would be worth a couple of bucks, but because this person saw something "just like it" on the Antiques Roadshow they put it sky high.

[Paper Roses]

4. Except for a few spectacular items. I think the 'Antiques Road Show'

inflates value of the the items shown to far beyond their actual value. When I was in the business, I watched all the time. We used to shake our heads and say "who are they kidding'.
Except for a very specialized market, most of what they show will never be seen by most of us. Sure would like to find a Seymour demi-lune table at at yard sale in my neck of the woods.

I wish they would spend some time on merchandise that we may actually have or find sometime.
PS, I used to enjoy the Keno brothers but they now seem to have delusions of grandeur.
I read their book. Great fun. Now, as I look back, I wonder where these kids are.

[Vinca]

5. Last year the Antiques Roadshow appraised the exact item

I had found at a yard sale ($2). I think their value was $325 or $350, but all I was able to sell it for was $75. The Roadshow might inflate values, but ebay deflates them real fast.

[Vinca]

6. I have to bitch just a little more. This time about overpriced items.

Went to another church sale over the weekend. It's one everyone waits for because occasionally something good turns up and there is a real mob of a crowd. They have one area of the sale devoted to antiques. It's normally higher priced than most of us like, but nothing like the stickers on this last sale. I overheard one church lady asking another why some of the items weren't selling. The second one replied they had been appraised by a local antiques appraiser before the sale so she was also puzzled. And there we have the problem. Many appraisers have not heard of ebay, that great entity that has devalued everything from Hummels to Wedgwood Jasperware. I was interested in a stack of postcards and went back the second day and got them to halve the price. Usually I'm not a cheapskate at these sales . . .I bought something I didn't want at a second church sale because I know they support a homeless shelter . . . but I refuse to pay over market value for goods I don't need in a bad economy. There, I feel better.

[Paper Roses]

7. Ditto!

As inactive as I am, I still know a value when I see it. Almost every sale or thrift shop in my area has someone come in to 'value' the items---and I'm sure most buy what they can.
Makes it difficult for the rest of us.\

I don't buy for resale any more but that fact does not change the thrill of the hunt. Sometimes I don't even bother. I know which churches and which thrift shops have people come in. I think that, in the long run, this procedure will defeat them. They will lose all the people like us who know what they are looking at.
I too, as you will remember from a prior post, an upset with the overpricing of lots of donated goods.
The purpose of these sales is to raise money. They should keep this in mind.
Remember my comment about the evening before sale at a local church---$15.00 to get in for early buying? Same thing!

[grasswire]

8. ebay needs to be flushed

It is ruined. I've tested it in the last several weeks, and it just isn't worth working it anymore unless you have very prime stuff. Items that would have been hot five years ago aren't even getting bids. Damned shame.

[Vinca]

9. I used to always pick up things like Blue Ridge Pottery dishes,

but it seems whatever you have there is someone on ebay offering it for 99 cents. It's very frustrating trying to find anything that will sell well on there anymore.