Vinted fun

 So, I've sold 35 things on Vinted so far - mostly clothes, but also a set of shot glasses, and this week, a set of Hallmark wireless decorations that I'm very happy to move along.  Now I've listed the other wireless Hallmark band (Mickey and friends), and I hope they sell too.  

Meanwhile, I also did a little shopping.  Happened across a Craft House Arabian for a whopping $3 and couldn't pass it up.  I've already got one, with a better paint job, but missing a leg at the knee.  And I just missed out on a metal pencil sharpener with a copy of the Hartland Tinymite Morgan for $5, dammit, but did get the Morgan Stallion version along with a saddle pencil sharpener for $8.  

 

 

Progress

 I made another $12 today - sold some Staffordshire saucers to someone who makes wreaths with them.  We bought them at an estate sale, but upgraded to some with an actual British scene on them (Lochs of Scotland) instead of the Colonial American scenes. 

 Of course, on the way to meet the buyer, I stopped at Goodwill.  Vintage puzzles were found, for a whopping $3.11 each.  Also a trifle dish, and the loudest Hawaiian shirt that I own (so far).

 

I've also started weeding out the Hallmark ornaments and listed about a dozen.  I also got the Mickey Mouse band and Angel Choir off the basement shelf, tested them all, and listed them on a Hallmark buy/sell group.  These were a thing Hallmark came up with.  Four or five "players" in a band, they link by radio or wi-fi somehow, and they sing songs.  Each player has two songs, and if you've got the whole group, you've got 8 or 10 songs total that they sing together on.  The stores would have a different one each week, feeding into the "gotta have them all" urge. Anyway.  I've got a nibble on the Mickey band, and I hope it's not a tire-kicker.  Mickey's gang and the angels were maybe displayed once; otherwise they've been in the basement for the last ten eyars.  I'm keeping both Peanuts sets, for now.  If I can get the house decluttered to a decent state, then we'll have room to get them out at the holidays and enjoy them.   

 

 

Oh, Hallmark

The trip to Hallmark didn't go the way I'd planned today.   Instead of spending $30 or so in coupons and about that much in cash, it ended up being $80 plus cash and $3 in coupons. 

I've been finding all my old Rewards coupons roaming the house, sticking them all on the fridge as I went, so I wouldn't lose them again.  I need cheap birthday cards this week, so I thought I'd go spend my coupons, get my ornaments for the year, and hit the 99cent card racks. 

Turns out, the local store isn't accepting expired coupons anymore.  I can send them back to Hallmark and they'll re-deposit the points, maybe, and IF they're less than a year old.  Ha.  I found a coupon that expired in 2011.  Also, the 99-cent coupon rack is now 20% 99-cent cards, and the rest is 2/$4 "bargain" cards.  The 99-cent cards are mostly for kids, too.  So, off to Dollar Tree this week for the 2/$1 cards.  For a bonus, the store was out of the free-gift item I had a card for, and I didn't have the card for the one they did have in stock.  Le Sigh.

So.  Came home with 4 cards, 3 ornaments, and this year's singing snowman.  I got the Trek ship, Spotlight on Snoopy #20, and the blue Beauty of Birds ornament.  Still haven't bought this year's Pony for Christmas, and there's an anniversary Spotlight on Snoopy, too.  And, for pete's sake, a new Peanuts Band set that I hadn't seen yet.  Which I WILL resist - I've already got the Peanuts Band set and the Tree Caroling set.  And I can't afford, or justify, the cost of another 5-piece set at $15.95 per piece, plus the other item you have to buy to get the $15.95 price.  Plus tax. 

It's time to reconsider the Hallmark ornament collection.  Most of them never hang on the tree lately, since they're boxed and not with the decorations.  I hate to think how much I've spent on the silly things over the years.  Too depressing.  Definitely need to focus on a few series and skip the rest.  Doing the summer pre-order option that the local store offers might be a good idea, at least as far as cutting down on impulse buying.  But then I'd miss out on the extra points scattered through the fall, plus the free gifts and such.

Preliminary series list to focus on:

• Beauty of Birds - just started a few years ago, gorgeous, but I'll never have the early ones unless I run across them at a yard sale
• Pony for Christmas
• Spotlight on Snoopy
• Star Trek ships (because I've got all of these back to the first one)
• Star Wars characters - have most of these, but honestly, why?
• Rocking Horses - series is closed, but I have most of them

I need to haul them all out one of these days and cull the herd.  Some of my older ones may bring enough money to be worth selling on eBay.