In the early 80's they were really little - much simpler and smaller (read: choking hazard) than they are today. Their tiny heads and cylindrical bodies that fit on a kid sized fingertip were tons of fun, especially with all the accessories that were available.
Some of my favorite play sets were the pop out camper, the playground with spinning merry go round, and the airport with airplane. The absolute best piece in my collection, though, was Sesame Street. As a life long Sesame devotee, I was thrilled to own Mr. Hooper's store, Bert & Ernie's apartment, Big Bird's nest, and all the residents of the Street! (I especially loved the Bert figure with his cool, spiked hair.)
Pretty much every kid I knew had Little People, but it seems not many of us kept them beyond childhood. Vintage sets are quite valuable these days, with my beloved Sesame Street items regularly selling on eBay for over $100! Even generic figures sell - almost every auction for vintage Little People gets bids.
I have yet to see any of these great toys at a yard sale, but my eyes are peeled. I am sure eventually I will be lucky enough to find some, and when I do, I'll snatch them up and relive a little of my youth before turning a nice profit.
Saturday morning, my family and I dragged ourselves out of bed at 4 am. I am used to getting up early on Saturdays to hit the sales, but 4 in the morning was a bit of a struggle. But everyone was a trooper, and as the sun came up we made our way to the airport for a 2 week trip to Massachusetts.
Luke was ecstatic to take his first airplane ride, and both kids did quite well on the flight. Scarlett fell asleep for the last 10 minutes, but Luke loved looking out the window was we landed.
We were on the ground by 8 am. My mom picked us up and treated us to an IHOP breakfast before taking us to my dad's house where Scarlett would have a birthday party later in the day.
But not so fast!
It was Saturday after all, and even though we had a day full of activities, I was determined to squeeze in a yard sale. Luckily there was a toy filled sale just a few blocks from my dad's house. Not so luckily, as soon as we pulled up, it started to pour!
My mom was pretty funny - she is a bargain shopper but has pretty much never been to a yard sale. She couldn't believe how cheap everything was! She was picking out tons of stuff - I was afraid she was going to blow my profit margin! But she wanted to buy stuff for the kids, so she spent $12 on a few big cars, a peek a blocks giraffe, books, a phone/answering machine toy, a shape softer, a Little Times piano, and Luke's favorite thing ever, a garbage truck.
She also spent $2 on a goofy dancing LA Dodgers player, because Tom is a huge Dodgers fan. (After lots of searching, I found out he is an MLB Buddy Big League). It was kind of a joke gift but the kids absolutely love dancing and singing "Take me out to the Ball Game" with the little guy. Hilarious!
I only got a few things myself. Luke fell in love with Go Diego Go last weekend when I picked up a Diego Rescue Center toy. This sale had another one with more animals and figures than our original for only $5 so I got that (thinking I can sell the parts on eBay for around $15 then sell the house at a consignment sale in September so I don't have to ship it). I also got a Diego Rescue Pack for $2, four care bear figures for a quarter each, and two board books for 50 cents each: How Do Dinosaurs Count To Ten and How Do Dinosaurs Clean Their Rooms. This is Luke's favorite series so I was happy to find these to read at bedtime during our vacation.
A measly $9 weekend, but its okay. I have tons of stuff in my closet at home that I couldn't list before we left. The yard sale toys have been a hit so far, and our afternoon birthday party was so much fun!
I plan to visit some thrift stores, flea markets, and more yard sales while in Massachusetts so hopefully I will have some interesting finds to report.
Tomorrow morning, we are flying up to Massachusetts to visit my family for two weeks. We are leaving so early that we'll be there before the yard sales start up - yay! Hopefully, I'll be able to pick up a few books and toys for the kids to play with while we are there that I can then sell on eBay. *Fingers crossed*
I am excited to see my extended family at Scarlett's birthday party, take the kids to some of my favorite places around my hometown, go to the beach, and of course, check out some New England style yard sales. Seems like they start a little later up there, and even have a lot on Sunday! The best one this weekend seems to be a daycare closing with tons and tons of toys, but it's a little far away to make it from the airport before the party at 3pm. Oh well! Maybe there will be some left overs I can haul away with my stepdad's giant van later in the day.
I'll let you know what I find at the ones a little closer to my parents' houses.
This weekend, my baby girl turns one. I know it's cliche, but I really can't believe how fast the time has gone by!
When did she go from this...
...To this?
I love celebrations, so even though I am a little sniffly over Scarlet growing up, I am excited for her birthday and her first party. But truthfully, I have been at a loss for gifts. What does a one year old girl want? You'd think I would know, since I live with one, but nope! People keep asking me what they should get her, and I've been like "Um...well...she likes music. And climbing on stuff?"
Luke was easier because he loved trucks and balls. Scarlett doesn't seem into dolls or kittens or anything that isn't the exact toy that Luke is playing with at the moment. So, I really had no ideas.
Luckily, my ever present scavenging for toys to sell on eBay has paid off! I have never bought used birthday gifts before, but with all my trolling of Craigslist and my first ever visit to a kids consignment sale, I found a couple of great things. (She can have brand new stuff when she's 13!)
The first thing I got was (shh don't tell her it's a secret!) a Learning Tower. I have wanted one of these for a while, pretty much since Luke turned one, but they are very expensive. I had never seen one on Craigslist for less than $100. Until - I found this one for $40!
It was a 25 minute ride that turned into an hour with tons of traffic but I think it was worth it. Think of how much fun we'll have cooking together in the kitchen! Or using it as a jungle gym?
The second thing I got was Fisher-Price Bounce and Spin Zebra. I had an idea that Scarlett might like this, and I almost bought one off of Craigslist for $15. But since I was going to check out the Classy Kids Consignment Sale in Manassas, I decided to hold out. It was late in the sale, so there wasn't a whole lot left. But they did have one Zebra left. For $10!
Probably I could have gotten it even cheaper if I'd gone earlier considering this one was still there, but not bad to get exactly what I'm looking for at my first ever consignment sale shopping experience.
I might pick up one or two more little things for her, but I think Scarlett will be very happy with these things. And our family is EXTREMELY generous, so I'm sure we'll get some great gifts from them that she will enjoy as well.
I'm sure there will be lots of pictures from the party on Saturday. Can't wait!
A few Saturdays ago, I hadn't had a very good yard sale morning. The last place I went was pretty picked over, but since I hadn't gotten anything for Luke to play with, I asked them how much they wanted for two huge tubs of little tikes tracks. Answer? $3. Sold.
Luke was delighted. And after the eBay auctions ended today, I am too!
After a little research, I figured out that I had two different sets.
One was the Little Tikes Peak Road and Rail Set.
The other was a vintage Little Tikes 1-80 Expressway.
They are pretty heavy, but even with high shipping they sold. The first for $17.50 and the second for $66!
Tom got a call from Sprint last week trying to sell him a home phone line. Since we haven't used a home phone since we signed up for Sprint cell phones 10 years ago, he declined, but he did manage to score me an early upgrade for my phone, and a brand new EVO 4G for $99.
It is awesome! I feel so modern. My old phone was just so 18 months ago, ya know?
So let us hope the new tech helps me get some great yard sale finds, without turning my internet love into a full blown addiction.
We are in the throes of potty training around here and Luke finally seems to be getting it. He needs to be out of diapers when he starts preschool in September, so we are taking it all pretty seriously right now.
Since we will be traveling to Massachusetts next week, I was quite happy to snag a never used portable potty seat at a neighborhood yard sale for just $1! A second sale down the road had a few Sesame Street potty training books for a quarter each, so I grabbed those, too. Luke has really enjoyed reading about how Little Grover and Little Ernie are too big for diapers!
In doing my research on toys to sell on eBay, I've come to the realization that many of the toys I had when I was a kid are worth big bucks today. Sadly, even though my sister and I had rooms full of cool kid stuff, nothing is left. My mom sold it all in a late 90's yard sale (oh, the irony!).
Take the Tyco Magic Copier, for example. This was a super fun "copy machine" that I just had to have. I even remember the commercial - it's so catchy that I seriously sing it from time to time 20 years later! (Watch it below or click here).
Oh, how I wish I still had my Magic Copier, which some lucky seller recently sold for $255! Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.
If you happen to have one, dust it off, stop playing with it, and list it on eBay, already!
I was pretty disappointed when I noticed I had scheduled some eBay auctions to end around 7pm Eastern on the 4th of July. I mean parents love to dress their babies up in red, white and blue and have them wave flags and stuff. So, who would be bidding on replacement baby gear parts when they could be celebrating America's independence? Well, now I know there were at least two people doing just that!
The previous weekend, I snagged this Graco Pack N Play in great condition at a flea market.
It was a steep $40, and prices on Craigslist aren't what they were this spring when I sold my own baby's Pack N Play for $65. Summer prices were topping out at $40, so I decided to try selling the parts. After checking some completed auctions, I saw both the mobile and the music/light box might sell for as much as $20 each. So I listed them, along with the vibration unit separately, and put the Pack N Play itself on Craigslist for $30.
It was a good move. I sold the pack n play, the light box went for $13.46, and the vibration unit went for $7.99. So I pretty much broke even after fees before selling the mobile.
It's a simple little mobile - it's stationary with a brown arm and 3 white bears. The white bears must have been special, though. All the similar auctions I saw were for brown bears. So while they were bringing in $10-$20, mine went for more.
I was quite pleased the morning of July 4th to see that the bid was at $20.03. And then I packed up the family and went out to enjoy an Independence Day parade.
Okay, only some of us enjoyed it. Others enjoyed a nap.
Anyway, while that was going on, eBayers were fighting over my mobile. Final price? $40.05! I was a little bit worried that the buyer thought she was getting an entire playard for that price. But nope! She got what she wanted. And I ended up with a cool little profit from a purchase that could have been a mistake.
Thank you, little white bears. And Happy Birthday, America!
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