So, you may wonder what a typical day in my life might be
Not Like Buying Wholesale
Buying second-hand items is not like going to a buyers market. At a buyers market, wholesalers have all their inventory displayed beautifully, and they will help you pick-out hot selling items that will work within your budget and create cohesive displays in your shop. You simply fill out your order, choose your shipping terms, pay, and wait for everything to arrive. This is not possible buying second-hand. There is no way to purchase coordinating items in bulk that can be shipped to your door. You can imagine then how exciting it is to find a group of items in one sale that are perfect additions to your inventory.
A Great Find !
Here is a one type of day in my shop life. I drove to an estates sale in a nearby town that I found on estatesales.net. The sale had gorgeous blue and white ceramic and porcelain pieces, which are a staple in my shop. I buy them whenever I can. The sale was busy, and was packed with blue and white pieces. The estate owner was an avid collector, and I felt a connection to her just from our mutual love of blue and white ceramic pieces. I spoke to the person in charge of the sale and negotiated a price for all of the remaining blue and white pieces. It was a substantial quantity. I purchased all they had, which turned out to be an entire SUV full. It took me a little over an hour to wrap and pack them into my car (I always bring boxes and plenty of paper for packing). As you can imagine, I was absolutely thrilled with my purchase.
After arriving home, I unloaded the car and unpacked all of the pieces. Then the cleaning began. One thing people never tell you about running a vintage shop is the extraordinary amount of cleaning you will do! I hate cleaning, but I do love seeing the sparkle of a beautiful vintage piece. After cleaning is updating my inventory to reflect the new pieces. I then tag them and take pictures for advertising and my online shop. It is a time-consuming, but fun process. I can’t wait to get them to my customers so they can benefit from this beautiful collectors efforts and spirit!
– Wishing you a day filled with good things –
The Sweet Texas Home 