Things I bring to the auction house

Posted on by garbagefinds

Over the past few days I’ve spent many hours organizing my various storages. On Wednesday I worked at the space on Coloniale and brought a big load of clothes to Eva B to exchange for store credit. I got 170$, most of which I’ll probably spend on the food there which thankfully is very good overall. I also purged a few things and looked through my boxes in search of items worth auctioning. On Thursday I did more or less the same thing at the garage, this time focusing more on grouping together similar items for lots. By the time I went to the auction house on Friday I had accumulated an impressive collection of junk to sell, all of which would have probably hung around too long in my yard sale boxes otherwise. Here’s a look at what I brought them!

I found this cool hunk of wood (roughly 5×4′) in Westmount on Thursday. It’s missing some pieces but the design is quite beautiful and I figured it had value as architectural salvage.

The auctioneers agreed, or at least liked it enough to list (they don’t take just anything). Only time will tell how much it goes for! If you know anything about the style please let me know in the comments. I think it’s fairly old, and I thought the waves and flower looked a little Arts & Crafts-y.

Here’s my vintage iron lot. I haven’t had much luck selling these at yard sales (the one on top is actually from last year) and they’re not high enough on my priority list to sell on eBay. Thanks to the auction I’ll now be rid of them, and I expect they’ll go for a solid price as well.

I made a bunch of lots so let’s cover them quickly. Here’s a collection of vintage ashtrays that I grouped together in a garbage pail…

… a collection of lights & lamps (I had a few others too but forgot to take pictures);

… a collection of drawer pulls;

… a collection of new safety razors (I found these last year and was sick of looking at them);

… a small grouping of Blue Mountain Pottery;

… a large collection of old packages, containers, and tins;

… a bunch of random vintage kitchen stuff;

… four vintage ceiling lampshades;

… and a small lot of drum equipment (including two stands, a cymbal, and two other doohickies).

As for single items I brought them a nice Spanish brass chandelier I found on Friday in Westmount (one of the arms was off but it should be an easy fix);

… a never opened IKEA kids swing;

… a working portable range;

… a brass lamp and a mid-century ceramic jug I found in St Michel;

… and a bucket of pennies. I found most of these in Rosemont on Tuesday, and put them in an old Fiesta Potato Chips tin to make them more marketable. Not pictured was this Georg Jensen card organizer that never sold on eBay, the tools I found in Ville St Laurent earlier this year, and a collection of shot glasses.

I talked enough about the benefits of the auction house in my last post. However, I think it’s worth emphasizing how much work this saves me, and also how much pressure it takes off my different storage spaces. So you know, if any of these things interest you they won’t be posted until early August at the earliest as the crew is going on a two week vacation starting tomorrow. In the meantime, I’ll share my currently running auction listing numbers below.

Last week was pretty good overall. Most of my luck came in St Michel of all places – I’ll share those finds here soon enough. Next week’s looking pretty rainy for a change, which hopefully won’t get in the way of picking too much.

My listings by auction number:
-21, 65, 228, 230, 244, 268, 490 (July 15 – August 5)
-79, 270, 272, 423, 439 (I think), 445, 465, 466, 468, 511, 541 (July 19 – August 9)

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18 thoughts on “Things I bring to the auction house”

  2. I love the wooden piece with the waves. And the typewriter ashtray and the tin of pennies…Your blog is always delightful–love when I see a new post in my Inbox. I had a “Vintage” sale last weekend with some friends after much planning and prepping. It was a bust. Just a bad location. You win some you lose some, and I am happy to learn of the new idea of auction houses as I never knew I could use them for smallish and yard-sale type items. Just found out that there is, indeed, one in my area so I am excited to do some research and find a new way to sell the stuff I acquire. Thanks for the new knowledge.

    1. Too bad about the sale, it happens (my last one wasn’t so great either). Yes, definitely look into the auction route. Maybe read some reviews online first as some are definitely better than others.

  3. The “flower” on the wooden piece looks somewhat like an angel with a halo. May be symbolic of something? Hope it does well for you.

  4. Happy for you that you have the auction house. It’s a win win win! Hope your income rises this year!

  5. Thank you for another great post documenting the extraordinary, counter-cultural work you do! It is fascinating to see how you grouped different objects for the auction house — vintage ashtrays! drawer pulls! — and to see how MANY of these particular objects you have acquired over the past months/years. Hurrah for this new outlet to sell what you have collected! I wonder if art directors for TV shows and movies go to auction houses like yours so that they can re-create different eras on screen…

    1. I’m sure they do. I know for a fact that set designers will bring things there after the shoot sometimes, and I’m pretty sure they buy things from time to time as well.

  8. Drawer pulls AND a finial it looks like! What a great collection. Brilliant marketing, as you make the auction house want to deal with you as an organized reseller. And love getting your new posts, no matter the subject matter!

    1. Yup, occasionally I’ll throw a couple of extra doodads in with the lots haha. I think there’s a padlock in there too… I do think that I already have a solid understanding of what they’re looking for and their business model in general.

  9. Love the post. It makes your new auctioning angle so much clearer. A win-win for sure, if it eases your load and takes the stress of accumulating “stuff” … or as you call it … “junk.”
    You’re always expanding and trying new things, which I think is the way with any successful business. Keep on growing your business, while shrinking your work load! 🙂
    The first pic with the stuffed car, with the cool hunk of wood slid in on top, gives a good notion of the size of the piece.

  10. The old wood piece would make an excellent headboard and should sell very quickly.
    The auction house must really appreciate you organizing like items in boxes. Good luck with the auction (s).

  11. could the wooden thing be the top of a fireplace surround? it seems like there’s a shelf on it that functioned as the mantel? just a guess…

  12. I think the wood scuptured board is a head board, cause of the horizontal shadow where the springs would have been screwed in.It would be amazing as a fireplace surround(cutting a space within) or the back of an entrance bench,a book shelf,a coat rack(ad a mirroir in a square) ,a gothic baby crib ,you name it.I’m so glad you found an alternative energy-saver/money-maker, and still have time to share with us.Thanks for your thrilling articles your a hero

  13. i enjoy your blog as always.But I notice you are not gaining many new subscribers to your blog since the past three months.You have also been posting far fewer posts this summer.I hope the high heat and humidity are not wearing you out.

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