Another box from the shelf

Well, I had the one nice week that I detailed in my last post. Then two weeks where I found basically nothing. And this week was trending the same way, before I spotted a pile in the distance that ended up making up for at least some of the dry spell. I’ll share those finds here soon enough.

I also held two lucrative clothing-focused sales this past weekend. Clothing is another one of those markets that I neglected in my earlier days, but now contributes a fair bit to my finances. Thankfully, my friend who runs the @garbagefindssells Instagram account knows a lot more about the clothing & fashion market than I do. It’s nice to take a bit of a backup role for these sales, basically helping with the moving of stuff and being a placeholder during bathroom breaks. I hope to do a couple more of these before the big cold comes.

Anyways, here is another box from my shelf of aging garbagefinds. I found this stuff in Outremont a couple years ago.

I thought this toy projector from the 30s or 40s might be worth something, but apparently not. Some nut is trying to sell theirs for 2000$ on Chairish, but on eBay you’re lucky to get 100$ – and that’s if you have all the accessories. I put mine up for 70$, but looking at the market (or lack thereof) I might just put it out for 30$ at my next sale. I do have some of the “movies,” but many are in rough shape.

The cute little cheese box they were stored in is probably just as valuable. It’s likely destined for Instagram.

I found some nice fountain pens here as well. Some are a bit beat up, but there’s a market for those as well. The most valuable is probably the chunky “Eclipse,” which is probably worth about 60-80$. Other notable pieces include a pair of Egyptian-themed silver cufflinks, a “Magic Mirror” from a Red Raven movie record setup, a bronze dog that looks to be broken from a larger sculpture, and those cute little embroideries.

And then there was this coin bank, which was filled with late 60s/early 70s sports collectibles.

Here’s what was inside. Below are the photos I took for eBay, not including a few of the “marbles” which I divided into a few different lots. The metal hockey players are from a table top game and were stored in a separate bag, as were those El Producto coaster-sized cards. I had a hard time pricing the Jello medallions, so I decided to auction them off. Bidding starts October 6th.

And that’s one less box on the shelf. These are the easier boxes though, most of the other ones are much more “dense” and will take longer to process.

In other news, I decided to take a hiatus from Instagram. On top of the fact that it’s designed to be addictive, and promotes consumerism and low-quality content (amongst many other negative things), I just feel like it’s a conduit of misinformation and propaganda at this point. It stresses me out and I don’t want to be a part of it. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that our societal discourse has taken a nosedive in the last decade or so. The @garbagefindssells account will continue, because that’s run by a friend and they’re free to make their own choices. But going forward all my content will be here, barring a change of heart (which feels unlikely at this point). I’ve got a few ideas for increasing my blog output, which I might detail in my next post.

Links

1. My eBay listings. Sign up for eBay (Canada, US). Search for something you want / research something you have (Canada, US). — These are Ebay Partner Network links. If you create an account or buy something after getting to eBay from these links, I get a small cut of the profit!
2. “Things I find in the garbage” on Facebook
3. Follow @garbagefindssells on Instagram (this is managed by a friend, I’ve quit Instagram for the time being)
4. Email: thingsifindinthegarbage@gmail.com. Note that I really suck at keeping up with my email.
5. Help support the blog, or just buy me a coffee! PayPal link below.


9 thoughts on “Another box from the shelf”

  1. How fun to find that cool container with the sports items inside. That is true treasure finding. I love the old pens, the bronze dog, and the look of those old film rolls in the old box. Thanks for the blog!

  2. Been enjoying your blog for a few years. I am primarily a yard sale/thrift shop picker, but thanks to your inspiration, discovered the joy and profit of trash picking. I live in a 55 plus comunity, where there are frequent “clean-outs” conducted when a resident passes away. Some of the stuff I’ve rescued from the trash include; a German Luftwaffe leather pilots cap, (sold it for $85), a large wood carousol horse, (sold for $35), a digital camera, (sold for $40) and a cache of police gear collectivley sold for $200 plus. It is truly incredible what people throw away! Keep doing what your doing, and thanks for the motivation!

  3. So much fun to see what you discover! Thanks for the photographs and descriptions.

  4. Martin, I am completely on the same page with you re. Instagram and most social media. I find it provokes anxiety and just wastes a ton of time. Your blog posts and photos are so wonderful, informative and entertaining – I’m thrilled you’ll be doing more of them and hopefully getting things together for a book! Your posts really make my day.

  5. I love hearing from you again and seeing what you have on your shelves. I so wish I had the nerve to trash-pick myself! I am 80 and have always loved “junk” but going through my neighbors’ trash wouldn’t do my reputation in the neighborhood any good, I fear! And to venture far afield in the dark is too dangerous for an old lady. I mean, what would I do if I fell down in a pile of “trash” and couldn’t get up ’til someone found me in the morning?? Alas, I guess I just have to live vicariously through your emails. Keep up the good work and try to steer clear of the police and the rats!

    1. Well you could always go to the next neighbourhood over! Worst case scenario you go for a pleasant drive. Keep an eye out for big piles in front of homes for sale or recently sold, and throw a few things in the car to look through later. I doubt you want to dig much “on the curb” at 80. I’m 37 and bending over to look through bags and whatnot isn’t as easy as it used to be.

    1. I think that Etsy seller is dreaming. Mine is missing the top part as well. I sold it at my last sale for like 2$. Probably should have asked for at least 3$ but at least it’s gone before winter.

  6. I don’t even do Instagram, FB & very little of anything else. Certainly are time wasters for me too.

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