Tag: lifestyle

Bits and / or bobs

garbagefinds14 Comments

I’ve struggled to be focused & productive during this pandemic. I have more time on my hands than usual, but the days seem to fly by without me getting much done. I don’t think I’m the only one though – it seems like lots of people have a hard time being productive during this crisis.

Anyways, today I’ll share a few finds from one-off, pre-pandemic spots. One day I passed by an upscale apartment building and saw an orange bag poking its head out of one of the bins. Apartment dwellers rarely use orange bags, so I figured I’d stop and take a look. Inside one of the bins was some quality audio equipment.

Marantz made some of the best receivers back in the 70s, and the 2220b is considered a classic. I did some basic tests and it seemed to work fine, so it’s worth around 350$ give or take. The Bose radio is more modern but also high quality, and seems to sell for around 150-200$. I also found a couple of decent bluetooth speakers.

I never saw anything else there, but it was a good example of my “sixth sense” for garbage. Most trash is gross, so it pays to keep your eyes out for anything that looks unusual.

Here’s a bit of jewelry I found in NDG a couple months back. There’s a bit of silver in there, but the most interesting piece to me is that Montreal Olympics badge / pin. It seems to be made from bronze, and I haven’t been able to find any others like it online (though I haven’t tried super hard yet).

I also found a nice Bakelite prayer bead necklace, which sold for 25$ via an eBay auction. I was hoping for more, but I guess that’s around what it was worth.

Let’s finish with some Mile End finds. This spot was pretty junky by volume, but I picked up some fun bits & bobs. Those metal hockey coins were made for Shirriff, and distributed via different foods in the 60s. They seem to sell for between 1-10$ each. There’s also a little silver St Christopher medallion in there, and what looks to be an old celluloid brooch at bottom right.

I enjoyed finding that Midol tin and the old bottle of clove oil, which still smells strong after around 60 years.

My favourite item here is there copper ashtray, which was made to promote the old Montreal Pharmacy. I’m guessing at was made sometime between 1931 (when they became the first pharmacy in the country to offer their services 24h a day) and 1950 (when Charles Duquette’s son became a partner). Plus, the font used is pretty Art Deco-y.

I still have lots to show you, but I’ll leave it at that for now. I think I’ll share some more “part x of a million” finds in my next post.

Links

1. Facebook page
2. My eBay listings, Sign up for eBay, Search for something you want / research something you have (I’m a member of the eBay Partner Network so I make a bit of money if you buy things [even if they’re not mine] or sign up for an account via these links)
3. Help me pay off student loan debt / Contribute to the blog
4. Follow me on Instagram
5. Email: thingsifindinthegarbage@gmail.com – note that it might take me some time to reply, and that I am unlikely to be able to fulfill requests for items

Part one of a million pt.3

garbagefinds13 Comments

This was one of my better hauls from this spot. There were only two bags out, but they contained a well tousled collection of jewellery. I assume some pieces were kept, but there was still lots left for me.

Here’s the collection after my first round of sorting. It was quite the mass of stuff! At front right is a vintage Gubelin watch box that I sold quickly for 80$.

This jewelry box is very old – there’s some writing on the bottom indicating that it was gifted way back in 1881. It’s in pretty good condition for its age!

Many pieces were touristy, made from shells, stones, or other materials from their area of origin.

A lot of these are made from different kinds of shell. I don’t think any of it is particularly valuable, but it’s still quality costume jewelry.

I saved a bunch of those colourful, nature themed brooches/pendants. None are marked, but I suspect they were made in Japan. That scarab pendant is nice, I think it’s made from silver & turquoise.

I think those pink necklaces are made from some kind of stone. The one on the bottom is made from wood, and I think the black and white one is plastic. Those beads in the box are either glass or stone.

There’s a few nice necklaces here, including ones made from amber, pearl, and coral. I’d guess that the coral one up top was made in a French colony, because the round part of the pendant was made using a French coin.

We have a little silver here, including that Catholic charm, the Mayan calendar set, and the Bluenose pendant. I don’t think the pendant attached to that top piece is silver, but the necklace might be. It’s hallmarked with a picture of what looks to be a cow. Those white earrings at top right were made in India, and are probably ivory.

Most of the stuff up top is silver, including that RCAF sweetheart bracelet. On the back is an engraving dating to 1943.

On the right is a piece of scrimshaw, and a blue flower pendant that I’m told is probably made from anodized titanium. The rock on the left looks to be a hunk of turquoise.

I realized relatively recently that old ring boxes sell for pretty good money.

Both of these were made by Birks, which gives them a little extra pedigree. I recently sold the one on the right for 65$, and have the one of the left listed for 125$. That might be a bit of an ask, but not by much. It’s in great condition and probably about 100 years old. The exterior is covered with a thin layer of blue leather with gold accents. Hidden inside was a winder key of some kind.

This, I suppose is the cream of the crop. At top left are three sterling silver & mother of pearl pocket knives. They should sell for between 50-100$ each. That bird brooch is Mexican silver, and quite large at 9.5cm tall. The watch to the right of it is marked “Apex 18k”. It needs some work, but the case is very pretty. The watch below is a Langendorf, which seems to have been a decent brand in its day, while the other is an “M&O’s.” Otherwise, we have another Scottish silver & agate brooch (I’ve found a few of these now), a Marcel Boucher ribbon brooch, a neat pill box made using an Indian coin, and a cool (but unfortunately unsigned) brutalist style pendant.

Overall, it was a pretty good haul! I’ve found some other nice jewelry here, but never this much at one time.

I still have tonnes of stuff to share from this spot. It hasn’t produced anything too exciting the past couple of weeks, but the trash is still coming out. I was pretty lucky with bigger items this week, including a couple of quality electronic pieces. I’ll post about it all here at some point.

I took today (Friday) off for weather related reasons again. This time it was really cold, and I didn’t feel like going out in it. Last week it was snow, and the week before that it was the huge dump of snow. Fortunately, being my own boss means I can make my own schedule. Also, the weather should improve soon enough…

Links

1. Facebook page
2. My eBay listings, Sign up for eBay, Search for something you want / research something you have (I’m a member of the eBay Partner Network so I make a bit of money if you buy things [even if they’re not mine] or sign up for an account via these links)
3. Help me pay off student loan debt / Contribute to the blog
4. Follow me on Instagram
5. Email: thingsifindinthegarbage@gmail.com – note that it might take me some time to reply, and that I am unlikely to be able to fulfill requests for items

Recent sales: July

garbagefinds18 Comments

July saw me bring a tonne of stuff to auction as I emptied my various storage areas. The purge made for a long sales list, which (in addition to recent comments) led me to reconsider the way I share my sales. I think in future posts I’ll do a general overview of the numbers, and highlight only the most exciting sales – something in line with what they do at Scavenger Life, but with a few more featured items. The detailed summary made more sense when I sold less items, but now they’re getting to be a lot more work, the tedious kind at that. Better to save that energy for other posts, or more picking!

If you want to keep track of my eBay sales on your own, visit my eBay listings page and sort by “sold” (or just bookmark that link for future reference).

eBay sales

  • Carl Poul Petersen sterling silver cigar humidor: 1000$. This is currently the most valuable single item I’ve ever sold! I hope to break the record later this year, however…
  • Faber Castell Minfix pencil sharpener: 27$.

  • Enicar Ultrasonic Supertest watch: 72$.
  • Leru expandable bracelet: 13.50$.
  • Phonak MyPilot hearing aid remote: 31.50$. All items that sold with cents (and most with prices not ending in a 0 or 5) were part of a sale I did to clear out some older items. It worked pretty well!

  • Egermann bohemian glass vase: 31.50$. This took a while to sell. Perhaps I overestimate its value. Found in Montreal West.

  • Benito Mussolini postcard: 18$. Part of that huge postcard haul I found last year.
  • Royal Navy shoulder boards: 9$.
  • Detonator II programmer box: 18$.
  • Beswick cat figurines: 36$.
  • Burberry eyeglasses: 36$.

  • Rolex passport / documents holder: 54$.
  • Coach eyeglasses: 22.50$.
  • Armani sunglasses: 27$.

  • 1TB external drive: 54$.
  • Habanita by Molinard, 100ml: 58.50$.
  • Miniature bottle of Diorissimo: 22$.

eBay total:  1499$.

Auction results

Unfortunately there’s no good way to link you to my auction listings, either past or present, so a lot of this info will be inaccessible when I pare down these posts. However, I’ll still share my favourite or more notable sales.

Unfortunately I was too busy to take pictures of most of these things before bringing them in. You’ll have to use your imagination!

  • Lot of vintage paper bags (mostly from Steinberg’s): 14$.

  • Lot of slides (mostly of flora & fauna): 20$. A big part of the huge photo haul I found last year in St Michel. The most valuable were the Expo 67 slides, which went for about 250$. Otherwise, some African missionary slides ended up selling for around 50$. These weren’t as collectible, but I’m sure someone will appreciate them (or turn them into a cool lampshade).
  • Old fishing rod: 6$.
  • Vintage metal & glass lampshade: 14$.
  • Vintage 8lb anchor: 10$.
  • Sears 26122 guitar pre-amp: 24$.
  • Wood lathe: 30$
  • Framed metal fisherman: 9$.
  • Picture frame with chain-like motif: 6$.
  • Pressback chair with missing leather seat: 16$.
  • Vintage industrial towel holders: 14$.
  • Train set parts: 22$.
  • Lot of three portable radios with cassette players: 7$.

  • Bucket of pennies: 70$. Given to me by a nice guy in Cartierville. I’d guess there was 35-40$ in actual coins, but pennies sell for around 2c each at auction these days.
  • Vintage Panasonic radio: 8$.

  • Electric soldering machine: 26$. It looks pretty grimy here but it actually cleaned up fairly well.

  • Dromedary sculpture: 16$.

  • Raymond sewing machine table, in pieces: 30$.
  • Wine decanter thing: 26$.
  • Kodak Etkasound projector, untested: 8$.
  • Sharp projector, working but old: 26$.
  • Standing birdcage, missing bottom piece: 12$.

  • Rivet machine: 20$.
  • Aiwa stereo setup, untested: 8$.
  • Entry carpet: 26$.
  • Fireplace log rack: 12$.
  • 17 old Alka Seltzer jars with hardware bric-a-brac inside: 10$.
  • Glass candleholder: 5$.
  • Lot of lamp pieces: 9$.
  • Two balloon inflators, working: 7$.
  • Vintage andirons: 6$.
  • 4×4 jack: 44$.

  • Huge Betamax player, untested: 10$. I realized that I was probably never going to get around to testing this thing, and since it weighed like 50 pounds it would have been a hassle to ship. I’m happy to get it out of my basement.

  • Vintage UFO Pendant lamp: 75$. I’m happy with this sale. The lamp was great but needed some TLC. It would have been difficult to ship and annoying to sell on Kijiji. Found in Ville St Laurent.
  • Chair base with wheels: 18$.
  • Vintage Coleman cooler: 26$. I discovered that vintage coolers are a pretty easy sell.
  • Victoriaville goalie stick: 6$. I should have held onto this until hockey season.
  • Five stainless steel restaurant trays: 50$. A surprising result. I guess these things cost a fair bit new.
  • Untested turntable: 7$.
  • Vintage trophy lot: 5$.
  • Cup & stein lot: 18$.
  • Brass umbrella stand: 44$. I didn’t expect it to sell for nearly this much – I think I had it priced at 10$ at one of my yard sales.
  • Box of Le Jour magazines: 6$.
  • Lot of glass & metal lamp pieces: 16$.
  • Lot of chair wheels & legs: 12$
  • Alain Choquette (Quebec magician) signed photo: 5$.
  • Jean-Pierre Girerd lithograph (cartoon of Rene Levesque): 24$.
  • College de Montreal group photo (“trombinoscope”) with Gratien Gelinas: 34$.

Total: 917 – 229.25 (25%) – 48 = 639.75$.

Yard sales: 300$ (one small sale, one mediocre turnout).

Total: 2438.75$, 14505.25$ so far in 2018. So far I’m on pace to make about as much as I did last year. However, I expect that my profits through the last quarter will propel me to new heights of (relative) wealth!

Links

1. Facebook page
2. My eBay listings, Sign up for eBay, Search for something you want / research something you have
3. Help me pay off student loan debt / Contribute to the blog
4. Follow me on Instagram