Poor Toy Sale

I went to 3 sales today: 1 never happened and was cancelled, the second was a typical indoor community sale and the third a "bourse aux jouets" (toy and kids stuff only. Very popular at this time of the year).

My fault I was a bit late and really didn't find anything worth much. Nothing to be exact, except a few Littlest Pet Shop (oh no! Not again!).

The toy sale was crowded as I expected, for the next one I'll try to be there at the opening, not an hour late. But I needed the sleep more then I needed stuff I guess!

So here's my thin pathetic loot of the day:

Make The Most Of Random Playmobil Pieces With Custom Sets

Playmobil always performs well on eBay because it is one of those toys that sells in a box, without a box and even as a incomplete set . Even single, tiny accessories can make money, vintage or not. This is encouraging for all of us that buy lots of Playmobil at yard sales; however, it is far too easy to end up with too much stuff and be stuck with things that cannot be sold separately, either because of high shipping costs or a lack of interest on characters are just not sought after or sets with that vital, collectible piece missing. 

So how do you make the most of all those random pieces you cannot sell on their own?

You may think those unloved characters and buildings are doomed to sit in a cupboard but they can be given new life and value quite easily. What I do when I end up with those characters and accessories that just won't sell well is I make custom sets! Look at what you have hidden in your collection and use your imagination to make some fun, themed sets with a difference. They can be big or small, realistic or outlandish, and you could even make your own version of a popular movie. The important thing is to experiment and have fun!

Need an example to help you get started?

As Christmas is around the corner, this is perfect time to share a story about one of my own custom sets. Recently I found myself stuck with a few nice animals that didn't really belong anywhere and couldn't really be sold separately because they were quite heavy, meaning shipping them as single items was pretty much out of the question. Those three animals were a donkey, ox and dromedary camel – very different animals with one instant connection that I could let my imagination run away with. And so my custom Nativity themed set was born and, with the extra touch of some cute little angel girls, I was able to put a product titled "Playmobil Lot Christmas Nativity Scene Decorations Angels Ox Donkey Dromedary" up for sale to see who might be interested. Thankfully, the venture paid off and it sold. 

My little custom Playmobil nativity set: a good start for a complete nativity manger scene

I partly put this success down to good timing because people were starting to shop for Xmas décor at that point and I offered them something fun and unique. Of course creating custom sets from Playmobil is not just for Christmas; once you start thinking creatively you can take advantage of all the various holidays throughout the year. Christmas themed sets may be the more obvious choice but with some time and thought you can also make Halloween theme sets, or perhaps Easter or Thanksgiving ones.

Dig out all those pieces you had given up on and look at them again with a fresh eye.

Hopefully this has inspired you to try out some custom sets of your own and see those random mismatched pieces in a more positive light. You will be amazed at what can sell; I have made a few sets over the last two years and all have sold! What odds and ends of Playmobil sets do you have that can be put together to form something new and interesting for families this holiday season? You may just surprise yourself with the results.

Custom Playmobil forest scene with animals

A custom Playmobil Roman camp with tent, horse, legionaries and centurion 

Antique French Chocolate Mold

Sold this old antique French chocolate mold pan with 8 different fish design. It's a G. Mora Paris mold #1505.

The mold has 8 different 2 inches long fishes, below you can see the front and back of this vintage French chocolate mold. Condition was not perfect, it had a few tiny rust spot. But so unique that it sold very fast.

Chocolate molds are highly collectible, keep that in mind!

I paid $25 on a French auction site and sold for $89 to a US buyer.

Front

Back

French Cafe Au Lait Bowl Coffee Chocolate Bowl Purple Polka Dots Cute

Real genuine and vintage café au lait bowls do sell well, and this one was very original with its purple polka dots! Although it was unmarked and had some tiny flea bits on the rim, it still sold for $34.99 to a Japanese buyer. With airmail shipping added, it wasn't cheap of course but she was very very pleased with it. A very unique French café au lait coffee bowl indeed.

I always look up for them in brocantes, vides-greniers and online, but they are rarely cheap. This one wasn't cheap either but I knew it was unique enough (purple polka dots) for me to make a profit. I paid around 15$ for it. It took me some times to list it, but once it was it sold very fast!

Here's the precious:

My beautiful café au lait bowl went to japan!

Polka dots coffee bowl

Inside

Some little flea bites

Some more flea bites

If it's unique enough it will sell. If you spot cafe au lait bowls and are unsure if they are worth it, look under it. If the bowl has a mark it can help, especially if it's the Sarreguemines there are plenty of Sarreguemines collectors around. Otherwise if unmarked or a mark you are not familiar with, make sure it as a nice design: fruits and flowers sell well, so are the ones with polka dots.

Here's a few recent price realized on eBay: Vinatge French Cafe Au Lait Bowls

Barack Obama Election Day Newspapers From Canada

Following what's hot, following international news and keeping up with what people are passionate about is another way to target items you can sell on eBay. Barack Obama stirred a lot of passion all over the world back then. So in November 2009  buying these newspapers at my local newsstand was a no brainer. I sold a couple of sets for $29.49 (total cost for me was under $2 per sets). I sold a few to US buyers and also to a couple of buyers overseas.