my treasure hunting philosophy

my pile of barn sale loot

Just thought I'd share some items from my treasure hunting hoard this past weekend.  I headed to one of my favorite go-to summertime country barn sales...the prices there are so great, and my car trunk was full to the brim.






I got all of these vintage goodies for just a few bucks....some old boxes and drawers, hurricane lantern, license plates, wooden coat hangers, croquet mallets, horse harnesses (singletrees), store sign, tin can, spatula, and a hunting trap.

What a great deal, all these items will go on sale at my store the Barn Loft 

once they are individually photographed and inventoried.

When treasure hunting, I need to make sure I buy only items that are priced low enough for me to re-sell and mark-up for my Etsy shops.  My rule of thumb is that at a minimum, I need to be able to recoup at least 2x my money sspent or more.  There needs to be some meat on the bone!

For instance the license plates, I paid $2 and will price them at $8-10.  So that is a pretty good profit if they sell. If they don't sell within 6 months or so, I will lower their prices by a few dollars and so on. When treasure hunting, I see a lot of great things that I need to pass up even though I know I could sell them, because there is just no wiggle room for me to mark-up the price, if so, then it's not worth my while :(

I have a blast with my Etsy shops. The best part for me is the hunt. I love finding good bargains and bringing them home to my 'warehouse'.  That's what Bob calls our home now.  So many spots in the house have been taken over with shop items, packing and shipping supplies. Although I have to keep reminding him periodically that he can't call me a hoarder....because I eventually find good homes for them all. Yup...it's so much fun.

come and visit my Etsy shop the Barn Loft