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Your search for Down has 16 results.
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| Good Advice on Finding American Girl Dolls for Cheap Online
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Added on 10/25/08 by betsy
I have some advice for you guys if you are hunting online for American Girl items on the cheap. My daughter has 7 of the dolls and I also buy them all the time to sell. The most I have ever paid for a doll is $30, but that was for Lindsey the first girl of the year which I sold for $250. The last one I bought was Elizabeth for $1, the lady didn't care because her overindulgent mother-in-law had bought it as a gift for her daughter. People always ask me how do you find American Girl stuff at garage sales? Well, this is how: 1. Craigslist, if you just go onto Craigslist for your local area and click the link for "for sale" type "American Girl" into the search box at the top of the page. You will find American Girl dolls not only for sale in the "items for sale" section but also the garage sale section. Since Craigslist is free and newspapers charge per word some people go into great detail in their listings and by typing "American Girl" into that top search box you will pull up all the listings that have American Girl stuff. Another bonus of finding it at a garage sale, no shipping cost! People also are selling American Girl stuff in the classified and while some is kinda high Ebay priced, I found a woman selling 6 dolls and an Armoire for $125 for everything, she was a mom who thought played with dolls. . . (read post) |
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| A New Addiction in a Perfect Storm
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Added on 01/03/08 by Betsy
Thirty mile an hour winds and minus 27 windchill.
While most people would balk at driving miles in the opposite direction of civilization down a road called "the blacktop" during a blizzard, I see nothing but opportunity. The prospect of an excellent auction lay at the end of the blacktop.
I knew that this adventure we were embarking on seemed a lot like the beginning of a predictable Discovery Channel show that could possibly end with me breaking off frozen toes and eating them out of desperation, but I also figured that the suburban hipsters looking for more treasure-clutter for their ecletijunk houses would stay away on such a day.
My only competition would be a small crowd in Carhardts using this as a "going to town" excuse.
I was right.
More to come.
(read post) |
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| Goodwill as Economic Barometer
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Added on 12/23/07 by Betsy
Goodwill is practically empty.
Gulp.
It is one thing to hear on NPR that spending is down this Christmas, that foreclosures are "on the rise", that people are buying fewer "durable goods" this year. That sounds like a dip on a bar graph, nothing to be concerned to deeply about.
However, for the first time in all the years I have been selling other people's junk on Ebay I am scrambling to make money.
Goodwill is just empty.
As a result, the mood is tense, even competitive.
In years past the regulars and an ever-changing cast of hopefuls engaged in good natured "I had my finger on it before you did" fun.
The weeks before Christmas are typically the time when the wealthy are purging the presents of the past to make way for this year's gluttony in the name of charity and tax exemptions. This year was the first time I saw parents fight over a toy.
They actually got in a pulling match over an air hockey table, complete with crying children looking on.
I emptied my cart back onto the shelf and went home and pulled up some toys my kids don't play with anymore.
While there are a lot of Ebayers and weird women who sleep on beds of old newspaper there are also families that depend on Goodwill for Santa toys.
I quit buying toys for resale a few weeks ago, there just isn't enough stock to go around.
(read post) |
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| American Girl Store Kinda Sucks To My Surprise
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Added on 06/10/07 by betsy
Well I just got back from the longest drive through nowhere I have ever taken. A brief 4-6 hours north of here is a little town called Osh Gosh and b'gosh it looks like everywhere else in America- Starbucks, then Target, then Starbucks, then TJ Maxx except for one very important landmark store. The promised land for any mommy of a little lady.
Yes, I got to go to the American Girl outlet store.
I was so excited that the tantrums and crying (lots of roadwork) on the way up didn't even bother me. I was going to my Graceland and no one was going to bring me down.
When the children and I fell out of the car covered in stale partially digested Goldfish crackers a brief 6 hours and 3 poopy diapers later. I was a little weirded out. Here is a massive company bajillions in sales, and it is the size of Baby Gap. Ugh. Once inside I was disappointed to find that they do not carry dolls AT ALL - not a one. They do carry all of the critters like Coconut, Licorice and all the AG pets as well as the pet accessories. Other than that all they have is clothes, and some of the doll clothes.
While the clothes are cute, they are infinitely cuter in the catalog on Kit's living look-a-like than they are hanging on a round chrome rack. What was even more disappointing was that most things were the same price as they are in the catalog,. . . (read post) |
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| Karma As Co-pilot
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Added on 05/31/07 by Betsy
Yesterday's post about the universe using Goodwill and garage sales to offer it's wares came true yet again.
I have been collecting baby crap for a woman who is broke and didn't even have the cash for a car seat. She works at a retirement home full time for seven dollars an hour and has a 2 month old girl.
Two weeks ago a friend of my mothers-Pat-who works at the same retirement home called and asked me to collect stuff for her, she had gone in with her coworkers and raised $20.
All they wanted was a car seat to keep the baby safe and free up mom to go to the grocery store alone with the baby. I took this as a challenge.
My 2 year old had a 1 year old highly rated car seat she was to big for, so I cheated a little and passed that along. I asked did she have a bouncer, swing ya know all that junk the rest of America takes for granted.
No, Pat said she has nothing. She works all the time and her mother watches her daughter. She financially supports her mom, herself and her daughter on 7 bucks an hour.
So Karma and I went shopping.
Saturday in mid- May is prime sale season. On this particular day there were 29 subdivision garage sales, each sale having 11-110 sale houses.
I started at 7:30. Now one of the problems with starting early is that people. . . (read post) |
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| Buy This Toy Now! The Next Elmo TMX
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Added on 11/17/06 by Betsy
My prediction for the next hot toy: Build A Bear's limited edition Mumble the Penguin- a character from the upcoming Happy Feet movie.
He is currently available at Build A Bear stores for just $22.00.
How can I make such a prediction?
Look at previous year's Build a Bear holiday releases on Ebay:
Xmas 2004 they released the Rudolph line as a limited holiday run- an unstuffed Rudolph goes for around $100. He had a light up nose, much like Mumble's light up heart which makes them more unusual Build a Bears.
Xmas 05 they released Frosty the Snowman and it did similarly well on Ebay- it is down in value currently but earlier in the year was selling for around $60 undressed and unstuffed.
Need another reason to buy as many as your budget will allow, check out other retired Build a Bear children's characters.
Elmo New with tags and unstuffed sold for $175- auction # 160047227249, stuffed $50.
Wizard of Oz collection- auction # 140050076314 6 bears $350.
Hello Kitty- $80 auction # 300045924769
Cookie Monster unstuffed $70 auction # 29004669526
(read post) |
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| How to find your Elmo TMX and why you shouldn't bother.
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Added on 11/15/06 by Betsy
I have realized of late that many of my readers may not be resellers at all. Many of you may have just googled the toy of your child's dreams and found this site.
And what toy are you most likely hunting for . . . Elmo TMX of course.
"I don't want to pay $100 on Ebay for the $40 doll that's ridiculous. I just want to know how to find a toy store that is selling them and run in and grab one off the shelf. That shouldn't be so tough? Ebay sellers are just ripping people off! - Right?"
Let's explore the logistics of scoring an Elmo TMX.
#1. You have to call or go to your local store and find out what day they get shipment.
That sounds easy.
#2. You have to go to the store before they open and stand in line.
OK I can do that.
#3. You can only buy the store limit. For instance the Toys R Us limit is 2 per customer. They can share you say.
Hmmmm . . . let's run through this again realistically:
A. If you are in the market for this doll most likely you have little preschool-toddler age kids. So in order to achieve the first point you have manipulate your way through the toy store then stand there with your children while the. . . (read post) |
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