Daryle Lambert Blog: Unexpected House and Estate Sale Treasures

When you go to house sale, where do you start? In the past, my suggestion would have been to start looking where the most valuable items were placed. Often this is in the living or dining rooms, but would I have been right?

How about the garage? Could this be the right place to start? Most of you know that the garage is where you run through after there is no other place left to look in the house, right? Well, you may have been wrong, and I may have been wrong, too.

Why didn't I see this before? It was right there before my eyes. Am I blind, or what?

Now I'm not taking about gardening or shop tools. But, what else could you find in a garage that might convince you that this is the place to look for treasure? It’s not automobiles, bicycles, sports equipment or fishing gear. But, is there anything else in that trash filled garage that the man of the house hasn't cleaned in years? They might be hanging on the wall in full view of everyone that enters the garage. Look closely, and you might see those little pieces of metal hanging there so neatly in rows. How about those old license plates? I’ve seen them at so many of the sales I’ve attended and never really gave them a thought.

Do me a big favor, and go to eBay and type in "license plate" in the search box. Then go to “completed items” and click for the results. Then arrange the listing to show from highest price to lowest. Can you believe it? I didn’t until I saw it with my own eyes.

I found a 1915 Tennessee license plate finishing at $17,119.15 with 30 bids. Closely followed by this was a 1933 inauguration D.C. Plate at $3,500. I had to go past 20 plates to find one that sold under $1,000 and a thousand plates to find one under $100. Does this make me sick? You bet it does because I can think back to the times I’ve been in garages and the walls were almost completely covered in license plates from before the second World War.

I BELIEVE I HAVE JUST ADDED THESE TO THE LIST OF ITEMS I WATCH FOR, AND MIGHT JUST HAVE COME ACROSS A NEW POSSIBLE COLLECTION IN MY FUTURE.

As a side bar -- I did complete my echo stress test yesterday, and even though my wife sometimes says I don't have a heart, I do. I’m waiting for the test results, but I think everything is going to be all right. It had been over four years since my last one, and the doctor thought it was about time to take another look. I ask you to keep me in your prayers and in God’s will.

Don’t just follow the daily Blog. Join with like-minded 31 Club Members. Turbo charge your treasure hunting. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets. Learn to build a bank account to last a lifetime, buying and selling antiques, fine art, and collectibles. My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership. The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

Visit our Website, here.

Daryle Lambert Blog: Changing and Cycling Markets in Antiques, Collectibles and Fine Art

European Pottery - Early Amphora Stellmacher Teplitz Floral Pottery Vase. Priced at $450 through JustArtPottery.com

A few years back, if you paid too much for a good piece of Rookwood, Grueby, Newcomb or even Roseville pottery, all you had to do was wait a week or so and it would prove to have been a bargain. Noting the results showing at auctions, as well as on eBay, I think those times have changed. In fact after discussing this with a very good friend of mine in the business, he agreed. Good pottery will always be good, but as I checked some of my price guides I found that the pieces were bringing only 50% or less of what they did two years ago. The top spot in the market has gone into other areas such as Paintings, Folk Art (Decoys), Antique Guns and so many other items that today, are commanding record prices.

This isn't to discourage you from buying pottery but only a suggestion that before you do check current prices, and don't depend on the price guide. If you have become adjusted to the old prices on pottery, it may take a while for you to get accustomed to offering the lower prices, but after a while it will seem normal again. One reason for this market adjustment is that American Art Pottery has primarily been for the American Market, and as the economy has softened, so have the desire of collectors.

For some reason the Art Glass Market doesn't seem to have had this same result. I haven't noticed the same decline in glass as I have in pottery. But still keep your eyes open to see if this trend will begin in glass as well. Over the last forty years, I have seen this type of cycling in the marketplace. Twenty some years ago, you couldn't give paintings away, but today, they are setting records at every auction.

Years ago, in the basement of a home I was called to, were 500 or more pieces of Roseville pottery in all the valuable patterns. I did buy some of them, but if I wanted to, I could have filled my pickup for less than $1,000. At the peak of the Roseville market, I might have been able to reture on what that collection would have sold for, but today, that purchase might have been just an average day’s work.
It’s important to keep your eyes on the next great thing collectors are searching for. While many items have decreased over the last year, Lotton Glass, for example has more than doubled on the secondary market, and might just be getting started its rise.

Political Memorabilia is one collecting area that I’ve been sharing with you recently, and the next several years should be great area of focus. If you are a member of the 31 Club, (and if you’re not, why not?) you’ll notice that the same old standard items didn't make my “What's Hot List”. In fact, I’ll guess that there are even a few items on this list you’re not familiar with. . I do have a confession to make, however. I included Roseville on this list because I thought it might recover from the beating it’s taken over the last few years due to reproductions coming onto the market. I might have been a little early in my prediction.

You may want to widen your horizon and begin including Asian and European items in your search list. With the dollar so weak, it wouldn't hurt to court the overseas market as part of your plan. Remember, the plan is to buy right. To do this, staying current with the markets is of the upmost importance.

Don’t just follow the daily Blog. Join with like-minded 31 Club Members. Turbo charge your treasure hunting. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets. Learn to build a bank account to last a lifetime, buying and selling antiques, fine art, and collectibles. My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership. The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

Visit our Website, here.

Daryle Lambert: When is the Right Time to Sell

Whenever you make a great buy, how much profit should you hold out for? No one can tell you the answer to that question on every purchase, but I can give you some suggestions.

It has been over a year since I started working with a person to sell two Andy Warhol prints: a Howdy Doody and a Witch. About that time it looked like they were pretty much sold, the party wanted to raise the asking price. Since they belonged to that person, they had every right to do it, but was it wise?

Let's examine the facts. When we first offered these, the bid price was $20,000 for the Howdy and $15,000 for the Witch. I suggested that we price them at $27,000 and $22,000. You see, the market was going up, and it wasn't time to sell them at the bid. It wasn't long before I got a call saying that the prices on the prints were going up more, and we should raise the price on them. Tell me something new. So we raised them to $28,500 for the one and $35,000 for the other. The Witch traded places with the Howdy, and surpassed it in price. This price increase in prints was caused by auction prices for some of Warhol's paintings, such as the Cars that sold for $71,000,000. This had very little to do with the prints, however, and I was sure that their prices would start to decline in a short period of time..

Thinking that the market was being artificially raised, my suggestion was to sell them at the next offer. That was when I received a call from California from a gentleman that offered almost $40,000 for the Witch, which I gleefully presented to the seller. Much to my surprise the selling party now wanted to raise the price to near $60,000 for the one and $45,000 for the other. I no longer represent the selling party on the prints, but today I found out that the prices were dropping and now approaching the initial price we started at.

There are at least two reasons why the choice not to sell made no sense. First they where prints, and prints are faddish. Their value, more than likely, wouldn'tt pass the test of time. Second, what could the seller have done with the money if the prints had been sold? That money might have doubled or tripled by now had it been invested in other items. The old saying in the stock market is "Bulls make money and Bears make money, but Pigs go broke." You always sell into a rising market, and the best time to buy is when everyone else says don't buy now because everything is going to zero.

The game we are playing is buy and sell, and we do this over and over again. We are not looking for appreciation, because in our plan anything we purchase should be worth several times what was paid at the time of purchase. This means our money is active, and the risk is almost nil.

Don't get caught up in the excitement of the market place and forget the purpose of our plan.

Don’t just follow the daily Blog. Join with like-minded 31 Club Members. Turbo charge your treasure hunting. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets. Learn to build a bank account to last a lifetime, buying and selling antiques, fine art, and collectibles. My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership. The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

Visit our Website, here.

31 Club Antiques & Collectible Club is Growing

Through the 31 Club Associates Program, a 31 Club Member was able to participate in bidding for Carl Christian Brenner's "Birch Trees in Winter Sunset", at Kenneth W. Van Blarcom Auctioneers yesterday.

Yesterday, I bid on our first Associate’s Program Item. If you remember, the Associates Program is set up to help 31 Club Members make money on items they are not yet able to personally purchase. By partnering with us on these items, we can all come out ahead.

Our member, Jerry, came across a Carl Christian Brenner painting that looked promising, but he didn’t have the funds necessary to make this purchase alone. That’s when he called us. It was exciting being on the phone, bidding live for the painting. However, the bids on this painting went higher than our criteria for purchasing it would allow. Although I gave it a great college try, we were unsuccessful in obtaining this piece. Jerry said he would be on the lookout for more items to partner up on with the 31 Club in the future, and I hope more of you will take advantage of this program. It can be a big factor in moving forward.

Exciting things are happening at the 31 Club. Jeremy Peterson has just been accepted as our new Internet Specialist. He’ll be working alongside Chris and Cindy to bring you the best the internet offers. Having a Masters in Internet Technology certainly won’t hurt either.

Our new look should be up very quickly and I think that you will be extremely pleased with all the new features. By Jeremy joining us, Cindy and Chris will be able to concentrate on the frame work of our site and its content. I hope to spend more time writing and acquiring items to sell for the 31 Gang. We’re committed to winning the Million Dollar Race.

Now is the time to give us your suggestion on how to make The 31 Club better and more productive for you. What can we offer you that we’re overlooking.? E-mail us your suggestions. You will find that our market place will be expanding and this will be a great place for you to list items for sale because buyers will be searching us out as Jeremy broadens our exposure on the net.
Some of you who joined 31 Club through Amazon.com may not be receiving our e-mail newsletters. If you don’t receive newsletters, sign up, here. go onto our website home page and sign up for the newsletter.

Tomorrow, I hope to put to rest the belief that there are no longer treasures to be found by people like me and you. This story will get you off the couch and searching for treasures for your own inventory.

I am so pleased to see that e-mails I receive from members and readers are containing nothing but positive news. In fact, I haven’t read many negative articles about the Antiques and Collectible Markets for quite some time now. I think we have won over some converts.

Don’t just follow the daily Blog. Join with like-minded 31 Club Members. Turbo charge your treasure hunting. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets. Learn to build a bank account to last a lifetime, buying and selling antiques, fine art, and collectibles. My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership. The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

Visit our Website, here.

Daryle Lambert: Run Across Any Stamp Collections? What a Gift They Can Be.

Inverted Jenny, a 1918 US Stamp,known for its error, is Valued at $525,000 at famousstamps.org

Forget about the baseball cards, I wish that I had my stamp collection back. The stamps that were given to me as a young child might have been the fortune that got away.

When I was about twelve years old, my father walked out to his car one morning and was astonished to find an older man asleep in the back seat. My father woke him and asked if he needed help. In broken English, the man told him he was hungry. My family took him in, and Mr. Michael stayed with us for several weeks. We began to form a lasting bond with him. It seemed that he was of Greek origin and from a well to do family. However, he had run out of money and needed to reconnect with his family. After a few weeks, my father set him up in a hotel and tended to some of his other needs.

Mr. Michael soon pulled himself together and shared gifts with my family, some of which were several fabulous rifles that had silver and gold inlay. On today’s market, I’m sure they would bring over $25,000 apiece. He eventually left our town, but each Christmas, he sent enough frozen lobster and shrimp to feed an army, and this was a very special treat us. We were an average family at that time, and shrimp and lobster definitely wasn’t on our usual menu.

But, the best gift of all was a collection of Greek Stamp he gave to me. Every few months I received another delivery of the most beautiful stamps I’d ever imagined from Mr. Micheal. He also encouraged me to start collecting American Stamps, and I did. I wish that I knew what happened to this collection over the years.
The reason this comes to mind is that a friend asked if I could help her with her fathers stamp collection. As I started to do some research, my eyes popped out of my head because I recognized some of the stamps as being the same that were in my collection. In today’s market, their value had risen into the thousands.
At an auction house here in Chicago I saw a stamp collection auctioned that took several months to complete. One book sold for over $10,000. I wonder what was in that book.

I suggest that you watch the sales you attend for stamp collections. If my memory serves me well, most of my collection was from the early !900's thru the 1940's. I still run across collections regularly, and I can assure you if I think that they a worthy I will be picking them up. Be sure to check that the stamps aren't glued down on the pages but are connected by hinges. Every stamp that you find might not be a treasure, but it will only take one. And if you buy them cheaply enough, I assure you that you will be well rewarded.

To this day I still wonder what happened to Mr. Michael. One day he was just gone, as if he never was. I continued to ask my father about him, but there was never an answer. It was if he had disappeared off the face of the earth. I pray he is in Heaven.

Don’t just follow the daily Blog. Join with like-minded 31 Club Members. Turbo charge your treasure hunting. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets. Learn to build a bank account to last a lifetime, buying and selling antiques, fine art, and collectibles. My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership. The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

Visit our Website, here.


Today's Links:

http://www.famousstamps.org/

American Philatelic Society
http://www.stamps.org/

Auction Site Dedicated to Stamps:
http://www.stamps.org/

Box Lots at Auctions, Garage Sales & Estate Sales

Do you like surprises? This is the season when you can strike some good cash by looking into every box you see at estate sales, garage sales, yard sales and auctions. Many times, I have found real treasure in boxes when others passed them by as trash.

Unless the value of something is obvious, many people at auctions, house sales, and most often, at garage sales, fail to examine things that are in these box lots. I have learned a very important lesson by understanding that many times, when auction houses or homeowners are preparing a sale, anything that they don't recognize as valuable goes in a box, along with other items perceived to be of little value.

Remember what I've told you before -- that the knowledge we need comes to us by layering knowledge of one item upon the other. By studying, researching and experiencing this for ourselves. Now, think about the average person and about how much knowledge in the Antique and Collectibles field we might expect them to have. I think you'll agree most average people will have very limited knowledge at best. So, understand this, and look under every table, inside every box, and under every item in every box at every sale.

I have known people who found books worth thousands of dollars in boxes stuffed in a corner. They've found Indian Artifacts they've been able to sell for up to $10,000 that they purchased along with a box of miscellaneous items. The best I've seen was a purchase made by a friend of mine at a local auction I also attended. He came to me, shaking all over, after he had purchased a box lot of letters. We went to a corner of the room and he began to thumb through the letters, showing me the signatures. Each one was a personal letter written by Martin Luther King. Can you imagine what they are worth today? After a box lot is sold at an auction, it amuses me when I hear someone say, "Can you believe that brought $75? It was a bunch of junk." All the time the purchaser can barely contain their excitement over this find.

Cindy and I attended a sale last week and bought a few box lots. In one lot, there were several Mercury Candles plus a host of other things. When I got home, I checked the candles and realized that they should bring from $50 to $100. The whole box cost us $10, so there is a very good chance that the contents of the box could approach $200 to $300. I have said that we want to be buying the better things, but if you can accumulate enough items at one place to take you closer to the next step in your race to the one million dollars, don't hesitate to do it. Just don't make buying a host of small items your priority. However, money is money, and in some cases, it might take several items to get you to your next step.

Let's say your account is up to $50,000. You might have to spend $25,000 for one item, two items at $10,000 and then $1,000 on five more items to have spent it all. That is perfectly okay. You see, if you aren't successful at selling these items at retail or near retail and have to wholesale them at twice what you paid, the total will still be $100,000. And that will be another step toward your goal accomplished. But, what if there is a special piece among your purchases? The final total could take you past several steps. This is what I experienced when I purchased the Frederick Morgan painting for $16,000 and sold it for $115,000.

I'm eager to hear from more of our participants about their progress. Have you saddled up? Then, I want to hear from you, as do our other members.

Don’t just follow the daily Blog. Join with like-minded 31 Club Members. Turbo charge your treasure hunting. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets. Learn to build a bank account to last a lifetime, buying and selling antiques, fine art, and collectibles. My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership. The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

Visit our Website, here.

Stoneware Jugs Can Pad Your Pockets

31 Club member, Cecil, attended a very small flea market in Greenville Kentucky, when a gentleman approached him inquiring about one of the exhibitors. Cecil informed him that the person would be back to his booth very shortly. As he was passing on this information, Cecil noticed a stoneware jug the man was carrying. This jug didn't hold great interest for Cecil, but he asked if there was anything else he wanted to sell. This gentleman said he had several jugs in the car. Cecil hadn't noticed another man listening to their conversation and as they headed toward the car, the other man followed closely behind.

When the trunk was opened, Cecil found it filled with jugs of all descriptions. The first one Cecil eyed was a Louisville Kentucky gallon jug worth a couple of hundred dollars, but while he was examining it, the gentleman behind him picked up something from the wheel well, wrapped in newspaper. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see it was a quart jug from Hartford, Kentucky. The man asked the price and was told $100. He said, “Sold," and the piece had a new owner.

The size of the jug is important. Whiskey jugs basically come in three sizes: Gallon, ½ Gallon, and Quart. The general rule for jugs is the smaller the jug, the more expensive it is. Next in importance is the town it's from. The smaller the town, the higher the price. This is because fewer were produced in very small towns. Cecil was well aware of this, so when the other man walked off with a jug Cecil thought he should've had first dibbs on, he was not very pleased.

After Cecil was done looking through the trunk, he met up with the man who had just purchased the jug out from under him and ask if the jug was for sale, knowing that he had just purchased it for $100. “It really isn't for sale, but if you want, I'll will keep you in mind,” was the answer. Cecil confessed to me that he should have bought it right then and there at any price up to $1,500, but he just couldn't pull the trigger knowing that it should already be his at a $100. You see that jug will bring at least $2,000 on a bad day.

I learned that there are a few jugs even more valuable than this one. Keep your eye out for The Beaver Dam Kentucky Jug, because Cecil said if you find one, it will bring whatever price you ask. Watch for those whiskey advertising jugs. They bring good money as well. Uhl Pottery also put out a line of jugs at one time, and they bring a pretty penny, too.

A good book to learn more about these jugs and crocks is Antique Trader Stoneware and Blue & White Pottery Price Guide. It's available used on both Abesbooks and Amazon, however it's priced better today on Amazon.

Another fine bookAmerican Stoneware Wallace-Homestead Price Guide It's also priced better on Amazon than on Abesbooks.

Don’t just follow the daily Blog. Join with like-minded 31 Club Members. Turbo charge your treasure hunting. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets. Learn to build a bank account that last a lifetime with your profits. My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership. The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

See the fine paintings we have listed in our gallery like the Texas Bluebonnet painting by William A. Slaughter. Works from Robert Woods, William Horton, Tom Darro and more. Our Hannah Barlow decorated Doulton Lambeth Vase is superb. Take a look here.

Please Visit our Website.

Ironstone Can Be Easy Money

Antique Johnson Bros. Royal Ironstone China Chamber Pot available at Sea Witch Antiques for $179

Have you seen any stark white pitchers, plates, or platters at almost every sale you attend? We might even pass them by without a second thought. Some of us have poured buttermilk from these pitchers at out grandmother’s house. I know I did, so how valuable can they be? These items were used by farm families, and certainly not the upper class. But, you might be surprised at what the fetch in price today.

These common items were meant to be used daily back then. But, if you see any of these at the next sale you attend, it might be worth you while to take a look at them before you walk on by. Jug, Pitchers, Chamber Pots, (I doubt many people under the age of 30 know what one of these is] and Pitcher and Bowl sets are bringing fair money in today’s market. As I researched for this blog, I was amazed to find many pieces bringing $200 to $400. Some Ironstone is unmarked, but a lot of the pieces do have the word “Ironstone” on them. But, you won't have to worry about what it is. You’ll know it when you see it.

In England and America, starting about 1813, is where these pieces were made. A great number of companies produced ironstone in the early days, because these wares were needed for everday living. Companies such as Johnson Bros., Mason's, and Meaken Bros. were common household names to most people back then. Back when I was a youngster, broken pieces of ironstone were thrown into the gully, used to help stop erosion.

What’s interesting to note about Ironstone, is that somewhere along the line, a decision was made to decorate it to help fancy up the average household. When this happened, transferware was created to imitate the expensive painted pieces that most people couldn’t afford. Soon, these companies were making Chinese reproduction patterns in the famous Blue Willow and Flow Blue decorations.

If you think back, I said I would offer you examples that would help you in the early stages of your million dollar race. These are items that you can be used to buy, sell, and build up you cash account. The white pieces are still fairly and reasonably priced, so you can still turn them for the percentage profit we want to maintain. But, let me assure you, there are decorated items in the Ironstone that will bring well in excess of a $1,000. I've seen sets of plates in the Chinese patterns sell for as much as $125 a plate. When you buy 12 plates for $20 each, you’ll feel like you’re walking on air as you walk out the door of that house sale.

There are still items to purchase that will propel us along the way in our own individual race. Just remember that it isn’t a sprint. The first one out of the gate usually doesn’t win the race. I can see that old turtle now.

Don’t just follow the daily Blog. Join with like-minded 31 Club Members. Turbo charge your treasure hunting. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets. Learn to build a bank account that last a lifetime with your profits. My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership. The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

See the fine paintings we have listed in our gallery like the Texas Bluebonnet painting by William A. Slaughter. Works from Robert Woods, William Horton, Tom Darro and more. Our Hannah Barlow decorated Doulton Lambeth Vase is superb. Take a look here.

Please Visit our Website.

Treasure Under the Table in Yellow Ware

Yellow Ware Mocha Loving Cup, circa 1840. Photo from Martyn Edgell Antiques.

There's a new ending to Friday's Blog about our adventure to the estate sale. I’ve always told you to dig into every corner and look into every cabinet. Well, I took my own advice.

After packing up my purchase of Books and Depression Glass I decided to take one more look around just to make certain I didn’t pass anything up. Sure enough, just when it looked as if there wasn’t anything else for me to buy, I spotted two Yellow Ware bowls on the floor. I picked them up, realizing they might well be treasure at the price of $3. In all these people rushing around, the two yellow ware bowls went unnoticed by most. I snatched them up and handed those bowls to the attendant. As you get out more and more, you’ll see that the knowledge you’ve gained will come into play and pay great dividends if you are patient.

When I got home, I went right to my trusty Kovel's Price Guide. I estimate they are worth from $200 to $400 each. How’s that for a $3 purchase. Estimate that rate of return. I looked further into the Kovel’s Price Guide, I found that most Yellow Ware pieces will bring $200 or more. A pepper shaker, mold or flask could reward you with over $1,000.

The secret of compounding seems to have worked quit well at this house sale. In Friday’s Blog, I said our investment of $287 could bring as much as $2,000. With this new information on the Yellow Ware, I’ll have to raise the estimate to $2,400, possibly more.

Now, think with me here for a minute. $287 turned into $2,400. If I am able to just double the $2,400 with new purchases, I will have enhanced my bank account considerably, and could have $4,800 after deducting my cost for buying. Am I crazy, or is this simply amazing?

These simple things, when added together, can make you a believer in what we are teaching. Not getting rich quick, just getting rich. That’s our motto. Keep your Honesty, Integrity and Spiritual Purity and still receive all the blessings that God intends for you to have. I can’t think of a better way to live.

I encourage you to always do more research once you've read a Blog. For example, you might be asking yourself, "What exactly is Yellow Ware?" If you began researching it right after you finished reading the Blog, the time you spend researching is active time, and it will etch certain facts and pictures into your mind that you will be able to draw upon when you're out in the field.

Remember, if you spend a little time everyday studying and researching, this time of active study builds up information in your mind layer upon layer. I'll lead you and show you how to make money. But the activity of researching is what will build lasting knowledge. So, do a search on "Yellow Ware". Try googling it. Search it in Yahoo, or whatever you like to use. I'll start you out by telling you that Yellow Ware is a type of stonewear, and it's called Yellow Ware not because of a glaze color used, but because of the color of clay used to make it. See what else you can discover today.

Don’t just follow the daily Blog. Join with like-minded 31 Club Members. Turbo charge your treasure hunting. Learn Inside the Industry Secrets. Learn to build a bank account that last a lifetime with your profits. My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership. The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

See the fine paintings we have listed in our gallery like the Texas Bluebonnet painting by William A. Slaughter. Works from Robert Woods, William Horton, Tom Darro and more. Our Hannah Barlow decorated Doulton Lambeth Vase is superb. Take a look here.

Please Visit our Website.

Will You Find Diamonds or Rubies at Estate Sales?

#13 Giswold Cast Iron Skillet Sold for $925 on eBay on March 26, 2008

I checked the paper the other day and found a House Sale listing a Civil War Operating Table, so yesterday I made it out of the house early to check this out. Being from Kentucky, my mind told me that I might be the only person attending the sale who would have interest in this prize.

I arrived at the sale with my son, Joshua, and as we waited for Cindy to arrive, I began visualizing the purchase and sale of this table in my mind. I even visualized reporting this great find to you all in a Blog. When I entered the house, I immediately ran for the area where I was told this table was located. When I got there, my heart fell. This antique and highly collectible prize, already thought to me mine, had a price tag higher than the amount I had designated for the purchase. I’m sure Joshua and Cindy could see the disappointment in my face, but I tried to show a strong presence to them by saying I am sure there are other treasures here for us. I thought I was fooling myself, though. But, since we were already here, why not look around?

The first things I spotted were about 50 pieces of an amber Depression Glass set, I liked their price tag of $75. I asked if all the pieces were perfect. They were. I told the attendant I was willing to take the entire set for $60. He accepted that and this was the start of our shopping list. Next was a quick trip to the kitchen, where I found about 10 pieces of Griswold Cast Iron skillets and lids. At one time, I owned one of the largest collections of Griswold around. There were several skillet lids, skillets, and even a miniature. I quickly formed a large group of the pieces. I asked the attendant what these would cost me. He asked me what the tag showed. I told him that it showed $100, but I could give him $60. He added them to my list. This is when Cindy called me on my cell phone from an upstairs bedroom, so I was certain she found something. “I’m stranded up here, guarding some special books I don’t want to walk away from. It’s too many for me to carry,” she told me.

I went up there, and indeed she had found some great books, but there were tons more still on the bookcases. You should’ve seen the look in her eyes when I said, “Just start stacking them and I will carry as many as I can down the stairs. I’ll be back for the rest.” We did this until I must have carried 100 hundred books out of there, into the family room and plopped them down on a sofa.

But this story doesn't stop there. The family room had loads of bookshelves filled with more books. I dug in and by the time the two of us had finished there must have been 200 books on the living room couch. They were an assortment of books From Civil War books to Antiques and Collectibles, Fine Art, to Golf. There were so many that we had to take a blanket to cover them so that others would leave them alone. This helped, but I had to still tell several people that these books were sold.

Two pieces of Yellow Ware, some sewing items, a few advertising bottles, and a couple of Vintage Cigar Boxes completed our shopping. We might have missed the diamond, but I think we may well have found over $2,000 worth of rubies that we spent $287 on. It would have been very easy to just have walked away in disappointment. No, we didn't make $10,000. That will have to wait for another day.

Don’t just follow the daily Blog. Join with like-minded 31 Club Members. Turbo charge your treasure hunting today and start building a bank account big enough to last a lifetime. My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership. The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

See the fine paintings we have listed in our gallery like the Texas Bluebonnet painting by William A. Slaughter. Works from Robert Woods, William Horton, Tom Darro and more. Our Hannah Barlow decorated Doulton Lambeth Vase is superb. Take a look here.

Read Up On The 31 Club Here.

Visit our website here.

Please leave a comment. If you don't want to sign in, just use the ANONYMOUS button. Chime in and participate! -- Daryle Lambert

Tobacco Collectibles Spell Money

Antique Dutch Silver Snuff Box Sold on eBay for $9,660 on March 17, 2008

Yesterday, I said that I would continue for a few day sharing things that will get you started on the journey to your million dollars in antiques & collectibles and help you get past your early steps of the 31 Steps. So,I’m continuing today.

Most people like to have things in their homes that remind them of trips they’ve taken or events that proved to be of great pleasure to them. Items we used in our everyday life are also items that bring back warm memories, and people will collect these. These items often end up in garage or house sales and can be purchased reasonably, then flipped for a fair profit.

There certainly are pieces of advertising that bring in tens of thousands of dollars to be found, but today I will be introducing you to some you are more likely to find.

I would suggest that anything associated with smoking and tobacco will be collected for the next 20 – 50 years. The reason for this is that smoking is going the way of so many other things that were common place fifty years ago, but today they barely exist. With that in mind, let’s examine what some of these articles might be.

The value of old plugs of chewing tobacco with the paper labels might surprise you. The same might be said of an unopened pack of cigarettes from the early days. In fact cigar boxes often command some serious money because of the wonderful designs that decorate these boxes. Let’s not forget the pipe tobacco bags and tins that are eagerly sought after or even the early snuff boxes that most women wouldn't leave the house without.

There are ashtrays, matches, tobacco cutters, posters, tin signs, cigarette papers, cigar labels, and mirrors. And I am just getting started. I would like to list the value of all these things but it is easier just to tell you to look under advertising in the Kovels price guide you should already have purchased. There is a also a nice book by Warman's called Tobacco Collectibles that I would highly recommend. You will be able to find many books on this subject by checking the companies at we are affiliates with, Abebooks, Amazon, and Schiffer Collector’s Books.

So many of the items that fall into this category can be purchased very inexpensively through Abebooks and Amazon when you buy them used, so please check these. We appreciate those who purchase through our affiliate because it helps keep this Blog running.

I’ll be adding these items to my next “What's hot List.” Even items you can find on the cheap at garage, house and yard sales that canturn out to be quite valuable.

When I was little, I use to pick up cigar labels and pretend that they were rings. You would naturally ask what value is there in paper labels that when the cigar is finished. Wouldn’t they just be thrown away. But, cigar labels can bring up to $2,000 or more in today’s market. How about tin signs that advertise Tobacco products? Would you believe that certain signs bring over $5,000 and by placing it in the right auction, many times that.

There was a time when the most important thing I owned was my marbles and guess where I kept them? In Tobacco tins, of course. These tins today may bring $5,000, $10,000 or even more. Do you still have questions as to why I would ask you to search for these lowly items? I think that Tobacco collectibles are a treasure trove for the ones searching for them.

It could be well worth your while to become very knowledgeable in the area of tobacco related items, especially ones that included advertising.

Don’t just follow the daily Blog. Join with like-minded 31 Club Members. Turbo charge your treasure hunting today and start building a bank account big enough to last a lifetime. My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership. The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

See the fine paintings we have listed in our gallery like the Texas Bluebonnet painting of William A. Slaughter. Works from Robert Woods, William Horton, Tom Darro and more. Our Hannah Barlow decorated Doulton Lambeth Vase is superb. Take a look here.

Read Up On The 31 Club Here.

Visit our website here.

Please leave a comment. If you don't want to sign in, just use the ANONYMOUS button. Chime in and participate! -- Daryle Lambert

Vintage Sunglasses Can Prepare You for Summer

Vintage Chanel sunglasses sold for $620 on eBay. There were 19 bids.

I was asked by many of our members to tell them about more items that might be purchased at a reasonable sum to get them started, so that's what I’ll do over the next couple of Blogs. Yes, $10,000 or $50,000 treasures are waiting to be discovered, but while we're working our way up and preparing ourselves to be ready for them, why not have some fun and make a little profit for ourselves in the mean time?

Today, I stumbled upon something I hadn’t been aware of, while I was on my way to look up something else. I love when this happens because it can open up a whole new world. I think this discovery can be an item that can help you get through your early steps of the 31 Steps and put some good money in your bank account. I discovered the price of Vintage sunglasses.

So, I went to eBay, as they seem to be the first place I usually go to for my initial search. Low and Behold! There were sunglasses selling for $800 or more, and many of the vintage pairs were bringing $300 to $400 a pair. How many of these pairs of glasses have I ignored in my search? It seems that I am getting a good education for myself by posting this Blog for you. And, I'm sure enjoying each new scrap of information I’m adding to my data bank. I also hope that you can see by my writing that I am still following the principles I have set out for you. I believe that in the next 60 days or so, one or more of you will be writing me about that great find you’ve made in a pair of sun glasses bought for fifty cents to five dollars and then sold for $300-$500.

Some of the things I will be sharing with you might not be found in price guides, but through research on the web, you will find prices for most of them. As I said, a great place to start is eBay or other sites like Online Auction (ola.com).

By the way, I got an E-mail from a very nice gentleman today by the name of Dan Brownell. Dan is with the Book Division of Krause Publications, the publishers of Antique Trader. Turns out, he is a regular reader of this Blog. He also shared with me that a new price guide for Beanie Babies will be coming out in August.

As the weather warms and the garage sales start increasing in number, be sure to check for vintage sunglasses. And don’t forget the other items I’ve written about to help you get through the early steps, like vintage toys and comic books, Beanie Babies to name a few.

Don’t just follow the daily Blog. Join with like-minded 31 Club Members. Turbo charge your treasure hunting today and start building a bank account big enough to last a lifetime. My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership. The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

See the fine paintings we have listed in our gallery from artists like Robert Woods, William A. Slaughter, William Horton, Tom Darro, and more. Our Hannah Barlow decorated Doulton Lambeth Vase is superb. Take a look here.

Read Up On The 31 Club Here.

Visit our website here.

Please leave a comment. If you don't want to sign in, just use the ANONYMOUS button. Chime in and participate! -- Daryle Lambert

Be sure to watch this Video on Collectible Sunglasses from Antique Trader. Click on Brimfield.

Beanie Who? Beanie Babies May be Back.

This Beanie Baby bear recently sold for $500 on eBay.

I thought the Beanie Baby craze was over, but I was wrong. I recently looked at eBay and found beanie babies bring in some big bucks. Some are over a thousand dollars. The Royal Blue Peanut the Elephant, 1995, sold for $1,000. You can check these for yourself in the Completed Listings.

I guess I could plead temporary insanity, because last year I bought three large boxes of Beanie Babies from a house sale and then gave them away to some under privileged children at a Christmas party I went to. I thought they would make great gifts. Because I got about 250 of them for $25, I was able to give more gifts. No, I guess I didn’t lose my mind. The excitement and and smiles on their faces as they plowed through those boxes was a joy to see. I know I did the right thing. I only wished I had had another 1,000 Beanie Babies to give away that day.

Another time, I was called into a house where again there were several hundred Beanies. The woman gave them to me for a trip my friend Colin and I were taking up to visit the Lakota Souix tribe in South Dakota. We packed them all up and off we went. Colin loves the reservation, and members of the Lakota Sioux tribe have taken him in as a member. I think he has made over thirty trips there in the last 5 or 6 years. The Native American children were thrilled so see these cute little animals and gathered them up by the handful.

But back to my point about these collectibles. It seems that to the collector, these fuzzy little creatures still have value. But to the public at large, they are a thing of the past. This, then, is the perfect storm for us. Buying large quantities of the Beanies in one location can help you reap a great harvest. You may or may not find one of the $1,000 Beanies, but still, many others are selling for $70 or $80 dollars on eBay today.

What if you bought 100 of these little creatures for $2.00 apiece and sold them at an average of $8.00, what would that have done for you? Lets see 100 times $8.00 equals $800 minus the cost of $200 for a net profit of $600. Three times your money. Yes, that definitely meets the goal of doubling our money and it takes us one step closer the the finish line in our Million Dollar Race. Who would have thought it was possible with these little bears?

The shipping on these creatures would probably be less than $5. However, if you wanted to get paid a little for your labor, a $2 add on might be justified. This would push your profit up to $800, or four times your investment. Instead of putting this money in the bank for them to profit from, just go and spend the money one more time. At a four times return, you will have $12,800 in your bank account. That might even start paying for a college education for one of your kids.

You have heard me say that we want to move up to the rare and unusual as quickly as we can, but you may want to stop along the way and pick up a few of these little creatures. Right now I think it would make great sense. This could prove to be an excellent way to spend your first $100.

Don’t just follow the daily Blog. Join with like-minded 31 Club Members. Turbo charge your treasure hunting today and start building a bank account big enough to last a lifetime. My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership. The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

See the fine paintings we have listed in our gallery from artists like Robert Woods, William A. Slaughter, William Horton, Tom Darro, and more. Our Hannah Barlow decorated Doulton Lambeth Vase is superb. Take a look here.

Read Up On The 31 Club Here.

Visit our website here.

Please leave a comment. If you don't want to sign in, just use the ANONYMOUS button. Chime in and participate! -- Daryle Lambert

Ebay Still Fighting Hard in the Wrong Direction

Ebay Fights Back with New Promotion

Several months ago, I wrote a Blog about what I thought eBay was going to do. First I said they might do away with the listing fees all together, but instead, they raised them in a very deceptive manner after their leader left. I think now they are beginning to see that their listers have seen through their crafty manuever.

EBay is a wonderful company that is going in the wrong direction. It is a mature company that needs to think about giving back to their stockholder, for their patience, as the stock continued to grow. But it is no longer a growth stock whose earnings are going to quadruple every year. At this time, they need to service the customers they have accumulated since their inception and give them reason not to jump ship.

EBay sent out e-mails this week promoting one cent listing fees, but they come with several conditions, and none of them are in the best interest of the customer. Why not do the right thing and just eliminate the listing fees altogether instead of squeezing every last dime out of their customers they possible can?

EBay stock has been a cash cow for its investors over many years, but over the last six months, they’ve seen the stock drop by 25%. In fact, the last several years haven't been that great for eBay stock holders. Its price has declined 50% since January, 2005. Do I still admire what they have accomplished? Yes. I just wish that they would realize who and what they are, and be responsible to the many people that depend upon their service and who have helped make them successful by their support.

EBay might think they are not replaceable, but they are. And, as I predicted months ago, their competition is coming at them from every direction. One of my favorites is Online Auction, http://www.ola.com/. If you are doing consistent business, you might want to look at their program. Another is Blackwells Live Auctions, however I’m not sure they have worked out the bugs in their program yet. Another interesting auction site for antiques and art is igavel.com. I encourage you to take a look at these other companies.

Please don’t get me wrong about eBay. The purpose of writing this Blog isn't to knock eBay but to hopefully show them that we are all very concerned. I encourage the 31 Club members to take advantage of all the specials eBay offers, if they are to their advantage. But, if after using these specials, eBay’s regular program doesn’t present the best deal, be sure to be flexible and check your options.

Ebay has the most capable people outside of eBay who have been supporting them for years, like Skip McGrath, Terry Gibbs and Gary Henderson just to mention a few. By helping other people to learn their way around the eBay system quickly and getting thousands of individuals and merchants up and running efficiently, they have helped support eBay's growth. But what support so they receive from eBay?

If we all worked together for the good of the customer, there will be room for all. But if we get greedy, the market will most assuredly replace us.

So, while eBay is still putting up a fight, I don’t think they are quite ready to surrender. But I don’t think the last chapter is in yet. And I have hope for this fine company.

Don’t just follow the daily Blog. Join with like-minded 31 Club Members. Turbo charge your treasure hunting today and start building a bank account big enough to last a lifetime. My 220 page book, 31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles is FREE with your membership. The book is also available on Amazon.com. If you buy the book on Amazon, then the membership is FREE.

See the fine paintings we have listed in our gallery from artists like Robert Woods, William A. Slaughter, William Horton, Tom Darro, and more. Our Hannah Barlow decorated Doulton Lambeth Vase is superb. Take a look here.

Read Up On The 31 Club Here.

Visit our website here.

Please leave a comment. If you don't want to sign in, just use the ANONYMOUS button. Chime in and participate! -- Daryle Lambert

Consolidated Glass - Ruba Rombic, Martele and The Valuable Lalique Look-Alike

Ruba Rombic Vase. Photo from The Metropolitan Museum of Art