H&M Boots

On Sunday two weeks ago I went on an errand outside my neighbourhood, to the closest shop only open there. Just before one of the bridges to pass I saw a pair of muddy boots neatly placed beside a garbage dump, passed by thinking bad condition but then stopped and went back for inspection after all. Turned out they were intact enough for recycling shop and my €10 cents a kilo.

But after washing they looked more then good and moreover my size and taste! Zippers and elastic parts are looking great. On top they are fairly wide in the front, giving my old sensitive toes space and I don't feel my metatarsal bones cracking.

Downside I found out when taking pictures... The hole in the sole is in the same place on both sides, so not caused by stepping into something sharp or so. It's wear from not even that much walking if you look at the good state of the upper material which is not even real leather. Now I don't know yet if they will leak in the rain and if that's why they were thrown away but I'll find out the hard way. 

We'll see later this year since for now it's barefoot sandal time on a pair I found last year. To be shown.

So for now they are a keep, but please H&M, can you make shoes that have solid soles for the same price?

Another Laundry Basket

Found somewhere 2024 in front of the door. Looking brand new. Brand sticker Allibert was still on but in the end washed off by the rain. Waited in in my backyard until May this year for finally getting photographed and the necessary clean-up needed in the meantime to list it. Offered cheap it still took a second relisting before today it was finally picked up at almost half price from what I asked. It doesn't matter. € 2,50 cash in my pocket and it's gone and rescued! I would have gladly given it to the thrift shop but clumsy to transport on my bicycle even though a short trip. It was the second succesful sale of this product after this one.

Ordex Magazine Basket

This is a brand sold by Lidl, and it all costs next to nothing. Poor chance selling it on line. Couldn't find out how I lost it but finally found out on old paper admin I sold it on the last market I did with my friend, August 2018. Before in 2019 she had a hernia and burned herself holding a pan of boiling water. Then 2020 Covid came and there were no markets. Then she finally got retirement money from the government. And I was working almost full time again. And that's why I don't do markets anymore.

Got €1, good enough for what it is.

Foldable Storage Box

I still have this. Unsold after trying for a short period in 2018. The box is intact, but the surface shows wear. Possibly a cheap Action or other 'one dollar' store product and people expect perfection or will otherwise buy new for not much more.

Holding stuff now I didn't look at for years.  Decided to send it over to thrift shop this week. Too bad because I like it, but I shouldn't be needing extra strorage boxes taking place anyway. Will be a challenge to empty it, but transport will be easy as I can undo the poppers and make it flat.

IKEA Marius Stools

Sold today €4 the set. Cheap stools from IKEA. Not even comfortable to sit on, because of the holes. They look cute though and are practical for parties. Second hand available all over the place. New at the shop only €4,99 each. Taken from in front of the door two years ago or more, finally listed them early August. There were some people interested who I then never heard back from but never mind, I just had to wait for the right person who wanted to come over within hours and at a time I was home as well. Quite happy with this sale and a tiny bit more space in my house. Mind you picked up trash this afternoon...

IKEA Dokument Waste Paper Basket

Today I had my second sale of a curb find since I restarted listing on line. A recent find from across the street. Nothing special, just a wire bin for little cash but the thing is the IKEA Dokument home office supplies line is out of sale so I thought someone might be interested. Mind you they had a triple document or letter tray that looks close to this one, that I currently have three of at the thrift shop and they just won't go. But moreover I hoped someone would just go for the colour. Well the young man that came to pick it up today looked normal, but somehow had the appearance of one who'd love candy pink. Just fine with me!

I also sold a cast iron pan but that was my own. But it looks like things are starting to move again. Must kick myself to get listed more. I still have enough stuff.

Retro Kitsch Plastic Picture Frames

My dog walking neighbour brought me this frame, to sell not for the picture of course. Or maybe not. Because though a horrible thing in my point of view and it's all plastic (most likely made in China or so) it was pretty intact and where I had hoped for a bid of €5, within days someone offered €15 and payed quickly. I had to pack it up and ship it but no problem, costs covered. It sure made my day 2017-01-21!

A bit confused with this one. Also from my neighbour. In admin it says kitsch mirror from Xenos. But I find only this frame. No mirror in it.

Smaller, but with glass, and somewhat more tasteful. Found and sold €5 more or less same period.

Rubbermaid Yellow Laundry Basket

As of today I'm still using the pale yellow laundry basket that I found in the trash 1987 or so still inhabiting the previous apartment. The blue one is somewhere in my yard collecting dirt. I'll have to clean it and inspect it one of these days to see if it's salable, or maybe good for thrift shop. The grey one is holding 'stuff' I don't need. As an extra I have the pink wicker basket I couldn't get rid of.

I easily got rid of this umpteenth. Listed end of Februari 2017, sold €3 03-22. Fair price, the cheapest I found on line right now was €18 and smaller!

Wicker Basket Nr X

Despite some minor damage, saved from destruction €2 October 2017. Just glad it found a home.

Dishwashing Rack

Who'd buy this second hand by internet? Well I had people in the thrift shop looking for one one and had to sell no, because simply that day not available. So you look on line and someone three streets away from you offers one and you can come pick it up for €1. That was me and someone nearby saved money and the environment by buying something that would have been destroyed otherwise instead of brandnew.

Two Miffy Bags

These simple bags look inexpensive, maybe not even worth listing but as I explained before, Miffy is Nijntje in The Netherlands, so if they are marked Miffy they must have come from abroad. To my surprise I sold the set after a week €4.

Cheap Pillar Candle Holder

One of those fairly crappy things from shops like Action or Xenos produced by poorly paid people far away from Europe. Made to look shabby chic industrially, so fashionable at the time around 2017. But look even the top is in plastic. 

Found by my neighbour on dog walking tour. Sold after six weeks €5. Hopefully better loved by new owner then the one who trashed it.

Three Very Cute Baskets

Flat multi-purpose baskets, but perfect to make closet or wardrobe organizers, lined and decorated. Cheaply made in a country far away from the Western world, by a very poorly payed worker. Stuff I honestly think shouldn't exist. But better resold than incinerated immediately. Even though cotton and wicker leaves just clean ashes.

There wasn't even a brand mark on them. Wonder where and how cheaply they were sold new, so I was pretty suprised to get even €10 for the set.

Cheap IKEA Floor Lamp

Here's an example of a product that honestly I think should have never been produced. IKEA. I don't say all they sell is crap. If you look around on my blog you can see I found adn sold a lot of nice IKEA stuff. But for me this is an example of fooling people.

First sight said: cute! That's why I took it in. But though the glass base looks stable, the pole is very thin and light weight, its attachment to the base was feeble and therefore likely to tilt. The shade closing with poppers, was fragile and after waiting for so long in my place for a buyer, somehow it damaged and I finally retrashed the whole thing. It's sad, but my idea is that someone who can't afford a better quality new floor lamp can better look second hand in the first place, or just temporaly do without.

Some Small Stuff To Finish Off 2018 Curb Finds

Cute little flower pot. Folkloric art, maybe Eastern Europe. Brought home from a holiday perhaps. We get plenty of stuff like it in the thrift shop. Sells okay there. I don't remember what happened to this one. Not in sales administration.

Carrier basket sold by Lidl. I know because they have that brand. Bad quality, very cheap. Glue of lining was getting loose. Landed unused in my street. Also never sold. Maybe ended up in giveaway shop.

Ikea baby chair. This one was well used, but still stable enough for another life. Found May 2017, but finally sold January 2018 €2,50.

Plastic Laundry Container

This came from across the street in mint condition. It's a 50/60 l bin for laundry. I suppose there's one in every household. Supposed to be useful indeed. Could have kept it for me. But I don't want one anymore.

In my place, it turned out that textiles that raise the question: 'do I still want to wash this or should it go to recycling?' tend to clogg to bottom of the bin. And other mess somehow ends up in  it.

I never bought one though. Not such an important thing to spend money on in my life. 

But once I won one like this in a contest. It was huge. A cotton bag some 80 by 80 cm hung from a wooden frame. It was way before internet age so I wanted to keep it and somehow I found room for it. Can't guarantee the cotton was eco. It ended up being birth place for kittens in 2001. Of course after that I moved mama and babies to a more practical box. I trashed it in 2005 when we temporarily had to move out for the renovation.

Years later I found one like this. With bent sides and the lid crooked and not closing well, not to sell, but in bright orange I thought it would bring a colourful touch to my kitchen. Same thing happened. Not using it the way I should use it. It went back to trash. And then it was a crappy product that wasn't made to last that makes me think 'why'? I'm back to where I started as a young person. Laundry goes straight into the machine. When it's full I wash.

Still wonder why the one I sold was trashed. But it found a new home quickly at €5. Couldn't find it back on internet but not bad if you think comparables go new between €12-20.

Curver Landry Basket

We arrived at this item photographed August 1, 2018. Don't know when it sold, I didn't even bother to administrate it. But I'm sure it was picked up at the door by someone fairly soon after.

Curver is a renowned brand that some people prefer to buy second hand than something new from Action or so for not much more.

More From 2016 Part II - GN Container

I quickly continue my list of old sales, because I hope to be finished when market season starts again which will be in two weeks. Be prepared for another mix of more and less interesting objects, but be amazed at what people throw out and found new good use on line.

A thing from a food serving unit. It took some work to find them on line and how the pros describe them but it turned out to be a GN container. Once I new that I found a market sales man who just needed it. Perfect!

A vintage 1970’s camping cooler. Don’t you love the colours? LOL. But I recently sold a newer one and it wasn’t the same strong quality. I just hope the young man who took it takes well care of it.

A set of Arcopal bowls, but not vintage. Well they may be old, but the model is still available allbeit wholesale only. To the same family who bought the 1970's bowls in 2015. I suppose they own a small restaurant.

A handbag by DKNY. Lots of hassle with teenage bidders on this one. You just don’t want to deal with kids who change their mind all the time. In the end I simply sold it to a lady who probably cared more for the model than the logo. At least I know she wasn’t a kid because she sent her plus minus 16 year old son to pick it up.

A plastic trash can, medium size. To a nurse, I don’t know if it was for work or home. She threw more coins in my hand than I had asked for and rushed off. I only noticed when I was back inside.

A 6 liter soup pan from a popular shop. The Man used it once but didn’t like it. They are indeed inexpensive, light weight and they don’t last. But apparently Dutch housewives love them. They use them up and buy again. It was gone within ten days. Well don’t I know pots and pans fly out? Regardless of quality.

A wire cat/pet carrier. This is a very old model they don't make anymore. I borrowed one once and my cats freaked out in it.

It's somewhat handy though because of the wide door and pull-out bottom. Perhaps it was bought for another small animal, but I've got no idea. I shipped it and buyer communication was strictly business.

A large, silly but still cute piggy bank. The bottom cork was missing but I managed to fix it with some kind of foamy stuff I found a few days after I took piggy home. To a student who looked a bit too old for it, perhaps for donations at a party or event or something.

And another plastic trash can. Why not, I thought after the first success. To a French girl.

IKEA Gyllen wall lamp. Out of sale in the shop, I saw an enourmous offer of replacement glass fronts on Ebay, the base is harder to find. Needless to say it sold quickly. The shipping was a bit of a challenge but it arrived safely.

A mop bucket. I gave selling this a try because it has some sort of sophisticated wringer and I succeeded. And I'm always happy to rescue plastic anyway.

I'm going to round it up now:

I passed a spot that I only do when I'm kind of eager to find new stuff. I saw a large Ikea blue bag with books, mainly English titles and a large box with board games. I had to make a choice, only one could come with me. I decided on the books because foreign titles mean less competition and I had no experience with selling games. After dragging the load home I was too tired to go back. However I tried my luck the next day and the box was still there!

The Monopoly sold within 24 hours for a great price. Again, students. I was happy to conclude that the university or college kids apparently still enjoy board game parties.

The offer of Monopolies on the local classifieds was pretty large, but a lot of them were adapted modern kids' versions, so I profited of having the classic and of course being in a university town. 

Underneath was the MAD game, in equally great condition. It took a bit longer but was finally sold for the same purpose as the Monopoly I think.

The third game was a Master Mind, but its box was torn and I dropped that off at free pick-up centre.