Artificial Intelligence

My friend found this pet bed in October last year on a Friday morning and an hour later had a very happy cat. I had seen it on the Wednesday before, my working day in the shop. So she  asked me why I didn't take it. Answer: this 15 year old cat of mine is stubborn and prefers places in mess in weird corners. And changes every day.

Just a week later I found the same thing, different colour in front of my door. Took in to sell, but it needs washing. Left in a corner and stayed there for months. Stuff piled up on it. Then shortly when moving out things to make place for the 1960's chair I relocated it. Then only some empty plastic bags on top. I think somehow this afternoon those attracted his attention an he went to sleep on top. Later on when he woke up and wanted to eat I removed those and some stuff that was still underneath. And then after his usual hour of sitting on me when it was time to move upstairs I gently placed Mister in the bed and he was happy to stay there.

For as long as it lasts. We can always sell later.

The point of this little story is: Normally I look up products that I want to sell on internet by brand if possible. I never did any research about this kind of pet beds before I made a post about my friend's find on the Facebook page of the thriftshop. Still the next day I started to see advertisings as a washable dog bed available in various sizes about the product.

So just based on a photo. Not any text I typed. See here if you read Dutch. I do not like. AI should be your choice to use. This is forcing it on me where I don't want it.

Extra Large Litter Tray Savic Nestor Jumbo

I found this just five days ago in front of my door. Tossed on top of the bulk trash pile half upside down looking like trash as well. Totally intact and almost new at closer look.

 

And a cute cat's doormat hidden inside.

I looked it up and found it's available new at lowest retail price €31,99. I listed it €10 set no bidding no bargaining and got it. Very nice lady came today and I had to hear the whole story about the old cat, how after his passing away they cleaned up the tray but then the top cracked, and now, long after they have two new kittens. And using the roofless tray make a lot of mess of course.

I just love it when buyers don't just pay and walk off and I take all my time to listen. 

Mind you, yesterday I had to go to a supermarket just outside my neighbourhood to get what was out of stock in mine. And on the way back I saw the exact same litter tray parked by a sidewalk... Unfortunately, with my bike loaded already no way to take it home and even then. But made me think: maybe another cat owner who found out that a huge tray is nice for the cat but takes too much place in a city apartment?

My customer came from outside of town by car, half an hour ride, so I take it she lives in a house that has enough place.

I see loads of litter boxes in the trash all around but normally I never take them. They are clumsy things to bring home. But it always makes me wonder why they were trashed. My own is a 35 year old non fancy model that generations of cats have used and my current one is happy enough with.

Dog Bed #4

I found this early August in a corner nearby that is used by some people as a sort of giveaway place, but apart from some consumables I didn't like so left for others so far the only things I took were a broken electric device and some clean but not very interesting clothes (jeans if I remember well) brought to the recycle shop for the kilo price. Therefore I consider the place as a trash dump after all.

This wicker dog bed is not trash though. It has some minor issues and is not shiny new, but still firm and for years to last. At this size (70 cms wide) it may be a major attack to the budget of a dog owner. But knowing I wouldn't get the nice €25 I got for the one in this post I set the price at a fixed €10. Shortly in the second listing period earlier tonight I could make an appointment with someone fom my town for pick-up tomorrow morning.

Knowing dog beds always go it was a matter of waiting: This smaller wicker one went quickly, as well as this fabric little thing for a mini dog.

Brandnew Cat Litter Box

Don't look at the dirty floor: it's the Man's apartment upstairs. But the litter box is clean. So clean our Marie wanted to show her gratitude by sleeping almost a whole day in it!

Found in front of the door not long after Man's darling Pepe passed away. Pepe hated the roof so we got rid of that. But my new girls, coming upstairs more often after that spreaded the stones from the open box all over the kitchen floor. Soon I found this practically unused luxury model in front of the door. It even had a sort of grid on the bottom but we don't need it because we use the clump-forming litter. They don't even mind the door and I like the flip open half top. Helps to see quickly if cleaning is needed.

For reference here's Pepe, proudly sitting on the cat stairs from years ago. By now retrashed. The wood had become too rotten. You can see one step is outt already. My darlihgs of the time, Oskar and Cézar, long gone. But this brings back good memories. In the background here on the shed roof, Thomas, now 14 but still around.

Dog Beds

I was getting a bit confused over all the wicker dog beds that I found and sold, as two of them looked so much alike. But I figured it out. First there was this one that I sold at a very handsome €25. But there was a special story.

https://trashcollector.blogspot.com/2016/01/

Then this one sold €5 September 2016.

https://trashcollector.blogspot.com/2017/05/a-haggler-of-buyer-just-ruined-my-day.html

Please scroll down to find if you have the patience.

And the last, same thing I think. But my angle of the shot is different. Found March 2017, sold May also €5.

Candy Pink Sprayed Basket

I still have this, found April 2017. It wouldn't go, although in good shape that colour is... You got me. Though I have others (except the big wicker one in that old post) I use it for laundry at times, cats sleep in it once in a while and it's starting to show some more wear (sharp nails helping). Maybe someday it will land in the yard just for them. Untill it falls apart. But then it will have had a good second life.

Mini Dog Bed

More 2018 from in front of my door. As I worked two part time jobs of which one in the evening, I had stopped trash tours.

Mint condition dog bed for chihuahua, York Shire terrier or otherwise handbag sized dog. Photographed August 6, sold and shipped August 20. 

More From 2016 Part V - Maxi Hoho

A haggler of a buyer just ruined my day who wanted a load of things for next to nothing. Sorry but I don't go cheaper on cheap and you can go to hell with your charity bbq-party. I am my own charity and I really want to sell to people who want something for themselves and keep it for a while. So I better sit down and write another post about such sales that made me feel good. I just don't feel like saying a lot. Well you can just look at the pictures and enjoy.

A small fold-up dog bench, bed included.

A large storage box made of woven cloth.

An extra large tray, marks of usage included.

A weird lamp. Another huge thing. I still don't know if I like it or not.

Another bottle with ear, but of a cheap make and not vintage. Sold the same day.

A plastic dish rack. Well perhaps it's some kind of designer label that my buyer recognized and I didn't. She paid about six times the sales price to get it shipped to Belgium.

I promise this will be last trash bin on the blog for a while. I'm just amazed that they go.

A stainless steel mixing bowl.

A climbing helmet. I was about to accept first bid, but the double amount was offered minutes later. Turned out both were members of the same group planning on a mountain climbing trip.

A mirror in a bamboo frame.

IKEA Hutten wine bottle racks. I had the one for years, but thought it was useless listing it knowing what they cost in the shop. The set was gone within a few days. Difference in height probably due to slight changes in design.

A very rusty lantern. The more rust the better sometimes. This sold very quickly too as most garden stuff.

A pile of an obscure 1970-s magazine. Man had them in his apartment since before selling trash times and I had forgotten until he presented them to me.

A Head tennis racket. Case included.

Another wicker dog bed.

Another item from the March big loot.

IKEA Finntorp dish rack. Funny items to sell after all. Sold one this year already and one will get picked up tomorrow.

And this is a stool with storage space inside. Kind of weird shape isn't it? I think it's 1990-s.

Getting tired now, but I feel a bit better. Thanks for looking!

More From 2016 Part IV - Peugeot GL 10 Moped

I found a large amount of IKEA Rondo crockery a long time before I finally listed it last year because I thought to replace my mismatch with it. I ended up not using it because I kept reaching for the few old things that I held on to for everyday use.

First the coffee cups went out. I had set them apart anyway because I prefer mugs.

For some reason I let the big heavy plates take place in my cupboard for another four months. Then when I finally listed them they were sold in a day. I'd love to find more of this as the money was great too. IKEA doesn't sell this anymore but the line is still very sought-after.

Nothing special here but the litter box, especially designed for kittens was brand new and I knew by then that no plastic object is too cheap to sell even cheaper on line.

It took a while to find a buyer for this, but large poster frames somehow always go. Even with a cracked back board.

My second IKEA Moppe. This one is a bit more worn out than the first, but someone wanted it anyway.

A cute little leather bag by Zara in mint condition. The new owner paid me a very decent price.

Brand new but cheaply made XL trolley suitcase. I gave the buyer a really good deal but I was glad the big thing was out of my house within two days.

A totally busted 1975 Peugeot GL 10 moped. Dragged home by the Man. Lots of hassle with high bidders who didn't read my ad carefully. Yes they are worth a lot when in working or fixable condition. This one was just for parts. But after all it only took a week to find someone who saw the actual value of the heap of rust.

I found a chic lady who was absolutely thrilled with the Rosenthal dish from the big loot of March last year.

It took almost a year to sell this rusty set. I should have listed it when I still had the table top, even though it was cracked. I waited too long, wind blew it over, broke in three pieces.

Music fans are ready to pay for stuff about their idols. I was sure to get a good price for the book that had almost ended inside the paper recycling dumpster. Luckily it was filled to the brim and I could pull it out of the opening along with some others.

No problems selling perfectly usable garden furniture. This wooden chair just had a paint stain on it and it went out after ten days. Though I've currently stopped taking regular chairs in due to lack of storage space I never leave a fold up.

I'm somewhere halfway through the year now, so I hope to be done with around four more posts this size.

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.