Fire King Mugs - A Nabisco Tale

I am always on the look out for interesting coffee mugs, whether it be at a thrift store, garage sale, or antique shop. Often times, church/non-profit thrift & charity shops have a plethora of mugs and so price them at the low cost of anywhere from 25cents to $1. 

One of the most prized mugs for reselling is anything that is Fire King / Anchor Hocking, particularly the coveted Snoopy mug and Jadeite mugs. Fire King mugs have a following among collectors and so when scouring the racks, it's always important to be on the lookout for these types of mugs. I have sold one Anchor Hocking mug previously, a white milk glass with red roses. Paying only 10cents for the mug, I figured that I would start the bidding low in the hopes that it would sky rocket. 

Wrong. I ended up selling the mug for a sad price of $5.95. What was worse is that I underestimated the shipping costs and ended up having to pay more out of pocket to ship the item. I ended up making a whopping 92cents on the mug and learned a valuable lesson. Like anything that sells on eBay, once has to know what is hot and what isn't. Fire King is a picky collectible, with some mugs bringing in the big bucks and others not having any value at all. Research, research, research - and always have your eyes open and looking.

I did just this when I ventured to a new antique store in south Jersey. This store, well, it is actually a barn, is now my new favorite place to find scores. I scored with a Fire King mug purchase a few weeks ago and hopefully will have many more scores in the future.

Going to this barn for the first time, it is a bit overwhelming making sure that you look at everything. So many nooks and crannies in not only the main building, but in the outside buildings/trailers as well. I love shops like this because often the abundance of nooks and crannies means there are overlooked items just waiting to be purchased and flipped for profit. Looking at one booth in the main barn, this was one of the overstocked booths - filled to the brim with everything and anything. Glasses, knick-knacks, books, textiles - anything you could name. As I was perusing the shelves, my eye was drawn to a milk glass mug. It had only one word printed on the outside - Nabisco. I picked up the glass, took a look at the outside and inside of it, and then flipped the glass over to find a maker's mark. Sure enough, it was marked Fire King. The little sticker price tag was marked with the low price of $3.

Not one to make it obvious when I bring up eBay on my phone, I ventured to the next booth over, walking and entering a few key phrases in an eBay search. Searching for Nabisco Fire King mug brought up only 2 auctions, one which occurred two months prior and another one month prior. Both had sold in the $60 range and both had a good number of views. Pulling up current listings, there was nothing. This was a sure bet. So I nonchalantly made my way back to the booth and picked up the Nabisco mug. This beauty was going home with me. 

The mug was in nice condition with no chips or cracks and the graphic still had good color. I decided that I would start the auction off at $25.95, with free shipping. It wasn't super low and high enough that if I received only one bid I would still make a profit. Within one day, I already had a bid at my starting price. The number of watchers and the number of views climbed steadily each day. I never had an item that had received so many views before and it was exciting! On the last day of the auction, as I expected, the bids grew. The bid hopped up to $48.50, then another bidder entered with $49.50, followed by a bid of $63.00, and then ending with the winning bid at $64.00.

I was more than happy with this purchase! I bought the mug for $3 and after my costs plus shipping, I walked away with $46.29 profit. Sure, I probably could have charged for shipping & came away with a $50ish profit, but I was satisfied with the profit I had made. Going back into eBay to check out the bids, the first bidder had set up automatic bidding from his/her first bid - the high bid of $64 had been chosen from Day 2 of the auction.

When this buyer had placed the first bid, I took a look at their feedback score and that is when I noticed that many, if not all, of their previous purchases were Nabisco related items. This put me at ease, knowing that 1. This buyer was going to pay and 2. This buyer was going to fight to the end to get this mug. Perhaps this was what they needed to complete their collection or cross off of their "must have" list. Whatever it was, they were willing to bid and that is nothing but good news for me.

~ Flea Fact ~

Fire King mugs are eBay worthy. Not all will bring in a big profit, but don't let an odd graphic or an unknown name deter you from doing a little research and consider buying the item to resell. You never know if you don't look!

The 80s on eBay ~ Selling Strawberry Shortcake

As a child of the 1980s, I loved and still love all of the great cartoons and movies of the 80s. I loved the music and still love the music. The 80s fashion on the other hand... eh, it can stay in the 80s.
Being a little girl during this time, I was partial to such greatness as Punky Brewster, Strawberry
Shortcake, Rainbow Brite, Cabbage Patch Kids, the Gummi Bears (I have the cartoon on dvd - love it!), and the list could go on.

The 80s are a great eBay seller for various reasons. One of the most common is that people want what they had but no longer possess. Kids move, parents throw toys out, or being 7 years old we don't realize that breaking off Barbie's left leg will not make her more valuable years to come.

Strawberry Shortcake has become increasingly popular in the past few years. She has been remade into a new style of little girl, complete with updated friends and an updated place to live. Due to this, the mothers that are in their late 20s and early 30s are looking to have their daughters grow up with the original Strawberry Shortcake, not the new version.They want their daughters to experience the Strawberry Shortcake and friends of their childhood, not a new version that holds no memories.


While I faintly remember watching the Strawberry Shortcake cartoon growing up, I remember more about the toys and accessories that covered my bedroom floor. You name it, I had it: sheet set, curtains, sleeping bag, pillow, dolls, figures, pajamas, sweaters, lamp, and the vanity set complete with dresser and toy box. I have not been able to part with some of these items just yet, such as the lamp and the vanity set. While I'm not saving them for future offspring, at the moment I am just saving them because 1. The lamp is actually still used in a spare room in my childhood house and 2. The vanity set is stored in the rafters in a garage, waiting to be uncovered and loved again.

Since I am not ready to part with my own personal childhood collection of Strawberry Shortcake items just yet, I am a-okay with selling Strawberry Shortcake finds. Just like anything on eBay, you have to research what sells and what lags for months. Items that are hard to find, complete sets, and delicate items that have survived the years can bring in better prices and higher bidders. Always do your research!

A few Saturdays ago, I was looking through one of my usual thrift store stops when I came upon a set of four vintage Strawberry Shortcake juice glasses. They were marked at $3.93 and unfortunately, were not included in the sticker sale that day. I did a little looking on eBay and discovered that Strawberry Shortcake juice glasses did fairly well. I found an identical set to what was at the thrift store, and after reading the description, discovered that these glasses had been made by Anchor Hocking in 1981. Sets had sold for between $30 and $40, so I figured with a $4 investment, why not.

I brought the glasses home, cleaned them up, and took some photos. The glasses looked good to me for being 32 years old - no chips, no cracks, and the colors were all similar. I listed the glasses starting at $32.50 with free shipping, with the winning bid ending at $33.50. I packaged the glasses up, shipped them out, and ended up making around $17. Not a huge profit, but a profit nonetheless.

A few days went by and I received an email from the buyer. She stated that the glasses were all faded and it looked as if they had been put through the dishwasher. Apparently she had a similar set of glasses and the colors on her glasses were much brighter and vivid. She was angered because apparently I hadn't provided enough of a description of the coloring in my listing and she always likes to know exactly what she is buying before placing a bid.

I was speechless. I wasn't sure what to say to her. Obviously, if you have a set that has been stored away in a box for years, colors are going to be different versus glasses that had been used. (Of which I stated that these were a used item, not in the original box). I hadn't seen anything wrong with the colors. All four glasses had uniform coloring - it wasn't as if one glass was more brighter than the others. For being 32 years old, the colors looked nice to me.

I emailed the buyer back that I was sorry she was unhappy with the purchase and that I would gladly refund the full purchase price if she would send the items back, with her paying for return shipping. I made sure to include that I had a 100% feedback rating and always try to describe the items to the best of my ability. My listing wasn't misleading - the colors were nice and the glasses were a used item, not in original box.

It took the buyer a few days to respond, all the while I of course was dreading having to refund her money. She replied yet again that she had glasses whose colors were much brighter and that coloring on the glasses that I sold her was faded. She kept the glasses and I kept my money.

So, what was the lesson that was learned? I always try to describe my items as best as possible, including even the width/length of chips and cracks if any are present. I knew that I wasn't in the wrong because I never stated anything like "Bright colors! Almost brand new!" I stated what the colors were - nice and still nice graphics for 32 year old items. I couldn't help that the buyer decided to not return the items. I would have gladly refunded her money and re-listed the glasses. But, she kept the glasses, "faded" and all.

If you are buying on eBay and are unhappy with your purchase and the option to return for a refund is there - with you paying the return shipping fees - you have a few choices:
1. Return the item and pay shipping fees. There is no sense in keeping something that you are unhappy with and are going to complain about in email after email. Get your money back and move on.
2. Keep the item and carry on. If you are going to complain but yet do not return the item, obviously you cannot be that unhappy with it. There is no sense in going on & on to the seller about how you expected this or how you thought it looked like that when you aren't going to pack it up and ship it out. If you keep it, keep your comments to yourself. The seller has offered you the option of returning what you are unhappy with, so take it.

And remember most of all.... Have a Berry Good Day!

The Avon Monkey & A Returned Memory

Being as I still have almost all of my toys from the 1980s and early 1990s, finding some of these items going for a good amount of money on EBay leaves me to believe I have hundreds of dollars in my childhood toy collections. Now, as with many people, we pick and choose what toys/mementos from our childhood we wish to keep and wish to dispose of, whether through donating to thrift stores, giving to younger family members, EBay, or even the trash.

I was never one to "ruin" my toys, though the occasional Barbie did receive a haircut or a limb went missing. Hey, at times there required an evil twin when you had two of the same Barbie... and obviously the evil twin needed the shorter hair. As for missing limbs, that is what happens when Ken tries to do a split.

Anyway, searching through EBay I came upon a stuffed monkey that Avon had put out in 1988. He was a cute plush, of the beanbag variety. His body was littered with numbers and stars. The packaging for Count on Andy stated the following: "Andy loves numbers, he's got 'em galore. Better count them again - there may still be more!" He measured around 20inches in length and for a blue monkey, was pretty cute.

There were a few sold listings for Andy, ranging in price from the $30s to $60s. I remembered that I had this plush and thought that I actually remembered where it was located in my childhood home. You must understand that my old bedroom at home has not really changed in the past 20 years. There are still toys, still drawers filled with my old clothes from when I was 10. The good thing about this is that the room is a treasure trove of toys for my youngest cousin, as well as a version of a time machine. Open the door and you are back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. I love being able to sift through my old toys, but completely understand that some things have got to go. My mother would love to keep this room of memories as is, but I no longer need all of the stuff I had growing up, including the Avon monkey.

Andy was where I thought I had seen him last - on a shelf filled with other assorted plush. He was still in good condition, no rips or tears. His cute face was easy to recognize and I vaguely remembered playing with him when I was younger. This is what makes it easy to decide on what stays and what goes when it comes to childhood toys - if you don't have strong memories of an item, let it go.

I listed Andy for around $40 with free shipping. Nothing. A few watchers, but no bids. I knew that he would sell and wasn't deterred. I dropped the price down to $30 with free shipping. There was no sense in keeping a higher price, considering if it didn't sell it would just continue to sit around and collect dust. Sure enough, Andy received one bid. The only bid. I was a little disappointed that he didn't bring in a few more dollars, but happy that I had sold him.

Andy was packaged up, given a final farewell, and sent out to the post office. A week or so later, I received feedback from the buyer. I figured it would be the common phrases of  "Great Ebayer. Fast shipping. A+". Instead of the usual, I sat with my tea mug in hand, laptop positioned on my lap, and teary eyed as I read the feedback.

"Thank you. My daughter that passed away in 1993 had one she played with."

A simple sentence that moved me to tears. I immediately contacted the buyer and wrote that I was sorry for her loss, but glad that I could reconnect her with this item. I understood the feeling that she must have felt by finally being able to secure this tangible memory. In my last blog entry, I wrote about finally finding a puzzle that I had played with as a child at my grandmother's house. It was something that I thought would have been lost forever. But thanks to EBay, it was found again.

I was glad that I could bring Andy back into this person's life. I was thankful that they had been the only bidder and could now have some peace that they had secured a memory from their daughter's life. Sometimes, EBay isn't always about the money. Personal stories like this one bring us back to realize that people are always searching - whether it be for something to complete us, bring back a memory, or make us feel prized in the eyes of another. Reselling items is a way to make money, but it is also a way to return what has been lost, a treasure hunt of sorts. 

The more that I search, scavenge, and find, the more I realize that this one of the things that I love most: finding what was lost and making it found. Returned treasures.