Thrifting-Reselling Tips

It’s been about 6 months since I started reselling online. AKA the best decision I’ve ever made. This has given me the opportunity to bring in some kind of income, given me a hobby and made me feel like I am contributing in some way. It has brought me so much joy and fulfillment. I started this on a whim after watching some resellers on YouTube. I thought “hey, I can do that!” I already loved thrifting so this seemed like a no brainer. I will make a separate post about what you will need to start reselling if you are looking to start yourself. Today i just wanted to offer a few tips about thrifting in general and what to look out for and what to avoid. I think the first thing I would go back and tell myself is just because it’s “old” just because it’s a certain brand doesn’t mean you should buy it. An example I can give is Tupperware. Sure some Tupperware is totally worth picking up, especially if it’s just for yourself, but most of it is not.  This is why comps are so important in reselling! Look up what has sold, not just what is listed. Google image is your friend. Also, make sure to look up how many of that thing are currently listed. It doesn’t really matter if something is really cool. If there are 100 of them listed its not a good pickup. Now on the flip side to that, sometimes you have to trust your gut. If you aren’t finding comps or aren’t finding much about it online but you think its something special, then take the risk and get it! Only if its a good deal of course but the more you do this the more you will be able to trust your gut. When it comes to clothing you do learn pretty quickly what brands and fabrics to look out for. Obviously things like linen, wool, alpaca, organic fibers etc are good pickups usually. Vintage is great but doesn’t always equate to profitable. Make sure what you’re picking up is in style or vintage enough where it would be desired. Just because its a popular brand doesn’t mean it will sell. Take Lululemon for example. The resale on that just isn’t what it used to be but especially on their older styles that just aren’t really in fashion anymore. Look at trends, look at at social media, it is a big help! I will go into this more in my other post but also think about what you want to sell. Are you going to niche down to one specific thing or sell a variety? They both have their pros and cons. This tip goes for anything you find but thoroughly check your items before you buy!! I can not tell you how many times I have brought home something with a rip or a tear or stain and I had just completely missed it! Keep in mind a stain or rip doesn’t mean it wont sell it just means you have to disclose it and possibly reduce the price. Also, make sure clothing has the size tag! Of course this isn’t a deal breaker but it does make it harder to resell. This next tip is pretty obvious but seek out smaller locally owned thrift stores. Not only are you giving local businesses your business but they tend to be much much cheaper. Shop the sales and tags of the day and be strategic about what you buy. Thrift stores are the best place to find home decor and kitchen supplies like dishes and glassware. All of my art is from thrifting and so much better than the mass produced stuff at the retail stores. Thrifting is the best way to change up your style on a budget. Look for classic pieces that will last through the years. This tip is for my fellow bookworms out there! Get your books from the thrift store! I have over 400 books in my personal collection and I would guess 96% of them were thrifted. Im talking new books, classics and everything in between. I know I will think of more things but that is enough for now. A lof of this is common sense but I hope its helpful to someone out there. If you have questions please ask away! I will be making a lot more reselling posts in the future so keep a look out for those. Happy Thrifting!

My 5 Star Reads So Far This Year

Well here we are already more than half way done with 2024! I’m not sure how that happened but yikes 😳 anyway I figured since it’s been a hot minute since I’ve posted (so sorry about that) I would do a quick roundup of all of my 5 star reads so far this year. I pretty drastically reduced the number of books I’m reading this year so I’ve read 27 and out of those 10 were a 5 star. Well a 4.5-5 star rounded up. Let’s start with my first 5 star of the year which was The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston. Looking back I’m definitely thinking this is closer to a 4.5 but great romance, comedy, family drama and heartbreak. Super sweet book. Next is The Island by Adrian McKinty. If you want a page turning thriller then check this one out! It’s a survival type thriller with some really messed up people. Maybe check trigger warnings on this one. Next up is Mean Spirited by Nick Roberts. Finally an actual great supernatural ghost story! This one actually creeped me out a few times. Excellent, original storyline and it does get gory. Also might want to check trigger warnings. Next is Funny Story by Emily Henry. Gosh I love her writing so much! I was told this gave off  New Girl vibes and I can see that. I loved the characters in this book and their development throughout the story. Can’t go wrong with Emily. Next is What Happened To Nina by Dervla McTiernan. Great thriller mystery with multiple POVs. This is a story about the lengths you would go to in order to protect your child. A girl is missing and her boyfriend is the number 1 suspect. I loved the story and it really went in a direction I wasn’t expecting. Ok next is Mary by Nat Cassidy. Ah I love him and this bonkers crazy book! This is about women and menopause and cults and ghosts and it just gets kooky! Stick with it as it does meander a bit but it’s worth the pay off. Please check trigger warnings. I will say there is animal mutilation. It’s quick but it’s there. The Next Mrs.Parrish by Liv Constantine is up next. This is a sequel to The Last Mrs.Parrish so if you haven’t read that yet go do that now. So many morally gray characters. Just the worst kinds of people who will do whatever it takes to be in power. Hard to read at times for sure. And talking about hard to read…The Eyes Are The Best Part by Monika Kim. This isn’t a fast paced, in your face horror book but it does get disgusting and horrific. This deals with a lot of misogyny, racism, fetishization of Asian women and yes, cannibalism. Very unique book that will stick with me! Sign Here by Claudia Lux is up next. I heard this was kind of a comedy about Hell and it actually turned out to be way more of a thriller. It did have comedic parts for sure and I enjoyed how Hell was portrayed in this office setting. Another really unique story and it got so intense at the end! The last one on this list is Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe. This is about a young single mom who decides to start doing OnlyFans when she realizes the babies father, and no one else in her life, is going to help her with her baby and expenses. Of course there is way more to this book. The father of her baby is her professor, her father is an ex wrestler with a drug addiction. Her relationship with her mother is strained and she is now seeing a religious man who is putting more strain on their relationship. So much girl power here. I loved the look at OnlyFans and sex work (sex work is legitimate work!) and how it is seen in the legal system. It was also very funny and heartwarming. I absolutely loved it! 

So that concludes all of my 5 star books so far this year. I have a few new releases that I am very excited for so hopefully I have a lot more 5 stars to come 😊 

My Favorite Books Of 2023

 Happy New Year! 2023 was the year I read the most books I have ever read in my life. 85 books 😮 my goal was 80 so I am very pleased. I think my average rating was a 3.8 which I think is pretty good. I do tend to give a lot of 3.5/4 star so that tracks. So I will insert a visual of my best of 2023 bracket and then my honorable mentions which are all 4 star or higher. 

So here are my best books of 2023! We have mostly horror/suspense/thriller but a couple general/historical fiction and 1 romance. If you are looking for great suspense thrillers definitely check out The Southern Book Clubs Guide To Slaying Vampires, Razorblade Tears, None Of This Is True and The Only One Left. If you’re looking for a true extreme horror then Maeve Fly is the perfect book! If paranormal,sci-fi is your thing then I suggest Kindred and My Best Friends Exorcism. The Push is very much about generational trauma and motherhood. Kind of in a group all its own but still considered a thriller. Shark Heart is a romance but it’s also fantasy. It’s so beautiful and heartbreaking. Unlike anything I’ve read before. That brings us to my two favorite books of the year. I could not pick just one. The first one Delicate Condition by Danielle Valentine is something that will stay with me forever. I know it won’t resonate with everyone. I know some will see it as a some weird book about paranoia but it was so much more for me. I have never cried so much reading a book. Definitely check trigger warnings as it does talk about miscarriage, IVF, infertility etc. The overall narrative of how women are gaslit so much especially when it comes to their bodies and their health in the medical system. Not knowing if you can trust your own thoughts and feelings. She really did a fantastic job showing the emotions a person goes through while trying to conceive and trying to understand this foreign thing in your body! Her authors note at the end was brilliant and I wish that was made into a book itself! Even if it went in a bit of a strange direction I don’t care because the rest of it was so perfect. I will be rereading this at some point. My other favorite of the year is 11/22/63 by Stephen King. I am still so shocked that I loved this book as much as I did. A time travel book about JFK? That doesn’t really sound like my thing. It was so much more than that though. That is the premise though. This man goes back in time to prevent Lee Harvey Oswald from assassinating JFK. I loved the rules of the time travel and the idea of the butterfly effect. There were so many excellent characters in this book and to me Kings writing is like a screenplay which is why so many of his books translate so well into tv. I am still thinking about those characters and that world. It was 850 pages and I wanted more. This is sci-fi but it’s also suspense and romance. The romance is unexpected and so good! I really took my time reading this book and now I’m sad it’s over. I have a new favorite book character Jake/George. I need to watch the series now just so I can go back to that world. 

So those were my most favorite books of 2023. It was really hard choosing those because as you can see I had a lot that I loved. If I had to choose a top 5 from Honorable Mentions it would be Nestlings by Nat Cassidy, The Only Safe Place Left Is The Dark By Warren Wagner, Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig and The House In The Cerulean Sea by T.J Klune. But I would recommend them all! What were your favorite books of 2023! Any that were on my list? I can’t wait to see what makes it to the top this year! Happy Reading!

Everything I Read In December

 Happy New Year! Wow I can’t believe it’s 2024! 2023 really flew by. I will be doing my favorite and least favorite books of the year but today’s post is everything I read in the month of December. I ended up reading 6 books this month which I was actually surprised by because I was really only aimingfor 3 or 4. I will say 1 book I did start in November but finished in December.

 So let’s start with my first book of the month which was The Visitor. This is a horror novella about aliens. It takes place on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day ( can’t remember) and follows a few different folks that for whatever reason find themselves at this diner during a blizzard. I think it did a good job in a short amount of time of building up tension and suspense. I thought it was an interesting take on an alien invasion. It wasn’t my favorite thing I’ve read but I think it’s worth the read. I appreciated the story. I gave it 3-3.5 stars. 

Next is The Girl Who Heard Maggots. What a title huh? Really interesting book about a woman with some sort of past we aren’t quite sure about, who takes a job at this gothic type house taking care of a child. This book did a great job at being very mysterious and not knowing who to trust. Everyone at this house is just a little off, a little different. This got really crazy, in a good entertaining way, and I really enjoyed it. A little bit out there but fun. A solid 3.5-3.75 stars. 

Next up is Nestlings by Nat Cassidy. Who is a man btw 😂 This book 🙌🏻 wow I loved it! A favorite of the year for sure. I am definitely in my strange motherhood, creepy kids era when it comes to books and this one really delivered. This is about a couple who won this housing lottery and they get to move into this historic building in NYC that has a very mysterious history. The writing in this book was top notch! I did not know what direction this book was heading. It felt paranormal, cult-like, vampire-ish, it was just so fun trying to figure what was happening. It does revolve around motherhood, marriage, disabilities, and babies. So entertaining. I highly recommend. 5 stars. 

Next is a reread for me. I made a plan last year that every December I would read A Christmas Carol which is my favorite Christmas story. I love this book so much! My favorite adaptation is the movie with George C Scott. I think he’s the perfect Scrooge and it’s very true to the book. I think a great way to start with classic books is to look for books that have been turned into either movies or tv shows. That way you’re kind of familiar with the story and can follow along a little easier. A Christmas Carol is such a heartwarming story and it always makes me cry. 5 stars 

Next is the book that I started in November which is 11/22/63 by Stephen King. I won’t say a whole lot about this book because it may or may not be a favorite of the year but what I will say is it is about time travel and trying to stop the assassination of JFK. You may think wow that sounds dull and I’m not into history/politics like that. Yeah me either, although I find JFK fascinating. It is about so much more than that. It’s thrilling, romantic and heartbreaking. I loved every second. 5 stars. 

My last book of the year was Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney. If you are looking for a book with twists look no further! Holy moly the twists and turns will make your head spin! This is about a woman who is in a coma and her and the you the reader are trying to figure out what happened. So this is present day, the days leading up to some sort of accident and then also diary excerpts from childhood days. This book had me so confused 😂 I’m still not sure what was what but it was very entertaining and worth the read  4 stars. 

Ok so that is my last month of reading for 2023. I ended up reading 85 books in 2023 which I was really happy with. I am so excited for another year of reading. Next post should be my best and worst books of 2023 so buckle up!