Ramblings. and Ramblings!

 Hi friends,

My spouse and I have been into buying and selling stuff forever. 30 years ago, we would go to auctions and buy box lots and hold a yard sale to make some side money. 20 years ago, we would go to auctions to buy box lots and sell the better stuff on eBay. For a couple years, we had a space in an antique mall where we would sell a range of crazy stuff in our 8' by 10' space. The antique mall wasn't a huge moneymaker for us.  It usually made enough to pay the space rent but it rarely brought enough to compensate either of us for spending both days working a full shift.

eBay has become an expensive site to sell on. Craigslist isn't easy to deal with the spam and bots trying to scam us. Facebook marketplace just doesn't bring results.

But... But we still monitor the sites where we used to buy. The main auction house we used has transitioned (LOL) to not selling "general estates" and the "anything or everything" in-person auctions where we could purchase huge boxes of stuff, filled with crazy, random things have gone away. That auction house is now selling online merchandise returns and online estate auctions.

The online return sales are pretty amazing. It's much like the way eBay was when it started, before every item was seemingly priced at full retail. There are deals to be had. Most of the return item auctions bidding start at one Dollar and the increments are also one Dollar. The most interesting thing is that the auction house allows returns on the return item sales if it isn't as described.

We started seriously looking at the return stuff sales at the end of last year. My spouse has figured out a way to affordably buy household stuff that we can use around the house, ground and Keurig coffee, we've gotten stuff for our cats including canned food, a couple of radios, all sorts of neat stuff. The best part though, is the clothing. For a Dollar or five, there are some great clothes we've gotten. Yesterday I picked up our 12 purchases. The listings are pretty crappy so we have to decipher what it is we're bidding on, the photos don't always show the important stuff like the size tag. This is why it's good that things are returnable if misrepresented.  I bought a bra that was supposed to be and sold as a 44C but when I opened the bag, the marking on the inside of the bra clearly said 36B. I think the most I've spent on a single piece of clothing is about $15 to buy a bra that retails for about $55. Most of the stuff I'd picked up yesterday was MINE! A gold velvet skirt and a weird black blouse that looks good with the gold skirt. An LBD with spaghetti straps. A navy dress with white Polka-dots. A black & white sleeveless mini-dress and a box of six robin's egg blue tank tops. I think I paid $7 for all six of those. There were only a couple of non-clothing items purchased, more SF Coffee Co Fog Chaser pods, waterless pet shampooing wipes and a pair of evil looking "mole killer" things that my spouse will turn into scrap metal.

My ultimate goal is to wear women's clothing exclusively. I'm building up my wardrobe to make this happen. So far pants are the hardest part to find.  It's really critical to try them on to know how they fall on my body.  Skirts, dresses, tops, underwear, leggings and socks are pretty easy to find and fit. Shoes are sometimes iffy because I have wide feet.  I have one pair of pants that I would wear but my shape and their shape weren't compatible.

Nellisauction.com in case you're wondering where I'm buying.  I don't think they will ship the stuff you buy if you're not able to pick it up at their warehouses. 

Time to ramble on about a different subject.  Travel!

Last Christmas, my oldest kid struggled to give good gifts at Christmas.  She decided to use her heart.  She made a generous donation in my spouse's name to a beloved charity. The Loon Preservation Society in New Hampshire.  She offered her mom and mom's fiancée a trip to see our son and his wife.  And for me, she offered to pay for a trip to the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City, NV.  We have made reservations to go up there in the near future.  We'll be taking my van and staying in Reno.  I don't know what events or attractions will be seen when we're there. I'm excited! I can't remember if I've driven through Carson City ever. I've driven from from Vegas to Bridgeport, Ca once and from Vegas to Reno for an event at Lake Tahoe once. I think I may have driven through Carson City on the return drive but it was back in 1999 and specific details about that trip are fuzzy.

The big news about this trip will be that Heather and the two kids are the only ones going. There will be no "backup plan" for me to revert to boy mode. I may not even take shorts! Skirts and dresses, only! Heck, I've got some really nice new clothes for this trip.  I'm going to have to figure out how to navigate the world as Heather for the entire trip.  It's exciting and a bit scary but since the kids will be with me, I should have no problem dealing with what may come.

Hopefully I'll be able to take some photos and share them here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Heather