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We’ve become increasingly enamored with record hype stickers during the past several years. Hype stickers are the cover stickers that record companies use to highlight specific tracks on an LP or to draw attention to other attributes like Grammy Awards, multiple LPs, musicians featured on the recording, etc. We read lots of blogs on new vinyl that disregard these stickers but we strongly disagree! In fact, we encourage buyers to seek out covers and shrink with these stickers intact. In the world of vintage vinyl, hype stickers add a “cool factor” that gives insight into the pressing and reminds us of the old fashioned “point of purchase” promotional efforts of various record companies.

In terms of the collectability and value of hype stickers, think of it this way: to what extent does the value of an LP increase if it has it’s original inserts? how much does the value of an LP increase if it is still in its original shrink? what is the value of new vinyl if it still has its original download card? From our perspective, if you’re choosing between a cover with a hype sticker and a cover without a hype sticker–buy the sticker. If you are opening a sealed LP with a hype sticker, keep the shrink in tact and sleeve the cover. Remember, it’s always the things that people throw away that become sought after.

The antiques business is a trendy one driven by social media, design trends, television shows, and nostalgia. Victorian furniture, fine china, and antique textiles (the mainstays of antiques shops ten years ago) have fallen out of favor and been replaced by mid-century modern furniture, vintage clothing, and industrial pieces. As a result, the values of many traditional antiques have plummeted. A blue decorated stoneware crock worth $500 10 years ago is worth half of that today. So with a marketplace that’s constantly changing, how can you determine the current value of your old stuff?

It’s simple–internet sales.

ebay is a great source for current market values of antiques and collectables. But since anyone can list anything for any price, it’s critical to search “sold” items. (In this business, the only price that matters is the price a person is willing to pay.) When you’re on ebay you’ll find the filter for “sold” items on the left hand side of the screen (lower left corner of this photo). Search with keywords that describe your item, select the “sold” filter, and you’ll see actual price similar items have sold for (these prices will be in green). These figures will give you a reasonable assessment of current market value–then you can decide whether or not you want to sell and what a fair price would be (depending on whether you are selling to a dealer or a retail customer).

In addition to records, Don has been collecting music-related posters since he was a kid.  The walls in our house are filled to capacity but that still leaves hundreds in storage.  One of our winter goals was to get some of his collection out for sale in the shop. We’ve managed to add about 100 posters to the inventory in the record room. (Unrolling tubes of posters that have been stored for years has been more fun than Christmas morning!) Most of these posters are promotional  and include everything from Zeppelin to The Dead to Bob Marley. Prices are reasonable ($15 to $150).

You never know what the day will bring. We hit the road on Tuesday to look at a record collection that was part of an estate in Massachusetts. The record collection was vast but in poor condition. However, as is often the case, we found other treasures! Stepping into this house was like a visit to the 1600s. A run-down but fascinating two story home circa 1680. The ceilings were so low, Don could barely stand up. Amongst the animal poop and the stacks of debris, we found a beautiful trencher, 2 antique leather hassocks, and a cobbler’s bench. Then, thanks to our iphone flashlights, I crawled into the eaves and found period clothing including a man’s wool suit & vest wrapped in paper and a wedding dress wrapped in a sheet (circa 1810). It’s always amazing to me to find textiles that have survived in attics and eaves for centuries but it really does happen! Unfortunately, the wedding dress had been a home to some mice but there were lots of other beautiful articles of early ladies clothing in excellent condition. The executor of the estate gifted the wedding dress to me because he couldn’t bare to toss it in the dumpster. So I’ll see what I can do with it!

Don and I spend our Tuesdays and Saturdays on the road picking. Yesterday was spent in an old house in Nashua where we dug out an industrial cart, old metal locker baskets, hardware, lighting, vintage clothing, vintage jewelry, old sports paper (Red Sox programs, sports cards), record albums…and lots more. But the coolest find of all? A vintage Wayne Lynch surfboard! This week, we are off schedule with a Friday house call in New London. (Hopefully we’ll get all of yesterday’s finds sorted and priced before Friday, but this time of year inventory tends to come in faster than we can manage!) So when we say “new inventory daily,” we’re not kidding! Hope to see you soon.

Do you remember the first record you bought? The first concert you attended? Don sure does! His first record: The Beach Boys picture sleeve 45 “Surfin’ Safari” b/w “409” Capitol 1962. His first concert: The Beach Boys with Buffalo Springfield & Strawberry Alarm Clock at the Back Bay Theatre in Boston 1967. Both made such an impression that Don still has the record sleeve and newspaper clipping hanging on his bulletin board!

These cardboard signs were given to customers of ice companies to facilitate order & delivery. The numbers around the edges referred to the pounds of ice needed. Customers simply hung the sign in their window with their requested delivery weight at the top. Based on the direction of the sign in this photo, the delivery man would leave 20 pounds of ice. (Based on the four digit phone number, this sign is probably from the 1920s.)

How did France help us win the American Revolution? By providing the colonists with weapons!  Angry with Great Britain after the loss of territory during the French & Indian War, the French Ambassador met with Benjamin Franklin in 1778 to sign The Treaty of Alliance. France provided colonial soldiers with more than 100,000 guns (like the Charleville Musket pictured here). These front-loading muskets took in excess of 2 minutes to load resulting in multiple lines of rotating shooters.