If a picture is worth a thousand words a video must be worth a million. That is the very simple statement that made it very clear that I need to utilize video. Why you ask?.. because I am good at it that’s why! You see at my main job (which is still a secret) it sometimes calls for video so I have the skills to shoot, edit, and get it to the world. I have no problem hopping on cam and talking.
Besides having the Youtube channel (it has one whole video at the time of this writing) this gives me the ability to have video on my site and more importantly I can now embed video into an Ebay product listing. I just can’t believe how many people DO NOT USE VIDEO in their listings. I was talking to my buddy the other day and I was like ” I wonder if you can put video into an Ebay listing”. He says “I don’t think you can because I haven’t seen it”. Well…you can and I will. I am not going to shoot a video on every product but the ones that are maybe a little special I certainly will.
So without further ado (or adieu depending on where you fall in that argument) here is the first product video
It’s been a minute since I wrote a blog post and frankly it’s because I have been a busy boy. Besides the normal searching for unique items I have been redesigning the website(as you could probably see). I liked the first one but I wanted a new design that had a little more flair. I also needed to have a place where I could sell individual items. I didn’t want a full blown eCommerce store because I list in 2 Eco-systems- Ebay and Etsy. So with the new website I have three: The store, Ebay, and Etsy. With a listing system vs. a full eCommerce store I can put a listing that points to whatever format I like….it all works out (hopefully).
The new website is clean and mean… nice layout, some cool visuals, and a good representation of our products. We also have a great search tool to find the items you love by simple characteristics like Types, Price range, and categories. We hope you enjoy it.
As far as new items I have found some way cool stuff. Here are some of my favorites:
This vintage (or perhaps antique) blue cut glass perfume bottle is like wooooaaaah. I took 40 pictures of this thing and I had a hard time picking what to use in the listing. It is in phenomenal shape.
Here is another perfume bottle that is almost as intricate as the first. Look at that cut glass…just amazing craftsmanship.
Lets change gears… Look at this find. Beatles trading cards. There are a bunch of Beatlemania fans out there that collect these. This is a lot of 250 that include series 1,2,3, color cards, and the diary cards. What a lot!
I have also entered the Artwork arena. I have a lot of opportunity to buy artwork and I was just always worried about shipping it properly. Since i have now become a SHIPPING NINJA I feel like this is a good thing to offer our customers and something that could be really good for the business.
Here is a late 19th Century etching by Camille Fonce
Here is another one in color by G. Dinchat. It’s a numbered piece #135 out of 500 made.
Lastly is this wonderful specimen… An Italian marble Koch & Lowey clock. It is really an awesome piece.
You know…I do not keep these items for myself often (except some vintage golf clubs and balls hanging on my wall) but some of these new items are hard to let go of However, I do want you to have them so buy and bid with confidence! We take care of our customers and go out of our way to find some cool stuff. We are a new business but we have years and years of experience. We would like to share that experience with you.
I wanted to share a really cool story about an Etsy sale we just did. As you may know we really sell mostly on EBay…however we really want to grow our Etsy store because we see this as a long-term win for us. Instead of an auction or moving to a full blown EBay store, this gives us an outlet to move some very affordable vintage items. When I go to an estate sale or an auction I almost think of the Etsy store as a separate entity. I look specifically for interesting or cool things that we can list there. Our Etsy store is made up of mostly $5 to $20 items on purpose. We want to grow our brand and have very affordable items there. We just introduced a higher priced category there and listed our first product (which is this stunning Steuben candy dish by the way). We call this the “Kilderkin Klub” and this is where we will list more luxury items but still at a reasonable value. if you sign up for our newsletter we will actually let you know 48 hours prior to something hitting the store so its worth it peeps!
So we haven’t sold a ton of stuff yet on Etsy because it’s so new but I had an amazing win today for our brand. We had a really nice watch up on Etsy that looked like this….
It was a really nice vintage ladies watch with a special Speidel strap…really nice piece that worked perfectly. I received a message from a customer asking if we would take a Money Order. I immediately responded and said absolutely! I went in added that as a payment option and she made the purchase after professing her love for the way this watch looked (I couldn’t agree more) . When I sent this watch to her I wanted to do something special. I included a cool little gold with green gemstone brooch (never got around to listing it) in with the order with a small note that said “I added a gift just for being awesome”. I knew that adding that little touch would mean a lot for someone who wasn’t expecting it from buying a $15 item (good deal right?). Heck, I might add a gift to every Etsy package…why not?
I got a glowing message from her and I just wanted to share. I am guessing she won’t mind since I am not sharing names:
I received my beautiful watch yesterday along with the beautiful pin. That was very nice of you to do that. I am wearing the watch now and it keeps perfect time and looks brand new. So very happy with it! I love the green colored stones in the pin. I have many nice blouses it will look great on. You have made this transaction very easy and you have been so nice to do business with. I hope to shop with you again in the future. Thank you again for your kindness.”
You know what…it’she little things like this that make this all worth it. Love our customers!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Our first item over $20 in our special "Kilderkin" category. These are special items that are reserved jfor our special guests. Those who subscribe to our newsletter on our website will see these items 48 hours prior to listing so go sign up!
This is a 4" original Steuben dish in STELLAR condition. This is a very special piece and quite rare. What makes this even more rare is the fact that it comes with the original felt pouch/bag AND the original Steuben box. Most use these as a candy dish or just a collectible item. Some use it as an ashtray (I think it's too beautiful for that}. It was difficult to pick only 5 pictures for this one, I took over 20. I put the light right up to it and it looks really great. This is signed on the bottom in script hand etching "Steuben". The bottom of this dish looks like a fish eye lens, really cool!
ABOUT STEUBEN: Steuben Glass Works was an American art glass manufacturer, founded in the summer of 1903 by Frederick Carder and Thomas G. Hawkes in Corning, New York, which is in Steuben County, from which the company name was derived. Hawkes was the owner of the largest cut glass firm then operating in Corning. Carder was an Englishman (born 18 September 1863) who had many years' experience designing glass for Stevens and Williams in England. Hawkes purchased the glass blanks for his cutting shop from many sources and eventually wanted to start a factory to make the blanks himself. Hawkes convinced Carder to come to Corning and manage such a factory. Carder, who had been passed over for promotion at Stevens and Williams, consented to do so.
In 1918, Steuben was acquired by Corning Glass Works and became the Steuben Division
WHAT'S INCLUDED:
1 x 4" candy dish
CONDITION:
Excellent Condition
*SHIPPING USPS Priority Mail- packed with care- $ 8.00
Shipping estimate for this listing is for the continental U.S. only and
are based on size, weight, and fragility. We are not in the business of making money on shipping and handling of a product just covering the costs to package this and get it to you in a quick manner. The most important part to us is getting this item to you in the same condition you see in the photos.
DATING THE ITEM: No I am not looking for a date (sorry) and I have not taken this item out on a date (WEIRD) However, I do try to accurately date items I list. We take a good amount of time to research items but we may not always get it right. I use my buying experience and good ole' Google to help me out. Please utilize the great photos I take and judge for yourself. If you are an expert on something you see here please reach out and correct me if you find something is off.
OUR NAME: UMMMMM....WHATS A FIRKIN? A firkin is a small cask (usually wooden) used for butter,
meat, and fish. These were used for preserving meat and fish back in the day. We mostly
just think it's a funny word and we are from Philadelphia. This word does a good job of replacing words that are considered much worse. This way we keep it rated PG...your welcome.
FOLLOW US/ SOCIAL: We do some cool stuff with Social Media. When we are at the auctions or just out looking for cool stuff we love to use instagram (myfirkinantiques). You can basically see the items we are going to list BEFORE they are ever for sale....pretty cool huh? We also have a twitter @myfirkintweets and Facebook page (facebook/firkinantiques). We also put some funny posts and serious posts on top of just items. As we build our business we love to share our learnings with you! FOLLOW US
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I posted this on our firkin Instagram and got a few likes! This is a vintage Octus women’s watch with a wonderful bracelet. The bracelet is a Speidel Spirit of Paris bracelet and it looks great. It has a rope inside and expands really easily to fit lots o’ wrists. The watch itself has a couple of hearts on it so why not buy this for someone you love huh?
However, I do want you to have them so buy and bid with confidence! We take care of our customers and go out of our way to find some cool stuff. We are a new business but we have years and years of experience. We would like to share that experience with you.
