posted on October 29, 2004 09:16:02 PM
My mom gave me 2 garbage bags full of old McCalls/Simplicity patterns, stuff like that. Some are new, never cut, some she cut but never used. She *thinks* the patterns are all complete but isn't 100% sure. I know NOTHING about this type of thing so short of me going through each individual pattern (and there are a lot of them) is there a disclaimer or something I can say in the auction stating that I think they are complete...?
I dont want some PO'd person at the end of the auction if one of the patterns is missing a small piece but I don't know how to dig through all the patterns to make sure everything is there...not to mention the fact that there are so many of them.
Edited to add that these patterns are for things like making dresses, kids clothes, coats, etc.
[ edited by HelgaGPataki on Oct 29, 2004 09:16 PM ]
posted on October 29, 2004 09:34:07 PM
I can tell you what I did when I sold some patterns...I'm like you and know nuttin about them.The ones that were cut ,I either kept for myself or threw them out .That way I didn't have to worry if it was all there or not, and in the long run....unless you have a lot of free time on your hands. It's the fastest way to sell them cause you don't have to look through them to see if all the parts are there.Plus they are kinda low end sellers so it was not worth digging through them to me.
posted on October 29, 2004 09:42:18 PM
Well since I didn't pay for them anything I make off them is a bonus and I dont want to pass up anything, even if it's just a buck.
I suppose I could save the cut ones for last and go through them. That just will take a while.
posted on October 29, 2004 10:16:24 PM
Helga: Do you have a pretty good idea how old the oldest patterns are? 20s? 30s? 40s? etc. I think there are people who would want the oldest just to display if for no other reason. I had a couple of old patterns a while back; I double-listed them in sewing/patterns and also somewhere in a theater costume area. Costumers are always looking for such things. There's also a vintage sewing category in Collectibles.
posted on October 30, 2004 05:03:50 AM
I sell patterns on az somewhat regular basis. Based on that experience, I would suggest you sort all the NIP from the cut, then sort according to mens, womens, kids, crafts, etc. You said McCalls and Simplicity. You will find a date, a year on the back of nearly every one of the McCalls, (look along the bottom edge of envelope). In the 1950's for some reason Simplicity stopped dating their patterns for a time. But if you check the COST of the pattern, (25, 50, 1.00) against the date of the McCalls, you can come pretty close in age, which is something people want to know. Then list them in small groups. If you want to list the cut patterns, say these are all cut. If NIP, definitely say that. If you have any apron or doll patterns, especially vintage ones, they will do well. People who want to sew for themselves or for the kids, don't want mens patterns. If you have a lot in one stack, sort again by size and state size in description. Since sewers don't throw patterns out, giving them a size range as the kid grows, for example, does work. Or sort by age, if your patterns have wide range. Who knows, you might have some of your grandmothers in there, too. If she saved her patterns, she might well have kept other, older ones, too. Let me know if I can answer any other questions along this line. Ruthie
