Thursday, June 30, 2016

Buying experience #8: June 2016


I honestly was not in the market for a house, i had just paid for house #7 and it hasn’t even arrived yet! however, i was looking for a lantern for the house i just bought. i was shocked to see that at 630am that morning a 99% complete (just missing the upstairs flower boxes) house WITH PATIO TRIANGLES!!! was for sale (not auction style) for a mere $116 including shipping. maybe my good fortune was in part because instead of listing it as an ‘A Frame’ in the listing title it was ‘authentic’ which i have seen it be called more than once. this one is also coming from the original owner. Since I JUST bought a house (to upgrade parts on my own), I dismissed it as bad timing since I would rather have had this house with the patio triangles since those alone are with up to $70. I went for my run and decided to make an offer when I got back, IF it was still available. Not getting my hopes up I offered $85, that way her net would be $101, not some lesser amount under $100. I was right, she agreed to it within 2 minutes of my submitting the offer!! She even asked me how she should ship it. So, I sent detailed instructions, nothing too picky, just things i learned over the years, like to request that the screws be put into a baggie, to use packing material to cushion the parts, and to nest the post overs together or leave them on the walls for protection. 

i will say that the random success of house #7 woke up my obsessive interest in buying this house over and over and over again, so long as it is complete. I don’t care so much about what color the house is, though pink seems to be way more popular than the red and yellow one, if the house is nice and minty white then i can upgrade my house, if the house needs painting, then i can restore it to original grandure or reinvent it with different colors like i did with the green house or others have done with black, grey, brown and purple paint colors. 

UPDATE: I got an email from her telling me that shipping is $85 and do i want to pay more because the shipping I paid was not enough, i told her I just won another house for $112 and I couldn’t afford to pay more, but would she sell me just the patio triangles, her reply was to cancel the order and not email me back about the triangles. Aren’t people GREAT?! 





1978 Mattel A Frame Barbie Dream Doll House Red roof yellow floors mod groovy 1970s 1980s custom OOAK 

4 comments:

  1. so sorry you missed out on the deal. bUT shipping can be a bear on these lovely houses. I am still looking for one to add to my collection. I had passed one in horrendous condition at a thrift store that didn't have the triangles. Wish I had picked it up now I could have spray painted it.

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    1. Thanks, I am still recovering from the disappointment, lol. I actually prefer ones that need painting since you then have the option of changing colors, or even if you restore it to white again it will be perfectly white, not off white like ones that aren't faded too badly. I am currently debating whether to buy one on Craigslist for $80, it includes the 1980 Littles house, but they are both a wreck and I have to drive an hour and a half each way to get it.

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  2. I ended up buying that house! It was listed as a local pick up and since we live close, I pounced. If it's any consolation, it has a good home and will be well taken care of.

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    1. Ah, ok. Well thanks for letting me know. It is a good house. =-)

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