I bought this kit from Chris (Virginia Treasure Hunter) and it came in today. A couple of people asked for a video so I did it. Incidentally it arrived in the mail today, which is our 30th anniversary, which is the pearl anniversary. Thought that was a neat little coincidence. Christa (PatinaPastPurpose)

I feel like I have had success in the 6 months that Ive been doing Whatnot as Virginiatreasurehunter. Some may disagree, but I am very happy with how my business has grown. Ive had people asking how I started and built things up and I thought I’d share if anyone is interested. Keep in mind this worked for me, it may not be the best way for you. -Consistancy. I tried a couple of different times and dates before I settle on Friday evening being my ‘set show’ day. I have a show every Friday, I have adjusted the times, but my shows are Friday evenings and I stick to it. Ive only cancelled one (I had the flu and wanted to die, so I thought $$$-It costs money to make money. I DID pay to promote for the first 3 months. The analytics showed I was getting sales from promotion, but more importantly I was getting bidders and return visitors who initially came in from promotion. $$$-MORE ‘It takes money to make money’. (This is the really unpopular one). I had $1 starts my first show, $3 starts after that, now I do all $4 starts. Yes I lost money on many items in the beginning. I sold many awesome pieces, many that I would guess Brad would get $30-$80 in his shows, for $3-$15. I knew I had to do this to build my business and considered it an acceptable loss. I congratulated my buyers (very upbeat and cheery, even when I was sad about it) and moved on to the next item. This has cost me the most money, and its been worth every penny. -KEEPING PEEPS IN THE ROOM. I did/do this several ways. I thought ‘People have so many rooms they can scroll through, how can I keep them in mine?’ My show thumbnail and title gave people a reason to stay. To start I gave a lot of jewelry away. - Plan your background thoughtfully. Give them something that takes time to look at. Brad uses a mirror and his zany personality along with the flats of amazing jewelry he’s selling. He’s shopping with a show, personified! However, for us mere mortals….. I now set up all ‘bangers’ in the background. Amazing higher end pieces I have preloaded, a few for auction, but mostly in the BIN. I do run flash sales during my shows on those pieces and I always make a nice profit on them. I could do a better job of featuring them during my shows..but that another topic, lol. By having those in the background there is always something really nice to look at, and if asked I tell people to look in the shop at the piece then I show the item up close and run the sale. I think people sometimes look and then research and come back because I am often asked to run a piece a second time, and then it sells, sometimes even a show or two later.

Jon and I went to the thrift store this morning and I picked up a ring. It was unmarked, but I just had a gut feeling that it was a good one. I happily paid $4! As soon as we got home, I acid tested the metal and tested the stones. I was so freaking excited! The ring is 14 K and Diamond! Yay!

Just love her. 1920s mini portrait I haven’t tested the frame yet could be gold filled, but I’m not sure yet. I just think she’s stunning and hangs inside this beautiful case as well. just thought I’d share still doing some research.

This week's best find for me came just 2 hours ago. I bought this $12 jar of odds and ends jewelry and got this 14K pendant = 1.58grams. Almost paid for all my purchases today!!! 🤑🥳 Show me your best Find this week in the comments!