Sooooo....until that is fixed by some miracle, I will have to go thru the thousands of my photos already on my harddrive and pick something out to talk about.
Today I pick: Thrift Store Pet Peeves. I have a bunch I could talk about, but here is one that really irritates me. Why do workers in thrift stores (and yardsales) put price stickers on things in very conspicuous places that may end up damaging the item when the label is removed?
Here is a picture of some vintage Charlie Brown & Snoopy plaques I bought a while back. I was tempted not to buy them since the store put large price tags right on the artwork which is just made of paper. The thrift store could have chosen to put the label on the back of the item, but no, they put it right smack dab on the front, where it can damage the item. Arg!!!!!
I knew because of my years of experience and mad skills I have in removing labels, I could probably remove the labels without damaging the plaques. Here's my plan of attack:
1. Start removal process very soon after acquiring object. The longer the sticker remains on, the harder it is to remove.
2. Summon my lady-in-waiting to retrieve hairdryer and official Tweezerman tweezers from royal bathroom.
3. Plug in said hairdryer and turn on low heat and aim it at label. After a few seconds, try to lift off a corner of the sticker with tweezers (while maintaining low heat on hairdryer). Once a corner gets lifted up, pull very gently to remove the rest of the label.
4. Have a drink and celebrate your success.
Well anyway, that's how I remove a price tag sticker. Your results may vary.
4 comments:
Thrift store personnel and labels do not mix well! What's even worse is a thrift store person with a black marker!!
I'm the "official label remover" for my husband's ebay business, so I thought I'd put my 2-cents worth in on these problem labels.
Years ago, I used UN-DU Adhesive Remover (now available at Amazon) and it did a fantastic job of removing most kinds of labels. Any residue left could quickly be wiped away with a little of the remover on a paper towel. Then UN-DU became unavailable locally (because of some "environmental" problems, I think). I searched the interwebs and found some people recommended a product called BESTINE SOLVENT & THINNER which is available in a 4 oz. can at my local Hobby Lobby for about $3.99 (also available at Amazon in larger sizes). Being in a screw top can, it isn't as "handy" as the UN-DU in the squirt bottle, but I find it just as easy to dip my index finger in the can and dab over the label, then start at one corner to begin lifting the label off. Residue left can be easily removed by adding on a little more Bestine and wiping away with a paper towel. Bestine works on most labels. Recently I purchased a game which was taped closed with wide clear tape by those "uncaring thrift store personnel". Bestine worked on that too, with no damage to the nifty 1960s Concentration game box! Also, I read online that Bestine could be used on photographs to remove them from photo albums with no damage. I tried it and it did work. If you need to remove photos, try it first on a photo you have an extra copy of or really won't mind if it is damaged, just in case the type of glue used won't release by using the Bestine.
I am not affiliated with the manufacturers of the products I mentioned, nor with Amazon or Hobby Lobby.
Thought I'd comment about how our new Goodwill has fixed one of my thrift store pet peeves: pants hung up so you can't see the label w/o taking them off the hanger. On their massive Aisle of Jeans, they've hung all the jeans on clip hangers, at an angle, so you can easily breeze down the line checking sizes & brands until you find one you like.
Love your blog! Hoping you might like our Michigan based one: digthistreasure.com
Link swap?
Post a Comment