Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Vintage Shampoo...and also, My Husband was right

Ok, question for you all. Does anybody remember Ivory Shampoo?

They stopped making it several years back, but I clearly remember it from when I was younger. Every so often my mom would make us lie down on the kitchen counter with our head at the edge of the sink and she would give our hair a good scrubbing. And she used Ivory Shampoo, which had a completely unique scent which I can still almost smell to this day.

When they discontinued it, I didn't really notice. I had moved on to other more sophisticated brands like Salon Selectives and White Rain. Oh, and Outrageous, which at the time I thought was the best ever because it smelled so divine.

When I married Ricardo and moved all of my stuff in and basically took over the cabinet space in his bathroom, I discovered in the very back of the bottom cabinet a small stash of Ivory Shampoo. Brand new, never used, four bottles. I asked him about it, and he told me that he had grabbed the last few bottles that he could find right around the time that they stopped making it, and was hanging on to them in the hopes that he could someday sell them and make some big bucks off of them. Every once in awhile he would grab one of the bottles, open it and pass it slowly under his nose, savoring the scent of a great payoff down the road.

I am a little ashamed to admit that I scoffed at the idea. They only cost maybe $2 at the time, so I didn't figure anyone would fork out much more than that for them.

But he was so sure that this shampoo he had been hoarding for years was worth something. He did some googling and found some website where people were posting on message boards, begging the Ivory execs to bring back the shampoo. And, oh the excitement.

"Look!" He would tell me. "Here's a guy that says he has one bottle left and only uses it for special occasions! See?? People love this stuff!"

He finally convinced me to put a bottle on Ebay, and I did so, confident in the fact that it was a huge waste of the listing fee that they charged us.

Imagine my surprise when it actually sold. And further, imagine my shock when someone paid twenty dollars for it. Ok, so maybe it's not a fortune, but it's still a pretty good return on $2. The man who bought it was thrilled to pieces that he had discovered his favorite shampoo again after lo these many years, and emailed me to tell me that he thought he would never see it again. He asked if we had any more.

Why, yes, as a matter of fact. We did.

We ended up selling all four of them for $20 a pop, which is still hard for me to believe, considering that Ricardo had at the most $6 invested in them (one he found at his mom's house, so it was free to us).

Now he is trying to convince me to put up for auction an old tin of Nesquick Strawberry Mix. He says they do not make the old metal tins anymore, which I think is true - everything is plastic now. He is pretty convinced that some collector out there would just love it.

I know better than to scoff anymore, even though I sort of still want to. Like they say...there is a buyer for everything.

So...what would you pay good money for if you could only find it again?


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34 comments:

Miss Lisa said...

Woo-hoo on that fun profit!

I always liked Ivory shampoo too :)

Not sure what I would pay good money for these days....maybe some deep dish pizza from the pizza shop I loved that closed down. I miss that pizza....

Chel's Leaving a Legacy said...

Too cute...and you gotta know there are a great many people who will pay for a metal tin of Nesquick! Just last week DH and I went "antiquing" on our anniversary (we both love old stuff) and I bought a tin of old pepper for my kitchen cabinet. It's about 40 years old...and still full of wonderful smelling pepper! Paid about $4 for it! :-)

RosyRose said...

Hey Lucky you! That's a great story! I was wondering what your gonna do with your big bucks?
I am too cheap to pay lots of money for anything...except my hair. I always feel like a pay way too much but it's an area I'm a little obsessive in!
Rose

Rach@In His Hands said...

Ooooo, way to go on the shampoo!! You have one smart hubby!

Aspiemom said...

What a hoot! Smart man, that Ricardo! My husband gets similar great ideas, but his never profit like that.

Hope the tin turns out with a similar story.

Mrs. H said...

That's awesome! I've got 2 webkinz in my closet I am hoping will bring me big bucks one day too! Everytime I look up at the top of my closet I think about how crazy I must be to think that I will make money off of them. But now after reading your post...maybe there is hope!

Krystal

Moriah @ Please Pass the Salt said...

My favorite Victoria's Secret lotion smell was Exotic Bouquet - it truly smelled divine. They discontinued it when I was in high school. Too bad I didn't know until it was too late!

SarahHub said...

What a smart husband you have there!

I don't know what discontinued item I would pay good money for. Do they still make Tang? I have great memories of sitting around my great grandmother's table, sipping the orange drink of astronauts.

Colored With Memories said...

my favorite foundation...loreal mattique...discontinued and i still can't find one i like as well!

what about prell shampoo...anybody remember that? i don't remember ivory, but i'm sure it was great...$80 great.

the tin will definitely sell!

Gretchen said...

Oh, Jackie, I'm sorry that Ricardo was right. ;)

Very cute story. And lucrative, too.

I suppose, I'd like to have a Barbie airplane or the whole set of the Sunshine family (hippie barbie wannabes).

Sara@iSass said...

GASP! I so remember Salon Selectives! You were COOL if you had these. Isn't it crazy what Ebay can do, or sell? Crazier yet somebody wants it. I myself have been grounded from ebay...I went a little nuts trying to find a doll I had as a girl. I was not crazy enough to pay the bid!

Queen to my 3 Boys said...

I would pay for the Hollywood Jeans that we had when I was in highschool.

You know, the ones that made everyone's butts look scrumptious! I need a little help in the 'butt' area. Three children in a small time didn't do me any favours in that area! *wink*

SmilingSally said...

Father knows best. Hmm, that'd make a good title.

Wendi@EveryDayMiracles said...

SO funny! Who would've thought? I'm so excited for you!

I am way too cheap to pay big bucks for any thing. I'll have to think about it and come up with some great answer. Oh - I have an idea. We used to have this game "New Zoo Review" when my siblings and I were kids. My sister LOVED it and I have been looking all over to try to find it for her birthday. :) I would probably pay a bit if I ever found that.

Now I want to go dig through my house to see if I have any thing super cool that some one might pay big bucks for. :)

Marci @Finding Joy in the Journey said...

i love the smell of Ivory. I like you would have not seen the market there. Maybe I should start searching my house!

Lily is great at keeping her toys in their boxes and all the pieces together. We just sold most of her "vintage" Sweet Street sets in their original boxes on Amazon for at least twice what we paid for them. Nothing like a little bonus Christmas $$.

Grace Acres said...

that was not only interesting but entertaining to say the least.
But I would love to find the origional bluberry doll and daffodil doll. I used to have them and they disapeared at some point and I loved them.

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure what I would pay good money for, but I do love ebay! :) Congrats on your profit!

Growin' With It said...

20 bucks for shampoo. i wonder if he'll just sniff it like your hubby's been doing. what a cool treasure.

men are geniuses i tell ya
!

Lisa said...

Love found money. Put it in your piano fund. :)

Genny said...

Too funny, Jackie! Who would've thought.

The Sullivan Sitcom said...

Let me just warn you about this selling on Ebay, it's addicting, just like blogging. My hubby always jokes about coming home and everything in the house will be sold. He's such a kidder! I totally wouldn't sell the kids! :)

2nd Cup of Coffee said...

Sounds like someone's found herself a new hobby!

ttm said...

80 bucks??!! Sweet!!

Jules from "The Roost" said...

It is amazing what we have sold on e-bay. He is right there is a buyer for almost everything! The shampoo is one of the best I have heard though!

mer@lifeat7000feet said...

That is crazy that you sold those on ebay! That's a great ebay story to tell! I don't remember Ivory shampoo though. My mom always bought suave or Johnson & Johnson. :)

Mamajil said...

I remember that shampoo!!!!
If I could find the old band aid tins I would buy them. I was thinking the other day that they would be the perfect size to hold a deck of cards...put contact paper on the outside and store the kids card games in them.....but they just don't make them any more... I can't remember if I told you but I love your new look!!!

Amanda said...

i've never even heard of ivory shampoo...but obviously many people have! :) definitely LOVE that you were able to sell it for so much! isn't it amazing what people will spend to "take them back"! :)

Erin K. said...

Hilarious! I wonder what old stuff I could sell off on Ebay...

Anonymous said...

Sheesh. He's a brainy one huh?

I would never have thought to do that. That gets me wondering though, what I might be able to stock up on now so that I can turn a profit five years from now.

Michelle@Life with Three said...

I can't believe you got $20 a bottle! That's awesome! I can't think of anything that they stopped making that I loved. Nothing is springing to mind. Hmmm...I'll have to think on that one!

Nicole - Life in Progress said...

This is a GREAT story. You will always have a great tale to tell at dinner parties. LOVE IT!

*carrie* said...

That is so funny--it is true that you never know what people will buy! I have a friend who scouts Ebay for the original scent Baby Magic lotion. =) I laughed when you mentioned Salon Selectives--I'd totally forgotten about that brand!

Thanks for commenting on my blog--it's nice to "meet" you!

Missy said...

Oh my gosh, that's hysterical. And just proves that you can buy ANYTHING on ebay!

Jenn said...

Saw a link to this post on Meredith's blog. What a story - can't believe someone would pay that much for old shampoo.