About this item

My stepdad Richard “Rick” Russell was a huge vintage Pepsi Cola Collector, in fact, he helped to start the Pepsi Cola Collector's Club in Los Angeles in the late 1980's, andyes, we had a house full of vintage Pepsi-Cola advertising memorabilia. Rick passed away about 7 years ago and my mom gifted me his entire collection. But what I did not expect was the other treasure-trove of "stuff" that he and my mom collected for over 45+ years! Most items are circa 1930's-1960's.These other items I am now starting to curate are items that he would have called, "Trick!" He loved to go to swap meets and flea markets to haggle, find bargains and enjoy the day people-watching. You see my stepdad was the guy who had the cool toys. He had a 1941 Ford, 1930's Packard, 1960's XKE Jaguar convertible and on and on, but his favorite was his 1930 Dodge Brothers C-Cab Truck that had a 289 Ford Mustang engine. It had the fat round fenders with the big large ‘speed-buggy headlights’ and running-boards – I will include a photo or two of the Pepsi Truck and the collection circa 1980s).

But I digress, my dad was "that guy" as he would drive his vintage classic car to the flea market, car show or swap meet and then he’d walk away and watch people look at his car, truck or motorcycle. You see he liked to do stuff like super-glue a Liberty Silver dollar or a Peace Silver dollar to the running board of his 1930 C-cab and then watch as people as they tried to slyly pick it up to steal it.In fact, as I went through all their stuff, I found fake $20.00 bills all over the place, at last count I had found 83 of them. I mention these as he was famous for putting these in books or a sport jacket pocket, places where you would come across one and get excited thinking you found yourself a sequestered-away $20.00 bill -ONLY to be tricked by my dad... but THAT was my dad!!

We’d always get up early to attend swap meets and flea markets each Saturday and Sunday, and when I say early, we’d arrive as the Sellers were setting up. He always said, “Early people find  the good stuff!” You see, Rick used to pay my sister and I a finder’s fee for anything Pepsi Cola branded with a double-dot (as that meant it was from 1940 or earlier as Pepsi–Cola branding started circa 1953’ish) Whatpaid us the most was ANYTHING that featured "Pepsi & Pete," which were two cartoon Keystone Cops that Pepsi Cola used in their Advertising starting in the 1930s. These unique items brought us a triple-the-normal finder’s fee! So we sought out double-dot Pepsi Cola (Pepsi : Cola) and Pepsi and Pete items wherever we could.

What I forgot about and was just not expecting as I emptied their house, was the literal treasure-trove of other antique & vintage collectibles, Examples: Ty Beanie Babies from 1992-2002, WWII recruitment posters, old comic books, baseball cards, vintage magazines; Life, Collier’s, Saturday Evening Post, Vintage ashtrays, marbles, jars, matchbooks, advertising ephemera, metal signs, trays,coins, US & foreign currencies and, and, and… So I now have a bunch of“Non-Pepsi Cola Items, but still really Cool items” and those items (as I unpack box-after-box) is currently growing to nearly the size of the entire Pepsi Collection.

I am obviously rambling more than usual, but within his "stuff" I found so many other vintage and antique items. If you love the 1930's-1950's I have ton of Pepsi Cola stuff, AND lots of other antiques too that I am attempting to posthere. I am going to try and create an eBay store like I see others have, but one step at a time. It obviously took a good amount of time to photograph,research and then post these items on eBay. I have also learned that eBay does enjoy taking their cut of my hard-earned cash, there are so many damn fees attached to selling on this forum, it seems that no matter what I prices omething at, eBay ends up charging me "what they feel my item is worth," and this is ‘no matter what it actually sells for.’ "They take, what they take..." I suppose though that eBay is a business as well,so they have to make $$. All of that was to say, I try and price things appropriately, BUT if my price is just too asininely high, PLEASE let me know,and/or make me an offer, I many times am amiable to what YOU think an item is worth.

I used to sell A LOT via the eBay auction format, but it seemed I was always sitting and waiting for auctions to end as were my buyers. SO NOW I offer items as “Buy it Now” and allow you to make me an offer - if my price is too high. Additionally, as I am still a rather novice seller on eBay I ALWAYS offer a 100% refund of the item’s cost, if you are not fully satisfied - for whatever reason. The item(s) that Ioffer on eBay are genuine vintage or antique, but I sometimes get things wrong,and again, I am always willing to take an item back, if you are not delighted with your purchase, I just ask that you ship it back to me in the same condition you received it!

It took me about 2-3 years to curate and photograph 90 percent of the Pepsi Cola Collection, and I have now moved on to the other "Trick Stuff," so be patient with me as I am a novice Seller on eBay and this is NOT my actual job or profession.This just means that it takes me awhile to get all this stuff posted and as my wife likes to tell me (near daily) I am way too verbose.

But whatever… As Popeye said, "I am what I am... Agg, Agg, Agg!"

So that is my backstory, today I am featuring:

 - A truly rare find: Absolutely Gorgeous 1975 Polaroid SUPER SHOOTER INstant Land Camera.   FYI- FREE U.S. SHIPPING to Your US Address

- List Price is $45.00, eBay will charge you sales tax upfront and there is nothing I can do about that (Sales Tax of $3.15 on $45.00), but I will take care of the shipping costs, so you can get this beautiful piece of 1975 Americana delivered directly to your door for under $50.00 TOTAL PRICE!

 A couple quick items about what kind of eBay Seller I am:

(1) I will always accept a return from a buyer who is not delighted with their purchase. My stepdad was kind of an asshole when it came to selling or trading to/with other people on what he collected. It was one of few times that I (as a kid) thought my stepdad to be an incredibly cruel man. Here relished the power he had over those people who "wanted" something, that he had. To be honest, I hated this about him and as such, I just do not do that, I WILL negotiate the PRICE, I do not want you to walk away unhappy just because I want to gouge you for a few more dollars. Truth is, I know how much fun "collecting" was to Rick, so I have decided to honor his memory by finding homes for his very unique items with other like-minded collectors. That said, I will obviously take your item back IF YOU ARE NOT 100% satisfied and delighted with your purchase. I believe this is the way that professionals conduct themselves, I am from the school of "Treat Others as You Want to be Treated!" So don't fret, I only ask that you ship it back to me unscathed, just as you received it!

(2) Should my listed price be too high, just take a second and let me know, and feel free to make mean offer. I used to do a lot of Auctions via eBay, but those just seemed to drag on and on and on. NOW, well I learned about "Buy it Now" and that seemed a much better and faster way for me to get items to people who want them without having to wait XX days etc. Again, I obviously want to make a few dollars selling all this cool stuff, but it is truly not my biggest objective. It seems very strange to say that in a post where I am selling something, but it's true. I want these items to find a home similar to where I grew up, we had so many rooms filled with antiques and advertising, it was just commonplace for me,but when friends came over for the first time, they were floored with the Pepsi Parlor (I will include a photo or two so you understand).

(3) I want to express my abject hatred of other eBay sellers who attempt to make up their inexpensive listing price, by gouging on shipping cost. It truly is a pet-peeve of mine, andthe biggest reason that I almost always offer free shipping to the continental United States. This way you can calculate and see exactly the REAL COST of what you are buying, I think it is the fair and reasonable way to conduct business. 

As an example, I many times list things as such; Blah-Blah item for $18.75 with Free Shipping to Continental USA, and I ensure nothing is left as a surprise to you. For that Blah-Blah item, I listed it at $18.75, I tell you upfront that you will pay $1.31 in tax, so in the Description, I will net-net it for you and say, "This item will only cost you a TOTAL of $20.00 to buy and receive the Blah-Blah item to your door." I try to make it as easy as possible for you and others to do business with me and that there are no bullshit surprises.  

(4) Please Know that I WILL review any offer that is made regarding items I am selling. Tell me YOURStory! Tell me why you want or need ____ and let's get you the item or items you want/need! Life is just too short and if I can make your day by getting you an item for a price that is a bit better for you, well, I just may do that! Ido this quite often, and many people tell me that they enjoy buying from me.There is NO "Caveat Emptor" here(Latin/English Translation- Let the Buyer Beware) - and yes, I learned that from watching TV reruns of the Brady Bunch! I wish there was a way that you all could talk to those that have purchased from me, but until eBay creates that you'll just have to look at the feedback I receive.

This is my side-hustle, I enjoy it, it's fun and makes a little extra"spending money," lately I have been putting away for my son’s college fund or if mom finds it first, she will want to add to her "new kitchen fund!"

Thank you for looking    JamieG