Rabbit holes.
We all get sucked down them from time to time and well, I don’t know what I was originally looking for when I was on Etsy the other day, but somehow I ended up on a storefront selling 18 Driftwood Buttons Handmade from Beachcombed Peach Pits.
The price? $27.67 + $8.41 shipping.
Wowza!
And that got me thinking….
What about just ordinary peach pits? Ones that perhaps someone had saved after eating a peach?
I found a set of 25 dried peach pits for $19.20 + $9.50 for shipping.
Although the apricot pits seem like a better deal at 120 for $24 + shipping.
Date pits were going for $20.40 + shipping. {Aren’t all the different shades of browns pretty?}
But the thing that made me smile the most was the 3 ounces of pistachio shells for $10.80 {+ shipping}.
Because seriously, at this point, I started to think… you know, not only is this person insanely clever {buying fruit/nuts, eating the fruit/nuts, and then selling the pits/shells and thus having their fruit/nuts PAID FOR by someone else, it’s a pretty ingenious idea.
One man’s trash is another’s treasure, right?
But there are so many questions I have. Like,
- What is the break even point?
- What is the cost per pound of the fresh fruit/nuts vs how much you would charge for the dried bits?
- Could this be a way to essentially make all your {pitted} fruit purchases pay for themselves?
- What do people actually do with these things?
- What else do we discard on a regular basis that could be re-sold with little effort on the internet?
4 ounces of organic orange peels {seriously, how could you possibly tell they were organic?} for $9.95.
1 pound of organic rose hips for $26.95.
1.5 pounds of cherry pits… the going rate $13.25.
Creating things from discarded and found objects, it’s a talent for sure and Kirsty Elson is a pro at it {those boats are made from pistachio shells!}. 😉
Driftwood, rusty nails, peach pits, old pieces of string, using the wire bristles of an old brush as the base for a beach scene. I LOVE IT!!!
So save those pits {or get your kids to save them this summer} and see what you can do with them. Who knows, maybe you’ll get some of your grocery money back by selling them online… or maybe you’ll turn into one of those cool artsy types who can turn something most people see as trash, into something magnificent.
The world is full of possibilities.
~Mavis
Katherine says
I love this. People are so creative. I think of doing things like this sometimes, but think I’d collect and never end up selling it and then would just be a hoarder, so I just throw it all away. Maybe I’m overthinking it.
Sharon says
Mavis : Those peach pit buttons are inspiring; perhaps you could do the same with your driftwood. Cut little cross pieces, drill two holes and sand. People pay a lot of money for unusual buttons!
Brianna says
Pits I do not understand why someone would want them, they are used and might have been in someone’s mouth. Rose hips and orange peel I know are used for culinary purposes like teas, candies, rose hip jellies, and chocolate making. The shells are kind of cute. I remember a seeing a walnut shell wreath and a bowl of clean nut shells for staging in a house awhile ago.
J in OH-IO says
My daughter reused our own pistachio shells for a school project in second grade a “shoebox shadow box” featuring the Little Mermaid- she put glitter on them for shells in the beach! Turned out great and was a creative use of something we were just going to throw away.
Linda says
I think everyone who buys the seeds/pits should buy the fruit/nuts and save their own. They will enjoy the fruits of their labor and save the shipping cost.
Bettina says
We made a wreath for the Festival of Trees a few years back – the flowers were made out of Pistachio Shells. We left ours natural, (as it fit the theme of the wreath), but you can color the shells and make some beautiful colors!
Ellie says
Cherry pits make an excellent heating pad. Just microwave for a minute and they work wonders on headache or sore back.
Mavis Butterfield says
Good to know!
Liz says
There’s all sorts of “trash” that sells on eBay. I’ve sold empty Altoids tins and chicken feed bags. I know that empty paper towel and tp tubes sell, as do empty pill vials and those little glass jars from Oui yogurt. Kind of crazy, but I’m more than happy to sell my trash if someone wants it.
LC says
There’s a store here called the repurpose project that sells exactly like that!
Virginia says
People are funny. I can’t even seem to get a bite on decent clothing I’ve listed on eBay, so maybe I need to think outside the box! Mavis, you should start saving up those little liquor bottles you seem to have a knack for finding. There might be a money making opportunity there.
Mavis Butterfield says
Ha ha ha. That would be funny.
Vivian says
I clean up the busy street that I live on and I can’t tell you how many of those tiny liquor bottles that I pick up! That and fast food containers, too. People are such litterers. It is really disgusting.
LindaT says
You can probably list those things on Etsy, but my question is “ How many people buy them?”
Nancy says
WAIT, WHAT???
Sue says
One mans trash is another’s treasure as the saying goes.
My son and family travel the U S in their RV in the summer.
I have pinecones from all over. Smooth rocks from the northwest
to Maine. Smooth rocks from all over that I can paint on.
Unusual pieces of wood that I treasure. I even bought a box of small driftwood from a seller from the Great Lakes.
Traveling with my art group in Europe and the US, we would pick up small stones to use in art work.
SandyF says
Just look at the Rose Parade floats-covered with seeds, plant material and pits. Anything from a plant is acceptable!
I have worked on many a Rose Parade float-it is a fascinating and great experience!
Pam says
I have an apple gourd painted as a big red apple with a leaf made from glue soaked brown bag, and two more barrel gourds painted like metallic Christmas balls decorated with silvery puffy paint…love them all!
Marcia says
Um, what? I mean, really, people sell these things…
Patti Vanderbloemen says
I cannot get past how many germs are percolating in those pits, etc. Kinda makes my stomach turn, and not in a good way.
Kimberly Vassar says
I have seen very primitive doll makers use pits ans shells to stuff the dolls…very old timey feel.
Mavis Butterfield says
I use crushed walnut shells for my pin cushions. 🙂
Linda Practical Parsimony says
I had about a half gallon of pistachio shells because I think they are beautiful. After thinking about selling them or throwing them out, I put them in my flower bed. I figured they could look pretty until they went back to the earth.
Stacey says
I never thought of saving this type of stuff. I’m going to start right away! My husband is used to me saving things that look like they could be used for something else. Sometimes I use them, but I really am good at getting rid of them when I realize they are not. Thanks for the tip!