INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Gloria Allen’s over-sized shopping bag is filled with small boxes ready to go out to the post office as quitting time nears. She steps around the giant boxes of Styrofoam peanuts and makes her way past multiple offices that are stacked from floor to ceiling with Christmas ornaments. In the back office, Allen stands over her computer and nods.
It’s been a good day on eBay. She has sold 136 items in the last 24 hours.
In fact, Allen has had a pretty good run since hundreds of thousands of Christmas ornaments were discovered in five Vero Beach storage units a few years ago.
Yes, hundreds of thousands.
Allen fell into the position of selling the ornaments when she started dating Hal Oberkotter of John’s Island.
On one of their first dates a few years ago, Oberkotter, a long-time supporter of the Humane Society and the past president of the board, took her to the Humane Society and showed her a wing that had been added in memory of his mother Mariam Dickey Oberkotter.
During another date, he asked if she had any reservations about people who like to collect things.
All the questions kind of fell into place when Allen learned about Linda Oberkotter’s collection.
Linda and Hal Oberkotter had been married for many years. For at least a decade during their marriage, Linda Oberkotter raced around to Hallmark stores in the days after Christmas, scooping up steeply discounted ornaments with the intention of selling them one day after the value of the now-retired pieces went up.
The values did in fact go up, but Linda and Hal Oberkotter went their separate ways with Linda leaving behind John’s Island and the Hallmark ornaments.
Linda Oberkotter intended all along to donate the money made on sale of the ornaments to the Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County.
“She really got the ball going. I’m happy to pick it up and keep it bouncing,” said Allen.
Bouncing is an understatement.
The selling of the ornaments has turned into a 45-hour a week project for Allen. She admits she had to force herself not to peek at the computer throughout the night to see how the sales are coming along.
In the first year, Allen sold Barbie ornaments; there were 78 different styles and multiples of each.
Then, it was Star Wars, Star Trek and Harry Potter.
Within a year, the sales raised $10,000 for the Humane Society.
Last summer, Allen and Hal Oberkotter discovered another cache of ornaments at one of the Oberkotter summer homes in Virginia so it was back to eBay for Allen.
Allen currently has 257 different ornaments listed on-line. There are multiples of most of them and while she’s made a significant dent in the supply or ornaments left behind, she still has thousands upon thousands left.
In fact, the collection at time grows as Linda Oberkotter is now sending more Christmas ornaments and other trinkets back to Vero for Allen to sell.
Linda Oberkotter is also helping to research the going prices for many of the items to ensure the Humane Society reaps as much as it can.
Allen laughs after telling the story of how she ended up selling ornaments for charity as a full-time gig.
“It is kind of hilarious isn’t it? But we do it for the animals,” she said.
Over Thanksgiving weekend, Allen and the Oberkotters hit another milestone when a woman from Virginia bought two Christmas ornaments effectively pushing the Humane Society fund over the $20,000 mark.
Allen was so thrilled she sent the buyer a letter – and threw in another ornament – telling her how much she appreciated the woman’s willingness to help the Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County.
The ornaments and other trinkets are listed under a specialty store on eBay called AllFourPaws32961.
Because 100 percent of the sales of the ornaments and other items in the AllFourPaws32961store goes to the charity, eBay gives Allen and Oberkotters a break with what it takes for the service.
Prices for the ornaments range from 99 cents to $50.
Allen said locals who want to buy the items on eBay can make arrangements with her to pick up the items at the Humane Society thrift shop to cut down on shipping costs.