Monday, March 26, 2012

Monday Musings – Leftovers aren't so bad


I hate it when big churches have big yard sales that start on Friday.  Since I’m blessed with a day job, and can’t be in two places at once, no matter how hard I try, I’m usually chained to my desk daydreaming of the mountains of books and other treasures being sold to other “pickers,” who obviously don’t deserve/need it as much as I do.

Sometimes, though, the fickle hand of fate keeps all other would be buyers away, and leaves the door open for you to feast upon the goodies within.   OK, that’s a little melodramatic, but more or less accurate.  A simpler way to express it would be that at some sales, leftovers aren't so bad.

Such was the case on Saturday, the second day of a big church sale.  My wife and I walked into the sale shortly before 7 a.m., and while I was not overwhelmed, I was impressed that they still had a good bit of merchandise available.  I immediately headed to the books, and proceeded to scan, not expecting to find anything of value. I got excited, though, when my machine beeped, indicating a “good money” book, as I call them.  After a few minutes, it was obviously that no book scanners had passed this way, and I amassed a boxful of books.  I took the box to the holding area, and then turned my attention to the rest of the room.

At first glance, the room looked picked clean of high value items. Determined, though, I slowed down, felt the Yard Sale Force flow through me, and began finding stuff.  I soon had to get another box.

The first item I found was this:



Thanks to my smart phone, in my box it went.

I passed by the sporting goods table several times, before noticing what was there.  First, I saw these:



I wasn’t real sure what they were, but I had a feeling that they had to be worth more than the $3 price tag. It took some research, but I finally determined what they are.  They are wakeboard fittings, and definitely worth more than I paid.  My only conundrum at the moment is size.  There is no size listed.  I’ll have to word my listing carefully.

I also saw two pairs of black gloves.  Again, not much to look at, but upon further smart phone review, I grabbed them.



Speaking of gloves, I also found these.  I didn’t know it but a golf glove pack only contains one glove.  I found five packs at $.25 each.


Our next stop after the church was a sale to benefit animal rescue, one of our favorite causes.  It was the second weekend of the sale, and, again, I wasn’t expecting much. 

I didn’t snag any books, but I did manage to find other items to sell, including a new pair of ladies boots for $2, and a new pair of ladies shoes, featuring an elephant decoration, also for $2.  Both will bring much more than that. 

I also found a sound activated, realistic looking plush cat that will give our dogs fits.

The rest of the morning was fairly uneventful, with hit and miss scores at various other sales. 

At one sale, though, where I actually did find a few books, the sellers made good use of signage to draw buyers into their subdivision.  Bright green signs dotted corners, pointing the way. I’m always impressed with good signage.  On the way out, following the signs, but in reverse, I noticed they had written a message on the back of the very first sign (which would be the last sign that you see on the way out).

It simply said, “Thank You!”

Too cool.

4 comments:

  1. That sounds like quite the haul!

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  2. Excellent finds! I need to start using my smart phone more. :)

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  3. I have a friend that I often go to yard sales with, and we jokingly rate them from 1-10 afterwards. Signage factors in BIG with me when determining their score. :-) I would have appreciated theirs too - and told them so.

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  4. Every Sat morning, I'm showered, dressed and ready to go to the sales. We have an estate seller that lets people in 1/2 hour sooner than the stated time, so I always want to get there early. It never happens because of one thing or another going on at home. I start to break out into a sweat thinking about what I might be missing. Then, when I accept the fact that I'm not first in the door, I tell myself that whatever is leftover for me will be fine. Sometimes that "first-in-the door-frenzy" can be quite unsettling. I get pushed around by the big guys because I'm small, especially at the jewelry table. They use their size to keep me out. But I've gone to sales on the second day (no frenzy) and still found overlooked treasures...just like you did...and at a fraction of the price. :)

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