In early spring, I usually create a work breakdown structure (WBS) of the upcoming thrifting season. It’s a “map,” so to speak, of known thrifting events, from book sales to church bazaars, and everything in between. I add to it, and subtract from it, as the year progresses, and it keeps me on track to maximize my weekend thrifting time.
Unfortunately, this weekend marks the end of my WBS for the year, with Granny’s Attic at the local Catholic Church signifying the end of a long thrifting season that started with a single church sale back in early Spring. Oh, sure, there will be some sales on weekends, but with the approaching cold weather, Thanksgiving, and, of course, the silly season in December, major thrifting opportunities will be few and far between until next year.
In hindsight, this year has been one of the best ever as far as inventory is concerned. I’ve blogged about many of my bigger purchases, but never mentioned other smaller, but still lucrative, finds. Local thrift stores have been disappointing overall, but even Goodwill has yielded some amazing finds, despite their best efforts to keep all the good stuff for their online sales.
The aforementioned Granny’s Attic is part of a large fall festival, and always draws a crowd on Friday morning. I usually have to skip a couple of hours of work just to wait in line, and fight the other shoppers for the good stuff. The church crams a year’s worth of donations into a smallish building, and if you aren’t one of the first in, good luck making your way through the crowd.
The night before, though, is the AAUW book sale preview night at the old mall. For $5, you get to have an hour of fighting all the other dealers before the casual readers get a shot at the books. This used to be a good sale, but in the last few years, the quantity and quality of books has been seriously declining. With some luck, I will be able to get my money’s worth without pushing the other dealers out of my way. Just kidding, of course, but as quality inventory dries up, dealers ARE getting ruder and more desperate.
With the addition of inventory from Granny’s Attic and the book sale, I hope to have accumulated enough merchandise to have a good Christmas season, and to tide me over until the first sales of Spring. Our great room is overflowing with stuff, from books to toys to odds and ends for Ebay. I’ll also keep checking on Craigslist for sellable items; visiting the various thrift stores in the area; and waking up early on Saturdays, freezing my assets off, to visit whatever brave soul decides to have a yard sale.
I’ll also be listing like crazy, not only because I need the sales, but also because Ella is getting sick of her great room being full of boxes and totes, with only a small path clear from one room to the other.
How do you handle the slow season?
Where I live, there's 2 local auctions a week and at least one estate sale every Saturday. Also the outdoor flea market vendors are returning to the indoor venues which were mostly empty all summer. I usually find enough items to keep me going.
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