Halloween clearance

Are you taking advantage of Halloween clearance items?  Most places have everything Halloweeny at 50% off right now; at Kmart, it’s 60%.  Most stores surely will increase their discount as we move away from all things ghostly, and move toward that other major holiday (I forget what it is).

BOLO for Count Chocula!

Case in point, I found two boxes of Count Chocula cereal on sale for $1.25 per box at Kmart.  It’s selling right now on Ebay for $6 to $10 per box.  As it grows more scarce, I’m sure the prices will increase.

Costumes are another great buy, provided you have room to store them until next year.  Oh, and don’t forget the candy to satisfy your sweet tooth.  I grabbed six bags of M&Ms for my work candy dispenser. Also, I don't think anyone will notice that you have Halloween Snickers and Almond Joys in your Christmas candy bowl, do you?

Elsewhere in thrifting land, Ella and I had a good weekend, which surprised me.  I figured we would do well at the book sale, but an "unadvertised and just happened to find" church sale yielded some fun finds, including six new in shrink-wrap puzzles.  I’ve had good luck with puzzles; they have a good sell-through rate, make great Christmas presents, and are easy to ship.  The church also provided a personal shopping assistant to carry my stuff while perusing their wares.

I also grabbed 20 new in package needlecraft kits for $2.00.  They are not big money, but at $.10 each, they were a steal.

I hope these miniatures will bring
full-sized prices!

At an estate sale, our last stop of the day, I found a box of new in package miniature accessories for dollhouses that was priced at $20.  While Ella picked out some items for her garden, I studied over the accessories, checked them on my phone, and generally fretted about whether it was a good deal or not.  Ultimately, I decided that $20 was too much, but thought that $10 would be reasonable.  When Ella and the seller settled on $30 for her items, I did my best American Pickers imitation, and attempted to bundle the dollhouse accessories with Ella’s purchase for a combined total of $40.  After some discussion, the seller agreed.  As a general rule, sellers are much more inclined to accept low offers toward the end of the day, but you knew that already, right?

On the opposite end of the spectrum, sales over the weekend were sluggish.  The thermal underwear continues to sell, as well as assorted odds and ends, including this set of guitar strings.  I found a box full of such strings at a church sale last year, and took them home for a whopping $2.  They are the gift that keeps on giving.

Looking forward to this weekend, I know there is at least one church sale/book sale/fall festival. I’m sure, though, Ella will find us somewhere else to spend our money.

Have a productive week.