Endless Yard Sale

I’ve decided that watching Endless Yard Sale on TV is more fun than watching Endless Yard Sale being filmed.

 

It was overcast, gloomy, and misting rain when we arrived at the Big Peach Antique Mall at 7:30 a.m.  The production crew was already there, and set up under canopies outside in anticipation of an 8 a.m. start time.  By 8:10 a.m., all three pairs of contestants had arrived in separate vehicles, and a few minutes later, the host of the show, Paul Brown, drove up.  Apparently, he had attended the Rolling Stones concert on Tuesday night in Atlanta, and not only got a late start, but also got caught in traffic on his way to Byron.  After a quick dash into a rented RV to change clothes, he was ready to go.

 

Last minute instructions

Just one of the practice runs

Everyone's in position to get the show started

Producer puts Paul Brown  on the spot

The producer was busy giving the contestants last minute instructions, and they even practiced running away from their barrels … twice.   Finally, with host in place and contestants ready, the producer slapped the clapboard, and filming began.

 

It was anti-climatic to say the least, at first, but when the contestants started their mad dash toward the mall at the beginning of the 15 minute challenge, dealers, including myself who had been watching outside, scattered quickly, and ran (OK, walked really fast) to their booths in hopes of selling something or at least getting on TV.

 

Each pair of contestants had a cameraperson, a sound engineer, and at least one producer with them at all times as they roamed the mall.  A timekeeper kept track of the time for the contestants, calling out how many minutes remained.  By the end of the 15 minutes, one pair of contestants had passed our booth, barely giving it a glance. 

 

Bummer.

 

Two hours later, filming of this one challenge still was ongoing.  Again, dealers gathered outside the mall door, watching the action, or lack thereof, much to the consternation of the producers, who asked that we not stare at the cameras.  The appraisers were there, evaluating each of the finds, and finally, the contestants gathered at their barrels.  Before the winner was announced, the producers had the contestants make a practice run for the mall once again, which sent the dealers scurrying.

 

Contestants wait for their appraisal results; the contestants on the left won the 15 minute challenge

Finally, the winning team was crowned, and the winners practiced running to their truck.  When the camera was actually rolling, the winners grabbed their item, started running, but had to stop when a piece of whatever they had fell off.  So, they had to start all over again.

 

Then, the winners drove away.  What?  That was it? 

 

After a certain period, the second place winners drove away, then the third.

 

Oh, well, so much for that.  However, shortly thereafter, two of the teams were back in the mall shopping again.  Again, our booths were ignored.

 

We stayed until the last team exited the mall.  Apparently, the teams had another destination to get to, but that information was not provided.

 

I’m pretty sure both Ella and I were in camera range at some point, but we’ll probably end up on the cutting room floor, so to speak.

 

The producers say the episode will air in August or September.  I’ll keep you informed.

My first Rolex

Real or fake?

OK, so it’s broken, and probably a fake, but my heart nearly skipped a beat when I saw it in the box of souvenir bells that I picked up for $5. A local jeweler either will confirm my suspicions, or give me some good news.

 

Otherwise, Saturday was hit and miss, mostly miss, with just so many sales that it was impossible to visit them all.  Ella once again made an outstanding itinerary, but time was not on our side, and we probably missed some good sales, and by early afternoon, we were just too tired to go here:

 

“A combination of 3 estates over 2000 items tagged, including: classic cars, car parts, modern cars and truck, boats and motors, fishing equip, sporting goods, 1000's of license plates, antiques, collectibles. Two Airstream trailers, a 40 foot bridge, washer and dryers, refrigerators, household items. Over 300 photos posted, estate sale.com. Vehicles include, 1932 Ford homemade, 2001 Jaguar conv, 1974 Datsun 260 with 350 Chevy, 2005 Ford F150, 2006 Chrysler town and country, 1998 buick rivera, motorcycles, 2 shotguns, A large group of Model A car parts, heavy sheet metal tools and equipment, complete 350 with trans, complete 454 with trans, jag rear end. Many unique items and rare antiques. Please be with us. See the only 1941 Graham Hollywood roadster in the universe.”

 

In our defense, it had started the day before, and was slightly out of town.  I know, a hard-core thrifter would have made the effort, but our tired feet and growling bellies made such rationalization easier.  However, we did make the short drive on Sunday morning to see if anything was left.

 

Holy crap!  The barn was still full of collectibles, and everything was half price.  We picked up vintage signs, framed Budweiser pictures, a large stained-glass dog in an old wooden frame, and assorted small collectibles. 

 

Oh, did I mention the books on the second floor of the barn?  I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating.

ALWAYS CHECK THE BOOKS.

TITLE	PRICE
The Georgia Coast: Waterways and Islands	$10.00
The Avian Brood Parasites: Deception at the Nest	$27.00
Storm over Mono: The Mono Lake Battle and the California Water Future	$39.90
The Butterflies of Costa Rica and Their Natural History	$90.00
Latin American Insects and Entomology	$170.00
The Butterflies of Costa Rica and Their Natural History	$124.08
A Flora of Southern California	$8.99
Manual of Ornithology: Avian Structure and Function	$25.69
	$495.66

This is the week that “Endless Yard Sale” films at the local antique mall, and we have to spend the next two evenings readying our booths for their Wednesday debut on the Great American Country channel, or so we hope.  We’re loading up our bigger booth with some nice pieces, and I’ve instructed Ella to be bold and daring, and to flirt if necessary, to get the contestants to buy our stuff.

 

I’ll try to share some pictures on Thursday or Friday.

 

As usual, there’s too much to do, and too little time to do it. 

 

Have a great week.

 

Saturday was awesome

It didn’t start that way, though. Ella’s well-crafted yard sale plan had netted us very little, and toward noon, I was beginning to regret ignoring the large neighborhood sale that I was sure would attract dealers like flies to honey.   

 

Still, we had picked up a few things here and there, including a few collectible clowns from a church sale.  We were tired, irritable and hungry, and ready to call it a day, when we pulled up to the last sale on our list.  From the road, it didn’t look like much, just five or so tables overseen by the stereotypical little old lady.

 

When we walked up, though, I knew our luck had changed dramatically for the better.

 

The four porcelain Disney dolls caught my eye first, followed quickly by the Junior Cowboy Cheerleader dolls, which led me to the three new in box Barbie vehicles, followed by all manner of Coca-Cola merchandise, and totes full of Barbie stuff, including Hallmark ornaments.

Our living room is filled with Barbie dolls and Coca-Cola stuff

New in box Barbie vehicles

The little old lady, obviously sensing a sucker, I mean buyer, quickly pointed out the Madame Alexander dolls.  Ella, being the media queen, quickly found the two boxes full of new in shrink-wrap DVDs, including Snow White and Dumbo, plus assorted other high-dollar movies.

 

We quickly started making a pile, with me looking over my shoulder to make sure no other dealers were going to steal our bounty.  Our total jumped to $300, and with only $50 in my wallet, I knew I had to make a quick trip to the ATM.  With the $50 as a down payment, we went home, unloaded the van, and quickly headed to the bank, then back to the sale.

 

We paid our bill, loaded our purchases, and then kept looking, eventually making another pile.  By that time, the sun was beating down on us, and the owner was ready to be rid of everything.  We purchased all the remaining collectibles, leaving only the mundane yard sale items behind.

 

All total, we spent close to $600.  Yeah, I know, ouch.

 

After loading our purchases, Ella and I helped the lady pack up her sale.  It was around 90 degrees with absolutely no shade.  I encouraged her to stay on her porch, and eventually we got everything out of the yard, and her rental tables in her car.

 

We got a good deal, and performed a good deed, all in one day.

 

I waited until Sunday to unload the van, after I had sorted and moved close to 200 really, really nice painting and craft books that I had purchased on Tuesday.  I had attended a sale about a month ago, and cherry picked most of the high budget books, but left my name in case the owner wanted to sell what was left.  She finally called, and we took home 11 boxes of books.  Most were penny books, which I knew, but the few that weren’t more than made up for the $100 that I paid.  The remainder of the books gradually either will be sold in our antique booths for $2 each, sold as a bulk lot, or donated to the Hospice thrift store for a tax donation.

 

Looking ahead, June 10^th is the date that the TV show Endless Yard Sale films at the local antique mall.  Since our booth currently is lacking any bona fide antiques, and given what I know about the show, I started “Operation Get Ella on TV” and purposely have sought out and was lucky enough to purchase several antique/vintage items, including a floor-standing tube radio that actually works, a wooden ice bucket, a paddle-type butter churn, a heavy metal coffee grinder, a wooden hay rake, and a Victrola cabinet (missing the actual phonograph, though).  

 

All will be priced to sell in an effort to give Ella her 15 minutes of fame.

 

Have a great week everyone.