The Macalester-Groveland neighborhood of St Paul was having a community garage sale, and while some of the sales were quite a ways apart, I like the demographics of the area for buying cool used stuff.
Kudos to whoever put together their on-line map. Either they read my article on how to do a community yard sale or they read my mind. Among other things, the map said whether the sale was in the front or back of the house!
Find of the day (A three-way tie).
price - 25 cents each or $4 for all 17
sold (took them all)
On the way up the elevator in my building, a neighbor offered me $50 for them. I'm only going to charge him $30 (plus tax). That's markup enough, especially now that I know he's a customer. I was going to charge 3 for the 1890s ones (far left). The other green ones are, I'm guessing, from the 30s ($2). The clear ones I think are worth a buck (probably made in the 60s).
Swinging chair
price - free
no sale
We have nowhere to put this. It lasted less than two minutes after the picture was taken.
ZZ Top collectible book
price - $1
sold
ZZ Top fans all drool in unison. This book has wonderful pictures of the band's history, along with previous bands the guitar player belonged in. Mostly though, it has pictures of his huge car collection, taken in very Tejas locations, some looking a might questionable, populated with shady looking characters. Signed. This goes in the closet to be auctioned 15 years from now.
Other thing we did or didn't buy
Power Puff Girl
price - 25 cents
sold
This will be added to our Christmas ornament collection that hangs from the vines on our ceiling.
Display case
price - $4 (as part of a volume discount)
sold
Perfect for my mom's gift shop.
Jessie Ventura mask
price - $5
no sale
I have no desire to make fun of this man. He annoyed everyone, but he woke everyone up also. In one of the debates for the gubernatorial race, the candidates were asked what they'd do about farm policy. The Democrat talked 5 minutes about aid to small farmers. The Republican basically said the best thing to do would be to let them sink or swim (about 2 minutes). It came around to Jessie, and he said simply "Let 'em grow hemp." He won.
Steamer
price - $3
sold
The bottom doesn't exactly fit the top, but the components are worth it no matter what. It's trout and cauliflower tonight.
Easter bunny statue
price - $5
no sale
It's a wire mesh bunny with colored lights inside. The eggs light up too.
Stationary bike riding stand
price - $50
no sale
The high price saved me. I really wanted this and would have bought it for $20. Then I would have gotten going about 40, slipped off and ended up in the emergency room.
Dragon candle
price - $1
no sale
But I had to have the picture. Great expression. He's even guarding a little plastic emerald. I don't want to start collecting candles. I already have 80 pounds of wax for making my own.
Toy law mowers
price - $2
no sale
I have a generally toxic relationship with lawn mowers. I see them at sale after sale and thank my lucky stars we live on the 15th floor of a building bordered by not one square foot of grass. I understand these blow bubbles as you push them. If real lawn mowers did that, I'd have to admit they did serve a purpose.
A real wheelbarrow
price - $50
no sale
Weasely wheelbarrows are the norm these days, and would break in a heartbeat. This could carry load after load of wet concrete for years. What a source of joy this could be in the right hands. As I said, we live in a condo 15 floors up. It would be hard to justify a wheelbarrow in the house. I'd have bought it and taken it back to Colorado, but I don't want to be going 80 with this strapped to the top of the car.
Tiger Woods bobblehead
price - $5
no sale
It looks nothing like him.
Mini donuts
price - $1 for 6
no sale
I'm too young to die. He said the machine can crank out 100 dozen in an hour.
Groceries
price - $133.63
sold
Some things are worth spending real money on. Food is one of them.
To Buy or Not to Buy is an almost-weekly feature. To see other editions, go here.
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Comments: 9
Cool Deals otherwise!
Pam, the chair did spin, so a little one could pull her legs in and have someone else do the whirling. Two hazards: it looks like it could tip over if you got too wild, and losing your lunch is a definite possibility.
Donna, that's too bad about your Cub. I drive 5 miles to shop at one, and that's why we load up when that happens. I don't limit to one store though, some are better than others. Kowalski's has the best meat; Whole Foods' meet section is disgusting.