Back on May 4th, Central Presbyterian Church in St. Paul, Minnesota had a rummage sale, and Would You Buy This or Not paid a visit.
The first time I stopped in to one of their sales before, it didn't seem so remarkable. The problem was mine of course; you can't stop into one rummage sale or one yard sale and then base your judgments on that limited experience. Even the same location can have great sales one year and lousy sales the next. The following year I went in and found some made-for-the-tourist-trade handicrafts from Central America that were marvelous. This is my third year going to their sales.
Least inspired buy of the day:
What I mistaked for shaving soap bars
price - 20 cents a box
I bought 16 boxes.
Inspect, inspect, inspect. These are actually refill cartriges for a shaving cream dispenser that went out of production back in the early 80s. I see them for sale on Ebay, but thought it best to cut my losses. If I want shaving cream, one $1.79 can lasts me about 18 months. I wanted it in bar form so I could avoid using the can.
Find of the day
Ryobi detail sander
Price - $2
sold
I resold it at our own yard sale later in the summer for $7, and this fueled a mini buying spree of used power tools on my part. I've since been to the local mega hardware store and notice Riobi - while not Black & Decker - is not top of the line. I carefully noted the prices on each brand, and will be especially careful to look for Milwaukee and Makita brands.
Other thing I did or did not buy:
New rayon blend cargo pants
Price - $1
sold
I haven't said this for a while, but am fond of saying it. Cargo pants offer all the convenience of carrying a purse, without having to actually carry a purse.
Quality warm shirts
price - 75 cents
sold
I sell them wholesale for $2.50. Sorry, I already have a backlog order from a customer who will buy all I can find.
.
Bird cookie jar
price - I forget
no sale
Bulky and breakable items I try to avoid.
Depth finder for fishing
price - $20
no sale
I'm pretty sure there's a good market for these in Minnesota, but I focus on things that are likely to sell in Southwestern Colorado, where there are a lot fewer lakes.
"Silk" flowers
price - always very reasonably priced
no sale
As my Irish neighbor lady has put it so well "They're not 'silk' to me."
Warm shirt
price - 75 cents
no sale
Not all heavy looking shirts are created equal, and if I ever dryclean anything - which is unlikely from the get go - it wouldn't be something from K-Mart.
Bird something-or-other
price - I forget, but a coin or two
no sale
We collect birds, but they have to look dorky without having been intended by the maker to look that way. We have to have our standards.
Three-pound nontsick skillet with scratches
price - 10 cents
sold
This was back before the price of scrap crashed, and I did scrap it out for $1.80 - today, I would get less than half that, but I'd still pay the dime and put it in storage to see what the public works projects do to scrap metal prices.
Finally, one of the best burgers I've ever eaten
price - about $8, with coffee.
This is from a place called "Country Family Restaurant" (or something like that). Every time I drove by it, I noticed you can't get into the parking lot without going on a back street, and it was always largely full, and always had at least one State Patrol car (these people know where to eat on the road).
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Would You Buy This or Not appears during the spring, summer and fall on Gather. I had a little material left over, and will do two more posts before the yard saling season starts again. We'll see you again and again, I hope. Janie says "hi".
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Comments: 42
Michelle, it's nice to know the weather is not a factor for some. I wish you lower bills in the new year.
The Ryobi-oh, yea
The cookie jar, maybe, depending on condition and maker.
If the bird was one of those older drinking birds, yes, if newer, no
I do see some glassware and pottery or stoneware in the pic with the fish locator. I would've skipped over the fish locator but would've had to have stopped at that table. I'm a sucker for stuff like that.
Roasted chicken is that particular cafe's specialty, Heather.
Thank you, BBB!
"A baby fell out of the window.
You'd think 'Oh, by God; this is it!'
But luck was with the baby that day.
He fell in a barrel of
Shaving cream . . ."
Mary, I try to broaden the scope by doing a bit of commentary on whatever. Since yard sales and rummage sales contain just about everything, they give me the opportunity to do that.
Lunch looked fabulous!
Happy hunting in '09. Your "Would You Buy" articles on Gather have become my favorite.
That was snapped up by a Hispanic gentleman at our Colorado yard sale, Diana. The construction workers are starting to watch for our signs to go up each year.