One of the things I love so much about yardsaling is that you get to go to places you would otherwise be unwelcome - walking down the alleys, opening the gates, going into the back yards that, in many cases, are the stage on which these people live out their real lives. And the lilacs - oh don't get me started.
Janie and I initially went to the Kenny and Armitage neighborhood garage sales, and I must say I've never been more disappointed. Though things picked up remarkably, later in the day, in other neighborhoods downtown, it was a bummer Janie had to waste her time before going to work on some of these sales. Next year, we'll know better.
Find of the day:
Manual crank meat slicer
price - $2
sold
Two meat slicers in two weeks! What are the odds? But I bought one last week. Why do I need another? I don't. I know someone who does though.
Least interesting find of the week:
Travel coffee cup
price - $4
no sale
Four dollars? Sale after sale, the Kenny and Armitage offerings ran $5 for things you'd ordinarily find in the free box elsewhere.
Other things we did or did not buy:
Brass duck
price - 50 cents
no sale
It was easily a couple of pounds, and as such I could have gotten $3 for it, but I thought someone might like a brass duck, so I left it.
Shag carpet remnant (used and dirty of course)
price - $5
Amazing.
Clown figurine
price - $1
no sale
Photogenic as he was - and the price was right - I'm not into clowns. My apoligies if you're a clown by profession or avocation or unbeknownst to you.
Bikes
price - $135 for the first one; $225 for the bike-for-two
no sale
If you can't tell, we're still in the Kenny neighborhood . . .
Bikes
price - $35
no sale
I didn't need a bike, but it was encouraging to see someone bucking the trend.
Bikes
price - $25
no sale
Still don't need a bike, but from here on out we're into south Minneapolis. There are two alleys - between 9th and 10th and 11th and from 48th Streed down to Minnehaha Parkway - these 6 blocks of alleys hold a sale the same time every year, and it's here I'm starting next Memorial Day weekend.
Jaguar
price - $68,000 or best offer
no sale
I used to want a Jaguar, until it dawned on me I could have a house for what they cost.
English Beat pin
price - free
One of the best bands ever.
Brass vase
price - 25 cents
no sale
Someone worked hard on this, and it didn't matter to me that there or a jillion of these in the world. Someone worked hard on this, so no, I'm not going to recycle it.
Homemade wooden blocks
price - $2 for the box
no sale
My older brother made me a set like this when I was 7 or so. I can only hope some kid will enjoy these as much as I did mine.
Stop at our sale
Okay, nice marketing.
Once I get there, the owner of the sale sees me taking a picture, thinks I'm from the Pioneer Press and insists I pose with her. After some protesting, I relent.
Old sewing machine
price (they wanted me to tell them, I said around here $60 bucks or so; out West $200 and up).
no sale
I don't have a means of getting it out West.
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The article editor is crashing on me, and I'm going to try something new as a result. If you go directly to the photos that haven't been shown so far, each one will have its own commentary.
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Comments: 52
Jim, I've worked a lot of the kinks out in my years of yardsaling. I still make the occasional mistake, but the price of less than a buck is usually well worth the lesson taught.
I stopped at a thrift I hit occasionally and got good quality CD's and DVD (real movie/odd stuff types!), along with some short production VHS's for a buck a piece! TWENTY-EIGHT bucks later I left with a smile.. the "SPACE 1999's" alone paid for it on my eBay store!
By the way, I LOVE the beeswax candle!!
To see the rest of Ron's 'finds' for this week click here ».
Then click the 'prev' link to scroll through the images of items that didn't make it into this article.
Thank you for stopping by, Mariah!
Kevin, I've heard of boot sales. It's a great idea, and if it were to catch on in this country, all of the apartment and condo dwellers would get into the game. That would be fabulous.
I'm going to go check out your link. Thank you. I think I overloaded the editor with 39 images. They can also go directly into my images via the panel in the upper right, but providing another way is much appreciated!
I love the captions you add to your photos on these articles, and didn't want anyone to miss out.
Even if it wasn't complete wizardry, your help was most appreciated Kevin.
Trish, it takes a little restraint not to recycle a 25 cent vase, but when I see hand work on it, I leave it alone. The brass candlesticks that pop out of a machine somewhere in Dehli, those go to the scrapyard without a second thought.
Thank you, Corinna.
Sometimes, people do seem nervous about me taking pictures, and I attribute that to their having something to be nervous about. You'll notice I rarely get any faces in my photos, unless it's a crowd shot. I do want to respect people's privacy.
Thanks, Jennifer! This is the second mannequin I've seen at a yard sale - the other was in a rural area.
I also know what you mean about the clowns. I'm so not into them. And...apologies to anyone who does like clowns...I think they're just creepy. They used to scare me as a child and I still don't like them. Don't even get me started on mimes....
I love that mannequin and the brass vase, too.
(The clown is creepy.)
Thank you, Diana! That's very encouraging, and I appreciate it very much.
Love the pics each week.
Just a thought....you may want to start hoarding up those cheap bikes because with the price of gas going up, you could open up your own bike shop and sell them for a fortune in the near future.
LOL
Keep on yardsaling
I'm very glad you like the series. It takes up a considerable amount of my weekend, and though I love doing it, I'd have to reconsider if no one wanted to see it : )
Miss going to Minnesota yard sales. Here in Texas they want a ton of money for the crap you would throw away!
That clown was creepy nasty but then most clowns are scarey and creepy. Mimes just downright annoy me. ;o)
I didn't see anything I couldn't live without but the singer would have been good here in CA.
Thanks for the heads up, Priscilla. I have my eye on the Phoenix market for winter carport sales. Hopefully that environment hasn't changed for the worse. It used to be outstanding.
Wanda, thank you for reinforcing my belief that there's a profit to be made with the sewing machines.
Thank you, Shannon. The manequin wasn't my idea, but I'll take the kudos since I don't know the sale owner's name.
I would have purchased the brass duck and the wooden blocks.