Yard Sale Peeves

Over the last couple of months, I've really started to hit the garage and yard sales nearly every weekend. While I enjoy garage saleing, there are a few things that really, really bother me, and make me want to just turn around and go home.

1. The Moocher - this is the person who decided to have a garage/yard sale at the last second, because a neighbor is having on that same day. This person thereby saves money on advertising (since the neighbor has already taken care of that pesky task), and automatically gets the attention of those attending the first garage sale. The Moocher never has anything interesting to sell, but when you walk away without buying anything, offense is clearly taken.

2. The Unorganized Organizer - I've gotten sucked into visiting this sale not once, but twice. I thought the address sounded familiar, but figured that someone else must have been having a sale on that street. This is the one where I pulled up at 45 minutes past the starting hour, and they still didn't have even half of the stuff out, nor was most of it priced. Yet every pair of earrings was in a ziplock baggie, color coded with the price. I have to say, at least this time she had the jewelry priced. Last time NOTHING was priced, just baggies piled in separate boxes, and you were supposed to remember which box each baggie came from. Plus, this lady couldn't add to save her life. Both times she overcharged me, with perfect confidence. I'm still kicking myself for going back there. And I'm not paying $4 for a small shelf that needs work.

3. Which brings me to my next character, The Curator. Everything is precious. Hence, a precious price on everything, including the garbage can. $25 for an unfinished wood item that I can't even determine the purpose of? Um, no. $30 for a magnetic bulletin board? Right. Ebay prices on everything? Nope, not happening.

4. The Collector's Itemista. Just because something is collectible, doesn't mean that you can put a collector's price on it regardless of condition. For example, at one of the first garage sales I went to this summer, I saw the distinctive handles of a set of pyrex cinderella dishes. I had to contain my joy while honing in on the pyrexy goodness. My bubble was burst once I saw the pricing. $20 for a set of three bowls. Well, maybe the condition was excellent? Oh no, of course not. All three bowls were badly dish-washed, scratched, and one was nearly colorless. In no shape or form were these worth even $3, let alone $20. I see this on eBay all the time. Why in the heck would anyone think that collectors would want something that badly damaged?

5. The Amazon/Ebay Dealer. OMG. Seriously, this person looked up the going price for all of the books at this estate sale. A small pamphlet style book had a penciled in price of $7.50!!! Each and every single book was individually priced, sometimes upwards of $20. I later found the small embroidery book at another sale for 50 cents. A set of new-in-box Pyrex Pink Gooseberry cinderella nesting bowls was priced at $125. I know they didn't sell, because honestly, a price like that is a little steep, given that they weren't even listed in the craigslist or newspaper ads. Any collector who would pay that price had no way to know they were there! I asked about them, and was treated to a long spiel about how a similar set had sold for over $200 on eBay, and that's why she was giving such a good deal at the sale, because she didn't want to bother with eBay and shipping, etc. In her head, that was a perfectly reasonable price. And I didn't even mention the fact that she was selling her departed mother's fabric stash BY THE YARD. (at $2/yard, no less). Honestly, I was disgusted by this sale for that fact alone. Just sell the bundles at $2 a piece, and she literally would have made over $300. I bought no fabric. And a vintage suitcase for $35, when I found a better one at another sale for $3??? Nope. Just no. But I drooled over those bowls quite a bit, running my fingertips over the perfectly unused surfaces... but $125? no way.

I bet some of these people have no idea why their sales aren't that successful...

Antique Store finds - #1

Our local Antique Mall has long been a fascinating place to me. I could spend hours in there, just exploring. I rarely buy anything, since the prices are a little steep, but I still occasionally visit just to look.

Yesterday, I needed to run to the Post Office to mail a package, so I decided to take a trip through the Antique Mall quickly, just to relax. I told myself that I had 10 minutes to look, and leave. 25 minutes later, I was walking out the door with two pieces of vintage Pyrex.

My only excuse is that both were pieces of sets that I really, really love: Friendship and Yellow Daisy. The prices were actually reasonable, which is why I let myself buy them. In fact, I have never seen Pyrex so reasonably priced at this Antique Mall before. The fact that they were pieces I was looking for just made the decision a no-brainer!

Pics to follow!