Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Community Yard Sales = Lots of Fun

Community yard sales have been something of a miss for me lately. It's all baby stuff, clothing, and other random junk that I don't need or want. This year was a lot better! My dad called to remind me of a community yard sale not too far away from them and asked if I wanted to go. While I didn't fill the car, we still did pretty well.


The first sale we stopped at had a lot of fresh veggies, which led to the dad buying tomatoes, potatoes, onions, and who knows what else. I don't know if it's like this everywhere, but a lot of sales around us have a lot of new stuff. This one had tons of razors, shampoo, body wash, deodorant, and other brand new things. I'm guessing it's extreme couponers trying to make some extra cash? I did buy four Glade candles from the sale because she had them marked $2, I liked the scent, and I just paid over $3 for a Glade candle in the store. I also picked up these two books for 25 cents each (sorry but they aren't my pics, I totally forgot to snap some!):


 
Danny and the Dinosaur I had as a kid, and I loved the illustrations in the other one. I also picked up a copy of Howdy Doody Meets Santa for a quarter that I had my dad take to his flea market booth. Funny story about the Baby's Christmas book! My dad asked me if I was trying to tell them something since I'm a single woman buying a baby book. I had to break the news that if I was secretly pregnant, I would be buying a lot more than just one book!


From there, we headed to the actual town with the sale. The first spot was a real honey hole. Years ago, my parents went to auctions in the building, and the people who owned it now had a big sale. Turns out that they have a booth at an antique mall, and some of their prices definitely reflected that. 

 
These salt and pepper shakers are the perfect shades of pink and turquoise! I took one look and fell in love. Not too crazy about paying $2 for the set at a yard sale of all places, but I can deal with it.

This guy is about 12 inches tall and still has his Made in Japan sticker on his butt. He was $3, which my roommate thought was about $3 too much. He really and truly hated my new little friend, but he'll probably hate him a lot more when I put him out on the mantle this year!


 
How pretty are these?? They look big, but they're actually the small ones. I paid $3 for the whole box, but I thought that was a good deal since the box is in near perfect condition. Can you believe that this is the first time that I ever bought a box of Shiny Brites? Last up is this beauty:

 
The same sale had some items inside with higher price tags attached, i.e. $15 for a jadeite plate, $35 for a Coca-Cola phone. I spotted it as soon as I walked in, but some other woman picked it up, looked at the price, snapped about it, and put it back down. The price she didn't want to pay? $6! It has some scraps, but it's the first piece of aqua Butterprint I've ever found in the wild. Funny thing is that the same woman then followed me around the shop waiting to see if I would put it down again. Nope!


My dad found some vintage Elvis magazines at the same sale for $1 and then spotted a John Lenon book inside. He asked for a price, and the woman running the sale flipped out. She started talking about how all the books inside were her reference books and not for sale. Really? It was a biography of Lenon, how is that a reference book for a reseller? It ticked me off too because she had a whole shelf of books that apparently weren't for sale and other shelves filled with merchandise for her antique mall that were unpriced and not for sale.


At another sale, I found a stack of Corelle bowls in the Spring Blossom pattern for 50 cents each. When I got home, I realized that only four had that pattern and the other four were different. Oops.

A few years ago, I started collecting these Wilton cake pans to hang on my kitchen wall. My roommate and ex made me an amazing Winnie the Pooh cake from one, the ex and I made my roommate a Care Bear one for his birthday, and the roommate and I made the ex a Garfield one. A few months after I started collecting, the price on these went through the roof. I've seen them priced at $10+ at some thrift stores. I got the Big Bird and the Cookie Monster cake pans for $1 each. The Cookie Monster one even had his original decorating booklet!


The seller said that she used them both for her daughter's first birthday party and then just forgot about them. I'm glad she decided to clean out her kitchen.


I also picked up this XBOX 360 set from her for $2. We absolutely loved DJ Hero, but the keys aren't in the greatest condition because I bought it used. The ex bought DJ Hero 2 for me from a flea market last year, but we misplaced the copy. Now I have a new copy and an extra controller just in case the roommate ever decides to play with me!


I currently own seven billion shot glasses and have no space for them, but I couldn't resist this vintage Las Vegas design for 50 cents. I have maybe a dozen or so out on display in my kitchen and two completely filled boxes of wrapped glasses. The ex and I both collected and bought a bunch whenever we took a trip together, so he just helped foster my bad habit LOL.



I've seen all three Chipmunks movies in the theater, had the soundtrack to the last film downloaded on my phone, and still love and watch the original cartoon. Every time I see these Ty Beanie Babies in the store, I have a hard time walking away. I got them both for $2.




I am a Hello Kitty nut! I have almost all the kitchen appliances: toaster, toaster oven, coffee maker, waffle iron, juicer, etc. I even have a bread box, and the complete bathroom set from the shower curtain and toilet seat cover to the toothbrush holder and soap dispenser. The same lady who had the Chipmunks had this lunchbox for $1. I had no clue they made these plastic designs in 2011.

We also made it to a few other sales that were pretty much misses. Both my dad and I bought a book from a "name your price sale". He wanted a James Patterson paperback, she told him to give her a price, he said 50 cents, and she looked super pained. If you want to set prices, set your prices! I had him had her another 50 cents for a book for me.


There was a Brownie troop selling treats that were a little expensive. Is $1 really the going rate for a piece of peanut butter fudge? It was the size of a brownie but still. They also had lemonade, and both me and the roommate got a cup. They didn't say anything when the little girl handed me a half-filled cup, but when they did the same thing to the roomie, her parents made her fill it up. I also got a delicious pulled chicken sandwich, and my dad and roomie got the biggest hot dogs I've ever seen in my life!


Our last stop was at a church sale that looked like someone with multiple personality disorder did the pricing. You'd see 5 cent mugs right next to a plate with a $5 price tag on it. They had two boxes of Shiny Brite ornaments, but they wanted $1 for each ornament. They also had a porch swing outside that was exactly like the one my parents have but in a different color. They bought theirs for $100 on sale last summer, and the church wanted $75 for one that was several years old. Really?


It was an amazingly busy day! After the sales, we drove 45 minutes to the flea market where my parents have a booth, came back, went to two different indoor flea markets, stopped by a Chinese restaurant, and swung by a thrift store. I'm looking forward to spending even more time with the pops this weekend, and I'll post some more of my finds later this week!




4 comments:

  1. LOL. She lived & learned! Never put it down until you. are. sure.

    I got followed around last week too. In Goodwill. For a Colonial Mist. She can buy it off me on Kijiji. I need the money. She was seconds away. She lived & learned. Gotta scout the shelves for Pyrex first!

    Love the shakers, I would have paid $2! My SA charges $2.99 each shaker, c'mon, right? Also love the Santa & the 'Brites.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I just beat another dealer to the yellow bowl from the primary set at a thrift store this week! He beat me to something in one aisle and was totally blocking me, so I moved on. When he saw me with the bowl, he stalked me until I actually paid for it LOL.

      Delete
  2. Oh my goodness it sounds like a really fun day! I hate unpriced sales - they've really started popping up a lot around here. Either price stuff or lump it all for the same price lazy heads! We also have a lot of sales with extreme couponers selling overstock too. Sales just aren't as fun as usual this year :P

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really hate unpriced sales! My roommate refuses to ask people for a price. If he sees something he likes and they didn't price it, he'll just move on. I usually ask for a price but only if it's something I really want :)

      Delete