This weekend is my town’s annual “World’s Longest Beach Garage Sale”!. More than 20 miles of nonstop garage sale heaven! I thought I’d give you some of my strategies for making a successful “score” at a garage sale:
- When you drive up to the sale, look for signs of organization. Someone who can’t set up tables to hold items and has things strewn everywhere is not going to have a clue about what to charge for things either. Unless you spot something from your car that you want, skip this sale. The aggravation is not worth your time.
- When you approach a promising sale, look for the basic organization of the sale. Are like things together? This is a good sign. If you don’t immediately see the type of item you’re looking for, ask where the “whoosits” are. You should be directed to the proper location. If there aren’t items that you’re interested in, consider moving on to the next sale. Don’t waste your time browsing a sale unlikely to have anything you’d be interested in buying. But before you go, have a quick scan of the items available just in case there is something of interest.
- Are items priced? I generally do not like sales where items are not priced. But I will browse a sale anyway if promising items seem to be included. I just find that dickering takes time and I don’t want to spend mine dickering over each item individually. My idea of a good price and the seller’s are based on different realities. To me, the whoosit is something for me to use or resell, and to the seller it holds fond memories about it’s acquisition or use in their life. This can lead to a prolonged back and forth while working out a price.
- Are there signs about policies such as “prices firm until noon” or “make an offer”? And I like sellers who can state their intentions about dickering and pricing. It helps me to know without asking whether or not the seller is amenable to a lower offer. Sellers don’t like to have to say “no” to a request for a lower price, and I don’t like to hear it either. It saves both our nerves to be upfront about “the rules” being followed.
- When you see something that you might buy, pick it up and carry it around with you as you continue to browse. If you do, you won’t have remorse that you missed an item you wanted because somebody else saw you put it down and picked it up because their attention was drawn to it. You can always decide not to buy it and leave it at the checkout table for the owner to replace on the table.
- If your load is getting heavy, ask for a box or if you can start a stack of items at the cashier’s table. Most sellers are happy to accommodate your needs in this regard. If you sense reluctance to do so, be wary about the sale as a whole. Something is wrong with this seller’s attitude. I’ve been known to put the stuff I was carrying around down right there and leave!
- Be polite and friendly. Smile! Even if you’ve decided not to buy anything, it is polite to thank the seller for letting you look.
It turns out I have a lot more points to make, especially about the fine art of haggling, but I’ll leave this topic for a future article.
Vintage Dashund Planter
They’re too cute to throw away, but too small to use for plants or they don’t have a drainage hole. So what can you do with a collection of vintage planters?
Here are some ideas from Martha Stewart and ebay user bloomingale54:
- business card holder
- pen and pencil holder
- paint brush holder
- fill with candy or small gifts and wrap with clear wrap for a lovely and quick gift
- use in the bathroom to hold hair clips, guest soaps,seashells or marbles
- use in the bedroom as a tray to hold change, keys or other contents of your pockets
- use to hold jewelry
- on your tea tray to hold sugar lumps, napkins,tea bags or cups
- at the kitchen sink to hold scrubbers, dish and hand soap, or bottle and vegetable brushes
- at your desk to hold paper and binder clips, pens and pencils, notepaper, and even the stapler and hole punch
To clean these beauties, always hand wash using a gentle scrubber and a product like Bon Ami to remove mineral deposits and water stains. Use a steel scrubber very gently to remove the most stubborn stains.
Hint: Click on the links for more information!
Deckle Edge Chrome Postcard
I recently described some postcard listings as having a “deckle edge” and thought the term deserves some elaboration. The term deckle edge comes from the making of handmade paper where the feathery edge of the paper is termed a “deckle”, derived from the term for the edge of the form used in making the sheet. Deckle edge paper has been popular for books and stationery for many years.
This jagged edge is also deliberately cut as a decorative element, thus the current availablility of deckle edge rulers and scissors for scrapbookers.
Deckle edge postcards are usually chrome photograph cards that have a die cut deckle edge. This style was very popular from the 1930s through the 1950s, but more recent and older examples can be found.
Sources:
http://www.emotionscards.com/museum/gradingpostcards.htm
http://www.postcardsofhamilton.com/postcard_novelties.htm
http://www.postcards360.co.uk/unique-postcard-designs.php
Hint: Click on the links and photos for more information
Postcards: Italy,Rome,Terminal Station…Comic Arcade Card…Hallmark “Goose Girl” Greeting…Litho Nativity Greeting…Coca Cola Christmas Greeting…God Jul Christmas Greeting
Link to My eBay Store to view and bid.
Now listed on www.rosessundries.com
Now listed in eBay Store
Not relisted
Now listed on www.fromgrandmastree.com
Now listed in eBay Store
Now listed in eBay Store
Postcards: New Hampshire,Compton,Blair Bridge…New Hampshire,Rye Harbor…California,San Francisco,Cable Car Turnaround…California,San Francisco,Golden Gate Bridge…California,Sacramento,Governor’s Mansion…California,Oregon Creek, Covered Bridge
Link to My eBay Store to view and bid.
Now listed on www.rosessundries.com
Now listed in eBay Store
Now listed in eBay Store
SOLD
Now listed in eBay Store
Now listed in eBay Store
Postcards: Totem Marina,Tacoma,WA…Olympic National Park…Seattle WA…Astoria Column, Astoria,Oregon…Diamond Lake,Southern Oregon…Black Canyon,Gunnison River,Colorado
Link to My eBay Store to view and bid.
SOLD
Now listed on www.rosessundries.com
Now listed in eBay Store
Now listed on www.rosessundries.com
Now listed on www.rosessundries.com
Now listed in eBay Store
45′s: Patti Page…Duane Eddy…Marvelettes…The Guess Who…Mashmakhan…Count Five
Postcards: Statler Hilton Hotel…Jimco Truck Stop Gas Station…Prehistoric Gardens, Oregon Roadside Attraction…Enchanted Forest, Oregon Roadside Attraction…Rose Bowl Flea Market, California Roadside Attraction
Link to My eBay Store to view and bid.
Now listed in eBay Store
Now listed in eBay Store
Now listed in eBay Store
Now listed in eBay Store
Now listed in eBay Store
SOLD
Now listed in eBay Store
Now listed on www.rosessundries.com
Now listed on www.rosessundries.com
Now listed on www.rosessundries.com
Now listed on www.rosessundries.com
Vintage Hotel Postcard
You find them in stacks of old postcards everywhere–the motel/hotel postcard. They were usually given away free to overnight guests and were a great way for the innkeeper to advertise. But today they are a history of the great motels and hotels of the past. American families used to take gas guzzling road trips for vacations—gasp! And stayed in family friendly motels on the way. So contained in many family collections are the postcards picked up on the way.
Today these remnants of a day gone by are snapped up by postcard collectors specializing in motels and hotels. Collector Andrew Wood says “While I collect linen motel postcards, even that focus allows a number of specializations. On a given day, I’ll point out my sub-collection of Wigwam Villages, Alamo Plazas, sombrero-themed motel postcards, or art deco-streamline modern motels.”
Here are some recommended reference books for motel postcard collectors:
Hint: click on photos and links for more information!
Elvis Presley…Nat King Cole
Link to My eBay Store to view and bid.
Now listed in eBay Store
Now listed in eBay Store
