Yard Sales Sucked, Charity Shops Held Surprises

A GOOD DAY OUT ON THE YARD SALE HUSTINGS - BUT NOT BECAUSE OF YARD SALES

THE COLLECTORS GO WHERE THERE IS LEAST TRAFFIC

     ON SATURDAY MORNING, I WAS CAUGHT IN THREE YARD SALE TRAFFIC JAMS. THERE ARE SOME REAL NIMRODS AMONGST THE YARD SALE CROWD, AND THEY PARK ANYWHERE AND EVERYWHERE, AND THEN RUN….AND EVEN LEAP, TO GET TO THE DRIVEWAYS OF VENDORS, USUALLY ONLY TO FIND ASSORTED NUTS AND BOLTS, A FEW SAWS, A PLASTIC POOL WITH A CUT IN IT, AND A PLYWOOD TABLE WITH A BOW IN THE MIDDLE. DON'T FORGET THE BARGAIN PRICED PICNIC TABLE, WITH THE BIRD POOP LAYERED ON THE TOP. LAST YEAR, A SALE-GOER I HAVE HAD NUMEROUS CONFLICTS WITH, OVER THE YEARS, PARKED HER VEHICLE IN SUCH A WAY, THAT SHE LITERALLY STOPPED UP TRAFFIC IN BOTH DIRECTIONS. THE OPENING WAS TOO NARROW TO NAVIGATE FORWARD, AND WHILE I WAS BANGING MY HEAD ON THE WHEEL, SOME CLOWN PULLED IN TIGHT BEHIND ME, PREVENTING ANY EXIT STRATEGY. FOR FIFTEEN MINUTES, WE WERE TRAPPED, AWAITING THE RETURN OF THE YARD SALE BROWSERS. I WOULD GET THROWN OFF THIS BLOG VENUE, IF I PRINTED EVEN HALF WHAT I UTTERED ON THAT OTHERWISE PLEASANT MORNING. WELL, THE SAME THING HAPPENED THIS MORNING, AND YUP, MY LADY FRIEND WITH NARROW FOCUS, AND YARD SALE OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER, ONCE AGAIN TRIED TO BLOCK ME IN, AND EVERYONE ELSE, WHILE SHE RAN AROUND THE SALE LIKE A HEADLESS CHICKEN. THIS TIME, I HAD ALREADY PLANNED MY ESCAPE, AND REFUSED TO ALLOW THIS INCONSIDERATE LADY, TO INCLUDE ME IN HER FOR-FUN TRAFFIC JAM. BUT I WATCHED THE LIPS OF THOSE WHO WERE BLOCKED IN, BY HER VEHICLE, AND THEY WERE USING THE SAME WORDS AS I DID ONE YEAR EARLIER. ACTUALLY, THIS VENTING, IS PART OF THE YARD SALE TRADITION. HONESTLY, THERE ARE WAY TOO MANY NUMB-NUTS OUT THERE, WHO ARE NOT ONLY RECKLESS WITH THEIR VEHICLES, BUT WITH THEIR KIDS, WHO DART FROM BEHIND THE PARKED CARS WITH RECKLESS ABANDON. I'VE SEEN SOME PRETTY CRAZY STUFF OUT THERE, WHILE SHOPPERS ONLY SEE WHAT THEY WANT TO…..AND THAT MAY BE A PLYWOOD TABLE WITH A BOW IN THE MIDDLE FOR FIVE BUCKS. RISKING THEIR KIDS FOR SOMETHING SO TRIVIAL? IT'S PROBABLE THAT ONE DAY, A TRAGEDY IS GOING TO OCCUR AT ONE OF THESE EVENTS, WHERE A CHILD IS HIT BY A HELL-BENT SALE HUSTLER, IMPATIENT TO GET TO THE NEXT VENUE.

     IT WAS PRETTY MUCH AS I PREDICTED IN YESTERDAY'S BLOG. THE SALES WERE LACKLUSTER, AND A MAJORITY OF VENDORS ARE DELUSIONAL, WHEN THEY PLAN THESE DRIVEWAY VENUES. THEY PAY MORE FOR THE ADVERTISEMENT IN THE LOCAL PRESS, THAN THEY CAN MAKE, EVEN IF EVERYTHING SOLD….WHICH IT NEVER WILL. THOSE WITH BETTER QUALITY ITEMS AND A FEW ANTIQUES, ARE RIDICULOUS WITH THEIR PRICING, AND IT MEANS THAT THEY WILL HAUL THE STUFF INDOORS AT THE END OF THE SALE. IF YOU'RE GOING TO ALL THE TROUBLE OF HOSTING A YARD OR GARAGE SALE…..HERE'S AN IDEA. HAVE SOME GOOD QUALITY STUFF TO SELL. HAVE A PRICING STRATEGY THAT REFLECTS YOUR INTEREST IN CLEARING THE JUNK OFF YOUR LAWN, AND INTO THE BACK OF SOMEONE ELSE'S VEHICLE. RAISE SOME MONEY. AND DON'T HAVE IT ON A HOLIDAY WEEKEND, WHEN THERE IS WAY TOO MUCH COMPETITION..

     WE CAME UPON ONE YARD SALE THAT DEFINITELY CAUGHT MY ATTENTION. THE FIRST THING I SPOTTED, COMING AROUND THE CORNER OF THE STREET, WAS THE TOP SECTION OF A LATE 1800'S FLAT-TO-THE-WALL CUPBOARD. WE HAVE ONE AND I WANT ANOTHER. WE HAVE A LOT OF FAMILY CHINA, AND THESE EIGHT FOOT TALL CUPBOARDS ARE MAGNIFICENT BEASTS FOR HOLDING AND DISPLAYING LARGE QUANTITIES OF HEIRLOOM PIECES. I WAS A LITTLE SLOW GETTING TO THE SPOT WHERE IT WAS SITUATED ON THE LAWN, BUT SUZANNE LET ME KNOW WITH A QUICK BACK GLANCE, THAT IT WAS PRICED RIDICULOUSLY HIGH. HOW HIGH? FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS. A GLASS PANE WAS BROKEN AND THE ORIGINAL BRASS LOCK HAD BEEN REPLACED BY NEW HARDWARE. THE BIG ISSUE HERE, ISN'T THE FACT IT WAS PAINTED, WHEN IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A DARK PATINA VARNISH INSTEAD, BUT THE REALITY IT WAS MISSING ITS CUPBOARD BASE. YOU CAN'T PUT THIS TOP ON JUST ANY BASE, BECAUSE IT WOULD LOOK STUPID, AND FOR DEALERS, THE INVESTMENT VALUE WOULD BE GREATLY DIMINISHED……UNLESS IN THE SHOP, THERE'S AN OUT OF PLACE BASE CUPBOARD. THEN THERE WOULD BE THE ASSOCIATED STRIPPING COSTS, TO REMOVE THE WHITE HIGH GLOSS PAINT, WHICH BY EXPERIENCE, IS A ROYAL PAIN IN THE ARSE; AND OFTEN NOT WORTH THE EFFORT TO REMOVE.

OVER PRICING IS SILLY AT YARD SALES

     The top of the cupboard was nice, and I would have made the purchase for a hundred dollars. I don't haggle so I wasn't going to insult the vendor, with a four hundred dollar reduction request. It wasn't that important. If it had been the whole cupboard, top and bottom, I would have gladly paid five hundred, and potentially seven, even it it was painted.

     This particular sale had at least fifteen pieces that I would have purchased, including a folk art "doll bed," painted white. The problem was, beside the thirty dollar asking price, the fact it was broken in just about every way possible, while just barely clinging to a recognizable form. As soon as I picked it up for a closer look, pieces started to fall off. If it had been priced at fifteen dollars, it would have been coming home with us, because it had a clear folk art, primitive pine quality that could have been repaired….and Suzanne has a lot of dolls to display. There was a nice dark finish, wooden wall-clock, I would have liked for one hundred and twenty-five dollars. But here's a little tip for you. When we got to the sale, at about 10:30 a.m., I would estimate by the way the hosts were talking, that several hundred people had been on that same lawn, looking at those same antique pieces. Amongst that group would have been at least a dozen dealers and collectors, and the fact that the vintage wall clock had lasted this long, meant that it didn't pass muster from those who are interested in these keepers of the time. So for me to jump in and make the purchase, would be foolish, unless, upon looking at it, the vendor offered it as an end-of-sale bonus, for possibly half the asking price. I am very respectful of collectors, especially of items like clocks, and if they don't bite for this price, the non-specialist should back off, if the intent is selling it eventually for a profit. It's an expensive decoration if you get it home, and find it doesn't work. Been there, and certainly done that…..many times.

     The sale had some other interesting cupboards and a nice, tall, Victorian era fern stand, and a child's ice-cream parlor table and two chairs. Once again, the sale hosts priced themselves out of the collectable market, and for these nice pieces to have lasted to that time of day, it clearly meant the vendors weren't interested in dropping their asking prices. Too bad, because I would have spent a lot of money to secure those antiques. But we still have to worry about margin of profit, and with these pieces, there was a very thin possibility. Vendors often forget, that they're not antique dealers even if they dream about the possibility. They are yard sale vendors only, and if they price their wares too high, they will not only clear-off the average sale-goers and home decorators, they will alienate the collectors and dealers that they need to make their sales a success. They don't have to agree with me. I'm still right.

     In South Muskoka, we probably hit twenty-five sales, and only wound up with a few pieces, and they came from friends of ours, who are experts at hosting yard sales…..and everyone who attends them, knows this as fact. They give away as much as they sell, because they're just nice people, who enjoy having these Saturday morning get-togethers. They run successful sales that make money, and make friends. It's a nice sale to visit, and the only one I know of in North America that has a greeter. I mean it. One of the sale hosts comes out to meet all the customers, with a rousing "Good Morning," and small talk if you're interested. Now I like that small town, neighborly approach, so you can bet we'll be back for their next sale….maybe in the fall.

     As I promised yesterday, I'm going to spill the beans on how well the Curries did out on the sale hustings. Well sir, we did well because of a diversion I didn't divulge to readers previously. The best time to hit the local charity shops in our region, is on Saturday mornings, shortly after opening. These shops load up the shelves of their respective venues, on Friday afternoon and prior to opening on Saturday mornings. Which means, if I'm going to find a china cupboard I want for the shop, the best chance of getting it, will be no later than one hour after store opening. I got a dandy for Suzanne's cookbooks in her Cookery Nookery, for sixty bucks, that is worth more than double. But as we are using it as a store fixture, this doesn't really enter into it, as such. While the collectors and dealers, and a lot of others, are pounding the pavement, and their dashboards when stuck in yard sale congestion, we're amongst the very few milling about the thrift and related charity shops, taking advantage of the latest shelf-stacking. It's how I get my best paintings and china cupboards.

     Today I picked up the less conventional collectables. I got three 1890's green glass insulators, for two bucks each, four non-fiction histories, one signed, for six dollars, (worth ten times this), a late 1800's sterling silver souvenir spoon from Galt, Ontario, a silver salt spoon, (tiny), a jar of buttons, containing more than two dozen Canadian military buttons, five being from the First World War, six cookbooks for Suzanne's collection, an old school desk (just the table portion) with all the student carvings and inscriptions on top, for six dollars; at least ten vintage kitchen devices for ten dollars, two wooden spools from the textile industry, for fifty cents each, two early 1900's tall glass salt and pepper shakers, a nice little 1940's book of religious-themed mottos, and a couple of Pyrex bowls, in good condition, that we sell at the old Nookery. Andrew picked up a neat eight-track player, and by email, sold it for thirty dollars within ten minutes of it being purchased. It wasn't a huge antique windfall that's for sure. Yet it was a profitable morning in the antique trade none the less. We made the right choice to abandon the yard sale adventure early, and go to our favorite community charity shops, where we found the pickings quite exciting. The success in our trade very much depends on getting to a find first, and this is aided when the number of seekers, is greatly diminished. After about eleven in the morning, disgruntled yard sale hunters start appearing at these same charity shops, and well, I was there before them. If you like the antique hustle, then I've just given you a trade secret that is investment savvy. We've been doing this same thing for over twenty years, so believe me, we know just how profitable this diversion can be…..especially when the yard sale circuit comes up short.

     We're not sure about the antique hunt tomorrow, or whether to open the shop. This is always a dilemma for us, because we can make considerable investments by being out on the road, scaring up collectables, but truthfully, we might lose money by not being open. I hate leaving family members behind, so we'll have our usual late night bull session, while reviewing the highs and lows of the past week. Sometimes we base the decision to take-off, on nothing more than the need to see something new…..experience a different locale, and unwind from the same old, same old. This is what the antique business has always meant to us, and the reason it is not just a profession; but a pretty exciting and ever-changing lifestyle.

     Thanks so much for visiting today. I will let you know what we did for work or entertainment, or both, and if we travel……what did we find in the shops along the way.

Please visit my other blog at http://muskokaaswaldenpond.blogspot.ca