308th Post - I Love the Smell of Yardsales in the Morning!

Love yardsales. I have picked up some amazing items for very little money.

At the cottage, we were having problems with the microwave oven last year. No problem. In late May, I bought a replacement microwave oven for two bucks at a church rummage sale. It works great for what it is.

We didn't have a coffee maker at the cottage. Didn't really want to spend a lot of money on a new one. In my neighbourhood in 2006, a guy was selling a coffee maker that had barely been used, also for two dollars. A nice, 10 cup coffeemaker. The reason? The man's wife didn't want a black coffeemaker in the house. Like we care, at the cottage!

My indoor grill, a Black and Decker unit that I liked very much, was reaching the point where it wasn't much good any more. The enamel was coming off, and it didn't heat fully. I was a little edgy about using it. Today, I ran into a lot of indoor grills at various yard sales. The one I settled on was a Hamilton Beach unit with a timer and a place for steam to escape through, as well as a place for fat to drip into. A very nice machine, obviously barely used, and it was a mere 3 dollars.
At the yard sale next door to that person's, I bought two pairs of "shorts" that a guy would put on after a shower. A buck each. This is a vast improvement for me as I usually run around the house naked after a shower, and pretend that I am the Wild Man of Borneo.

(I am sorry. Was that too much information?)

A slow cooker, that Patricia paid 5 dollars for, is now at the cottage and serves us well, the odd time that we use it.

Two outdoor security lights, today, for 5 dollars for both of them.

A broadcast spreader, better than the one I bought for 5 dollars a few years ago, for 2 dollars, also today.

But the neatest thing I have bought at a yardsale, I have not really used. It is a conversation piece more than anything else. It was a self-help cassette tape(!) on how to cure oneself of procrastination. Clearly several years old (duh! a cassette tape!), but it was still unopened. I should get points for irony if nothing else!

At any rate, I have got some tremendous bargains at yardsales over the years, and in particular, in recent years. I am not sure if it is a case of the economy faltering, and folks need some quick cash, but people are selling more and more stuff at yardsales for prices that would hurt me if I sold them that cheaply. Things that sold for a hundred bucks in a store, going for perhaps 15 or 20 at a yardsale. Stuff like that.

What is the best deal you have ever had at a yardsale? Do dish!

Bevboy