Garage Sale Finds: In Your Face Entrepreneurship

There were quite a few garage sales over the weekend. People were finally able to take advantage of decent weather - no rain and low humidity. Of course we were with grandchildren but they were more than happy to go look at all the junk treasures.

One of the first sales we hit had something that the kids have not seen before - a lemonade stand. No sooner had the kids jumped out of the car when the 8 year old proprietor of the stand was literally in their face saying "Do you want some lemonade?". Our kids, so not garage sale savvy, of course said "Yes". As far as they knew he was just a nice friendly young man offering them liquid refreshment. How were they to know said treat required cold hard cash. Of course the brash sales tactic worked. Frugal Grandpa quickly produced two quarters and paid for the drinks. In the end it wasn't money wasted - the kids really did enjoy the lemonade.



We must have hit a dozen sales without finding any toys - very unusual. And the only thing I purchased were four coasters from the 1982 World's Fair - 50 cents. The kids were very good but after awhile were getting tired and discouraged - after all, we had promised they could each get a toy. It was tough to get the idea across that we had no control over what was being offered - but it was a good garage sale lesson - sometimes you come home empty handed. Finally we hit a sale that had a few toys. We found a Nerf pop ball gun that Wullie fell in love with but nothing for Beth.

On to the last sale of our outing. This was the most interesting sale of the season packed with tons of vintage collectibles. They were priced right for a collector but not low enough that I could turn a profit on Ebay. I had a fun time pouring over all the goodies but poor Beth - every time she said she'd like to have a $20 doll I had to keep telling her it was too expensive. Disappointing for her but another garage sale lesson - Grandma is only going to fork over the greenbacks if the price is low enough.

While I was salivating over all the vintage items Frugal Grandpa was eying a tractor lawn mower. The seller originally priced it at $275 but said he had just lower the price to $235. He said he had it tuned up & blades sharpened for the season at a cost higher than what he was selling it for. But now that his mother had given him her much nicer mower he needed to sell this one. He had Grandpa turn it on and give it a try - it was love at first ride. We were able to give $100 cash and the rest by check (since we are local).

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The seller was so thrilled to have made the sale that he insisted on throwing in something for each of the kids. He gave Beth a vintage Vogue doll (Beth took the doll home so I photoed a bit of the box) and to Wullie this Tonka hot rod. In my mind I could see the dollar signs floating away from me - what kind of price could these toys have fetched on Ebay - what sort of profit would they have produced? That evening I did check Ebay and surprise, surprise - there were quite a few of these dolls and cars listed - no bids, no sales (that's the way Ebay has been going lately - the market is too saturated). That made me very happy - no one in cyberspace wants these toys so I am happy that Beth and Wullie are having fun with them.

As for the tractor mower - we bought it for Sonny - the price was so low it was a real steal. It would be nice to keep it ourselves but our lawn is small enough that a push mower is sufficient and gets into all the odd corners. But, Sonny has a large lot and this will make his mowing a breeze. Not that old money bucks couldn't buy himself a tractor mower - he's just too tight to part with any of his savings. We told him that this is his Christmas present & not to expect anything under the tree - he was quite pleased with that.

Now, we just have to transport the thing to Rockford. Years ago Charles invested in a trailer. We store it behind our garage. It hasn't been used in a long time so the license plates are expired. In order to pick up the mower they took a chance and hitched up the trailer and drove it over to the sale and back - whew, made it without encountering the law. The mower won't be moved now until the trailer plates are renewed. In the meantime Grandpa is having great fun toodeling around our yard on the new wheels.



Happy Dance! Happy Dance!