This past Saturday may have been the last gasp for neighborhood yard sales around here. I hit up two different neighborhoods and may not have found a ton of items, but what I did find made me very happy.
Not a bad haul. I cherrypicked some records from someone who had a pretty sizable collection for sale at a dollar a pop. If I knew anything about vintage LPs, I probably could have found some nice ones in the mix, but I ended up just getting the “big” ones — Beatles, Rolling Stones, Monkees, etc. I was really excited to find the two HeroScape games late in the day. I’ve sold a few of these over the years and know they can be worth a few bucks, so getting these for $10 was a great deal. I’m also curious to see how the JAL inflatable airplane does on eBay. It has a lot gong for it — vantage advertising, airplane, Japan — it could sell for a lot or it could be a bust, we’ll see.
Just last week, I was saying that I rarely find Harry Potter action figures at yard sales, and then this guy shows up. You gotta love seeing post-it notes with eBay prices on them at yard sales. The seller obviously knows what it’s worth, so I usually walk on by, but I asked this time. Their price was $5, I offered $2 and brought it home. Since they already did the homework for me, I figured this was a no-brainer.
I don’t know if that’s an acknowledged medical condition or not, but I have a bit of a fetish for drawers. The more drawers the better, and if those drawers have compartments — swoon. This vintage wooden tool chest is a beauty. It needed a good cleaning, smells of linseed oil, and has a cool flip top and locking mechanism — and its top drawer has compartments. Expect to see this cabinet as a backdrop for many future photos here on the site.
Now this has to be the catch of the day, or year, for me. Apparently, this once hung in the local Joe’s Crab Shack and was given to the seller, who was an employee there, after he quit — so it was probably stolen. I can’t blame the guy, I would have stolen it myself, it’s so great — actually, I did steal it, bringing it home for just $20! It’s two-sided, but the other side doesn’t have the writing. The name of my graphic design business is Big Fish Design, so buying big fish is nothing new to me (sorry, hon). This is probably the third or fourth oversized fish in my house as of this writing, but it’s my new favorite.
When you buy large items like this, you have to find a place for them, which means the newly rearranged cave is going to see even more reshuffling this week. I have just the spot for this, I just need to head to Lowes for some hardware to hang it from the ceiling. Hopefully, I won’t break my neck in the process of hanging it — or worse, break a tail or fin.
Check out Will West’s latest Thrift Justice post to see his awesome Batman find. Did you find anything good this week.
Awesome finds, especially the tool box. Does the big fish sing if you push a button? terrifying thought..
No, it doesn’t sing, but that gives me an idea… 😉
Thanks for sharing my post! You did find some great stuff. I kinda want that giant fish. You really think the neighborhood sales are drying up? The season’s just getting started, so I hope that’s not the case. I find the “forced” neighborhood sales are the worst – when some realtor decides that he’s going to sponsor a neighborhood sale, and then the houses feel pressured to put *something* out so they aren’t party poopers. Those tend to be the worst.
Of all the big neighborhoods I usually venture to, as of this Saturday, they have already held their neighborhood-wide sales. There will still be other individual yard sales, but around here, the neighborhoods are done until the Fall. I don’t know that I’ve seen the realtor-driven sales you mentioned — — there aren’t too many new neighborhoods around me.
Personally, I kind of dread the “community pool” sales, where the neighbors have to schlepp all there stuff to a single location, flea market style. All the good stuff goes fast, and nobody really wants to drag too much stuff out to begin with. I’ve had good luck at these kinds of sales, but it’s not often. I tend to have the best luck at neighborhood sales on streets that are “off the grid,” meaning those weird cul de sacs that aren’t really part of the main traffic lanes. If those folks don’t put up a sign on the corner, they might not get a buyer all day long. It pays to drive down them just in case.
I am drooling over those Beatle albums. I am almost positive I have that Monkees LP. I’ll have to check my Monkees collection.
That Star Wars Hand held game also got my geek senses buzzing. That’s a sweet pick up.
Nice finds. You have to give us an update on the sale of JAL balloon.
No bids yet but a few watchers. Click that link above and you can watch the sale.
Cool Beatles LP! I see Abbey Road, HELP and Revolver…..what’s the other one?
I kinda dig that fish too! Haha….