Not a bad Saturday morning of yard sales this weekend…
I saw this large stuffed ALF doll at one of the first sales we stopped at, and knew I was going to buy it before even unbuckling the seatbelt. For $2, this Melmacian went home with me, and his little friend Jessie from Toy Story came along for the ride. I have a Buzz Lightyear and Woody from the same toy line, and the three will make a nice addition to someone’s collection some day.
I found a couple of Scooby Doo cars and some action figures, including some great Fisher Price Super Friends figures. The style and fun factor of those toys are so great! My kids love them, so those three were claimed instantly. Of course, if there was a Batman in the bunch, dear old dad would probably have hidden that one on the bottom of the box.
I don’t know what it is this year, but I keep finding great pillows like these…
The first picture above shows a boxed RPG game for Paranoia, which I thought looked like it could be worth the quarter they were asking for it. When I got home, the box didn’t contain the game at all. It was filled with blank checks and a high school diploma. (Dinner’s on me!) It also had an instruction booklet for a vintage Transformer Megatron. Just one more reason to love thrifting–you never know what’s in the box. Cue Brad Pitt: “What’s in the box!”
I also picked up these two Star Wars books for another quarter. I have a vivid memory of ordering these from one of those Scholastic book fair flyers when I was a kid, so it was pretty cool to find them again.
It might seem strange but my favorite find of the day was this Batman pen for a nickel. I love figural Batman items like this, and actually prefer them to toys like action figures. Don’t ask me why, I just dig utilitarian items that are sculpted to look like the character, whether its a pen, a shampoo bottle, a squirt gun…you name it! It’s nice when I can get so much joy for five cents.
Another great find for just 25 cents were these three books. They were at the bottom of a box of books and were covered in dry, crumbling leaves, but check it out: Favorite Fishing Spots in Milwaukee, a Who’s Who in the Major Leagues souvenir book from the 1935 World Series, and a rare coin book from the 1920’s! Are you kidding me? There are tons of collectors out there for each of these items, and now I just need to help them add these to their collections. I’ll even sweep away the leaves first!
For whatever reason, this weekend I found myself flipping through the record bins. I don’t collect records. I don’t own a record player. The disks themselves can be used for skeet shooting practice for all I care (kidding, of course… sort of.). I was going for icons and iconic images. I won’t bore you with the details in this post (I’ll save the boredom for a future post!), but here’s a brief glimpse at some of the fun things I found. And yes that is a Lenny and the Squigtones album you see.
So, how did you do this weekend? Any diamonds found in the dust? Let’s hear it!
Looks like another great haul! Where on Earth do you keep all of this stuff? That is, if you do keep it on Earth.
I have been known to buy a lot of 10-gallon bins at Costco.
I try to keep it all organized but this time of year is when I stock up for those cold winter months. 😉
Amazing finds, as always! I saw the Batman pillow at Target, each time I walked past it I’d pick it up and hug it like a true resplendent Geek. I see you found Purple Rain and THE WIZ! So envious of that Wiz find! I thought I found a Wiz record this weekend but it wasn’t from the Quincy Jones musical with MJ and Diana Ross, so I passed on it!
(If you listen to “Ease on Down the Road” from the Wiz without the visuals it sounds…so very naughty. You don’t have a record player, so listen to it here: http://bit.ly/9Ovvd )
Thanks, Van! I actually thought of you and your MJ passion when I picked that album up. I’m not a big fan, but I knew there were collectors out there like you who might want to add it to their collection. Who knows, this one might just find its way to sunny FL some day! 😉
Another awesome haul Brian! I’d be jealous of your ALF, but I already have him(my buddy gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse). I did pretty well this past weekend as well. I stayed under budget, and came away with some nice additions(I posted the finds Sunday night, btw 🙂 ).
Is there any chance we can make a deal for that Megatron booklet? If you don’t plan on keeping it for your collections.
Sure, Jason! Let’s make it interesting and try a swap. You know pretty much what I have, so what vintage goodies do you have laying around?
I’ll have to check when I get home. Do you like non-poseable robots from the eighties(Japanese)? I have a few of them that I won in a lot off of Ebay last year, but I know nothing about them.
They’re the first 2 on the left(link below)
http://jasonvorhees.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/021.jpg
If not, give me some ideas, you know what I collect, and have found. I’m sure I must have something you wouldn’t mind having. 🙂
No idea what those are either! I’d love to get some M.U.S.C.L.E.S. or maybe a figural TMNT or Batman item if you have anything like that. Not figures, but more like advertising type things. Anything from the 70’s and 80’s pop culture would be considered. 😉
What TMNT figures are you looking for these days? I have bins of those downstairs and could sweeten the deal a bit.
I’ll have to check out what I have at home. I might have something. I do have some M.U.S.C.L.E.S., but I don’t know if I could part with any of them(I have only 5), but maybe.
As for TMNT figures I’m looking for…Splinter(with robe), April O’Neil(mine’s MOC), Krang(mine’s missing a tentacle), Krang’s Android Body, Invisible Man Mike, Halfcourt, Wingnut, Fugitoid or any of the movie turtles. I could write a more extensive list if you need more. I’m just trying to stay away from all of the different turtle variations for now, and want to focus on all of the different characters.
Lenny and the Squigtones…love it.
Y’know, out of all those LPs, that is the one I really want to listen to. 😉