Shopping Estate Sales

In my area of the country, as auctions dried up, estate sales began popping up.

They all seem to run 3 days—with discounted items on the last day.

 

My advice for shopping one of these is to go early as possible.  Walk through the house a couple of times to get a feel for what’s for sale, the cost, and if the seller has set prices.  Take a box or some bags for your purchases—and newspaper or tissue for glassware.

I have personally found as many (or more) bargains estate sale shopping—without waiting all day to bid on an item I never went home with.

What kinds of finds have you run across?

Shopping for value

Money’s tight for everyone.  Its tax time, time to spruce up the house, and the car needs who know what.

The great thing about this time of year is that people are opening up flea market booths for some extra money to get everything done.  Likewise, antique dealers with higher priced merchandise may be lowering prices.

Get out and about, investigate all the new merchandise, and even barter on items.  You may end up with just what you’re looking for at a great price.

Tips for garage sale shopping

It's that time of year for garage sales to start to pop up everywhere.  If you happen to find one that could be on the way to work (or it could even be near where you live) what are some tips to keep in mind when you go?

The first is not to block neighborhood driveways--park sensibly so that people can get in and out of the driveway.  After all, you are shopping at the seller's home.

Greet the seller when you first get there.  A friendly attitude may lead to a lowered price on an item.  It may even lead to being able to bundle a few items together at a lower price.

Don't plow through their merchandise.  It took hours for them to set up and price everything--don't destroy the seller's display.  When you pick up an item that you don't want, put it back where it was.

Lastly, thank the seller.  Wish him or her a good day.  Frankly, before its all over, they no doubt will be exhausted.

Goodbye Burrrrr!!

It's been a very long, cold, snowy, icy winter.

But now now my neighbor's front yard is covered in daffodils--and the cherry trees are filled with pink blooms.

 

Better still--"Garage Sale" signs are popping up everywhere.

Goodbye cabin fever, welcome spring!

TRUST ME By John Updike

The book TRUST ME was written by John Updike, and was published in 1987.  This book is filled with short stories like "Trust Me," "Killing," "Still of Some Use," "The City," "The Lovely Troubled Daughters of Our Old Crowd," "Unstuck," and many more.

The stories that are in this book were written by John Updike from 1962 through 1987 (which can be seen on the copyright page).

 

Cover art, dust jackets, being a first edition, and the author’s name are some of the ways that books are collected (all of which this book has).

Another way that books are collected is if they are a good read or not.  It could be is if it made the reader cry, laugh, or made you think in a different way.

A copy of TRUST ME can be seen in my Etsy store here.  Have you had a chance to read this book yet?