YARD SALES EXCERPTS
1
The last stop of the day of a very long day of stops which had up to that point produced zip, nada, nothing in the way of antiques collectibles or treasures.
After traveling over thirty miles and stopping in two small towns alone the way I had come up with nothing of value from yard sales.
This was going to be my last stop before heading home to spend some time with the grand kids before they returned home the next day.
I was traveling on a secondary road surrounded by cornfields and fence post as far as you could see with an occasional dirt lane dividing up
a cornfield to a large house or sometimes just a barn set back a few hundred yards from the main road.
I had just made one of those famous Indiana hard 90 degree left hand turns around a corner fence post and saw blowing in the wind a big bunch
of different colored balloons signifying there was a yard sale somewhere at the end of a dirt road off to my left.
Making the turn I could see a large two story early 30s farmhouse in a sort of rundown condition with faded white paint and weeds following the
road up to the steps of the house. Off to the left of the house was a huge oak tree that must have been over two hundred years old with low
swinging branches almost touching the ground. Under the tree were three long tables covered with white cloth and glassware and clothes were
scattered from one end of the tables to the other.
Pulling up to the house I noticed there were lots of boxes scattered under the tables and they appeared to be full of junk, my kind of box.
An elderly lady was setting next to the tree in a Walmart plastic chair enjoying the shade of a very hot august day.
I walked over to the tables giving them a quick once over to see if I made a connection with any one item. I did not see anything I was interested
in so I started searching through the boxes placed under the tables and around the ends of the tables. There were 12 large boxes so I though I
would have a lot longer day trying to go through them all. As I started through the boxes the lady of the yard sale got up and walked over to
the table I was working under and made a statement that just about made my day.
She said since it was close to the end of the day and she wanted to get everything packed up and put back in the shed and I could have any box
on the ground for two dollars a box, stating most of the stuff in them had been junk her husband had collected before his death.
I could already see there were some old cameras I wanted to take a closer look, but taking a closer look at the lady I saw she was tired and hot
so I told her I would just take all of the boxes. It appeared as though my day would come to a better ending than I had anticipated before making
that left hand turn up the dirt lane. I left the lady with a lot less to pack back up and I got some real treasures to look at and a lot of surprises
when I went through the boxes I did not have time to look in before buying all the boxes. Sometimes the day can end on a high note and this was one
day I was very appreciative of.
2
This was going to be one Saturday I was going to really enjoy, My Mac Donald’s breakfast was finished and the car
was heading in the right direction by 8 O:clock in the morning full of gas and plenty of room to put all of the treasures I was going to find
throughout the day. I had made my final plans the night before so I knew the route I would be taking. I even had the air conditioning working
in the old car for once.
Leaving the small town I live in and starting on a route I had never taken before to check out the number of yard sales I could find on the road
I had chosen I decided to make a straight run to the next little town hitting only the sales I could find on the way there. I first came upon a
roadside sale. These usually pop up wherever someone can find a wide place in the road large enough for them to unload their wares and still have
room for the public to park. Since it was getting up in the day I wanted to stop but not spend to much time there so I made sure I parked where I had an easy access back onto
the main road. There were two different sales set up on this wide spot so I knew I could scan them in a hurry and keep on moving.
The first one had the usual junk and glass wares you always find at yard sales so I moved on to the next one. The gentleman had not unpacked all
of his items leaving a few boxes still setting on the tailgate of his pickup. The table he had set up did not have anything I was interested in
so I decided to head back to the car and move on down the road when I happened to notice one of the boxes he had opened up was full of old photographs
from the early twenties and thirties.
There must have been over five hundred photographs in the box along with a large photo album with over two hundred pictures from the end of war world
two of a soldier stationed in Japan. If the price was right I knew I would be leaving there with that box of photos.
Since it was early in the morning I knew he would not want to deal to much on the box if any at all. So I decided to just ask for the price and then
decide if I was going to try and deal with him. I ask him how much he wanted for the whole box of photos and to my surprise he would take $20.00 for
the complete box. Needless to say I left there with the box of photos and moved on my merry way. Tickled to get the day off to a good start.
Old photos whether from this century or the last will have a value to them if they are in good condition with clear images. You have to remember when you
are buying items regardless of what it is there has to be a market for the item and you have to have an understanding of what will sell and what will not.
Photos will have a market if they are in good condition and are of the right subject and the right material.
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