Bartering And Horse Trading (Part Duh)

Not much this past week. I did pick up another flat Wagner cast iron pan. $2. The surface is very smooth on these old pans unlike the gritty cheap casts made now.

When I see candles at bargain prices, I snap them up. I got about 5 pounds of candles for a buck. Found a gram-kilogram scale in good working order $15. And some 3/8" plastic reinforced pressure hose- very long roll... maybe 100feet, for $10.

I stopped at a place on my way home... saw a yard sale sign. Old man had junk on tables in his garage. I asked him if he had any old coins or silverware for sale. He said he had some Eisenhower coins, but he couldn't get to them. I asked if he had a silver server set. He said he did have a sterling 24pc set. But again- couldn't get to them. His plan is to sell the junk from his front rooms and work his way back. Holy-moley. He must have so much junk piled into the rooms that you can't even get into the good stuff. Same thing for his barn and many old tools. Guess where I am stopping by every weekend. At some point he has got to make some headway... and the early bird gets the silver.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Spectrism

Enjoyable read Agnut.

Your galvanized wire reminded me of a deal I encountered. A fella was selling old tools that were really beaten and too high of a price.... and there was nothing I particularly needed. I saw a large roll of 3-conductor exterior grade(insulated) copper wire. I did not know the value. He was asking $30. I hemmed and hawwed... trying to figure if this was a good deal. He said it was almost a full roll- I think 200 feet was the length, and he said it cost more than $50 new. I learned not to trust what they say values are.

In a circumstance like this, I think of two things: practical uses and scrap value. My mind went blank on copper value and I could not exactly weigh the wire either. I figured I might use the wire more effectively than scrap it.... so I bought it.

It is a little more than 23 pounds. Copper is just over $4/pound. So the scrap value alone is more than $90. So now I feel silly even questioning the buy.

At another location, I found a guy selling copper .999 bars. I actually paid about $5/pound for these, and broke even on a whole shoebox full of copper pennies.


You are right.... everyone sees things differently - and that makes this fun. Everyone can win- in their own minds.

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Hi Spectrism. I have also bought copper wiring and didn’t know exactly what it was worth but made a best guess at the stripped copper weight. However, I only buy it if it is so cheap that I can’t lose. If too high, I bargain it down until it is a steal or I won‘t buy it. It is almost embarrassing to relate how little I paid sometimes. I suspect that those days may come to an end as the economy gets tighter/worse. Don’t miss acquiring scrap aluminum either Spectrism. Old barbecues are usually made of it and when the steel rusts out, they are thrown or given away. We get 75 cents a pound for clean scrap aluminum.

People are waking up to values of things that they had thrown away in the past. For instance I went to a garage sale yesterday that was in a upper price neighborhood; the seller had books for $5 and $7 each. I usually pay from 25 cents to no more than a dollar. I ended up buying nothing and went home empty. That was a first for me. Three weeks ago I was at a garage sale and picked up about 15 hardbound books for free. There was about 200 books there but I got to pick out some I great stuff for my overflowing library. My library; what a joke. Hundreds of books are in boxes and on shelves in the barn and I can’t even get to many of them.

That same afternoon I had to go to town to pick up boxes of fruits and veggies out back of the local supermarket. On the way home I saw a couple of garage sale signs and followed them to where I got ;

A 72” projection TV screen for $20; still in the box and never used. I don’t have a projection TV but one will probably turn up one of these days. Hopefully before my Samsung DLP TV gives up the ghost.

A set of 4 mag wheels for $5 total and a spare rim and tire for a Honda for $1.

A cold weather outfit from a US submarine for a couple of bucks. Ponce says that they cost $150; new or used I don’t know.

A cold weather jacket from the same sub for a couple of bucks (for me).

A pair of stereo speakers for $5.

A car theft lock for the emergency brake for $1

That was it for just a few minutes while I was already in town.

Last weekend I got several items but the two compound bows I got for $7.50 each was about the best score. I could sell them but this is one of the advantages of bartering and horse trading; my son and I have been talking about setting up an archery range but didn’t want to spend the bucks for all the equipment. So last week these two bows come up out of nowhere. The only expense now is to find a set of arrows; I’m sorry to say that I may to have to buy them new because I’ve never seen any arrows for sale at any garage sales. Oh well, I guess I’ll have to change my motto; “the only thing I buy new is socks and underwear”.

Last week one of my sons was with me garage sailing and he spotted a couple of water tanks with a for sale sign beside the road we were traveling. I jotted down the number and later called the seller. He said they were 3,200 gallons each and wanted $2,000 for them. I haggled him down on the phone no less and we agreed on $1,200. I checked out the prices of the two tanks and they cost $3,500 each new so $1,200 for the pair wasn’t too bad a deal.

But here’s the kicker; he said that I could have everything in the adjoining well house for free. There was a pair of ozone generators which retail for $1,000 each and three bladder tanks which retail for $864 each. There was also a booster pump which must cost at least a few hundred dollars. And outside there was a 300 gallon heavy wall steel tank for diesel fuel or whatever I may need. Also lots of fittings, piping and several relay boxes and controllers I haven’t yet identified. Now I don’t know what I can sell the well equipment for but it was there, as they say, for the taking.

My only problem now is getting the two water tanks moved. They are 10 foot in diameter and weigh about 800 pounds each.

As I look back at my last few posts I may sound like I’m bragging. But I’m not; I’m showing what can be found out there with a bit of initiative. A sort of friendly kick in the ass, if you will.

Tonight we had the parents of a friend visit. Some great country folks and real characters. My favorite kind of people. We loaded them up with a couple of boxes of fruits and veggies. I mentioned that we were looking for some railroad ties. They said that they knew someone who had a pile of them for free and promised to call us later. They also have decades of experience in canning and will help us in the future. We must have talked continuously for a couple of hours as it grew dark. So much to share.

Starting to see how networking grows exponentially ? I’m living it and having the time of my life. I wish the same for all of you who are reading this.

On a serious note, we know (or should know by now) that we are heading into some rough times. These connections we make will benefit us as well as others. I believe that we are doing what our parents, grandparents and generations before them did with each other. It was a sense of community; of being there for each other. And I hope and believe that we will have that again someday in the not too distant future. Funny thing is, it is so easy to do and natural.

Best wishes,

agnut

Children are what parents watched before there was television.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by agnut

People are waking up to values of things that they had thrown away in the past .

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another quote for my GSUS quotes file


while i always have time for garage sales, i've never been one to buy clothes
but this weekend i picked up two 100% wool tops for a total of $5
couldn't let those two pass buy, even in 90 degree heat

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Spectrism

Not much this past week. I did pick up another flat Wagner cast iron pan. $2. The surface is very smooth on these old pans unlike the gritty cheap casts made now.

When I see candles at bargain prices, I snap them up. I got about 5 pounds of candles for a buck. Found a gram-kilogram scale in good working order $15. And some 3/8" plastic reinforced pressure hose- very long roll... maybe 100feet, for $10.

I stopped at a place on my way home... saw a yard sale sign. Old man had junk on tables in his garage. I asked him if he had any old coins or silverware for sale. He said he had some Eisenhower coins, but he couldn't get to them. I asked if he had a silver server set. He said he did have a sterling 24pc set. But again- couldn't get to them. His plan is to sell the junk from his front rooms and work his way back. Holy-moley. He must have so much junk piled into the rooms that you can't even get into the good stuff. Same thing for his barn and many old tools. Guess where I am stopping by every weekend. At some point he has got to make some headway... and the early bird gets the silver.

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HaHa Spectrism; I have been collecting Wagner cast iron cookware for years. Also have been collecting wax candles by the pound. Have you seen the prices for candles in the stores lately ?

Thanks for writing about your old man with a pile he couldn’t get to. Your patience is critical to bartering and horse trading; a sort of force multiplier. Also remember to have a notebook in which to list dates with phone numbers and what happened that day. Who, what, where, when, why and how are foundational to good journalism and will also apply to wise deal making. This notebook will prove to be invaluable for some deals that need to mature for a time. Not every deal is made on the spot but due to finances and circumstances with either buyer or seller, deals can be made even months later when the time is right. Very, very important.

Off topic but Ponce and I were discussing storing salt and sugar and Ponce made me realize that sugar was a better prep item to accumulate. Why ? Because salt is relatively easy to make while sugar requires a lengthy operation of growing and processing. We do need salt but sugar is needed in so many cooking recipes that to not have sugar would put such a halt to so many of the foods we eat. White gold ? Maybe someday; but I am planning to get at least a couple hundred more pounds to put away into the 4 gallon square buckets I get from a local bakery for 50 cents each. Is there a lesson here ? I hope so.

I have to tell you that when I got the first 60 plastic buckets with lids that I thought that I had too many buckets. But on further reflection, I decided to get all of the buckets I could find. Two reasons; first, I am using the heck out of these buckets. Food storage and many, many other uses. And second, at 50 cents each they are a screaming steal. They are a petroleum product and with peak oil production and a coming devaluation/collapse of the dollar, these plastic buckets will only rise in price. In a few years, what will be the price of a plastic storage bucket ? They cost about $6-7 retail right now but again ask yourself what they will be worth as trading material. Starting to get the picture of how we may be bartering and horse trading in the future ? Also realize that right now, these plastic buckets are a great deal. So, where is the downside of accumulating as many as you can find ? Except for the room needed to stack them, I see none. I would love to have over a thousand buckets 9 have about 250 now) but they are being used almost as fast as they are being replaced.

By the way, I’m also getting steel buckets with lids from the same source. At first I didn’t know what I would do with them but realized that I can use them for food storage in the barn which has mice/rats that cannot chew through steel. They already chewed through a plastic container so I had a dilemma with my garage already packed with food preps. So my problem solved itself. My point here is that sometimes we get items that we don’t know what to do with and only later an epiphany (brain fart really) hits us upside the head.

In my area there are a lot of old timers with acreage ( I’ve unwittingly become one too !) who sometimes have barns full of items packed away that I bet they haven’t looked at for decades. When they either decide to get rid of their lifetime accumulations or their heirs sell them at an estate sale, it is only a matter of time. So I watch the local paper classified ads and have my feelers out. I feel like a Moray eel relaxing in my cave, waiting for appetizing morsels to drift by. But as I wrote in the past, it is not wise to bite off more than you can chew. So far I have been able to buy whatever bargains I found. The aforementioned two 3,200 water storage tanks were about as much as I can take on at this time. I have to get on the phone and find someone willing to move them for me. Wide load signs and a moving permit ? I don’t know yet. Wish me luck. HaHa. Hey ! Maybe I can turn them on their side and roll them home. Definitely a brain fart there.

Best wishes,

agnut



"When a man is aware, and by aware I mean honest with himself, he inevitably suffers the pain of being certain while the rest of the world enjoys the bliss of false assumptions." - Brandon Smith

Thanks for more insights Agnut!

I will check in with local bakeries and see if they dispose of containers/buckets.

I stored up some sugar. My wife says we have enough. Not even close. Sugar can also be used to make ethanol. The best deal I found was buying sugar at the local Mormon distribution center. I heard that some won't sell to non-members, but I did not have any problem.

Another thing to get is baking soda. Walmart sells large plastic bags for swimming pools. It increases the pH. This stuff is very useful for many things.

BTW- I haven't priced candles in the stores. I have been buying them on instinct. If there is no electric power, I see a week's worth of candles for $1 to be a good bargain.

Oh... just remembered another bargain I found. A case of sterno cans- 32 in a milk crate, for $10. I don't know the store cost, but I figured 50 cents each is decent value. Food & fuel are good targets to hunt.

Scored a couple little things today.

First, I got a box of candles for $2. To buy these new in the store would be in the $20 range.

Next, I happened to see some silverware spoons in a bag. Seller didn't even know they were there. I pulled them out and notice "COIN" stamped on one and my finger silver sensor alerted. (my fingers twitch around silver) I have never found coin silverware before. I asked what she wanted.... $1. Sold! When I got home, there were about 10 of these... total more than 5 tozs. Metal value- $180.

Then I found a little moving sale... nothing good on display. So I asked. Ended up with 4 sterling silver spoons for $2. Sold.
I weighed those at 3 tozs. Metal value- $111.

So $3 bought me $291 worth of silver. Almost a 100 bagger.


At one stop, as I looked over the barbeque tools, I listened to the conversation between a shopper and sellers. The shopper was educating the sheep on silver values. One thing he said that got my BS detector up for a moment was that junk silver will have increased numismatic value because so much is being melted down. I never heard that before. He did tell them that silver was around $40 per ounce and the value of junk silver coins.

The smart man said that he only had 16 of the Kenedy halfs left and did not want to sell them. He followed that with: "If I had 100 of them I would sell them."
And then the woman talks about how she took all her silver spoons to a local (rip-off) joint and got 16 whole dollars for them. No dealer would buy plated spoons so they had to be sterling. To verify her good move she said 16 dollars is better than throwing the spoons out. LOL... sure. Some sheep should not be educated... it will hurt their feelings. I bought the new barbeque utensils for $1 and kept my mouth shut.


Getting there first is VERY important most of the time. I have had numerous failures too. One place I went to- about an hour too late, I saw an antique dealer loading up what he just bought. He had a lot of junk... real junk that I would never touch. But amidst the junk was a silver kettle or creamer. Nothing fancy, but had to be about 10 tozs. Everything there that the sheeple was selling was around a dollar. So I learned a lesson on prioritizing visits.

Best places to hit first and early: estate sales, house contents sales.
Then- moving sales... and always ask for the goos stuff. It is usually hidden away.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Canadian-guerilla

another quote for my GSUS quotes file


while i always have time for garage sales, i've never been one to buy clothes
but this weekend i picked up two 100% wool tops for a total of $5
couldn't let those two pass buy, even in 90 degree heat

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Hi Canadian-guerilla, good to hear from you. Ponce has always said that the trash dumps of today will be the goldmines of tomorrow.

Out of season clothing buying is smart and soooo easy. The hotter the weather the more are for sale and cheaper. You’d think that people hadn’t learned that the seasons return with regularity.

You have jogged my memory of something that I have been wanting to write about for a long time.

These screaming bargains that we find can be perceived in more than one way.

First, they are money saved for the things we need. No duh.

Second, they can be held for the future and used for bartering material.

Third, they can be an investment which increases in value through time. The plastic buckets in my last post are a good example. Quality tools such as power drills, saws - as well as boxes of nails and screws, chains, etc. ; these items and many others may not be available in a few years. Building material and clothing are a couple more that come to mind.

Fourth, and here is my main point. Some bargain items bought now have the capacity to increase as much as or even more that gold and silver at current prices. Now let me explain before I get banned as a shill for the fiat money crowd. This is a complex situation and not to be entered into without deeply considering all the ramifications.

An example might best be provided to show the sequence of events in order to understand the need for this change in perception.

Say Joe has 10,000 ounces of physical silver. And he has preps for a couple years. His home is fully paid for and he has social security, stocks, Treasury bonds and a 401K account coming in that is sufficient to pay all of his bills including property taxes. Looking pretty good, isn’t he ?

Yes, he is well prepared. FOR THE PRESENT, THAT IS.

However, within a couple of years the financial and social landscape will have radically transformed into a war scenario; a financial war, that is. Civil rights have been trampled and when society fell apart due to the collapse of the dollar, social security lost relevance; worthless. Most all stocks and bonds also became borderline worthless. The 401K accounts had earlier been confiscated by the government with broken promises to continue payouts (remember Social Security and what they did ?). Besides, the dollar itself had become practically worthless; no matter if the payouts continued if the currency was only good for toilet paper. Ironic as well as tragic that almost all citizens had believed the government all the way to their bitter end.

So now Joe, a couple of years later, finds himself and his family with no means to pay bills except his 10,000 ounces of physical silver. Silver, their salvation in a desperate situation ? Not hardly, because the government had ordered high taxation on precious metal “profits”. What a sick joke since purchasing power of precious metals had increased half of most folks thought through the years. Why ? Because the dollar had fallen in purchasing power.

Additionally, there was confiscation of all gold and silver bullion with a huge fine and 5 years prison sentence. Sound familiar ? Well, most folks who would remember the lesser Depression are either dead or in rest homes. They would remember; they lived through it.

Property rights fly out the window when government is against the wall. They will forcibly take anything you have in order to continue their power position. This has been true throughout history and I can see no reason that it won’t happen again. Do you really believe that those in power will relinquish their power willingly ? When have you ever seen this happen ? Sorry but my squashing old misconceptions is the only way to get through to changing to this different way of thinking.

Now this scenario didn’t unfold all at once but rather through a gradual process of tightening the noose upon the unsuspecting public. Alternate thinking might perceive that we have already been in a collapse for some years; it is a process through time rather than a head on collision. Alternate thinkers have learned to foresee trends’ end game. They also prepare in anticipation of where they want to be in this Slave New World.

Next is Don and his family. Don also had 10,000 ounces of silver. I said HAD, as in he sold 1,000 of his silver at an intermediate peak price. He had bought silver long ago at $5 per ounce and sold some at $40 per ounce, an 8 time increase. An incredible profit, wouldn’t you say ? Well, this 8 times increase must be viewed in the context of the relative values of the dollar between when Don bought his silver and when he sold it. The fiat dollar, actually any fiat currency, is dropped into the bowl and floats around until flushed by good sense and an operational olfactory system. But it has not really flushed yet. Why, you ask ? Because those who have their hands on the lever are still in control. Or think they are. With the European Union unraveling, the dollar is looking relatively strong. But its been said that fiat currencies don’t float but rather sink at different rates.

Now Don has $40,000 in fiat dollars and 10% less physical silver. What to do, what to do. You’d think that he had a sort of delicious dilemma of what “toys” to buy. But not Don; for he has been reading on the internet for several years and like Saint Nick, making a list and checking it twice, gonna find out who’s been naughty or nice. Or rather foolish or wise.

If Don had bought his silver about 10 years ago at $5 per ounce and recently sold some at $40 per ounce with the fiat dollar losing say, half of its purchasing power, Don really “only” increased the value of his silver four times rather than the eight times many assume.

So what could be bought now that would keep up with silver’s price rise in the same time period ?

Tough question; one I have been pondering for some time.

In Don’s case, he had decided that he was too heavy in precious metals and too light in preps and other physical investments. A rebalancing of his portfolio was in order.

More preps was the first thing Don did. And not just food but also backup equipment for what he already had. This is where estate and garage sales comes in. A $30- $40 deluxe toaster may be bought for a dollar or two at a garage sale. I know, I have done it a few times myself. I have one toaster in my kitchen and three backups in storage, all used but in working condition. Extra shovels, rakes, tools, lumber, nails and a myriad of other items that Don may need himself as well as desirable bartering material for the future. Granted, these are small items which can be bought for a pittance at estate and garage sales and therefore would take time to accumulate. However, there are some large items that can quickly gobble up most of Don’s $40,000 cash wad.

Things like cars. People need to get around and with gasoline becoming more expensive through time, a small high mile per gallon backup car seems like a good idea. In fact, I just bought a Chevrolet Sprint. Don’t laugh but it has a three cylinder Suzuki engine and is only 1,000 ccs, as in a one liter engine. However, it gets over 50 MPG and is cheap to maintain. A friend had one and modified it to run lean; he was getting over 100 MPG until he burned up the motor. Went a but too far with the leaning of the fuel while not water injecting it to keep it running cool. I don’t intend to go this far but hope to tweak the carburetor a bit to get 70 MPG. By the way, this little car has a 30,000 mile engine just installed and I only paid $100 for the car ! I did pay a $50 finder’s fee and another $50 to have it towed to my place. To me, finder’s fees are a financial thank you and a happy circumstance where both parties win. I recommend it highly. The $50 towing I didn’t have to pay since the friend was doing it for free. It came as a surprise to him and was an investment of sorts for future dealings. Generosity and fairness rules here in bartering and horse trading.

By the way, I’m in the middle of converting a 1987 VW Scirocco gas car into a diesel for higher miles per gallon ( the gas version gets about 30-35 MPG). I thought I was the first to do so but recently talked to a man who has done just that. He is getting 65 MPG and this is without a modified gear ratio transmission which I have built for my own car. I think 70 MPG will be easily attainable without any engine modifications. I chose the VW Scirocco because it is far more aerodynamic that other Volkswagens of the same vintage.

So what am I going to do with this diesel VW Scirocco ? Drive it for a while and then perhaps put it on Ebay at a high price to see how much demand there may be out there. If this were to pan out, I would find other VW Sciroccos to convert. Could be quite profitable. I just don’t know at this time; especially feeling that we are at the threshold of a collapse of the dollar. And even if the dollar were to not collapse, I would still have an extremely high MPG car for the future. A win-win in my eyes.

These VW Sciroccos are getting scarce and I have been reluctant to write about their potential since I don’t want others to read what I’m doing and scoop the ones that are still out there. It is more important to share this in particular as an example of the way I think than to keep silent in order for future gain. Besides, not many people read this thread and even fewer will actually buy one of these cars and convert it. A while ago I saw a VW diesel pickup truck sell for $12,000 on Ebay. It was cosmetically excellent with a new paint job and interior but neither the engine nor the 5 speed transmission were rebuilt. The person who bought it could well have found himself in a few months on the side of the road with a blown engine. But he would still have a pristine car - hanging at the end of the hook of the tow truck !

People buy the sizzle without realizing the sound of that sizzle is their own fat frying.

As I have written many times, we as a society are moving from form to function. In other words, getting to work in a Mercedes is no better than arriving in a high MPG car. It takes about the same time but one is far, far more expensive than the other. And expensive can no longer be continued. Here is a great article that explains a great part of why and how we are in the current predicament :

Peacock Syndrome - America’s Fatal Disease

http://www.theburningplatform.com/?p=18895

There are almost 100 commentaries that follow which will give you some idea of what intelligent folks are thinking.

Everybody talks about how much money they are making but nobody talks about how much they are saving for their future. Oh yeah, some talk about how much money they have in their 401K, their pension, stocks, bonds and bank accounts. But can’t you see the fatal flaw here ? Yep, it is all paper and electronic promises. And they don’t physically hold it either. If that doesn’t scare the Hell out of you, I don’t know what will.

The Social Security checks are being used as the carrot and stick by those wanting to further increase government spending. Disgusting beyond description. These are the same guys who robbed the SS trust fund of over 2 trillion dollars and put in its place a nonnegotiable promissory note. And who is responsible for that promissory note ? Us, the same ones who paid into the SS fund in the first place. In some bizarre world, doesn’t this mean that we are paying twice for the same thing ?

So what do you think they will do in the near future with your other paper and electronic promises ?

If you didn’t really hold it, do you think you really ever owned it ? Something we will hear in the future.

"Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one."
John MacKay “Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds”

So please, please think of where you are and how you want to be living in the future. Sure, it is uncertain but at least we can see the trends of the last few decades and where we are heading.

Enough of my tirade for now. I have more to post as soon as I can type it all up. Yesterday was a totally unexpected wild day at garage sales.

Best wishes,

Agnut

“America is living off the fiat of the land”

Wow Spectrism, those are some great posts and deals . Lots to learn here.

I have to realize that those reading the bartering and horse trading thread who have never actively gone out seeking steal deals at garage and estate sales, well, they are probably skeptical that we are telling the truth. After all, I am sometimes amazed at the deals I have found. Even today I look at my commercial Stihl weed whacker that costs about $400 new and I got it at a garage sale for $5 and am stilh amazed.

Your almost 100 bagger in sterling silver is …. What can I say but AMAZING ? I have never had such a silver deal… EVER. I don’t get jealous of other’s success but you have pushed me to the edge. HaHa

Moving on to the candles you got. Well, I got that topped as of last Saturday. I’ll post the gory details below.

I’m also adding to my sugar preps. Have a couple of hundred pounds now and feel horribly naked in that area. I don’t know if 500 pounds would be enough. Costco seems to have the best prices but I rarely get over to where they are located.

Now it’s my turn; tell me what you think.

Last Saturday I awoke at 8:30, not realizing at first that it was Saturday. My only thing on my to do list was to get a couple of cartridges for my HP printer. I was still fuzzy headed when I pulled up my local paper’s garage sale ads. I looked through 10 or so ads and spied one that was a community yearly garage sale. It was only 3 miles away in a fancy neighborhood that I had been to a few times. I called my nephew to see if he was interested in going. He was at my house in a few minutes and we headed out. On the way there I noticed a sign that said there was also a community garage sale going on a couple of miles further.

We hit about 10 garage sales in fast order, the first few were discouraging. At that point I wondered if people were running out of good items to sell but the next few sales allayed my fears. It just kept getting better the more we looked.

By now we had the SUV half loaded and hadn’t even gotten over to the next area. I had been there several times over the years and knew its potential. Houses ranged from $300,000 and up. An older quality neighborhood with lots of toys, big boy toys, that is.

Knowing your neighborhoods and allocating your time accordingly is crucial to increasing your success. I can’t emphasize this enough.

Here is a list of what I got, prices and why I bought them :

2 VW hubcaps for 25 cents each. I have several VWs and am a VW nut anyhow; been working on them for almost 40 years…so far.

A board game called Therapy for 75 cents. My sister has a degree in psychology and it might be fun to psych her out.

A brand new veggie steamer for $2. I already have a couple of them but you will find a common thread with me in that I am always looking for backups in multiples. What is enough ? I really don’t know.

A fruit dehydrator for $2. One of ours recently went south so a replacement was in order.

Two berry juice extractors for 25 cents each. One was a wooden handled antique. Couldn’t pass them up at that price.

A Craftsman wood splitter maul with fiberglass handle for $2. Probably costs over $30 new and it was like new. Also, the fiberglass handle types don’t break as far as I’ve seen.

A plastic gas can for $1. Can’t seem to get enough of these.

A long tree branch lopper with cutting blade attachment for $2. They rarely ever show up at garage sales and we have a new orchard.

A power orange juicer for $1. They cost about $33 new with tax. I already have 2 but a friend who picks up our fruits and veggies had asked me to keep my eyes peeled for one. And he had asked only a couple of weeks ago. Can’t wait till he shows up.

A power can opener for $1. Hey, I’m a bit lazy and someday I’ll be able to tell the young ’uns I had a can opener that works on e-lektricity.

A brand spanking new Black and Decker 14 piece drill bit set for $1.

A mixmaster with bowl and stand for $1

A set of like new heavy duty jumper cables for $2. This type lasts almost forever and can handle heavy amperage like for my Dodge diesel truck.

A Remington power nail driver with shot loads and nails for $2. Costs about $40 at Home Depot. Also a backup.

Large Vise Grips brand for 50 cents. Can’t get enough of this top quality tool.

A French made cork installer for 50 cents. Ya never know when I’ll want to make a couple of cases of wine since I bought a wine making outfit at another garage sale a few years back.

31 patio candles for 50 cents. Not such a hot deal but I was there and they were there and…

A Bushnell rifle scope for $1. Too cheap to pass up.

75 pounds of candle wax with 2 large boxes of candle making molds, aromas, dyes, other equipment, loads of wicks for $20. I’ve been picking up cheap wax for a long time and now this whole candle making setup shows up. What could I do ? I was helpless.

For future reference, I just now found prices for candle wax. Straight paraffin would cost $99.15 for 75 pounds and wax blend would cost $116.75 for 75 pounds. Plus shipping. YMMV.

That candle equipment and wax deal is looking better all the time.

A Craftsman floor model radial arm saw with several attachments still in their boxes, radial arm saw books, a carbide blade, a dado cutter still in the package and it all looks almost new. All for $50.

And I’ve saved the best for last. I spied a couple of HP printer cartridges sitting on a HP Photosmart 1100 copier. I started to ask the seller what he wanted for the two cartridges and before I could get the whole question out of my mouth, my nephew interrupted me and said to look at the price tag on the copier. I couldn’t believe it. It said $1! The seller was selling the two cartridges still in their sealed boxes WITH the copier for a buck. And there were two used cartridges already in the machine (Don’t know if they work, just a bonus).

Remember at the beginning of this post I wrote that the only thing on my to do list was to get a couple of cartridges ? Do you know how many types of cartridges there are out there ? And to find the exact two that I was going to buy anyway ? And new ones at a garage sale for crying out loud ? What are the odds ?

Voltaire said “God is a comedian playing to an audience that is too afraid to laugh.” Well, I’m laughing.

Those cartridges alone would have cost me $100 with tax. My total for all of the garage sailing was $102.50. Do you see where I’m going with this ? Yeah, as Mae West said “I can resist most anything but temptation.” So did I spend only $3.50 ($2.50 out of pocket plus $1 for the copier machine and two cartridges) for all of the aforementioned items ? I guess that’s one way of looking at it. I like that way.

Looking back on that Saturday outing, we had a lot of fun, a lot of laughs and saved a lot of money. By the way, what are you doing next Saturday ?

Best wishes,

Agnut

Excellent! Thanks for the adventure. It is always a special joy to find just an item you were thinking about buying anyway... and getting it at bargain basement pricing. Yes- there are hundreds of printer cartridges... and they are costly.

The idea about neighborhoods.... yes some are so down and out that you are not likely to find anything good unless its stolen. It was a very nice neighborhood where I got the sterling silverware set last year for $30. Most of my finds are in average neighborhoods.... just because that's where the sales are.

Yeah- I can see how someone might think these are just fish stories. I will try to upload a couple pics.

Attachment 505
Attachment 506

The 4 spoons on the left are the Sterling. Another red flag for silver is its make. Some are very high end quality silversmithery, but some are rather thin. If you find a silverbowl, it might even be dented or out of round because it is made with as little silver as possible. The thick stuff I usually find is plated. When I see something "soft" or thin, then I get interested quick. It is cheap and easy to plate thick base metal, so a silver thin bowl (or utensil) is not likely plated.

I have actually thought about not telling what I learn, but we are so spread apart and there are so many opportunities, I would rather see like-minded people here gain the advantage. We are all looking for different things. It is funny what you see some people buy like it is the best treasure, yet you wouldn't want it for free. I am sure others think that about my finds. The variety at these sales is tremendous.

A couple weeks ago I bought some OLD wheat cutting tools.... don't even know what you call them. Large scythes? I got three of them for $2 each. Very sharp and cut cleanly. Wood is a bit weathered but I could replace that with formed maple if needed.

I have been drawn to candles, fuels, storage tools (dehydrators/ canning jars), cast iron pots/pans, jewelry (gold/ silver/ stones-SP), hand tools, hoses, scrap metals and wire... and more things. The quality wool clothing is a smart thing to grab. BTW- thanks for the valuation on parafin wax... it gives me an idea of what I should be looking for in these deals.

This thread should be the most popular one on this forum.
There are treasures in your neighborhood.

Hi again Spectrism. The last thing you stated was “This thread should be the most popular one on this forum. “ I had to laugh; for you see, the fact that so many do not look at this thread is an indication that most would rather read of events than make events. It seems that you and I are currently carrying the bartering and horse trading thread. Welcome.

I am glad to hear that you are willing to share your knowledge and experiences. They accumulate over time and hopefully build a repertoire of abilities which aren’t found elsewhere. Deal making can become a fine art and after so many years of doing so, I’m still continually learning.

Funny that you mentioned the OLD wheat cutting tools. Coincidentally, last Friday I found a very old scythe for $20. Wooden handles and shaft. It was in such good condition for its age that I had to buy it. It will go with my one horse plow as yard decorations. Your scythes sound like a screaming bargaining in comparison to mine.

A week ago I was out with my son and ran across a set of the four seasons done in mother of pearl. They were made in China about 25 years ago but could be older. They are exquisite and will hang in my bedroom. There are different gradations in quality of workmanship and these are the highest, done in 3-D and therefore delicate and under glass. If you appreciate fine art and workmanship, these are the top quality I can envision. I’m no art expert but probably because of my love of art of all types, I have always been successful in what art I do acquire.

I looked on Ebay and saw one similar mother of pearl piece that was being offered for $1,000. It was only 1 panel and not as well done as mine. I liked it but wouldn’t have paid more than a couple of hundred for it. So what did I pay for all of the four seasons panels. Try $50 total at a garage sale. I still can’t believe it. They aren’t for sale now; I have to get to know them. Maybe it’s love.

Yesterday I got a cement mixer for $50 (hmmm… from love to a cement mixer; quite a jump). Anyway, it was an older type with a steel tumbler and belt driven electric motor. Perfect for when we put in the patio out back.

Picked up 20 or so 33 1/3 record albums for 50 cents each. In the group there was a Lenny Bruce album cataloging at $100. Maybe no big deal but this tells me that it is relatively scarce. And I collect humor of all types. Picked up 10 or 12 British humor DVDs and videotapes for 50 cents each. Hard to find here in the U.S., at least at garage sales. Almost forgot; the record seller gave me a box of over 100 45 records for free. Many are out of the 50s and early 60s.

Got a convection oven for $15. Will do a small turkey, I’m told. Well, I’ve wanted to play with one for a while and this fell in my lap. I love art but only like appliances. Sorry.

Funny thing happened with that convection oven. The seller wanted $15 and I offered $10 which she accepted. I paid and put it in the truck when I looked closely at it; she said that it costs $35 new and was worth more than the $15 she was asking. It was a heavy unit made of glass mostly and had the manual with it. Didn’t look like a $35 machine new, looked a lot more expensive. So for some reason, not guilt, I went back to her and gave her the extra $5 and told her that I had looked it over more closely and realized what I had. She smiled like I had made her day. Ya never know.


Some things I buy are for reselling later, some are for use around the home, some are for fun until I tire of them and some are just curiosity items. When buying them I always have in mind what they are worth and what I may have to resell them for someday. Why ? Because I’m just passing through….

The other day my son pulled out a couple of RC helicopters that I had given him last Christmas. They are small and not sophisticated like the big ones but they are amazing for what they can do. We chased each other around as the cows and dog watched with rapt fascination. It was almost as much fun watching the animals as the choppers.

Toys, toys and more toys. This is an important sideline of bartering and horse trading. Gotta have fun with what we buy; otherwise we may begin to feel that we are working (ugh). Keep it light, keep it fun and you won’t grow tired of bartering and horse trading.

Orson Wells said, “If I had a hobby that didn’t bring me money, I would find another hobby“. I would add that if I didn’t have a hobby that was fun also, I would look elsewhere. I’m not in it just for the money, ya know.

Best wishes,

Agnut

P.S. I am beginning to suspect that these screaming deals at garage and estate sales will not in the future be so easily available. It is a process that we are in the middle of right now. I would guess that the prices will firm up sometime next summer. Have you ever been to a garage sale that had prices so high that you wondered if these prices were what they cost new ? I have been to a couple and this may be a sign of firming prices; don’t know but will be watching for more signs.

You have but to sit back and imagine a scenario from what you have been reading about the last few years here on the internet. Go ahead; let your imagination run wild. There are several possible ways for the cards to fall. I have my ideas and others have theirs, perhaps most are valid at this time; that is as it should be. But the future picks the winner.

The world is rapidly changing. We can only hope for the best while we prepare for the worst. Einstein said that a simple, unassuming life was the best. I agree but I can’t seem to follow his advice at this time in history.

We can own nothing in this world but only have use of it for a time, for we are mortal.

In other words, don’t get attached to things; get attached to people.

What we will someday call money and how we will feel about it is not central to deal making. Money is only an intermediary which facilitates the speed of an agreement being made. In our modern high speed world with over 6 billion souls we absolutely must have money that has a reliable value over time. The dollar has lost something like 96% of its purchasing power since the Federal Reserve was established in 1913. Is this 96% loss the price we must pay for an intermediary, a facilitator ?