Bartering And Horse Trading (Part Duh)

Hi MNeagle and thanks. Tn…Andy and RichG were great hosts; it was like we were sitting around a country store’s pot belly stove, discussing the problems of OUR country. That’s what my grandfather did and what my father grew up seeing. That was their world then and this is our world now; so different.

After the show I realized that with our mass media, a speaker can give opinions to large numbers of listeners and we have lost the one on one personal back and forth conversations of our forefathers. What I mean to say is that opinions are much easier to impress on others while not demanding responses. And therefore listeners are not required to think deeply about what is going on. And personal involvement is diminished. Something gained but I feel that something greater has been lost. Perhaps this is why Americans appear to be doing nothing about the many things which are besieging their personal lives such as finance, crime, housing, employment, Wall Street, politics, banking and so on.

I really enjoyed doing the show and the hour flew by too fast; so much to talk about.

Best wishes,

Agnut

Shopping at tag sales is a numbers game. I get many misses for one good hit.

Last week I stopped at a place where it looked like someone was moving. I picked up a box of assorted knives for $3. Besides the long-life diamond seraded edge kitchen knives, I got 6 or 7 pocket & switchblade knives. At that kind of price, you don't worry about losing them.... and one might be a life-saver one day.

These sales are a prepper's dream store.

Not a super successful hunt this weekend. I did manage to pick up a TASCO 3-9 x40 scope with mounts for $10. A pair of candle holders with glass chimneys for $1. Two 10-speed bikes for $4 each.

One cheery older fellow thought he had some sterling silver for me and brought me into his basement to look at it. It was all plated.... but a very nice effort. Keep hunting!

I hit up some sales here recently and it's all crap. Just complete junk. I was lucky on the first hit found a bunch of gun stuff for sale. I picked up a cheap red-dot, a less cheap red-green dot, a pistol 7*32 illuminated scope (I have a neos it's now mounted on), a sks piccatiny rail cover, and a nice outdoor connection websling with swivels for $50. I actually wanted all this stuff but didn't want to pay full price. Internet tells me this stuff was worth about 230-270 if I had bought "new". Red-dot sights are awesome by the way. My first experience with them :)

Hi again Spectrism. Good deal on the knives. I pick up kitchen knives that are US made and the German and Swedish steel quality whenever I find them.

Your two posts show that there are times when you strike out and other times when you make a killing. So patience and steadfastness are the key. By the way, have you ever calculated the percentage of buying times that are great against the times when you struck out ? I seem to have about a 80-90 percent success rate.

I have written a long post but have to type it up and post it when time permits.

I’ve done so much buying in the last few weeks here that I am still catching up with putting it all away.

We are anxiously waiting for 24 black copper chicks being hatched. I could hold 5 in the palm of my hand; they are so tiny when we get them. We’ll be raising them in the house like we did the last ones. This breed of chickens lay a dark brown egg that is considered by chefs to be gourmet (and I hear that they charge accordingly). Oh well, I’m not a connoisseur. More like a kind-of-sewer; everything goes down me.

Will post as soon as I have time. Not only have I been buying lots of stuff but have been learning valuable lessons along the way.

Best wishes,

Agnut

Black Copper Marans in the U.S.

The Black Copper Marans is one of the rarest breeds of chicken in the United States. It is a fascinating breed of laying chicken; producing one of the darkest chocolate-brown eggs known. It is one of the rarest breeds in this country due to the import ban on fowl in the US. They are quite common in France.
Black Copper Marans eggs are prized by French chefs. They are also the favorite egg of James Bond. Using them for eating in the United States is almost unheard of, as they are so rare and prized. A three-egg omlet would cost more than $30; wholesale.
One of the difficulties faced by breeders of the Black Copper Marans in the US is the lack of genetic diversity. Much of the breeding stock left in this country 10 years ago was of the English variety; with smooth, unfeathered legs. The French standard calls for lightly feathered legs. There are only a few breeders that have been able to produce Marans stock that comes close to the French standard.
This site is dedicated to encouraging the pursuit of the French standard in US Black Copper Marans stock.
Keep in mind that the overarching goal of this pursuit is the production of a gourmet egg. Eventually, the cost for birds and eggs of the black copper marans breed will be closer to that of less rare heritage breeds. This isn’t something to fear or hurry to beat, it is inevitable. Don’t enter the breeding market of marans with the thought of making big money on these now-valuable birds. Get involved with the eventual thought of more valuable eggs for sale to discrimitating buyers such as chefs and higher income consumers. Rushing as many birds and eggs to the breeding market before the values drop will only futher the downfall of the breed rather than the building of it.




http://blackcoppermarans.org/

Good to hear from you Agnut.

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Originally Posted by agnut

Hi again Spectrism. Good deal on the knives. I pick up kitchen knives that are US made and the German and Swedish steel quality whenever I find them.

Your two posts show that there are times when you strike out and other times when you make a killing. So patience and steadfastness are the key. By the way, have you ever calculated the percentage of buying times that are great against the times when you struck out ? I seem to have about a 80-90 percent success rate.

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Yes- it is good to look for quality and sometimes that means older items that are being discarded due to estate sale, a move or just house-cleaning.

It is hard to judge a success rate because it is subjective. I consider this past weekend a non-success, but I was able to pick up some interesting things. An old clock for $2, brass candleabra for $10, free tennis rackets & basketball. I consider it a failure because I used 4 hours in my search and went to about a dozen sales. The weather was not the best, so the sales were spread out.

Overall, I would say that I need to visit 20 sales to find a real treasure. But I usually find some decent value in less than 5. So, I guess I would say my success rate is typically around 20% per visit... but I usually find something good every Saturday morning.

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I have written a long post but have to type it up and post it when time permits.

I’ve done so much buying in the last few weeks here that I am still catching up with putting it all away.

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I'd love to hear what you bought.

Quote:

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We are anxiously waiting for 24 black copper chicks being hatched. I could hold 5 in the palm of my hand; they are so tiny when we get them. We’ll be raising them in the house like we did the last ones. This breed of chickens lay a dark brown egg that is considered by chefs to be gourmet (and I hear that they charge accordingly). Oh well, I’m not a connoisseur. More like a kind-of-sewer; everything goes down me.

Will post as soon as I have time. Not only have I been buying lots of stuff but have been learning valuable lessons along the way.

Best wishes,

Agnut

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Are the eggs smaller from these chicks? I had an unfortunate event this week with my new chicks..... see "Hawk Attack" in livestock thread/subforum. I lost 17 birds.... have 20 new ones left. A new breed I have (some still left) are the dark cornish chicks. I had high hopes for these... and attempting a mixed breed.

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Hi Mouse; good to hear from you. Yeah, a lot of crap out there but at least it works as a distraction to the nondiscriminating eyes. I don’t waste time with the junk but treat a sale like you would be at a Chinese buffet. I pick out what I want, pile it in a corner and when my plate is full I call over the seller for a group price.

Looks like you got a 5 bagger with the gun accessories. That’s what I’m talking about !

I have to thank Dogman for his post and then am off to writing about the recent deals I’ve found.

Best wishes,

Agnut

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Originally Posted by Spectrism

Good to hear from you Agnut.



Yes- it is good to look for quality and sometimes that means older items that are being discarded due to estate sale, a move or just house-cleaning.

It is hard to judge a success rate because it is subjective. I consider this past weekend a non-success, but I was able to pick up some interesting things. An old clock for $2, brass candleabra for $10, free tennis rackets & basketball. I consider it a failure because I used 4 hours in my search and went to about a dozen sales. The weather was not the best, so the sales were spread out.

Overall, I would say that I need to visit 20 sales to find a real treasure. But I usually find some decent value in less than 5. So, I guess I would say my success rate is typically around 20% per visit... but I usually find something good every Saturday morning.




I'd love to hear what you bought.




Are the eggs smaller from these chicks? I had an unfortunate event this week with my new chicks..... see "Hawk Attack" in livestock thread/subforum. I lost 17 birds.... have 20 new ones left. A new breed I have (some still left) are the dark cornish chicks. I had high hopes for these... and attempting a mixed breed.

Attachment 146

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Hi again spectrism. You are well aware that each of us is unique and sees everything through our own eyes and mind filter. Some of the things I pick up would be passed by others. Perhaps that is why I can attend a sale hours after it had begun and still be able to acquire some bargains.

A seemingly small purchase had a lesson attached which I didn’t think of until it was all over. There was a man buying a 5 gallon pail of tools for $20. But there was oil in the bottom of the bucket. This man took most of the tools out and put them in a clean bucket, leaving the oil at the bottom. After he had left I went over to the bucket and tilted it to see what was left in the oil. I asked the seller what he would want for what was left and he said $2. So I emptied the bucket of its contents and found 15 brand new American punches and drifts, 2 ½”drive sockets, needle nose pliers, a chain saw file, large Allen wrenches and a long drill bit.

Doesn’t sound like much but if I had to buy the above items new, they would have cost many times the $2 I paid. And American punches don’t come cheap; because they last longer that the pot metal Asian crap !

I got a roll of galvanized wire (about 80 pounds) for $20. More than I wanted to pay but we need it and there was no sales tax.

A huge pressure cooker for $2. The aluminum scrap is worth more than that.

2 bronze propellers for a Mercury outboard for $30. Don’t know what they are worth but we have a couple of Mercs in the family.

96 Ball and Kerr canning jars for $40.

A flight suit with a zillion zippers all over it. A buck.

A couple hundred pounds of heavy chain for $5. Probably $2-300 if new.

A 5 gallon bucket full of clevises and other fittings for $15.

A hay bale moisture checker for $50 for my son. Still had the receipt from new and was over $400. It made me proud when the first thing my son said was that not only can we check our hay but can also check others’ hay bale stacks. Fire hazard, ya know.

Several sets of new hinges and latches for free.

A Hallicraffter shortwave radio for $5. It made a static sound and I got it on the chance I could make it work.

The next garage sale had a riding mower that needed the shifter fixed. It ran and cut well. He wanted $50 and I got it for $40. The Briggs and Stratton engine was worth more than I was paying so if I couldn’t get it running economically I could at least get value from the engine. Who knows, maybe this or some other engine will be set up to run on gasified wood for recharging the 24 batteries I recently connected for off the grid power.

When I got it home my son repaired the shifter in a short while and now we have a backup riding mower. When my other riding mower broke a drive housing a few weeks ago, it was down for several days and I wasn’t looking forward to having to mow all of our grass with a walk behind mower. So this $40 riding mower will give me some peace of mind. I suppose I could sell it for a profit but I need it more than I need the money.

By the way, the electrical cable double ends were over $10 each from a supplier I found on the internet. However, a local NAPA parts house had two singles which would serve the same purpose for $4.36. So I saved over $100 by buying locally. I know, usually its cheaper to buy from the internet. But not this time.

The spare riding mower is like Ponce’s advice to have a plan behind a plan behind a plan. This advice is not to be taken lightly and as more time passes I am becoming more mindful of this when out there buying. Thanks again Ponce.

While I was at the riding mower sale I spied a motorcycle in the corner of the garage with a not for sale sign. I asked the seller and his wife about it and he said that it was found in a field of high weeds and th4e owner gave it to him for free. The seller had been lugging it around for years and dreamed of restoring it but hadn’t the time. By the way, it was a 1965 BMW R60/2; I don’t know if I will get it but am illustrating here that persistence can pay off in a big way. Our conversation had made him consider selling the bike and I have his phone number to call later. A couple of important points here to note. First, he paid nothing for the bike so I knew that his only attachment was sentimental and actually this worked in my favor since all he saw was a pure cash income deal. And since I had learned that they were moving soon, he and his wife may be motivated to leave it behind, aka sell it to me. His asking price should be low also since he has nothing invested. Second point is this type of deal gives me the time to look up the model and year to see what it is worth and if it is worth the investment.

Got a nice Panasonic microwave for $5. Just in case our other microwave craps out.

Got a 1987 VW Scirocco that I had originally acquired for free a few years earlier. I sold it to my son a few months ago for $300 and now that I had the rebuilt diesel engine and rebuilt special ratio transmission, I had a very special need for the aerodynamic Scirocco. I bought it back for $500 but since I had netted $300 earlier, I really had only $200 out of pocket cost. Straight body and nice interior. I would be happy to talk about car deals if anyone is interested. After all, they loom large in the average budget and shouldn’t be ignored.

Take away from the above deal what you may. There is a method to my madness; it is just part of my ever changing needs within a floating valuation environment. Point is, I am very happy with the deal and my son has more money in his pocket. Who knows; this could lead to diesel conversions of more Sciroccos in the future. As far as I know, the VW factory never offered a diesel engine in the Scirocco.

I must add that I recently bought another Scirocco; it was a series I type and extremely hard to find. It is just sitting there waiting until I have the time. Funny but at my age I am still like a kid when it comes to fixing up cars.

Best wishes,

Agnut

P.S. Spectrism, I believe that the black copper Moran eggs are full sized. Won’t know for sure for a long time. Sorry to hear of your hawk attack. We recently lost a Rhode Island Red to a hawk.

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.