Bartering And Horse Trading (Part Duh)

[Spectrism]

Hasn't been too good here. I have gotten a bit discouraged by the poor deals.

I did manage to get a box of (8) 60W incandescent spot lights for $1. Same place that was selling a whole bunch of silver a few weeks back. As we were talking over the price she pulled everything off the table and got cold feet about selling. A moving sale. She had a bag of junk silver from father in law.... and told me she turned down an offer of $500. I added up what she had and told her that wasn't a bad offer.

She also had a couple bags of silver bars .999. These were older so I did not suspect fakes. She could not decide what to do and ended up holding onto them. She did have another bag of foreign coins which I knew almost nothing about. Some looked like silver... and I bought that for $40. Turns out it is probably not worth even $20. After I got home I gave myself an education on foreign coins. Those cheap bastards were using crap metals in most countries long before the US. Sometimes you lose.... when you don't know what you are doing.


I got (free) what appears to be a lightweight coin silver spoon. The only markings on it are: G.F.F. & CO
It is very much like (look, feel, sound) of some coin silver spoons I acquired a few years ago. Coin silver is 90%.

Went to an auction today. Prices were all too high. Too many high rollers showed up and bid top dollar for everything. Sterling silver items went for more than $20 + 10% commission. This put the sale price in the range of $25 per ounce of silver on the cheaper deals. Some went in the $30 range. It was amazing to see people bid hundreds of $$ for tattered old rugs. I left much early as too much time was already wasted here.

This little bit was after visiting dozens of sales over the last few weeks. That is why I have to say it has been discouraging. Hitting it nice is a numbers game. Most of these sales are junk. Gotta have a good junk screen as you vacuum up value.

[govcheetos]

^ I agree about the auctions. People have been watching too much TV and thinking their on some auction show and gonna flip whatever their bidding on which a lot of times is nothing but a lot of junk. On the other hand I've noticed with cars and boats nobody wants to give anything. I always price things more than fair and will still allow some wiggle room on a price, and people think they can offer half or even less than half. I love it when they try to low ball me on the phone before they have even seen anything.

A lot of other people don't have ANY money to speak of either. I mean they are gonna lose it all if they even stub their toe. But everyone has the latest and greatest cell phone and cable tv package. I find I have about zero in common with most people I encounter on a day to day basis.

[agnut]

Good deal gun Driller (post #179) ! I also recently picked up a free lawn mower. The lady at the garage sale said that it would not idle so I took the carburetor off and cleaned out the jets and it is now a working beast. By the way, someone told me that they cut out the front of the deck between the front wheels and they use it as a brush hog, cutting out the thick blackberry bushes near the roots. I would caution you that this sounds a bit dangerous and to wear eye and clothing protection.

I’ve been away from writing for a while because there are so many things to do around the property that I am still overwhelmed.

However, like the mailman, neither sleet nor snow will keep me from doing my job of picking over the GEMs (that is garage, estate and moving sales).

At one sale I got :
5 hats,
2 sombreros.
a pair of overalls,
a new Giant bicycle seat,
a leather carry bag,
and two garden hoses.
All for $5 ! Oh, and that’s not all. Also included were two GE battery chargers with 8 rechargeable D cell batteries and two rechargeable 9 volt batteries. That five fiat paper bucks I spent looks pretty powerful now, doesn’t it ? Well, you’ll figure where the power is. HaHa

And at the next sale the same day I got :
2 DVDs,
2 Cds in cases,
20 Cds in carry case,
a Playstation 2 game,
2 military overcoats with zip in liners,
a Nike jogging jacket,
20 rolls gift paper and set of Christman cards in a storage basket,
a Winnie The Pooh flower vase from FTC,
6 Disney videotapes
and a Trim brand manicure set.
Again, all for $5 ! Yeah, I know, sounds like BS but you had to be there. In fact, if you are skeptical, you are reading this rather than getting your butt out there and finding treasures yourself. The GEMs are there; you just have to pick out what you want. By the way, some of the bargains I find are passed on to friends, family and even some folks I hardly know. The lady I bought all this from had a baby in her arms and I offered the fruits and veggies I had just picked up from the local market. She picked through my truck and hauled off two large bags; that seemed to balance out the deal in my mind. What comes around goes around.

Yesterday I saw a garage sale sign for a community sale. Lately I haven’t been paying much attention to Craigslist ads and local newspaper ads. Call me lazy; I won’t mind because even with such serendipitous spotty buying I still am picking up almost too many bargains. I said ALMOST. Anyhoo, I spent only $6.50 and got :
A large cutting board for the kitchen,
A salmon poacher,
33 sockets in a metal box,
3 cookbooks,
An Audubon birds of North America book,
And a Oster blender

One seller has a large Stihl chain saw that is almost new; he wanted $200 for it and even threw in a smaller chain saw for branches. I offered $150 and if he doesn’t sell it today he will sell it to me. Maybe I should have paid the $200 as it was stihl a bargain but I already have 4 Stihl chain saws. But I don’t have one as big as this monster. Oh well, time will tell.

As if that weren’t enough I was on the way back from picking up yet another load of fruits and veggies and another sign caught my eye. My son was with me and I asked if it was okay with him if I investigated. The sign was especially interesting because it said that this was a moving sale. Was I salivating ? Perhaps. Turns out that the seller was moving back east and had tables laid out with reloading equipment. I hadn’t ever reloaded any ammo but still inquired. Seems every guy I know is interested in such goods. It was specifically for competition shooting and making a tighter target pattern at 300 to 400 yards. All one caliber of 22-250 I think. So I passed on that since I know so little about it. However, in the shed to the left (door #2) I saw rolls of cattle fencing and lots of other material. I asked the seller if he had any T posts for my cattle fencing. He said that he had some but might need it. I did buy the fencing, about 120 foot of it, and some other rigid fencing for a total of $30. I didn’t even have to price it; it was a bargain. When I returned to pick up the second half of the load I asked the seller if he knew anyone who might have some T posts. He thought about it and said that I could have 10 posts for $10. They cost about $7 new. So I saved a chunk of money right there. My persistence paid off.

That’s all for now. Happy GEM hunting !

Agnut

P.S. ON Timebomb2000 there are a couple of important threads you might want to look at :

Attention, shoppers: U.S. needs you to spend


http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showt...-you-to-spend&

I especially liked Snipe Hunter’s post number 5

BROKE - WHAT CAN WE DO?!!! (Original post 8/30/2006)

http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showt...-8-30-2006%29&

Some great advice here. A penny saved is two pennies earned.

[gunDriller]

i like those antique aluminum bowls that are carved or forged or engraved.



the few i have bought, i paid about the value of the aluminum scrap. i think they're worth a heck of a lot more than that, and also are easily gold or silver plated.

but i have too much CRAP, i need to organize and get some stuff to the dump before i collect any more.

[Santa]

I occasionally help an elderly gentleman do estate sales. He pays me. Talk about a fun job, digging through everything. Searching for potentially valuable and interesting stuff.
The one we're doing right now is the estate of a somewhat famous ceramics sculptor. Lot's of artwork. Bronze sculptures. Antiques. We've barely dug in to the 4 bedroom home.
We've concluded that the woman of the house must have been a kleptomaniac, since there has to be at least a bushel basket full of costume jewelry and small fem accs. that had never even had the display labels removed.

[govcheetos]

Been as while since anyone has posted in one of my favorite threads. Ran a cross a few deals lately. Bought a 1/8" to 2" pipe cutter for $5, a couple of large craftsman flat head screwdrivers for 25 cents, a couple of field guides plus a book written by a local author detailing the history of my immediate local area going back to pre revolutionary war times, all for 25 cents each. Picked up an old school poulan electric chainsaw for $5 and was able to fix it with parts off an old poulan gas chainsaw I found on the side of the road in someones trash a few months back. A friend gave me an electric pole saw, almost brand new condition. I now have 9 chainsaws! Probably time to sell a few, but sometimes I think about waiting until after a hurricane.... although Mr nice guy here will probably just loan them out for free to friends and neighbors if it ever happens. Seems like a lot of people don't even want to be bothered with selling something so they just give it away. Also I'm hearing about more and more people on some kind of .gov assistance including people I know. Just continues to reinforce lazy behavior in my opinion instead of get out and bust your ass to make something happen. I hope everyone else is doing well and finding some deals on useful things that can improve your life as we continue to cruise in the express lane on the highway to hell. I think things are going to be coming to a head soon and the .govs won't be able to keep the lid on for much longer. Good time to get right with God and your inner conciousness too.

Thanks to all who contribute and help in the many different ways.

[agnut]

Govcheetos, your post was one of the most uplifting ones I have read for some time. Pay It Forward is what I try to do as much as possible. It always comes back in spades. We ARE our brothers’ keepers. If everyone would do this we could have a society working together like a huge family. I blame a lot of the discord we see on the unreliable currency that we are forced to use. Fiat currency printed beyond good sense begets fear and greed. As Ponce says, there is need and then there is greed. But with the dollar losing purchasing power, how are we to tell the difference between need and greed ? We are sort of pulled into the Matrix if we are not at least partially invested in real money such as gold and silver. Heck, even copper has intrinsic value for making small change. But notice that since 1982 our pennies have been zinc flash coated with copper to create the illusion that things are okey dokey.

The other day I mentioned to Ponce that I should hold a garage sale in which there would be no money exchanged but all buyers should bring items they wanted to trade. I wonder how the govt. would think of that ! How could they tax someone trading a toaster for a blender ? Who knows with all the computer memory that they could have categorized all the things we possess. It seems to be heading in that direction with carbon taxing (air) and rainwater collection laws on our own properties and all the laws restricting our every activity. I don’t mean to be a downer but I am pissed that things have gotten this far along in controlling what used to be a free people. Who pays for all these laws and restriction anyway ? WE DO !!

It’s like the old Beatles’ song Tax Man.


Let me tell you how it will be,
There’s one for you, nineteen for me,
‘Cause I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.
Should five per cent appear too small,
Be thankful I don’t take it all.
‘Cause I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.

(If you drive a car ), I’ll tax the street,
(If you try to sit ), I’ll tax your seat,
(If you get too cold ), I’ll tax the heat,
(If you take a walk ), I’ll tax your feet.
Taxman.

‘Cause I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.
Don’t ask me what I want it for
(Haha! Mister Wilson!)
If you don’t want to pay some more
(Haha! Mister Heath!),
‘Cause I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.

Now my advice for those who die, (Taxman!)
Declare the pennies on your eyes, (Taxman!)
‘Cause I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.
And you’re working for no-one but me,
(Taxman).

There will be no retirement for the baby boomers; at least not what they expected. However a small percentage who have prepared should fare well. How well ? Yogi Berra said “The future ain’t what it used to be.” His comedic quote has taken on dark and disturbing implications of late.

And so we can Pay It Forward in a move in faith that mankind may someday wake up and see the light.

Any forced diminution in mankind’s right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is what I long ago labeled as “actuarial murder”. Take away any of these rights and it would be as if a candle were to be starved of oxygen. The light fades until it dies and darkness overwhelms all. The Dark Ages once again.

The Statue of Liberty in New York was a gift to America from the French people who had gone through a revolution of their own. I wonder what they think of us today. No, I have a pretty good idea and it ain’t pretty.

What this bartering and horse trading thread is about is seeking and finding the best value for our money. One has to first get over all the commercial hype first. Who cares if they have a new car or a big fancy house ? The only one who should care is YOU. And what your needs are in accordance to your income. Designer jeans, Nike shoes, and other high line clothing are the result of marketing illusions. I guess they are advertised with the subconscious desire to appear successful. But you and I know that success is carried within; it is a personal statement for each of us. Me ? I don’t care what others may think about my choices. I think that the world has gone mad anyway; so why should I entertain their line of thinking ?

These new cars and fancy houses are as much a facade as a Hollywood set; there is no real working substance behind the appearance presented. It is all illusions. Think about it; do these people who buy these fancy cars and houses actually own them ? Or are they owned by the banks ? Marionettes on strings ?

The filthiest four letter word in the English language is DEBT.

If you can understand that quote and act upon it, you are above and beyond the brainwashing that the masses have accepted. And your life will become more free and in your own control.

If you were to see my place and how I operate it, you might think that I am a hoarder (not to mention a disorganized disaster). Not true (at least the first part) since the thousands of things I have all have some value. Now this value may not be right now but in the future many things I have may be either hard to find or expensive. What is expensive anyway ? Maybe the increased value in relation to the dollar ? No, there is a higher value since the dollar is a dying currency with a catastrophic future. We are facing the end game for the dollar. How will it all turn out nobody knows all the details but anyone who has been studying here on the internet has a general understanding that our future is about to take a gut wrenching departure from the high speed chaotic life we see all around us (the movie Koyaanisqatsi comes to mind). This is one reason that I have always tended toward the rural life for myself and my family.

I was up at 4:30 this morning looking at the stars and realizing how insignificant I am to the whole scheme of the universe. On the other hand I am all that I have and must make the best of what gifts I have been given. It is an obligation of sorts; a thank you for my being in this fascinating world. Hypertiger writes that the “taking more than you give” world eventually collapses. You can’t cut down more trees than you plant to replace them and not end up with a naked future.

Govcheetos, your Pay It Forward statement reminds me of a Stephen Wright joke. He was walking down the street and someone noted that he was mismatched with a green sock and a red one. He replied that he was not since he went by thickness. It all depends on your yardstick. So what is wealth ? Money or people you care about ? It has been said that love with no money will get you through time better than money will get you through time with no love. In other words, generosity is a form of paying it forward and I have seen it weaving through the tapestry of my life like a golden thread.

Gotta go; was called to pick up an extra day of fruits and veggies. What a bonus ! Some friends have already been called to select their goodies this afternoon. I’ll write soon to share some of the recent acquisitions. And not just Gems (that’s garage, estate and moving sales) but other deals.

Best wishes,

Agnut

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a little better; whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is the meaning of success. "
Ralph Waldo Emerson

[agnut]

Hi Spectrism. Yeah, I know that sometimes we seem to strike out. But it is always a learning experience in that perhaps we were at the wrong place at the right time. I have looked at GEM sales in the papers and on Craigslist and weeded them out for one reason or another. I don’t need baby clothes and items. And sometimes there isn’t anything good for sale. At least not enough to go there and look around. I do have to admit that I have scored big time at some seemingly uninteresting sales by asking if they have something I am looking for (and I do have a list). Just look at the other buyers attending the sale and think of what you can do that will give you an edge.

Get there early

Ask questions

Have a list of wants

Take notes

Get phone numbers if necessary

Qualify sales ads

Map out your sales and their starting times to be more efficient

Joke with sellers

Be positive

Be open minded for unexpected possibilities

I haven’t had much luck in acquiring sterling or coin silver either. It does happen once in a while. I have learned to look at it this way : silver and gold are real money and their price will rarely be discounted. So what to do, what to do. I’ve got it ! Buy and sell lots of other items and turn that profit into physical silver. I’m not being facetious here; I really mean it. We here on the GS-US website should know better than most anyone that physical silver is fast becoming extinct. Maybe by the year 2020 as the US Geological Survey said.

In fact Spectrism, the same thing happened to me where sterling silver was advertised but the sellers changed their minds when I got over there. I think that there is a common motivation going on here in both your experience and mine and it is this. Because silver prices fluctuate so much and sterling silver is 92.5 percent pure silver and sometimes the hallmarks stating the silver content can be complicated, the seller is facing several factors that may cause a great loss. In other words, they are PM challenged (a nice way to say financially retarded). Always remember that gold and silver are real money as well as concentrated wealth and to be treated with respect.

When we are confronted by a challenge, we can go over, under, around, through or even turn away and say it wasn’t worth the effort. Tenacious and creative comes to mind.

Lately I have been attending some GEM sales as well as thrift stores. Some of the best deals have been in the thrift stores. One of my stores has 50% off sales a couple of times a month. I also hit a store by the dump that sells used building material and a whole warehouse of odds and ends. I bought 60 sheets of 4x8 hard insulation foam for $l a sheet. I was in Home Depot yesterday and they were $23 a sheet. I don’t know when I will use them but I sure wouldn’t want to have paid $1,380 retail.

I got a new convection oven for $10 (don’t think the microwave oven is a good idea for our food). Also got a new George Foreman contact roasting machine that will do a 12 pound turkey; also for $10. It’s $150 retail.

Also got a Krups blender, a wide mouth toaster and an onion machine for deep fried onions like the restaurants offer for a total price of $8. Even the little buys add up after a while. The blender I will give away or barter since I have 3 others and only want to have two.

I have been reading lately that,due to the failure of the dollar, we will be “marginalized” in time, meaning that imports won’t be coming in in the future. If so, we will truly be isolated like Cuba has been for several decades. I wonder what used imports will be worth after that happens. If you are doing any work that requires imported parts, now may be a good time to stock up rather than have to shut down. Just sayin’

I was at a huge garage sale a few weeks ago and met the most interesting couple. I noticed a boat and trailer and asked if it was for sale. He said it was. I worked out a horse trade with some of the things I had that I didn’t need or had too much of and will be getting the boat next week. No cash deal. He waxed it and cleaned it up and is having the impeller replaced by a friend who does boat repair professionally. Since he is in construction he knows many specialists, ones I need for several projects at home. He said that there are many who are at the top of their game but don’t have the work lately and would appreciate the work. Propane lines, electricians and water pump specialists.

So what started out as a simple sale has progressed to the opening of a lot of doors. And he and his girlfriend seem like such nice people, some of the nicest I could ask for. They live only about 2 miles away. She made a dessert for us that I can’t describe but it was delicious. He gave me some of his smoked salmon and has offered to teach me how he does it. Oh, a couple of days ago another guy dropped off 30 pounds of silver salmon for free and now I have something to smoke. His freezer is full and he doesn’t know what to do with his catches for the rest of the season (I suppose that he could quit fishing but If I told him that, he would look at me like I was out of my mind. A real fishin‘ fool. HaHa). I told him that I would trade him out for his humpback salmon and he got quite excited (almost as much as me). I have other family members and some friends here locally and I’m sure they would want their freezers filled too. Well, time will tell.

The reason I say “time will tell” is that a deal has been put into play and only time will indicate what the final out come will be. I know, sounds simple minded but the key is the putting the deal into play. I have other deals in the works right now. One thing I have learned about having patience is to have several deals in the works at the same time. That way, some deals are coming to fruition continually so I don’t have time to sit around and mope.

I wrote a while back that I was waiting to get a Stihl chain saw and a little saw for $150. Well, the deal didn’t come through. But lo and behold, another person sold me another Stihl chain saw for $60. A better deal came through out of the blue. Go figure

Best wishes,

Agnut

[gunDriller]

I haven’t had much luck in acquiring sterling or coin silver either. It does happen once in a while. I have learned to look at it this way : silver and gold are real money and their price will rarely be discounted. So what to do, what to do. I’ve got it ! Buy and sell lots of other items and turn that profit into physical silver. I’m not being facetious here; I really mean it. We here on the GS-US website should know better than most anyone that physical silver is fast becoming extinct. Maybe by the year 2020 as the US Geological Survey said.

Agnut

so far out of about 500 garage sales i found one Sterling Silver knife for 25 cents, mixed in with a bunch of Silver plated stuff.

also other Solid Silver things, e.g. a horse brush with a top veneer of Silver.


there is a lot of Silver plate out there. i have some gold-trimmed China with silver plated silverware. actually, most of the dishes i have are from that box of China.

BUT my dishwasher is broken so until i get that fixed ...


http://GoldRefiningForum.com

/\ a good forum with much knowledge sharing. members recovering Gold from e-Scrap and Silver from Sterling.

the consensus there is that recovering silver from silver plate is not worth the trouble, until you are REAL GOOD at chemistry. there are a lot of different metals that complicate the precipitation of Silver from the dissolved silver.

still interesting though !

[govcheetos]

A lot of sales lately, but only a few deals. Got a few books I had been looking for for cheap. A couple more "used one time" shovels for $3 each. Still have the stickers on the blade. I've got enough shovels I could start my own chain gang. I scored with a 6 x 12 enclosed cargo trailer with double barn doors on the back and a side door for only $500! This thing has hardly any use on it and the seller told me he bought it just to evacuate for a hurricane. Retail these range from $1995-$2400. Traded a set of old truck wheels and tires for a pair of 1 ton rear leaf springs for my 1/2 ton truck. Something I needed plus frees up some more space where the tires were.

Hope ya'll are stacking up some good deals. Always think of what you might need down the road one day that will become scarce or really expensive as we travel further down the "Road".