Bartering And Horse Trading (Part Duh)

[Spectrism]

I didn't go out last week but I did the week before. I was able to buy 3 small propane tanks (backyard grill type) for $5 each. When I got home, found one was full. I picked up a paint can of odd things for $5- I saw a couple large lag bolts in there that I needed. Also, there are is a brass tubing nipple adaptor and assorted bolts/screw. I saw what I wanted and the value in it. All the rest will be a gift-wrapped present when I dig to the bottom.

I got a call back from a contact I made long ago. Normally leaving a phone number does not work well. Anyway, this fella was going to find a silverware set for me. Although it was not said, the implication was that it was sterling. Over the phone he wanted $30. When I got there, I saw a good condition old plated set. To keep the friendship, I gave him what he wanted and he said he had some "odd" pieces he would look for. I told him I like old ugly and sometimes unmatched silverware. He was surprised that I didn't want polished clean stuff. So, I took the loss on that plated stuff as a calculated investment. He then told me it was his sisters that he bought for $30 figuring he would be able to get that much. I helped him keep his pride and did his sister a favor. He has a picker's dream back yard. I just don't have the place to store all the stuff.

Agnut said something key- build relationships in your dealings. Good advice. Sometimes you have to give. Other times, beware of the scaplers. Seek to make deals where everyone wins.

[agnut]

Hi govchetos, in response to your posts 182 and 186, Thanks. I agree that most people have a distorted view of the opportunities out there. This is to our advantage, we who know the score. Someone once said that Americans know the price of everything but the value of nothing. Ponce and I have had several conversations about what Cuba has been like through the last several decades. Building materials are unavailable at any price. They just aren’t there. Demand with no supply; what is the price ? Immaterial

What would be the price of a rebuilt transmission if the parts to rebuild it were unavailable ? Imagine if you had a car that the transmission began making bearing noises. You would check the local transmission shops to no avail. Next, the wrecking yards and they wouldn’t have any good running used transmissions. Without any sources your car would have to sit until somehow the parts became available or someone wrecked the same year and model vehicle as yours. This is just one example of what happens when a nation becomes isolated from the rest of the world. Will this happen to us in America ? Look, I have been rebuilding manual transmissions for 40 years and observed parts supply restrictions more than once. Most people don’t have a clue as to how precarious our lifeline is in regards to the sustainability of their lifestyles. And this applies to a myriad of conveniences and outright necessities we take for granted.

I won’t get into automatic transmissions except to tell you that since about 1990 many manufacturers changed their transmissions to include electronic controls of one sort or another, including computers to run them. Not only much more expensive to maintain but much more complicated to repair and diagnose. This is why I have older vehicles with manual transmissions and mostly diesel since they run on compression rather than spark plugs.

I am astounded at observing what the general public thinks is the best for them. The newest vehicles, high payments, high insurance and high maintenance. Also, the new as well as used parts for these new cars are much higher priced than for older vehicles. No wonder they are all broke and in debt.

Sometimes I am driving locally, going 50 to 55 MPH in a 50 MPH zone and someone behind me in a late car flies around me like they are having a hospital emergency. A few miles later I pull up behind them at the stop sign and wonder what the Hell they must have been thinking. Not to mention the high speed tailgaters; what are they to accomplish ? Making me go faster to satisfy them ? Yeah, right !

My point is that we should go at the pace that suits us and respect others’ pace as long as it is reasonable. Maybe I am being unreasonable in expecting others to be reasonable. HaHa

But I digress…

This thread is about finding good to great values in the things we need and will need in the future.

I haven’t been going to garage sales lately as they are winding down for the fall and winter. Recently I picked up a nice boat for my son; traded an old rifle, a couple of bikes and an air compressor. Straight trade. He was happy and I was happy.

Later this week I’m towing my log splitter to a new friend’s place where we will split a pile of rounds. He is giving me a truckload in exchange. I really like this couple and this is as much about helping as it is about building relationships. If you want a friend, first be a friend. Pay it forward.

Govcheetos, always remember that you are a sane person living in an insane world. Don’t let it get to you but learn to work around it lest it drive you mad. Sometimes I have to shake my head and wonder in amazement.

You are right; things are about to get real interesting. Do you know that 96% of financial transactions are electronic ? That means that only 4% are cash sales. What if the electric grid or the internet goes down ? Do you know that the average household only has $50 in cash ? Something to think about and act upon.

I need to top off my propane, gas and diesel. Maybe nothing will happen in the next couple of months but better to have and not need than to need and not have. Additionally, future price rises would yield tax free interest if necessities were bought now. Heck, I even stockpile various jars of preserves since some are seasonal like cherry, blueberry and apricot. And with a ton of wheat berries for homemade bread, I need something to slather on our toast. Reminds me of that scene in Soylent Green where Charlton Heston gives a spoon of strawberry jam to Edward G. Robinson. That movie was made in 1973 and depicted life in 2022, predicting almost 50 years into the future. Seems to be headed in that direction what with the Japanese experimenting with human waste hamburgers.

The problem I see is long term. Propane, gas and diesel are non renewable resources in a crisis situation. Perhaps a wood gassifier generator would be a good answer. There is always lots of renewable wood around. One thing I like about a wood gassifier is that almost nobody has one so wood won’t be consumed on a massive scale. Not any more than it is now with wood fireplaces. Another idea is to have a water jacketed outside wood burner that could both run a generator as well as heat water to be piped into a storage tank to be used to heat a home in the winter. You could even cook food at the same time.

Every activity we do is in furtherance of preparing for the future. This is why I write about so many aspects of our lives.

Best wishes,

Agnut

[agnut]

Hi gun driller. Once in a while I see those aluminum plates offered at garage sales. Were they made in the 1950s or 1960s ? I remember aluminum drinking cups when I was a kid. I got a set of beautiful handmade heavy copper plates a while back for $20; they were made by an arts teacher living near a copper mine. Part art and part intrinsic metal value.

I have too much “crap” too but am saving everything that might have utility and value in the future. Ponce says that the dumps of today will be the goldmines of the future. Things we save now like building materials, dinnerware, small appliances, string, rope, chain and a multitude of items may well be like gold in the future. Not right away but in the coming years.

Right now I have a huge load of scrap aluminum transmission cases and have made a deal with a friend to split the sale for their removing the steel parts. This way I get some cash and lots of room for more “crap”. She even wants me to collect all the steel scrap too because she has a big truck that can carry 5 tons at a time. She is one of the people who regularly pick up our fruits and veggies. See how one thing leads to another ? I have so many interlocking deals going on that it almost seems like a job in keeping it all straight. But it is a job that I enjoy immensely.

Recently someone called me to see if I had some transmission parts he needed. Since I save everything I told him that I had many such parts. I sold a couple of parts for $40 with shipping. Not much profit there. But the next time he called he needed more parts; lots more. I sold him 6 differentials with accessories for $600 plus shipping. These parts were for his race cars and haven’t been manufactured since 1992. These parts would have been thrown away for scrap steel in a normal repair shop. But I am not normal. Two points here; a little sale can lead to a big sale and things saved for the future can indeed turn to gold.

Best wishes and good to see you posting here gun driller. I have been reading your posts for years and all I can say is keep up the good work. It is important.

Agnut

[agnut]

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.

Hi Santa and welcome here. Sounds like you are an American Picker”. Isn’t it fun to never know what you will find ? This uncertainty is one of the things that motivate me to get up early and head out the door.

Check out that costume jewelry closely. An old friend who was a gem cutter told me that some of the old costume jewelry has semiprecious stones and is valuable. And some of the jewelry may have platinum or palladium (look for the stamps PT or PALL or PD, not sure but get familiar with these marks; they could pay off big if you run across an old platinum watch).

If this jewelry isn’t old I suppose it could be displayed and sold at a swap meet or garage sale. Having the tags still on the jewelry should help sales. I do see a lot of costume jewelry for sale but haven’t taken the time to check it out thoroughly. I would be interested in finding a whole box of old jewelry at an estate sale indiscriminately thrown together. The older the better. This might be a good specialty for someone.

Regarding art work; this economy is so bad what with so many folks not having enough money for the necessities, much less money for discretionary items such as art that I can’t see prices for art holding up in the future. I have several paintings, European and American, for sale and they are hardly selling. They were hot a few years ago but not nowadays.

Best wishes,

Agnut

[agnut]

Hi govcheetos. I’ve lost count of how many shovels, rakes, hoes and other yard equipment I have. But I will still buy more if they are a steal and in good condition.

Some people make a living selling books. I checked out a 1939 first edition of The Grapes Of Wrath; it was for sale on ABEbooks.com for about $250. I paid a dime if I recall. I do have several hundred books but haven’t researched their value. Maybe a goldmine but I can’t even get to them right now. My bad.

The enclosed trailer sounds like a hot deal. I haven’t ever run across one for sale cheap like you just did.

Lately have been picking up small appliances at the local thrift store. I give them to friends and use for trading material. You might say I get good will from the Goodwill.

Best wishes,

Agnut

[govcheetos]

Gundriller and Spectrism, check out replacments.com for your old silver plated stuff. If someone needs to buy only a piece or two they surely have to pay. Replacements might buy silverplate from individuals, I'm not sure.

Santa, check out that costume jewerly closely. My wife picked up a silver Tiffany Co. bracelet for 25 cents once. There is a local lady we see out garage sailing that is always buying jewelery for resale so there must be some deals out there.

Agnut, I agree with what you're saying about holding on to stuff. It seems every time I sell something just to get rid of it either i end up needing it or someone I know is looking for one and paying cash. Been trying to move some things around to have better storage and move on things on that take up too much space for little value.

Thanks for everyone's contributions!

[govcheetos]

Agnut, yes that trailer was a steal! $500 was the guys asking price too, I didn't even barter with him.. I only owned it for 18 hours though. I gave it to a close friend and mentor of mine. This man has taught me a lot of what I know about a lot of things especially financial and making deals. He'd been looking for one for a couple of years and I knew I'd never find one for the price he wanted to pay until this one came along. When I gave it to him you'd think he'd just won the lottery.

[agnut]

I didn't go out last week but I did the week before. I was able to buy 3 small propane tanks (backyard grill type) for $5 each. When I got home, found one was full. I picked up a paint can of odd things for $5- I saw a couple large lag bolts in there that I needed. Also, there are is a brass tubing nipple adaptor and assorted bolts/screw. I saw what I wanted and the value in it. All the rest will be a gift-wrapped present when I dig to the bottom.

I got a call back from a contact I made long ago. Normally leaving a phone number does not work well. Anyway, this fella was going to find a silverware set for me. Although it was not said, the implication was that it was sterling. Over the phone he wanted $30. When I got there, I saw a good condition old plated set. To keep the friendship, I gave him what he wanted and he said he had some "odd" pieces he would look for. I told him I like old ugly and sometimes unmatched silverware. He was surprised that I didn't want polished clean stuff. So, I took the loss on that plated stuff as a calculated investment. He then told me it was his sisters that he bought for $30 figuring he would be able to get that much. I helped him keep his pride and did his sister a favor. He has a picker's dream back yard. I just don't have the place to store all the stuff.

Agnut said something key- build relationships in your dealings. Good advice. Sometimes you have to give. Other times, beware of the scaplers. Seek to make deals where everyone wins.

Hi Spectrism. I also have lots of propane bottles; good idea for the future. One to five gallon gas containers are also a good idea; I probably have 30 already. Bought most of them for one dollar.

Funny that you mention the contact with the silverware that turned out to be silver plate. I had a similar thing happen to me a couple of months ago. A friend found a large boxed set of what he thought was sterling silver for $30 or $50 I think. He brought it over and I had to tell him that it was actually silver plate. He was very disappointed. I told him that he should use it for his personal dinnerware since the silver plate was as good as sterling silver for his health. When he didn’t seem too interested in this I offered to buy the dinner set from him; he refused. I hope that he is using it for his health.

I noticed that you said you got a call from a contact. Yep, that’s one way of building a network. You never know what this contact will bring in in the future, so good that you paid him to keep the flow going.

Best wishes,

Agnut

[gunDriller]

Hi gun driller. Once in a while I see those aluminum plates offered at garage sales. Were they made in the 1950s or 1960s ? I remember aluminum drinking cups when I was a kid. I got a set of beautiful handmade heavy copper plates a while back for $20; they were made by an arts teacher living near a copper mine. Part art and part intrinsic metal value.

I have too much “crap” too but am saving everything that might have utility and value in the future. Ponce says that the dumps of today will be the goldmines of the future. Things we save now like building materials, dinnerware, small appliances, string, rope, chain and a multitude of items may well be like gold in the future. Not right away but in the coming years.

Right now I have a huge load of scrap aluminum transmission cases and have made a deal with a friend to split the sale for their removing the steel parts. This way I get some cash and lots of room for more “crap”. She even wants me to collect all the steel scrap too because she has a big truck that can carry 5 tons at a time. She is one of the people who regularly pick up our fruits and veggies. See how one thing leads to another ? I have so many interlocking deals going on that it almost seems like a job in keeping it all straight. But it is a job that I enjoy immensely.

https://www.google.com/#q=aluminum+foundry+washington

https://www.google.com/#q=aluminum+foundry+oregon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlpduLAQg18

that last one is a shop class at EOU (Eastern Oregon University). they buy their aluminum somewhere.

i tried to find the price.

http://www.atlasmetal.com/pdf/catalog.pdf

interesting info about A356 - there's a fair chance your transmission casings are A356.


getting the best price might be related to determining the exact alloy.


that aluminum is worth DINERO ! the Atlas Metal catalog doesn't have their price, i guess it's spot + a percentage.

since scrap places rarely pay more than 65% of spot even for a higher grade of aluminum (extruded), and since it's only 79 cents a pound today at Kitco Metals, i find selling aluminum for scrap is almost always disappointing these days.

Agnut, Do you have access to a band saw ? that might be very helpful to get paid Spot+ for those castings. if you have, literally, a big pile (e.g. 1000 pounds+) of clean cast aluminum (the transmission castings etc.), it would increase its utility to a potential buyer to cut it up into 'bite-size' pieces that are easy to shovel into the crucible or whatever they use to melt the aluminum.

on the other hand, 79 cents a pound does not reflect the true utility of this metal.


castings in the backyard = money in the bank.


what i need is a Roomba that picks up chicken turds.

[agnut]

Hi govcheetos. I just wrote about some transmission parts I have been holding for several years and sold them for a handsome profit. However, it is sometimes hard to tell if an item will ever be sold. I have literally tons of old transmission parts that have to be inspected before they are either scrapped out or put away for the future.

Your generosity with the enclosed trailer was both pay it back AND pay it forward. And the reaction from your friend cannot be measured in dollars. A huge win-win all around. I’m proud of you !

These goodies we find in our travels can be very rewarding as gifts to family and friends. The new friend I mentioned earlier has a daughter who moved here recently and is setting up a household. So far I’ve given him a few kitchen appliances and am waiting to take him through my barn. You wouldn’t believe the shelves full of kitchen items I have accumulated through the last 6 years. Whenever I saw a blender, toaster, rotisserie, crock pot, Tupperware, mixer, juicer and some other items I can’t think the name of, I buy them and put them away. Many of the items cost new as much as $60; I get them for as little as $2. This buying and then gifting items is best considered a different kind of deal making, one above and beyond mere dollars and cents. These are what I call deals of the heart; the most valuable of all. This type of deal can be made any time but it is easiest when we have experience and know the rate of flow through of such items. I do buy some appliances that are rarely found and keep them for our own kitchen. When I have an extra backup appliance I can gift or sell the next one I find. This way I am not ever without our own necessities as well as backups. Easy peasy.

The other day I was in my favorite thrift store and spotted a Belgian waffle machine. My sister has been wanting one for at least two years. I had never seen one but recognized it from her description. An odd looking machine that flips the waffle over while cooking (why I don’t have a clue. Hey, I‘m a mechanic, not a chef). The reason my sister hasn’t bought a new Belgian waffle machine is that it is too expensive. I picked it up for $6. I looked up the model and it retails for $120. The next time my sister was visiting I set the waffle machine out in plain view. You know, thinking that she would spot it and go nuts. I finally had to point it out and then she went nuts. Now looking back I realize that the reason she didn’t see it just 6 feet away is that I have the house so crammed with items that it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. I am both proud and ashamed at the same time.

Even a small item gifted can result in a big reaction. But your enclosed trailer gift is the kind that will be remembered and appreciated for a lifetime.

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