Okay, so I don't know how I forgot quite possibly the most important part of this whole post-- who knows, maybe I blocked it out of my memory, or maybe I was so exhausted from dealing with all of the clowns and crazies that it was simple omission, but either way, here it is now:
After our garage sale was over (well after) and we were picking up, a car pulls up and a lady gets out. Let me basically just give you our entire conversation, line by line. It might be a little off, it's not word for word verbatim, it's been 7 days after all, but it's pretty close And when it sounds ridiculous-- please rest assured, dear readers, I do indeed have witnesses to this. I'll put commentary in parentheses.
We'll call this lady Chippy-- she was chipper. Like a chipmunk.
Chippy: Hello there!
Me: Hi!
Chippy: I read about you on Craigslist!
me: great
C: I have a business myself, with my mother. We're just starting and looking to collaborate with you.
me: Awesome, what do you sell?
C: Mainly books, but we are looking to branch out in many different areas.
(I feel at this point like I'm in an infomercial. "collaborate" , "branch out", who TALKS like this?)
me: Well, we DEFINITELY have a lot of books here. Let me show you where they are.
C: great
(I lead Chippy over to where we literally have about 7-8 boxes of books. 2 of them are file folder sized cardboard boxes, 1 is a milk crate, and the others are all pretty decent sized sterilite bins. They are all filled to the brim, and it's a combination of Bibles, textbooks, hard cover books, and paperback novels. There are a few "Let us show you how to make money" books that you get for free from calling some ridiculous phone #, but for the most part they are quality books. There were even some Harry Potter!)
me: Here's all of our books-- we have some more inside, but this is what we can offer you today. We usually sell them for 50 cents to $1 per book, but if you're buying in bulk, we can do a wholesale price of 10 to 25 cents a book, or you can just buy them all and we'll give you a hell of a deal.
C: Yes, I am sure interested in all of them. How much?
(I don't know how this happens, but I'm getting ready to say $60-$80, which I thought was great considering there HAD to be at least 400 books there, when Brian walks behind us at that exact moment and says "Give us $20". I don't know whether he was tired, or cranky, or ready to get out of there, or a combination of all of the above, but I almost fell over in shock. I'M the one who usually gives ridiculously low prices, not him! That's less than 5 cents a book! Of course she's going to jump on that, I'm thinking, and now I'm wondering if we're going to be hurting for books in the next couple of weeks. I find out of course that later we had 12 more boxes inside, and Brian of course knew this, so of course, it was fine.)
C: $20?
me: Yes, and I can't believe he gave you such a low price.
C: That's not really a low price.
me: Excuse me?
C: I sell these on eBay, and sometimes I only sell them for a penny.
me: (I wanted SO BADLY to say "that sounds like a personal problem", but refrained instead and said) a penny?
C: That's the way the book business goes. I'm sure YOU know, I'm sure that you can only sell 6-7 books a weekend.
me: Actually, we sell about 6-7 books an hour, and at $1 each, generally.
C: Plus there's shipping and all of these other associated costs.
me: Look, at less than 5 cents a book, you're getting a heck of a deal here. You can sell them for a penny and probably still make money with S&H charges.
C: (I can't understand for the life of me why she's not running away with this deal, and on top of that she's ARGUING with me), No, I can't really make money on this.
me: Then don't buy them. (getting aggravated). Quite honestly, you're stupid if you don't buy these books for $20.
C: You said there were books inside too. Are those included in the $20? Because HE (she looks at Brian) said ALL of the books for $20.
me: He said ALL of the books out here.
C: Are you sure? Because I'd like the books outside.
me: No, it's only the books out here, but there are over 400 books here, and they are good titles. Do you want them or not?
C: (I honestly can't remember what she said, but it was something enough to make me literally turn my back on her and start picking up. I'll usually stick with someone for a long time just to make a sale, no matter how aggravating they are, but at this point, I'm realizing that my BEST case scenario is that I only make $20 and it's really not worth the hassle. I'm kind of hoping she'll just go away.)
C: While I'm here, are you interested in collaborating on a business venture?
me: (To myself, I'm thinking "here we go again", but also, I'm kind of interested and always listening for new ways we can be better at what we do... so I ask...) What kind of business venture?
C: I have an exciting new prospect where you we can liquidate businesses.
(I only ever hear exciting new prospect as a phrase when someone is either trying to sell me on a home-business idea or a new religion, so I'm immediately wary, but still listening)
me: liquidate what kind of business? I'm not interested in buying anything else, only selling
C: (looks at me like I'm stupid)... no no... liquidate YOUR business.
me: Isn't that what we're doing right now at this garage sale?
C: no no... allow me to help you liquidate your business
me: Help me HOW?
C: I can provide you contacts.
me: We don't need any contacts, but thank you anyway.
C: no no, you don't understand. It's a joint venture. You provide me with manpower, because it's just me and my mom, and I provide you with elaborate contacts.
me: What? (I'm totally dumbfounded at this point and hoping Brian will come rescue me soon. He's trying to move furniture inside as quickly as possible, so he never does actually come to my rescue until much, much later). I don't need contacts.
C: It seems like you...
me: We do just fine, thank you very much.
C: But, you can provide me with manpower...
me: Of course you want us to provide you with manpower. This is a win-win for you. This is a lose-lose for us. I can't imagine you'd even suggest it. You get manpower from us, which you desperately need, and we get nothing in return from you.
(I'm getting SO aggravated now, and I immediately start throwing items into boxes-- I still can't even tell you whether they were the right boxes or not. I'm pretty sure I threw my own personal sunglasses into one of the bins as well! I'm also walking around a LOT and she's trying to keep up with me/follow me. The entire time I'm trying not to be rude, but I'm becoming more and more curt with each passing sentence)
C: Well, allow me to tell you how we can get you some cheap labor.
me: (I am SO ready to be like "you 10 seconds ago said you needed MY manpower, wtf are you smoking?!? but instead say..) labor?
C: Yes, I can get you some amazingly cheap labor.
me: I don't need labor. We have labor.
C: It's not as cheap as mine.... I can guarantee..
me: (cutting her off). Brian has employees, I have employees, they work on salary. We do a lot of work ourselves.
C: (Getting more argumentative), But, you still have to pay them. Mine, It's so cheap, you can't find... anything cheaper.
(At this point, Trish walks by, who is our friend who literally lives around the corner from the warehouse. She figured out early on that whenever our AC comes on it makes noise in her backyard, so she knows immediately if we're at the warehouse or not. She used to come around just to visit but now she helps us a great deal. It's a win-win, we love having her around and her company, and she's actually a big help-- and in return, she gets a TON of really quality free merchandise! I hated to use Trish as an example, but it just happened at the perfect time...)
me: (pointing at Trish)... see her? She how well she works? She works for me for free. Can you beat that?
C: I...
me: I didn't think so.
(I turn around and walk away, half smiling, half winking at Trish and vowing to explain to her later while I called her free labor loudly and publicly in front of a total stranger. But yet, here it comes again.)
C: I really can help you.
me: We really don't need your help. We do just fine on our own, we have a great partnership, we have a lot of great opportunities that are coming to us, we have lots of contacts, we have a blog---
C: I know, I read your blog, and read your Craigslist posts, it's great, I know you're doing great. I've read all of your posts so far.
(I'm actually worried right now as I write this that C may come and ax-murder me in my sleep for this post-- but hopefully that doesn't happen. She knows she was out of line, I think, and at least I'm not naming her or photographing her on here. So that should give me brownie points. And I'd be happy to work with her in the future, as long as she can actually offer me something. Oh, and I'll definitely sell her books again but definitely not for five cents a book!)
C: I actually googled your phone number too, and found a Craigslist ad months ago you wrote seeking Saints season tickets. You said you were willing to pay up to $5000 in the ad, so I KNOW y'all aren't hurting!
(I'm usually very good about keeping my composure, but I swear, you could have seen my jaw DROP to the floor.)
(I understand that when you do things publicly, like write about every move on facebook, or manage a blog like this one, or post your phone # on Craigslist, etc-- that you open yourself up to a lot of scrutiny, infamy, whatever you want to call it. Just as celebrities (not saying I'm a celebrity, just a comparison) can't complain about paparazzi photographing them on the way out of their car to the supermarket, I shouldn't complain about people mentioning my posts. BUT-- celebrities certainly have a right to be offended when someone photographs them nude on a vacation or behind closed doors of a safe haven or wrecks their kid's school performance to get to them, a line has been crossed in that instance, and that is definitely how I felt here. That ad for Saints tickets was something I did personally-- I didn't link it to the blog, or my facebook, or mention it to friends-- I didn't put any identifying information in it other than my phone # which was necessary for the purpose of the ad, etc. I was totally dumbfounded, not just that she would cyberstalk me, but that she would mention it to my face on our first meeting, and to gain leverage in this argument! It would be like if I wanted you to go into business with me, and you refused, and I said "well, I followed you to Macy's yesterday and I saw your credit card get declined at the point of sale, so I figured you probably need the money." At this point, I'm over it, but it really bothered me at the time-- I was PISSED.)
me: Excuse me? We are doing quite well, but that's none of your business.
C: I just meant--
me: I don't care what you meant, would you like the books or not? You have 5 minutes to decide whether you are taking them
C: I guess I'll take them.
me: Good.
(Brian comes out at this moment, C goes to her car, returns with the money, pays me, I turn around, and VERY loudly exclaim that I'm NOT helping her move the books to her car... Brian looks at me like WTF is going on?!?! I walk off.... C moves her car closer to load the books, and then it's..)
C: Can I keep the rubbermaid totes?
me: No, not for $20 you can't.
C: Okay, no problem, I'll just dump the books in my car
(I almost felt sorry for her but didn't)
me: okay
(I walked off again and she came to find me)
C: Can I keep the cardboard boxes?
me: Yep. (as curtly and rudely as possible)
(I walk away again... out of the corner of my eye I see Brian helping her load the boxes, and I was slightly peeved at him for that, but he let me know later that it was only because she wasn't doing it quickly enough for his taste and that he wanted to get rid of her.)
(We leave quickly before someone else can keep us there for longer... oh, that reminds me of a story from last week I forgot to tell you, see below... and I manage to recap the entire sordid tale to Brian over Saints Football. Fortunately there was liquor and jambalaya. Oh, and we lost, which made it even worse-- but it's not really our fault because our coach BROKE HIS LEG during the game. Has that EVER happened? It was kind of the tip of the crazy Sunday iceberg).
***
So, speaking of customers coming at the last minute (we've found multiple times that the biggest assholes /idiots are 90% of the time the ones that either come at 7am or half an hour after we've closed)... a few weeks ago we're picking up the sale, when I hear a noise. We have this alleyway we have our sales in, and we keep the fence open while we're picking up, but once we get 85% picked up, we close the gate/fence and that way no one will come in and disturb us, and people get the idea we're closed. Except this one gentlemen, who pushes the gate open. I tell him we're closed, he doesn't speak very good English, he asks again if he can look, I say, against my better judgement, that he can. There are only maybe 12 things still out. He heads right for a table that has a set of playing cards, and a golf game. He asks me how much for the golf game, I tell him $1. He asks me how much for the playing cards (which came from a casino) so I tell him 50 cents. He asks me how much for both, I say $1.50 (duh?) -- he asks me if I'll take 50 cents for both, I tell him I'll take $1 for both. I try to explain to him that way the deck of cards is free (which seems pretty fair to me). He tells me that he'll take the deck of cards. I hold out my hand for money and he has to go back to wherever he came from to get it (why do these people even shop in the first place??) he comes back and asks me no less than a dozen questions about the cards. Each time I have to repeat my answer about 3 times because of his poor English. After he's wasted no less than 20 minutes of my time (where I could have been picking up and getting out of there sooner), he picks up his cards and drops his money on the table. In pennies. I didn't even bother picking it up. He struggles with the fence and can't get it open. I don't try to help him. I hear Brian (who heard the clang of the pennies) utter his typical "SERIOUSLY?" and I'm pretty aggravated too at this point, so I just knock the pennies off the table and on to the ground and continue my work. The guy eventually left.
I don't mean to sound rude or be rude-- but come on, I would NEVER make someone RE-OPEN to give them FIFTY PENNIES. I don't even understand why these people are shopping and buying things if they are SO BROKE!
Disclaimer: If I've wrote about you and you're upset about it, (Because apparently a lot more people read our blog than we ever previously thought possible)-- let us know. We'll come to some kind of agreement. We're very reasonable people. We use this to vent and to show our readers ALL aspects of this business. Including the really aggravating, annoying, terrible moments. Thank you for allowing us to share some of that. We probably caught you at your worst, and we understand that. That's why we didn't name names! :)
Until next time...
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Hell in a Sell: Another Garage Sale story
Last week we had another one of our (in)famous garage sales-- and so many interesting things happened that we thought it deserved its own blog post. There wasn't anything really abnormal about this particular garage sale-- or so we thought, we only had bought one brand new unit in the week and although it was loaded with furniture, we only had about 1/2 of it out (the other half was still in the unit) and not much else in the way of new things. I couldn't have been more wrong.
We had our sale on a Sunday-- we had gone to an auction Saturday (it's one of our most favorite auctions so to keep it that way we won't give you much information about it) -- and Brian and I were bickering so much over who got to go to auction that we just decided that we'd both get to go. Fortunately, the Saints were playing at 3:15 on Sunday, so we thought it was a perfect time to have a morning garage sale, unpack the new unit, and get some work done all at once.
Brian arrived early (like 5:15 early) to set up, as we had neglected to do our normal pre-setup the evening before due to the auction and two trips of moving furniture out of the above mentioned unit, and by the time 7:00 had rolled around, he was already frantically calling me and telling me that he had a ton of customers. And boy were there people-- a constant on-flux of them, more so even than we would have on a Saturday. And tons of crazy things kept happening!
The first insane thing that happened was that when I arrived at the sale, I realized that Brian was indeed not alone, but with a tenant (who's goods we had purchased at the end of the September) who had showed up to our sale. I wasn't completely surprised because she had called me earlier in the week, but we hadn't made a concrete agreement yet with her so I wasn't really expecting her. I have to admit, I'm always SUPER NERVOUS when a former tenant comes into play-- because you never know what's going to happen. Many are irate, many make threats, many have very poor reasoning skills. We never want to be in the position where we have to encounter a former tenant, and if we agree to under very special circumstances we're usually very careful to do it in a public, neutral place. So the fact that this person showed up at the place where we store all of our things and do a lot of work scared me just a tiny bit. I have to admit though (not just because I know she reads our blog) that she is a very lovely and considerate person (she asked Brian what drinks we wanted and brought the appropriate coke and coffee) and I'm extraordinarily happy she showed up. Not only was she able to reclaim a great many of her things (we had almost half of them left), but we were able to make someone happy and to provide goods to someone who really appreciated them. Another happy ending. I have to say, I think some fate was involved in this-- because as you know, we usually move items within 1-2 weeks of getting them. The fact that we still had items from a late September sale in mid October was nothing short of a miracle. Honestly, it's because we missed a week or two of sales due to my Wheel of Fortune debut and parties. Isn't THAT fortunate for all involved. I'm really glad we got to meet her, and we look forward to seeing her at our future sales for sure! What a charming and intelligent woman.
One more thing about the above mentioned lady and then I'll shut up on the topic. I'm really happy that we met her and I'm really happy that she found us-- as Michael Scott would say (we're big Office fans) it was a "win win win" for all involved. HOWEVER-- I've recently heard from more than a couple of parties (including the tenant herself) that the person who gave her our information was another BIDDER. I am MORTIFIED by this. I would NEVER give a tenant another bidder's information, no matter how much I didn't like them. It's just totally unprofessional. If I didn't want to get involved, I'd stay out of it, and if I did, the most I would do would be to offer to pass the tenant's information along to the bidder. I know Brian feels the same way. It is totally reprehensible that a fellow bidder would do this. I know the tenant turned out to be a really really cool gal, but what if she hadn't been? The funniest part, is that this is the person who complained a few weeks ago about our blog, which resulted in everyone at certain auctions not being allowed to use cell phones (which really only hurts everyone, not just us). Since he clearly reads this blog, I double dog dare him to mention THIS little post-- because I will totally tell God and everyone about what he did-- and NAME him this time!
We're not bitter, we're not resentful-- we don't hate or dislike anyone we bid against. We don't mean to trash-talk or seem rude or disrespectful or whatever. We really don't mean to start conflict. We prefer to avoid conflict-- because it distracts us from our main goals-- making money and succeeding in this business. We understand that our competition is going to talk about us behind our back and rat us out when they get a chance or lie to our faces-- we're okay with that. But do NOT tell tenants where to find us.
Anyway-- back to the sale (yes, I digressed)... the next crazy thing that happened was this MESS of a woman shows up wearing a dirty stained t-shirt and dirty stained sweat pants, and I don't think much of it because that describes 25% of our morning garage sale clientele, but as she starts asking me questions she's arguing with me about prices so much that I want to strangle her. We'll call her "Sweaty" Our conversation goes a little like this:
Sweaty: How much is this?
Me: It's $3.00
Sweaty: That's too much!
Me: Sorry.
Sweaty: Will you take $2.00?
Me: Sure.
Sweaty: Will you take $1.00?
Me: No. $2.00.
Sweaty: It's not worth $2.00.
Me: Then don't buy it
Sweaty: (continues admiring it... it's one of those elaborate iron decorations you hang on your wall that has leaves and holds candles and things. It's a very elaborate one, would probably go for $25 at Bed Bath and Beyond. I've seen them sold at thrift stores for up to $12). Hmph.
Me: Sorry.
Sweaty: I don't have $2.00.
Me: Then why'd you ask me if I'd take $2.00? Now you're just wasting my time!
Sweaty: $1.00
Me: FINE.
Sweaty: I have to go to my van to get it.
Me: (pulling a Brian)... SERIOUSLY?!?!?
Sweaty walks, no, waddles, off to her van, which I must point out is a CAB. Yes, she is a CAB DRIVER, not that there is anything wrong with that- but that I don't really believe that a cab driver has LESS than $2 in her CAB... and returns....
Sweaty: HERE
She drops a FISTFUL of change in my hand and turns around, waddling quickly away. When I say a fistful of change, I mean pennies, nickels, and dimes.
I get aggravated, sigh, stand there dumb-founded, and then head to show Brian the injustice. Along the way the little Brian voice in my head tells me to count the money. It's EIGHTY-TWO CENTS.
Yes, that's right. The cab driver just JIPPED ME 18 cents on something I gave her $2 off on. I mutter to myself "I should go after her." Brian looks at me and says, "i would."
So, I take off after Sweaty, who has only just now made it to her cab-van (keep in mind, she was waddling quickly away, I still had time to count, sigh, count again, show Brian, have a conversation with my conscience, and walk the same path she had walked). She sees me coming and slams the door. I start talking to her and she rolls up the window, sticks her tongue out at me, and speeds away. Seriously? I can't believe there are actually people like that in this world! And to think, I didn't think anyone could POSSIBLY top the lady who tried to steal the duffle bag and then threw it out her window. I guess this lady is our new current champion.
A bunch more customers came and went, we made a few more sales, one lady who bought one of our sewing machines (we gave her an amazing deal and a statue) was kind enough to bring us snowballs, and our faithful companion / assistant/ and friend Trish was helping sort/clean/sell-- so we were actually getting a ton done. With the 3 of us there was actually time for one of us to sort inside, one of us to sort outside, and one of us to deal with customers. There were still a lot of customers, too! I was feeling very good about the day, which was about 3/4 of the way over, when weird thing #3 happened.
Remember that competitor I mentioned above? The one who I'm 99.9% positive is the one who complained about our blog, and the one who I'm now 100% positive told a tenant where to find us? Well, I look up the alleyway and I see him coming. At our sale.
It's not uncommon to see competition at our sales-- sometimes they actually come to buy things (we sell to them wholesale, which is very nice of us considering our prices are super cheap already) -- but more often than not they come under the guise of checking us out. I can't say I blame them as I'd do the same thing to them if I cared that much. Or if I wasn't as busy as I am. If we ever stop having sales as often as we do, I'd maybe venture to some of their shops. Actually, we DID visit the shop of one of our auction bidders the other day-- we like her, and we liked her shop too! But we made an offer on some merchandise that was a win win win, so at least she benefitted in some way from our visit. I can't say the same about visits from other competitors.
This guy walks up to me, on this day, and I have a pretty good idea why he's there, but he confirmed it as soon as he opens his mouth: "So, did that lady come here?" - a HA. I have not mentioned said lady, so now I know it was you. Busted. I ask a bunch of questions about how she found me, and eventually find out that she went to this guy's store because she was looking for stores that might have these types of items and he suggested that she could look online to find this blog to find me,. Not as bad as giving her my phone number per say, (which still might have happened because I don't really believe what I'm being told anyway), but still pretty reprehensible. Whatever. I basically just smile sweetly, and state the truth-- that I'm really happy he gave her my information as we made a good sale and she recovered all of her beloved belongings. Nice try, dude. I love how you give a tenant our information, and then have the balls to SHOW UP to see if she came to our sale! At least he's got balls!
As a slight disclaimer, I will say that it is totally possible that I am over-exaggerating about all of this. He might not have said much to her, she might have found us on her own, he might have legitimately been passing through and saw our sale, etc, etc, etc. But that is HIGHLY unlikely, isn't it, dear readers? You be the judge. Please tell me in comments if I'm wrong.
What a day, what a sale, right? Never a dull moment!
Finally, I have to say-- shout out to Loyola University New Orleans (my alma mater) and its students. We showed up there today for a sale sponsored by Alpha Kappa Psi (my Fraternity) -- once they had found out what I was up to, they asked us to come and speak about our business, and then have a sale on campus. We had a garage sale, it was super well perceived by students, and it was really nice to have a large sale in air conditioning with a lot of young, enthusiastic, friendly, charming people. They were so helpful -- opening doors for us when we were carrying boxes and very politely asking about prices. We loved our experience there and would be happy again to do it anytime! I should have named this blog "The Tale of Two Sales" I guess, but that's okay- maybe some other time.
We had our sale on a Sunday-- we had gone to an auction Saturday (it's one of our most favorite auctions so to keep it that way we won't give you much information about it) -- and Brian and I were bickering so much over who got to go to auction that we just decided that we'd both get to go. Fortunately, the Saints were playing at 3:15 on Sunday, so we thought it was a perfect time to have a morning garage sale, unpack the new unit, and get some work done all at once.
Brian arrived early (like 5:15 early) to set up, as we had neglected to do our normal pre-setup the evening before due to the auction and two trips of moving furniture out of the above mentioned unit, and by the time 7:00 had rolled around, he was already frantically calling me and telling me that he had a ton of customers. And boy were there people-- a constant on-flux of them, more so even than we would have on a Saturday. And tons of crazy things kept happening!
The first insane thing that happened was that when I arrived at the sale, I realized that Brian was indeed not alone, but with a tenant (who's goods we had purchased at the end of the September) who had showed up to our sale. I wasn't completely surprised because she had called me earlier in the week, but we hadn't made a concrete agreement yet with her so I wasn't really expecting her. I have to admit, I'm always SUPER NERVOUS when a former tenant comes into play-- because you never know what's going to happen. Many are irate, many make threats, many have very poor reasoning skills. We never want to be in the position where we have to encounter a former tenant, and if we agree to under very special circumstances we're usually very careful to do it in a public, neutral place. So the fact that this person showed up at the place where we store all of our things and do a lot of work scared me just a tiny bit. I have to admit though (not just because I know she reads our blog) that she is a very lovely and considerate person (she asked Brian what drinks we wanted and brought the appropriate coke and coffee) and I'm extraordinarily happy she showed up. Not only was she able to reclaim a great many of her things (we had almost half of them left), but we were able to make someone happy and to provide goods to someone who really appreciated them. Another happy ending. I have to say, I think some fate was involved in this-- because as you know, we usually move items within 1-2 weeks of getting them. The fact that we still had items from a late September sale in mid October was nothing short of a miracle. Honestly, it's because we missed a week or two of sales due to my Wheel of Fortune debut and parties. Isn't THAT fortunate for all involved. I'm really glad we got to meet her, and we look forward to seeing her at our future sales for sure! What a charming and intelligent woman.
One more thing about the above mentioned lady and then I'll shut up on the topic. I'm really happy that we met her and I'm really happy that she found us-- as Michael Scott would say (we're big Office fans) it was a "win win win" for all involved. HOWEVER-- I've recently heard from more than a couple of parties (including the tenant herself) that the person who gave her our information was another BIDDER. I am MORTIFIED by this. I would NEVER give a tenant another bidder's information, no matter how much I didn't like them. It's just totally unprofessional. If I didn't want to get involved, I'd stay out of it, and if I did, the most I would do would be to offer to pass the tenant's information along to the bidder. I know Brian feels the same way. It is totally reprehensible that a fellow bidder would do this. I know the tenant turned out to be a really really cool gal, but what if she hadn't been? The funniest part, is that this is the person who complained a few weeks ago about our blog, which resulted in everyone at certain auctions not being allowed to use cell phones (which really only hurts everyone, not just us). Since he clearly reads this blog, I double dog dare him to mention THIS little post-- because I will totally tell God and everyone about what he did-- and NAME him this time!
We're not bitter, we're not resentful-- we don't hate or dislike anyone we bid against. We don't mean to trash-talk or seem rude or disrespectful or whatever. We really don't mean to start conflict. We prefer to avoid conflict-- because it distracts us from our main goals-- making money and succeeding in this business. We understand that our competition is going to talk about us behind our back and rat us out when they get a chance or lie to our faces-- we're okay with that. But do NOT tell tenants where to find us.
Anyway-- back to the sale (yes, I digressed)... the next crazy thing that happened was this MESS of a woman shows up wearing a dirty stained t-shirt and dirty stained sweat pants, and I don't think much of it because that describes 25% of our morning garage sale clientele, but as she starts asking me questions she's arguing with me about prices so much that I want to strangle her. We'll call her "Sweaty" Our conversation goes a little like this:
Sweaty: How much is this?
Me: It's $3.00
Sweaty: That's too much!
Me: Sorry.
Sweaty: Will you take $2.00?
Me: Sure.
Sweaty: Will you take $1.00?
Me: No. $2.00.
Sweaty: It's not worth $2.00.
Me: Then don't buy it
Sweaty: (continues admiring it... it's one of those elaborate iron decorations you hang on your wall that has leaves and holds candles and things. It's a very elaborate one, would probably go for $25 at Bed Bath and Beyond. I've seen them sold at thrift stores for up to $12). Hmph.
Me: Sorry.
Sweaty: I don't have $2.00.
Me: Then why'd you ask me if I'd take $2.00? Now you're just wasting my time!
Sweaty: $1.00
Me: FINE.
Sweaty: I have to go to my van to get it.
Me: (pulling a Brian)... SERIOUSLY?!?!?
Sweaty walks, no, waddles, off to her van, which I must point out is a CAB. Yes, she is a CAB DRIVER, not that there is anything wrong with that- but that I don't really believe that a cab driver has LESS than $2 in her CAB... and returns....
Sweaty: HERE
She drops a FISTFUL of change in my hand and turns around, waddling quickly away. When I say a fistful of change, I mean pennies, nickels, and dimes.
I get aggravated, sigh, stand there dumb-founded, and then head to show Brian the injustice. Along the way the little Brian voice in my head tells me to count the money. It's EIGHTY-TWO CENTS.
Yes, that's right. The cab driver just JIPPED ME 18 cents on something I gave her $2 off on. I mutter to myself "I should go after her." Brian looks at me and says, "i would."
So, I take off after Sweaty, who has only just now made it to her cab-van (keep in mind, she was waddling quickly away, I still had time to count, sigh, count again, show Brian, have a conversation with my conscience, and walk the same path she had walked). She sees me coming and slams the door. I start talking to her and she rolls up the window, sticks her tongue out at me, and speeds away. Seriously? I can't believe there are actually people like that in this world! And to think, I didn't think anyone could POSSIBLY top the lady who tried to steal the duffle bag and then threw it out her window. I guess this lady is our new current champion.
A bunch more customers came and went, we made a few more sales, one lady who bought one of our sewing machines (we gave her an amazing deal and a statue) was kind enough to bring us snowballs, and our faithful companion / assistant/ and friend Trish was helping sort/clean/sell-- so we were actually getting a ton done. With the 3 of us there was actually time for one of us to sort inside, one of us to sort outside, and one of us to deal with customers. There were still a lot of customers, too! I was feeling very good about the day, which was about 3/4 of the way over, when weird thing #3 happened.
Remember that competitor I mentioned above? The one who I'm 99.9% positive is the one who complained about our blog, and the one who I'm now 100% positive told a tenant where to find us? Well, I look up the alleyway and I see him coming. At our sale.
It's not uncommon to see competition at our sales-- sometimes they actually come to buy things (we sell to them wholesale, which is very nice of us considering our prices are super cheap already) -- but more often than not they come under the guise of checking us out. I can't say I blame them as I'd do the same thing to them if I cared that much. Or if I wasn't as busy as I am. If we ever stop having sales as often as we do, I'd maybe venture to some of their shops. Actually, we DID visit the shop of one of our auction bidders the other day-- we like her, and we liked her shop too! But we made an offer on some merchandise that was a win win win, so at least she benefitted in some way from our visit. I can't say the same about visits from other competitors.
This guy walks up to me, on this day, and I have a pretty good idea why he's there, but he confirmed it as soon as he opens his mouth: "So, did that lady come here?" - a HA. I have not mentioned said lady, so now I know it was you. Busted. I ask a bunch of questions about how she found me, and eventually find out that she went to this guy's store because she was looking for stores that might have these types of items and he suggested that she could look online to find this blog to find me,. Not as bad as giving her my phone number per say, (which still might have happened because I don't really believe what I'm being told anyway), but still pretty reprehensible. Whatever. I basically just smile sweetly, and state the truth-- that I'm really happy he gave her my information as we made a good sale and she recovered all of her beloved belongings. Nice try, dude. I love how you give a tenant our information, and then have the balls to SHOW UP to see if she came to our sale! At least he's got balls!
As a slight disclaimer, I will say that it is totally possible that I am over-exaggerating about all of this. He might not have said much to her, she might have found us on her own, he might have legitimately been passing through and saw our sale, etc, etc, etc. But that is HIGHLY unlikely, isn't it, dear readers? You be the judge. Please tell me in comments if I'm wrong.
What a day, what a sale, right? Never a dull moment!
Finally, I have to say-- shout out to Loyola University New Orleans (my alma mater) and its students. We showed up there today for a sale sponsored by Alpha Kappa Psi (my Fraternity) -- once they had found out what I was up to, they asked us to come and speak about our business, and then have a sale on campus. We had a garage sale, it was super well perceived by students, and it was really nice to have a large sale in air conditioning with a lot of young, enthusiastic, friendly, charming people. They were so helpful -- opening doors for us when we were carrying boxes and very politely asking about prices. We loved our experience there and would be happy again to do it anytime! I should have named this blog "The Tale of Two Sales" I guess, but that's okay- maybe some other time.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Brian's Banter #1: The Best of Units, The Worst of Units
It was the best of units, it was the worst of units......
Amazing how time flies....it only seems like yesterday did we buy our first storage unit...and now, we are knee deep in the bullsh!t to be sure! And let me tell you how I know....
Yesterday, we started a mighty thorough cleaning of the warehouse. Now this sounds simple enough, but let me tell you...it wasn't. (And is still ongoing to be sure!) A few weeks ago, we had a little tropical storm called Lee that moved through New Orleans and dropped about a BILLION inches of water. To our dismay, the second floor of the warehouse took water from a leaky roof and window. So we had to move all the merchandise from upstairs to downstairs while the construction crews renovated. This added a PILE of STUFF on top of already a PILE of STUFF! And to add to it, we bought other storage units since and added to the pile even more! I know what you are saying...."Why don't you sell your stuff when you buy it so you don't have so much building up?" The truth of the matter is...WE DO! We have sales all the time, and we sell individual items at private treaty as well. But there is just SO much, that it eventually builds up. And I am not talking about the garbage, most of that has already been dealt with. I am talking about the good stuff....electronics, kitchenware, clothing (which from week to week I wobble on whether it is garbage/treasures!), furniture and antique items (which I have come to embrace with the newborn hope of a Jedi Knight fighting against the dark side of the force!) and other apparel related items such as hats, scarfs, and gloves (which should come in handy down here since as I am writing this blog, the temps in New Orleans have dropped 25 degrees in 5 hours!).
Today, the "cleansing" continued, but with a new hope....THE UPSTAIRS WAS FINISHED!! So we were able to move merchandise back up, and clean along the way....and also get further back into THE PILE that I affectionately call THE HYDRA....because, just like the mythological creature, it seems like every storage bin (head) we cut off/move away, two more take it's place! It's like the Neverending Story except THE NOTHING is actually a whole lot of SOMETHING that NEVER ENDS! But I digress...(That's a line Rebecca uses a lot in these blogs, so I figured I would pay homage to the Storage Princess for a moment...and now the moment is gone!........)
As we continued into THE PILE/HYDRA, which for my own sake I am going to refer to as "RALPH", we began to make discoveries! It was like going back in time! As we got into the back towards bins that had clearly been laid to rest for months, we found items from our very first storage units/digs! It was cool, and interesting, and a little scary at the same time. I mean, we had "stored" this stuff in our own private storage unit for so long, I didn't remember we had them! And I am not talking about dirty shoes and childrens toys, I mean good electronics, $350 food processors new in the box, an entire bin of blenders from the 1950's that are fully functional, not to mention the antique furniture and sewing machines (we have a Victorian couch in beautiful condition!) Along with these treasures in "Ralph" we also found a box of what I like to refer to as "what in the hell were we thinking when we kept this insane pile of @*@&#! It just goes to show you that back then, we were still getting a grasp on things. What to keep, what to toss, what to hold onto (Just like in the Gambler...know when to hold them...know when to fold them!)
But one thing I did notice, is that we both generally had a really good grasp overall on what to hold and what to fold! And as the months have gone along, as evident in the layers of "RALPH" that were peeled away, we have gotten better and better at organizing ourselves and the merchandise. "RALPH" could have been a real beast, but in the end, it really showed us how far we have come. And one thing "RALPH" truly showed us was how we have handled the best of units, and the worst of units!
Picture time:
Amazing how time flies....it only seems like yesterday did we buy our first storage unit...and now, we are knee deep in the bullsh!t to be sure! And let me tell you how I know....
Yesterday, we started a mighty thorough cleaning of the warehouse. Now this sounds simple enough, but let me tell you...it wasn't. (And is still ongoing to be sure!) A few weeks ago, we had a little tropical storm called Lee that moved through New Orleans and dropped about a BILLION inches of water. To our dismay, the second floor of the warehouse took water from a leaky roof and window. So we had to move all the merchandise from upstairs to downstairs while the construction crews renovated. This added a PILE of STUFF on top of already a PILE of STUFF! And to add to it, we bought other storage units since and added to the pile even more! I know what you are saying...."Why don't you sell your stuff when you buy it so you don't have so much building up?" The truth of the matter is...WE DO! We have sales all the time, and we sell individual items at private treaty as well. But there is just SO much, that it eventually builds up. And I am not talking about the garbage, most of that has already been dealt with. I am talking about the good stuff....electronics, kitchenware, clothing (which from week to week I wobble on whether it is garbage/treasures!), furniture and antique items (which I have come to embrace with the newborn hope of a Jedi Knight fighting against the dark side of the force!) and other apparel related items such as hats, scarfs, and gloves (which should come in handy down here since as I am writing this blog, the temps in New Orleans have dropped 25 degrees in 5 hours!).
Today, the "cleansing" continued, but with a new hope....THE UPSTAIRS WAS FINISHED!! So we were able to move merchandise back up, and clean along the way....and also get further back into THE PILE that I affectionately call THE HYDRA....because, just like the mythological creature, it seems like every storage bin (head) we cut off/move away, two more take it's place! It's like the Neverending Story except THE NOTHING is actually a whole lot of SOMETHING that NEVER ENDS! But I digress...(That's a line Rebecca uses a lot in these blogs, so I figured I would pay homage to the Storage Princess for a moment...and now the moment is gone!........)
As we continued into THE PILE/HYDRA, which for my own sake I am going to refer to as "RALPH", we began to make discoveries! It was like going back in time! As we got into the back towards bins that had clearly been laid to rest for months, we found items from our very first storage units/digs! It was cool, and interesting, and a little scary at the same time. I mean, we had "stored" this stuff in our own private storage unit for so long, I didn't remember we had them! And I am not talking about dirty shoes and childrens toys, I mean good electronics, $350 food processors new in the box, an entire bin of blenders from the 1950's that are fully functional, not to mention the antique furniture and sewing machines (we have a Victorian couch in beautiful condition!) Along with these treasures in "Ralph" we also found a box of what I like to refer to as "what in the hell were we thinking when we kept this insane pile of @*@&#! It just goes to show you that back then, we were still getting a grasp on things. What to keep, what to toss, what to hold onto (Just like in the Gambler...know when to hold them...know when to fold them!)
But one thing I did notice, is that we both generally had a really good grasp overall on what to hold and what to fold! And as the months have gone along, as evident in the layers of "RALPH" that were peeled away, we have gotten better and better at organizing ourselves and the merchandise. "RALPH" could have been a real beast, but in the end, it really showed us how far we have come. And one thing "RALPH" truly showed us was how we have handled the best of units, and the worst of units!
Picture time:
One thing we did find (that we kind of forgot about) is a lot of kewpie dolls and silver/silver plated items from the 1920s-1950s. Treasure!
Many, many, many moons ago- we came up with nicknames for ourselves-- I'm "Captain Trashbag" because I throw everything away, Rebecca is "Gold Digger" because she always finds the gold in every unit no matter what, and my wife Lily, whenever she would help us- would break any crockpot within 1000 feet. Not on purpose, just accidentally-- but it always happened, and the only thing she ever broke was crockpots. So, we dubbed her "Crockpot Killer"! Rebecca made this for her a long time ago out of a crock pot case we found in a unit. It resurfaced this week!
While cleaning out clothing, Rebecca and our lovely assistant Trish found these pants. HUGE!
And finally, what do these four things have in common? We have no idea either! Why did we keep this?
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
This Unit's older than Brian! Part 2
I was starting to sound like a soap opera when I last left off, so I'll start this one the same way-- on the last episode of this blog, we discovered that:
* Gold and silver ARE a reality in most of our units (I'm convinced I can smell it or something)
* Dust DOESN'T kill (although I'm sure for some people it's pretty uncomfortable)
* It is possible for something to be older than Brian!
We still don't know who shot J.R. (did anyone EVER find out on that show?) but we did know at this point that we had a pretty good locker. On-site had yielded some kids toys, electronics (including a digital camera), some silver certificates, silver, lots of 10 and 14 and 18 karat gold, and we still had a lot of boxes/bins to open.
At the garage sale I opened about 4 boxes of glassware while we were making money & selling things to people-- we always try to make good use of our time! And I was lucky that we had our friend Trisha there to help us. We still had about 10-12 boxes to go through (only about 3-4 of which I had actually even glanced at), so it was still a mystery what was inside. Oh, and I'm sure you didn't forget about the trunk.
We had opened the trunk a few days before (if you think that either Brian or I are patient enough to wait for opening a locked trunk more than a couple of hours-- you are wrong! We almost went crazy with that locked safe a couple of months ago, and that took us a few days to get the combination for. Fortunately he was able to break the lock open!) Lily was also on hand to help-- so it made it a good time to try to open it. Brian pried it open (completely ruining the trunk) and here's video of that:
We finally got the trunk open, okay, BRIAN got the trunk open-- although I have to take credit for holding it down while he opened it, still NO IDEA why he chose to put it on the edge of the van so it teeter-tottered as he pulled with me holding it down. I would have laughed hysterically had it fallen off the van and broken open that way. We all had ideas about what was inside-- it was very heavy, and very dense-- nothing was rattling. There was one Winn Dixie (grocery store) plastic bag sticking out of the box and that was really all you could see. My money was on papers because of the density and no rattle, I think Lily thought maybe we'd find more adult things (or papers), and Brian, always the eternal optimist, thought we'd find silver and gold bars. From checking the poll at our facebook page, (http://www.facebook.com/storageheroes) it appears that people were scattered-- some thought tools, some thought photographs, some thought adult toys (okay, MOST thought adult toys), one clever reader even put "elephant snot" -- YOU win points for most creative.
But the winner, is....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGadBkKxId0
Sorry, you have to click on it. It won't let me embed it here for some reason. No idea why. I'm not a technical genius, just a storage locker genius.
But if you watch the video, you will discover that what we found inside the locked trunk was indeed....
............
(drumroll please).....
a bunch of papers.
That's right--- there were photos too (so our facebook fan DBW should win some sort of prize for that, at the very least bragging rights)-- but mainly papers. The photos were all organized-- baby books and albums, that sort of thing, but the papers were just haphazardly thrown in shopping bags and thrown inside the trunk. There were pages, receipts, tags, more receipts, trash, candy-wrappers, and just... papers.
Here's a picture of one of the bags:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGadBkKxId0
Sorry, you have to click on it. It won't let me embed it here for some reason. No idea why. I'm not a technical genius, just a storage locker genius.
But if you watch the video, you will discover that what we found inside the locked trunk was indeed....
............
(drumroll please).....
a bunch of papers.
That's right--- there were photos too (so our facebook fan DBW should win some sort of prize for that, at the very least bragging rights)-- but mainly papers. The photos were all organized-- baby books and albums, that sort of thing, but the papers were just haphazardly thrown in shopping bags and thrown inside the trunk. There were pages, receipts, tags, more receipts, trash, candy-wrappers, and just... papers.
Here's a picture of one of the bags:
We find this type of thing in storage units ALL THE TIME. It makes me want to put out a public service announcement to all of you right now, that if you have an important receipt-- file it away. If it's not an important receipt, throw it away. Don't put all of your receipts directly in bags or drawers and leave them there. It's gonna be hella hard to find that Zales diamond ring receipt in the midst of 1000 Popeyes' chicken receipts later on, unless you have the patience of, well, ME. I'm guilty of this too, but I'm a very patient person and don't mind looking through receipts for hours. If you do not like to do this, I suggest you heed my advice.
I will also point out that in this unit we found $700-$800 worth of gold in a purse inside a garbage bag, and in a locked trunk that we physically have to bust open, we find paperwork. Figures. Oh, the irony. I guess one man's trash is another man's treasure, and vice versa--- and don't get me wrong, Hurricane Katrina taught everyone 200 miles away from me how important photos are-- I just don't get locking up Popeyes, Walgreens, and McDonalds receipts.
Okay, so back to the digging-- we've done a day at the unit, the trunk busting, a day at the garage sale, and now I'm back for more on day 3 (today). I finished in about 2 1/2 hours, not bad considering (Brian was checking out some units at one of our favorite auctions, that we will purposely not list here because we want it to remain one of our favorite auctions)-- and I was on my own, which I almost prefer when digging. But it still wasn't too bad, considering.
Before I get into today let me quickly show you what garage sale day yielded:
Lots of porcelain religious granny types of items, which are fine-- we just have a LOT of them.
All of this glassware. We had to clear off 2 tables to make room for all of this glassware.
I don't know if you can tell this or not (my New Orleans friends probably can) but half of these clear glasses are marked with either Jack Daniels or Crown logos. Apparently this lady LOVED liquor gift sets.
More glassware...
Even more glassware--- I have to say, this bunny used to have a mate-- but unfortunately it was destroyed in a tragic storage locker moving accident. It was pretty funny watching Trisha open the bag and shriek when she saw this evil bunny head (and only the head) staring at her.
Even more glassware!
Anyone want a cat? Or a swan? I have about 12 of each of these.
Table 2 of glassware.
More glassware-- lots of the little figurines and angels and things are $1 items from the Dollar Store, which makes me wonder why people pack the stuff instead of just selling it at a garage sale or throwing it away.
I found two ziplocked bags, with lots of little things wrapped up in newspaper. I was pretty excited to see seven small heavy wrapped things, until I found out that it was literally glass fruit.
Okay--- that was exhilarating Day 2. Day 3 (today) started with a quick inventory of what was still inside the van:
and it was time to get to work!
I started with this box... which turned out to be...
GLASSWARE. (Shocker)
We still have these 4 lids left over from the previous dig, so I'm guessing I'll find these canisters inside, and maybe some other figurines and things.
Instead, the first package I go to open pokes me. Literally scratches me. I look and see staples and nails poking out of the newspaper. Interesting.
First item happens to be an ashtray (from California, apparently), filled with all sorts of random things. That explains the nails and screws-- there's really not much of value in here. At least we have a California ashtray?
I'm curious at this point how long these things have been wrapped up in this locker (afterall, we knew it was dusty and had been there for awhile) -- so I glanced at the Times Picayune they were all wrapped up in. The date was November 2003. That's a long time to hold on to a California ashtray!
This box also yielded some New Orleans decorative glasses, a double sided swan vase, and a bunch of elephants. Oh, and a few more ashtrays.
According to Brian, this ashtray is some form of agate. Oh, science! Mr. Wizard also thinks maybe it's an onyx. Whatever. I think it's an ashtray. Apparently it's worth like $12 though so if someone wants to buy it (for $3 or $4) just holler. Ashes included free.
As thorough as I am (always), I'm looking inside each piece of glassware-- so I notice right away that there's something inside this one.
And there is--- one American dollar. Score.
Finally, I'm free of Box #1, I'd just like to point out that the bottom of the box contained a green crayon, a dead roach, some trash, paper, and randomness. Brian almost threw it away but I also discovered a real silver earring back. Gotta be thorough!
The next bin looks like either baby dolls or something out of a horror movie.
Baby dolls! And kids electronics.
I also had this bag to go through, but we'll table that for a moment.
Speaking of tables-- this is how our glassware table #2 is looking at the moment...
There's also a condom on the ground. Didn't come out of MY pocket, so it must have come from one of the bags or boxes I've been working with. Hopefully not the one with the baby dolls.
This particular bag wasn't extraordinary by any means-- it wasn't even a purse, just the kind of bag you get at a trade show for free--- but I could feel something in one of the pockets, that didn't just feel like paper or dirt-- it felt like beads or a rosary or coins or something substantial. But I couldn't get to it, so I had Brian rip it open. Here's the video of what was inside:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94B7Hr512Xc
The other bag, the little black bag, contained the following: hair, hair, weave, more fake hair, track (which I've learned are pieces of fake hair), a 20 year old teddy bear, and some type of tools. Oh, and a bus pass.
A closeup of the hair
Oh, and the little blue bag? It contained bullets:
.32 caliber, to be exact. Just 10-12.
Here's a closeup of the bus pass, the bear, and the tools. Just what every woman needs in her day-to-day bag-- her bus pass, bullets, teddy bear, tools, and enough fake hair to carpet a small office.
My next two piles contained nice jackets & coats (elderly dusty units always contain some REALLY nice outerwear), and a bag of stuffed animals. Both nice and sellable-- but nothing major here.
Ahh... other sterilite. Good times... good sign also. Wonder what it contains?
GLASSWARE. How much glassware can one person have???
There is actually so much glassware now, I'm putting it UNDERNEATH the tables (at least if it rains it won't fill up with water) because I'm running out of places to put it.
The round table is to the edges--- here's a peak of what that one looks like now. I actually realized at this point that I accidentally put a figurine of Jesus Christ in the ashtray. No offense intended! I promptly removed it! I just wanted to put it somewhere where it wouldn't fall off the table!
I unwrap this thing that's wrapped 3 times in newspaper, and find this. A (PLASTIC) margarita glass, that's missing the bottom, and cracked- but still contains an unused drink umbrella. WTF? And where was this when I was looking everywhere for umbrellas for my Wheel of Fortune party (we had Oahu themed cocktails to celebrate my winning trip)
Ooh... an old McDonald's plate. Someone will buy this for sure. I'm tempted to keep it. I love how everyone my age says the word "burglar" wrong because we're thinking of "hamburg(er)lar" - for real, ever noticed how many 20 somethings say "burg-u-lar" ? Happens all the time. Oh, and for those of you who are going to tell me the character's name is actually "Hamburglar" -- I know you're right, but see Exhibit A: http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sa=X&ei=Z9SUTpT1KLSGsgLLv_XuAQ&ved=0CCYQvgUoAA&q=hamburgular&nfpr=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=33cf3e2011a76961&biw=1280&bih=626 That's right, 88,000 results for "hamburgular" - yes, I know I've digressed.
Back to our table-- I've now started piling things on top of other things. Jesus' figurine is now safe but unfortunately some little puppies have been exiled to the Cali ashtray. They'll live.
I start finding these bedazzled champagne flutes and wine glasses-- they are covered in curling ribbon and stick on adhesive gems... most of them are red and black but throughout the day I find pearl, rhinestone, and lavender flower varieties. Is this a new trend?
We're to the bottom of the bin and now there are things wrapped in bubble wrap, wrapped in newspaper, wrapped in grocery bags, inside grocery bags. This looks promising.
A closeup of the layers of bubble-wrap and newspaper.
It turned out (both of them) to be brand new Eracism mugs from the Natural Museum of... something. I don't remember. History? Black History? I'm not sure. I'm not even hating on the eracism mugs, as it's an incredibly nice and important sentiment. I'm just not sure why the $9.99 mug had to be wrapped like it was something from 17th century China.
A set of Whitney Bank goblets! Nice! Although, what statement does it make? Your bankers drink? Your money is liquid? I don't know. No offense to Whitney. If you want to let me open up an account with you for Saints tickets or one of those fleur-de-lis cards or something, let me know!
A stack of dolphin stuff. Who doesn't like Dolphins?? Putting this stuff aside if my friend Susie wants to buy it...
See Taryn (another friend)-- I told you I had bells for your play. This is like the 4th bell I uncovered in this particular lot-- I think it might actually be some type of valuable metal (though Brian will have to confirm).
Table is getting mighty full again!
There's also an entire set of Christmas dishes, which actually makes me pretty excited because we don't have to deal with Christmas stuff at this moment. Months ago I had this genius idea to make a whole room of the warehouse dedicated to Christmas stuff--- we will have a BLOWOUT Christmas sale right after Thanksgiving-- so for now we just put it in there and forget about it.
Two more Sterilite bins... excited to open them! I wonder what they can be....
Are you kidding me?? Green bin is, you guessed it, Glassware.
Red bin is Glassware too!
At this point I'm freaking, because I already have 2 tables (and underneath of tables) dedicated to glassware, and frankly, that's 2 tables too many. I remember about our "Glassware of Doom" table-- which is a table in the back corner of our alleyway (where we have garage sales) which literally, is where glassware goes to die. I've been meaning to throw these things away for forever, but they are so heavy and accumulate nasty water so I try to only do 10-12 of them at a time (throw them in a box and lug them to the garbage area). It might be time though, with this Glass Dust unit (yes, I renamed it temporarily) to clear off another spot!
I get to work! My work was definitely cut out for me.
In the new glassware bins, I actually find something interesting (imagine that, I was surprised too!) -- we found one of these the first day of the dig and saved it, so I definitely want to save this one too, to research. It's Avon, which doesn't seem that great (no offense, Avon ladies)-- but it's from the early 80s and has a serial number. It also may be silver or silver plate up top, and it's a pretty cool looking stein. On top of that, it contains what she THOUGHT was silver (but isn't).
The outside detail of the Stein.
TThe top silver-looking details of the stein
The bottom of the stein. After looking them up on the all-powerful internet, it turns out Avon made a bunch of these in the early 80s about everything from baseball to aviation. They're only worth about $4-$12 a piece, but they are still pretty cool!
A little piano. It's pretty and pretty cool all at the same time. I kinda want to keep this for my music room.
The bottom is stamped with "Made in Occupied Japan" -- that's not the traditional "Made in ___" stamp, for sure! From what I understand, any item imported into the US from Japan between war and postwar years of 45-52 had to contain "Occupied Japan" or "Made in Occupied Japan" on the item. This makes my piano just a little bit cooler! If anyone wants to make an offer on it, feel free-- otherwise it's going on my bookshelf in my black and white music room!
An owl made completely of seashells- I now officially dub this bin, "the cool bin".
No idea WHAT this is. It's a thing of pottery/ceramic-- shaped like... an iron? But with a faucet coming out of the front, with roses painted on it... and it has two baby ceramic irons inside of it. What is this rose painted iron family?
The baby irons. They even have holes in the front. What gives?
Luckily, I'm thorough and insisted on taking all of the garbage bags and packing peanuts out of this trashcan until I got to the bottom-- the contents of a junk drawer were underneath all of the glassware. Nothing really good, but I'm glad I checked.
Here's all of the unwrapped contents of the red bin -- must have been their "day to day" dishes-- some apple patterned place setting (for 4 people originally, now it's for 3 1/2)... and some ordinary drinking glasses.
A closeup of the red bin dishes.
Look at all of the things I've thrown away in 2 hours!! Brian should be so proud!
All that was left in the van at this point was everything you see in this picture, so I just took it all out and arranged it side by side. I had already gone through most of it the day at the storage unit, but I wanted to check everything just a little more carefully ( I always do, but in this case especially because the lady hid things).
Another picture at what was left. Don't worry, I threw the car seat away. It's not worth it with all of the safety regulations now on car seats and cribs for us to even bother selling them. I don't want to get sued off of something I made $10 on.
The suitcase you saw on Day 1 and some really nice South Louisiana gumbo pots
A jewelry holder thingie, brand new and still in the box
This thing has tons of gift sets, unopened (mainly bath products & candles & potpourri) and a really cool and pretty pillow that's clean enough I may keep it for myself.
Now we have the gift basket where Avon went to die. The sad thing is, you're not even seeing the gift basket in all it's glory. When I found it in the unit, it was covered with fake lavender and white flowers everywhere, white curling ribbon, confetti stuff, all kinds of baby's breath looking things, I threw them all away before Brian killed me. Plus, we really don't want to get dust and dirt in the van and warehouse if we can help it-- and that stuff has zero retail value, so might as just well throw it away then. I left the products though until I could go through them a little better. Most of it was Avon and most of it was Avon deodorant. I didn't even know Avon made deodorant, but yet, here I had 22 different varieties of it.
A few spray bottles had no markings and just suspicious invisible tape on them, so of course they were thrown away stat.
I dont' know how old the "Feelin' Fresh" line is-- but it seems pretty dated. According to its companion deodorant though, its "Timeless" - I wonder if they get in fights.
Ahhh.... there were no vibrators or toys or anything like that, which didn't really surprise me because this was more of an elderly lady estate unit-- but she did have a daughter and a niece living with her from time to time, so I was slightly surprised not to find more things like this. It's not a unit without the EMOTION LOTION!
I finally got to the bottom of this basket and because I'm so thorough, I wanted to check all the way to the bottom because the lady hides things. I had to go through another layer of fake roses, ribbon, a layer of purple confetti, a layer of pink confetti, white confetti,
and two layers of glitter underneath. Was glad I did because I found what SHE thought was a real gold watch and two silver bells. Unsure whether they are real or not real but I'll be sure to let Brian look at them. Here's a closeup:
I turned the basket over the trashbag to dump out some of the glitter and mess that was left, and this is what I see on the bottom of the basket: "Thank you for choosing kewanna's "any occasion" baskets from "Kewanna"" -- no WONDER. This explains SO much. No dig against Kewanna-- I'm sure the basket was ORDERED to contain so much pink and lavender stuff it makes ME even uncomfortable (and I like girlie things)-- and the avon and motion lotion and other things may have been added later. Although, maybe I SHOULD be hard on Kewanna because she puts her own name in quotation marks. From now on, I'd like you all to refer to me as "Rebecca". It's like "JUST JACK!" from Will & Grace. And BTW, there is an actual Kewanna, Indiana-- so please don't try calling these phone numbers-- no idea where the stuff originated. Had there been an area code I would have blocked them out. But there isn't. So just don't try calling them. And if you do, let me know what happens-- but I definitely didn't condone or suggest it!
Next is the little suitcase which I had already gone through (remember the books?) but I went through it again and found this Aeropostale Beach Towel hidden in a little compartment. Awesome. I always wanted to try one of these to see if it really expands (and no I'm not being sarcastic).
Finally, the very last thing is a laundry basket full of freshly laundered white towels. I normally don't keep towels or sheets at ALL because it's not like it's designer clothing (it sells for very little) and it can contain fleas, ticks, mites, etc-- especially not in a unit this dusty-- but they were well covered and obviously freshly laundered, and we always get people who need things for their bare homes, so I decided to keep them. Of course I now wanted to take them all out and make sure there was nothing else in the hamper.
At the bottom of the hamper there WERE some things, another junk drawer, likely:
There was a pretty cool copper and turquoise belt that you can see in the picture, a DVD player remote control, and a few other knick-knacks. There were also 3 or 4 pieces of paper that caught my attention.
We hadn't gotten any letters or cards or notes yet in this locker so I was a little disappointed about that-- but here we go, some make-shift Father's Day cards.
And finally, this. Do you think Brian would be upset with me if I told him I found $500 in the locker? ;)
I will also point out that in this unit we found $700-$800 worth of gold in a purse inside a garbage bag, and in a locked trunk that we physically have to bust open, we find paperwork. Figures. Oh, the irony. I guess one man's trash is another man's treasure, and vice versa--- and don't get me wrong, Hurricane Katrina taught everyone 200 miles away from me how important photos are-- I just don't get locking up Popeyes, Walgreens, and McDonalds receipts.
Okay, so back to the digging-- we've done a day at the unit, the trunk busting, a day at the garage sale, and now I'm back for more on day 3 (today). I finished in about 2 1/2 hours, not bad considering (Brian was checking out some units at one of our favorite auctions, that we will purposely not list here because we want it to remain one of our favorite auctions)-- and I was on my own, which I almost prefer when digging. But it still wasn't too bad, considering.
Before I get into today let me quickly show you what garage sale day yielded:
Okay--- that was exhilarating Day 2. Day 3 (today) started with a quick inventory of what was still inside the van:
I started with this box... which turned out to be...
Instead, the first package I go to open pokes me. Literally scratches me. I look and see staples and nails poking out of the newspaper. Interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94B7Hr512Xc
Oh, and the little blue bag? It contained bullets:
T
I turned the basket over the trashbag to dump out some of the glitter and mess that was left, and this is what I see on the bottom of the basket: "Thank you for choosing kewanna's "any occasion" baskets from "Kewanna"" -- no WONDER. This explains SO much. No dig against Kewanna-- I'm sure the basket was ORDERED to contain so much pink and lavender stuff it makes ME even uncomfortable (and I like girlie things)-- and the avon and motion lotion and other things may have been added later. Although, maybe I SHOULD be hard on Kewanna because she puts her own name in quotation marks. From now on, I'd like you all to refer to me as "Rebecca". It's like "JUST JACK!" from Will & Grace. And BTW, there is an actual Kewanna, Indiana-- so please don't try calling these phone numbers-- no idea where the stuff originated. Had there been an area code I would have blocked them out. But there isn't. So just don't try calling them. And if you do, let me know what happens-- but I definitely didn't condone or suggest it!
Next is the little suitcase which I had already gone through (remember the books?) but I went through it again and found this Aeropostale Beach Towel hidden in a little compartment. Awesome. I always wanted to try one of these to see if it really expands (and no I'm not being sarcastic).
Finally, the very last thing is a laundry basket full of freshly laundered white towels. I normally don't keep towels or sheets at ALL because it's not like it's designer clothing (it sells for very little) and it can contain fleas, ticks, mites, etc-- especially not in a unit this dusty-- but they were well covered and obviously freshly laundered, and we always get people who need things for their bare homes, so I decided to keep them. Of course I now wanted to take them all out and make sure there was nothing else in the hamper.
At the bottom of the hamper there WERE some things, another junk drawer, likely:
We hadn't gotten any letters or cards or notes yet in this locker so I was a little disappointed about that-- but here we go, some make-shift Father's Day cards.
Three Father's day cards. All made out in the same handwriting to the same person. I sure hope that Dmyria is the name of a man, otherwise this kid is seriously confused about what "Father's Day" means. Unless that's the single Mom, in which case it's kind of sweet. I also like how they put the last name.
When you flip them over, even though they are all done exactly the same and to exactly the same person, the "From" names are all very very different. Our choices are Tanoy, Trent, and Pickle Pickle. I think this kid IS confused. But it's still really cute. Maybe Dmyria is the writer of the card and these are the 3 recipients? I guess I'll never know. Still cute. How do you like THAT for "Letters from Storage Lockers?"
And finally, this. Do you think Brian would be upset with me if I told him I found $500 in the locker? ;)
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