I wasn’t going to post to this thread since my bargains are never so outrageous. But Mr. Hawk just called me up chortling. He has just purchased a pair of $70 Brazilian loafers for $7.25. How come I never find this good stuff?
Sorry, but what is a White Elephant story?
White Elephant would be something you would receive from someone because they received it as a gift and cannot ( out of conscience) sell it, and it (presumably) hard to give the WEG away.
I once outfitted myself for skiing for $10 for down hill skis, $10 for ski pants (new) $30 for X country skis (new skis/bindings/old shoes that leaked, but I wore plastic bags on my feet over my socks to resolve the problem) and poles ( that I used for downhill.) All from either resale shops or ski swaps.
And entire set of womens golf clubs for $20 ( if I took all the woman’s baby clothes at this garage sale) which are used, but considering how often I’ve gone out on the course ( never) and go to the dome ( never) or have been asked ( never) it was a steal. I was offered $100 for them and I wish I had given in. Took the baby clothes I needed, the rest I sold to a resale shop.
A nearly complete set of children’s books (4) that sell for $10 a peice new, for $2 at a resale shop. I was soooo happy when I landed that.
Another story: I was at a moving sale, and I got a microwave, a shelf system, and two neutered, front-declawed, and very friendly cats all for $5.
My biggest garage sale regret came when I passed over a ColecoVision complete with paddles, small TV, and BurgerTime, all for $2.
I got several high-quality men’s fedora-type hats in a very desirable size for $2 apiece at a thrift store.
My first car cost $50 cash in 1999. It was a 1986 Subaru GL sedan. It needed some brake work that my father did, costing $50 in parts. It only lasted a year before something went in the motor and it burst into flames in mid-drive, but $100 still isn’t much to spend on a car.
We found a vintage 1950s diner-style Hamilton Beach milkshake machine, made of metal covered with enamel in that Nifty Fifties minty turquoise color, with chrome trim and a chrome whirring spindle, and three big cups, in perfect working order, for $20 at a yard sale. The modern, smaller, all-plastic version cost $40 at Lechters.
4 months ago - 5 - 15" IBM SVGA monitors, lightly used with swivel bases in perfect shape for $ 5.00 each at Salvation Army.
Last week - Open box HP Pavilion 510n with 1.2 gigahertz Athlon / 256 megs RAM + 40 gig hard drive + CDRW + XP Home + keyboard + speakers - missing mouse, install CDs and and docs for $ 235.00 with full warranty from Circuit City -
Well I am a garage sale person so I have made a few good deals and had a few pass me by.
My two best bargains are a set of stainless flatware purchased at a garages sale for $2.50. It turned out to be a Danish modern dansk pattern. The set sold for over $900 on ebay, it went to the Frank Lloyd Wright Museum.
But my favorite deal was an antique coke machine that I purchased sight unseen out of the paper for $235.00. To make a long story short it turned out to be a vendo 81 7up machine which restored is worth about $9500.00
My kids won’t let me sell the 7up machine; it is in my den full of beer and cokes.
Formal dress for 17.50. Looks great. Yay me.
A few years ago I was at our 24-hour Walmart just after midnight, and I see them wheel out four display pallets of Sorel boots. On sale for $15 a pair, marked down from $90-100.
So I bought six pair which equals about 30 years of winter boots for me.
Does this count? I paid $24 for some stock that I sold a year later for $20,000.
My golden retriever was only $250 from a breeder. Prices are typically two to three times that. Without a doubt, it’s the best money I’ve ever spent.
I thought of another one…a couple years ago we went up to Tahoe in March and I’d forgotton to bring my winter coat. (It was already in the 70’s in the Bay area and I forgot it was still winter in the mountains.) My current coat was beat-to-hell anyway so I decided to just get a coat when I got up there, but – surprise! No one is selling winter coats in March. Finally I found a sad rack of coats on clearance in the Gottschalks in Carson City. There was a really nice London Fog in my size and I brought it up to the register. The checkout girl said “do you have the coupon from the paper?” and I said no, I was just passing through so she told me to go to the customer service counter and ask for one of the 40% off coupons for that day. I ended up getting a brand-new $200 jacket for about $60. Not a “Ross” or “TJMaxx” sized bargain, but really good for a regular store I think. I also thought it was really nice of the cashier to tell me about the extra discount – it’s not like there was anything in it for her.
Another interesting thrift find: I picked up a set of Williams-Sonoma salad plates for 50 cents each. I didn’t think anything of it because I assumed they were someone’s old pattern or something. I went to the mall later that day and saw they were still selling that same pattern for $8 a plate!
Lib, your bargin counts only if you share it with me 
A dress from Bebe that was originally $180…I got it for $39!
When I lived in Ottawa, everyone was wearing these adorable beige suede shoes. I wanted a pair so I went shpping around. They were going from $50-60 bucks. I was like; “No thanks, my skechers clogs will have to do for work shoes this winter”.
Then I moved back to Peterborough and the boxing day sales rolled around. Sears was selling already marked down shoes at 40% off. I found a pair of beige suede lace-ups that were originally $50, marked down to $30, then 40% off that. So I paid less than $20 for them in the end.
They look fabulous, stylish, and they are the most comfortable shoes I own.
Also, there is a hard-to-find (on VHS, anyway) Woody Allen movie that Madonna had a cameo in. I snatched it up for $2 when a movie rental store went out of business.
If you want show bargains… I’ve got a pair of Prada Shoes for $91, and the Guccis were just over a hundred. The retail on either was obscene. Ineed more shoes.
An American first edition of my favorite book, 1984 by George Orwell, for only $26 at a used book store.
And at the same bookstore I found a very early draft of Orson Scott Card’s Shadow Puppets. It’s one of those drafts that are sent out to proofreaders. At first I thought it was an amazing find. Then I read it.
that should be shoe :smack:
I’m confused… you bought something from goodwill, and then sold it to make money? Isn’t goodwill for the people who really need stuff?
just wondering 
/Shadez