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View Full Version : Wow! I've been in picker heaven all morning!



Thumper
04-21-2015, 03:12 PM
I went to a 3-4 estate sales last week, but the last one was one of those that I usually don't get too excited over. The lady who runs the sale mostly handles sales for little old lady Yankee types who have moved down here to retire and bought everything new. I like piles of junk. So, although I occassionally find a few odds and ends at her sales, I usually schedule them last and hit the others first. Last weekend she had two sales going (one on the south end of town and one on the north end). I only picked up one item and she commented on the fact I didn't find anything. I told her I like old "junk" ... the junkier the better! She then told me to give her a call Tuesday morning (today) and she'd give me the address of a place she'd like me to see. (I've been attending her sales for a couple years and have gotten to know her pretty well) She said she has to prep a "hoarder house" for a sale this weekend and she knows I'd love the place. So, first thing this morning, my buddy comes by, we make the call and she said she'll meet us there.

WOW!!!! Talk about cool JUNQUE!!! This place is stacked floor to ceiling with stuff. EVERYTHING you can imagine. I couldn't quite figure what these people were in to, there was such a variety, it was hard to tell. I asked her about the previous residents and was told it was a sister and brother who never married, but lived together all their lives. They'd been in that same house for almost 65 years and by the looks of it, never threw ANYTHING away! (no garbage, just ... well ... STUFF!) I don't know who passed away first, but evidently there's no family who's interested in anything there as it ALL goes! This place was heaven on earth to my buddy and me and we went crazy. He bought a truckload of stuff (literally) and we dragged it all home, but I have a HUGE pile going and will be returning tomorrow and again on Thursday to continue digging. The gal running the sale said the more I haul out of there, the less she has to fool with. Talk about a neat "in" ... the actual (public) estate sale doesn't run until Friday and Saturday.

There's a huge garage completely packed with tools, etc. and I don't think anything new has been purchased since the 50's! WWII items out the wazoo. OLD camping stuff ... prolly 20 Coleman lanterns ... some look like the first ones ever produced. There are gunstock blanks (4-5) and tons of old Boy Scout stuff (he was a scout leader for years from what I can tell). There's a really neat canoe hanging from the rafters in the garage, but I have no idea what it is persactly. It's "old-style" fiberglass, has a transome for a motor on the back and web seats. Really cool looking and obviously old, but I can't find a name anywhere on it. This place has every hand tool known to man ... as well as old, antique power tools. I have a truckload of stuff piled up, but haven't even made an offer yet as I'll be back over there tomorrow and probably again on Thursday. I just spent the last 6 hours digging and haven't even scratched the surface. I'm just going to pile it up then offer a "buy-it-all" price.

No doubt about it ... I'm in heaven this week! I'm gonna be dreaming about this stuff until I can manage to drag it all home. :D

Oh yeah, I dug out a shitload of cast iron. Everything from old griddles, frying pans w/lids and a couple of Dutch ovens. Believe it or not, I never even turned ONE of them over to check the manufacturer ... I was too busy digging. I'll bet I have 20-25 pieces stacked up! Can't wait to see what it is! ;)

Big Skyz
04-21-2015, 03:25 PM
If he was into scouting and had a canoe there's got to be some cool fishing stuff in there somewhere. Tell me if you find anything?

Thumper
04-21-2015, 03:39 PM
Found some old reels ... not the greatest condition. My buddy did pick up an old fly reel that looked pretty cool. No clue if it's worth anything. We were so busy digging, we didn't have time to research anything. He filled the back of my pick-up and paid $100 for the lot. No telling what all he has in there.

I was at a sale last weekend that had about 5-6 old wood (bamboo?) rods ... they weren't priced and were one of those "make offer" deals. I didn't pay much attention to them. There was also a pile of old reels, but it looked like most had been used for saltwater fishing. That's common down here and it usually makes a mess of them if they aren't maintained properly.

Bwana
04-21-2015, 03:43 PM
Man does that sound like a blast Thump, thanks for sharing your adventures!

Buckrub
04-21-2015, 03:54 PM
You know..........maybe I'm the guy who thinks of odd stuff..........BUT.........I find it very odd that SO MANY people die and have estate sales within driving distance of you. I bet there ain't one a month around here...........

What's in y'all's water?

Arty
04-21-2015, 04:04 PM
You know..........maybe I'm the guy who thinks of odd stuff..........BUT.........I find it very odd that SO MANY people die and have estate sales within driving distance of you. I bet there ain't one a month around here........... What's in y'all's water?

Population density.
Has to be 14,000,000 old people within 20 minutes of Thump.

Buckrub
04-21-2015, 04:07 PM
Hmmm.

Hard to imagine him calling that Paradise then. We don't have 3,000,000 in this whole state. And it's way too crowded.

LJ3
04-21-2015, 04:27 PM
Get me some camera crap! STAT! I would love to do that man... One man's junk is my treasure!

Nandy
04-21-2015, 04:30 PM
Population density.
Has to be 14,000,000 old people within 20 minutes of Thump.

14,000.001, you forgot to count Kribbo...

Thumper
04-21-2015, 05:19 PM
You know..........maybe I'm the guy who thinks of odd stuff..........BUT.........I find it very odd that SO MANY people die and have estate sales within driving distance of you. I bet there ain't one a month around here........... What's in y'all's water?

Conway has no cemetary? No funeral homes? People don't die there? Heck, what's in YOUR water? ;)

Actually, we have excellent water here. Yankees get old. Old Yankees can't stand the cold. Old Yankees move to Florida and enjoy the sunshine 'til they die. Result? A house full of stuff that needs to be sold so the house itself can be sold so all the kids who are too busy working in New York City to come here and fool with it, can split the cash from mom and dad's estate ... so they call an estate sale company, tell them the key is hidden under the welcome mat and a sale is planned!!! Occassionally a family member will fly down and scarf up any family heirloom they can mail home or carry back on the airplane with them, but many times, they don't even want the old family photos.

You have a truck don't you? Our "little" town has a little over 100,000 people ... Conway has about 65,000. But, we have a couple of neighboring towns, one to the west and one to the east and each have about 36,000 people. I try to limit my range to a 25-30 mile radius as any more than that, there are just too many dang choices. If I want to drive a bit farther, I've got Tampa to the west and Orlando to the east ... but there are elebenty-bazillion sales every weekend in each of those cities.

You have estate sales ... you just don't look for them. If you just want to walk down the street and check one out, you prolly ain't gonna find anything. You're 30 miles from Little Rock. If you want to make the drive, you'll find a bazillion sales. If you don't want to go farther than battery range on your Jazzy, there's a 4-day sale this weekend in Sherwood.

Buckrub
04-21-2015, 05:34 PM
Have two Jazzy's. Batteries shot. Giving them away if I can find a home for them. They're at the farm.

People die here. They leave two bluetick hounds and a rick of firewood, usually.