This Old Town Canoe is a keeper !

Despite my thrifty nature, I don't always sell every single thing I find at the garage sales. Some stuff is just too good to re-sell. I've had more then my share of keepers like a Keurig coffee maker, tools, clothes, etc. A few years ago I came across a really big keeper. It was an Old Town canoe and get this....I found it in the trash! (In case you're wondering...yeah, it even floats!) Finding this incredible keeper was all about being in the right place at the right time!

The story began on a dark, cold winter evening. I was in full "Lazy Sunday" mode; loafing around the house and watching television. But the relaxation would soon end when Mrs. Dude returned from her weekly trip to the local Target store. As she carried in the first of many red and white Target bags, she casually remarked, "In case you're interested, I just saw a canoe out at the trash." This was huge! So huge in fact that I am amazed at how casually Mrs. Dude threw out this monumental news. In retrospect, maybe she was acting low-key in the hopes of keeping me calm? Mrs. Dude knows how crazy I get over a good trash pick, particularly when it's something as insane as a canoe! But it was about to get more insane when Mrs. Dude then added, "Oh by the way, it sort of looks like an Old Town canoe."

It takes a lot to move me off the couch on a cold Sunday evening, but this news hit me like a thunderbolt! I jumped up and sprang into action! If you're wondering why, it's because Old Town canoes are the Cadillacs of the lakes...the Harley Davidson of the streams...the Apple computer of....well, you get the idea. They're the very best canoe on the market. Oh yeah and one more thing....they cost a lot of money! 

So while Mrs. Dude was calm and non-chalant over the canoe...I was the complete opposite! With lots of lakes and creeks in my area, I knew a canoe was not going to stay out at the curb for very long. Jumping on one leg as I tried to slip a boot on the other, I told Mrs. Dude that we had to get that canoe right now! Mrs. Dude was not thrilled with the idea of joining me on this recovery mission. It was dark and cold outside with a few of inches of frozen snow on the ground. (The kind of depressing mid-winter night that causes people to Google Florida trips and Caribbean cruises.) Giving me one of those, "Do I really have to go?" looks, Mrs. Dude suggested I grab one of the kids and use my truck to retrieve the canoe. Imagining my canoe slipping away, I pleaded with her, "No, No, No...we don't have much time! It'll be gone by then!" Seeing that I was getting hysterical, Mrs. Dude let out a sigh and grabbed her keys. We headed out into the darkness, Mrs. Dude as the driver and me once again serving as ninja trash picker!

Although our destination was only a few minutes away, I worried that some like-minded picker would beat me to the canoe. Seeing another person pick up that canoe would have crushed me emotionally for weeks! But as we pulled up to the house, I was relieved when the canoe was still there resting in the snow. I instructed Mrs. Dude to pull up alongside the canoe, thereby establishing our rightful claim by reason of proximity. The house where the canoe was located was for sale. Jumping out of the van, I heard people talking in the garage. Quickly looking the canoe over, I confirmed it was definitely Old Town! Looking further, I noticed the bench seat was broken in half and the plastic bow cap was missing. Other then that, it looked darn good!

Still unable to wrap my head around the fact that an Old Town canoe was out in trash, I decided to check with the homeowner. The owners were busy in their garage packing moving boxes. The wife stood up to talk and I sputtered excitedly that I just happened to be driving by and was wondering if the canoe was being thrown away? She confirmed that it was, explaining they were ditching the canoe to avoid the hassle of moving it. Still thinking there had to be some kind of catch, I asked her if there was anything wrong with the canoe? She explained that although it floated, the canoe had been damaged after washing down a creek in a rainstorm. The extent of the damage? The broken bench and missing bow cap I'd spotted.

Great for family excursions and keeping firewood dry!

That's all I needed to hear. The "damage" was fixable as far as I was concerned. I thanked the lady and headed back down the driveway. Mrs. Dude was warm and cozy inside the minivan as I popped open the rear hatch and began folding down the back seats. The winter wind blew through the van and I detected some  incredulity in Mrs. Dude's voice when she realized what I was trying to do. Glaring up at the rear view mirror, she yelled back at me, "You're going to put that thing in here? It's not going to fit!" But it was too late, I was already inside the van pulling the canoe behind me. I must have had that crazy trash-picker look in my eye because Mrs. Dude then tried reason on me, "Hold on...let's go home and get your truck!"

Using my truck would have made more sense. After all, a truck has something called a "bed" which is designed to transport large items, like say....a canoe. But as I wrestled the 15 foot behemoth into narrow confines of the mini-van, I explained to Mrs. Dude there was no way in God's green earth I was leaving without the canoe. I knew that if I left it, even if it were for just a few minutes, I'd never lay eyes on that canoe again!

So we stayed put and with each yank and grunt, I slowly pulled the canoe into the van. It was a miracle I didn't throw my back out! I finally stopped pulling when my backside was up against the front dash of the mini van. It was a dicey situation to say the least. Had Mrs. Dude floored the gas, both me and the canoe could have flown right out the back! But it was a risk I was willing to take. After bracing myself and gripping the back of the canoe, I asked Mrs. Dude to begin the slow drive home. With my body jammed up against the front dash it was an uncomfortable ride for me. In fact, I am pretty sure my rear end changed the radio station every time we hit a bump! After a few minutes and a couple of station changes, we made it safely home.

Despite all the challenges involved, my trash picked canoe was well worth the effort. While the canoe had some minimal damage, it was remedied with some easy repairs. I tore out the busted seat and replaced it with a wood seat cut out of scrap wood. I then ordered a replacement bow cap from Old Town that snapped easily in place. After total repair costs of around $50 dollars the canoe looked great. I also saved a ton of money when compared to buying a new canoe. The exact 15 foot model I salvaged from the curb sells for $1500 dollars at LL Bean!  Not too shabby, right? Since making the repairs, the canoe has been on many family excursions down local creeks and lakes. Like I said, some finds are definitely worth keeping!

What kind of awesome "keepers" have you found? Tell us all about it in the comment section!






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Cheap Nike & Adidas running shoes

At the garage sales there are certain items I'll buy up without any hesitation. As long as the price is right, it's the type of stuff I can easily re-sell it for way more money then I paid. If you follow my blog recently, you know I have an ever expanding list. Among my "sure thing" items are; American Girl Dolls, Pottery Barn, Carhartt coats and jackets, Under Armour Golf shirts and Harry Potter Legos  just to name a few. Today I want to pass along another "must-buy" item: new sneakers still in the box.

In previous blogs, I've talked up the value of certain vintage sneakers, but today I am singing the praises of brand new sneakers! They can be running shoes, basketball shoes, or whatever, just as long as they are a major name brand and new in the original box! If you rack your brain for a minute, you probably remember seeing a pair of new sneakers in the box at a yard sale. I don't know what it is, but when folks clean out their house in preparation for a yard sale, many come across at least one pair of new sneakers to sell. It could be running shoes they bought but didn't fit right. Or maybe they were a Christmas or birthday gift and they couldn't stand the color. There's even the classic New Year's resolution purchase. This is the person who buys running shoes with the best intentions to start "working out" in the new year. Unfortunately they never quite get around to it. Whatever the reason, I love it when I see brand new shoeboxes at a yard sale!

However, it's not always easy finding those shoeboxes. Searching for them at a yard sale is something like looking for water in the desert. Just when you think you've found a pair, it turns out to be a mirage! The problem is folks also use shoe boxes to store their junk collections. More then once, I've excitedly pulled the lid off a shoe box only to find worthless stuff like old curlers or clothespins inside. It can be a major bummer!

Adidas running shoes for cheap!

But despite the false alarms, the search will ultimately pay off when you finally find a new pair of sneakers! Take this awesome Adidas running shoes for example. I found these last Fall at a busy family garage sale. When I opened the Adidas box, I knew I had a pretty good score on my hands. With tags till attached to the shoes, it was clear the shoes had never been worn. They looked like they were fresh from Dick's Sporting Goods! The shoes were priced at ten dollars. This was a little rich for my blood, so I went to speak to the Mom about a possible price reduction. Mom was busy bouncing between her kid's, neighbors and other customers. I finally got her attention, asking if she would take five dollars for the shoes? Mom thought about it for a moment, but then decided to Pow-Wow with her husband on the price. Telling him that I was offering five bucks, Dad got visibly annoyed and mumbled in exasperation, "Five bucks? They're brand new!" I could see this guy was going to be trouble.

He was right of course-they were brand new. But this was a garage sale in his driveway-not the Footlocker store down at the local mall! Dad's reaction told me he could be a major impediment in landing the deal. When dealing with these awkward moments, I've found the best way to diffuse the situation is to respond with the following statement, "Well....I just don't know if they will like them." This should be said with a sense of bewildered indecision-as if you're not even sure if you want to buy them, much less pay full blown asking price! (For maximum effect, it helps to be scratching the top of your head when saying this.) Throwing out this innocent remark can help the seller understand your predicament. Why would anyone overpay for sneakers if "they" might not like them? Now of course, "they" might mean you're referring to your son or daughter...or you might not. In my case, when I say "they" I am usually referring to my eBay buyers! The point you're trying to make is that you're taking a risk in buying the sneakers. This little power of suggestion can help nudge the seller towards your way of thinking. It worked on the annoyed Dad. After I made that remark, he grudgingly agreed to sell the Adidas running shoes for my offer of five bucks!

The psychological warfare now behind me, I arrived home and looked up this particular style of Adidas shoes on eBay. I learned that similar Adidas shoes were selling for as much as $80 dollars! Hopefully I was going make just as much. I didn't list right away though. I deciding to wait until the holidays to sell my Adidas shoes. A brand new pair of running shoes makes a great gift and always attracts more bids during the holiday season. Once the holidays rolled around, I posted the shoes at auction. My five dollar Adidas shoes ended up selling for $65 dollars!

Just another "sure-thing" as far as I am concerned. Make sure you add new sneakers (still in the box) to your growing list of yard sale "must-buys"!

Have you sold any new sneakers or shoes? Tell us about it in the comment section below......    





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A "new" Lego set found suspiciously cheap !

 I've been around the  block a few times when it comes to wheeling and dealing at garage sales. All those years have taught me you take your chances on anything you buy out there. Sellers will sometimes stretch the truth, or even downright lie when trying to sell you something. So I've come to expect the fact that some people may occasionally try pull a fast one on me. But it's important that I point out I specified people....as in grownups. Last week I had an experience that was a little different. For the first time in my garage sale picking career, I was snookered by a kid! Talk about embarrassing!

What a new Lego set looks like

This juvenile larceny took place at a typical suburban garage sale. Mom, Dad and their three kids were all participating in the sale. As with many family garage sales, the kids had their separate little table. Most of the kid stuff was junk, but then I eyed a large Lego box sitting on the table.  Removing some toys resting on top of the box, I spotted a price tag of $5 dollars. You could tell from the scribbled handwriting it had been written by a kid. Picking up the box, I noticed one lid was still factory sealed, while the opposite end was closed with a bunch of scotch tape.

This box had my full attention. Lego sets such as Star Wars, Harry Potter and Indiana Jones can sell for big bucks on eBay. A few years back, I made close to $200 dollars on a sealed Harry Potter Lego set. This set was a fire engine truck called "Creator Fire Rescue." Though not as popular as Star Wars or Harry Potter, if it was unopened with the pieces still sealed in packs, it could be a money maker. But I needed to know the story on the suspicious looking taped lid. I hoped the box had been briefly opened then resealed, leaving the inside untouched. Either that or the set was "used" and someone was trying to keep the pieces from falling out. Summoning up my best investigative garage sale skills, I shook the box. There was no messy sound of loose parts rattling and sliding around inside. With too much tape to remove, the easiest thing to do was just ask the seller. The family was scattered throughout the driveway. Asking no one in particular, I blurted out loud, "Is this Lego set new?" At that, the Dad summoned over his son, who I guessed to be around twelve years old. Still shaking the box to listen inside, I asked the young man, "Hey buddy, is this new?" The kid stared long at the box, then glanced up at me, "Oh yeah, I never played with it...it's new." I thought it was a little strange that a kid wouldn't play with a Lego set, but some kids are fickle. Who knows-maybe junior just didn't like fire engine sets? The kid seemed sincere enough and how can you not trust an innocent looking twelve year old, right? Satisfied it was new, while also not wanting to doubt the young man's personal integrity, I peeled off a five dollar bill and handed it to the budding aluminum siding salesman....ummm kid.

After a few more yards sale stops, I headed home with some decent scores including my brand new Lego set. A few hours later, I prepped the Lego set for an eBay photo shoot. Normally when I open a new set I know exactly what to expect. Lego sets contain pieces that are packaged in clear plastic packs. When listing on eBay, it's important to show all those packs so buyers know what they're getting. In order to show the packs-I needed to open the box. Using my trusty penknife, I carefully removed the multiple strips of scotch tape that sealed the box lid. With the tape removed, I eagerly peered inside looking for the much anticipated plastic packs. But when I squinted into the box my heart dropped. Either Lego had radically changed how they pack their sets......or I'd been snookered!

The Lego pieces were not factory sealed inside neat little packs like I expected. Heck no....this was a more like Dixie cup packaging instead! All the parts had been dumped into individual plastic party cups. These cups were then stacked and wedged in long rows inside the box. (This explained why I didn't hear a lot of loose pieces when I shook the box.) Like a college kid cleaning up after a frat party, I poured out the half filled cups like so much stale beer. Once the cups were all poured onto the table, I could tell it wasn't even a complete set! Larger parts like tires and base pieces were missing. Making matters worse, there was dog hair mixed in with the pieces. You might imagine this could be a minor gross out factor to a potential buyer! On the bright side, I rationalized that maybe that kid didn't fib to me after all. Perhaps he told me the truth and really didn't play with the set. Judging from all the K-9 hair, it was probably his dog who opened the set! Yeah that's it...it was the dog see? But whether it was Fido or the kid, it was going to now cost more time and labor in cleaning up this not-so-new set. With this disappointing discovery, the set's value had gone from a potential of around $60 dollars on eBay, to maybe $5 to $10 as used "parts" lot. So much for new!

My "new" Lego set!

Oh well, live and learn right? Even though the kid got me, it was partly my own fault. Despite the kid's innocent assurance that the set was new, I still should have looked inside. I am more amused how the youngster scammed me with his poker face bluff. The kid has a future playing championship poker in Vegas some day!  That's how it goes at the garage sales-win some...lose some. But jeez...if you can't trust a kid, who can you trust?

Have you ever been snookered on a yard sale deal? (If so, I hope it wasn't by a kid!) Tell your story in the comment section below....






 
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Tiger Woods, Nike Dri-Fit golf shirts & Under Armour HeatGear golf shirts ...all found at low, low prices

The  garage sale season kicked into high gear this past weekend! After a long winter of thrift store shopping only, I was ready to finally get outside and spend some dough. I mapped out six homes to hit. Unfortunately of the six sales, four were not really worth my time and effort. But one sale turned out to be a homerun. I arrived at the house early and found the seller had a simple pricing strategy. Nearly every item she tagged was one dollar! I walked away with some good stuff, including a  dollar box containing some pricey computer DJ mixing gear. I intend to separate the the gear into three different auction lots. I am pretty confident this particular dollar find will net me at least one hundred buckaroos after all is said and done. That's a pretty good start to the season!

Speaking of selling, I've commenced my seasonal listing of golf shirts. The golf shirt season is as anticipated as the swallows returning to Capistrano! There are two important events that signal this money making season-warm weather and the playing of the first big golf tournament of the year -The Masters. These two opening events serve as a starting bell for most golfers to get out and play. Likewise, these duffers will also buy some new shirts to start the season off right. (I've played some golf and believe me, if you can't play well, you can at least look like you do by wearing a nice shirt!) Once the golf shirt season kicks off in April, it reaches a fevered crescendo in June when the US Open is played. This year, the Open will be at the prestigious Merion Country Club located outside of Philadelphia. I actually found two Merion shirts with the famous Merion CC basket pin stitched on the upper chest. These shirts will be perfectly timed for auction right when players like Tiger Woods are teeing off at the Open!

Overall, my collection of golf shirt is impressive! After many thrift shop trips over the winter, I've

accumulated a bright, colorful array of popular brand name golf shirts. Most are "pre-owned" but some are new with manufacturer's tags still attached! While I could sell golf shirts all year around, I don't think it makes sense to sell in the winter when half the golfers in the country are in hibernation. Since I run mostly auctions, I want to attract as many eager bidders as possible! In my mind, that's in the spring when golf is on television and in the news. Until then, my shirts stay in winter storage

Ready for auction!

awaiting the start of the golf season. I have to admit that as my inventory grew over the winter months, I would often stand back with pride and admire all the shirts neatly lined up in a row. I felt like a lumberjack after he chopped and stacked a nice cord of firewood in preparation for the season! Only instead of a cord of wood, I have a cord of golf shirts. The hard work accumulating this inventory should be well worth it. I wouldn't be surprised if the shirts collectively earn me close to a thousand dollars once they're all sold! That's beats a pile of firewood any day! 

I've recently noticed some other bloggers singing the praises of several brands not cited here, including Adidas and Callaway. I have to tell you that unless you got the shirt for free, or it's new with tags attached, those other brands will not make you  any dough.  Best to leave them on the Goodwill rack! Sure, you may get a sale, but typically we're talking in the ten dollar range. When you back out the $4 dollars you paid for the shirt, your eBay and Paypal fees the profit might come in at around 4 dollars. Puleeze....not worth the effort! Stick to the big dogs that I cite and you should do well.

When it comes to selling golf shirts, I've had the most success with Nike Dri-Fit and Under Armour HeatGear brands. Nike Dri-Fit is very popular and will always make you money. However the Nike "Tiger Woods" line of shirts is a step above standard Dri-Fit, fetching you even higher bids. Under Amour shirts are very popular too, particularly their "HeatGear" line.  For example, recently I bought an Under Armour HeatGear golf shirt for $4 bucks at Goodwill and flipped it for $30 dollars. Another "can't lose" brand is "The Masters" line of golf shirts. These shirts have the famous Masters Logo on the upper chest and always generate lots of bidding action. The one seen here was also snagged at Goodwill for $4 bucks. I sold it using an eBay auction for $30 dollars-a typical closing price for this line of shirts. If you find any of these shirts brand new with tags attached it's your lucky day! You can tack on at least another five to ten dollars on the final selling price.

How's your luck with golf shirts? Have you done well with any brands that I left out? Give us a shout in the comment section below.....




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Vintage Marx toys in the thrift store

A few days ago, I received a very nice e-mail from a reader named Trey. He wanted to give me the heads up on a sweet find he uncovered at his local Goodwill store. Check out his story below....

Hey Dude,

Just wanted to share a pretty decent find I had at my local Goodwill. It's because of reading your site that I even thought about finding things to resell. Goodwill has those big gallon Ziploc bags of toys and I usually don't pay them much attention but this one stood out to me. It had these little miniature figurines and upon closer inspection they were United States Presidents. 

I bought the entire bag of random toys and the Presidents for $2.50. After doing some

Hail to the Chiefs...a couple bucks turns into $30!

research, I found out these were 1950-60's toys made by Marx. I counted my set and had 32 but I was three Presidents short from having a complete set. I decided to list it BIN/OBO on eBay for $30  plus shipping . This morning I received a BO for $20 which I countered, but before the buyer could respond someone paid my full $30 price! Not a bad profit for those toys! (Even though part of me wanted to keep them for my collection.)

Just thought I'd let you know about these so you could be on the look out in case you ever ran across them on your excursions.

Keep up the good work!....Trey

What a great flip! Think about it-what can $2.50 buy you any more? If you're lucky, maybe a Starbucks coffee or the sunday paper? Trey turned $2.50 into thirty big ones! Major props also to Trey for his eagle-eye skills in spotting those little Marx figures in a plastic bag. I often see those Goodwill "grab bags" on the shelves. Like Trey, I'll admit I occasionally overlook them. My nonchalant attitude is based on having looked inside those bags many times, only to find them filled with cheap toys from someone's McDonald's' Happy Meal. However Trey's score proves those bags shouldn't be ignored. You just never know what you're  going to find inside!

It's not every day you find a bunch of old Marx toys just sitting in a Goodwill store. Marx went out of business in 1978.  During their glory days the company made all kinds of toys and play sets. Here's what the well-known website, Collector's Weekly says about Marx toys:

"In 1955, "Time" magazine declared Louis Marx the “Toy King” of the United States. That’s not surprising, considering it’s likely that every child—and parent—in the country had played with at least one of his toys at that point. Today, Louis Marx and Company is perhaps best known for its early wind-up tinplate toys, yo-yos, HO and O scale train sets, and plastic playsets depicting everything from European battlefields to prehistoric dinosaur-filled landscapes. The company also made toy guns, dolls, doll houses, robots, and Big Wheels."

Given their long history, many of the Marx toys are now sought after by collectors. Baby boomers are the primary collectors, having grown up with Marx back in the fifties and sixties. As a kid, I had my share of Marx toys including the Fort Apache play set. I am not sure what ever happened to the set, but most likely I sold it back in the day for college text book money-ugh! Oh well, maybe I'll find a replacement set at some future garage sale. Of course, if I do find one, I'll have to fight off my natural instinct to immediately sell it on eBay!

Make sure you put Marx toys on your "buy" list this garage sale season. If don't know your Marx toys from your Mattel, look for this little target-like logo somewhere on the toy. Usually you'll find the Marx logo on the underside of the base or the back, depending on the particular toy. If the toy is small like Trey's presidential figures, you may need a microscope to find the logo, but it's there.

Thanks to Trey for sharing his awesome find! How about you? Any incredible scores in those Goodwill grab bags? How about Marx toys? Let us know in the comment section below..... 

 











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The Vera Bradley Outlet Store

Here's a no-brainer....Vera Bradley handbags are a pretty big deal! This obvious bit of Fashionista knowledge has made me a lot of money over the last few years. Admittedly, my fashion sense doesn't go much deeper then that. In fact, sometimes I mistakenly confuse Vera Bradley with the similar sounding, Laura Ashley. This always cracks up my daughter. But in my defense, it's easy to mix them up. Both have the same amount of syllables in their names and kinda sound alike. Just try saying them both out loud and you'll see what I mean. (Pause) See? They practically rhyme!

Once my daughter stops giggling at my fashion mix-up, she'll usually remind me again that Laura Ashley is the broader fashion brand, while Vera Bradley is known for their paisley patterned handbags, purses and wallets. You can find the bright colored bags at specialty stores or Vera Bradley outlet stores. However the one thing my daughter doesn't have to school me on is pricing. I know for a fact that Vera Bradley can be expensive! Given these obvious facts, I make sure I look for Vera Bradley it at yard sales.

It would be really nice if Vera Bradley was as common at yard sales as the ever-present George Foreman grill. But sadly, it's not. The stuff is hard to find. It would also be nice to find it at a reasonable price. A few sellers think that just because Vera Bradley is expensive in the stores, the high price should transfer down to their yard sale table! But finding these bags at the right price isn't impossible. You may get lucky and encounter a husband who unwittingly prices his wife's Vera Bradley for cheap. (If you score a deal like this, make sure to bolt to your car before his wife realizes what happened!) Another option is to bundle several purses together and ask for a lower price. I've done this a few times and usually score a group of Vera Bradley bags for $3 to $5 dollars each.

I kept this one away from the family!

But no matter how you score your Vera Bradley bags, I have some cautionary advise. DO NOT show off your Vera Bradly inventory to friends or family! I made that mistake once and don't plan on doing it again! It happened last summer when I invited family over the house for a picnic. At these get-togethers someone invariably will ask me if I've scored any recent yard sale deals? This has become something of a tradition in my family. Always ready to crow about my favorite subject, I then made the dumb mistake of showing off my Vera Bradley stockpile. Included in my hard earned collection was a very nice backpack. It was so nice in fact, that my sister-in-law took an immediate liking to it! You can probably guess what happened next. Embracing the backpack as if she just pulled it off the outlet store shelf, my sister-in-law asked if she could buy it from me? This was immediately followed by an awkward moment of silence as I tried to figure out my next move. Now don't get me wrong, I've handed out many yard sale finds to various nieces and nephews, but this was different! What if every women in the family asked me for one of my Vera Bradley bags? I mean seriously, who do they think I am....the Vera Bradley outlet store?!

All these thoughts were racing through my head as the entire family stared and waited for my answer. Beads of sweat began to appear on my forehead as I wrestled over what to say. A few of the guys in the family smirked widely, taking perverse pleasure in watching me squirm. The whole anxious moment probably lasted only 30 seconds, but it felt like an eternity! After a quick swig of liquid courage to stall for time, I decided a fair compromise would be to charge my sister-in-law exactly what I paid for the bag. Since the backpack still had the $5 dollar sticker on it, that's what I charged her. My sister-in-law thanked me and happily handed over a five dollar bill. Just that quickly, a potential profit of $30 disappeared into the summer evening. Oh well, that's what I get for bragging I guess. I'll be sure to put myself in verbal lockdown at the next party!

With one bag now gone, I posted the remainder on eBay during the fall and winter months. Probably not the best time of year to sell Vera Bradley, but with more then a dozen stockpiled, I just wanted them out the door. Some were auctioned off in matching sets, while others were sold individually. The purple backpack seen above was a  typical eBay sale for me. I paid $5 dollars for it and sold it on eBay for $32. When all was said and done, I made around $250 in Vera Bradley sales. Pretty good for a guy who can't even get the name straight, right?

Have you done well with Vera Bradley? How about your family? Has anybody ever "shopped" your inventory? Share the saga below....



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Reality TV show - Your chance to be a star!

Each year the Easter Bunny brings you chocolate candy, peeps and  jelly beans. I guess that's okay, but the Dude can do the Easter Bunny one better! How would you like to be on television and be the next big reality TV star? Over the years you've watched plenty of folks just like us become television stars overnight...now it's your turn! 

Recently I was contacted by a major television production company  requesting I publicize a casting call for their television reality show. They're looking for people who live an "extremely" frugal lifestyle. I think there might be a few of us who proudly meet that criteria around here. The loyal followers of "MoneyintheGarage" are wisely frugal! Why else would we get up early every Saturday morning and trudge around garage sales to look for deals? 

Below is the casting call. If you think you meet the studio's description, I'd strongly encourage you to go for it! You never know, right? Why not be on the next big reality TV show? All I ask is when you're on stage accepting the Emmy for best new reality television star, you thank me and mention my website. (Right after you thank your family and the Academy.)  

Good luck and have a Happy Easter, Passover and Spring to all !

Hello Dude,

 I work in casting at a major NYC television production company. We’re casting a series on a major television network that follows families, couples or individuals who live well on very little. 

Below is a casting notice for your review, and to post on your blog or forward to interested parties. If interested please contact me at secondseasoncasting@gmail.com.

Sincerely,

Shauna Woods

CASTING NOTICE:

Do you have a family member or friend who knows how to stretch their dollar to its absolute breaking point? Does the idea of spending money on anything other than what is ABSOLUTELY necessary make them sick to their stomach? Do they love showing off how very little they spend?

Then we want to meet them! TLC is currently casting for a second season of a hit show and is seeking families, couples or individuals who live well on very, VERY little.  In this day and age, many people want to save more and spend less. But for them, saving every penny possible borders on OBSESSION!

If this sounds like someone you know, please NOMINATE them by sending an email to SECONDSEASONCASTING@GMAIL.COM the following information:

Name/s:

Age:

Address:

Phone:

Email:

And tell us a little about their lifestyle and why you think they made the decision to live this way. Please give specific examples and please include photos of them.

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