Bakelite

Paid: 15 dollars

Insurance Value: Meh, 40 dollars[?]

Every row is a different style.

Stanley Planer

Paid: 10 bucks
Insurance value: 40-50?

I will be cleaning it with a wire brush and oiling it. Don't worry, I'll alert you after I'm done.

Cushman Colonial Creation Rocking Chair

This chair is very well made. I can't see any nails or screws holding it together, only at the spring mechanism. Nice action. No squeaks. We are trying to get an appraisal.

Paid: $75
Insurance Value: 250-300??

That circle on the headrest is where we removed this crocheted head rest pad that was sewn to it. The original[?] fabric is actually pretty nice but it's very faded.

Elegant, no?

Celeste sewed a nice, zippered cover post haste.

Mmm...abstraction.

The model number.

The label.

The rocking mechanism.

Seal of approval.

We took the week off

However, we've got some stock photos we can use to satisfy you estate sale cravings. This week we have:

West German tool-kit of sorts

Paid: $8
Value: Can you put a price on West German nostalgia?
Salvation Army: No

This week I'm running a contest to name this tool-kit. Is it a glazer's? A piano tuning kit? I'll pick a winner and announce it next week; leave your guess in the comments below.

That name is almost un-googleable.

From left to right: saw, rasp, can opener[?], glass cutter-breaker-thing

That's tight.

The records

John Denver and The Who, Quadrophenia (unopened)

Am I really supposed to believe that's 'bootleg.'

Wish I had the sleeve thing.

The Goods: March 8th, 2008

Rough week. After last weeks treasure, it was a bit disappointing. Rummaging through peoples junk they've accumulated their whole lives plus the realization that it's only worth what I con somebody to buy it from me for, I've developed a plan:

Every item I buy and like, but don't want to keep will be cataloged, priced and promptly given to the Salvation Army at which time I will collect a receipt, itemize the donation and deduct from my taxes. My reasoning goes that if I buy, say a crappy-but-cute M.A.S.H. vodka drip for ten bucks, find a price of 50 bucks on ebay for one with the original box and directions I claim a donation of about 25 bucks. Accountants feel free to comment on that strategy down below. I can even use this blog in the event of an audit, right?

Bakelite Stirrer: 50 cents but I paid a dollar for good karma
Insurance Value: I guess about 15-20 dollars
Salvation Army: No


M.A.S.H. Vodka Drip: 10 dollars
Insurance value: dollars
Salvation Army: Yes
If I had the box and directions, I could get 50 bucks on ebay

First stop was judge Rosenthal's house.

Led Zeppelin motherfucker!

In Summary

We learned a lot this week. We need to be more curious with the camera. There was a teevee, very old, built into a Sheetrock wall. You should be able to share in such an oddity with us. We need more action photos; I elbowed an elderly man out of my way to get to the Black Sabbath record today. Jerk.

Lastly, we encourage comments. Feel free to give us a what-what or a what a gem or a Jeebus, you need to get a life. We think it will make for a richer blogging experience for you and us.

Celeste and Amelia rummaging for tools in the garage?

Evan and Amelia remembering we need to take more photos.

Bringing it all back home.

Day one, third stop: March 1st 2008

Crap, the Pyrex and yarn were from the third stop. I included those on the second stop post and that was inaccurate. I'm too lazy to fix that.

Day one, second stop: March 1st, 2008.

Much better.

The previous occupant was an artists. Lots of drawings and paintings of the occupants hand. I thought he might be a New Yorker cartoonist; looking back I doubt it, but he was proficient and talented. We scored two pieces of Wedgwood 'Jesper' ware thingies; we like them.





Wedgwood(two pieces): paid 35 dollars.
Insurance Value: 125 dollars
Net: 95 dollars


Xoga [?] pottery: paid 5 dollars
Insurance Value: Unknown
Note: Vicky, please feel free to drop some knowledge in the comments if you know who this potter is. If not, then, just nod in agreement that it's probably really valuable.




Bridge table with one matching chair: paid 20 dollars
Insurance Value: 150 dollars
Net: 130 dollars
Comments: Who even knew there was such a thing. It's made by "Stakmore. Aristocrats of folding furniture." It's got all the labels, but only one of the four original chairs. We think it's quite fine with it's leather playing surface, super neat folding mechanism and the overall coolness of it.





Box 'O yarn and needles: paid 15 dollars
Insurance Value: 250 dollars
Net: 235 dollars
Comment: This was a total score. Most of the hand-spun, hand-dyed yarn even has tags with prices; price tags, as it were. And each one was like 12-16 bucks. Needles, nub cotton (small yellow stuff; mmm...so texturey), there were lots of nice yarn--all in skeins of 4 or 5 so we can use them in significant quantities for projects. We were hoping we'd get the 1 male out of the three checkout people, and we did. He was totally like, "yarn, meh, 15 bucks." Dumbass!



6000ml pyrex beaker: paid 15 dollars
Insurance value: 50 bucks [?]
Comments: This thing is huge. Huge I tell you. I'm sure it's worth more than 50. C broke a lot of this stuff in lab in college. What a dork, but she says it's expensive. We put nice flowers in it.

Wine bottle for scale included at no charge.

Update: We've located a retail value of 149.99 on the "Pyrex Florence flat-bottom, 6000 ml flask."

Some Records: paid 2 dollars
Insurance Value: Would you really insure records? Maybe.
Comments: Pink Floyd, Atom Heart Mother; The Yiddish are Coming. The Yiddish are Coming.

We made(in our "minds"):

510 dollars plus an invaluable piece of pottery we can't even put a value on and some records! We'll call it 525 dollars profit on the day. Please note, as my father pointed out, it's only worth that much if someone is willing to pay you that much for it. It's all about finding the right market. Our hearts are our market. Awwwww.