# Hey you collectors, thrifters & dumpster divers!



## janfromflorida (Jun 21, 2013)

Another thread mentioned thrift stores & American Pickers and got me to thinking.  Who else loves them and Antiques Roadshow, Pawn Stars, etc?  Ever pick anything good up along the curb (and I don't mean hookers, smart asses!)?  Who's traded on Ebay?  Anybody switched to Etsy, Bonanza or such?  Back when Ebay was good I used to collect costume jewelry and a few other small collectibles, and sell on there.  

When we lost our house and had to move, I totally furnished the new place from yard sales and thrift stores.  Couldn't be nicer.  They are a God-send for us poor folk!

What's your story?


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## Pappy (Jun 21, 2013)

When I am in FL, on Saturday mornings I get on my bike and check out the yard sales. We have about 500 homes in our community and usually a few sales each weekend. Once a year we have a community sale and quite a few sales are going and as well as the clubhouse is open for hot dogs and baked goods.

I have bought and sold on Ebay since 2002. I had a large collection of old cereal premiums. Am slowly selling them off now. You know, the rings you sent in a dime and a box top. Some now sell for extremely high prices. Also, Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers and Lone Ranger items.

Quite often we have estate sales. When a person passes, lots of times their familys do not want the home or furniture. You can find some real bargains at these sales. The saying around here is: I'm buying stuff to put in my next yard sale.


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## JustBonee (Jun 21, 2013)

I got a book a while back that Jan and Pappy and others around here could have written.  It's called _Depression-Era Wisdom_.

It covers so many simple ways to stretch your money, many of which have already been mentioned in the threads around here. The Depression-era philosophy was "reduce, reuse, recycle"... they called it "use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without".
Besides bartering, consignment shops, thrift shops, factory outlet/clearance stores, flea markets;  they also mention online auctions at Amazon and eBay and even vendors like Overstock.com for bargain shopping.  (I've bought a few things at Overstock but don't think of them as that thrifty a website... their shipping is cheap, but it's no doubt put into the price) 

They talk about identity theft.  Did you know that if you have old checks or any old bank records laying around from a closed out account with no funds in it, thieves can still somehow cause you trouble and get money from them and make you responsible?  Can't wrap my head around that!  Shred everything before throwing in the trash. 
I believe these thieves are wasting their talent!  They should be working for the government.


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## JustBonee (Jun 21, 2013)

Pappy said:


> You know, the rings you sent in a dime and a box top. Some now sell for extremely high prices. Also, Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers and Lone Ranger items.



I remember back in the late 40's- early 50's (?) when boxes of Rice Krispies  would actually have the Snap, Crackle and Pop puppets in the boxes!  One per box, but can only imagine what those go for today.  I had all three, and no doubt they went into the garbage.


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## janfromflorida (Jun 21, 2013)

Wow, my most exciting memory from 2nd grade was sending in for and awaiting the arrival of my Captain Midnight decoder ring! If I wasn't good I didn't get to LISTEN to my stories on the radio!  Ye-gads, how old am I anyway?!


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## SifuPhil (Jun 21, 2013)

Back in the day when I was still a materialistic Capitalist pig I was a huge fan of flea markets and garage sales. Unfortunately my wife was as well, and we would spend Saturdays cruising the town and enriching the local underground economy. I was also a frequent buyer on eBay.

Now that I have evolved into a Spiritual Being of Light and Energy  my biggest purchase is usually a $2 shirt at Sally's Army or, if I feel particularly daring, a large canister of coffee at the dollar store that I can snag for only $7.


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## TICA (Jun 21, 2013)

We used to send away for the promos such as "100 dolls for a dollar" and "sea monkeys"  We'd wait for the mail and when they came, the dolls were about an inch tall and all the same.  We'd put the sea monkeys in a bowl of water and one time actually saw something swimming around in there - have no idea what they might have been but we did have bragging rights on owning sea monkeys.  :lol:


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## janfromflorida (Jun 21, 2013)

Hey, does anyone else  watch Flea Market Flip?  I've been watching what they do with their finds and am totally amazed at the creations they sell for the younger, hip generation to actually use in their homes!  Some of the stuff is really weird.


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## SifuPhil (Jun 21, 2013)

Sea monkeys!

I used to run a rather large sea monkey ranch out West - 245 hands living in 20 bunkhouses, acres of sea monkey paddocks, we had international clients ordering by the ton, feed bills in the thousands every month ...

Yeah, those were the good ol' days *sniff* ...


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## That Guy (Jun 21, 2013)

I cannot go to thrift stores, flea markets, garage sales, et cetera because I end up buying "cool" stuff I really don't need.  One man's junk is another man's junk . . .


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## Anne (Jun 22, 2013)

I would love to collect antiques, but don't know the values of things, and don't need the extra stuff either.


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## Pappy (Jun 22, 2013)

Here is just a small portion of my collection. Some of these items are over 70'years old.


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## Anne (Jun 22, 2013)

Wow, pappy...still in the packages. Quite the collection there!!!


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## That Guy (Jun 23, 2013)

Hoppy was one of my favorite cowboys!


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## R. Zimm (Jun 24, 2013)

Phil, I think you are more likely to be a "Materialistic Capitalist Spiritual Being of Light and Energy powered by COFFEE"


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## SifuPhil (Jun 24, 2013)

r. Zimm said:


> phil, i think you are more likely to be a "materialistic capitalist spiritual being of light and energy powered by coffee"



coffee!!!


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## Happyflowerlady (Jun 25, 2013)

I enjoy going to thrift stores and yard sales, but I do not have any real collectibles. Like everyone else, I remember having them when I was a kid, but they vanished eventually, to be replaced with other things, I thought I needed more.
I remember having the Sea Monkeys, too, and have no idea what they really were, but they surely were way too small to actually tell what they looked like, so I guess a sea monkey was as good a name as any. I  am pretty sure that I had tiny little sea horses, too.

What I wanted, ever since I can remember, was a REAL monkey, and back then, they were advertised on the back pages of all the comic books, for only $19.95, plus shipping and handling ( however much that was ?) . But my mother assured me that they were not as cute and friendly as Cheetah on Tarzan, and that I really wouldn't like it if I had one, and she wasn't buying me one, and that was the end of that !  (So maybe that should have been in the bucket list thread..... I want a real squirrel monkey) ?

One  of the little cereal toys that I really loved, was the little Frogmen.  You put baking soda in a little cup at the bottom, and put them in the goldfish bowl (without the goldfish !), and they went to the bottom, then a bubble would bring them to the top, burst, and down they went again. I had several of them, and loved watching them.


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## Pappy (Jun 25, 2013)

I remember the frogman too. They also had a toy submarine that did the same thing. I think my favorite toys, besides my bikes, were my cap guns. I had a beautiful Roy Rogers two gun set that I was so proud of. It had colored stones on the holsters and wooden bullets on the belt. Today, collectors pay a small fortune for these items.

one that I also remember was a metal chicken that when you pushed down on it, it laid eggs ( white marbles) 

And of course my Army collection. Real metal vehicles with real rubber tires. Metal planes, tanks men ,etc.


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## SifuPhil (Jun 25, 2013)

Yeah, those spider monkeys ... I think every kid in the world wanted one of those. 








The stories I've heard about them was that you'd receive a package with a starving, frightened, screaming demon on four legs that would bite you as a means of introducing himself, crap all over your house, attempt to mate with Mittens the Cat, break all your crystal _chotchkies _and rip all your curtains down.

Only then would it be Quality Time. If Dad didn't step on it first.


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## That Guy (Jun 25, 2013)

Pappy said:


> I remember the frogman too. They also had a toy submarine that did the same thing.



Being a Navy kid (was actually taught to swim by frogmen), I loved those things.  I remember getting mine from my favorite cereal Sugar Jets.  But have no desire to scrounge through some grimy and disgusting dumpster in search of them.  Will just enjoy the memories . . .


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## SifuPhil (Jun 25, 2013)

That Guy said:


> Being a Navy kid (was actually taught to swim by frogmen), I loved those things.  I remember getting mine from my favorite cereal Sugar Jets.  But have no desire to scrounge through some grimy and disgusting dumpster in search of them.  Will just enjoy the memories . . .



You can get them for around $5-$10 on *eBay* ...


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## That Guy (Jun 25, 2013)

SifuPhil said:


> You can get them for around $5-$10 on *eBay* ...
> 
> View attachment 1039



Can I still sit by the pool each morning in my jammies eating Sugar Jets at our home in Coronado???  Oh, yeah . . . that's right . . . you can never go home again...


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## SifuPhil (Jun 25, 2013)

That Guy said:


> Can I still sit by the pool each morning in my jammies eating Sugar Jets at our home in Coronado???  Oh, yeah . . . that's right . . . you can never go home again...



Talk about non sequiturs ... 

Why _couldn't_ you sit in your jammies? 

The reason I think that we can't go home again is because no matter where we are, we're already _there_. 

We just never _realize_ it. We look _outside_ of ourselves - the LAST place we'd ever find home. 

Now that I've said that, here's a gratuitous picture of some apple raisin muffins.


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## Anne (Jun 25, 2013)

Good point, Phil....home is where we make it, I guess.  I do long for the simpler times, but our parents might not agree.  What we see as a better and easier time was difficult for them, I'm sure.      Not to get philosophical or anything.......

I remember the ads for seahorses and the monkeys....I would NOT want a monkey in the house; icky little creatures, imo.  We had a dog and cats; none of which were allowed in the house for a long period of time.  Things sure have changed.

We had the little metal toy cars and trucks, too...had as much fun with them as the dolls.  For whatever reason I don't remember the frogmen.


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## Pappy (Jun 25, 2013)

How about the Atlas body building book. The guy on the back of most comics that kicked the sand on the puny kid. After he got Atlas, he went back and took care of business.


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## That Guy (Jun 25, 2013)

Pappy said:


> How about the Atlas body building book. The guy on the back of most comics that kicked the sand on the puny kid. After he got Atlas, he went back and took care of business.


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## SifuPhil (Jun 25, 2013)

"DARN it! I'm sick and tired of being a scarecrow. Charles Atlas says he can mail me a REAL FMK 9mm handgun - I'll gamble a stamp and get his FREE extra-capacity clip!"

~ Charles Atlas ad, 2013


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## That Guy (Jun 25, 2013)

SifuPhil said:


> "DARN it! I'm sick and tired of being a scarecrow. Charles Atlas says he can mail me a REAL FMK 9mm handgun - I'll gamble a stamp and get his FREE extra-capacity clip!"
> 
> ~ Charles Atlas ad, 2013



I would be a little concerned about the 'roid rage, though...


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## Happyflowerlady (Jun 25, 2013)

Pappy, I loved my cap guns , too !  I would get a whole 50 cents allowance, and kept my little pile of the half dollars on the shelf, and watched it grow, so I could save up enough for the latest wonderful gun and holster set at the Five and Dime store. My mom would always pay half, so that helped me to save up for it faster. 

Roy Rogers was my first hero, so anything that had his name on it, was top choice for me. Of course, being horse-crazy, it was Trigger that I really loved, and nothing that I wanted more than my own pony.
I remember that Wonder Bread had a coloring contest, and the winners got to go and see Annie Oakley at the rodeo. 
I don't remember if I won, or if my mom just took me, but seeing Gene Autry and Annie Oakley was pretty special, and I am sure the autographed pictures that I had signed, would be worth a good price today, as well.


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## That Guy (Jun 26, 2013)

I was a Roy Rogers fan, too.  I'm sure my six shooters and holsters were Roy Rogers products.


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## Pappy (Jun 26, 2013)

SifuPhil said:


> "DARN it! I'm sick and tired of being a scarecrow. Charles Atlas says he can mail me a REAL FMK 9mm handgun - I'll gamble a stamp and get his FREE extra-capacity clip!"
> 
> ~ Charles Atlas ad, 2013



Sifu...Charles wouldn't send me a gun so I had to buy my own. Kel-Tec 9 mm. And darn, I had to pay for the extra clip. These guns are made right here in Cocoa, FL.


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## SifuPhil (Jun 26, 2013)

I notice that Gene Autry, Roy Rogers _et al_ got all the attention when it came to premiums and giveaways in the cowboy world.

What I'd like to know is, why didn't Clint Eastwood's Western characters catch on the same way?


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## SifuPhil (Jun 26, 2013)

Pappy said:


> Sifu...Charles wouldn't send me a gun so I had to buy my own. Kel-Tec 9 mm. And darn, I had to pay for the extra clip. These guns are made right here in Cocoa, FL.



Nice!

My old sparring partner / best man lives somewhere in or near Cocoa - I wouldn't be surprised if he works at the factory. He loves him some guns.


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## JustBonee (Jun 26, 2013)

I got to meet Roy Rogers and Dale Evans many years ago when his son Roy Jr. (Dusty) came to my small country town to get married.  He married a girl who's family I often babysat for.   

http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20096907,00.html


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## Pappy (Jun 26, 2013)

Remember the X-Ray glasses? I got a pair of them and I couldn't see much of anything through them. They were more like the 3D glasses you received at the movies. And, the glasses where the eyeballs were on springs and they would droop down. 

How about the penny whistles. They were round and about the size of a quarter with a hole in the middle. My mom took them away after my brother swallowed his. As time passed, so did the whistle.


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## R. Zimm (Jun 26, 2013)

Another Kel-Tec owner here (P-11). Great value and your right about supporting a local (FLA) company.


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## Pappy (Jun 26, 2013)

R. Zimm said:


> Another Kel-Tec owner here (P-11). Great value and your right about supporting a local (FLA) company.



Great size for concealment. My Ruger 357 is way to large for that, but is a great weapon. I have a 1955 Baretta 22 LR which is about the same size as the P11, but too heavy to conceal. I want to get up to Kel-Tec next summer and check out the place.


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## That Guy (Jun 26, 2013)

I do not own weapons simply because I will use them in a heart beat.  You may thank Uncle Sham for that...

But, I have been wanting to get some replica stuff:  A non-firing old fashioned Colt 45 revolver to hang on my bedpost and an old fashioned Winchester rifle and/or M16 to prop beside the California flag I have on a pole in the corner of my living room.  Am reconsidering the rifles and thinking an old longboard might be better. 

Ahhh, the joys of home decorating.  I'll do yours for a nominal fee . . .


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