Mystery Solved! .... Why Garage Sales Are Better up North!

Now I know why garage/estate sales are sooo much better back in New York State!

It's because there are basements and attics to stash things in!

So you never get rid of Aunt Tillie's Old Harker-Ware Cameo Tea Service, because you think you will do "something" with it eventually. But the burden of that tea set plus the hundreds of other old things you have stashed away begins to wear on you.

Then the day comes when you want to sell your home, and retire to a gated community in Arizona! But you have ALL this stuff! ..... and nobody want's Aunt Tillie's tea set....

So your kids help you have a garage sale, and you become so exhausted by the time you sort through the 100th box, that you are ready to give everything away! (It doesn't help when the kids call it all junk!.... hah)

You find a good home for the Cameo Ware tea set, selling it for $5.00! (They take it home and sell it on Ebay for $150.00....)

You unload a huge set of colorful Riviera Ware for $7.00, sighing with relief! (After all, it's not "Fiesta Ware", for crying out loud!) Sold on Ebay for over $300.00.....

And that "Watt Pottery" with the apples painted on it... why, it's heavy pottery, not fine china! How about $1.00 each for those plates? (Boy, you are really good!) hah.... (Over $100.00 for one Watt Pottery Spaghetti plate!

Recently I talked with an old friend up north about the collectibles I used to sell .... I said... "I have made a lot of money buying and selling Bakelite jewelry. Make sure you hang on to your Mom's Bakelite sets, because they were so chunky and pretty." (Her Mom had exquisite taste!)

Janet replied "Oh, I donated that jewelry to my church for a sale because I thought it was "just plastic".... huhhhh????

After belatedly telling her how to test "plastic" with simichrome or "Formula 409" to see if it is plastic or Bakelite, my belief that New York State is indeed the place for collectors to "be" was reinforced! .... hah!

How did I learn so much about collectibles? With "trial and error", a great memory, a willingness to research on Ebay from 8:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m., a husband who was forced to retire early (so I had to make extra money), and an insatiable desire to learn...!

Oh, and don't forget about the "thrill of the "hunt"!

Hah, life can be so much fun! Just open up your eyes to the adventure of it all!

So if you live in an area where people have attics and basements, don't squander your opportunity to get out this weekend and go "Garage Sale-ing"!

Happy hunting, my friend! :)