The Mystique of Second Hand Goods

What is it about Garage Sales and Second Hand stores that is so fascinating? I have never actually found a treasure at one. I have heard of guys going to a garage sale and coming away with a mint condition set of Taylor Made Golf Clubs for 25 dollars, because the wife of a recently deceased man didn't know what she had there. But usually, it is nothing like that. Sometimes I think Garage sales are actually travelling shows. They go from house to house and set up with the same junk. Like the commemorative dish of Charles and Diana's visit to Sydney sometime in the 80s. Or spoons...you know the ones with the commemorative picture or something on the handle. Here is a good one. Records....I am talking vinyl here. Thousands. We went to three op shops (what we call second hand stores in Australia) today, looking for a cheapish sewing basket for Becky. I was browsing records. I would say that Tom Jones, Percy Faith, and Mantovani, if they could make a royalty off records given to second hand stores, would make more money than they did the first time around. Do these records breed, perhaps? I am a classical music lover, and I found a set of 10 Reader's Digest records, and a 2 record set of several different composers best known works. Funny, now that I think of it, I don't even own a turntable...at the moment. I am planning on getting one, and conntecting it to Audacity and capturing all my vinyl as MP3s. Then what? An op shop maybe....no. And what is it about Tea and Coffee cups and other glassware that makes people so afraid to throw them away? I mean, I doubt there is more than say, 3 people in the world who are going to walk into a second hand store and say, you know I have been looking far and wide for a set of America's Cup commemorative coffee cups from 1985! Oh look they are here! Somehow, I think not. I mean, have you ever purchased a coffee cup from a garage sale or second hand store? Today I did find a Delonghi Cappachino maker for $12.50. I put it on layby. Meaning we ran out of cash and the store didn't have a debit card machine and it was 3 minutes to 5 and the atm is a kilometre away. So we can go back and get this stuff tomorrow.

Honestly, with kids growing like weeds, the only place where it is worthwhile to get them clothes is the second hand store. That is the one thing that they are good for. One of the ones we went to today DID have some first edition books. But were they Dickens, or Jane Austen or anyone I had ever heard of? Nah. I can't even remember who it was now. But they were first editions, for $50 per book, under glass, right next to the chintzy costume pearls. They do say that one person's trash is another person's treasure, but really you would have to do a lot of digging to unearth a treasure in one of these stores. But still we go there, and we like it. Maybe it's the chance of finding a Reader's Digest condensed book of some famous novel...or maybe it is that decorarive tea towel from Ayer's Rock.