Because, who doesn't need some of that?
I have this tip, that might be really great or might be useless.
It occurred to me by accident. It's a yard sale shopping tip.
Back when I lived in Berkeley, I had no dishes. That wasn't a huge deal, since I didn't have my own kitchen either, but there was a building kitchen, so I wanted a few things to heat things up in the microwave on over the weekends when the dining hall was closed.
Around that time, a house nearby had a yard sale. I just sort of happened to walk by; it wasn't like I learned it was happening and planned to go or anything.
Because I had not planned to go, I only had a dollar in my pocket. That seems a little weird, and I can't remember why that would be true, but that was the case.
So there were these lovely blue spotted plates at the yard sale. I thought they were cute. I only had a dollar though. The lady was asking more for them, but it was well into the afternoon. So I told her, "I only have a dollar. Would you give me these four plates for that?"
She totally didn't want to do it, and I'm sure she wouldn't have if she hadn't wanted to close down her sale soon. But she did, because I only had a dollar. It wasn't like she was going to get more from me, or probably anyone else.
SO... This led to my theory of how to get deals at yard sales. Here is how it works. (Or would work, anyway, if you tried it, which I haven't really, which is why you probably should take my advice with a grain or two of salt.) (Oh, the other problem is that this strategy sort of involves lying. That's sort of a kink, I guess.)
When shopping at yard sales, put a $1 bill in one pocket, a $5 bill in another pocket, a $10 in another pocket, and $20 bill in another pocket. Then when you get there and see what you want, decide which amount is closest to the appropriate amount. Pull it out and say, "This is what I've got, will you give me thus-and-such for it?" Maybe it would work. Probably you should only try it later in the day, or at least not till after the serious shoppers have picked stuff over and they're trying to get rid of stuff.
Let me know if it works.
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It does work. And it also works at the end of the day at the Farmer's Market. I wasn't even trying to get the asparagus for cheap, but I pulled out my money and only had $2 (they were marked for 4). I was about to say that would go find my partner, who was carrying more cash and across the market, but they let me have them for the "toonie".
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