Since we have moved back to Fresno I have found it a little challenging to get to my beloved garage sales. Unfortunately I ended up with a day-job work schedule that has me working through Saturday which is the hot day in most states for sales. If I do find some on Sunday I usually feel like I am picking through the rejected items left over from their Saturday sale. But I have found a few nice thing despite having come in late to the game. I have also found a few good resales shops locally but the downside is that it limits my selections to their turnover rate and I have to pay a lot more than if I found the same item at a garage sale.
Out of the kindness of his heart (and probably because he is showing off his New Husband Skills) Terry took me to an enormous new thrift shop. I didn't know where we were going (he was testing the new battery he put in the car) until we arrived. First thing to note is, Terry hates and I mean hates looking at thrift shops with me. He never really says a whole lot but I can tell by how he would rather wash the car or really anything than go and simply by the look on his face throughout the entire shopping experience. Second thing to note is that he has better street smarts than me. I see an advertisement for a thrift shop or a garge sale and I forget to check out the location. I think he somewhat regretted the gesture right after we got there because we landed in one of the not-so-nice parts of town. But I was happy; it's a new giant resale shop what more could I ask for?
So I excitedly thanked him, burst out of the car, and gingerly stepped over a dirty diaper. Dodging the broken glass strewn over the parking lot and avoiding eye contact with a twitchy youngster hanging out on the sidewalk I made it to the doors. As I opened them I was in awe - a huge warehouse sized building full of junk! I thought I was in love. Unfortunately after perusing the pictures nearest the door I dived in further to find a not so new marketing concept but one I haven't really seen too much in the resale business. Bundling.
Aside from a few items like the clothes and pictures (probably because they couldn't find clear trash can sized bags) everything and I mean everything was bundled. Did someone watch too many Vorizon commercials? Really?! A good idea - A bag of ribbon for 3.95; bad idea - A giant bag of chipped coffee mugs for 3.95. Great deal if I was a literal hoarder but not so much when I only see one cup in each bag worth salvaging.
They even bundled some of their books into packs of about 25. I don't know of anyone that just buys books to read by bulk. Worse I am not sure who thought that it would be a great idea to take vintage knickknacks and randomly through them into a large clear bag along with a few toys and other misc items, staple it shut and toss it onto the shelf but they should rethink their marketing strategy. It reminded me of cleaning my kids' room!
They have only been open for a couple of days and most of the items in those bags have been smashed and mashed to the point of no value at all. On a more positive note I did manage to find a basket full of great items after digging through what felt to be the equivalent of digging through some one's junk drawer or worse trash for a couple of hours. I don't mind bundling when it doesn't damage the item and it makes sense but this place was utter Chaos! I am sure that we will not be back, mostly due to the location but also due to the time it took to just find a few nice things.
Another positive from this experience is that this was a true expression of love on Terry's part. He patiently hung in the background leaning on the cart wondering how long he would be tortured until I cried Uncle. So here's to my new hubby and his very generous gesture last night I promise I will never make you go back to that place again.
3 comments:
Sad that the thrift store turned out to be a bust but Yippee for hubby!! I'm lucky that my hubby loves thrift stores.
Way to go hubby!!
Thanks for featuring my Superman Monkey. He is loving all the attention. Sounds like your hubby was a bit of a Superhero that day!
Best wishes
Thank you so much for featuring my macro photo of the broken glass...I loved reading your story and being a part of it!
Keep up the creative work! :)
Most Sincerely-
Little m.
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