Estate Sales Nightmares!

[dalangdon]

Mom's Maytag

I think I've told this story before, but I like it, so you will have to bear with me:

My mom had a late 70's - early 80's Maytag washer that she replaced a few years back. One of the quirks of that machine was that the buttons had all fallen off, and she had kept a little stick handy to press the appropriate controls. (What can I say? She's a child of the great depression ;-)

When the new machine came, she had the old one hauled out to the curb for the garbage to pick up, but before they got there, some guys pulled up in a truck and loaded it up.

Mom, being the good midwestern lady she is, went running out after them to give them the stick so they could operate the machine.

 

[gansky1]

I love that "stick" story, Dan!

I've seen signs for estate sales (or even newspaper ads) and driven up to the house only to find a garage sale. I don't care if they do have a couple pairs of grandma's support hose on a card table in the driveway, it's a garage sale!! I have even been so annoyed that I snatch the offending signs as I'm on the way out of the neighborhood! That'll learn 'em!

 

[tomturbomatic]

Venus, I think that they thought that it was worth a fortune because someone had asked about buying it or maybe they were just used to selling expensive stuff and could not believe an old stove was not worth a couple of hundred bucks.

 

[polkanut]

kevinpreston3, my dad's friend put several paint cans full of waste oil out for our town's annual junk pick-up. He then sat in the living room window with the lights out and watched. A car load of "shoppers" saw the cans and stopped. One of the group got out and checked them out. Well, needless to say they were ecstatic that they found some "free" paint with which to paint their home with. Guess who had the last laugh?

 

[Kevinpreston3]

Polka...

freaking hilarious!

Let me say this...I agree with someone taking let's say an old desk, or something that the trash people won't take and yet it has life and use in it and it helps someone. (although the previously mentioned TV and other things still do bother me). That said, I think what really annoys me is not someone hauling away something I would normally have to pay to haul away, that's a good thing. It's people actually going through your trash and picking around in your front yard. To me, that is too much. Taking an old bike or desk or couch from the trash area is one thing, rummaging around in your trash cans is quite another. Plus, it makes me wonder if they might be looking for bills or something for identity theft. I yell at people I see going through trash, it has only happened a few times.