wired gassy farmetter primitive looks at auction

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=403x3005

Oh my.

The wired gassy primitive, who's spending the summer on a farmette up in Wisconsin.

grasswire  (1000+ posts)      Wed Aug-05-09 01:42 PM
Original message
 
I've just moved seven blocks away from an auction house.

Although the move is temporary and was unplanned, I am pretty damned excited about the proximity! I just looked at the catalog for this Sunday's upcoming sale -- they take bids online prior to sale day. The only drawback appears to be that everything is in very small lots. Mostly individual items. That means there won't be any big lots of stuff real cheap. Box lots. That's where a dealer can find some profit.

Uh, but isn't making a profit against the primitive party-line?

The vindictive primitive, who apparently hasn't gotten around to replacing the hips yet:

Vinca  (1000+ posts)      Thu Aug-06-09 08:54 AM
Response to Original message
 
1. I haven't been to an auction in ages, but I'd be tempted living that close.

When I first started doing this it was really easy to get a mountain of stuff for practically nothing and find some real treasures, but so many people are on the hunt now it's almost impossible. Good luck! (What happened to living on the farm??)

grasswire  (1000+ posts)      Fri Aug-07-09 12:15 AM
Response to Reply #1
 
2. the farm is seven blocks from the auction.

It's a farm-ette. The equivalent of seven city blocks away is a quaint little intersection with some old buildings and the auction barn. I can walk there, and if I walk there I can't bring home a pile of stuff!

grasswire  (1000+ posts)      Sun Aug-09-09 10:59 PM
Response to Original message
 
3. so this auction is very interesting

They have a live feed for internet users so a bidder can listen in from home and bid in real time, live.

This means that the audience is small, and that you never know who your competitors are if they are bidding via the Internet.

The lots were interesting, but I don't know if there will be any possibility of a dealer making money off them as everything is sold individually. I only stayed for an hour -- maybe toward the end things go cheaper.

Honestly, I kept falling asleep sitting there. The drama of an audience was missing, and the auctioneer's voice just made me s l e e p y.

Why this preoccupation with making a profit?

One asks in vain, obviously.

[Carl]

I would stipulate too it is profit from yard sales and the like that will be cash and not reported.

[GOBUCKS]

A farmette is any piece of land with dimensions larger than the foundation of the dwelling. But DUmmy grasswire doesn't have a farmette. DUmmy grasswire, homeless and penniless, has been given a place to flop by a friend who takes pity on winos. DUmmy grasswire sleeps in the garage attic, or on a pile of rags in an outbuilding. His crib will get chilly come October in Wisconsin. I doubt very much that DUmmy grasswire will be driving the bidding at that auction. The reason the auction has attracted attention is the coffee and doughnuts that are often available.

[DumbAss Tanker]

Rag-picking.  Hardly a laudable career choice.

[vesta111]

Rag-picking.  Hardly a laudable career choice.

It used to be called dump picking and treasure hunting.

Saturday afternoon, after the  town dump closed we kids would grab our pellet or Beebe guns and go scavenging.  [ we had to have something to keep the rats away from a good find].

Finds we found, one mans garbage is another mans treasure.

Not so long ago on trash day one would watch as people in old trucks would cruse the streets looking for old stoves, refrigerators left by the curb.  Now some of the trucks are only a few years old and there are more people looking to make a find.

They call it recycling and bring in a few extra bucks a month selling revamped furniture etc.  A retired craftsman or woman can reupholster that old chair someone throws out and make money selling it.

Nothing wrong with making a few bucks on the side, Capitalism and American ingenuity at its finest.

[LC EFA]

Back when the local council dumps allowed scavenging - I'd come home with more than I left with on the odd occasion.

This continued until I realized that most of the "finds" were actually thrown out for a good reason - at which point they went back to the dump.

 

[DumbAss Tanker]

Nothing wrong with making a few bucks on the side, Capitalism and American ingenuity at its finest.

You almost made sense there for a second, but you obviously don't realize this auction-haunting isn't "On the side," this is the pathetic asswipe's primary source of income.

[AllosaursRus]

Back when the local council dumps allowed scavenging - I'd come home with more than I left with on the odd occasion.

This continued until I realized that most of the "finds" were actually thrown out for a good reason - at which point they went back to the dump.

 

Ah the memories! The wife hated it when I went to the dump! Used to go with her Dad. We usually came home with more than we had left with! MY MIL and "Toots" finally forbid us going together! lol!

[vesta111]

You almost made sense there for a second, but you obviously don't realize this auction-haunting isn't "On the side," this is the pathetic ***wipe's primary source of income.

Now-Now Tanker. This is a very well paying job in my area.  If you need a part for your car that is no longer manufactured the local junk yard is a first stop.

Refinishing grandpas old rocking chair and need to replace a broken part of the frame, the This and That store may be able to help, same as with draw pulls that can cost $50.00 each.  Old barns with the square hand made nails, door hinges, even some of the wood is used to make furniture.

I have seen people after a storm wander the beach looking for the old wooden lobster traps that may wash up, they make wonderful coffee tables with some work done to them. Tourests love small lamps made from driftwood or those glass balls used by fishermen on nets that wash up.

It is alot of work recycling stuff, and to make a living one has to have an education in what is valuable and what is not worth the time and money to reclaim an item.

When an old school is being torn down people will scavenge at night for mantle pieces, parts of old banesters, lighting fixtures, glass door knobs etc.
 
The rag pickers of today are highly skilled men and woman that are buying old clothing, not for the garmit itself but for the material that on todays market may go for $60-80.00 a frieking yard.  They can turn with their skills into everything from lamp shades to one of a kind scarves and purses.