PIE! Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 So dh came home from a yard sale. He bought a giant box of books - some of which we already own, some we both really wanted, and then a Necronomicon. He also bought toe shoes for our daughter. But then he bought a BARITONE HORN for me (I played one as a teen, but haven't since). And as I was razzing him for his thoughtfulness, he dared me to start a thread. So what weird/random things did your spouse buy from a yard sale when you weren't looking? (or what weird/random things did YOU buy?) 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Knowing his propensity for this kind of thing, we made sure my dad had only $5 at a flea market, to keep things under control. He wandered off, and came back with some big, weird piece of equipment with a bunch of giant spikes on top. We were horrified - what the heck was that thing??? How could he go so wrong with only $5???Turns out it was a serious office-sized GBC comb binder, which I used for YEARS to bind workbooks, reports, DIY planners, and all kinds of other homeschooling things!!! Thanks Dad!!! 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 I'd be thrilled if someone brought me a good, usable baritone horn! My son left his behind, but a few notes on it always play out of tune. I confess I'm the one that brings the oddities home. I have a lamp in my living room that has a clipper ship base with two lamps and shades sticking out of it. Scored it at a garage sale and two people walking in while I was walking out were envious. I once brought home an ice bucket that depicted the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Never did find the matching glasses, but passed the ice bucket on to the history department at the local high school. There's a couple of teachers there who'd have appropriate appreciation for such a treasure. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plink Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 DH hasn't been to a garage sale recently, but he came home from a business convention last month with an "amazing cleaning tool!" he had discovered. It was an electric sweeper. Not a vacuum, just a motor that whirred a beater bar around and threw particles about willy nilly hopefully landing some of it into the pan so you could dump it out into your trash and enjoy the full dust-cloud-effect of your work. He demonstrated its amazingness by sweeping up a "full size pencil!" Whoever got ahold of him on the convention floor was one heck of a salesman. He is still raving about this machine's revolutionary features. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 I don't buy weird things at garage sales, only treasures. :001_smile: 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 DS is the one who finds interesting things. So far he has bought several animal heads, a neat oil painting of a moose in Alaska, several kitchen knives for me that turned out to be expensive (since I am the one who drives him to these things), and other interesting odds and ends. The best was a foot stool in the shape of an animal. It turned out to retail for about 100 bucks. He has spent a only about 22 total for his treasures. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJoy Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 The strangest thing I ever bought at a thrift store was a large sheaf of peacock feathers! DH's most interesting purchase was a massive plotter that he now uses to cut custom vinyl for walls, shirts, etc. It was marked $15 and he talked them down to $10. They had no idea what it was and it was giant and heavy so they were glad to be rid of it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJoy Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Knowing his propensity for this kind of thing, we made sure my dad had only $5 at a flea market, to keep things under control. He wandered off, and came back with some big, weird piece of equipment with a bunch of giant spikes on top. We were horrified - what the heck was that thing??? How could he go so wrong with only $5??? Turns out it was a serious office-sized GBC comb binder, which I used for YEARS to bind workbooks, reports, DIY planners, and all kinds of other homeschooling things!!! Thanks Dad!!! Great deal! We paid $20 for our giant metal comb binder. I had JUST bought a new, cheaper quality one for $100 at Staples the day before. Fortunately I hadn't used it yet so we just returned it. Score! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJoy Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 When I was pregnant with DS I paid $20 at a garage sale for a Pack 'n Play in great shape. I Googled it to see how much I'd saved and found out that it was recalled. Unlike many recalls where they send you a part to fix it, this one had me cut off and mail the side panels and they sent me a $100 Visa card! I bought a new Pack 'n Play on clearance for about $60 of it and had money left over to spend! 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2bee Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 I got a working printer-scanner-copier from a yard sale for $5. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 My mom has purchased a green leather camel saddle to use as a footstool. My dad purchased a plastic dog that looks like their dog--as if he had no head or was up to his shoulders digging. When he brought the dog home he realized it had a switch. When you turn it on, it wags its tail then lifts it and makes a very loud and realistic farting noise. Classy, eh? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storygirl Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 PIE, I'm just popping in to your thread for a moment, because we don't buy anything at yard sales, and I can't contribute to that (though I have been enjoying reading about everyone else's fabulous finds!). You may already know this, but you should not let your daughter wear the pointe shoes. Use them for decoration only. It's dangerous and possibly damaging to the feet to wear someone else's pointe shoes. They look cute hung on a nail or hook on the wall, though! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Don't.get.me.started. My husband likes to buy things to "fix" or "make" that will never get fixed or made. It's better now that we live in an apartment and he has no storage. When we had a house with a garage, watch out. One time he bought a bunch of laserdiscs. No. We do not have a laserdisc player. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IfIOnly Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 I can't remember, but I have to share our story. I grew up on garage sales and dumpster diving. DH had the complete opposite lifestyle growing up. He went to private schools and had lavish, exotic vacations, including timeshares. Well, eventually, after we met, I asked to if he wanted to go garage sale shopping with me and found out he'd never been. He takes after his dad who was incredibly frugal (cheap) rather than his mom (lavish), so it really hadn't occurred to me that he'd never been! We had a blast the first time. But then he wanted to go like every weekend for like ever! He was totally hooked! And, of course, he bought all kinds of carp we didn't need or ever got used. It was funny but a bit frustrating for a cheap skate, like me, who doesn't like to buy stuff even used if I don't need it. I'm also a minimalist and really dislike having stuff around that isn't purposeful or providing beauty and joy. I do love the fact the my dh is frugal though, and we joke that if we ever come into money, we'd still be shopping at thrift stores and Craigslist. Ha! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PIE! Posted August 28, 2015 Author Share Posted August 28, 2015 PIE, I'm just popping in to your thread for a moment, because we don't buy anything at yard sales, and I can't contribute to that (though I have been enjoying reading about everyone else's fabulous finds!). You may already know this, but you should not let your daughter wear the pointe shoes. Use them for decoration only. It's dangerous and possibly damaging to the feet to wear someone else's pointe shoes. They look cute hung on a nail or hook on the wall, though! I see now I wasn't clear. He didn't buy pointe shoes. Just those shoes that have all the toes separated out, like this. I guess they're called FiveFinger shoes. Thanks for the concern though. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn- Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Apparently when I wasn't looking, DH bought a top mounting rifle scope for the pellet gun! It will work on other guns in the same brand, but we don't own any of them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad 4 Boys Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 I'm the spouse who brings stuff home from garage sales. I frequently go to sales with my dad. He's the one who buys the weird stuff. A few weeks ago, he bought a wooden elephant that is about 3 feet tall and weighs around 150 pounds. Don't ask me why. It's currently for sale on the popular auction site, but hasn't seen a lot of interest. I generally buy stuff to flip for a profit. This week I sold a pair of Red Wing work boots that were purchased for $4 at a garage sale. The sale price before shipping and fees was $175. One sort of weird one for a 51 year old man I guess was a used breast pump. It was purchased along with a vintage athletic supporter and protective cup, like new of course. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 I'm the spouse who brings stuff home from garage sales. I frequently go to sales with my dad. He's the one who buys the weird stuff. A few weeks ago, he bought a wooden elephant that is about 3 feet tall and weighs around 150 pounds. Don't ask me why. It's currently for sale on the popular auction site, but hasn't seen a lot of interest. I've told my DH numerous times that I want a giant elephant in my living room. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 I usually buy furniture that DH turns his nose up at for being ugly, but they are so well made they end up being more comfortable than the newer, fashionable stuff and they always end up being his favorites, even before I reupholster them. We have one hideously ugly $20 couch that I have never found the right fabric to reupholster that he wouldn't let me get rid of because "it's too comfortable!" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 I'm the spouse who brings stuff home from garage sales. I frequently go to sales with my dad. He's the one who buys the weird stuff. A few weeks ago, he bought a wooden elephant that is about 3 feet tall and weighs around 150 pounds. Don't ask me why. It's currently for sale on the popular auction site, but hasn't seen a lot of interest. I generally buy stuff to flip for a profit. This week I sold a pair of Red Wing work boots that were purchased for $4 at a garage sale. The sale price before shipping and fees was $175. One sort of weird one for a 51 year old man I guess was a used breast pump. It was purchased along with a vintage athletic supporter and protective cup, like new of course. Is it against board rules to post the link? If so, could you PM me? I'm so curious. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambam Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Does it count if they are auctions from Fine Arts museums? Our local Fine Arts Museum had a silent auction on a bunch of things they had that were donated, left to them in wills, etc. My dh went through and bid small amounts on the stuff he thought he might like. Unfortunately, he won many of his bids. So, now I have this horrible huge Egyptian woman-bird 3-D thing hanging in my garage. Truly ugly. And big. 2'x3'x1' at least. The kids decorate it for Christmas, and they regularly put other things on it. Everyone who comes to my house is dragged to the garage to show them the "idol" there. They aren't always dragged by my kids either, other kids drag new kids out there. It is a point of fascination for many. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomeontheprairie Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Not a garage sale, but an auction. Dh came how with a water fountain and a hay trailer. Why do we need a water fountain? Why do we need a hay trailer? (And combined he paid less than $5. But sheesh, we don't need either of these things, and the one is HUGE) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad 4 Boys Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 I've told my DH numerous times that I want a giant elephant in my living room. My Ebay store is called Double K Bazaar. Go check it out. We even have terms in the listing for personal delivery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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