Little green

Tuesday night was very busy. I was garbage picking in a fairly wealthy neighbourhood and it seemed like there was always more interesting trash just around the corner.

This pile sat in front of a recently sold house. The residents don’t seem to be putting any effort into redistributing their old stuff; the week before they put out bags and bags full of kids toys (how many do kids need, really?). This time around there was lots more on the curb, including a fine looking hockey net, a scooter, a kids’ bike that needed some work, and a Danby portable air conditioner. I didn’t take much, partly due to lack of space in the car and partly because I need to maintain my sanity. In retrospect though I wish I took that air conditioner, which you can see next to the bins on the right.

In the back were two cases full of a drink called Vemma. I left them behind because they expired in 2014 and also because I mistakenly read the name as Vomma, which doesn’t sound appetizing at all. I looked at the company website, curious as to what the drinks were and how much they would have cost. The website felt a little weird and I got a little suspicious. I did some more research and sure enough many experts consider Vemma to be a pyramid scheme. All this product would have cost well over 100$, and it’s really not any better than your average (and much cheaper) multivitamin. This person, like many others before them likely found out the hard way that unloading this overpriced drink is more difficult that it seems.

The one thing I did take home from this pile was a Bissell Little Green steam cleaner. It works great and looks like it’s been used only once or twice. These sell for over 100$ on eBay, though I’ll likely keep it myself as it’s a useful thing to have around the house.

This spot provided a few more nice finds. The bag was full of miscellaneous camera accessories, none of which looked to be particularly valuable. I brought it home just in case I missed something valuable – a nice camera lens can be worth big bucks – but I ended up just leaving it on the curb in front of my house. It didn’t last long out there, and hopefully found a good home.

Inside one of the bags was a cool aviator hat. It was made by Harricana par Mariouche, a Montreal-based fashion design company that uses only recycled furs. I’ve actually driven by the headquarters on several occasions (at St. Antoine / Atwater if you’re curious) but had no idea what it was.

The hat appears to be totally unused. Maybe it was an unwanted gift or something. New aviator hats seem to go for close to 300$ while used ones on eBay are going for a little over a hundred. I listed mine for around the going rate, though I don’t expect it’ll sell until the weather starts to cool.

On a related note it looks like I can trade in old furs for Harricana par Mariouche gift certificates. I’ll keep that in mind next time I come across some well-worn furs. Readers from Montreal might want to consider this as well.

Otherwise, I found a little portable radio (which I ended up giving to a friend); …

… a working Voigtlander Perkeo slide projector in its original case (not pictured);

… and five packs of Polaroid film that expired in 1983. I should be able to get decent money for these. I listed the three packs of Polaroid 669 film for 70$ with free shipping, while the two packs of 665 I put up for 160$. That may seem high, but the 665 film has been discontinued and is apparently very desirable for some photographers. My price is in line with the cost of newer film of the same type. The market may prefer newer film but I won’t know for sure unless I try for that higher price. The going rate for the 669 film is much more clear cut, and I expect it to go for my asking price.

I was just about to go home when I came across another big pile in front of a recently sold home.

There were two bags just stuffed with DVDs, the vast majority of which are in excellent condition. These people apparently loved Entourage, the Sopranos, Melrose Place, and UFC fighting, the latter two of which are strange bedfellows. I imagine this collection would easily have cost upwards of 500$. I should be able to sell these DVDs for decent money at my yard sales.

I also found a bunch of wires, cables, adapters, and electronics, including a modem and a router. I hear there’s a place in Park Ex that buys this kind of stuff – I may go there and see what they offer me. Some items will definitely end up on eBay though, like that remote in the middle that belongs to an Apple TV.

I have a good feeling about this week! I’ll keep you posted as usual.