It’s been almost a month since my last post! I’ve been a bit busy, having done five yard sales since then, as well as some visiting with family, but I’ve also had a bit of writer’s block.
I’m still adjusting to focusing more on new finds than old. Fresher finds can be a bit more complicated. For example, one recent score includes an object that could theoretically be traced back to whoever tossed it (very unlikely, but possible), and I don’t want to hinder the current flow of trash there (or have some other picker poach the spot). These kinds of issues aren’t a concern when it comes to things I found years ago.
For another recent score, I have a cool shot of the trash pile, but the spot might (doubtful, but who knows) be too recognizable, so some similar concerns emerge. I was also thinking I could save that tale in my theoretical book … but by the time that is done we’ll all have largely forgotten about the stuff anyways. And the story isn’t so much about the finds anyways.
I think I’ll share the latter finds soon, and the former once the folks are done tossing their old junk. Today will just be a general update, plus one find.
For the yard sales, as I said earlier it’s been a busy stretch. Labour Day is now my favourite yard sale day of the year. With the students moving to the neighbourhood right around that time, pretty much all of them need stuff for their new apartments and have nothing better to do because it’s a holiday. I did both Sunday and Labour Day Monday, and probably cleared out about half of what I had there, between sales and my purge afterwards.
I’ve done a few more since then, but I’m now at the point where yard sales are providing diminishing returns. Most of my bigger ticket items have sold, so I’m left with smaller sales and old stock. That’s exactly where I want to be this time of year, because winter is coming sooner than most would like and I want to be “out of stock” by then.
Otherwise, with the confusion and cost surrounding the US duty/tariff/tax situation, I quit shipping eBay items to the States altogether. I’ll revisit it when there’s a bit more clarity or sanity, but as things are now it’s just too much of a headache to figure out. And now Canada Post is on strike, which means that eBay sales of any kind are more or less impossible at the moment. I guess I could figure out how to use Fedex or UPS, but I think I’d rather hope the Canada Post situation gets resolved – CP is generally cheaper and easier to use from my experience. I’ve been fortunate enough recently that I don’t need the eBay income all that desperately. In past years this situation might have been very challenging for my finances, but as of right now it’s just a mild inconvenience.
Otherwise, here’s one notable find from a couple months back. I stopped at an apartment building and found the bins filled with neat old junk, including this one bin that contained a bunch of old photos. I also found some fun yard sale stuff, a very small amount of gold and silver, and a letter written & signed by a former Prime Minister.
Wilfred Laurier was PM between 1896 and 1911. The history seems to check out. For Anglos, he’s asking this HG Carroll guy to replace Jean Blanchet as a judge temporarily. However, Blanchet died later in 1908, so the temporary post became permanent. A pretty random bit of history, but it’s cool to see Laurier’s signature and the Prime Minister’s Office letterhead. I doubt it’s worth a whole lot, so I might just keep it for my personal collection.
Otherwise, I’m planning another sale for tomorrow (Sunday) at the 4096 Coloniale spot from 12-6 pm. Late notice I know, but come by if you’re interested! There won’t be too many more this year.