The Thrill of the Hunt...

Redware pie plate- I forget where I got it, but it was around $10.

      Shhhh.  Be verwy, verwy quiet.  I'm hunting bargains!  I don't know about y'all, but I can't afford to buy really nice antiques in really nice antique stores.  Being a primitives decorator, I don't know that I want the good stuff.  Give me your tired, your nicked, your discolored pieces. yearning for a home. Even the primitive pieces can be expensive!  You can go into primitive stores, and even the reproductions cost a pretty penny!  So, you want the look, but you can't spend a lot, so what is a gal or guy to do?  Go to thrift stores, flea markets, and garage sales!

Quail- $3 at thrift shop.  Yellowware- eBay.  A lady sold me a lot of them which worked out to $4 each! Transferware plates- I look for them to be under $3.00.  One a lady gave me one for free!

It is the thrill of the hunt.  It is fun to poke around eBay and antique stores.  I see things I like, but then I see the price tag.  Ugh. However, when you fix items that you would like to collect in your mind, it is easier to spot them when you come across them at yard sales, thrift stores, and other holes-in-the-walls.  I find when I poke around eBay and antique stores, I look carefully at the information and pricing on the tag.  That way, if I spot a gem somewhere, I have an idea if I "struck gold" or not! 

The other thing about poking around the "cheap" places is that you can find stuff within the prices you can afford and make it into something that fits your decor.  You can repaint it, scuff it, sand it, create a "make-do", whatever!!!  That is the fun of Primitive Decorating.  We put the fun into "scratch and dent"!  

Scale- $10 at Flea Market- SOOO Prim!

So, to encourage you in your hunt, most of the things I am showing you I got around $10, give or take a few dollars.  Some I got from eBay, many from thrift stores, or antique flea markets (I like to visit the sellers who are packing up and getting ready to leave.  They may give you a bargain just so they don't have to load it up.  That is how I got a hog scraper for $2.50!).

TV shows have helped me also in identifying objects, determining worth, and learning bargaining techniques.  My husband and I always watch "Antiques Roadshow" on PBS.  We love to compete against each other to see who can get the closest to the appraised value of the item.  This summer, we were loving the episodes that were from the '90's.  They would show the appraisal from the past, and then they would show you what it would be worth today- did its value go up, stay the same, or go down?  Those were the episode that were the most fun in which to compete against my husband.  We learned a lot about current trends, what items retain value, and what items continue to appreciate.

Goodwill- Pair of punched tin sconces for $4.00.  They are big!

Another show I love, which many find controversial, is "American Pickers".  I love the camaraderie between Mike and Frank.  What I have learned from them is to not be afraid to haggle with the price (I do it politely.) and to try to "bundle" items for a better deal.  This summer, I was brave and tried both techniques, and it worked! Also, politeness and humbleness go a long way.  My husband says I am like Frank- he's the "bearded charmer". Except, I don't have a beard or a receding hairline. 

Something that made me bolder in haggling is when one weekend, my husband and I went to our favorite Antiques Flea Market, Shupp's Grove.  We scraped up $5 each from our wallets and change.  We didn't want to spend any other money because we were trying to be money conscious (THAT weekend.  Ugh.).  It was surprising how I was willing to talk to the person about price because I had a small budget.  I walked away with a iron match safe and a ironstone cup from around 1900.  The cup was $1 and then 50% off.  It has a beautiful brownish crazing to it!

So, get out there!  Educate yourself, dig, haggle, bundle, get the chipped stuff- whatever!  But, find those BARGAINS!!!

Antique Store Clearance Room- Talked the owner down to $12.  It is huge!

Barn Sale- $7

This picture, which I have seen sell for close to $100- $5 at a garage sale!  I have seen it in Country Sampler!

Antique store- $5- Hand-wrought iron

Goodwill- $1 (Seems similar to the other one!

Goodwill- Seems old and is hand-wrought iron.  Has corrosion from use- $3!

The large courting candle- $5 on eBay!

Heavy, iron, ornate candle holder- $3 at Goodwill

Williamsburg Pottery Salt-glazed candle stick holders-Goodwill $3 each- I gave one to my mom!

Old flashcard- $3 each at an antique store.  Framed with scrapbooking paper ($.10 each) and Dollar Store frames. I have 5 of them in my kitchen. "Warm", "Milk", and "Cow".

Coffee Talk for Today:  

• What is the best bargain you ever found and where did you find it?  
• What techniques do you use to get the best price?