Everyone Loves A Bargain

And, most of all, me. 

This post is part of The Parent Bloggers Network Blog Blast - Everyone Loves a Bargain - where, just for blogging about your greatest bargain hunting success, you can win gift cards of either $50 or $100 to your choice of retailers. 

The summer that my first daughter was 18 months, I went to a yard sale.  I wasn't really looking for anything, just trying to kill time on a hot summer day while staying at home with two kids.  I don't have great luck at yard sales - some people I know can find amazing items, outfit their entire families for mere dollars and redecorate their houses with amazing skill and, well, I'm not that person.  I can eek out a find every once in a while, but it's rare.

Rifling through the clothes that were hanging, I stopped short.  There, right in front of me, was the Holy Grail of clothing - an almost new Gymboree winter coat, with a matching hat and ski pants.  I grabbed it before I thought - I was so anxious that no one else beat me to this, the find of a lifetime.  (At the time, I was an enormous Gymboree freak - I've calmed a bit, but I still like the stuff, although not as much as I once did.) There was no price on it, so I moved to ask the homeowner how much the set was. I knew that I had about $20 in my pocket, but knew that if it was more, I'd go to the bank.  I'd pay up to $40, I reasoned - although I hoped it wouldn't come to that.

$8.  For ALL THREE PIECES.

Ask me how quickly I bought it.

I knew that my daughter would be able to wear it two winters, and thought that maybe I'd have another daughter who could wear it.  Well.  Life is funny, isn't it?  That $8 suit was worn by all four of my daughters for two years each. $1 a year for each girl - I think I can safely say that this was my greatest bargain.  Best of all, the coat, hat and pants still look amazing - so I could use them again. Or I could pass them on.  Or sell them.

Definitely rather sell them or pass them on.

Want a chance at a gift card?  Thanks to PBN and Couponers.com, you can enter.  Go here for the skinny, and share your best bargain!

Comments

[Brandy]

I've never been able to find anything great at a yard sale. You did great! And what a fun memory. *G*

[Crisanne]

You would have gotten your money's worth at full price! With sales and Gymbucks, etc, you should never pay full price at Gymboree. And they are a great place to buy ahead as they size them generously and put adjustable waists in everything!

[Angela in Ohio]

Great buy! I would have asked her if she would have taken $5. I push my luck that way!

[LeeAnn]

In order to raise the money to go to Ireland/Sweden this summer for my son's soccer team, we held a 17 family yard sale in a local church parking lot. After 6 hours of work we made over $2,000. I'm sure we would have made more but we took just about any price people wanted to pay. We still had enough stuff left over and held another sale and got almost $1000. I know one woman that walked away with 10 backpacks (my donation to the event) for under $20.00. I think she got the sale of the event since most of those were brand new and cost alot more than $20.

[Megan]

The best buy I ever got at a yard sale was a brand new clothespin doll-making kit for 10 cents when I was little. I had hours of fun with that kit. Since then, I haven't had a huge amount of luck, though I don't spend much time looking anymore. My co-workers keep ranting and raving to me about the great finds they get at the thrift stores, so I need to set some weekend afternoons aside to go digging.

[Rosie : )]

I remember one summer paying 10 dollars for a humungous box of books. We had to be two people to lift up the box.

As soon as I finished reading them, I gave them to my best friend, who gave them to her mother, who gave them to her grandmother, who donated them to the library.

It was well-spent. :)

[Heather]

Congrats on winning the top prize. :) The snow suit just became a much better bargain!