Junkers aren't born. They're made. And not instantaneously, either. It takes a lifetime. I see so many people come and go from vendor malls because they didn't have it in them to stick it out. I've seen some people online fretting because right now every auction, yard sale, and barn seems to be overrun with wanna-be American Pickers and their little flashlights.
These idiots are getting in the way of people who actually know what they're doing, driving up prices and acting like asses because they've watched a few episodes of a TV show. Worse yet, they're copying and trying to ride the coattails of the more experienced junkers around them.
In the end, though, I think they're going to be a momentary frustration. Once these insta-junkers see how much real work there is for how much little actual return, they're gonna jump ship. They don't have it in them. They never gave a thought to second-hand goods before they started trying to be junkers, and that is the crux of their problem. You become a junker over a lifetime, not by watching TV shows.
I'm still a relative newcomer to the selling end of things, with only about three years under my belt, but I bring a lifetime of buying secondhand to the table. My parents sort of got me into this, although they weren't really as serious about it as I became. Still, it's thanks to them that I learned about flea markets and thrift stores and such.
So with that in mind, I've decided to start sharing some of my early junking memories from time to time. I've been realizing since both my parents are gone now, how often I did secondhand shopping with them, both as a kid and as an adult. Neither one of them got to see my booths, but I think they'd be proud of what I've done. And I've had many significant friends and others who have played a role in my junking past as well. I'd like to pay tribute to them with a few posts along the way.
Shara has a great expression in the masthead to her blog: "Sometimes it's about the journey. Sometimes it's about the junk." To that, I would add: "Sometimes it's about both." That's what this series is about. I hope you'll join me as I look back on some of those memories of junk gone by.
1 comment:
There I was just reading and enjoying and then BAM there was my name again! ;o)
Every time I leave my house it involves either junk or a journey. But, usually it's both. You are right, junking is a journey and there are lots of stories out there. Maybe someday I will blog about the time my parents and I went to a Barn Sale (about 1975)m and the old farmer had on a pair of old worn pair of bib overalls. My Dad asked if he had anymore like those and the old farmer said, "No.....But you can buy these." And he took them OFF and sold them to my Dad for a quarter. I swear!
Can't wait to hear your stories. (And I promise to blog about my cats someday soon).
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