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From
the Field
Don't
Discount Resale
Non-believer
to Disciple in 4 Easy Hours
by Mary
Greene from Tryon, NC
One sunny afternoon as I was cleaning
the kitchen, my discount diva friend,
Patsy, called and insisted I go shopping
with her to the “most fabulous”
antique store. Well, I had been by that
particular store several times and nothing
about it looked fabulous to me. I hemmed
and hawed and thought of every good
excuse to put her off, but Diva Patsy
was so persistent, it was just easier
to give in. So it was off with my apron,
a kiss good-bye for my husband and son,
with the assurance, “I won't be
gone long, an hour and a half at the
most.” I mean how long would it
take to look at a bunch of used stuff?
Four hours later and…well I am getting
a little ahead of myself.
Beyond Rust &
Patina
As we entered the antique store, Patsy
took off and left me to wander on my
own. This particular store was based
on consignment, and I am happy to say
clearly sectioned off. Almost immediately
I was drawn to a back corner of the
store, where the display was largely
southwestern style merchandise. The
bright colors led my eyes from one piece
of merchandise to the next, until I
spotted a beautiful contemporary blue
glass-serving platter. I was shocked
to see such a piece of ware in an antique
store. I was even more surprised to
see it was only $3.50. I was beginning
to warm up to this idea of shopping
for “old” stuff.
Patsy was thrilled with my find and
led me back to a sort of “shabby
chic” display. In this section
I found a beaded glass candleholder
for a $1.00, and decided to use it for
a pencil holder to brighten my desk.
There also was a beautiful damask tablecloth.
(Although it was battleship gray, Patsy
being the discount diva that she is,
enlightened me on the joys of RIT dye,
and it is now a fabulous shade of red.)
But before Patsy would allow me to lay
claim to the tablecloth, she insisted
that the shop owner lower its price
on the tablecloth. So I was able to
buy the tablecloth for only $20.00.
On my own I would have never asked for
a discount, but it seems that even at
consignment stores it is almost expected.
Three hours later and I am finally ready
to check out, my shopping bags full
of goodies. Amazingly Patsy was waiting
on me.
A Discount Diva
is Born
I didn't purchase any large ticket items;
my most expensive treasure was the tablecloth.
I am definitely intrigued by the whole
resale world and plan to shop it again.
In the past I was honestly put off by
the idea of buying someone else's stuff,
but almost everything I saw was clean,
neat, and could have been on a shelf
in a department store. I am so glad
that I went with Patsy that day. I would
never have thought an antique store
would have the type of merchandise I
found. I will never again discount
resale shops.
