by Patricia Woods

Created on: February 13, 2007   Last Updated: February 14, 2007

My best "Yard Sale" buy was my worst "Yard Sale" sale.

Knowing that I was an avid yard sale shopper , my mother asked me to be on the lookout for a small drop leave kitchen table which she could use in her kitchen.

It wasn't long before I ran across a small antique drop leaf table and purchased it for $15.00. Although it was covered with layers of paint, I thought I had made a great buy. I gave it to my mom and she used it in her kitchen for several years.

When mother decided to remodel her kitchen she returned the table to me. It was still covered with the many layers of white paint.

One of my hobbies was that of refinishing furniture. So I decided that I would strip the white paint from the table.

I had the table out in my carport and had just started the process of stripping the the paint when a strange woman pulled into my driveway. She had seen the table from the road and wondered if I would be interested in selling the table. She offered to pay me $100.00 right there and said that I could phone her when I had finished the table and she would come pick it up. I was elated and accepted the offer while patting my self on the back for the nice profit I had made.

Imagine my horror when I had stripped that table down to the bare wood and realized that it was constructed from a solid piece of beautiful Burl Walnut. Thus, making the value of the table well above $1,000.00.

Although I still had the table, I had accepted the woman's offer and felt duty bound to follow through with the sale. Which I did.

Therefore, what was my best "Yard Sale" buy turned out to be the worst sale I ever made.

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