More Bang for Your Buck

I have to admit that before I met Jeff I was not much of a bargain shopper. While he would argue that I’m still not, I’m definitely on my way (as in, I no longer think that ‘sale’ means that no one else wants it and I shouldn’t either).

One of my biggest breakthroughs was finding the joy in yard sale and estate sale finds. I have to admit that estate sales are my favorite, especially when you can find beautiful old china, serve ware, and accessories. Hopefully, ‘More Bang for Your Buck’ will be a recurring feature – with lots of estate and yard sale finds, tips, and deals to be had!

My first estate sale purchase was a set of silver plated Rogers Bros flatware. I’m so excited to use these for Christmas parties, baby showers, and other Eddie Ross style events. What really sold me were the iced tea spoons… Where can you find these anymore? It made me think of holidays at my grandparents house, and I was hooked.



Fortunately, we were there on the last day of the sale – So bargains were ours for the taking! Lesson Learned 1: Never be afraid to ask for a better price. I’ve now gathered up the courage to ask for a specific price, but at the time all I offered was, “what is the best you can do on this?”



Next thing I knew, I was walking out with an 89 piece (oh my gosh!) set of antique silver plated flatware in a nice wooden box for a little less than $100. You may be thinking that I got taken… But here is a search around the web for comparable deals.

Rogers Bros silver plated flatware set in the same pattern, only 55 pieces: $175 on eBay

The same set with only 47 pieces (almost half of what we got): $99 also on eBay

Not to mention the find that had me giddy… On Replacements Limited, a brand new set of the same pattern (62 pieces) for $699!

Sometimes asking is all it takes to score a great bargain!