Right place at the right time??

So there is a local website that I check on a daily basis

and usually only adds fuel to my furniture renovation ideas

the website is http://www.cmichauctions.com/

It is like a local ebay

Just like on the movie 40 Year Old Virgin

This guy Steve has a shop in town

and sells his stuff online

You can go in and look at items

but you must bid on them online to actually purchase/win them

Some of the stuff is definitely not even worth the $1 starting bid

but other items are great deals

He has sold an Ethan Allen table in the past for $40

Solid wood dining chairs for a $1 each

it all just depends on how high the bid gets

each item starts at $1 and goes up by $1 intervals

for the week the items are listed

Anyway today I went to pick up my winnings

a magazine rack and metal trivet and plaque holder for a total of $3.81

I was a little miffed because I lost out on the

full bed frame that I wanted by 25 cents

it went for a total of $32.25 and is easily worth 3 times that

pretty isn't it

When I got there there was an older gentleman picking up his stuff

We got to talking and I found out he does this for a living

As in I was talking to a actual "Picker"

By the way I love love love the show American Picker's

What a fun job

Meeting new people, hearing new stories and finding treasures

everyday

As I was chatting up my new hero

I noticed an old sewing machine in the back

that I knew had been listed a few weeks ago

I asked Steve about it and

the sewing machine, plus the 4 boxes, chair

nightstand, mirrors, globes and other

items sitting in that corner

were all from one buyer who hadn't paid

and hadn't returned any phone calls

Steve had already paid the sellers

He said he was going to have to relist them

and would probably end up losing money

It was at that point my new hero spoke up

and said if he could buy some of the items

at the winning bid price he would take them off

of Steve's hands

I of course chimmd right in and said I

would help him out and take a look too

I dove right in

dress clothes and all and started picking through the boxes

I took a closer look at the sewing machine

the top needs some work for sure

but look at what was hiding inside!

and the doors open on the front

How pretty is this?!?

The bidder had won it at a total of $15.50

I told Steve I would happily take it off his hands

along with these two items as well

This mirror is freaking heavy and HUGE

and is going to look amazing over my buffet in my new dining room

which is all still in my head - but hey I have to start somewhere

and for $5 I figured it was a good place to start!

And I am so excited about this one

Do you know how hard it is to explain to a 3 year old that the earth is round

without a visual aid?

I can't wait to show Lilly this

Now she will know where the moon goes when it goes to "bed"

It was a little more than my cheapo self usually spends

but at $11 I figured it was a good investment

We had a globe when I was little and I used to look at

that thing all the time.

The best part is my new hero

kept double checking to make sure

I was going to buy the globe and sewing machine

I truly think he wanted them

Maybe I actually know what I'm doing

or at least it made me feel that way so I'm going with it

Now if the winning bidder for the bed would just not pay...