(By Shawn Clarke) –  So we had our annual garage (aka garbage) sale this past weekend and the nuts and flakes came out of the woodwork. I really hate to throw certain things out especially if they can still be useful. I’m not talking junk, newspapers or magazines but things like clothing, toys or household items that can be reused. My daughter is going on 4 and outgrows her clothes after only a few wearing’s and with 4 older girl cousins the amount of hand-me-downs really add up. So our annual garbage sale is an opportunity to get rid of these clothes and toys and find them a second home. My wife is interested in how much money can we make, while I focus on how much room I can create as this stuff leaves.

This time around I had a few automotive pieces, a Midas muffler sign, a grill from a 1969 Ford Fairlane and a grill from a base model 1967 Camaro. The Midas sign was a spring Carlisle find, the Fairlane grill was given to me by a friend cleaning out his garage 10 years ago and I don’t own a Fairlane. The Camaro grill came on the car when I bought it but have swapped it out for hidden RS headlights instead. So I thought let’s get rid of this stuff and maybe someone can use these original parts. I thought I priced them appropriately, $40 for the Ford grill and $50 for the Camaro grill. The Midas sign I priced at $600 shooting for the moon, but you gotta start somewhere.

Then 9AM hit and the nuts arrived.

Would you take $1 for the Camaro grill? The grill is cracked. That price tag can’t really say $50??

Now this is an original 1967 Camaro grill, with both turn signal lights/bezels/bulbs a good upper trim and the original center emblem, and a cracked grill center. I looked in my Ricks Camaro’s catalogues to figure replacement value with repop parts:

1967 Upper Standard Grill molding  $69.99

1967 Parking Light assembly $63.99 each side

1967 Standard Grill Emblem $35.29

So that’s $233.26 for those 4 pieces, plus shipping. Remember that is Reproduction NOT original.  So is $50 for all the pieces and the cracked grill center really that unreasonable? I can always negotiate down for someone with cash and $20 would have taken the grill away, it’s worth that for just a wall hanger.

Next time I will just haul this stuff to the Carlisle Swap Meet to sell (was reading your story about swap meets, YEAH I love going to Spring and Fall Carlisle every year since 1992). Instead of having a garbage sale in the future I will just go to other people’s garage sales. Maybe ask stupid questions like, “I see you have this priced at $50-, would you take a dollar?”