I stopped at a yard sale the other day and spotted an orange and red vintage couch (see below) in the garage; it was for sale. I bee-lined for this piece of furniture as it was striking and I figured it would be priced at about $100 or so. To my surprise, it was $25!
This thing was in great shape, was two colored with a metal frame and removable Naugahyde cushions. The bottom of one cushion was marked with a manufacture mark in grease pencil that said "67" as in maybe, 1967. I was thrilled and told the seller that I would take it immediately.
Following my own rule about asking what it is you are looking for anytime you are at a yard/garage sale, I asked if the seller had any other vintage furniture that she may want to sell. To my surprise she stated that there was a matching chair in the house!!! I was confused as to why she would sell one piece and not the other: why not sell them as a set?! She brought the matching chair out which really "explained" the couch (I will EXPLAIN this in a moment). She wanted $25 for the chair also. After some friendly conversation and several slices of pizza that we shared, I ended up paying $45 for the set. SCORE!
At another yard sale the other day, I bought five strings (125 lights total) of vintage Christmas lights WITH bulbs for $3. I also bought a dresser for $15 by asking the yard sale seller if they had any furniture for sale. The seller stated that she had a table and dresser for sale and invited me into to see them...I bought them both!
Once again, don't be afraid to ask for what you are looking for! Sometimes sellers just don't think about what else they have or maybe don't consider that someone else may want what they consider junk.
Explanation: The couch had three cushions: orange on either side and a slightly darker red one in the middle. Without the chair (which also has a red cushion), the couch would have looked as if the two end cushions were possibly faded or the middle cushion was mis-matched. BUT, the chair with the matching red cushion explained the couch and they make a great set!
Happy hunting!
Allan
