Doors Floors and More

Cited: Time

The 1st day of a four-day yard sale extravaganza stretching from Michigan to Georgia, find Patsy and Larry Hagood sitting pretty just after lunch. The trailer they brought with them from Canton North Carolina is now half full of great finds that include loveseat with wild grapevines, an antique wrought iron plant hanger and a huge artificial Christmas tree. “I’ve wanted to do this all my life. It’s my birthday present, but we’re also shopping for our kids,” Patsy states happily as she points out that she still has $1800 of the $2000 she brought to spend.

On the first weekend in August, tens of thousands of yard-sale fans from across the U.S. converged on Highway 127 between Hudson, Mich., and Gadsden, Ala., to pick through tables laden with junk in hopes of making incredible finds. Mountains of $1 designer blue jeans sprawl next to antique cars (a restored Model T: $8,000; the rusted chassis of another: $1,000), bins overflowing with costume jewelry, Avon bottles and ancient hardware. And then there’s the sublimely ridiculous: only $1,000 for a huge chunk of driftwood pulled from the Sequatchie River a couple of nights before the sale; $300 for an “authentic Samurai sword” with a “Made in China” stamp. People plan vacations around the sale, and neither bumper-to-bumper traffic nor temperatures hovering in the high 90s nor afternoon thunderstorms could dissuade sellers and shoppers alike from turning out for it.

There are professional sellers hawking antiques in rented yards and hay fields at the side of the road, with normal yard sales with handmade signs on poster board or cardboard pointing the way. Tim and Vanlicia Ferguson of Homestead, Fla., were visiting family in Dunlap and decided to take advantage of opportunity to get rid of the stuff overflowing their RV and Tim’s mother’s garage. “Our stuff is priced to sell because I don’t have any desire to put it all away again,” Vanlicia says, telling a woman to make an offer on one of three microwave ovens. Despite being several blocks away from the official yard-sale route, the Fergusons had a steady stream of traffic pulling into their driveway. “I think a lot of people have caught on to the pros setting up on the main drag and have taken to the back roads,” Vanlicia says.

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Farther south on 127, 6-year-old Callie Tate took advantage of the heat and traffic to sell 50 Kool-Aid drinks while her mother Tara and assorted cousins, aunts and uncles filled a relative’s front yard with clothes, old toys and furniture. “It’s not something we do every year,” Tara says. “This year I’m just selling my stuff and stuff people gave me to sell for them.”

In a barn south of Crossville, Tenn., Barb and John Medema of South Kalamazoo, Mich., took in all of the offerings, from the 100-year-old oak mantel leaning against one wall to the lectern once used by the retired minister who owned the building. The Medemas had planned their trip for two years and intended to cover nearly all of the yard-sale route. “We just like to go to garage sales and thought it might be interesting, and it has been well worth the trip,” John says.

This annual trip is an adventure for Patsy Hagood. It’s not about the economy, gas prices were flying prices. It’s about 4 days of traveling with her husband, eating sandwiches with items bought at a roadside stand and the possibility of making an incredible find. “It’s the hunt,” explains Edith Hardeman, who, with her husband David, managed 2 booths at a roadside spot near Mt. Airy TN. While Edith sold old advertising and Coke memorabilia, her husband David talked with regular customers about his vast offering of vintage records. “We’re into it, buddy,” Edith laughs. “We are into it.”

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My Take: My mom’s best friend, God rest her soul, would it kill them to go to that yard sale. She could not pass up a yard sale to save her life. She would find some of the most interesting things to yard sales and some were pretty cheap. I remember one time she found some of that organic skin care stuff that normally is very expensive for a dollar. I checked out some organic beauty products and they are great for the skin, but expensive.

I remember one year, I went to a local yard sale (usually happens every weekend) and I found the most unique Halloween costumes I had ever seen. It turned out that they were handmade by the lady running the yard sale for kids. We even had one of her sexy costumes out to sell. That woman had to gift to sew! My mom used to make my Halloween costumes when I was a kid, but she could never do what this woman did.

One thing I was always leery about at yard sales for the cell phones. You can find some of the best used cell phones at any yard sale, the question were they stolen? You never knew! You could easily find used Nextel and used Verizon mobile phones at a yard sale. They might be last year’s version, but they’re usually in good condition.

That would’ve been a vacation trip Phyllis would have loved!

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Cited: StreetInsider.com

Market, market has got the market? Is it Wal-Mart or Amazon? These two retail giants have been fighting competition within their own markets for a long time. Now, everybody knows that Amazon is the place to go for books and CDs or DVDs at low prices. But this holiday season Wal-Mart wants a piece of that pie.

Big-box discount retailer Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and online one-stop shop Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) are engaged in a price war that could end up as the biggest story to come out of the busiest shopping season of the year.

The battle started last month when the two retailers began a highly publicized battle to see who could have the lowest price on the newest books and DVDs coming out this fall. Now the two are going back and forth on toys, video games and mobile phones.

In perhaps the most evident sign of the two trying to keep up with each other, Wal-Mart dropped the price of its Easy Bake Oven from Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) to $17 from $28 as a part of its Black Friday deals. Wasting no time, Amazon dropped its similar $28 sticker price for the Oven to a competitive $18. Now, parents will have an option on where to get a good deal the 45-year old toy that is certain to bring brownies undercooked by a light bulb into homes across the country this holiday.

The two companies are fundamentally different and Amazon poses no real threat to Wal-Mart and its 4,000 stores. Lately the lines that divide the two are becoming blurred. Wal-Mart is expanding its online services in an effort to not cede any of its sales, which last year totaled $405 billion.

Amazon is punching back as it now offers same day shipping on its merchandise in seven cities to give the consumer some of the instant gratification that they receive from shopping in a store. Amazon is also looking to increase profit margin with expanding its white-labeling program by branding products with the company’s image. Amazon is leading the E-Commerce revolution, which currently only holds 4% of the retail market share, but is growing rapidly among those consumers who would rather point and click, rather than venture to overcrowded stores.

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Among the items being tussled over by the two companies are video games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which Wal-Mart started selling with a $15 gift card, an offer that Amazon soon thereafter matched. Similarly both companies are now selling Xbox 360 gaming consoles for $199 with a $100 gift card, as well as the new Palm (NASDAQ: PALM) Pixi phone for $30, $175 off retail price.

As the two companies continue to grow and evolve it is clear that the competition will continue. As for this holiday season, consumers will have plenty of deals to choose from as things heat up.

Shares for Wal-Mart are trading were nearly even on November 25, up 0.31% to $55.02. Amazon is down a fraction to $132.84. There is a significant difference between the core shoppers of Amazon and Wal-Mart were competing toe-to-toe on some items. The largest percentage of Wal-Mart shoppers earn $25,000-$45,000 a year, compared to over $100,000 at Amazon.

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My Take: It is good to see a little bit of competition between competing retailers. It means that consumers are going to get lower prices and will be able to afford the things they want. Consumers like college students do not have much money will be able to afford their Greek clothing this year. It also means that they will be able to get cool tees as from as gifts for their friends or family this Christmas.

Of course, some college students will be entering fraternities or sororities and will need to get a Greek shirt for next semester and with this kind of competition they will be able to afford it. They will also be able to afford some new cool T shirts for next summer.

Don’t get me wrong, students will not be the only ones who will benefit from the price wars this holiday season. The low prices on books and DVDs are just beginning. If the competition heats up more, you will see lower prices on electronics, toys, toiletries and even some of the frivolous things like Scentsy wickless candles. I know, women are the ones that usually light all the candles in the bathroom and then soak in the tub to relax. Some men do it as well! Of course, they will need the Scentsy candle warmer for these candles, they have no wick.

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