Do you do Auctions? If so, what's the craziest thing you've ever "won"?

20 pounds?!!

In 5th grade at a PTA auction, I won a chance to be teacher for a day and I got to do it. That was fun. :)

Haven’t participated in an auction in a while…last year my parents auctioned off a couple weekend trips at our Tahoe home for another school-related auction. People from school that I knew, but was not really “friends” with stayed there and saw my baby pictures up on the wall and stayed in my room and…man, that was bizarre…

:P

An e-Bay habit resulted in some interesting and expensive purchases. As a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright, I bid on and won a scrap of lime green, orange and purple carpet left over from the Biltmore Hotel renovation in the ‘80s. Another must-have purchase was an opal ring commissioned by FLW for one of his wives. The opal is the size of a Texas belt buckle, and it barely fits on my pinkie finger. It’s so heavy that I’d have to put my arm in a sling, should I ever attempt to wear it.

I won’t mention how much I paid for either…too embarrassing, although the ring ended up being an investment. As a friend asked, “Isn’t winning something in an auction a euphemism for paying for it?”

I don’t buy crazy things at auctions but the absolute best, most amazing thing that I ever bought at an auction, and this was a real, live physical auction, not an online auction was a box of about 150 letters, cards, etc. They were apparently saved by a woman in Maryland and most of them are letters from a Sergeant who was serving in the Army, in the Philippines in WWII. They begin with him just writing her because she is someone from home. The letters document their courtship and actually include few letters from other guys who know her and other men in the service who have asked permission to write her just because they want someone stateside to write home to. The two of them eventually got married and the collection includes condolence and holy card sent upon the death of the woman’s brother and father. The collection also includes Valentine’s Day cards from the Sergeant to his sweetheart/bride over the course of their marriage. It really is just an amazing collection of letters. Someone’s, at least two someones life in a box. I have tried everything I could, everything I know to try to get the letters back to the family but with no success. I just have this feeling that the box of letters was in something else when the family cleaned out the house. I can’t imagine anyone letting go of letters that are essentially a narrative of their parent’s courtship and life together. It’s a treasure.

My ex-husband (who had very poor impulse control) wound up with a pre Civil War square backed grand piano. It was massive, and it took every friend we had to get it into the house – the 900 square foot house that had no room for a grand and no one to play it. Oh, and it also had a broken fret board, and so was unplayable anyway.

I won a paving brick from the 1893 Columbian Exposition World’s Fair in Chicago. To me it is an incredible piece of history. Just thinking of all who could have tread on my brick gives me goose pimples.

That’s some good stuff you guys!
@DominicX Yes. 20 pounds of butter! Filled up our freezer! The were a pain to use, though, because they were in unbroken 1 pound blocks. Messy. My husband doesn’t have such good impulse control either. But…for what it was, it was a good buy. Real butter for about $.75 a pound.
Re teaching….what grade? And did they leave you in there by yourself??
Re your parent’s auction… I don’t think I’d like acquaintances my own age staying in my old room either!

@Pied_Pfeffer What did you tell your friend? I don’t think bidding is a euphemism for “paying for it..” paying for it is the end result, but it’s what comes before that makes it so fun!

@lillycoyote….Wow What a story. I can imagine what it must have been like going through all of that. I came across an old check book ledger from the 40’s once, and I spent an hour going, “Wow. They paid $7.00 that month for their utilities..” and so on. The handwriting and the pictures I made up in my head to fit the bills they paid and the purchases they made were nostalgic enough. Your find must have been an incredible “book.” Can you go back to the person who had the auction maybe, to find the family? What were the names of the woman and the man? Maybe you could check with the military? We’ll help you! (But you have to make photo copies for us!)

@syz Oh NO!!! Oh my! A grand in a 900 Sq ft home! Whatever happened to it? I once lived in an 800 sq ft home (but had a full finished basement, but it wasn’t very inviting. This was before walk out windows became law due to fire issues.) Anyway, I bought a late 19th century upright! And I was sober when I did it! I just had this idea of introducing the children to music. But I didn’t play, so mostly it was really nice to look at! Needless to say, though, when I sold the house “Piano stays!” Anyway, I can see how he’d be your Ex by now!

@Sueanne_Tremendous….that is really a find! How were you able to authenticate it? If you didn’t, well, I have some bricks to sell you!

While we’re on the subject, I got this at auction just last Saturday. It’s an awful picture, doesn’t do it justice. For one my lens needs to be cleaned. For another, I had to use a flash which flattens things out and takes out all the warmth and charm. But, anyway, this gives you an idea….I saw this and I just melted. The fact that I dropped out when the bidding hit $40 tells you that I have very GOOD impulse control because I know it’s worth a hell of a lot more than that! But, it hit $40 and I fell upon a nearby couch in despair. Didn’t realize that my husband picked it up from there…and got it for $45!!

Here

SHIT! That’s not it! That’s the 10K mansion they gave me!!

Try again

@Val123

haha no, it was my own 5th grade class. My teacher told me everything to do. But the fun part was that she didn’t really tell anyone why I was teacher for a day, so people were really confused. I remember my friend saying “Wait, how does Dominic get to be teacher? I don’t get it…”. It was entertaining. :)

So you were IN the 5th grade at the time? :) Did you learn anything new from the experience?

@Val123

Yeah, I was 10. :) It only served to strengthen my desire to be a teacher, which is what I wanted to do at the time. I still think of it as a possibility, being a Latin teacher or professor. :)

A case of telephone answering machines. I needed one. I saw the case with no bids, so I bid like $1.00 and won the auction. I could write several pages about this, but that’s my favorite. Wait, I also liked the 200 rolls of tape for about the same price.

@perspicacious LOL! I once ended up with a spray can of Grizzly Bear Repellent in a misc. box I bid on and got for about a buck!
Also, for a couple of dollars I picked up three rolls of this gosh awful purple and green shag rug! People thought I was nuts, but I knew what I was doing! My son immediately laid some down in his room, and years later he used some more to carpet the inside of his 1978 Pinto Wagon that was given to him. Which runs. Like a top.

@Val123 ebay used to be tons of fun; not as much now because all of the sellers are businesses. I don’t doubt it about the Pinto. My first car was a 1970 Pinto and it was great. I cried when I sold it. It was love.

Did it blow up @perspicacious???!!!

@Val123 No. I drove it for nine years. I dropped the full coverage ins after six and got busy having little accidents. So when all four corners had dents, I sold it.

@Val123 The brick was poured with the World’s Fair logo, the year date and the initials of the company who poured the brick embedded in the brick. Plus it is huge! I’ll send a link to pics as soon as put them up. It’s really cool.

Let’s see if this link “works”: http://imgur.com/rkTaw.jpg][IMG]http://imgur.com/rkTaw.jpg

Wow!! That really is something! But, a little blurry. Do you have a micro setting on your camera for closeups? Mine has a little picture of a flower….
That is a COOL brick. Sorry. I don’t have anything like it!

I had to use my camera phone…I guess that’s why it’s blurry!

@Sueanne_Tremendous But it’s really cool! Thanks for going to all the work of downloading that and sharing it with us!

Three little weaner pigs.

HAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!!! Real pigs?? Did you have a place to keep them? Do you, like, live in an apartment? What’s a weaner pig, anyway?