A Good Deal

I promised I'd spend only $25-$30 if I found a doll I liked at estate sales this past weekend. First, I drove over to my daughter's place. Her dog jumped up on me and then ran "victory laps" when he saw me. I hugged my daughter while I watched him. Then she and I spent 20-30 minutes or more playing with him - hiding from him, playing keep away with his toys, grabbing one end of a toy while he grabbed the other and playing tug of war, throwing a tennis ball for him to chase, etc. Loads of fun! My daughter and I were soon laughing so much, we nearly didn't make it to the estate sale. However, soon we put the dog back in his crate to take a little nap and off we went!

I was disappointed when we arrived. There wasn't much there that I could afford. The seller told me that the one thing i wanted - a display cabinet with a mixture of German and Japanese dolls - was $160 - way over what I'd promised to restrict my spending to. I said right away that I couldn't pay that and my husband had limited my funds. In fact, every time she said that price, I said the same thing as if I hadn't heard it before. In fact, I'd forgotten the price after moseying around the rest of the house. I approached her and asked if she would take $40, since it was the last day of the sale and most of the time sellers cut down the cost of items on the last day. So my daughter was surprised when she said she'd sell the doll cabinet w/dolls for $50. I was still hesitant, but i knew she wouldn't take less. Now to decide (1) if I'd buy it for that, and (2) if I'd tell my husband I'd bought it. I knew that some people would hide it from their husbands.

I remember my mother's best friend and how she'd buy things at yard sales and then sneak them into the home she shared with her husband. Would I do that? Could I do that? The woman wanted cash, so I had to go to the grocery store for it - a great way to hide it from my husband if I so chose. But I didn't.

I paid for the cabinet, dropped my daughter back at her apartment, and then drove home. My husband and son were watching football when I walked in with it and I admitted to having bought it and paid $50 for it right away. My husband said, "I'm not sure we can afford this hobby of yours." I asked, "Do you want me to sell some of my dolls to pay for this?" He thought a bit and said, "None you have now unless you really want to" (I didn't). I promised to avoid any more estate sales that weekend and then I got busy, posting my find in doll groups online and discovering that two of the dolls - the small dutch girl without any moving parts and the girl with the bunny on the string are German Hertwig dolls, which might bring $50 each, so the buy was a good one - not only because I love the dolls, but also because I might come out better than even if I, or my daughter when she inherits them, ever sells the group. The rest of the dolls are Japanese penny dolls - ones that used to be available from dime stores for a penny each.

While learning about these dolls, I learned I had two more Hertwig dolls in my own collection - a little guy in a topcat and coat and a small girl with a green ribbon in her hair. I'm sure that a third doll I have (whose legs broke off a long time ago) is a Hertwig, too. So I was able to convince my husband I'd made a good deal, and I didn't have to resort to lying. Still, taking the extra day off of estate sale shopping seemed like the right thing to do. Now, as for next week... I'll just have to wait and see!