We often discuss, including in earlier blog entries, “Craig’s List Is Great, But Beware of Bed Bugs” and ”Avoid Bed Bugs By Avoiding Used Furniture,” that flea markets, garage sales, estate sales and the like may be the source of bed bugs and other unwanted pests for people who buy used furniture. Just as there are exceptions for every rule, it is rare that the person whose “proudest possession was a coffee table he found in a dumpster” will end up living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC. In case you’re not following the Presidential campaign closely and don’t know what the reference is, watch the video below:
We admit that sometimes you can get something at a flea market that’s a lot better than fleas or bed bugs. In an incredible story that’s better than anything we’ve seen on Antique Roadshow, a Virginia woman purchased a box of items for $50, in order to get a Paul Bunyan doll, and the box contained a Renoir painting worth $100,000! See the full story here.
Still, we’ll be spending this weekend at the pumpkin patch and apple orchard with our kids, and not at estate sales, garage sales, and flea markets -that way we at least know exactly what we’re taking home.