Butch Finds Some Bargains!!!!

Many people, when they are looking to buy something, pay very little attention to prices. They just go and buy it! However, most people shop around and check prices first, and try to find a bargain. I have spent way too much on items at certain times because I was in a hurry to buy something, but I have also been lucky and found some real bargains…for instance…

In the early 1970’s, I had saved some money in the hopes of buying an antique car to restore. I looked at a few with little luck and started to give up hope…until I spotted a 1951 Chevy 2-door parked in the weeds behind a neighbor’s barn. One afternoon, I stopped in and inquired about the old car. “It’s got a hole in the engine block…blew a rod through it,” he informed me in a Kentucky twang. I looked it over. The body was excellent, interior excellent, no broken windows, tires good, etc. “Well, what’s the least you would take for it?” as I held my breath, hoping it would be less than $1000. “Well, it’s in good shape…just needs an engine.” he hesitated, then proclaimed, “Would ten dollars be too much?” I didn’t think I understood him, “Did you say ten dollars?” He repeated the figure, “Yep, if that’s OK with you.” I had myself a new car! That same afternoon, I found an ad in the newspaper: “1952 Chevy 4-door, body wrecked, engine good. $50.” I bought it, used the motor, sold the body for scrap for $50…and had a great car for $10.00!!! (It did need a new muffler, and I found an old Farmall tractor muffler in my father-in-law’s barn…Bingo!)

In 1999, my wife and I were at an auction of household goods and antiques. About halfway through, the auctioneer told everyone it was time to sell a car. I didn’t even know there was a car for sale, but I walked outside to watch him sell it…a 1986 Chrysler New Yorker. The car looked great…silver in color, leather seats, no damage, good tires, engine sounded good…but it had 102,000 miles on the odometer. He started out the bidding at $2500. No bids. Lowered it to $1500, then $1000…still no bids. “Well, someone start it out at $200,” he implored. No bids. I looked around, waiting for someone to bid, and when no one did, I nodded yes. Another two minutes rolled by…no bids, and I owned a New Yorker! My wife told me that there MUST be something wrong with the car,

but I drove it as a second car for four or five years…no trouble…until it finally bit the dust. The next day I sold it to a scrap dealer for…you got it…$200, my original purchase price!

But my best purchase occurred a few years ago at the Sportsman Warehouse in Lafayette. (I buy and sell antique and collectible guns, as I have a federal firearms license.) Each weekend I checked to see if they had any new trade-ins. One Saturday I noticed three new used guns on the bottom shelf of the display case, all priced at $649 each. “We have three used single-action 44 magnums…two Rugers and a Colt,” the salesman told me. I could not recall a Colt single-action 44 magnum ever being made, so I asked to look at it. I immediately knew it was a very old Colt, caliber 44-40 black powder, likely made in the 1880s or ’90s. “Is the manager around?” I asked the sales guy. The lady manager showed up in a couple of minutes, “Is there a problem, sir?”

“No, there’s no problem, but this Colt is not a 44 magnum; it’s a very old gun likely worth a lot of money, and the caliber is 44-40. When it was made, it shot a black powder cartridge. You cannot shoot modern ammo in this gun…just so you know. He said the price is $649…Is that correct?” The manager checked the records on her computer, “Yes, that’s correct.” I was a little shocked, “OK…well, I’ll take it then!” While they were doing the paperwork, I called my wife, who was waiting out in the car. “I’ll be there soon, I bought an old gun.” She was not real enthused, so I added, “It’s a great bargain, so I’ll take you somewhere good to eat!” That satisfied her for the moment.

When I arrived back home, I checked the Colt records. The gun was made in 1880. All five serial numbers on the gun matched. It was all original. I placed the old Colt on an auction website for one week with no reserve…highest bid wins. One week later the winning bid was $4400…Holy Cow! Once in a while, a person just gets lucky.

Of course, through the years I have lost money many times, too. I just try not to mention those little mistakes to my wife. But I still take her someplace nice to eat! Got to keep on her good side you know…

– John “Butch” Dale is a retired teacher and County Sheriff. He has also been the librarian at Darlington the past 32 years, and is a well-known artist and author of local history.