When you get a second-hand bargain–like my $9 mid-century lamp or the $5 I paid for an entire set of Bakelite flatware–I feel like you’ve earned the right to brag. In addition, you’re giving new life to something someone else was going to discard. And when I go out on my second-hand shopping adventures, even if I come back empty handed, I am filled with stories of junk; of oddities so freakish they belong in a sideshow, and of people and their varying tastes and proclivities. Second-handers are also generally willing to tell all they know about everything from fishing lures to Swanky Swigs and will be happy to help you figure out a way to get it off their property. What’s your favorite second-hand find?
