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Got banned from a library sale for taking too many books out of a box before buying
Stopped by the Friends of the Library sale in Topeka last Saturday. Found a box under a table labeled "Free" but some volunteer came running over yelling at me for "cherry picking." Said I had to take the whole box or leave it. There was a 1957 book on taxidermy techniques in there I really wanted but the rest was moldy National Geographics. Has anyone else run into overzealous volunteers at these sales?
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the_john4mo ago
Man that reminds me of what happened to me at a sale in Wichita. I just walked up to the volunteer running the table and slipped her a twenty for the whole box, then immediately pulled out the three books I wanted and left the rest on the table. Technically I bought the whole box, so she couldn't say anything, and then whatever was left got to be "free" for everyone else anyway lol. @parkernelson you're right about waiting till the last day but sometimes you gotta just buy the whole thing and be smarter about it. Volunteers at these things can be super territorial, especially the old timers who have been doing it for years.
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troy_gibson435mo ago
Got there early and this old lady literally body blocked me from a box of vintage fishing books. Told me I had to buy the whole box or nothing. I offered to just buy the ones I wanted and she said no, that's not how it works. Ended up walking away because the box had water damage and smelled like cat pee. Some volunteers think they are running a museum not a fundraiser.
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parkernelson5mo ago
Had an old timer do the same thing to me with a box of old National Geographic magazines... wouldn't budge on the whole box or nothing policy. I just shrugged and walked away too since half of them were moldy. Sometimes you just have to let them sit on that stuff until the last day of the sale when they're practically giving it away.
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