$1,200 couch at 75% off, $5 guitar amp: Bargain hunters flock to South Walkerville yard sale

From pet strollers to vintage finds, locals flocked to the South Walkerville Neighbourhood Yard Sale Saturday in search of a deal. Sanjay Maru reports.

Kaili Trothen and Noah Marentette drove around Windsor’s South Walkerville neighbourhood this weekend searching for deals on whatever they could find.

Now, they are heading back to Woodstock with their “best find” — a retro-style couch they were able to barely stuff into the back of their sedan after buying it for $300.

“This is the dream. We’ve been looking for something like this for so long,” said Trothen, adding her previous yard-sale score was a $1,000 antique lamp she purchased for a third of the price.

The pair were among the many shoppers at the South Walkerville Neighbourhood Yard Sale, with people on more than 50 blocks selling furniture, clothing, kids’ items, vintage pieces and the kind of hidden gems that make people stop and ask: “How much?”

Trothen estimated the couch would have cost about $1,200 from a store, meaning they paid a quarter of what it may have gone for elsewhere.

“This is definitely the new best find,” Trothen said. “It’s got that retro 70s style to it. Very rare nowadays, which is nice.”

Other shoppers, such as Wayne Douglas, walked away with major deals of their own Saturday.

Douglas found a vintage guitar practice amplifier for just $5, estimating it would be worth about $125 at a store.

“Can’t wait to get home and try it out,” he said.

Amanda Cabello, who runs Second Glove Boutique, had her own same-day score: a pet stroller for $10.

She estimated it would normally cost about $80 to $100.

“I’m so happy and excited,” Cabello said, as her dog enjoyed the new wheels.

Some shoppers were also hoping to recreate the magic of past yard sale discoveries.

Jonathan Bauer’s best deal came through a call from his dad, who once spotted a saxophone at a yard sale for $10.

The instrument turned out to be a handmade American saxophone from the 1960s worth about $2,000, according to Bauer.

“It was sick,” he said. “I still have it.”

Eric Bedard, a full-time magician, bought a table at a yard sale two years ago for $6 that he was able to use in his stage show after adding wheels to it.

The same table, he said, would have cost about $350 online.

“So, it was a great deal,” Bedard said.

Connor Wilson said one of his best finds came as a kid with a $5 allowance.

That $5 bought him a vintage Star Wars alarm clock, which he said is now worth about $80 online.

“Still works,” Wilson said.

The South Walkerville sale ran from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., giving shoppers a chance to walk the neighbourhood, meet neighbours and maybe come home with a story as good as the deal itself.