Sunday, December 27, 2015

When They Stop Making the Products You Love

Have you ever had a product you love go obsolete? This seems to be a recurrent problem with me, dating back to such staples of the 1970s as "Big Buddy gum and the inimitable "Fortified Oat Flakes."





Above, a screen shot from Googling "Big Buddy Gum"; the main image above is from The Interrobang - theinterrobang.com: "The 5: Missing Chews."


Above: there's actually a Facebook group asking the Post Co. to bring back "Fortified Oat Flakes."

Most recently, one of my favorite coffee flavors, Godiva's "Chocolate Creme," was replaced by the (imho) inferior "Chocolate Truffle." Oh it sounds good and chocolatey enough, but to my coffee palate it has an over-sweet, chalky, inorganic taste to it.

Another cereal brand I used to love (as did a rommate of mine at college -- they used to serve it in the "O-Hill" dining hall at U. Va.), Corn Bran, went bye-bye- quite a while ago.

What about candy bars? I used to love "Choco-Lite," with its crunchy but also light and airy texture. (I think that one's gone, but I'll have to double-check.

I also miss the old Dannon Yogirt "fruit on the bottom" lowfat (as in 2% or 4%) cups. Now it seems to be all about "nonfat" yogurt, which is so thin and tasteless as to not be worth the trade in fat. (Which, anyway, can be a good fat and not a bad one when it comes to yogurt).

And don't even get me started on the light brown M&M. 

What about you? Are there any products - be it food or other - you miss, and wish they'd make again?

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

I Found This Super-Colorful but Serious Set of Books Yet Again for a Cool $86

I found this set of books yet again. I'm writing about it here to let other booksellers know about it and also, well, frankly, to help plug my book of such items I find regularly that make me $50-$100.

On these, after Amazon fees, I made: $86.70

Ship by: 09/15/2015
Item: The Story of Civilization (11 Volume Set) [Hardcover] [1993] Will Durant; Ariel Durant
Condition: Used - Good
Condition note: 10 Volumes of the Simon and Schuster 1954 Set; 11th Book is Missing, but all dust jackets are intact, but some faded and chipped; and still makes a handsome set!
Listing ID: 0826P8OVNYI
SKU:xxxxxxxxxxxx
Quantity: 1
Order date: 09/11/2015
Price: $98.90
Shipping: $3.99
Amazon fees: -$16.19
Your earnings: $86.70

But first, let's talk about this book set. It's a classic, written by both Will and Ariel Durant, a married couple who must have really liked each other to work all day together, lol. No, just kidding, I know some couples who pull that off.

If you read this whole set, you will know just about anything and can be the most fun know-it-all at dinner parties.

It really is colorful; it looks like this (a snapshot of it how one listing of it looks on Amazon.com as of today):



Notice how the *lowest* price here...the lowest! is $98.98

Come to think of my, my $86 sale actually was a set with one of the 11 books missing. So that probably would have gone into the $90 dollar range if it had that.

But, that also tells us that if you find bits and pieces of this set, at yard sales or whatnot, you should still buy them. You'll probably come across the rest of them soon.

Well, that's enough for today's story.

And, if you do want to buy my book, which explains the items I find the most and make the best money on (both of those two things together, that is, not one or the other), learn more bout it and buy it if you want from here: or go to http://www.yardsalers.net/frequent_flips_sales.asp.