The whole point of Garage Flips shorts is when something stops me cold at a yard-sale table. This is one of those.

Vintage cash register, original stickers still on it, plug visible right out the back so I could test it on the spot. Comp solds put this one north of $500. The seller had it priced at $40. I tested for the plug, made sure it wasn’t DOA, and we walked it to the truck.

Bonus haul on the same stop: a tray of vintage Pinewood Derby cars — five-plus of them, including a Batmobile — that the seller had built himself as a kid. “Was it a couple of bucks?” — yeah, it was a couple of bucks. He threw in a couple more cars on top of the lot for $5 total. I’m not even going to part those out. Lot listing, post on eBay, find the right Scout-dad collector, done.

Two minutes at one table. I’d rather do this than buy a scratch-off ticket.