Thursday-afternoon pack to clear the deck for garage sales tomorrow. The headline pair: two New Orleans Jazz Fest posters from the early ’80s, picked up for fifty cents each at a sale where everything was fifty cents. “How are my ethics on this one?” Candice’s read: she set the price, you didn’t talk her down, and they have damage. We’re good.

The Jazz Fest packs

[7:20] 1982 and 1986 New Orleans Jazz Fest lithographs. These are technically prints, not posters. We’ve sold Jazz Fest before; they sell. We bought both at a sale where the lady said “everything’s 50 cents,” I asked, paid a dollar, and walked off. Honestly thought a few times she’d find me afterward and say “oh those weren’t supposed to be for sale at that price” — that didn’t happen. We’ve been to her sales for years and her prices are always good.

The pack on these:

• Roll them together but not tight.
• Slide into a long box, double-walled.
• I shipped these in an outer rectangle box that I cut down. Tape over the seams firmly, customs-grade if it’s going far. “That tape kind of camouflages it” is the recurring theme on every cross-cut resize I do.

The helmet that turned into $135

[25:46] Vietnam-era MP fiberglass helmet — paid $1, listed at $80.

Right after I listed it, a buyer messaged: where did you get it? I told him straight — garage sale, exclamation mark, excited. He replied that he’d been in that exact unit. Then he made an offer: $55 for the helmet, plus four pieces of clothing at about $20 each.

If the helmet had been the whole order, he’d have wanted to negotiate harder. By bundling clothing he could justify a real discount on the helmet and I’d take the bundle. Final order: $135, total cost basis on all the items: $6 to $9. I’d sent him an offer at the $55 saying “if you really want the clothing we’d love to sell it, but please don’t feel obligated” — he came back: “Nope, I want the clothing too.” Started by trying to do the guy a solid; he ended up doing me a much bigger one.

The helmet has the kind of dent on the back that did something for someone. Candice’s preferred backstory: someone fell out of a tree running from enemy fire and the helmet broke their fall. “Sometimes Candice’s backstories are pretty epic.”

Bubble wrap that got here in 26 hours

[5:25] Three rolls from Bubble Boy. Hoover, Alabama. We ordered yesterday at 2:00 PM, it was here at 4:00 today. The reason that matters isn’t bragging rights — it’s the freedom to actually run out before reordering instead of stockpiling. South Louisiana to Alabama distribution gets us same-week stock without keeping six rolls leaning against the wall.

Same-day Zoro paper roll arrived too — they have warehouse stock spread far enough that one roll showed up in 24 hours. Good suppliers are part of the business.

Other moments

[13:50] Box-cutter aside. “Blade in, laces out.” I did the close-the-blade-flip with the blade still out. Candice winced. The Ace Ventura reference came right after — Ray Finkle, the kicker, “laces out.” Don’t do this at home.

[18:15] We bought a movie ticket. Project Hail Mary (the Andy Weir book — same guy who wrote The Martian) is in theaters and we’re going on a date.

Wrap

Posters out, helmet packed with the clothing add-ons, and the bubble wrap shelf is full again. Candice keeps asking why most resellers complain about poster packs — for me, they’re easy. Big rectangle box, hand-cut to length, wrapped together, tape it down hard. We’ll see y’all in the next one.