To Market

On the first and third Wednesday and Saturday of the month we hold a market.  The goods we have are donated and all proceeds go to a food pantry.  It never ceases to amaze me what people are into.  The only way I discover it sometimes is that we have items for sale that are useful.  The maximum price of anything is $2 and sometimes that means things are bundled.
A guy I had never seen before came and purchase some cane serving plates.  Most people use them as a base and put servettes on them and serve food.  This guy bought three for $2 and his use was different from anything I imagined.
What he wanted them for was to display his toy soldiers.  He intended to put the soldiers around the edge of the plate.  That surprised me.  Definitely sometimes things are purchased for use as they were intended but for sure sometimes things are purchased for uses I do not expect.  What really matters to me is the items are useful.
Another person purchased something I expected to go but he told me he collects caps.  I had no idea.  This was a cap and racing company shirt that went with it.
I find that knowing such things is really handy, as it means I keep an eye out for things if I know someone seen regularly is interested in such things.
Another person purchased a glass lamp shade we had.  It was actually one of several we had.  They got it with the intention of seeing if it worked with what they had.
That sort of thing I understand if people can afford to do it.  It is worth a donation of $2 if a person has a win with the product.  But thankfully even if they don’t, they have not lost a fortune.
I must confess I felt a bit silly with some things we had as I had no idea how they worked.  What is good though is there are often people around who know the product and declare how it works.  At other times, people at the table work out how a product functions and pass on the information to the enquirer.
I will never forget the words of someone who bought a tent ($2 – value plus).  He said “now I won’t have to sleep in my car.”
The great thing is we provide goods that are useful, beautiful or joyful at a fraction of the new cost.  It means products that may be out of the reach of some are available.  It is wonderful to me to make things available to those who would otherwise only dream of such a thing.  It is also great to be able to provide useful items that would otherwise be discarded.  And we can do it all because people willingly donate.