Bargain Weekend I - My Brother Buys His Dream Tool and Some Other Cool Stuff, Too

This weekend, I’m going to focus on some great shopping bargains.

Today’s bargains come from my brother.

I’m glad to know about these, because I rarely get a chance to have a little male perspective on this blog.

My brother lives in the Los Angeles area.  He tells me that they have opened up a smaller size Sears store in his neighborhood called Sears Essentials.  My brother likes Sears, because he likes tools, and Sears has those great Craftsmen tools (even us girls know that!).

So he went into that S.E. store the other day, just to check it out.  He saw an arc welder.  He’s always wanted one, but apparently they are very expensive.  This particular model was over $500.00!

Oh, but wait a minute.  Take another look.  It was on sale for $48.00! What?! That is an insane discount.  Like 92%.

On closer examination, it turns out that this was a former floor model, and it was missing a couple of small parts.  My brother is familiar with this particular tool, so he knows he can easily replace them.  Plus, he’s very handy.

So he went ahead and bought the thing, and he’s deliriously happy with his bargain.

Here it is.  I just love the color.

Now my brother will tell you about his bargains in his own words:

“Hey Tess,

These are some of my most recent bargain hunting treasures. The yellow thing is basically a hand truck, but you can lift things up to 5′ high. These retail for $369.00, and I paid $100.00. The red thing is the arc welder that retailed for $549.00 that I got for $48.00. That box in the bed of the Toyota is a large kitchen sink that i think sold at Home Depot for $279.00 that I paid $129.00. Also there is a small cement mixer that i bought used for $80.00. I know have have a tool monkey on my back, but I was able to satisfy my insatiable desire for tools for not a lot of money.

Pat”

He goes on to add that he even likes to dumpster dive a little, when something especially intriguing catches his eye. As you can see the Frugal Gene is strong in my family.

Go, Bro!  Here are the pictures he sent me:

His $100.00 yellow lifting handtruck (retail $369).  Boy, I wish I had one of these when I was moving this summer! He tells me that this was one of the first projects he wanted to build with his new arc welder.  Then he saw this for sale at a Harbor Freight store, and decided he couldn’t buy the materials to make it for that price.  So here we are.

Here is his fancy-schmancy Kohler kitchen sink. He paid $129.00, original price $279.00

Here is his bargain used cement mixer.  My dad was a cement finisher, so cement is in our blood. He paid $80.00.  I know these things are darn expensive when new.  But they look just like this after you use them only one time.

My brother used his beloved 1987 Toyota Pickup Truck to haul all his loot home.  He bought this truck new (in 1987) to the astonishment and delight of our entire family.  It was the very first brand-new vehicle anyone in our family had ever purchased. My first brand-new vehicle was my 2008 Pink Motor Scooter.  You may have heard about it? You know -the one I got it for Christmas?

This truck is a basic model - no air conditioning.  I bet it has a gazillion miles on it, but 22 years later it’s still going strong. I know it’s been to Texas a few times.  That truck was a great bargain, too!