Garage sale draws thousands seeking deals

By Jake Nordbye, Journal correspondent | Sunday, February 10, 2008

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The temperature on the electronic billboard outside Rushmore Plaza Civic Center read 7 degrees, and with the harsh wind, it felt more like 20 below. But the frigid Saturday morning didn't keep determined bargain shoppers away from the annual Ultimate Indoor Garage Sale.

The sale is held by the Journal and makes money for the newspaper. Visitors pay $1 each to shop at booths rented by vendors. All 300 available booths were sold, Journal advertising director Troy Kilpatrick said.

The parking lot looked as packed as it was for last weekend's Black Hills Stock Show & Rodeo, and drivers searching for spots had to avoid entire families with arms full of clothes, videos, lamps, even power drills.

Inside, hundreds of tables stretched from one end of the center to the other, upstairs and downstairs. Kids ran in circles, begging their mothers to buy them something, especially near a table full of Hot Wheels.

At a table loaded with records, Donnie Sprague -- there with his son, Rylan -- said his wares were just his duplicates, and he had another few thousands records at home.

They had rented the booth for $40 and expected the price to be well worth it.

"It's my second year here, and I really like it," Sprague said. "I meet a wide range of people, and it's a lot of fun. Most of the people who buy the records are high school, college kids or collectors. Last year, we sold about $800 worth of records the first hour we were open."

Nearly 9,000 were expected to visit the sale, and shoppers and sellers all had their own techniques for getting the best deal.

One man bartered with another over a salt shaker. A woman bought a typewriter that no longer worked. Some just kept busy; one man sang and played an acoustic guitar, and several made and sold jewelry.

And some bided their time until a deal came to them. Like when the announcer got on the loudspeaker and said, "Booth 22 is marking everything down 75 percent," and a crowd stampeded over.

Near the food court, Stacey Grotenhuis of Rapid City explained why she was out on such a cold day.

"Are you kidding?" she said. "I'm looking for cool stuff. I got a stuffed frog and four really rare Beanie Babies. I've seen everything on this floor; now I'm heading upstairs."