The Fish That Got Away  

When I was younger I passed...
When I was younger I passed up a three tier Panton fun lamp for 50 bucks. I thought it was too fancy looking for my tastes (as cool as it is, I still feel this way). Had I known what it was, I would have definitely picked it up. At the time I was only schooled in 40s-50s furnishings. And I especially did not know much about lighting.
I coulda made some real dough on that one. I saw one like it go for 9K at an auction the next year!

I once passed on a Borsani...
I once passed on a Borsani P40 chair, when I was still into plastic designs. It had its original fabric, but the foam was rockhard and not knowing the design back then, I let it go.
bah.

Fabrics by the roll
a friend took me to a junk sale and we had a good look around. Found a chap selling 40 or so full rolls of ORIGINAL 1960s and 1970s fabrics for $3 pr meter and I was going to buy the lot.
when I returned the following week........ by which time the guy had sold everything !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wegner sawback chairs
My wife spotted two sawbuck chairs for $50 on CL about a year ago, but neither of us were sure what they were. One needed to be put back together...the other was in good shape. I called the guy, he said there were no markings. We passed. 2 days later I found out what the chairs were...when I finally got a hold of the guy, they were gone.
fm

Creative Playthings mid century rocker
When I just started getting the MCM bug,I saw this in the local thrift for $15.00.I recalled seeing the bright red and natural wood somewhere before,but I wasn't sure and left it there.WHen I got home,I looked it up and nearly had a hemhorrage!Of course,as soon as I returned to the thrift store,it was gone.-Damn,that still bugs me!!

$15
There have been times, for some of us, when 15 bucks was a significant sum. A little compassion, there, eh?

Be kind
Yes, let's remember that we're asking everyone to share embarrassing stories. Good-natured ribbing is encouraged, but be kind.
Here's another tale of my own stupidity:
In the early '90s, Herman Miller ran a company store out of its greenhouse facility. Seconds, factory returns, and items being cleared out of corporate offices ended up there, at a fraction of their retail price. It was very little known, and you could almost always find a Nelson bench or Aluminum Group chair for $50.
One day, I walked in, and there was an Eames chaise lounge with a $200 price tag on it. Well, that's a pretty nice price. But Herman Miller also had a policy of giving employees 1/2 off the company store price. So I called my sister who worked there (and still does), and asked her to get it for me for the $100 employee price. She was getting off work within the hour, and like I said, the place saw very little traffic.
Well, you can guess the rest of the story. She gets there, calls me, and asks "what lounge? There's no lounge here."
Okay... bring on the ridicule.

Geo. H.
Amen brother.
How about 3 Oliver Morgue Boulum lounge chairs for free. Wife was freaked out by them, we did not know what they were (this was many years ago) and they were badly (re)upholstered in vinyl making them look cheap. Double D'oh!

poach
Ouch, that hurts. I guess there was no putting it "on hold" first huh?
I missed a chance at four fiberglass side chairs in Seal Brown for $200. Not a steal, but still a good deal for a somewhat hard-to-find color.

Yes, $15.00 and I passed on the CP rocker...
I had a purchased cart full of great suits I had found the very same day for about $120.,and I was tapped out,(only 20.00 left in my pocket).Anyhow,looking back(hindsight is always 20/20),I guess I should have put one of the suits back.As the late Paul Harvey would say,"That's the rest of the story."

Damn, I have always wanted a ...
Damn, I have always wanted a Creative Playthings rocker!!! Same thing when I lost that Panton light .... I had tapped myself out. Only this time it was in retro kitschy crap I would never own now.

Two Awful Stories
I saw an ad on CL about an estate sale. Right Away I spotted the perfect sofa on the pics. It was a Grete Jalk Three seater teak sofa. I couldn't sleep thinking about it. Woke up at 6 am and didn't know what to do to wait until 9am for the sale to start. Took my dog for a walk etc. Decided to leave in time to arrive an hour early. Well, not too early. There were about 30 people in front of me when I could have gotten there at 6am hehe. The sofa was sold in a matter of seconds it was in pristine condition, even the original upholstery.
Second story, another amazing estate sale full of MCM stuff. I'm pulling two original Nelson bubble lamps/Howard Miller off the ceiling and this lady comes up to me and asked me if I wanted to share one with her. That was by the time I had taken the second one down and getting ready to pay. I told her I was planning to take both. She jumps ahead in line to pay her stuff and then the lady taking the cash goes "she already payed for those" I was like whaaa?

!!!!
B-atch!
Did they make you hand them over? If you did, you should have accidentally/conveniently crushed them or poked a few holes in them with your fingers.

It's a jungle out there!
It's amazing;the "me first" and f--k everybody else attitude that people have when it comes to estate/garage sales,etc.No civility whatsoever.I think common man reverts to his most primal "grab the meat" form when going to these events.Therefore,anything goes;the best defense is a good offense.When a listing says "no earlybirds",ignore it!I definitely would have ("oops") crushed the Bubble lamps in my hands!