Deluge of bargains at flood relief sale

It would have been quite possible to set up a house for less than $150 in Palmerston North when the leftover February flood-donation goods went on sale.

People bought. And bought. And came back for more.

The garage sale started at 9am on Friday and about 100 people queued outside, waiting for the doors to open.

The drill was simple: a Red Cross supermarket-style plastic bag, crammed full, cost $5 regardless of contents. A bigger cardboard box was $10.

Some items were individually priced but the most expensive item - electrical goods aside - was a toilet pan and cistern for $20.

The organisers, Red Cross regional director David Neal and Salvation Army family and community services manager Colin Davidson, said the donated high-quality furniture, linen and household equipment had already been given directly to flood victims.

Cleaning goods and food had been distributed through the city's food banks.

The garage sale, which continued all weekend, was to get rid of what was left, offering people the chance of reasonable-quality items at bargain prices to raise extra money for flood relief.

"We're hoping for at least $20,000 from this, maybe up to $50,000," Mr Neal said.

Bargain hunters staggered out laden; bulging plastic bags stacked up on overflowing boxes of goods. Many people stashed paid-for goods behind the tills and went back for more.

Especially popular were quilts and blankets. One man was quietly jubilant over his box; he'd found a good king-size duvet and several nearly new blankets.

Furniture was a mixed bag and there wasn't much available. Deckchairs were going for $1; coffee tables $3 to $5 and bed bases and mattresses $10 each.

Lounge chairs, rather shabby but still useable, ranged from $3 to $15 each.

Anyone wanting a baby stroller could have wheeled one away for $10.

Equipping a kitchen was cheap and simple. Start with a $2 toaster, add a $3 jug, a $3 iron, an electric frying pan for $5.

Grab a box and fill it with plates, cutlery, glasses, coffee mugs, bowls, cooking utensils and pad them up with a few tea towels from the linen section.

Toys attracted strenuously sorting hands in the display boxes. One tot thought Christmas had come early, sitting outside in the sun surrounded by five boxes of toys. Inside were bins and bins of soft toys, ranging from handmade-with-love ragdolls to every cartoon character ever dreamed up by Disney.

Volunteers had sorted clothes into men's and women's, boys' and girls', but then it was up to buyers to poke in boxes.

Sports gear - in-line skates, squash rackets, frisbees, netballs, hula hoops - catered to the active and there were tables of books, jigsaw puzzles and games.

- NZPA