'Ee-bay gum

Success is mine! Yes! The first item was sold yesterday, and the other two are on their way today. I'll be able to buy a chess software for my youngest for his birthday with the proceeds, which is very satisfying.

I've noticed one called 'Fritz and Chesster Learn to Play Chess' and it has rave reviews on Amazon. There's an 'intelligym' where you put into practice what you've learned, and arcade games which teach you how the figures move. It all looks great fun, and an amusing way to learn how to play a serious game.

He is also hoping to get some Brio trains, so I'll have to have another rummage in the garage.

I'm going to be eyeing 'vide greniers' with a bit more attention the next time I go, too, to see if I can't pick up a little something and sell it on Ebay. Trouble is, these places often want totally unreasonable prices for their junk. When you go to a jumble sale in the UK you can pick up stuff for 10p, 20p and so on. In France, people want to get as much money out of it as they can, so have prices upwards of 1Eur which is around 65p. I wonder if they really do want to get rid of their junk because they often have a lot of stuff left over, and if they'd asked silly prices, they would end up with more money because they'd sell more.

I went to the Montpellier flea market this time last year, and sold off a whole load of baby clothes at 0.10Eur each. One woman left with her arms full. It was that much less to haul to the Secours Catholique. Funnily enough, no one wanted my fun board so it had to be taken home again. I had people coming up asking me if I had a bicycle child seat, the sort that fixes over the back wheel. All my stuff was on display. They just had to look. It was hardly likely I'd have one hidden under my jumper, but they kept on coming and asking.

How different to the garage sales I went to in Dallas. They were fabulous, incredibly cheap and a great source of stuff. I bought tons of children's clothes there, and as I only went to the expensive areas, they were fantastic quality too. The difference in attitude was interesting. They just wanted to get the stuff off their hands and make a little money. In France, people want to make as much money as possible, and never mind if they have to take 80% of it home.

Trying to buy ski clothes for my son last year, I went to the local flea market, and people wanted 10-15Eur for ski combinations. Not happy with those prices, I went to the Secours Catholique and bought salopettes for 2Eur. This year, I bought more, plus moon boots and a ski jacket for me. Total price, 5Eur. I'll go back next year too!

Well, back to my Ebay sales. I won't make millions, but I will get rid of my stuff. Garage, here I come...