Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Interview With Val Myers, David Bird

Aired August 07, 2003 - 10:42   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well if you've driven through the South lately, especially in Appalachia, well you can't help but notice the plethora of flea markets out there, except they're sometimes called "hillbilly malls." Whatever you call them, the discriminating junker can usually find worthwhile treasures among what some folks call trash.
Our guests this morning are Val Myers and David Bird, hosts of Turner South's "Junkin'." The show airs Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time. And they just returned with their finds from 127 Corridor, 450 miles of pure flea market heaven for those who really know how to look. And that's the trick -- good to see both of you -- really how to distinguish the treasure from the trash. So what did you find?

DAVID BIRD, CO-HOST, "JUNKIN'": Oh, wow. What do you like here? We got a little bit of everything.

VAL MYERS, CO-HOST, "JUNKIN'": This is a tidbit of what we found, actually.

(CROSSTALK)

BIRD: Most everything here, we found at the 450-mile long yard sale. A couple of items we didn't. But really a great event. They have a lot of different stuff, a lot of really, really good things that they have. And you basically can't drive a mile without just seeing all kinds of stuff.

MYERS: It's huge.

WHITFIELD: And so to really distinguish, you know, what you really want to take home, sometimes it's just so overwhelming because you get to these flea markets and there's a whole lot of stuff a lot of folks are throwing away, they don't want it.

MYERS: Right.

WHITFIELD: So what do you look for? How do you try to narrow it down to something you actually could value? I mean, a bowling pin here, some folks might look at that and say, What are you going to do with that?

(LAUGHTER)

BIRD: It's whatever you like. I mean... MYERS: Yes, we just sort of fall in love with things, and then -- that's how we distinguish. It's not about collecting. It's not about anything, you know.

WHITFIELD: So, Valerie, are you looking for something to decorate the home? Are you likely to find more stuff to choose from when you do it that way?

MYERS: Well, I actually, I keep a certain theme in mind. Like I'll think of a color combination, like I'll say orange and blue today. And then suddenly, a million possibilities open up. I mean that's how I shop.

BIRD: We try to buy things that you can't go out to any store and get. You can't go to Wal-Mart and get a Voltex II bowling pin.

(CROSSTALK)

BIRD: This, are you talking about this? This actually, we don't know what this is. That's why I brought it, because you know...

(CROSSTALK)

BIRD: I paid five bucks for it. And I think it's an artillery shell mold from the Civil War but I'm not sure of that. So, whatever.

WHITFIELD: Let's talk about some of the tips, Dave, that you have for us on how you'd really do try to narrow it down. You know you've got a mass of stuff out there. And somehow, you need to approach, All right, let me somehow distinguish what I like.

BIRD: Well, you should look a lot and not be in a hurry. And don't be afraid to, you know some people get really tied down to the bargaining and getting something for a steal. If you like it and you can afford it, pay the money for it and go home with it.

WHITFIELD: So don't be afraid to dig?

BIRD: Don't be afraid to dig, yes.

WHITFIELD: Look around at everything.

BIRD: Right.

WHITFIELD: That means you've really got to pace yourself, give yourself a whole lot of time.

BIRD: Absolutely, yes. It's fun. It's not a job. It's not -- you don't have to go out there and kill yourself. Just, it's flea markets and yard sales are fun.

(CROSSTALK)

MYERS: Don't be afraid in general. Like when you see a really dirt-covered, disgusting table, that's the table you want to go for. WHITFIELD: And you know what? I do find it to be somewhat overwhelming. I've tried a few, thinking, OK, I know folks who have found great things. You guys found this MC Hammer doll, you know, out there. But, you know, I find it to be somewhat overwhelming because there are there is so much stuff. And it would seem that you want to kind of narrow it down. But instead, you say take it all in.

MYERS: Well, yes. Actually, I think it's kind of dangerous -- like I have the reverse mentality. Like, you know, what is worse? Junking up my house (UNINTELLIGIBLE) because you have the danger of having a junkalanche (ph), basically. Like a giant amount of junk in your house.

BIRD: It's dangerous. We just buy things we like and we actually let our audience decide how much it's worth because everything that we buy is auctioned off online on TurnerSouth.com.

WHITFIELD: And so, Dave, I like one of your tips, though. If you're going to be bargaining out there, you know, trying to get them down to a quarter or a dollar, don't pull out a $100 bill.

MYERS: Yes.

BIRD: No, don't do that. And for the beginning bargainer, a good tip is fall in love with the item. Don't say, Ew, I wouldn't give $5 for this. Say, Oh wow, this is so great. I love this.

WHITFIELD: Oh really? You don't want to fake it and play it off so you can get a better deal?

BIRD: No, for a beginner, you want to fall in love with the item because people want their stuff to go to a good home.

WHITFIELD: All right, good advice. David Bird and Val Myers. And this longest garage sale, or junk sale, goes on through this weekend, all throughout the south?

BIRD: Yes, through this weekend.

MYERS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks for the tips. Appreciate it. Good to see you.

BIRD: Thank you.

MYERS: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Thanks for bringing your stuff in. I won't call it junk. Your fabulous finds.

BIRDS: That's a term of endearment.

WHITFIELD: Oh OK, that's right, it's "Junkin'," the name of the show. All right, thanks very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired August 7, 2003 - 10:42   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well if you've driven through the South lately, especially in Appalachia, well you can't help but notice the plethora of flea markets out there, except they're sometimes called "hillbilly malls." Whatever you call them, the discriminating junker can usually find worthwhile treasures among what some folks call trash.
Our guests this morning are Val Myers and David Bird, hosts of Turner South's "Junkin'." The show airs Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time. And they just returned with their finds from 127 Corridor, 450 miles of pure flea market heaven for those who really know how to look. And that's the trick -- good to see both of you -- really how to distinguish the treasure from the trash. So what did you find?

DAVID BIRD, CO-HOST, "JUNKIN'": Oh, wow. What do you like here? We got a little bit of everything.

VAL MYERS, CO-HOST, "JUNKIN'": This is a tidbit of what we found, actually.

(CROSSTALK)

BIRD: Most everything here, we found at the 450-mile long yard sale. A couple of items we didn't. But really a great event. They have a lot of different stuff, a lot of really, really good things that they have. And you basically can't drive a mile without just seeing all kinds of stuff.

MYERS: It's huge.

WHITFIELD: And so to really distinguish, you know, what you really want to take home, sometimes it's just so overwhelming because you get to these flea markets and there's a whole lot of stuff a lot of folks are throwing away, they don't want it.

MYERS: Right.

WHITFIELD: So what do you look for? How do you try to narrow it down to something you actually could value? I mean, a bowling pin here, some folks might look at that and say, What are you going to do with that?

(LAUGHTER)

BIRD: It's whatever you like. I mean... MYERS: Yes, we just sort of fall in love with things, and then -- that's how we distinguish. It's not about collecting. It's not about anything, you know.

WHITFIELD: So, Valerie, are you looking for something to decorate the home? Are you likely to find more stuff to choose from when you do it that way?

MYERS: Well, I actually, I keep a certain theme in mind. Like I'll think of a color combination, like I'll say orange and blue today. And then suddenly, a million possibilities open up. I mean that's how I shop.

BIRD: We try to buy things that you can't go out to any store and get. You can't go to Wal-Mart and get a Voltex II bowling pin.

(CROSSTALK)

BIRD: This, are you talking about this? This actually, we don't know what this is. That's why I brought it, because you know...

(CROSSTALK)

BIRD: I paid five bucks for it. And I think it's an artillery shell mold from the Civil War but I'm not sure of that. So, whatever.

WHITFIELD: Let's talk about some of the tips, Dave, that you have for us on how you'd really do try to narrow it down. You know you've got a mass of stuff out there. And somehow, you need to approach, All right, let me somehow distinguish what I like.

BIRD: Well, you should look a lot and not be in a hurry. And don't be afraid to, you know some people get really tied down to the bargaining and getting something for a steal. If you like it and you can afford it, pay the money for it and go home with it.

WHITFIELD: So don't be afraid to dig?

BIRD: Don't be afraid to dig, yes.

WHITFIELD: Look around at everything.

BIRD: Right.

WHITFIELD: That means you've really got to pace yourself, give yourself a whole lot of time.

BIRD: Absolutely, yes. It's fun. It's not a job. It's not -- you don't have to go out there and kill yourself. Just, it's flea markets and yard sales are fun.

(CROSSTALK)

MYERS: Don't be afraid in general. Like when you see a really dirt-covered, disgusting table, that's the table you want to go for. WHITFIELD: And you know what? I do find it to be somewhat overwhelming. I've tried a few, thinking, OK, I know folks who have found great things. You guys found this MC Hammer doll, you know, out there. But, you know, I find it to be somewhat overwhelming because there are there is so much stuff. And it would seem that you want to kind of narrow it down. But instead, you say take it all in.

MYERS: Well, yes. Actually, I think it's kind of dangerous -- like I have the reverse mentality. Like, you know, what is worse? Junking up my house (UNINTELLIGIBLE) because you have the danger of having a junkalanche (ph), basically. Like a giant amount of junk in your house.

BIRD: It's dangerous. We just buy things we like and we actually let our audience decide how much it's worth because everything that we buy is auctioned off online on TurnerSouth.com.

WHITFIELD: And so, Dave, I like one of your tips, though. If you're going to be bargaining out there, you know, trying to get them down to a quarter or a dollar, don't pull out a $100 bill.

MYERS: Yes.

BIRD: No, don't do that. And for the beginning bargainer, a good tip is fall in love with the item. Don't say, Ew, I wouldn't give $5 for this. Say, Oh wow, this is so great. I love this.

WHITFIELD: Oh really? You don't want to fake it and play it off so you can get a better deal?

BIRD: No, for a beginner, you want to fall in love with the item because people want their stuff to go to a good home.

WHITFIELD: All right, good advice. David Bird and Val Myers. And this longest garage sale, or junk sale, goes on through this weekend, all throughout the south?

BIRD: Yes, through this weekend.

MYERS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks for the tips. Appreciate it. Good to see you.

BIRD: Thank you.

MYERS: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Thanks for bringing your stuff in. I won't call it junk. Your fabulous finds.

BIRDS: That's a term of endearment.

WHITFIELD: Oh OK, that's right, it's "Junkin'," the name of the show. All right, thanks very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com