posted on April 28, 2001 07:04:28 PM
Went garage-saleing this morning, and came home frustrated and tired. Out of the 12 or so listed in my area, most weren't even worth stopping at, and one (which was supposed to start at 7 a.m. and sounded pretty good) wasn't even held. Out of the two that had enough items to make it worth looking through, one was an estate sale that had been "professionally priced" (apparently by an idiot) who marked everything up sky high (chips, cracks and all.) At the other one that had a decent number of items, the owners had apparently never been to a garage sale because although their items were nice--their prices were also high. I got up at 5:30 a.m. to hit the sales by 7--added up 20 miles on my odomoter and came home just about empty-handed. I wonder why these people even bother--they set out a couple of tables of their kids old clothes, tole painted junk their wife made in a craft class and waste their day standing around watching the backs of people leave. I'm going back to the RL auctions--at least there's half a chance they'll have something I want, I won't have to outrun the other customers, and even though it takes up most of my day I'll come home with something to show for my effort.
posted on April 28, 2001 07:13:53 PM
I slept in today and only caught a few auctions as they were closing - was lucky enough to come home with a box full of "free" stuff. I also bought a box full of current new looking CDs for 75 cents each. It does seem that they sell out early so I don't bother getting up early. Let them fight with the crowds - I will take the bargains that are left!
posted on April 28, 2001 07:19:46 PM
Don't ya' hate the people that leave up their signs after the sale was over. How far have you ever followed a set of yard sale signs only to have them end on a corner, and no yard sale in sight? I'll bet there is a million gallons of gas wasted a year by people following last weeks yard sale signs.
This one is my pet peeve on yard sales. When it's over take the signs DOWN.
Spelling
[ edited by Microbes on Apr 28, 2001 07:21 PM ]
posted on April 28, 2001 07:32:00 PM
I agree with Microbes!!!!!!! We had a garage sale, and on the way to goodwill (with the stuff that hadn't sold) we grabbed our signs. I think they should fine people $5 for every outdated sign!!!!!!
posted on April 28, 2001 07:45:14 PM
Around here they start out high priced on Friday...and if it isn't sold on Sat. they'll go down a little.
Well...with GAS being soooo expensive I'm NOT going to travel 20 miles to see if an item of kids clothes is still there.
I live in RURAL area and it is COMMON to go 15-30 miles to find a garage sale...only to see it is NOT open because it was the previous weeks and they didn't take down the sign.
BROUSING the garage sales isn't very profitable anymore...too many people want higher prices and are getting it. For 4 weeks every garage sale I attened *(well almost all)had sold out of their baby clothes...
Then there was the sale this weekend that was nothing but a lot of overpriced JUNK...lady told me she was going to bring out her kids NAME BRAND clothes the next day...I handed her my card and told her to call me FIRST and I'd buy them for my resale shop....nope...didn't call. I figure she'll call me on Sunday or Monday and want me to buy what the PUBLIC wouldn't...sorry...I don't DO leftover throw aways....sigh...
If you drive even 5 miles to a sale and get an item that is say $2....and only can find ONE you like...it simply isn't worth the gas and time.
posted on April 28, 2001 07:56:31 PM
My sister keeps saying she wants to go to city hall and make them an offer: she will go and pull off the old garage sale signs and send letters with fines in them for half of the fine money!
She is really fed up with it ....
MY PET PEEVE:
Garage sale ad says 9 to 4. Get there at 2 and the sale is over. Come on folks, there are alot of people who visit sales according to their closing times!
Whew ... now that that is off of my chest .. I feel much better!
posted on April 28, 2001 09:10:00 PM
Well! I too had a very frustrating garage sale day. I think I'm beginning to see a pattern--the homes where there is a grundle of baby and child clothes (like 25 items for each day of the week, all pretty expensive when new) will have a lot of homemade crap--the wooden items painted the obligatory blue and mauve, with bows and ribbons and LOTS of straw wreaths and cute hearts ad nauseum. Somebody has made these--on purpose! And no one wants them! So they get put out for sale. Told my husband I should boxes of them for kindling.
Then there was the dysfunctional seller! A driveway full, boxes chuck full of unrelated items, and the seller doesn't know the price! Behind her sale table in the garage are about 25 large cartons stuffed with items she hasn't put out. I ask, will these be put out? Yes, about 1 p.m. I go back; this time her grandson (teenager) is minding the store and says Grandma didn't have time to put them out and it's all junk anyway (he said it!). I am pretty sure there's gold in some of the boxes that are showing pamphlets and other ephemera, so I'll go back once more tomorrow and hope it's out.
I asked the grandson if he was going to watch the Jazz basketball game and he jumped up, said there's a game? and ran into the house. Gone for good. I think there's something wrong with that picture. Thank goodness they live only a half mile from me.
Yes, I think they should have to take down their signs--usually they're on public property, park strips, telephone poles, and it's not as though the authorities would have any trouble locating the perps.
I heard a great idea for garage sale sellers recently--If you advertise in the paper, and don't want early birds, just say it's in the "200 block of Johnson Blvd." On the day of the sale, they'll find it, especially if you don't put your stuff out until just before the sale. That should stop the knocks on the door at 6 a.m.
posted on April 28, 2001 09:14:07 PM
I've always wanted to go BANGING on their door at 700:AM shouting "WHERE'S YOUR STUFF!!! WHERE'S THE YARD SALE!!! of those people who haven't taken their signs down.
Yea, they'd love that, at 7:00AM on Saturday.
Probably wouldn't leave their signs up again.
Never had the balls though.
[ edited by BlondeSense on Apr 28, 2001 09:17 PM ]
posted on April 28, 2001 09:21:52 PM
The nerve of these peaple don't they reliaze their role is to provide us with quality items at below wholesale that we can resell at 500% markups ??
posted on April 28, 2001 10:01:32 PM
Garage Sales around here are tough already...mostly due to some IDJIT that did a front page newspaper story about how she buys stuf cheap at the sales, and then resells on eBay for major profit!! Thanks honey!!!
Did get one good deal today from a family that doesn't read the paper...set of wheel covers for a 240-Z for $4!! WOOHOOO...but it took 4 hours and a lot of driving to find em (by chance)!
Keith
I assume full responsibility for my actions, except
the ones that are someone else's fault.
posted on April 28, 2001 10:02:46 PM
I did REALLY well this weekend. For a little over $20 I found tons of Fisher price little people and accessories, a chatty cathy body, an oriental rug, some "junior league" type cookbooks, a Topper doll, and some stocking stuffers to save for Christmas (nephew collects yo-yos.)
Must be the area I live in as well as the fact the people were moving and "everything goes". They asked me each time I took a load of stuff to pay for it "Is $X too much?" The car was packed, and I'm ready to write some descriptions.
And, I didn't show up to this sale until 4:30 Thursday and after noon today! They told me what else had sold, and I felt nauseaus that I slept in!
posted on April 28, 2001 10:55:10 PM
jenndiggy1--
I got a little bit of your luck today. :0)
I just happened upon a sale as I was out taking a walk. I got some super nice precious moments figurines for $1 each (they are selling on ebay for anywhere between $8-30 each, so that was nice), plus some old FP little people (and I thought of your post when I scooped them up), for just 10 cents each. Plus some other good odds and ends. FP little people are getting tough to find around here.
posted on April 28, 2001 10:59:15 PM
FP little people are hard to find anywhere. I did find another today as I rummaged through stuff. Must have fallen out of the box when they brought the other stuff out the other day. Now to find if this rug is worth anything. A man who rents part of our garage said he thinks it is old, so hopefully its worth a LOT. The lady who used to live in the house (once stayed in by George Washington) whispered to someone "SHe sold that *old* rug for only $10.". Grin!
posted on April 28, 2001 11:47:00 PM
No garage sales for me today, but I did spend a few hours in a local used CD store and dug out a bunch of "bargain" CDs - 94 @ .67 cents
each! Alot of them will get a good price on
eBay. I know one is worth about $30. That record store doesn't know what they are tossing in those bins!! Alot of out of print
things - alot of them brand new! And alot promos too - which sell pretty well.
Last weekend I sold at a flea market and wandered over to the vendor next to me - who was selling CDs @ 25 cents each. One that I bought ended up at $53 tonight! If he only knew what he had there. Oh well...
posted on April 29, 2001 01:23:24 AM
I was too lazy to go out today, but I called my Mom in N.C. She had taken some stuff out to the local flea market to sell. She mentioned that my aunt had given her some Wedgwood plates. She asked me if her price of $1.00 each was too high. My screams of anguish could be heard on three continents.
posted on April 29, 2001 03:18:33 AM
Garage sale pickens were slim here this weekend. I did fill the car though.
A like new Queen size comforter for $1.00, a lefton chintz sugar & creamer for $3.00, 31 Barbie dolls with a boot size box full of clothes for $20.00 (a lot of work), and a Hull chicken on basket casserole (with a chip on the inside of lid), for $1.25.
How do you give up the "junior league" type cookbooks? I love them too much, and I don't even cook anymore.
posted on April 29, 2001 03:51:14 AM
My wife went out this morning to the sales, and came back with 2 Nintendo NES systems, 90 game cartridges (all in their sleeves), AND a small b&w tv...for $20! Couldn't believe it. Of course, the tv will be sold at my own moving sale, but the games...whew, I'm thinking good return!
"Who's tending the bar? Sniping works up a thirst"
posted on April 29, 2001 04:55:06 AM
I tied going to some garage sales on my lunch near where I work. I'm not from that area and only know the basic main streets. I found ONE out of several signs (I mean one STREET) and that was by accident. The garage sale sign was at least 1/4 mile away. None on the corner.Don't know WHAT they're thinking in that city
posted on April 29, 2001 05:47:40 AM
I only came back with bath beads yesterday. You know, the cheesy red, green, golden, and orange ones that sell at Christmas at Wal-Mart for $1.50. I bought them from the Boy Scouts sale for $.50. I only got them because, as cheap as they are, I LOVE them. I get them every Christmas.
The annual Boy Scout sale is a HUGE deal around here. I went with a coworker friend of mine. We were overwhelmed. There were literally at least 500 people in this small parking lot elbowing, grabbing, etc and we left because we could hardly move around to find anything. Too claustrophobic of an environment. I am sure that there were some great buys if you could get to them.
The other single family yard sales were overpriced. No one would mark anything down even after several hours of a one day sale. I was whispering to my friend as we walked away from one sale, "...$5.00 for a pair of denim shorts!". And they were not a fancy name brand or anything. Many sellers here seem to think their items are gilded in gold. And the items sit---with hardly anyone buying them. Oh well, it was a good time out of the house with my friend so the morning was not totally lost.
posted on April 29, 2001 06:29:36 AM
It was Heaven yesterday. The whole town of Delaware City had it's annual yardsale. You could park your car and walk several blocks in each direction. The pickings were good. Even the antique stores were participating and reasonable. What's better than 3 hours strolling sales, fresh air, sunshine, food from church ladies and bargains?
posted on April 29, 2001 08:43:14 AM
Wow, Delaware City sounded like fun.
If you're going to frequent garage sales, then you have to be prepared beforehand for disappointment. And then you have to keep on going out, early & on a regular basis. That is the only way you will find sufficient bargains during a season. Also you should really try to expand your knowledge base of what sells, there may indeed be things you are overlooking.
I actually never walk away disappointed, only
empty-handed!!
This was a pretty good weekend, a large stack of early 1970s magazines on sound studios & tape recording, some collecltible pinback buttons, a few other good odds & ends.
I remember a couple of weeks back, went to one suburban sale, all of the china had eBay print-outs beside them & priced exactly the same. I asked the lady how many people had been to her sale that day -- about 50 she answered -- so I said I guess that why your eBay priced items haven't sold, eBay gets about a million people in the same time period, and it's probably some person 500 miles away who bought the item you checked. I guess that was kind of snotty, but I was trying to make a point, I think its silly when someone holds a garage sale & prices things for a global market. They should sell them theirselves on eBay if they want that price!
posted on April 29, 2001 11:09:15 AM
i too got really lucky yesterday! not a garage sale, but a sale for a local school.
usually i just do thrift shops, but inspired by everyone here, yesterday i decided to look through the paper for sales listed, and found this one. what the heck, i went. wow!!! it was later in the sale and i got *two armfuls* of terrific vintage clothes! a lot for $2 each! i could hardly contain myself
posted on April 29, 2001 12:10:31 PM
Kitty [that's my daughter's name, BTW!] - I was just curious, by "vintage" what do you mean? What decade? I was just wondering what sort of vintage clothes would show up at a yard sale [or similar]
on occasion i do get some 60s and 70s stuff, my personal taste is for the 40s and early 50s. that's what all but two items i got were. the two that weren't are: 1 pair of black velvet mid/late 50s capris, and a white victorian dress. the main reason so many cool vintage things showed up at this sale is a local b&m vintage seller donated a bunch of stuff who knew?
posted on April 29, 2001 12:51:08 PM
I say blame Antique Road Show and articles like the one Keith mentioned earlier. In the last few years people who can't tell you-know-what from shinola have started believing that the you-know-what they offer at their garage sales is pure gold. Ditto for sales run by charitable organizations and the like. Everybody's an "expert" now. And everybody wants a piece of what they believe we're reaping on eBay. I attended a library sale recently -- the sort of affair that just a few years ago you could enter for free and find an assortment of books, records and the like for a dollar or two at the most. Admission this year was $15 and the nicer "coffee-table" books were marked anywhere from $16 to $25. I inquired how they determined their outlandish prices: "We looked it up on the internet." Most of those books were still sitting there when I left, and this was after the surge of dealers had already seen them.
Nobody's under an obligation to give away their stuff for free, and I don't mind paying a fair price, but just because an item could go for a certain price on eBay doesn't mean it should be sold at a yard sale or similar venue for the same amount of money. The market is different, and the work we put into creating and managing the auction also factor into our final price. Can't tell you how many times I've tried to haggle with someone to get a lower price, only to have them tell me "You know what I could get for this on eBay?" And when they do, I place the item back on the table and tell them, "Then sell it on eBay."
posted on April 29, 2001 01:01:51 PM
WAA WAA WAA!!! The best garage sales are being picked clean by dealers before you even get there! Am I one? In a syllable, NO!! But it is happening! Reverse address to get the phone numbers, conducted estate sales that are cherry picked by dealers that are supposedly helping the dealer organize and price. What a friggin hoot!
Do I sound jaded? Yes. Remember the garage sales from years past that I went to--bought wonderful items for a dollar or less--sold them on Sunday for $5.00 or more at my favorite Flea Market. Now--it seems that everyone is a dealer. So be it. Knock yourselves out!!!
But the best kick in the rear---everyone does not know everything. And what some consider down right trash is bringing good bucks on eBay. Go Figure? I Love This Business!!!!
posted on April 29, 2001 04:07:20 PM
I haven't yet hit the garage sales this season. My library bookstore has been keeping me well-stocked and I'm trying to thin the backlog a little before I start my garage sale shopping.
But last year I ran into a recurring problem. Many, many people closing up for the day at noon, despite the ad stating 'til 4 or 5. We'd actually walk up the driveway and they'd be packing up already. So we learned for the most part to not even go out after 12 noon. Everybody's already closed up shop.
posted on April 29, 2001 04:41:54 PM
I was very happy with my garage sale finds this weekend. Got some stuff for me, and some good stuff to sell. The sun was shining, people were pleasant, what more could I ask for? I no longer get tense about garage sales. My attitude is: if I find something, great, if not, that's OK, too (I buy most of my inventory at auctions and library sales). Plenty of weeks go by when I don't get anything at all. Then I have a good day like yesterday. It all evens out. My spouse picked up a pitcher for a quarter yesterday, and put it in the car. When I saw it later, my eyes bulged. It was majolica! Kind of makes up for all those Made in China figurines showing up at yard sales @ $2.00 each!
posted on April 29, 2001 05:14:00 PM
I pulled up to one garage sale with a little tikes workshop and all the trimmings already in my truck from another sale ~ a lady came up to my truck and asked me what I wanted for it...........well, I have sold about 6 of these..........so I priced it for the greatest amount I hoped to get........I never thought she would go for it, and I was sure she would bargain with me.........but she pulled out the money and thanked me and asked me to help her put it in her car. So I sold this for top dollar and I did not have to clean it, picture it, write the description, pay ebay fees or ship it!
Sniping works up a thirst"