Yard Sale - pet peeves

[cyberdan]

I am sure you all have a few pet peeves about the yard sales you visit.
Here are a few of mine. Please add you own.

NUMBER 1 is signs.
* so small you can't tell what they are for
* the ">" on the arrow is so small you can't tell if it is for turn left or right.
* when they write in pencil on cardboard, can't even read
* when they write on thin cardboard and it sags down in the early morning moisture
* when they let kid's do the signs, looks more like a Picasso than an ad

NUMBER 2 is my own problem
I will go to a yard sale based on following a sign, then later when I am going to another sale in the same area I see signs and start following them and end up at the same yardsale but coming in from the other direction.

[seger98]

Going 6 miles one way to find plastic cups, baby clothes & knick knacks.


Getting there and they say "Oh someone came last night & bought that"

Getting there & they say it doesn't start yet until tomorrow (That leads us back to your pet peeve about not being able to read the signs)

Hearing them say "My friend is an antique dealer & she helped me price everything"

When there are no prices at all on anything.


You know, my day was going pretty good up until I seen this, now I'm getting mad just thinking about all my pet peeves on yard sales!

[Marty-Graw]

how about signs that doesnt have a date on them .....you spend valuable time chasing down a yard sale that took place 3 weeks ago

[j.raud]

Old signs, advertised sale that ends up being a sale I've been to the year before and the year before that, this one happened Saturday... advertised for Saturday only, large moving sale, 8-4 pm. got their at 2:30 and no one was there, the sign was down but still on the porch, no answer at the door. AARgh!!

[SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS]

None.

Just enjoy getting out and seeing what type
of merchandise is around.

Happy me.

all have a good un.............
SHERMANVILLE

[seger98]

1. Yard sale where no one speaks english
2. One that the people own an import business
3. Nothing but baby clothes
4. We don't open for another hour (put the time on your damn sign)
5. "I looked it up on Ebay"
6. "sorry I don't have any change"
7. One sign garage sale (Every one knows where we live)
8. Same garage sale every week for a month or more
9. Garage sale stuff that I sold in my garage sale
10. We started selling Thursday (it's now Saturday)

Just a few of my top one's
J-G

Haven't had number 1 happen yet, but the rest all look too familar!

[EDDE]

Sign that says garage sale
then you walk up to pay and the Ahole running it pulls out a antique price book

[cyberdan]

1. Yard sale where no one speaks english

That doesn't bother me too much, I guess I am used to that.

repeat after me QUANTO QUESTA? (how much money)

or DONDE ESTA EO ORO Y LA PLATA? (where is the gold and silver)

I once got fed up with some lady that had trouble with the simplest English so I asked.

ME: Quanto anos en los Estados Unidos? (how many years in the U.S.)
SHE: viente (twenty)
ME: vients anos y no ingles (twenty years and no english)
SHE: (just quiet embarrassment)

and I do not speak spanish

[cyberdan]

You know, my day was going pretty good up until I seen this, now I'm getting mad just thinking about all my pet peeves on yard sales!

So sorry, cheer up only two more days to more yardsales.

This week I hope you find a pound of silver for $2

[hit80s]

Ever notice how the really great sounding ones in the newspaper are always the lamest! lol The more they are bragged up the worse they are!

[Beans]

1. Yard sale where no one speaks english

That doesn't bother me too much, I guess I am used to that.

repeat after me QUANTO QUESTA? (how much money)

or DONDE ESTA EO ORO Y LA PLATA? (where is the gold and silver)

I once got fed up with some lady that had trouble with the simplest English so I asked.

ME: Quanto anos en los Estados Unidos? (how many years in the U.S.)
SHE: viente (twenty)
ME: vients anos y no ingles (twenty years and no english)
SHE: (just quiet embarrassment)

and I do not speak spanish

When I run into the spanish only people, I ask them in German if they speak German. Show a little money and interest in an item and then all of a sudden they ask if I speak English. Happens all the time. But then I'm not in a big Hispanic area so they speak English when they want to.

[scrounger d detector collector]

i cant believe it no one mentioned the dreaded .INCORRECT OPENING TIME. IF UR GONNA HAVE A SALE THEN PLEASE DONT START IT AN HOUR EARLY. THATS WHY I LOVE SALES WHERE THEY HAVE IT THE EVENING PREVIOUS PLUS THE NEXT DAY. CUT OUT THE EARLY BIRDS.

[miket]

all sound familiar to me also..
i`ve been to the sales where they have a print-out of an e-bay auction next to most items telling what they cost on e-bay! I JUST TURN AROUND AND GO BACK TO THE TRUCK!
If you`re having a sale the last thing you want to do is mention e-bay. You want the buyer to think they found a "GEM" - that they`ll get home and sell on e-bay themselves...only to find out when they get home it is worthless because you already looked it up. - Most sales I go to I can usually tell that they are "e-bayers" by what they are selling.
I usually end up buying (suckered in)and i hold my own sale a couple times a year to try and re-coop my money back. I get asked where i get all my stuff and i just say from friends and relatives...never mention e-bay. I just had a yard sale and my grandmother stopped by and yells out in front of people " mike did you look this up on e-bay? " i was embarrassed! of course I did g`ma... later miket

[cyberdan]

When I run into the spanish only people, I ask them in German if they speak German. Show a little money and interest in an item and then all of a sudden they ask if I speak English.

I will have to try that.

I was in Paris once and got tired of the rude Parisians as soon as they knew I was American so I would go into a shop and say sprechen de Deutsch? Usually I got a "no, do you speak english" with a big smile.

[kdismuke1]

INTERESTING.

[scrounger d detector collector]

all sound familiar to me also..
i`ve been to the sales where they have a print-out of an e-bay auction next to most items telling what they cost on e-bay! I JUST TURN AROUND AND GO BACK TO THE TRUCK!
If you`re having a sale the last thing you want to do is mention e-bay. You want the buyer to think they found a "GEM" - that they`ll get home and sell on e-bay themselves...only to find out when they get home it is worthless because you already looked it up. - Most sales I go to I can usually tell that they are "e-bayers" by what they are selling.
I usually end up buying (suckered in)and i hold my own sale a couple times a year to try and re-coop my money back. I get asked where i get all my stuff and i just say from friends and relatives...never mention e-bay. I just had a yard sale and my grandmother stopped by and yells out in front of people " mike did you look this up on e-bay? " i was embarrassed! of course I did g`ma... later miket

mostly this comes from what i call STARGAZING. people see on the net how much something sold for and then put ebay price. using the highest price they can find.hoping to get at least a good portion of that price. main thing i find is the net item was guarnteed excellent and the garage sale item has major condition problems.portions missing etc. havent tried the LANGUAGE THING. GOOD TIP.I KNOW MANY SPANISH TRY TO PRETEND THEY DONT KNOW ENGLISH WHEN IT SUITS THEM.

[pippinwhitepaws]

you people would hate one of my yard sales.
have an auction next weekend...so week after...maybe start on thursday...no signs...no time...no prices marked...make stuff up as i go along...fprice is dependent upon attitude...lol...

[extractor]

Good one pippin

[Johnnysan]

* 'Estate sales' that wouldn't even qualify as yard sales.
* All the good stuff is out of bounds, waiting for Ebay.
* Clearly labelled prices mysteriously doubling when you show any interest.
* No prices, and asking starts a 15 minute discussion of how valuable an item is.
* The punk kid who takes your money is upping prices (for his college fund?)
* Accessories are sold separately (vacuums with no hoses; pans with no lids, etc.)
* Sentimental value reflected in the sale price of stuff we throw in the trash every day.
* Sellers saying 'Oh, my friend wanted that' while snatching an item out of your hand.

Am I close?

[miket]

* 'Estate sales' that wouldn't even qualify as yard sales.
* All the good stuff is out of bounds, waiting for Ebay.
* Clearly labelled prices mysteriously doubling when you show any interest.
* No prices, and asking starts a 15 minute discussion of how valuable an item is.
* The punk kid who takes your money is upping prices (for his college fund?)
* Accessories are sold separately (vacuums with no hoses; pans with no lids, etc.)
* Sentimental value reflected in the sale price of stuff we throw in the trash every day.
* Sellers saying 'Oh, my friend wanted that' while snatching an item out of your hand.

Am I close?

you sure are.
i like garage sale-ing the area where it looks like they never heard of computers and where the older folks live... so there aren`t any kids (which i don`t stop when i see a yard full of baby stuff).....when i worked in a seafood retail store the old folks always came in saying" i remember when i got those for 15 cents a pound " .well i hope they price their yard sale stuff with that attitude!