I take back some of what I said about garage sales

[Paleo_joe]

Picked this unopened 1990s game for $1 at a garage sale, sold for $99.99 last night. The 1950s speaker came out of a big rolling mystery cabinet that I bought for $25 at another garage sale, sold for $130 last night to someone who will put it in a vintage fender guitar amp.

Both sales were just a couple blocks from my house! Garage sales are harder work than estate sales but the pay off seems bigger too.

 

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[kingskid1611]

you really just never know. Some are just cheap enough to chance it. Congrats on the score!

 

[artslinger]

Great scores! Congratulations! I prefer garage sales over Estate. At the Estates, they do their homework 80% of the time, so a score on a very collectable item is more challenging. At a garage sale, the chances of a score are greater, especially at the 30+ years homes. I really dislike garage sales at newer neighborhoods, it's been my experience that they rarely have anything collectable. All the best!

RJA

 

[2Minnesota]

Awesome finds, congrats!

 

[Junk_Puppet]

Estate sales suck - Nice finds, I have sold a few HQ expansion packs over the years

 

[austin]

Great finds, great profits. You just never know. Congratulations.

 

[JimDon]

I would have walked by both of those items without a second look.

 

[Paleo_joe]

Even the people selling the cabinet had no idea what it was. It looked like a console stereo, but it didn't open. Very nice mahogany finish, on casters. Obviously something - very heavy. I was not interested in it until I got home and started thinking maybe it was a speaker cabinet, so I went back and got it just for the gamble.

Took the back off and it had 4 speakers in it. It was from before the days of stereo when everything was mono. Three speakers were worthless but one was that killer Jensen.

I would have kept it but it was a 12" and my 58 fender tweed deluxe has a 10"

 

[clovis97]

I have almost written off garage sales in our area.

Too much time and gas driving all over to look at dirty baby clothes, overpriced trash, and broken items.

 

[billjustbill]

I have almost written off garage sales in our area.

Too much time and gas driving all over to look at dirty baby clothes, overpriced trash, and broken items.

Clovis97,

What I've learned while going to garage sales is when I don't see anything that fits my wants/needs, I ask if they have what I'm looking for. On 50% of the times, they'll come up with something. Several times, it's simply that they forgot to put out the tray of jewelry or that grandpa's old tools are just inside the garage, inside an old wooden box.

On estate sales, especially professional run ones, I see what you mean about wanting to "write-them-off". But, my mindset keeps me going to look... I go to find "that one thing" that they overlooked and underpriced.... This past weekend, for $2, I came home from an estate sale with a brass-end of a M-14, Type I, 105mm Howitzer shell stamped/dated 1944.

That hidden treasure IS out there,
Bill

 

[artslinger]

Clovis97,

What I've learned while going to garage sales is when I don't see anything that fits my wants/needs, I ask if they have what I'm looking for. On 50% of the times, they'll come up with something. Several times, it's simply that they forgot to put out the tray of jewelry or that grandpa's old tools are just inside the garage, inside an old wooden box.

On estate sales, especially professional run ones, I see what you mean about wanting to "write-them-off". But, my mindset keeps me going to look... I go to find "that one thing" that they overlooked and underpriced.... This past weekend, for $2, I came home from an estate sale with a brass-end of a M-14, Type I, 105mm Howitzer shell stamped/dated 1944.

That hidden treasure IS out there,
Bill

I agree with billjustbill! Keep this in mind, it is the law of averages at work. The more sales you hit, the more your chances. Don't make the mistake in thinking that you're going to score at 11am or later. By that time almost everything is gone. It is not the early bird that gets the worm, but the fastest! My biggest asset is my attitude, my mentality. Always have Faith, Hope, and Great Expectations. Never leave home without them! :-) I hit the road every Sat by 715am, and don't come home until about 1-2pm. If I don't score at the garage sales, I will score at thrift stores, swap meets, or pawn shops! :-)

True story, and it goes with what BJB is saying about asking. I was following up on a lead on a garage sale where bikes were going to be sold. It was on Friday morning, but I had to work. I finally get to take my lunch around 10am, I drove to the sale, and did not see any bikes. I was discouraged to some degree because I had probably missed them. I went to one of the houses and I ask the husband and wife team if they had any racing bikes (old 10 speeds). The lady responds that they had one and others, but that someone stopped with a truck and took them all. I made the comment that I was looking for a mens 10 speed. She thinks about it for a minute and tells me that they do have one, but that they did not bring it out because it had a flat tire. I let them know that I don't mind a flat tire, and that I would be interested in buying it. When they brought it out, my eyes almost popped out. It was a beautiful 1980's Japanese road bike in excellent condition, with even better components. I bought it for $40, and sold it on ebay for a very, very nice amount. If I had not gone, and consequently asked, I would have missed on the opportunity. Opportunity never takes breaks, and neither should we!

RJA

 

[Anduril]

When eBay first made the scene, I remember hearing a piece on National Public Radio (I think?) about being able to sell just about anything.
In the episode, they took four new #2 pencils, broke them in half, and still sold them at a profit.

I'm not a garage sale person myself, but sounds like you made out like a bandit! (Nice job!!)
I'm would also be a little surprised to learn that a Jensen speaker would be original equipment for a Fender Amp, but maybe the buyer isn't trying to restore it to factory condition.

 

[Paleo_joe]

I'm would also be a little surprised to learn that a Jensen speaker would be original equipment for a Fender Amp, but maybe the buyer isn't trying to restore it to factory condition.

No surprise. Here are the manufacturer codes for OEM speakers in Fender amps. All these came in them from the factory.

• Jensen 220
• Utah 328
• Oxford 465
• JBL 73
• CTS 137
• Altec Lansing 391
• Electro-Voice 649
• Pyle 1098
• Weber VST 1279

 

[Paleo_joe]

One thing I like about estate sales over garage sales are the friends. I line up with the same group of dealers on thursday and friday mornings, waiting for a sale to open. We spend the time yakking.

And inside the sale, I get advice or a loupe if I need it. We compete, but in a gentlemanly fashion. And help each other out -- If I find a stack of postcards, I'll pick them up and take them to a lady I know who buys and sells them. And she'll tell me about vintage military stuff if she sees it.

It avoids the conflict I am always reading about on here, with people fighting over deals as they haggle the seller. I would rather walk away from a $50 profit than get in a beef with someone. Life is too short. Friends are good.

 

[cyberdan]

I really dislike garage sales at newer neighborhoods, it's been my experience that they rarely have anything collectable.

Yes, like the town I live in. lots of baby crap (not literally) and other things that they want nordstrum or macys prices.

 

[clovis97]

I still contend that garage sales are a waste of time in my local town.

After reading this thread, I decided that I may have given up garage sales too soon. We hit 5 separate sales, and bought two items for $1 each. One nice Aeropostal sweatshirt for my daughter, and a brand new pair of pink moto-cross pants for a girl. I had high hopes for the pants, thinking they might be worth $50 or more on eBay, but they turned out to be a dud.

I know and hear what you are saying. There are fortunes to be made in the GS hunt. I still say that it ain't going to happen here.

Starting in about 1995, or so, this small town that I live in started a giant boom in growth. 10 years ago, you could make TONS of money with stuff found at GS. I was making money hand over fist back then. New subdivisions were popping up everywhere, and credit was plentiful. Garage's seemed to be overflowing with high quality stuff, bought for cheap, every week of the summer.

Since then, especially after 2008, something happened. Sure, we still have garage sales here, but they are full of used clothes and broken stuff. Over 90% of the GS are in the new subdivisions, with the remaining 10% in the 'old town.' The subdivision sales are full of nothing but baby clothes, and there isn't much to be had in 'old town', except for dirty and cruddy stuff.

It is like we've had a generational and economic shift in this area. It is odd. I used to EASILY make $500 or more profit in a day of GS, and I'm not kidding about that. I could almost make that with my eyes closed, and I made that most weeks. I am serious when I say that I would be hard pressed to make $100 in a day now, after driving around for 8 hours.

Even my cousin, quite possibly one of the best GS pickers in the world, has quit GS altogether around here.

I find that they aren't worth the time and effort, even when starting at 7:00 am, and working until they've all closed for the day. I'm sure that there are still some deals out there, but I am not finding them. It gets old tripping over table after table of baby junk and muddy used tires to look at a table full of overpriced cookbooks.

 

[clovis97]

Something interesting about this town is the generational shift.

In the older, well established neighborhoods, built in the 1960's, most of the people have died off or moved away. The area is now mostly inhabited by well-to-do people in their early 50's, and it is RARE to see a GS in any of those 'hoods.

I've seen the same shift for the 'old town' area too. It is rare to see a GS in those parts of town, and when you do, they are often at rental homes or apartments.

The 'new' subdivisions....I'm not even sure where to start. I just don't see any quality stuff at those GS, or at least not like I used to. And when you see anything of quality, even in the least, the prices are outlandish.

 

[trdhrdr007]

I'm not quite in the same boat but I am in the same lake. The main difference is I can hit every sale in town within 2 hours. I feel like I'm doing good to make a decent score one weekend out of the month. That's the only thing that keeps me going. The minute I figure out I'm no longer making my average required return per hour each month I'm quitting myself.