Question - what are the biggest issues with treasure hunting at garage/yard sales?

[rrrckt111]

I have considered spending more time looking for garage/yard sales, but am having trouble finding them in my area. Are there any websites/apps that can help with this? Also, what are the biggest challenges with treasure hunting at garage/yard sales?

Just don't want to waste my time!

 

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[kingskid1611]

You can use craigslist in your area or your local papers webpage. The biggest challenge will be having knowledge in anything and everything you will find in yard sales. You need to pick a specialty and learn all you can to identify what is good. Other than that a general knowledge of everything will help too. Good Luck and Happy Hunting. Welcome to the party also.

 

[controlfreq]

Check craigslist, classifieds, community bullitins, etc. We live in a large metro suburb so there usually are plenty of sales. We just get up and drive around Sat am looking for signs. There are no garruntees and you HAVE to understand what you are buying. The wife does a lot of research on the stuff she's looking for but also she enjoys the hunt, so even a bad day is enjoyable. I've collected quite an assortment of tools and other toys I've run across at a good price. Also, I'm fairly adept at reparing things so I've gotten bargains on broken stuff I easily fixed. We have both on occasion, ventured outside our level of expertise and paid too much, it happens...

I always tell friends that it satisfies her shopping instinct and keeps her out of the mall.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Some newspapers have listings of local garage sales.

As far as "issues", the biggest would be that the vast majority of them are pure junk.

 

[Rodbuster209]

You should check out the garage sale forum here at this site, a lot of key info there. Good luck!

 

[FreeBirdTim]

If you have one of those newfangled devices that can access the internet wherever you are, you will have a big advantage at yard sales. Makes it easy to look up the value of items on eBay and Amazon. I'm a dinosaur, so I need to have a good working knowledge of antiques and collectibles in order to get a good deal.

The best deals are for items that people don't realize are collectible. I've made a killing buying stuff at yard sales that seem to be common or even worthless junk. Wee Forest Folk (tiny mice figurines that can sell for thousands), Duane Decker baseball books (most sell for $50 to $500 each), some Chilton's repair manuals (67-73 International Scout manual can sell for $65) and many other yard sale items are worth big bucks on eBay. Knowledge is power when it comes to buying collectibles.

 

[ironman123]

Welcome to the forum. Above posts are good advice.

 

[against the wind]

Welcome to TNet.
Most yard sales are held in warm weather, so depending on where you live, the weather will dictate the frequency and number of yard sales.
I have taken pictures of a few items and then looked them up, using GOOGLE.

 

[Dr. Syn]

And don't forget auctions. Often the auctioneer will have listings of what is going up on the block. I equipped my shop with all kinds of big and small tools for next to nothing, going to these. And weather can be your friend. Especially bad weather. Been out in rain and snow storms, fewer folks attend in bad weather, and the sellers would rather deal then have to find some other way of getting rid of stuff. Both at auctions and yard/garage sales.

Oh and a tip. Auctions always have ringers, folks who are part of the auction group or somehow associated with them. If you see something you want, don't go directly to it, look at whatever is next to it. They'll see you looking at what you want otherwise, and run up the price on it.

 

[Kevin in IN]

As the Dr. said auctions are a great way to get some real bargins. I've been attending estate sales for over fourty years. I live in a farming area,and the old farm estate sales are the tops. Most of these sales have what they call box lots. Sometimes hundreds of boxes of misc. stuff taken from sheds, basements, barns, etc. My likes are indian artifacts, cast iron cookware, military stuff. Like others have said, educate yourself on the things you like. I don't buy most things to resell, I buy things I know will hold or increase in value over time. There is a web site called auctionzip.com. Give that a try and see what comes up in your area. Good luck and welcome to Tnet.