Garage Sales

I do them whenever I have my weekends free. Lately I have been doing them almost every weekend since May.
I have accumulated too much as a result of all the auctions I go to.
If you have never done them they can be enjoyable and it gives one a chance to meet many local folks. They are lots of work though. Cleaning, sorting, pricing and setting things out in proper order.
I have my right arm in a cast from a surgery this past May, that makes it extra tough, but there is not much else I can do...so.
I must sign off now. Got to open the sale up at 7am tomorrow.

Anyone else ever do them?
Stories to tell us from them?

I found a Louis Vuitton original hand bag in a box full of hand bags at a garage once. The sticker price said $5 each. lol

I gave it as a birthday gift to a friend. She's into collecting hand bags and man was she shocked. It's worth about $700.

Wow that is a better deal than I have found at auctions.

We don't do Garage Sales here but Carboot Sales. Load up the car, drive into the middle of a field and flog your wears in the pouring rain, while people secretly judge what you are selling. British tradition.

I've stopped at a few garage sales and yard sales over the years, I usually will creep by in my car first, if I spot one or two items that catches my eye I'll turn around and park to have a look around...

Once bought a solid cherry wood butlers table for 20 dollars in great condition...I got it home and checked it out, googled the stamp on the under side and found out it's an antique from the early 1900s worth over 2000 dollars...I put it in the living room as a center piece like a coffee table...

One day whilst I was away at work my dog who was then 8 months old at the time decided that was a cool spot to lay...He proceeded to jump on it and take a nap on it scratching up the entire top of the table...I was a little upset when I came home from work lol, dogs will be dogs though...

I am at least getting my garage cleaned up and somewhat organized. As much as I can with my right arm in a cast.

Frank & Mike from the American Pickers show said it the best. They claim all the good stuff is on the east coast or in the south. When people migrated to the west they traveled light. I was told a story when I was a kid about a garage sale where someone bought a shotgun and later found out it said Pony Express #1 which made it worth $10,000.

Toroid said:

Frank & Mike from the American Pickers show said it the best. They claim all the good stuff is on the east coast or in the south. When people migrated to the west they traveled light. I was told a story when I was a kid about a garage sale where someone bought a shotgun and later found out it said Pony Express #1 which made it worth $10,000.

Click to expand...

I would not agree all is, but the majority so.

I love them too, lots of cool stuff, old books. Dealers spoil them though.

Dundee said:

I love them too, lots of cool stuff, old books. Dealers spoil them though.

Click to expand...

You never know what you will find at them Dundee.
When I unpack I never know what I will find from my auctions as well.
One of my customers last year said one of the guys from Pickers had stopped in.
If he did I did not recognize him.

That would have been cool, I watch the pickers here on TV sometimes,
Haha, the Auctions are a trap, haven't done them for years. I remember i would often buy a box for one object, and would end up with a car load of junk I couldn't remember why I bought. My mum and dad used to love it when they were alive. i would go home and they would pick through it as I unpacked. Great memories.

Dundee said:

That would have been cool, I watch the pickers here on TV sometimes,
Haha, the Auctions are a trap, haven't done them for years. I remember i would often buy a box for one object, and would end up with a car load of junk I couldn't remember why I bought. My mum and dad used to love it when they were alive. i would go home and they would pick through it as I unpacked. Great memories.

Click to expand...

Some of the best deals came from $1 boxes at auctions.
I once recall buying a old box of books for 50 cents at an auction. Most were damp, moldy and smelled. Well one end of the box the books looked OK. I pulled out what I thought would be an old school year book. Sometimes I could get $5 or $10 for one. Instead it was an old hard cover catalogue from the 1920s on old milling supply. Stair parts, windows, doors, etc. etc.. I found the inside looked like the day it was printed. I was shocked seeing what condition books were in in that box.
I put it on Ebay and it sold for $67. Not a fantastic amount but not bad for a 50 cent investment.
I also bought a box that had a meteorite in it....I think. Got to have the rock checked out to be sure.