Friday, April 17, 2009

Yard Sale!


Do you like to go to yard sales or garage sales? Nichelle and I used to get up early on Saturday mornings and go to them when we lived in California. We had fun scrounging around other people's junk. We never knew what we'd find. I've gotten a lot of great stuff from yard sales. I mostly like looking for books. Books are expensive, but you can get them really cheap at a yard sale. Often I'd come home with handfuls of books for myself and for the kids. You just can't beat a picture book that costs a quarter, compared to what they cost brand new in the store. We've also gotten some major things at a yard sale, for a fraction of what they'd cost us brand new. One of those was our trampoline. It was a really high quality one, not like the cheap ones they make now. Sadly, we had to leave it behind when we moved. Another was a screen door for our house, which would have cost us $60 or more new from a store. We bought one for $15 at a yard sale that had never been used. I've only been to 2 yard sales since moving to Montana. One was right on our road and we bought the boys an air hockey table for $5. It works great. I also got a porcelain nativity ornament for a whole dime.

A few weeks ago Brenda posted a link on her blog for yardsalequeen.com. Being the yard sale nut I am, I bookmarked the link hoping to read it later. I did that last night, and oh my gosh, there is some funny stuff on this site! The page I've linked goes to the "Customers from Hell" page. If you have some time, read through this. Some of these stories are hilarious. Others are downright shocking. I can't believe how bold and rude some people can be. My favorite story was by Selena in Sacramento, where she talks about the man who bounces around estate sales like a crack addict. I've seen people like that. We used to have regular yard sales when we lived in California. We never enjoyed them. Rick would make fun of me because I'd try to label everything and keep things neat. He'd rather just toss it on the ground and hope someone would buy it. We had some pretty nervy customers, but frankly, I can't remember anything super bizarre. Mostly, it was people slamming on their brakes on the street when they saw our sign. Or people who'd wander through our garage, when clearly, everything for sale was on the driveway. We also had people open our gate and wander in our yard, even though we were still setting up and weren't ready to open. I've seen some pretty icky stuff at yard sales too. I remember one place selling urinals, like the kind you'd use in a hospital. Ummm, no thanks. If you like going to yard sales, or plan to have one of your own, this is a great website.

Do you have any wild, weird or bizarre yard sale experiences?

15 comments:

  1. How funny! We've only had one or two garages sales and I didn't enjoy them either. We never really made any money, so they're weren't worth the trouble they are to get ready. We go to some every now and then, but rarely find anything we need. I'd like to be one of those people that gets something for really cheap and find out it's worth hundreds of thousands! Dream on Nance!

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  2. That happened to me, Nancy, but in a negative way. I had some old dolls I figured I'd get rid of, so I sold them really cheap. About a year later I saw the same dolls, all cleaned up and still together, at another yard sale and the lady was asking over $100 for each of them. Definitely one of those Homer Simpson "D'OH!" moments!

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  3. Oh no, that stinks, I'm sorry. I was just reading those stories, I hate people. LOL Rude and disgusting. I have no plans to ever have another garage sale. I will list it on FreeCycle or give it to Good Will or Needs.

    Nancy

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  4. I am not a big yard sale girl, and right now with my purgefest going on I should probably host one, but I'll just take stuff to goodwill.

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  5. is it weird for me to say that I have never been to a yard sale? They happen around me all the time but they never interest me. But then again I don't like used stuff - I'm a bright and shiny new stuff girl and don't like antiques at all. My parents don't understand how I'm their daughter.

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  6. I'm usually trying to get rid of stuff, not find more...but I do still have a dresser that I found and repainted for next to nothing.

    We've only held a couple of yard sales, and I have to say it's an experience I can live without.

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  7. My hubby and I used to LOVE garage sales.. pre-kids! Now we have way too much stuff without finding other people's 'treasures!" lol

    Books were my downfall - I would come home with tons of books. And Vince's downfall? Everything else! lol Man he is a packrat!

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  8. I'll be looking at that website soon. We will be having a garage sale next month or in June. I can't wait to declutter the place!!

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  9. I don't have a yard sale story...but I did at one time have a little shop and I lived right next door to it in a little A frame house. There was a staircase up to the front door. People kept coming up the stairs and opening the door thinking it was a store. We made a wooden sign that said, "PRIVATE ENTRANCE." We hung the sign on a rope that we put across the bottom of the stairs. We actually had people climb over or unhook the rope to come up the stairs, open the door and come in!

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  10. I love yard sales! I love looking for treasures that I might find in them and getting things much cheaper escpecially stuff for the kids that they grow out of quickly.

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  11. So funny, my niece and brother asked today if they could have a yard sale at my house :)

    Why not, I said, since I am an amazing clutter queen who has been saving everything for years. My own spring cleaning. I'll throw things out in the yard and see if my junk is someone else's treasure.

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  12. I've never been to a yardsale either, Ello. I've got too much junk of my own, without buying other people's.

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  13. We used to give out free maragaritas to anyone who made a purchase at our yard sales.

    So that made it fun, at least for us, because we just kept drinking all day. But there are a lot of pushy, annoying hagglers in Hollywood. People stepped up onto the lawn and yelled at us. "NO! I won't pay five! I'll give you ONE dollar!"

    No margaritas for them.

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  14. I like going to them, but I hate having them myself! Like another commenter said, I'd much rather give my old stuff to Good Will. I shopped at yard sales all the time when my kids were young--they're a great source for kids' clothes and toys at a fraction of what they'd cost new!

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  15. ok, so my neighbors have garage sales, and it's really annoying, because people are rude and park on our lawn, and leave tire tracks too. anyways I really don't like people that go around looking for garage sales, in subdivisions they've never even heard about. theyre always looking for the "next great deal", but I mean at least show somerespect when parking. really aggrivates me.
    -that guy

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