2014 Yardsale thread

[dodgeme]

Hoping for a good weekend coming up. Village Wide Yard Sales for me and I usually have a bit of good luck at them. Hoping it carries into this year.

 

[pitfallharry219]

When I overspend at a yard-sale, most of the time its on lemonade, stuffed animals, or kids books. When the young'ns are out there working I don't mind putting out the extra dollars. There are some days I come across so many lemonade stands I can't stand to drink any more. So I'll get somewhere out of sight, dump the lemonade and keep driving.

Because that's easier than just donating the money to them?

 

[Unaki]

Man...This thread makes me cry.  I wish I was in an area that hosted quality yard sales.  I get plenty but the only ones who host them are antiquers and old people with too much non-nerdy stuff. 

 

[slowdive21]

Last week I dropped 50 cents on lemonade and didn't even buy anything at the person's sale. I should have just ran off. haha.

I've seen $2 cans of pop, $3 bottled water, and $1 cups of lemonade this year. that noise! These parents should be ashamed. It is supposed to be a courtesy/tradition/teaching your kids about money thing, not a money maker.

Normally what I say is: "I'll buy a cup on the way out if you want to get it ready." I say it loud enough for the parents to hear that I am buying it, so when I go to negotiate they have that in their head. The other reason is so it doesn't slow me down too much waiting for 3 kids to figure out how to pour from a gallon size pitcher into a dixie cup.

I think I have achieved garage sale enlightenment. I just realized there isn't much more I can improve on in my approach to buying.

 

[Ferrari Racer]

I bought a can of beer once at a yard sale. They didn't ask for my ID...

 

[commandercody83]

Kudos to the lemonade drinkers. I didn't think that anyone here would be like that. I'm gonna try to be more open to the lemonade stands.

Jealous of mikespit and that Sega joystick. I had one of those as a kid. I traded it to Babbages when I got a ps1. I miss that thing.

 

[dasme313]

Because that's easier than just donating the money to them?

Most of the time the lemonade stands are for profit and I see no reason to give the kids free money. If they're fundraising for something; cheerleading, Alex's Lemonade Stand etc... I will donate extra.

The only problem with getting that much lemonade is you come across some terrible lemonade... The brownies are almost always a good buy though, cookies are 50-50.

 

[slowdive21]

+1 on brownies. Though I will only buy them if the peoples stuff is clean and it looks like they don't smoke or have pets. They taste 10x better when you are hungry and if they are warm from the sun, they are still good.

Always carry hand wipes in your vehicle though.

Prepackaged is the way to go if you have a choice though. You can always resell it at your garage sale.

 

[Ironman8]

+1 on brownies.

Prepackaged is the way to go if you have a choice though. You can always resell it at your garage sale.

Brownie flipping thread? I hear Starbucks is offering double credit next week. Lol

 

[dasme313]

Haha, never tried reselling brownies. Now we all know what the next step to becoming a yard-sale guru is! I did try to sell someone a half-eaten hot dog once, pitched it saying "only half the calories!" Unfortunately, no sale.

 

[dodgeme]

At our last yard sale my aunt dug up a bunch of Shasta daisy's and what we call father's day flowers, they bloom around that time. Placed them in individual planters and sold them for $1 a piece. Think she made at least $50 off those and probably could've gotten more but that was all she brought.

 

[slowdive21]

At our last yard sale my aunt dug up a bunch of Shasta daisy's and what we call father's day flowers, they bloom around that time. Placed them in individual planters and sold them for $1 a piece. Think she made at least $50 off those and probably could've gotten more but that was all she brought.

There are a LOT of plant sales around here. If they are something that can be split like hostas or ferns you can make money off of them every year. I keep trying to get my parents to sell off some of their plants. haha

I tend to put out bottles water and cans of pop for 50 cents each if we have a sale. It is a fair price and still makes a little money. Buy 12 packs on sale with CVS extrabucks to roll them and save the coke points for BB/target GCs arond christmas.

I don't have a garage, so I usually put some of my stuff out at my neighbors house. The benefit of putting stuff out at a neighbor's place, is people won't push them too hard for deals. They can just say "It's my neighbors stuff, so I can't negotiate." I suggest you go with a simple pricing structure if you are going to rely on someone else though. All DVDs $3, all comics $1, etc to keep it simple. Don't put out anything collectible or high end or people will know that you are a collector.

Example: Don't put out a game used jersey card for Michael Jordan $100 and then have a shoebox of "unsorted commons" for $50 that "may contain some good cards".

I tend to just take a count of what I put out there of each item.

And of course check out your neighbors stuff for sale before anyone else does. Back when I sold on ebay (I'm re-branding myself at the moment, so I am not currently selling in volume), I sold a couple things for my neighbor (I could have just bought them off of her, but I told her I would split the profit because I am too nice). She would have got $15 for the items at her sale and she ended up pocketing $65 because of me. (Waterford Crystal stuff in case anyone is wondering).

 

[Unaki]

Example: Don't put out a game used jersey card for Michael Jordan $100 and then have a shoebox of "unsorted commons" for $50 that "may contain some good cards".

Trading cards of any variety are very fickle and are subject to the "I saw it on ebay for this much." mentality. My favorite people are the ones who play dumb with Magic: The Gathering collections but really aren't. They'll have a box of seemingly randomized cards, about 500-1000 or more and it will be all uncommons. They ask for $15 for it which is extremely steep but off to the side they have a binder or box filled with rares priced at current market prices.

 

[dasme313]

In other news, the lady at the post office wants to buy the guitar I picked up... for $900! I thought I'd be enjoying it a little longer. The amp, however, is MINE.

 

[Invicta 61]

I bought a can of beer once at a yard sale. They didn't ask for my ID...

I would love this at a community sale. You're doing it right!

+1 on brownies. Though I will only buy them if the peoples stuff is clean and it looks like they don't smoke or have pets. They taste 10x better when you are hungry and if they are warm from the sun, they are still good.

Always carry hand wipes in your vehicle though.

Prepackaged is the way to go if you have a choice though. You can always resell it at your garage sale.

I'll buy brownies or cookies at sales but I refuse to drink something that they made. It's usually warm with bugs in it.

There is one guy that sells some damn good BBQ at an annual community sale. I make sure to get there before he runs out.

At our last yard sale my aunt dug up a bunch of Shasta daisy's and what we call father's day flowers, they bloom around that time. Placed them in individual planters and sold them for $1 a piece. Think she made at least $50 off those and probably could've gotten more but that was all she brought.

I need to do this. I planted some quart containers of Day Lillies and Hostas back in 2007 and now they've grown into a hedge row!

 

[Sivarticus]

Picked up a BC Wii today with a black motion plus controller for $25. Going to check it out when I get home and make sure it works, etc. I already have one, but trade fodder maybe?

 

[slowdive21]

Not a lot of options tomorrow. I might take a leisurely approach. I am meeting up with a woman I bought from earlier in the year to get at least 1 of the cords for a system that I didn't take pictures of/post yet :lol: .

 

[Sivarticus]

Well the wii I bought ended up having skyward sword in it, and DKC, Chrono Trigger, Majoras Mask, Paper Mario, and Super Metroid installed on it. I'm happy!

 

[pitfallharry219]

Well the wii I bought ended up having skyward sword in it, and DKC, Chrono Trigger, Majoras Mask, Paper Mario, and Super Metroid installed on it. I'm happy!

Not too bad. DKC was removed from the Virtual Console, so that's a nice score by itself.

 

[Ferrari Racer]

Anyone know where I can buy a pretty large yard sale sign? I bought a couple stand up signs at Walmart for $4 each but after placing them on the side of the road they seem kind of small.

 

[Ironman8]

Anyone know where I can buy a pretty large yard sale sign? I bought a couple stand up signs at Walmart for $4 each but after placing them on the side of the road they seem kind of small.

Try Staples. I just use a big cardboard box and cut it to preferred size. You can use packing tape to attach to poles or your smaller signs. My signs just say SALE in huge letters with arrows pointing the way. You can use these same signs over and over as they have no date or time on them. Good luck and don't forget to pickup your signs at the end of the sale.

 

[slowdive21]

Anyone know where I can buy a pretty large yard sale sign? I bought a couple stand up signs at Walmart for $4 each but after placing them on the side of the road they seem kind of small.

Dollar tree has those foamboard pieces for $1. (like posterboard with ribbing inside)

----

Someone needs to explain to me how you find games stored on nintendo systems. Are't they tied to another person's account?

----

I had a pretty decent day today. I'm so tired. I had to climb into a recycle bin for some retro guides/manuals. If she ends up finding the games that go with them, they will be my find of the year. (But I doubt she will find them. She thinks she gave them to her grandson.) Pics and story to come...

 

[kermit036]

I got this stuff today. Preety stoked for the TMNT NECA figures for $30! The sketch cards were thrown in for free. Everything else was $2.50 at a different sale.

 

[Mirpkered]

I had a pretty decent day today. I'm so tired. I had to climb into a recycle bin for some retro guides/manuals. If she ends up finding the games that go with them, they will be my find of the year. (But I doubt she will find them. She thinks she gave them to her grandson.) Pics and story to come...

Didn't happen to have a Little Samson manual in there did ya? I need one.

 

[Mike_TV]

Nah, Nintendo doesn't tie games to accounts, but rather to consoles. It's a definite flaw in their strategy, but can work out really well for buyers of used stuff.

 

[slowdive21]

Nah, Nintendo doesn't tie games to accounts, but rather to consoles. It's a definite flaw in their strategy, but can work out really well for buyers of used stuff.

ahh ok. I may have a system or two to check, but they haven't been posted yet.

I got this stuff today. Preety stoked for the TMNT NECA figures for $30! The sketch cards were thrown in for free. Everything else was $2.50 at a different sale.

Spoiler

Those NECA ones are pretty cool. They are designed after the original comics...ahh the days when the TMNT actually looked like turtles and not like LL cool J with different colored headbands.

Didn't happen to have a Little Samson manual in there did ya? I need one.

Sorry. These are SNES and n64 guides and manuals. I haven't even looked at them yet, I was pretty excited as I pulled them out of the bin.

---

I met a beautiful woman at a sale. I paid a buck for the lego stuff and she asked/gave me the rice krispy treat as I was leaving (they were charging $1 each for them). There were two little kids there, but I think they were the other lady's children. I can't tell how old she is, but I am assuming mid 20s. I may go back tomorrow when I am clean shaven and ask her out.

She either liked me or thought there was something wrong with me, since I am a grown man wearing a video game hat and buying spongebob legos. :lol:



more to come...

 

[lakers714]

She either liked me or thought there was something wrong with me, since I am a grown man wearing a video game hat and buying spongebob legos. :lol:

more to come...

I would go with the 2nd option lmao

 

[donut]

Anyone know where I can buy a pretty large yard sale sign? I bought a couple stand up signs at Walmart for $4 each but after placing them on the side of the road they seem kind of small.

I make a black and white sign with HUGE Centered GARAGE

SALE

smaller font for address, date, time (all are required in my town)

I then print two copies -

On the copies,

I have left space the word SALE to draw a BIG ARROW with magic marker

I use the two copies to draw an arrow going each way

All this takes maybe 5 minutes.

I then take the two templates over to FedEx office and make 20 copies of each arrow direction on ONE color of bright colored (florescent) 8.5 x 11 paper (40 copies = a couple bucks)

another 5-10 minutes without drive time...

I bring these home and staple them on cheap wooden stakes bought at Home Depot (10 stakes = $2.50 - reuseable)

I staple one of each direction arrow back to back on a stake and then staple the paper ends together.

This takes maybe 5 minutes.

Throw all the signs with a mallet and a naked stake in a bucket and pound them in starting at the neaest corners working out to main streets... this takes 20 minutes

Reads complicated, but after 5 sales in the last 8 years, really fast....

Shoppers really just need a constant color with the arrow... so make the arrow thick, as big as possible and clear...

I actually have had comments how easy it was to find the sale due to this simple format...

Usually less than $10 and stakes are reuseable.

All told maybe an hour and a half of time...

Craidslist/gslr.com make your sale a destination, good signs get the impromtu shopper that might be more likely to pay your "reasonable" asking price....

Signs are also for keeping some traffic after you've been open for the first hour n half (when it slows way down without your entire neighborhood participating....) Community sales usually drive 4 hours of constant traffic...

Hope this helps some.... I also post signs that state offers are welcome! and if I have a bunch of something - books, CDs, DVDs, etc... I offer decent,. POSTED discounts for buying multiples....

I NEVER assume a buyer will come back later for last hour discounts as they very very rarely do... I've also learned it's best to settle for an offer in the first hour than assume someone will come later and pay my asking price...been so sad not negotiating to say $8 for an item marked $10 that they offer $5-6 for....

 

[crows in black]

Instead of selling lemonade, people should start charging $1 to use their bathroom.....because gurl I gotsta PEE and I ain't stoppin' between the hours of 8am and 11am for NOTHIN!

 

[slowdive21]

Bonus misc post:



I just wanted to watch this movie again and I buy almost any 50 cent or less dvd. (I need to break that habit though).

I saw a 32 inch TV sitting near the dumpster by my condo with a remote in an envelope. I wanted a bigger tube tv for 'retro' gaming, so I picked it up (with help).



OH look! My favorite show is on pause...



more to come...

 

[Ferrari Racer]

Is she sculpting a...... 

Anyways today was ok. Here's what I got.

Game guides- $1 each

Broken PS2- $5

Coca Cola Mug set- $10

High Sierra rolling back pack- $10

Sealed Sony camera- $30

 

[dasme313]

Nice pickup on the Sony camera! I've been hoping to find one this year as I actually want one now. Last year found 5-6 throughout the summer (none sealed though!).

 

[UnderFire]

Hit up 2 yard sales this morning, both listed games on CL.

First one we got

Silent Hill 4 : The Room - Xbox

Mario Sunshine - Gamecube

Harvest Moon - Gamecube

Eternal Sonata - 360

Silpheed: The Lost Planet (Disc Ony) - PS2

3$ a piece for the complete ones, 1.50 for the disc onlys.

Then we ran to the next one that listed wii and xbox games.

Found a pile of terrible shovelware on the wii, but the 3 xbox games they had made it worthwhile.

2$ a piece.

Star Wars Battlefront 2

Star Wars Battlefront

Star Wars Republic Commando

All Black Label, Mint and Complete.

 

[slowdive21]

SO pissed off right now.  The 2nd time this year, someone told me they would set the games aside for me and they didn't. I showed up at noon as discussed and her son (who wasn't there yesterday) "just sold a whole stack of them to another guy for $125" while she was inside for a few minutes, so they figured it was me. I know there were some OG xbox and 360 games, but the girl specifically told me yesterday that she had a lot of original nintendo games. I hate people.  There was a guy that buys games that I have been one step ahead of all day and I have a feeling he is the one that got my games. I need to calm down or I am going to have a stroke.

My day started off on an ultimate shoppers high, so to end like this is a real downer.

I'm trying not to be too pissed off because I get an EPIC FREEBIE today. (I doubt anyone will believe me, but I swear it is free and better than the sealed SOTN PS1 lot and my free NES lots from earlier in the year.)

 

[Bing147]

I had an awful day today so glad you found some stuff.

 

[dasme313]

Slowdive, we hear a lot about stuff you find, but never what it actually is!

 

[slowdive21]

Ok, I'll post something. I need to cheer up and I think some of you will like this one.

EPIC FREEBIE POST :

Ok, There is a nice Asian lady and her adorable little girl (I think they are Japanese) that have G-sales once per year. I always stop, but they never have anything I am into. I've asked about video games in the past, but she wasn't sure if they had any. I wasn't going to stop today (because it was mostly girls clothes), but I got out anyway. I saw this as I approached:



I approached the box wondering how much it would cost me...

In case you can't see in the pic the box says "free". I asked her just to make sure and she said "Yes it is free, you can take it. It is old, so it is free!" I thanked her and offered her money, but she told me "It is yours!"

I got in my car and drove home to change my boxers. (j/k)





ZELDA!



more to come...

 

[donut]

damn slow, congrats...

 

[The person1]

Good find indeed

 

[Mirpkered]

I think that I just made the yard sale find of the year for me. It was a very nice super Nintendo bundle that I'll have pictures of later.

 

[ferant316]

Instead of selling lemonade, people should start charging $1 to use their bathroom.....because gurl I gotsta PEE and I ain't stoppin' between the hours of 8am and 11am for NOTHIN!

Yes yes a million times yes. A few times now I've even resorted to peeing in empty Gatorade bottles. Getting older sucks I used to be able to hold it all morning even after chugging two large coffees.

 

[Asmith906]

Yes yes a million times yes. A few times now I've even resorted to peeing in empty Gatorade bottles. Getting older sucks I used to be able to hold it all morning even after chugging two large coffees.

Gotta go before you leave. I made that mistake this morning and had to rush home. Luckily I wasn't to far. Didn't find much but some blu rays but the lady I talked to at the thrift store said she had some systems in the warehouse and would bring them out and give me a call.

 

[notaspaceship]

Does anyone else have a problem with going to an advertised sale only to find a sign saying, "Sorry, had to go out!" or something similar. I've had this happen to me a few times now. I actually went back to the house because they had a picture of an N64 system in their ad and I was hoping that they still had it. I ended up paying $20 for a black system, atomic purple controller, the cables and three games Mega Man 64, Quake II & F-Zero X. I feel like I overpaid a little, but I've been wanting one since the Retron doesn't have an N64 cartridge slot.

 

[slowdive21]

If you stick to the same area, you can work out bathroom stops. I tend to divide the area into sections and I have places I consistently use if I need a bathroom/something to drink. Some fast food places have free newspapers that business people leave, so if you stop in buy a drink, grab the classifieds (though the paper in my area now lists all of the ads online as well. But I do not have internet access on the road cuz I'm cheap yo!) and hit the bathroom all in one stop.

If some of you are in rural areas or super urban areas, I could see how that could be a problem (lack of places/no where to park)

Parks usually have bathrooms if you are in dire need.

If it is number 2 or you are a girl, home may be the best option. (I would never be able to go anywhere if I were a woman. I wouldn't want to use public restrooms)

And as always: hand/baby wipes in the car.

----

I'm not going to any sales today as I usually only go Thursday and Friday. I've been up since 5AM for some reason, so I've been catching up on photos, cleaning, and organizing.

I'm going to have some interesting/cool lots coming up for "slow's week of EPIC finds!™"* 

*title subject to change, some finds may not qualify as EPIC

I'm shooting for September 1st, because I think I am going out of town for a week or so for some type of family gatherings.

I know I should have saved the SNES lot I posted yesterday, but since it happened in real time (and because dasme313 has asked me to post stuff several times) I thought I would post it. Still pissed someone else got my games 'on hold' at the other sale, but I should be ecstatic about the SNES lot.

I'm bummed it was mostly crappy sports games, but free is free.

EDIT: Megaman 64 pays for the lot.

 

[vickers500]

Went to one sale today, but had to stop because due to a kidney stone trying to pass.  Had to be today of all days, the only day of the week I get to do this.

 

[Bing147]

Does anyone else have a problem with going to an advertised sale only to find a sign saying, "Sorry, had to go out!" or something similar. I've had this happen to me a few times now. I actually went back to the house because they had a picture of an N64 system in their ad and I was hoping that they still had it. I ended up paying $20 for a black system, atomic purple controller, the cables and three games Mega Man 64, Quake II & F-Zero X. I feel like I overpaid a little, but I've been wanting one since the Retron doesn't have an N64 cartridge slot.

Megaman 64 alone is worth that. You got a solid price.

 

[Bing147]

I had a terrible day yesterday, only bought at two sales.

Had one where I bought three Xbox games for $8.00. Nothing amazing, Return to Castle Wolfenstein Tides of War, Broken Sword Sleeping Dragon and Grabbed by the Ghoulies. Passed on the same ones at the same sale a month ago when they were asking $5.00 each. They lowered it to $4.00 though and agreed to do b2g1. Not great but all were on my to buy list and I was having a rough day.

With the sales going terribly, I ran out to a sale advertising games in West Chicago. Got there about 10:30 and surprisingly they hadn't sold anything despite solid prices. Unfortunately the guy said since his sale was going so terribly (apparently I was the first person to stop after being open 2:30 hours) he said forget it and through some of the good stuff on eBay...

Still had some stuff, I grabbed UN Squadron and Frogger for SNES for $7.00 for the pair which I was fine with. He also had a console only TG16 I probably should have bought... he wouldn't come off $20.00 though and though that's a very nice price, I didn't need it and without any cables or controllers I figured it would be a pain to sell. Probablly should have grabbed it though...

 

[The Punisher]

So if anyone remember my pickup of snes and nes games for $21 the lady call back and found the snes. The box is in great condition , but she tried to sell it for eBay price. After talking and since I already purchase those games, she sold the console to be for $6. So in total was $27 console, snes games, and nes games. Not sure if I over paired, but it was a old lady and she is moving to Cali. I didn't do as slow driver and was wondering where do u all live? I live in the ex/md/va area in the city. I keep hearing cat here getting bundles for dirt cheap, but I could never find one. Too many here try to sell too high. Also, I took a picture on iPhone. How would I put it on cag? At least 3 snes games are CIB. Once I'm off work, I will fire this snes up.

 

[Invicta 61]

I'm more than a little pissed right now.  There was a sale advertising Nintendo, Genesis, Xbox, etc.  I figured it would be higher priced than your average yard sale but I wanted to see if they had anything I'd been looking for. 

I arrive and find half the garage filled with game stuff.  The lady running the sale mentioned the games in the front were $4 each and the ones in the back were individually priced because they're more expensive.  I immediately see Conker Reloaded for Xbox in the $4 section and grab it.  Next I see a box full of Dreamcast games, many of them sealed.  I see a sealed Shenmue, Time Stalkers, Charge N Blast, and many others that I can't recall.  It was quite the treasure trove.  Mixed in was a sealed Megaman X4 Greatest Hits for PS1.  I ask how much and she says she's not sure, she then knocks on the door and yells at her kid.  Out comes her 20 something son that had been asleep to start looking up prices on the computer.   

I ask how much for the Megaman, Time Stalkers and Charge N Blast while still looking through the box.  He quotes a price that we agree to.  He then says he can't sell the Conker to me because it's $35.  A minute later he says "I can't sell that Megaman, you can sell it for $30 on Ebay.  Could you pick out two other games to replace it?".  At this point I was pretty agitated.  I should have grabbed the Shenmue and another to see what he said.  I took the Megaman and stacked it on top of the Conker in front of him and said If you don't want to sell it you don't have to sell it.  I pulled out another Dreamcast game and asked about it and he said "that's another pricey one".  I just put it back in the box without inquiring further. 

I have no problem paying a bit extra for quality, but I'm not paying Ebay prices and the flip flopping really pissed me off.

I ended up buying a few but now I wish I hadn't.  I feel like I rewarded him for acting like a tool.

 

[slowdive21]

Went to one sale today, but had to stop because due to a kidney stone trying to pass. Had to be today of all days, the only day of the week I get to do this.

That sucks. Good luck with that. I've been fortunate and I have avoided kidney stones. I know they can be painful.

Invicta 61

I hate that shit. Especially when they have decent stuff. You don't want to buy anything from them, but then you end up buying the scraps because they are cheap and leave the better stuff out of frustration. I love the substitution offer and the fact that people think you should wait there while they look shit up.

If the sale is going tomorrow, I would go back and see if anything is priced. If it still isn't, I would ask: "What do you think is a fair price for each game because I don't have time to wait for these to all be priced. I am looking to buy 10 (use whatever estimate you like, but err on the side of caution) or so games."

If they say something like $10 each, I would say "I am willing to pay $x.xx ($5 is usually my limit) per game, but I am looking to buy at least "x" amount of games." (You don't want to say you are buying 10 and end up picking out 8 and have them say "Well the price was for 10 games!")

Once you get the price set in stone, look through all of the games, but wait to pull them until you know what you want.

When you have a mental list of which games you want, start pulling and CIF the total.

The less time you spend pulling the less time they have to look stuff up.

Usually I try to keep good yard sale karma, but when people are like that you have to hit them fast and hard.

----

On a related note: (I'm not saying this was something you could have done since they changed the price on you... And this is general advice for anyone reading this)

If I ask "How much are the games?" and the people say something like "It depends on which one you want" I always set the price before I tip my hand. Otherwise people just use you to basically pull anything of value from their pile. If they are too lazy to do the legwork, I am not going to help them out.