Official 2011 Yard Sale Thread

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[quote name='schultzed']That's why I consider games to be just icing on the cake. If I went just for games, I would give up . . . there just isn't enough out there week in and week out. [/QUOTE]

I have been trying to read various things to get an idea of what to look for. Any advice on a good starting point for research? I also look for kitchen items we need but for items that may be worth something I feel like it's overwhelming knowing what to look for. Also, I was curious if you ask at all yardsales if they have games or it just struck you at that particular one?
 
I personally ask at every one....except church sales. I've had a few times I've asked figuring there wouldn't be anything because of their age and they brought out Nintendo stuff.
 
[quote name='Obiwan456']I do go for only games, but I get to because I go with my dad, who goes after everything else. [/QUOTE]
I usually go with my dad as well, and since there's no games around here usually, we have a first come first served rule (whoever sees it first gets it.) I usually go for electronics/random stuff though and my dad tools, so it works out well enough.

Haven't found anything this weekend, I think people are afraid of the weather. Going to drive around in the other direction tomorrow, so hopefully I can find something.
 
Here:

Free:D:D:D: A bunch of casets, this keychain thing, old school sign calender from '04, and a mancalla table.

Then 2 N64 games with manuels. NHL '99, and Tony Hawk Pro Skater, and this movie "Big fish", Block buster box.

Then... a pen. BUT, not just a normal pen, a pen with a toaster on top.
You push donw the bread to write, and press another button to have the bread and pen go back up.:):):D:hot:


$1- 2 good slice's of cake:D

$2- A 1961 Monopoly board.

$0.25- A keychain in the shape of a Harmonica.:hot: NOTE: Does not work.:cold:


We spent $10 in total.

I passed a Mavrick 3 Sega Genisis Quick fore controller. Bad or Good?
 
Daw, your post about cake reminded me about something I picked up today. One of the yardsales was kids selling to support a walking team for American Cancer Society's Walk for Life and they had obviously kid made baked goods. I thought I should donate so I picked this sickly looking blueberry muffin and gave them 5 dollars. I brought it home and tried to convince myself there couldn't be anything that wrong with it but in the end I could accept it was made with love but looked like hell and tossed it.
 
[quote name='casperinian']Daw, your post about cake reminded me about something I picked up today. One of the yardsales was kids selling to support a walking team for American Cancer Society's Walk for Life and they had obviously kid made baked goods. I thought I should donate so I picked this sickly looking blueberry muffin and gave them 5 dollars. I brought it home and tried to convince myself there couldn't be anything that wrong with it but in the end I could accept it was made with love but looked like hell and tossed it.[/QUOTE]

lol... =P Just donate money next time then.

I bought some pancit and lemonaid for similar reasons today. I have yet to get a stomach ache from eating food bought from a garage sale, and I have a relatively weak stomach.
 
[quote name='casperinian']I have been trying to read various things to get an idea of what to look for. Any advice on a good starting point for research? I also look for kitchen items we need but for items that may be worth something I feel like it's overwhelming knowing what to look for. Also, I was curious if you ask at all yardsales if they have games or it just struck you at that particular one?[/QUOTE]

My two big lots of games (ahem, not yet posted ;)) were both pulled out from inside the home when I asked for games.


What to look for...

It depends what you are interested in. I would say going to an antique store or flea market will give you a good general idea of what dealers are trying to get for items. Most people like to talk (in general and in life) so you can always ask about something that catches your eye.

Personally, I have been going to sales since I was a child, so most of my knowledge came from experience. When you see something enough times eventually it clicks.

Honestly video games are probably one of my weaker points, so I just try to get everything cheap.

Now I see a lot of people using their smartphones or scanners to check pricing -which is fine- but I would think that would slow most people down when they could be hitting another sale. Schultzed does really well with his scanner, but he also has a good idea what to look for (correct me if I am wrong Schultzed).

If I had one I would be tempted to stand there and scan everything with a UPC on it, but it would slow me down. I know I may miss somethings that a person with a smart phone or scanner may find, but I think I cast a pretty wide net when I coast through a sale.

I am going to add a poll to the thread to see if people want us to only show gaming finds or basically anything that is worthwhile. I don't mind snapping some extra pics if someone wants to see what else I buy.

I didn't realize 3D puzzles sold so high until someone posted them here. Palates DVDs are another thing I didn't pay attention to until someone posted them in a past thread. So even a veteran can learn some things from everyone else's finds!

[quote name='Daw19yoyo']Here:
Then 2 N64 games with manuels. NHL '99, and Tony Hawk Pro Skater, and this movie "Big fish", Block buster box.
[/QUOTE]

Is a Manuel, a manual in Spanish? :)
 
I voted that I'd like to see pics of everything. I really enjoy this thread, and have learned lots from others finds about things to look for. I'm with Slowdive...I had no idea 3D puzzles sold so well until I read it here, and since then I've managed to find 2 that did well as flips.

along that lines, my advice to Casperinian would be to hit the links to the previous yard sale finds threads and read those if you haven't all ready, there are lots of tips about things worth looking for in there. Also, I know the smart phone/scanner issue is touchy, but I have my Iphone with me while at sales, and if something catches my eye that I think might be a worthwhile flip, but I'm unsure, I use the Ebay app with the search set to completed auctions to see if the item in question has sold well recently. If I see that the item has a lot of auctions ending with no bids, then it's a pass, or if it's selling well, I'll buy. A perfect example of this was an estate sale a couple weeks ago : there was a lot of sewing items (old patterns, fabric and a couple of machines that looked odd...I didn't really know what they did, as they didn't look like normal sewing machines.) Anyway, I've had some experience with some sewing items selling well on Ebay (old patterns from the 50s and 60s) so I did a quick check on Ebay for completed auctions on the 2 machines, turns out one was a blind hemmer machine by a company called Baby Lock and some had just sold on ebay in the $250-$300 range. So I asked the guy running the sale about the machines and patterns, and he says I can take it all for $40, to which I countered with $30 and he accepted. I flipped the blind hemmer on Ebay for $257.00, and the other machine sold for $40 (it was a serger it turns out) I also sold the box of patterns for $15 (which was below what I expected, but...still happy with the end result)
At another sale that same day, I found a microlux hobby sized band saw. (model builders use these for cutting balsa wood, styrene, etc) Guy wanted $30, accepted my $25 offer, and I flipped it on Ebay for $170 That was the best weekend I've had since moving to FL over a year ago.

Now if I could just do that about once a month....:D
 
Only had two buys in about 12-15 stops today (only out for about 2 hours):

$30: Complete Wii Rock Band Bundle, with an extra guitar. Also, inside the box were Rock Band (of course), GH: Aerosmith, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl (that's probably going straight to Best Buy for $25 or so). Also a few miscellaneous a/v cords.

$8: Price is Right 2010 Wii ($7), Bust a Move '99 PS1 ($1). Prob could've haggled them down a bit, but they have a lot of sales, and have hooked me up many times. Worth the $8 just to get the Wii game for my wife to check out.
 
Elessar - Basically I asked how much the it was for a muffin and that's when I learned it was however much I wanted to pay. I guess maybe I was thinking if I was a kid I'd want someone to buy the thing I had made. Maybe projecting my childhood onto the situation haha.

Slowdrive and Jedikiller - Thanks for the advice, I'll continue reading what I can, see if I can learn from the old yard sale threads, and check out some antique stores to see if I can build some checklists in my mind. I will have to start asking if they have games as well because maybe people just assume noone wants the older games.
 
[quote name='slowdive21']
Is a Manuel, a manual in Spanish? :)[/QUOTE]


Mesa cansa notsa spellsa goodsa sirsa.
(Jar Jar)
Or
(angry noob face nerd)

Hey u pece of stuepid garbags u sux 4 bein mean u rarfaceing lozer!:lol:
 
Ha, I checked out a 9:00 sale that was supposed to have Atari and Gameboy games and the guy hosting it said all that stuff got sniped at 8:30. However...underneath one of the most FUBARed Resident Evil 2 games I have ever seen (water damaged manual, discs looked like they were coated in roofing compound) I found myself a VG Dino Crisis 1 for $2. This find is dedicated to those crazyass CAGs who bid $8 plus shipping on this game at lowball.
 
[quote name='FOnewearl']

Broken Playstation 3 (Console Only) - $3

Sonic The Hedgehog & Nigel Mansell's World Championship Racing (Genesis, Both Complete) - .25

Wildfire Pinball Game With AC Adaptor (Parker Brothers, 1979) - .75

PS3 was asking price didn't even bother to haggle for that price, tired it out with two different games and it didn't read either of them. 60 gig harddrive 3.15 firmware, seemed hot after only 10 minutes and sounded like the fan was working harder then it should have been so hopefully I'm just reading into all that more then I should be and the system doesn't have more wrong with it. The Genesis games were from a really junky yardsale (backyard even smelled bad just to try and give you an idea of how bad it was) with what was a mess of boxes brought out from the house, I fished the Genesis games out of a box and offered .25 for them just for the hell of it figuring (as it ended up being) that it might be my only find for old games today. The Pinball deal was asking price and even seems to have the correct power plug with it and isn't a makeshift (says Parker Brothers on it). I tried it out and it's kind of neat even seems to shut off if you move it around too much like a real pinball machine.

I got out today at about 7:45 and was out till just after 12. Got to 41 sales total today.

I only had two sales that mentioned something video game related one didn't mention anything in particular and the other was a younger kid so probably something newer and not for me.

For expensive stuff nothing earth shattering, $10 DS game shovelware at one house and a GameCube for $30 at another. I saw the bare minimum of other typical video game things today 1 Xbox sports game, a few PS2 games at one house (Almost got a Star Wars Lego game but when I said I was thinking a buck at the $3 price and offered to meet in the middle mom said that the kids wanted $5 but she was doing $3 as if that was firm and already undercutting what the kids wanted) another GameCube for $10, some plug and plays and the one thing I knew I was going to see today in a V-smile :)

I had a little of all of the typical stuff today as usual, have but not selling, used to have something but got rid of it last sale, have something but didn't bring it out and didn't seem interested in finding it (probably not sure where it is), we might still have something goes and checks....sorry nothing etc etc. The only thing in particular I'm going to mention is the very first sale I stop at this year I ask about video games and they have Nintendo(s) yes plural as different gens I would guess and even mentioned still having the system with Pac-Man which would most likely be a 2600 BUT they mentioned that they couldn't get a hold of Jr before hand so even be it they mentioned that they would like it gone they weren't doing a thing with any of it without touching base with him. They did take my number (actually gave it out 3 times today) but that pretty much never pans out, I don't even bring it up anymore the only time I bother giving out my number is when the seller brings it up and offers to take my number.
[/QUOTE]

Geez, those are some rough times for hitting 41 yardsales. Usually when they're selling systems for $30+ I start looking for memory cards and extra controllers to break off--sometimes people will let those go for next to nothing just to make a sale if it doesn't affect their system bundle. PS2, Gamecube, and n64 controllers are all worth looking for.

:drool: I got the phone number thing too, twice on Saturday. It was all "Well, let me look through what I have and decide."
 
[quote name='blindinglights']Is there a good website out there for information on valuable VHS tapes? I see a ton of them at yard sales and Good Will, but I never know what's worth something and what's not so I never bother looking.[/QUOTE]

I don't know of a good source for info on them but I can give you a few guidelines.

Overall, you get the best value from obscure items--at least 99% of VHS tapes are worthless because they are on DVD.

So, don't bother with:
http://www.amazon.com/Cabaret-25th-...1983/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1304268750&sr=8-2

Instead buy:
http://www.amazon.com/Sterile-Cucko...FB1U/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1304268750&sr=8-7

I picked up Sterile Cuckoo last year for $1. It didn't have a bar code . . . so I couldn't scan it but I just had a feeling.

I've found that obscure TV shows can be good but if they are DVD . . . forget about it.

This one is good:
http://www.amazon.com/Young-Pioneer...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=video&qid=1304269085&sr=1-1

The holy grail was once the big set of Centennial . . . I had one that I sold for almost $200. Now, I wouldn't touch it unless someone gave it to me. If there is enough demand, it comes out on DVD.

Another thing is that a sealed video (same goes for other items) can be worthwhile, like:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/6300183513

Classics are good overall. Here are a few that I've sold recently:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/6304452837
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/6301969561
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000006M7D
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/6302010985

So, if you see a pile of fairly obscure classic movies (in BW with lesser stars), then make a bid for the whole group. "Would you take $3 for 10 of these?" You'll likely hit on some and learn from your errors.
 
[quote name='schultzed']
I picked up Sterile Cuckoo last year for $1. It didn't have a bar code . . . so I couldn't scan it but I just had a feeling.
[/QUOTE]

That is a good tip that people should use. Media without barcodes are usually worth picking up if they are cheap. UPC codes were not in use until 1974 or later.

There are also ways to get an idea of the age of an item:

Made in ...

Czechoslovakia , pre 1992 (like the hockey puck I bought last week).

Hong Kong, usually old since most things are made in China.

West Germany / East Germany, pre 1989 (but probably older)

the USA usually 1970s or older unless it is a reproduction.
 
Schultzed, thanks for the great tips. Do you only sell on Amazon? I've always sold on eBay in the past, but I'd be willing to sell on Amazon if that's where it's best to sell VHS tapes. I can't imagine VHS tapes fly off the shelves, so how long on average would you say you sit on tapes before they sell?

Also, you said you couldn't scan the item. I have a Droid and I use the Amazon app to scan when I'm hunting for books to re-sell. Is there a better way to scan items to check for prices? I know the Amazon app doesn't show the trade in value unless you go to the real site, which can be annoying sometimes.
 
[quote name='ROB64']Went on a damn wild goose chase today. If you put out a yard sale sign. make sure you have a fucking yard sale![/QUOTE]I fucking hate when that happens. You see a yard sale sign then follow it into some winding neighborhood only to have a sign pointing back in the direction you came from at an intersection and no sale in between that and the previous sign. Also people who put signs pointing right in the middle of the street where the lane to turn left is and vice versa or on the opposite side of the road, or signs that have tiny arrows that you can't see until you can't get across three lanes of traffic to go the opposite way. And people who just leave their yard sale signs up many weeks after the yard sale.

And looking for only games it would still be worth it for me to go out yard saling but I also look for stuff like textbooks, DVDs, antiques etc that I can sell.
 
There were finally some sales. Video games are definitely becoming more common, I'd say at least half the places I stopped had something.

cae1eae9f2e03db809286936212b26fd.jpg


:ps2: Freedom Fighters, Ghost Recon 2, Snoopy vs the Red Baron, FFX, FFX-2, Onimusha 3, Shadow of the Colossus, all CIB, $1 each
:360: Avatar the Game, CIB, $1
:wii: Excite Truck, CIB, $3
Game Boy: System $1, Tetris, Dr. Mario $.50 each
SNES: Yoshi's Safari, cart only, $3

Also got a 20-inch HP2009m monitor for $25. Slight upgrade from the 19-inch Acer I got last year for the same price. Might as well sell the old one off.
 
Don't count out VHS tapes entirely, I've made some decent money flipping pro wrestling tapes on Amazon. A lot of that stuff isn't available on DVD and never will be, and much of what is available is victimized by music edits and such.
 
My first experience today shopping for games at yard sales, and I found what I think might be nice - let me know.

Atari CX-2600A system
2 Pointmaster joysticks
2 paddles
2 regular joysticks
Freeway
Q*bert
Defender
Combat
Berzerk
Missile Command
Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back
Asteroids
Pac-Man
Frogger
Frogger II Threeedeep

All games cartridge only, inside a brown atari cartridge book like thing


What's the best way to maximize profit with reselling this stuff? I spent $20 on the whole bundle - down from the original $55 asking price, yeesh.
 
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[quote name='Trullyn']My first experience today shopping for games at yard sales, and I found what I think might be nice - let me know.

Atari CX-2600A system
2 Pointmaster joysticks
2 paddles
2 regular joysticks
Freeway
Q*bert
Defender
Combat
Berzerk
Missile Command
Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back
Asteroids
Pac-Man
Frogger
Frogger II Threeedeep

All games cartridge only, inside a brown atari cartridge book like thing


What's the best way to maximize profit with reselling this stuff? I spent $20 on the whole bundle - down from the original $55 asking price, yeesh.[/QUOTE]

Unfortunately the value isn't really there with this as Atari's are pretty worthless in the resale area. Your best bet is too look at completed listings on eBay for all of that stuff.
 
[quote name='Trullyn']My first experience today shopping for games at yard sales, and I found what I think might be nice - let me know.

Atari CX-2600A system
2 Pointmaster joysticks
2 paddles
2 regular joysticks
Freeway
Q*bert
Defender
Combat
Berzerk
Missile Command
Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back
Asteroids
Pac-Man
Frogger
Frogger II Threeedeep

All games cartridge only, inside a brown atari cartridge book like thing


What's the best way to maximize profit with reselling this stuff? I spent $20 on the whole bundle - down from the original $55 asking price, yeesh.[/QUOTE]

Most of the stuff there is relatively common, but Frogger II is actually a relatively rare game and goes for about $25 by itself, so I'd say you did quite well!:)
 
[quote name='pollmonster']Found these for $5 each

DSC00936.jpg
[/QUOTE]

Wait, are you from San Diego, lol? If so, you didn't want the guide for it?

(I was at a sale today where someone bought those two games.)
 
[quote name='Trullyn']My first experience today shopping for games at yard sales, and I found what I think might be nice - let me know.

Atari CX-2600A system
2 Pointmaster joysticks
2 paddles
2 regular joysticks
Freeway
Q*bert
Defender
Combat
Berzerk
Missile Command
Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back
Asteroids
Pac-Man
Frogger
Frogger II Threeedeep

All games cartridge only, inside a brown atari cartridge book like thing


What's the best way to maximize profit with reselling this stuff? I spent $20 on the whole bundle - down from the original $55 asking price, yeesh.[/QUOTE]

What does the storage book look like? I don't think I've seen one of those before.
 
[quote name='Indigo_Streetlight']What does the storage book look like? I don't think I've seen one of those before.[/QUOTE]

Not sure if it's the same one, but this is the kind I've seen. It holds eight carts in a binder like book.
cartbook.JPG
 
[quote name='salty tbone']Not sure if it's the same one, but this is the kind I've seen. It holds eight carts in a binder like book.
cartbook.JPG
[/QUOTE]

Here I've been wanting something exactly like that, only for SNES carts. :)
 
here is what i got today all for twenty dollars. i will post pictures soon
Hitman contracts. PS2
Devil may cry PS2
Midway arcade treasures PS2
The beauty of snakes Blu ray
Elder scrolls 4 oblivion Xbox 360
Jak 2 PS2
Star wars episode 3 revenge of the sith PS2
Nhl2k8 Xbox 360 case only
GTA vice city Xbox
Halo CE Xbox
Madden07 HOF edition Xbox 360
Table tennis Xbox 360
Ferrari grand prix challenge case and manual Sega genesis
NHL 94 with a manual to NHL 97 Sega Genesis
Arnold Palmer tournament Golf Sega genesis
Sir lancelot manuel Atari 2600
Sonic the hedgehog 2 case and manual only sega genesis
Xmen cart only sega genesis
Twisted metal PS1
Warhawk PS1
NHL faceoff PS1
A-train PS1
Tekken PS1
ESPN extreme games PS1
WCW nitro N64
Deadly arts N64
Mario party 2 N64
Wave race N64
Pokemon stadium N64
WWF attitude N64
Adam Super game pack Buck Rodgers
Adam Smart basic
Adam CCC notes
Pressure cooker Atari 2600
Armorines project S.W.A.R.M N64
Star wars episode 1 racer N64
Freddy got Fingered Sealed
War of the worlds 2x
March of the penguins sealed
Orange county
Hot Fuzz
Nutty Proffesor 2 the klumps
Planet of the apes
Kill bill v1
Elektra
Beer fest
Reno 911 miami the movie
Freddy vs Jason
How the Grinch stole Christmas CE
Rush hour 2
Suicide kings
ATARI 2600
Slot racers
Star raiders
Phoenix
Combat
Astroblast
Pressure cooker
Video Pinball
112 telegames
Football
Riddle of the sphinx
Night driver
Swordquest fireworld
Star Voyager
Frogs and Flies
Zaxxon
Airs sea battle
Sky diver
Freeway
Megamania
Endure
Star raiders
Cosmic ark
Solar fox
Qbert
Combat
Missle command
Super cobra
Dragonfire
Dragster
Space jockey
Unknown
Keystone kapers
Pacman
Centipede
Space cavern
E.T
Yars revenge
Othello
Yars revenge
Unknown
MASH
Misslecommand bowling
ET
Starmaster
Donkey Kong
Reactor
Galaxian
Venture
Grand Prix
Atlantis
Video Pinball
Firefighter
Dark Cavern
Spider Fighter
Indiana jones raiders of the lost ark
International Soccer
Space war
Swordquest earthworld
Icehockey
Pac man
Pacman
Defender
Donkey Kong
Atlantis
Vidoe Olympics
Asteroids
Soace attack
Dragonfire
Adventure
Frogger
Asteroids
Lock n chase
Tutankham
Defender
Riddle of the sphinx
Midnight magic
Star wars empire strikes back
Outlaw
Berzerk



 
I got this all for 20 dollars. i will post pictures soon and i will give the story.
Hitman contracts. PS2
Devil may cry PS2
Midway arcade treasures PS2
The beauty of snakes Blu ray
Elder scrolls 4 oblivion Xbox 360
Jak 2 PS2
Star wars episode 3 revenge of the sith PS2
Nhl2k8 Xbox 360 case only
GTA vice city Xbox
Halo CE Xbox
Madden07 HOF edition Xbox 360
Table tennis Xbox 360
Ferrari grand prix challenge case and manual Sega genesis
NHL 94 with a manual to NHL 97 Sega Genesis
Arnold Palmer tournament Golf Sega genesis
Sir lancelot manuel Atari 2600
Sonic the hedgehog 2 case and manual only sega genesis
Xmen cart only sega genesis
Twisted metal PS1
Warhawk PS1
NHL faceoff PS1
A-train PS1
Tekken PS1
ESPN extreme games PS1
WCW nitro N64
Deadly arts N64
Mario party 2 N64
Wave race N64
Pokemon stadium N64
WWF attitude N64
Adam Super game pack Buck Rodgers
Adam Smart basic
Adam CCC notes
Pressure cooker Atari 2600
Armorines project S.W.A.R.M N64
Star wars episode 1 racer N64
Freddy got Fingered Sealed
War of the worlds 2x
March of the penguins sealed
Orange county
Hot Fuzz
Nutty Proffesor 2 the klumps
Planet of the apes
Kill bill v1
Elektra
Beer fest
Reno 911 miami the movie
Freddy vs Jason
How the Grinch stole Christmas CE
Rush hour 2
Suicide kings
ATARI 2600
Slot racers
Star raiders
Phoenix
Combat
Astroblast
Pressure cooker
Video Pinball
112 telegames
Football
Riddle of the sphinx
Night driver
Swordquest fireworld
Star Voyager
Frogs and Flies
Zaxxon
Airs sea battle
Sky diver
Freeway
Megamania
Endure
Star raiders
Cosmic ark
Solar fox
Qbert
Combat
Missle command
Super cobra
Dragonfire
Dragster
Space jockey
Unknown
Keystone kapers
Pacman
Centipede
Space cavern
E.T
Yars revenge
Othello
Yars revenge
Unknown
MASH
Misslecommand bowling
ET
Starmaster
Donkey Kong
Reactor
Galaxian
Venture
Grand Prix
Atlantis
Video Pinball
Firefighter
Dark Cavern
Spider Fighter
Indiana jones raiders of the lost ark
International Soccer
Space war
Swordquest earthworld
Icehockey
Pac man
Pacman
Defender
Donkey Kong
Atlantis
Vidoe Olympics
Asteroids
Soace attack
Dragonfire
Adventure
Frogger
Asteroids
Lock n chase
Tutankham
Defender
Riddle of the sphinx
Midnight magic
Star wars empire strikes back
Outlaw
Berzerk
 
[quote name='Martinmz']I got this all for 20 dollars. i will post pictures soon and i will give the story.
[/QUOTE]
$20 for all of that? How the.....what?
 
[quote name='Martinmz']I got this all for 20 dollars. i will post pictures soon and i will give the story.
[/QUOTE]

I'm guessing they were ending the sale and just wanted to be rid of this stuff . . . they didn't want to take it back inside?
 
[quote name='slowdive21']I already hit the jackpot today...[/QUOTE]

Days later and still no posting . . . I'm dying to know ;-)
 
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[quote name='elessar123']Have to echo this. We started out going for games only, and it was fun, and got us a lot of stuff in our collections for cheap. But then we hit a dry spell, and it started not being worth it. We started branching out, partially with the help of these threads, and partially from my interests in shows like Pawn Stars. I even found a Picasso print recently that was priced well, but I decided against in the end.

Because of my job, and the relatively small size of our apartment (it's not small for the area, but I grew up in Texas, where land is cheap). I also can't afford to pick up everything that can make me a dollar or two. But I do take risks, and it often pays off.

For example, I bought a Disney pocket watch that's worth a couple hundred new, and over $100 used, for $1. I figured if I liked it, despite not being much of a Disney fan, it has a chance of being worth something. Other times, it backfires. I bought a cast iron nutcracker recently for $1, and it's worth... a dollar. The Playmobils we took a risk on really paid off too.

The GF also has 3 siblings with young kids / having kids. We pick up tons of really good condition baby clothes, and it costs us next to nothing. We find so much for so cheap that it got to a point where we pass often on pieces that cost even 99 cents. We managed to fill one of her niece's closets for something like $50. We also find really nice dresses and costumes with tags on them. Another thing we get are children's books, for the same reason.

But we don't really do it for the money. We do it because it's fun. So even if we only broke even, we'd keep doing it. I almost can't wait to retire and do picking in my spare time. Recently, I even had one of the American Picker moments, where this old couple's huge yard had a bunch of really neat old stuff. I was really excited to have seen his collection, even though I myself wasn't into old tools, old Tonkas, and old trains.[/QUOTE]

If anything first and foremost you should be going to sales to buy nice condition second hand items for yourself for whatever purpose to save you from having to spend money at retail stores where things are the most expensive. Household stuff is expensive at retail but you can get it for pennies at yard sales and most people have so much of it they will usually take very little money when asked. We go for a lot of clothes too because my mom and I like to buy clothes. Almost every sale has clothing. Clothing is getting more expensive in retail and I haven't had to buy a new pair of jeans for at least 2 years thanks to sales. Also with clothing its not all used, a lot of women buy things and never take the tags off, or they wear it once and it basically looks like it was never used. If you have kids or a teen that will take perfect condition second hand clothing you can save yourself bundles on clothing.

By far the most popular items to sell at a yard sale here are baby and kid items that are outgrown. I seriously don't even know why people shop at Walmart for kids toys and clothing when you can probably go to 5 or less yard sales in one weekend and stock up for a very long time. These are the items that don't sell either so I am gonna bet you could really get a deal if you hit up a baby yard sale at the end right before they are about to pack up or donate all the stuff. There are so many toys here if you shopped at yard sales there is no way you would ever have to buy brand new pricey toys from stores except for gifts and a lot of it is modern stuff that even media entrenched kids would play with. We used to buy kid and baby stuff but the cousin's are grown now and they no longer need those things.

What is sadly disturbing here is that bag sales are getting absolutely no traffic, I have gone to about 3 bag sales and each time only 5-10 people show up, this is a significant decrease from other times I have been to the same bag sales. The customer's at last weeks sale didn't even make a dent in the piles that were for the taking. Bag sales are by far the cheapest and most lucrative of any type of sale. I am starting to worry that they won't be able to have bag sales anymore if people stop showing up to them. People are crying poverty here but no one knows that you can get a whole garbage bag of good quality stuff for $4.
 
[quote name='SaraAB']If anything first and foremost you should be going to sales to buy nice condition second hand items for yourself for whatever purpose to save you from having to spend money at retail stores where things are the most expensive. Household stuff is expensive at retail but you can get it for pennies at yard sales and most people have so much of it they will usually take very little money when asked. We go for a lot of clothes too because my mom and I like to buy clothes. Almost every sale has clothing. Clothing is getting more expensive in retail and I haven't had to buy a new pair of jeans for at least 2 years thanks to sales. Also with clothing its not all used, a lot of women buy things and never take the tags off, or they wear it once and it basically looks like it was never used. If you have kids or a teen that will take perfect condition second hand clothing you can save yourself bundles on clothing.[/QUOTE]

Neither the GF nor myself can do this. I grew up on used toys and clothing, and she still wears a sweatshirt she bought from Goodwill for like $1 (GF saw it and went, "whoa whoa whoa", she's never bought anything from GW. It's from Gabriel Brothers :roll:) many many years ago. But neither of us can bring ourselves to buy used clothing any more. I bought a bread maker for like $5-$10, but I can't bring myself to use it either. I know it's mostly a psychological thing. Another reason is the bedbug infestation in San Diego late last year that I mentioned in another thread. Our new mattress and other extermination fees aren't worth the risk of saving a few dollars on clothing.

But it's not like I buy expensive clothing either. I mean, the last time I bought shirts, it was a $3.xx Assassins Creed shirt from Target clearance, and 3 for $10 or 3 for $15 or something from Kohl's, and a goHastings shirt sale, where it was like $3-$5 a shirt. Jeans, I haven't paid more than $20 a pair new. She bought a bunch of stuff cheap around Black Friday, and hadn't bought anything until I bought her the Portal shirt from Woot, and even that was only $10.

We did find her a $40 MP3 player (Creative Zen Stone) this past weekend for $5. And she bought a Chococat messenger bag that she uses for work. I usually only buy for collecting or resale.
 
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I thought I was behind in posting by 2 weeks, but apparently I haven't posted my finds in the last 3 weeks, other than the Magic cards.

The last three weeks apparently just disappeared from my mind. So here goes. Some of the dates and prices might be wrong. A few items aren't included, cause my mind is apparently not working.

Three weeks ago?
I think I overpaid on these at $20 for the lot (?). (edit: gf is saying $3 each)
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$20 total. Lady was being cheap, and saying I was getting a steal. I knew it was barely a good buy.
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Two weeks ago?
I think these were from 2 weeks ago (?) They were $1 each.
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I think these were from the same day... (?)
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$1 for Lemmings, $10 for the rest(?) The girl wasn't going to sell Xenogears, because it's really scratched. I offered $2 to take the risk to see if they work.

$3 a piece... probably overpaid for these too. The comic was like a quarter. There's also a Spiderman one not pictured.
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This one is for sure this past weekend, and the prices should be right.
$1 a piece
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$1 for Deux Ex+Thief 2, $10 for the rest
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Not pictured: Mickey Mouse pocket watch $1, many books, Creative Zen Stone Plus $5, Droid X charger $1, and probably more I'm forgetting.
 
[quote name='schultzed']Days later and still no posting . . . I'm dying to know ;-)[/QUOTE]

I'm workin on it! One of the lots is really dirty.


[quote name='elessar123']

Two weeks ago?
I think these were from 2 weeks ago (?) They were $1 each.
493d1bcc.jpg
[/QUOTE]

Bubble Bobble! I don't know where those blue cart games came from. I don't remember them from when I was little.

EDIT: wiki is good for some things: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_Dreams
 
[quote name='slowdive21']I'm workin on it! One of the lots is really dirty.




Bubble Bobble! I don't know where those blue cart games came from. I don't remember them from when I was little.

EDIT: wiki is good for some things: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_Dreams[/QUOTE]

Yea, it's my second or third unlicensed NES carts. I never knew they existed, so it's interesting to see.
 
The way I remember understanding Nintendo and there license fees were that they were pretty bad. They basically had a monopoly on everything if you wanted to develop on there system, this was one of the downfalls of the N64. I remember playing the Bible games a lot with an old friend, his mom was very religious and it was some of the few games she never had a problem buying.
 
[quote name='Indigo_Streetlight']Geez, those are some rough times for hitting 41 yardsales. Usually when they're selling systems for $30+ I start looking for memory cards and extra controllers to break off--sometimes people will let those go for next to nothing just to make a sale if it doesn't affect their system bundle. PS2, Gamecube, and n64 controllers are all worth looking for.

:drool: I got the phone number thing too, twice on Saturday. It was all "Well, let me look through what I have and decide."[/QUOTE]

It was a bad weekend with so little for as many sales (last year was very much the same deal also first Saturday out) and it really put a damper on the PS3 find which would have seemed much better if I only went to a few sales and found that. Community sale (13), block sale (6) and a number of other sales all around or close to the nice part of town that I don't do too well in with very few sales in the burbs I typically have a better worthwhile finds ratio.

The $30 GameCube was rather bare bones, I can't remember if it had a memory card and no games (unless it had a disc only in the system). Take it from somebody that knows first hand, your number situation sounds pretty bleak lol Around me people like that typically (at least I would guess) get nostalgic and decide to keep old games if they realistically can't get a certain amount and have to take less to get it sold.

[quote name='slowdive21']I'm workin on it! One of the lots is really dirty[/QUOTE]

We want to see really dirty games if that's how you got them ;)
 
[quote name='FOnewearl']It was a bad weekend with so little for as many sales (last year was very much the same deal also first Saturday out) and it really put a damper on the PS3 find which would have seemed much better if I only went to a few sales and found that. Community sale (13), block sale (6) and a number of other sales all around or close to the nice part of town that I don't do too well in with very few sales in the burbs I typically have a better worthwhile finds ratio.

The $30 GameCube was rather bare bones, I can't remember if it had a memory card and no games (unless it had a disc only in the system). Take it from somebody that knows first hand, your number situation sounds pretty bleak lol Around me people like that typically (at least I would guess) get nostalgic and decide to keep old games if they realistically can't get a certain amount and have to take less to get it sold.



We want to see really dirty games if that's how you got them ;)[/QUOTE]

Indeed, the only time I've had a phone contact like that pan out was when the lady let me call her son directly from the yardsale and arrange a next day meeting. There's got to be immediacy or the human laziness factor takes over.
 
[quote name='elessar123']Neither the GF nor myself can do this. I grew up on used toys and clothing, and she still wears a sweatshirt she bought from Goodwill for like $1 (GF saw it and went, "whoa whoa whoa", she's never bought anything from GW. It's from Gabriel Brothers :roll:) many many years ago. But neither of us can bring ourselves to buy used clothing any more. I bought a bread maker for like $5-$10, but I can't bring myself to use it either. I know it's mostly a psychological thing. Another reason is the bedbug infestation in San Diego late last year that I mentioned in another thread. Our new mattress and other extermination fees aren't worth the risk of saving a few dollars on clothing.

But it's not like I buy expensive clothing either. I mean, the last time I bought shirts, it was a $3.xx Assassins Creed shirt from Target clearance, and 3 for $10 or 3 for $15 or something from Kohl's, and a goHastings shirt sale, where it was like $3-$5 a shirt. Jeans, I haven't paid more than $20 a pair new. She bought a bunch of stuff cheap around Black Friday, and hadn't bought anything until I bought her the Portal shirt from Woot, and even that was only $10.

We did find her a $40 MP3 player (Creative Zen Stone) this past weekend for $5. And she bought a Chococat messenger bag that she uses for work. I usually only buy for collecting or resale.[/QUOTE]

Yeah its different if you live in an area where there is huge infestations, over here I have never brought home bugs as I am in the northeast so it makes used clothing and things considerably more attractive especially when they go for 25 cents or 50 cents an item. Game consoles are also a haven for bugs as they like the warm electronics. I have brought home plenty of game consoles over the years and no bugs yet. I definitely wouldn't be touching any of this stuff if I lived where there is a huge risk of cockroach or bedbug infestation (over here I have never seen a cockroach).

Its possible to bring home things like this from a store too since people return clothing. I bought a pair of pants once that smelled so bad from a retail store with tags and everything, I am guessing they were sitting in someone's smoke infested house for a few weeks before they decided to return them. I couldn't smell it in the store which was unusual but as soon as I brought it home they reeked like you couldn't imagine. Then I jokingly said to my mom... we have gotten cleaner things from yard sales!
 
Alright, I finally got some pics/cleaning done!

As usual non-gaming finds first and finds get better (IMO) as we go along...


Pilates VHS .25 each (the first one is still sealed)

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Pilates DVDs $1 each

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From a Church Sale all complete (and in surprisingly good shape) $1 each

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Picked these up at 2 different sales. Dark Forces was .25 and the other two games were $1 each. I liked the demo of War of the Monsters, so I wanted the full version.


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I was leaving this guy's sale and he said "You didn't find anything you want?" So I responded with "Do you have any comic books or video games?" He said "I have an original Nintendo and an N64, but you probably don't want the old ones." I responded "I'll take them if they are cheap enough!"

He wanted $5 per game for the N64 games. Talked him down to $3 for the pair. He also wanted $2 each for the NES games and $20 for the system. I ended up paying $30 for everything (including the n64 games). This was the "dirty lot".

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This is my "Jackpot find". I asked a kid if they had any video games and he told me he has a N64 in the house if I am interested. All the games are in great condition and the controllers are like new. I asked him what he wanted for it and he said $25. I paid $20.

These are going in my permanent collection (until I find boxed copies).

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:D
 
Great N64 haul. Pretty amazing you got all that for 20 bucks. :applause:
 
Damn, that's a fine jackpot.

And you balked at $25??? I swear I would have lost the whole deal by trying to take em downward.

I once had a nice Gamecube lot at a sale (with a Wavebird) at something like $20 and I said "how about $15?" and the woman wiped out her cell and called her son and then hanked it from me.
 
[quote name='Captain_Insano16']Congrats slowdive - that's one hell of a N64 lot![/QUOTE]

Thanks!
[quote name='Blackout']Great N64 haul. Pretty amazing you got all that for 20 bucks. :applause:[/QUOTE]

Thanks!

[quote name='schultzed']Damn, that's a fine jackpot.

And you balked at $25??? I swear I would have lost the whole deal by trying to take em downward.

I once had a nice Gamecube lot at a sale (with a Wavebird) at something like $20 and I said "how about $15?" and the woman wiped out her cell and called her son and then hanked it from me.[/QUOTE]


I didn't balk at it, I was nice about it. I said how about $15? :lol:

He countered with $20 and I said "$20 sounds good!"

He actually knew about CAG, so hopefully I won't get an angry PM!

He was a teenager BTW (and his mom was right there), I know I said "kid", but he was old enough to drive. Actually he told me he sold a pokemon n64 last year. He also told me if I come back next year and he finds any more games he will give them to me (since goldeneye was apparently missing from the lot).
 
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