Pitfalls of Yard Sale Shopping

Yard sales, garage sales, tag sales, whatever you call them, they are in full swing during the early summer and a lot of fun to shop. Through yard sales, you can pick up some great deals, and since you never know what you are going to find, yard sale shopping can be a real treasure hunt. You do have to be careful when shopping at yard sales. There is buyer’s remorse, of course, when you pay too much for an item or get home and realize it isn’t what you wanted. There really is no return policy. If you aren’t … Continue reading

The Recession and Garage Sales

The Memorial Day weekend is the official start to the yard or garage or tag sale season here on much of the east coast. I have gotten some of my very best bargains at Memorial Day weekend garage sales. Folks have spent the last few weeks doing their organizing and spring cleaning, and they are ready to sell their stuff. For my little area of Pennsylvania, the sales should be numerous, since this is the first nice weather that we have had in a week, and everyone should be out and about enjoying it one way or another, including holding … Continue reading

Finding the Best Garage Sales 2

If you missed the first part of this article, click here: Finding the Best Garage Sales The neighborhood can affect the price of items. In general, more affluent neighborhoods generally have nicer stuff, but I have also found that very affluent areas also have no idea what the prices for garage sale items should be. I assume that the owners never shop at garage sales, and therefore don’t know pricing, or they think that the items cost more new than they really do. Osh Kosh kids clothing is nice, but I would never pay more than 50 cents or perhaps … Continue reading

Finding the Best Garage Sales

Whether you call them garage sales, yard sales, tags sales or rummage sales, the fact of the matter is that the season for sales of great stuff is here. One downside of shopping at garage sales is that it can often be hit or miss. Sometimes you find amazing bargains, while other times you can spend a whole day of driving around with nothing to show for it. It makes sense to minimize your frustration by choosing to visit the best sales and ignore the worst. But how can you predict what sale will be big and what sale will … Continue reading

Garage Sale Frustrations: It Has Happened To Me

After Mary Ann’s article a couple of days ago, Yard Sale Frustration: Has This Happened To You?, I decided to answer her question in an article of my own. First, yes Mary Ann, it has happened to me. There is no telling how many sour yard sale days I have been through, but with the amount of yard sales we visit, I am quite certain it has been more than a dozen. I have certainly fallen victim to the whole “multi-family” yard sale scheme a time or two and usually yes, it is either a family who has taken in … Continue reading

Yard Sale Shopping Myth: Arriving Early

Do you know the best way to get the best deals at a yard sale? I’ll be writing a series of articles that are packed with easy guidelines to follow the next time you go yard sale shopping. Whether you call them yard sales, garage sales, tag sales or something else, there is no doubt that buying other people’s stuff, when it is laid out in front of their house, is a very frugal thing to do. I love shopping at yard sales. Not only can I get some great bargains, but browsing a yard sale for hidden treasures can … Continue reading

Garage Sale Season Has Arrived

As I was driving around this past weekend, I noticed that apparently garage sale season is in full swing in our area. Signs were posted everywhere and there seemed to be more people out on the roads on a Saturday morning then there has been in many months. In our area, garage sales seem to be very popular from March until about October or November. All of the neighborhoods in the area have huge neighborhood sales, in addition to the many independent sales you find at different times during the season. I am a garage sale junkie at heart. Not … Continue reading