But remember...it's only a deal if you NEED the item! Otherwise, it's tomorrow's clutter & junk. :)

/t

People make fun of us for yard sale-ing but we have furnished most of the house this way and it looks great. Estate sales, especially, offer very good stuff at a fraction of what you would pay at a store. We can have what we want, without waiting forever to save for it or going into debt. One rule, though, when one new thing comes into the house, one old thing has to go.

I'm w/ tricia. Maybe we just don't have great yard sales in my area. But the idea of going shopping for something that may or may not be there doesn't appeal to me.

I like using craigslist for 2nd hand stuff. But even on there, most people are crazy for what they ask for stuff.

It's hit or miss. You have to find the right neighborhood. In some neighborhoods like mine, I see a lot of junk. There is a lot of box store trendiness or the lines of things like Home Interiors. What I love is the older neighborhoods where you find things that you can't buy in stores anymore. The items have lasted all these years because they were quality made.

I see people with truckloads of things at garage sales. I often wonder why they bought that much stuff and do they really need it. I'm a lot pickier than that. There isn't a whole lot I really need so garage saling is more of a hobby. I buy a few things here and there, but usually I bring money back home.

I love garage sales but I agree, the item has to be something you need or it's no bargain. For me, it's the thrill of the hunt. I go garage sailing when I'm in the mood to forage. I might come home with several great deals or with nothing at all, but there is definitely plenty of entertainment value in it for me.

I have certain neighborhoods/areas I go to regularly where I know the chances are reasonable of finding things I want. I've found that middle of the road property value neighborhoods and older neighborhoods where it's likely residents are over 70 seem to net the best finds.

I usually go with friends or with my husband, which also adds to the fun because in addition to looking, we're spending time together. I usually go from about 8am to 11am, after which the good stuff is mostly gone and there's not much left to look at. We then have a pleasant lunch to complete a morning's entertainment.

LOL, I guess I have the whole thing down to a science!

I quit yard sale-ing ages ago...
nothing in our sizes in clothing, nothing arts & crafts for the house.

There's costs to going to garage sales. Like any other "shopping". If someone looks at it as recreation the cost can be budgeted. But let's be realistic, like most coupon users, garage salers often come home with things they don't want or need because they think they got a deal on it. That's a personal choice. I like to stop at some and have found some deals. Often it's junk at more-than-new prices. It depends if people are trying to get rid of stuff or if they're trying to make extra money.

I also think there is a "find something I could use" mentality at yard sales as opposed to the "find something I need" mentality that I usually shop with.

I'm with Lowspark all the way!

There are neighborhoods I don't bother going to in my area because the families are young and mostly they just have stuff for children. I'm past that.

Then there are other neighborhoods I stay out of because the people who live there are used to paying top-dollar for everything they buy and they price their stuff too high. They think we'll buy broken and damaged stuff. People like that are really out of touch with reality.

I enjoy getting to meet people and I strike up conversations almost everywhere I go. At first, DH was really disgusted with me, saying, "Those people don't want to hear anything you have to say, they're just trying to sell their stuff". And I'm sure he's right in some cases. But many of the people I've visited with have shared seeds and plants with me and I with them. Some of them have given me names of contacts that have something I'm looking for, and I've steered them in directions for things they want. Sometimes I will look for stuff for people I know. I see lots of people at garage sales calling people on their cell phone to ask them if they want them to buy a certain item for them.

I raised two kids and two grandkids. I clothed them by going to garage sales. And they always looked nice and had enough name-brand stuff that they didn't feel like they were any different than the other kids. One time we went to a sale and saw a friend of one of our grandsons coming towards us. "Oh, no, I thought, now the kids will be embarrassed..." Instead, the kid came up to my grandson and saw the athletic shorts set he had in his hand and he said, "Oh, I hate you!" LOL DH and I wear clothes from garage sales. When you can get a nice pair of jeans for a dollar, it kind of kills the thrill of finding jeans on sale in a store.

Sometimes I buy something that's better than what I already have. In that case the item I have is placed in a box for my garage sale in the spring.

Sometimes I buy something that I've seen advertised and wanted to try but just couldn't justify the big price. Space bags, for instance.

For me, it's recreation and that justifies the cost of gas and the time. I bought a nearly new pressure canner (that I needed) for $20 on one foray. They sell new for over $100. I bought a handful of reading glasses for 25 cents each so that I have a pair handy no matter where I am. Even when you can find those at the Goodwill store, they are a dollar, and in the stores they're a lot more. Sometimes I'll buy something I don't need but it's at a great price and I know I can get twice the price at my garage sale. It goes in the box. I like candles and I can get big ones that normally cost several dollars for a quarter. I painted my living room with several partial cans of paint I bought at a garage sale for a quarter a can. They were different colors so I mixed them together. Since it was a big room and I also painted the ceiling, I ran out of paint and had to take a color sample to Lowe's to get enough to finish the job. The color that matched was called "linen". Sometimes I'll buy interesting looking books. I will only pay about a dollar a book. Once I sold one of the books I bought for a dollar on Amazon for $35.

Those people you see with the backs of their pick-ups full are most likely reselling somewhere. I see lots of them around here and they are stiff competition for a good price on anything. They get out early and will "early-bird" if they can. They're here when I have a sale and within the first hour of the first day, they're trying to get the price down from whatever it's marked, even if the price is very reasonable. Lots of people will bring their prices down for them because they're afraid that's the only offer they're going to get on their stuff. The cheaper they can buy stuff, the more they can make on it. Either they have a booth at a flea market or they're having a couple of garage sales a year, and when you try to deal THEM down, they won't! Then there are others who will hit your sale during the end, offering to take everything that's left for a small amount of money. Lots of people will do that because that way they don't have to pack things away or donate it somewhere and at least they get SOMETHING for what's left. The person who buys stuff this way will most definitely find something in the pile that they can resell and make their money back and then some.

There's another plus. You don't pay sales tax. If you buy a motorcycle or a boat or one of those trailers you can haul stuff around behind your car with, (and I've seen all these things for sale at garage sales) that savings alone is significant.

I always check out the yard sales I happen to see. Most of the time I don't see anything I'm interested in. I have bought quart canning jars for a quarter a piece. I snapped all 26 jars as fast as I could. I like books, vases and gardening tools. You never know what you will find.

I have used a list of ways to save money. We have classified papers from different areas here. You can really get a bargain that way. I bought a reel mower (muscle powered, no gas) for 20$ this way. I also use yard sales. These are awesome for kids clothes and with 4 to buy for it really helps. I have bought NEW dishes this way too. There is also something I love called freecycle. If there is anyone out there who doesn't belong to a list, you should. It is a great opportunity to not only get free stuff, but to help people who need your "junk". Happy shopping everyone.

I guess you are into it or you aren't. I got a set of glasses from Crate and Barrel for 25 cents each, A NEW double oven/stove from an estate sale for $25. Walnut and beveled glass coffee table $25. We got a box of travertine tiles that were enough to do our bathroom floor. I could go on and on. Some of the things we got are just cheap enough to use once and recycle, like paperbacks for a quarter or hard bound books or 50 cents to a dollar. I read them and trade them with friends.

I like to use imagination and do vintage and trash-to-treasure decor in our house, so that is yard sales, no doubt about it. But for the kind of person who wants traditional furnishings from a department store, I can see why they would not like to yard sale. And yes, you do see a lot of junk. One thing I have found is that YOU NEVER KNOW what neighborhoods or people will turn up a great find.

I'm with scarlett, some people see junk, others see opportunity. I've seen some wonderful items that have been refinished or re-styled or recreated into something I'd love to own. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.....and another person's junk is another person's treasure....both are so true.