As I was driving up to a garage sale one morning, I saw two women putting arm loads of stuff into their cars. I congratulated one of them for the nice stuff she had bought. She glanced in my direction and kept putting stuff into the car. When I got to the drive I saw that there was a third woman walking around on the driveway swearing, picking up things and throwing them toward the street.
It took me a few seconds to realize that the three women having the garage sale were fighting. I didn't know what to do so I asked the third woman if the garage sale was over. When she didn't answer me I left.

Had a friend who drove by a house one time and saw several pretty sweaters hanging up on the porch out front. There was quite a bit of stuff in the yard and several cars parked there. (You gettin' the picture, yet!? LOL) Anyway, no one was out in the yard, so she knocked on the door and asked the lady who came to the door how much a certain sweater was. The lady looked puzzled and said, "Oh! Those? I just have those hanging out there to dry!" LOL (Bet friend just SLID down the walk to the car! LOL)

Around here, there are people who will manage your garage sales and estate sales. They always say "handled by.." in the ads so that helps me decide which ones to go to.

A new woman came in and I went to the first one she managed.

I was standing in line when she walked up and JERKED a 45 record out of a woman's hand! She saw the 45 was one by Elvis Presley and even though the whole box of records were priced twenty five cents each, she wasn't about to let that one go. She went into a rant about it being so rare and the shopper could not possibly think she was going to get it for a quarter and that she (manager)was going to put it on Ebay.

That poor shopper was so embarrased! So was everybody in line. We all put down our stuff and left.

I was so mad about that. If she had grabbed something out of my hand, I would have slapped the chit out of her before I could even think about it.

Several years ago when DGS was about 4 DD, DGS and myself were driving somewhere and I made a wrong turn, pulled into a driveway to turn around and DGS said "Grandma this sale is closed". Do you think I took him to too many Garage sales!!
Donna

Not a garage sale, but I was selling at a local fleamarket. I had purses, clothes, the usual assortment. One lady came by, opened several purses, and threw each one back on the table. After she left, a lady that ws standing next to her said to me,' did you see that'? She took a dollar out of one of the purses she was looking thru, and didn't even offer to return it to you, just thru the purse back on the table!' I would expect this from a child, but I guess it shouldn't surprise me coming from an adult, either.

Many years ago I went in with a friend to have a garage sale. I only had about 5 things to sale - one of them being a can of Turtlewax my brother had given me. There was a family of mom, dad and two kids looking around when all of a sudden the father said "go to the car - NOW" And off they went without buying anything. After they drove away I noticed the Turtlewax was gone. I couldn't believe that he had stolen it and made such a scene about getting away!

A few years ago, I was driving through a small town when a "Sale" sign caught my eye, so I stopped. There was a notice that the sale was indoors, so I went in. There in this little tiny, hot living room, sat a huge, hairy man without any shirt on. His equally large, but not hairy, wife was sitting in another big chair. The sale items were sort of piled haphazardly around the room. I just sort of froze in the doorway, and then backed out, but not before they invited me to "look at our stuff".

I have a yard sale about once a year. This one lady always comes and I know from experience now, she will steal at least one item. I have known her and her family for years, so I have never said anything. I also have a neighbor who always comes w/o her money. She will pick out several things,let me add up the amount and then she goes home to get her money. She will come back when she sees lots of people here and hand her money to me and leave. When I have time to look, she always gives me less than the amount owed. I figure if she can live with that, I can.

Just thought of this. My best friend in IL went to a GS where furniture was advrtised in the paper. She got there late, and notied there wasn't any furniture left, but dedided to ask anyway. asking the lady having the sale if it had all sold, she said,' well I have one 'old' piece in the house you can take a look at'. My friend walked in, and whar was in front of her was a beautiful antique dresser with attached mirror, '40's era, that was painted bright red. The lady said, 'you can have it for $5!!! My friend tried not to act excited, but when she got out to her truck she yelled out a loud, YES!! She's stripped the piece and it is what makes her bedroom the beautiful room it is. Some things are just meant to be!

When I had my tag sale I had a very old lady pull up in a huge beat up old car. She came to the sale and made a few purchases all the time acting as if she was very poor. A few hours later she came back and bought more stuff and left. Several hours later she came back with her husband and spent about 200.00 cleaning us out and loading up her car. My dh had to help her load all the stuff in her car which was packed.( She really got some good deals and we enjoyed bickering with her)You never know who will buy what and truly how much money they may have!!

I had some really cute things happen. I sold a lady a pair of shorts for a quarter . She was so happy to get them ( I can't figure out why ) but she went home and walked back with them on just to show me how nice they fit !! LOL
Another time ,I sold an old board game of DH's .Inside the box was his old report cards from grade school .( I don't have a clue why they were in there - he was probably hiding them from his mom LOL )The lady came back a couple hours later and returned them to me incase I wanted them.
Another time - I Sold a lady a TON of stained glass supplies and she was so happy that she came back with some of her finished projects to show me. ( That lady became my fast friend !!)I always seem to have good stuff happen !

Once when I was running in my neighborhood, I ran by a GS and saw a box turtle with a 25c sticker on his shell. I ran home, go my quarter, bought him, and let him go in my garden.

I remember selling a lawnmower and the guy asked me if he could drive it away. Sure Why not!!Also I have been to some strange sales where you find out they are constantly having tag sales. There's always these in a neighborhood. How about the ones where they have a bunch of junk and they are overcharging for everything? My dh and I just look around and usually leave. I love the sales with free stuff. We have gotten more great free stuff this way. One time at the end of a sale this couple begged us to take a giant plastic santa off their hands. We said sure and they gave us tons of christmas lights for doing it. To this day I love to hide it in my daughters bed to let her know Christmas is coming!!One of the worst times was when we got to a sale and realized all the three of us had was change. I was digging in the bottom of my purse and the car for quarters.

Sladybug2, I've been to a yard sale before when the only really intersting thing they had was something in the "Free" box. It was a hanging light fixture, made from metal, with leaves like ivy on it. I think I looked around and bought some little something.

One time I went with a friend to another person's house to look at their new koi pond. There was a yard sale next door.
I said, "I want to run over there and look." She said to not bother, because it had already been going on for 3 days and anything good was gone by now.

I went anyway, and really, there was nothing....except on the table where the guy was sitting with the money box, was an old, old Mickey Mouse. I asked if it was for sale, and he said yes. I asked how much...50 cents!!!

It is marked Dixie Products, Walt Disney. With a little research, I found out it was made from molded wood fiber.
It is really old...back when Mickey had a more pointy nose and wore white shorts. It is a pencil holder.

I love yard sales....you never know what you will find.

I haven't been to a yard sale in many years...(long time)
I just can't see the thrill in waking up at dawn and rushing around from house to house for a 10 cent teddy bear...But...years ago...when I went on my quest to find a certain old doll...a lady in an antique store told me that I should check out yard and estate sales...that the doll I was in pursuit for wasn't considered 'antique' ...
The doll belonged to my older and only sister...she kept it wrapped and in a long dresser drawer, it was so big it filled the whole space...one day the house was empty...I opened the drawer, uncovered the beautiful doll, big brown eyes, long dark curly hair...dressed-up so pretty...I can see myself now, I was maybe 5 years-old...strange how you remember some things!...I don't know why I did it...I took 2 fingers and pushed those brown eyes back into its head...
and then, it was like, Oh, no!...my chubby little fingers couldn't reach inside and pull them forward. I wrapped it back and shut the drawer.
Noone ever said one word about the mutilation.
Of course mother and my sister had to of known it was me.
I carried that 'guilt' inside until I was a grown-up and confessed to my mother and sister...They just laughed.
I always loved dolls and played with them, where as my sister did not, she was busy with sports, etcs.
So...years after I married, I started looking for that tall walking doll...I even got up early for yard sales, found I wasn't interested in any of their 'junk' ...so finally, I would just slow the car down at one and ask out the window, 'Oh, pardon me, but do you have any old dolls for sale?'...if they did, it wasn't what I was searching for.
One lady answered me, "Dolls? I don't, but I know someone who has plenty to give away."....Give away?....She then gave me directions to this man's house...I was wondering if the man's wife had died and he wanted to get rid of her dolls...I finally found a house that looked like what the lady had described....I stopped in the yard...an elderly gent was on the porch and I called out the usual question and mentioned the lady...'She said that you had some to give away...?'...he said, "Yeah, I do, what kind are you looking for?"...I told him that I was looking for big, tall ones...and he says, "Well, I don't think these are gonna get much size."
Wait a minute. I talked a little louder...I meant dolls not dogs. We have a dog...and then he says..."Naw, can't say I do."
That was my last day of looking at yard sales...but, I may start my quest again some day.
After all, I am a pack rat.

My MIL is a perennial GSer. She goes daily (we suspect she's addicted) and then one every 3 months or so she has one to sell off all the crap she's accumulated.

She also buys retail, then changes her mind a few days later and puts the things in her GS (instead of saving the receipt and returning them) to sell for what she paid, because, after all, it's NEW.

She almost got in a fist fight with a woman who wanted to buy a plastic garbage can MIL bought at Walmart for $10. MIL had $8 on it and the woman argued with her, offered her $1 and then those two went at it. DH and I were so embarrassed we went back into the house. Needless to say she didn't sell it that day. What is so funny is that at two GS's later she sold it for 25cents because she was tired of packing it around.

I have a very interesting story.
I stopped at an estate sale close to where I was doing physical therapy after surgery. I went into one room and the sheets were folded so that holes did not show. I made a comment but the lady in charge of that room just did nothing. I looked in several rooms and checked on several things. Then I found a sandwich zip lock box of ring holder boxes I thought my granddaughter would like to have. I purchased the bag for 50 cents. Started to leave and as I was leaving I opened one of the boxes (they were pd for) Inside was a CAMEO, YES A REAL GOLD CAMEO. The lady yelled at the table where she was taking the money. A man came up and said you can't have that it was a mistake. He was blocking the door. I told him yes it was mine I had paid for it and was leaving. He would not let me out the door. I went to the kitchen and called the police. Then went back to the door to leave. He said you are not leaving till I tell you something. He said I was robbing a lady who worked for him and her husband had cancer. I said no I am not. It was not her estate. Then he preceded to tell me how awful I was to take the cameo. Now keep in mind he was 6 feet plus and blocking the door. After listening for a short while I told him to let me leave or a lawyer would be sending him a letter. He said I do not have to. I told him he could not hold me even if I shop lifted. That a police person could only do that. He moved over and I left. I went to therapy a few days later and was telling about my adventure. One of the ladies said Oh I am so glad that man took (stold) from my Aunt when she died. I said how. She said her Aunt lived a couple doors down and that when she went to a nursing home her family had hired him to do an estate sale. She said she watched him for 2 weeks hall lamps boxes and furniture out of the house and when he held the estate sale a lot of her Aunts items were gone. The family could do nothing. I still have the Cameo. I would like to know what he told the family who he was holding the estate for. I tried to find out who it was but no one I asked knew who the family was. Had he not been so threatning and lied so much I would have given him the sack and asked for my money back. But his threats were wrong and bad (some not to repeat) and he I hoped learned a leason
My story end I would never stop at an estate sale if I knew he was around. The holly sheet needed to me torn and put in the rag bag. Yet he was cheating people who did not open them. All sales final!!

pinecone