PAGE 2
Yard sales
There will be some items there I would want to buy but I can’t spend much time there as I need
to be where the older items are in abundance and that area is older towns and older neighborhoods.
A yard sale that has 90% clothes will only take a few minutes to search unless there are clothes that are old which in some cases will
bring you good money. I have found quite a few of the items from the early to mid sixties such as vests, bell bottom pants, hats,
and shoes that will sell, but you have to make sure they are unique in design. One of the main items you want to look for in the
clothesline is old ladies hats. There is a good market for hats from the 30s, 40s, and 50s, but only if they are in good condition
and preferable with the original hatbox.
The early yard sales are really the easiest to get to as the parking will be available and you don’t have to move around a large
group of people all the time. Parking can be problem working yard sales and in some instance can be dangerous. I have saw several
accidents caused by people not pulling completely off the road when they parked to check on a yard sale and when they tried to pull
back onto the road. One thing you should never do is pull your vehicle upon to someone’s lawn unless they have it marked to do so.
I plan out my route to include the possibility of returning along the same route I had taken earlier in the day simply because there
may have been an item I want to take a second look at or in some cases there will be a yard sale were items are priced to high and
later in the day most people will reduce their prices just to keep from re-packing the items.
I once located a 60s record turntable I needed for my use but the price was to high, the owner was asking fifty dollars for it. It
was a high dollar item when new but record players are not in use now nor are they antiques or rare. I made sure I worked the time
into the days route to make a return visit to the yard sale at the end of the day to see if it was still there and if the owner would come down on the price.
I was back at the yard sale by three that evening and the player was still there and I ask the owner the least she would take for it.
She was tired, her husband had headed into the air conditioned house leaving her to contend with customers and packing up the items
to be stored for another yard sale day. She said no one else had ask about the player and if I wanted it I could have it for ten dollars.
Needless to say I did buy the player and I bought it at my price. This is just one hundreds of items
I have bought simply by paying attention to the owners of the items and the location of the items I would make a return visit to.
Sometimes you do return and the item is gone but if you plan your trip out to return on the same route there is no lose of time or effort.
There will be times I will have nothing to return to and I will change my route to return home a different way searching out yard sales at
the end of the day. In most cases the yard sales are slim pickings at the end of the day with the exception of finding items you can resale
at a cheaper price. People who yard sale do not in general like to repack items up when they can at least get something for it. In some
cases road side sales and weekend flea markets are the same.
Now where do you look for those special items when searching out yard sales? Remember to work yard sales you have to work fast and move
on to the next one so you need to have specific places to look and you need to know what to look for. I am going to start with where to look.
Most yard sales are laid out the same way with the clothes in one place and the hard items either on tables on the ground or just left in boxes.
In most situations the yard sale is being worked by the woman of the house or the children of the family.
NOTE yard sales worked by the man of the house or the children
will render you cheaper prices on what you buy on all items, clothes or hard items. The woman of the house will most definitely not bargain
on clothes but the kids toys or the husbands fishing equipment is subject to cheaper prices. There are exceptions to this rule, I have found
some women who apparently want to get a full return on an item the husband has bought and not used after complaining for months he needed it.
Don’t waste time with this yard sale.
Now back to the layout of general yard sales. The common layout will give you a better change at a fast search as you can make a quick tour
of the clothes and tell in an instance if they are just common items then on to the hard items. The world is full of walmart junk and most
of it appears in yard sales. Learn the junk from value and you will move faster in yard sales, but be warily of reproductions they can easily
fool you. Coca Cola items are an example of reproductions as there are thousands of them out there.
|
|