Yard Sale Saturday: Beautiful Day

It was a perfect day for yard sales, and - as of this writing - still is, though we have returned home with the car full and the need for a weekend nap imminent.

The weather was beautiful and there were myriad yard salers out there availing themselves of it. We struck up a number of conversations while perusing people's wares, and also came across some...interesting finds worth mentioning.

1. Ten pounds of copper tubing priced at $25. The value of the metal as scrap: $24. I'm not mathematician, but I'm thinking lowering the price a few bucks would save this seller a trip to the recycle plant.

2. Crummy X-Box 360 games for $3. Man that's cheap for X-Box games...but the games are lame. I was thinking gifts, pleading ignorance as to the low quality of the gameplay, but opted to pass.

3. Huge box of VHS tapes selling for $1 each right next to the neighbor's even larger box of tapes selling three for $1. Hmmmm....decisions, decisions. I'm gonna have to go with option b on this one.

4. Tons of bake sales. Nothing like having fresh baked goods at yard sales. They're cheap, delicious, and provide ample fuel to keep pushing for "just a couple more" sales. Keep 'em comin'.

All in all, a fun day yard sale-ing out there. Plenty to choose from as the last of the "spring cleaning" sellers realized they have to strike while the iron is still hot. We may only have another month before it's time for jackets, and that always means fewer yard salers out there.

It won't stop us, but hey, I have to have something to write about...

Yard Sale Saturday: Sale variety bodes well

Despite a quick, early shower sending a few loosely-fastened signs to the ground, we came upon several excellent sales this weekend. The pleasant surprise was an annual book sale at a local Episcopal church, with the standard 50 cent paperback, $1 hardcover prices. I found at least two I’ll read before selling online, which is a plus.

It proved a little warm, so a stop over at Deb’s lemonade on Brambelton Ave hit the spot and gave us enough fuel to continue on Saturday. We found a few sales that had low or no prices, but were operating to raise money for someone in need - usually due to medical bills. This is a great idea for raising money, as most people will feel better about buying something they might have been teetering over.

Too, having low prices encourages charitable gifts so that yard salers can feel both that they got a good deal and helped someone out. At such events, if the books are priced low, I always overpay. Had they been priced high to begin with - even for a good cause - I would have been more hesitant.

We also ran across an estate sale or two. Alas, these seldom have anything I’m looking for, since it’s largely a home full of brikabrak with slightly higher prices than a conventional yard sale. Sometimes, you can find an appliance or knickknack at such sales, but only if you fancy that sort of thing. Since such sales are conducted by third-party vendors, anything worth much is either picked over or priced accordingly.

All in all an excellent yard sale-ing weekend. In the meantime, keep your signs big and your pockets full of change!

Yard Sale Saturday: Too Soggy

Well, you can't win 'em all, and this weekend's sales proved that. I began at about 8am, since many sales don't set up or post signs 'til around then - expected heat or not. Well, Saturday didn't turn out too hot, but just a little soggy. I'd made it to three sales before the rains came, and bought perhaps a handful of books and had no luck finding an extension cord.

Even venturing out later, I came across as many signs either flopped over from the rain or simply sopping on the ground - like florescent patches of grass. I figured this would not bode well for Sunday, either.

Ah well, I did get to trade some stories with one seller, who lit up when I asked about books, even though her sale (which she was working for an elderly neighbor) had none.

I'd guess most packed it in Saturday, perhaps accepting that they'll have to have it again next weekend, since Sunday sales generate far less traffic. Didn't really have time to find anything terribly interesting this week, but I'll be geared up and ready to hit the sales running this coming Saturday. And I'm certainly not praying for any rain in the mean time.

Yard Sale Saturday: Great for parents

This weekend's yard sales were as common as you'd like, with a few clusters here and there despite some late starters. With the heat, most began early and ended about midday, which means good things for buyers. It means most sellers are apt to make bargains, just so it means moving stuff.

Saturday I found a slew of kids' accoutrement at most sales: kids books, clothes, and equipment. Not necessarily my cuppa, but undeniably abundant. I'd guess most parents have already purchased the back to school gear and are looking to lightening the load of last year's stuff.

Alas, young mothers aren't known for their low pricing, as they are not far removed enough from the high prices they just recently paid. So haggling at these sales - while wholly acceptable - didn't always produce effective results.

I suspect the sales must have formed an oligopoly on books - my personal fav - because nearly all defaulted the "fifty cents for softcovers, one dollar for hardbacks" price structure. This is fine, though I'm far more prone to buy paperbacks, where I'll cherry pick the hardcovers for extraordinary buys.

This week's most interesting find: A book on the battle of Thermopylae. I'd just finished Frank Miller's graphic novel 300, so just as I'm interested in learning more, this book shows up in pristine condition. Score!

Hopefully the multitude of sales won't slow down with school getting back in session. I'll keep you posted.

Yard Sale Sunday: Hot, but abundant

This Saturday marked my return to hitting up local yard sales after an unavoidable hiatus. A few weekends out of town had me eager for more yard sale adventures, and this weekend did not disappoint.

Saturday morning we started early to avoid the heat, and before the sun really began to beat down, an occasional cool breeze made the weather ideal.

Apparently, this wasn’t lost on sellers, as sales were so abundant in Roanoke and Salem that standing at one sale, you could often spot the next sign down the road. Many times we were able to park and walk to multiple sales, which also helped sellers to keep prices low and turnover high.

This week's surprise find was a pristine copy of Clan of the Cave Bear for 25 cents. Not entirely interesting, except that I'd sold a worn out copy at my last yard sale for the same price. Now I have another new copy to wear out and sell in a few years.

This week's big event, however, was the All State yard sale/flea market in the Salem Civic Center parking lot. With everything from kids' clothes to comic books to hand-painted wind chimes made from soup cans, there were wares for any taste.

I loaded up on books - as usual - but found a movie or two, as VHS tapes are now the fodder of many sales. A little Deb's Lemonade kept us fueled and going 'til around noon, when the heat had grown too much for us and many sellers.

All in all, the number of sales were trumped only by the amount of buyers out there, so it was a good weekend for picking up whatever pleases.

Yard Saling: Our Annual Sale

It's that time of year: time to clear out the basement of leftover stuff, gather bits of unimportant items about the house, and have our own yard sale.

The other side of the fence is nothing new, since we have a sale once a year, and sometimes one that goes for two weekends. I try hard to follow my own advice and make my signs big and plentiful, my prices reasonable, and have lots of change and a positive attitude.

Saturday began around 6am, with people arriving about 630am as the signs went up. I placed stickers on as many items as possible, hurriedly getting as many items from the cardboard boxes onto the huge computer tables so no one had to (or would) route through the boxes willy nilly.

As expected, my media sold well: books, DVDs, and VHS (the latter only slightly so). I refused the inevitable early-on bulk buyer who wanted all the DVDs at a bargain in hopes of getting more in the long run.

Alas, Saturday ended with filing a police report when a woman who had lingered about the DVDs for an hour and a half we later found had been pulling the disks from the cases and stuffing them into her one DVD purchase. Not sure how an hour and a half of anyone's time is worth $10 in DVDs at the price of one's dignity and character as well, but perhaps she'll be blessed with a few flat tires and halitosis for some time. Karma is a funny thing.

Sunday skirted the potential thunderstorms, though always a slower yard sale-ing day on the Bible Belt. It ended fairly well, with only a few boxes heading to Goodwill and a stop at Deb's Lemonade to round out an exhausting but pleasant weekend of downsizing.

What advice might I have for others having their sales? While my Spanish is awful, I sealed one sale by employing what little I know. Other times, a tepid buyer came through with a little friendly banter.

So be nice, familiar, and remember what that not everyone is the same as you'll be when going to sales, but almost all (save my DVD snatcher) are good people just looking for a little distraction and a few bargains.

Yard Sale Saturday: Early birds beat the rain

This weekend's yard sales were anticipating some hostile weather, it seems, and wisely began pretty early to beat the rain and the heat. I ran into several community yard sales, which are great for quantity.

For some reason, this sometimes makes sellers feel it's more of a flea market and up the prices accordingly, meaning far fewer sales and more junk to lug back into the garage at the end of the day.

Several friendly folks and smiling faces littered the various sales, most of which were up and running by 8am. Some listed as starting at 7am where just unpacking at 715am - a bit of a no-no, and a habit that will invariably result in a big "meh" from early-bird buyers.

Granted, some will just dig through your unopened boxes anyway, but personally I'm never that desperate for a coaster set or salt and pepper shakers.

I picked up some decent books, most of the sellers commenting on the earthquake that had woken them only a few hours hence. There were some decent movies, priced everywhere from 25 cents to several dollars.

The obvious winner for this week's Fun Find was the cardboard stand-up of Jeff Gordon which the owner had colored with red marker over the lips, effectively emasculating the NASCAR racer and arguably decreasing the resale value of the item.

The Sunday sales may have been worthwhile, but with all of the rain from the night before, and the occasional sprinkle throughout the day, I'd guess only the truly dedicated sellers and buyers were out.

Til next time, be sure to check your books for embarrassing home photos you've used as bookmarks before selling, and have some fun out there!

Yard Sale Saturday: It's wide open

With the perfect low 70s building up to 84 degrees on Saturday, it was an ideal day for yard sales - and this wasn't missed by sellers, who abounded on Saturday. I visited a dozen or so from the Earth Day celebration in Raleigh Court down to 419 by way of Colonial Ave.

I have to say there was excellent signage, with only two wild goose chases (likely from sellers who were scratching their heads wondering where the crowds were).

Here are some interesting finds this week:

1. A collection of very warn Nora Roberts paperbacks for $2 each. Umm....good luck with that.

2. A huge collection of books, VHS and DVD movies, and CDs in what must have been the emptying of a bachelor pad of winter wares. A little pricey, but some good finds there.

3. A lone woman selling hunting equipment, motocross gear, and tools in what I'm assuming was a less-than-amiable split with Mr. Outdoorsman.

I picked up a slew of books and several movies - some of which I'll be keeping, and still others that are listed online already. I guess the fortuitous find this week was a pristine copy of The Golden Compass, which I'd been wanting to see again.

So yard sale season is good to go here in the valley. Let's hope the weather stays warm and dry for the next several weekends. Keep reading as I'll be going into some tips on having your own yard sale, which we're gearing up for around here.

In the mean time, make your signs big and keeps your pockets full of change.

Yard Sale Saturday: Dodged the Rainy Day Bullet

When the weather forecast called for showers on Saturday, I thought another week sans any decent yard sales might be upon us.

Fortunately, despite a chill in the air and some gusty winds, Saturday remained dry, allowing for yard sales to get into swing. Sure, it being early in the season and Easter weekend, sales were bound to be a little sparse, but still worth the trip out for the truly dedicated yard salers out there.

What was my haul? Just books this week, though some esoteric stuff that I hope will sell well online. At one sale, I asked casually how much the books sold for while the guy was showing another customer that a reciprocating saw indeed worked.

"Uhhh, three for a dollar," he said. "Or a quarter apiece."

I certainly didn't correct his math, since it played in my favor, but then wouldn't you know I found only three worth buying, so I just gave him a dollar and enjoyed the irony with my wife while driving to the next sale.

I'll hit on one tip for all of you sellers out there that remains an important staple to any successful yard sale. Making sure that you have adequate signs posted should be a given: a subject I could write volumes about, but I'll focus on the one facet of signs that I noticed missing this week: the encouragement sign.

That means that having one sign at the end of the road and then no other signs at each intersection isn't good enough - even if it's a straight shot and you put the address (which was likely written quite small) on the sign. An encouragement sign can be another sign reading "yard sale" or "garage sale" with an arrow confirming the way at all major intersections, or even a stand-alone arrow, though I would insist that all encouragement sings be the same color as the other signs to avoid confusion.

Also, try listing your sale on a site specific to advertising and announcing garage sales. Garage Sales Tracker is a new site that allows users to list their yard sales while saving both buyers and sellers time and money. Here are some of the benefits and features the site offers.

* Cheaper than the newspaper classifieds

* Rain out guarantee.

* Driving directions ready to be printed

So check it out and see if Garage Sales Tracker is right for you. 'Til next week, be sure to make your sale signs readable and your pockets full of change!

Yard Sale Sunday: Still Soggy

Alright, so I don't really want to hear anyone else say that we need the rain anymore. If we still need rain, then let's just admit that saying we need rain is a regional colloquialism because it feels like it's been coming down for a coupla weeks now. And with that, despite an absolutely beautiful Sunday, there were only very sparse yard sales to hit.

There was one on Colonial Ave which consisted of a computer so old I'm pretty sure it maxes out playing pong, and a few random clothing items. Only one other sale was advertised in either The Roanoke Times or Craig's List, and none marked "rain or shine," leaving me with a good excuse to drive around drinking coffee and eating a bagel in lieu of cheaper, healthier foods at home, but little in the way of hope for decent sales.

With Saturday rains, I imagine that most who intended on having a yard sale this weekend didn't think it fitting to open up shop on Sunday, with invariably fewer yard salers and most people waking to get to church, not buy used copies of Reader's Digest.

Oh well, it looks like I'll have to wait just a little longer to get back into the yard sale swing of things, though I tip my hat to the Colonial Sale in solemn hopes that someone with an eye for vintage computer parts took that beast off your hands.

Sure, it could have been the absence of adverts and notices in local media that failed bring out the buyers on Saturday, making Sunday a bit of a wash.

The internet has changed the way we live in numerous ways and garage sales are not immune. Garage Sales Tracker is a new site that allows users to list their yard sales while saving both buyers and sellers time and money. Here are some of the benefits and features the site offers.

• Cheaper than the newspaper classifieds


• Rain out guarantee.


• Driving directions ready to be printed

So check it out and see if Garage Sales Tracker is right for you. 'Til next week, be sure to make your sale signs readable and your pockets full of change!