Yard Sale Season Vintage Hunting

It’s that time of year when yards are covered in you neighbors’ unwanted Thighmasters and costume jewelry. We’re on the verge of summer and kicking off yard/garage sale season with the enthusiasm of Chuck Norris. We were very aware of the hardcore yard/garage sale-ing folks within our Vintage Addict community, so we polled them for a few tips on scoring vintage in your neighbor’s garage.
Stephanie Haworth :: Plan your trip via Craigslist ads, then keep an eye out on your way through! Make sure your trunk and back seat are empty. Carry ropes, tie-downs, and bungees. If dragging the kids along (or even leaving them home), don’t forget them at the sales! They want junk, too! Speaking of yard sales, if you find yourself down in Southeast MO over Memorial day weekend, check out their 100 mile yard sale!
mitukatie :: Make sure to look thru everything more than once…its easy to miss great things the 1st time thru!
Tina Pfeiffer :: Bring your own bag and a box or two in the trunk. I bring my own newspaper, too, for anything that might be fragile.
PopFizzVintage :: Bring cash! Lots of smaller bills. Lowball offer on everything. Walk up with a lot of stuff and offer one price for all.
VintageMistress :: Garge+ estate sales + thrifts in low income or “older home” areas yield the best. These folks tend to keep their belongings longer.
My own personal tip :: Check out the neighborhood yard sales with multiple families participating. They tend to put their best items out due to the “keeping up with the Joneses”-syndrome.
Have some more suggestions for vintage hunting at yard sales? Share your ideas in the comments!



This post has one comment
May 21st, 2010
I second what VintageMistress said. Also, learn how to quickly scope out on the drive-by. In our case, we keep an eye out for lots of children’s toys/clothes. If we see that, it’s not usually worth the stop.
We also have theories about garage sale signage. Professionally done, neatly-written, stenciled or fluorescent color signs do not bode well. A hand-written or messily painted sign is generally more promising.