One Man's Junk Is Another Man's Treasure

Hey, I used to go to yard sales and flea markets, but I quit because my hubby and I have decided to pare down. We actually took lots of excess stuff to Goodwill and other charities. And with the economy so bad now, those yard and flea days are over as far as I'm concerned, priorities have definitely changed for us, and we're much happier (no offense, lol).

i totally agree with that statement. i love going to garage sales and also love the show antique roadshow where people have bought stuff at garage sales and it turns out to be worth a lot of money.

Yep we go most weekends out yard sale hunting. We usually don't find a "treasure" we usually find things we need for our kids. With as sloppy as my kids are there's no way I'm paying for new & their summer clothes definatly not. Yeah I'd say if they want to jump thru the muddy garden or sit in wet sand it won't be with things I bought new that's for sure. Plus if I buy used they can get a bigger & nicer wardrobe then I had as a kid. Once in a blue moon we find something for us adults, but not as often as the kids. If you've been around to enough sales you know people with adult things like to try to get Thrift Store or E-bay prices for their stuff.

I also like touching things when shopping for something, even if I am not going to buy something, I like to inspect things for future shopping days.

Oh for sure I look for things that I may need at yard sales before I hit the store.. Actually I am the Yard Sale Lady or was in my area. I start it and usually run it for at least two months. Yes, I have that much junk that just needs to go...lol My hands and back are giving me alot of trouble this year so I haven't started one yet this summer. Will see how it goes.

I love yard sales and I also love freecycle dot com online. They have one in about every city in the world. Freecycle is where people put things online they are giving away. I just got a beautiful bathroom over the sink cabinet for free. I looked it up at Lowe's Hardware and the exact same cabinet would have cost me brand new 118 dollars. And the one I got has nothing wrong with it. When they list on freecycle it has to be just that FREE. You also have cheapcycle dot come that is where people sell things at very low prices. You get notices in your email from both these services daily. It is a wonderful thing. You should check it out. They are all over the world.

The title of your discussion is sooooooo true!! I know this is an oldish discussion but I have just found it & needed to leave my comment. I do go to garage sales when I have the spare cash to find that bargain - I normally like to sell stuff on ebay & I do thi by buying things at garage sales or at the opshops. Today however, I went to a few garage sales hoping to find some free standing wardrobes as I'm moving next week & the house I'm moving to doesn't have any built-ins...unfortunately I didn't find any but I did find a toilet seat for $1 for my 2 year old - she has a potty but still likes to sit on the "big" toilet...all I have to do is wash it with disinfectant...to me, that was a bargain :)

Hi fwidman, when I go to yard or car boot sale normally it is out of interestof what is being sold...being a female I do like to have a look at something before or if thinking of buying it so like to pick things up and see what they are like....LoLo

When I first started housekeeping I did a lot of browsing the yard sales, my aunt was a yardsale addict, and she would get us up early on Saturday mornings to go yard saleing with her. Now I have so much in my home I have nowhere to put anything, I am the type of person that don't like to get rid of anything so it would be a problem if I went to a yard sale. I do like them and I like browsing looking through another MAN'S junk.

I enjoy yard sales. I have not been to one in quite a while though. Normally I will stop by one if I see something that peaks my interest. I am not too big on just stopping for the heck of it. It also depends on who I am with. Most of my friends love going to yard sales and they love to make a day of it. I really like going to nice neighborhoods and getting things that people have only used once or twice if at all. I think women do like to touch things and pick them up and make sure that they are of quality before purchasing them. I really need to have a yard sale but I am 7 months pregnant and it is toooo hot to here in the south for me to do that right now. Perhaps in the fall I will.

We don't have yard sales in England ,but I get your drift I always feel the good before purchasing them if they don't feel right they get returned to the shelf.My son told me the other day he prefers to shop for clothes with his Dad ,his words."we go in find what we want and pay for it,come home." "with you it is look over here,what about this?shall we try another shop?don't buy the first thing you see" It takes ages with me apparently,so there is a massive difference between men and woman shopping.I had to laugh a bit to myself as he was completely right.

I usually don't go to yard sales. I really don't like to shop in general. And, like you said most people go to yard sales looking for that great buy and for me, someone who really doesn't like to shop, that's just too much work. My sister though frequents yard sales on a fairly regular basis. When her kids were little, she did the bulk of her clothes shopping for them through yard sales. She just couldn't bring herself to spend 20-30 dollars on a pair of jeans the kids would outgrow in 2 months. So she would hit the yard/garage sales and pick up jeans and other great almost new clothes for like 4 or 5 dollars on the high end. She's also gotten good deals on chairs and lamps and other miscellaneous household items.

ehm, i love going to those kinds, yard sale, garage sale, thrift store...etc. as long as there's bargain, im there... lol i have once bought a stroller for $3... , for my 1 year old son, that was 7 years ago, and we are still using it till now, i have another son who is 2 years old now. you'll never know what you find in those sales, i want to look for things that are unique and a real bargain, i have had some bags and pants bought that one can never find in department stores. im a woman, and yes i love touching everything, looking closely at it, checking if there is something broken or not.

The main reason I go to yard sales is to find clothes and things we need at a price well below buying new. But I also keep an eye open for anything that looks like it may be antique. I also love auctions...Great Deals...

Hi fwidman, I hope your wife made a good packet on the yard sale, I haven't been to one for a long time, I attend to buy things that I don' need and lie thater gathering dust and half the stuff that I used to buy are in the loft, so my hubby stoped taking me to place like that, but I do love it. Tamara

Well, I saw a lot of people picking up trash most specially plastic bottles. how ever, you can recycle on your own separating from the plastic and organic trash.just saying.

Never, I'd rather go to a store for some good deals. That is easy, no bargaining. I think most men like that way instead of yard sale. Yard sale is too hard for me.

this is actually my shopping mantra.I'm a fan of vintage and secondhand clothes.I actually get a high from getting unbelievable stuff from these stores.it's comforting to know that I am probably the only person in this world with thas stuff.they surely beat the mass-produced clothes from high-end boutiques.I scored a Marc Jacobs skirt and a D&G dress from a secondhand store.

When i go to a yardsale i dont stay very long. I usually stop if i see tools or something interesting or catches my eyes. but my fiancee on the other note. She will stop and look at every little thing possible. Even look through the box'es that some yard sales have. LOL!

i agree with this. i am from the philippines and needless to say we are a drop off point of so many surplus products and equipments from the US, Japan, and Korea. we have everything from secondhand t-shirts, surplus equipments, books, magazines and cars. a few years back my family had a project in mind. we wanted to have a car. but since buying a brand new car was well beyond our means we opted for an alternative. we decided to buy a surplus mini van from japan. when my father and i went to the sellers junk yard we saw our mini van arranged like carts on top of each other. we chose the best functioning surplus car engine and body that we could find. then after a few weeks of waiting, we finally had our own car. as you can see, these cars are already considered junk in japan. they have been left to rot in their junkyards until one day they sold and sent them to our country. although it was junk for them, our car was pretty useful to us. it's been 5 years since we bought the minivan. and until now, we are still enjoying the car and use it for short and long distance traveling.