Featured Indicators That A Yard/Garage Sale Isn't Worth Stopping At?

I was very interested in this post but lost my train of thought as to why the Netherlands does not have any yards or garages...





(I know this is going to come back and bite me for being a tad folly.)

 

Ok, let me explain.
No yards: the Netherlands is overpopulated, where the yard would be is yet another house.
No garages: we haven't been introduced to novel contraptions like cars. We still get around like this:



Or....
In the Netherlands you need permits for everything. If you were to apply for a permit to sell things from your house, yard, garage, there would be a health and safety inspection and it would have to be approved by the fire department. The planning of your area would have to be changed to allow for commercial activity, the entire procedure will take years and will probably not be approved.
You would also need a first aid certificate, a sufficient number of bathrooms, disabled access, the right number of parking spaces of the right size. You would probably need to do a course in something you will never need, and a permit would probably be for at least a year. Imagine the cost of it all.

 

Love this thread !! Totally agree with the baby furniture/clothes thing...and that pile always seems to be right at end of driveway! Many towns around here do require a permit..though many do not comply. Since Covid..not many sales at all.

I had really stopped going to them, estate sales and thrift stores over a year ago...as I just don't need to bring home one more thing!! I miss the "hunt" though...

 

@Any Jewelry

Priceless...

That is EXACTLY what I was concluding.

...but they have great personalities.

 

There is SO MUCH "STUFF" that people are just putting out on the curb or in their front yard for people to just TAKE.....at least around here.....it's getting ridiculous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Some days neighborhoods look like 'junque yards'.... Boils down to....they don't want to pay the trash haulers EXTRA to take it away!!!

 

Yep, me too.
However I do occasionally go to one Estate Organizer's sales. She washes everything, displays well and prices to move things out.

 

@Any Jewelry, LOVE your 'mode of transportation'!!!!

 

While we have several thrift shops in my area that support specific causes (Make-A-Wish,etc.), people tend to just drop off at Goodwill, since they have acceptance or "drop off" sheds all over. They are manned during day hours, but become the convenient place to unload your stained mattress by night. Local newspaper ran an article that most thrift shops and all Goodwill/Salvation Army locations in the area are setting and enforcing criteria for what they'll take (no to t-shirts, most books, large furniture, etc.) Too many people with extra time on their hands to deal with clutter=overwhelmed donation centers. A little off topic, but that's my specialty...

 

Yep, no baby clothes for me either except if they are vintage and still in the plastic pkg. My friend recently sold some vintage baby blankets NOS NIP on eboo.

I recently saw an ad that said, no dealers, give the regular folks a chance. I had to laugh. How would they know who is who and who is going to say yes I am a reseller to someone who has that kind of silly attitude.

We haven't had a lot of yard sales around here but there have been estate sales to go to but not as many as there had been out here on LI.

My local thrift is sending out emails every day saying they are having a 50 percent off sale of all merch for a few days. They never do this, so shoppers must not be shopping and their prices tend to be too rich most of the time so half off may still be too high.

 

In my world it's because it belonged to Grandma, without considering possibilities: G'ma may have acquired late in life, so not that old; G'ma did not spend much, so not high quality; G'ma did not have good taste.

 

I confess Im guilty of that sometimes. It never sits out there more than a few minutes either ! My road has turned into a rather heavily traveled one so I dont even have to put a sign on it or a notice on CL !

 

I often get sterling jewelry ,even gold from younger sellers that don't know that 925 is sterling or don't know where to look for markings on chains.

 

When everyone at the sale is walking away with nothing.

 

They are good because usually every single thing in the house is good to pretty good. They are bound to miss something. Closing minutes of those sales have gotten me items for next to nothing that sell well. Maybe not the super collectible antique, but there’s good overlooked stuff usually.

 

During Covid the streets have been packed with stuff. People cleaning house. It’s getting less as it goes on. I flipped a ton of stuff I found street side during this. My buddy was saying we should actively go out picking that way there was so much of it. I declined and just grabbed stuff when I happened to see it but it would have worked there was so much.

 

Exactly.

 

That is exactly the sort of story that confirms some pieces just want to be discovered and attract you to them like a magnet!!!

 

Car boots, not yard sales of course. I'm not sure I avoid anything. I found my Christopher Dresser vase on a table with lots of old toys and junk. Likewise an 18 carat bracelet. And at one table top sale, in amongst smelly junk, a pair of Whitefriars golden amber vases.

 

I agree about passing by the sales with stacks of brightly colored plastic kids toys!

I wear a back pack purse at sales, that way I don't need to put it down, no chance of forgetting it.

Another thing to check, stud pierced earrings. I often find gold because no one thinks to look on the stud. I just run my finger nail along the stud and if I feel something it's a good bet it's a gold mark

 

LOL I had to mention this in this thread. I was looking at the sales for the weekend and saw one where they using testing photos instead of real photos till they get the hang of it.
One was a photo that looked like a mob hit. A guy all bloody in the front seat of a car.... fa getta bout it. I hope it was from a movie.