Why I love Yard Sales and Flea Markets

My love for finding bargains began when I was a little girl. With my mom having to work two jobs to make ends meet, being able to purchase things we needed for our home, or clothes, etc. at a bargain price was necessary. We enjoyed going to yard sales or garage sales, or “garbage” sales as my dear husband calls them! He may call them that, but he knows only too well, some of the wonderful finds we’ve made along the way!

            Yard sales, sidewalk sales and flea markets all offer a fun way to find your treasures. Perhaps you’re looking to collect certain items. I have a passion for snowmen! I love them and collect them! Every time I find a “new” snowman at a yard sale, for very little money, I am a happy camper! Over the years though, I’ve bought so many more things from household decorative items to clothes for my kids as they were growing up, to fishing items since we love to fish; you name it, I’ve found it!

            My daughters have caught “the bug” now, too! I love it! Every once in a while, we’ll have a “girls’ day out” and hit the yard sales! Most people, who hold yard sales, don’t mind doing a little bit of “haggling”. They understand that if you can buy something at a store brand new for a certain amount of money, they’re not going to charge you that at a yard sale! There is the occasional exemption from that rule, however. For example, recently we went to a particular yard sale where the lady had a brand new (never-been-opened) closet organizer for $75. It may sound like a bargain, but I’d been doing my homework on these since I needed one, and found that I could purchase the same item brand new, locally for $35! Needless to say, I didn’t make that purchase that day. Looking at this woman’s prices, I was not sure she would deal with me; she seemed to misunderstand the concept of a yard sale! We wished her luck (she would need it) and went on our way to the next sale.  

            As I stated earlier however, most yard sale hosts realize the majority of their buyers will be bargain hunters. My own mother-in-law would never just outright pay the price on an item at a yard sale if she felt it was too high. She’d make them an offer and if the sellers were unwilling to come down, she’d walk away. She had the attitude of “the customer is always right!” even at a yard sale! I, myself have gotten several items including a recent find of several classic children’s VHS Disney movies just by making the comment about how many this woman had to offer and how I’d love to have them for the kids I babysit. The seller wanted the movies to go, so she offered to let me just have them! I couldn’t in good conscience just take the movies, so I offered her a small amount for the lot. She and I were both very happy, and we had a great conversation about children in the process!

            If you’re looking for a fun afternoon, or just want to find some bargains, dig out your local newspaper and hit the road. You just never know what you may find, or who you’ll meet in the process!