WEBlue

Do you go to these? Or have you held one?

My OH is leary of these. He says they're a waste of time. He used to avoid boot sales back in England, saying they were the worst form of torture known to man, dozens of dodgy vendors & hundreds of dodgy shoppers all herded into some muddy farmer's field.

But they seem different in the US. I've pulled the car over at one or two here in our town & I love them! I usually end up buying a paperback book or two for around a quarter, but what I really like is chatting to the sellers, usually a mom or bored teen-ager who's had a clean-up & has decided to waste a day seeing if some money can be made off the result. What else is there to do that can make you some spare change on a hot day now that school is out for the summer?

Mummy in the foothills

Yes we have bought loads of things from garage/yard sales. Lots of bargains to be had from people clearing out all the things they haven't used in ages.
We held one when we sold our old house and were moving back to UK, I got rid of all our furniture and loads toys and clothes all in one day.

Nutmegger

My favorite thing to do on a Saturday morning! Look for sales in good neighborhoods and you never know what treasures you will find (check newspaper listings or Craigslist). I have bought furniture, books, clothes (I have a sixties winter coat that cost $5 and I actually get stopped in the street or the store and complimented every time I wear it!), DVDs, CDs, jewelry, picture frames, prints, vases, lots of garden things -- all for a song.

Sally Redux

I think boot sales are OK, or used to be, although the dealers descending on you first thing can be scary.

I like yard sales, but I try to resist them as I would end up with too much stuff. I have bought a few things since I got here though.

One time I pulled up at one here which looked enticing with my son and his Iranian friend in the back. The old bloke running it was originally from the East End and so interested in us being British. He turned to my son and said, "Are you Jewish?" "No." Same question to the friend. "No." So finally he turns to me. "What about your husband? Jewish boy?"

GeoffM

I never really liked boot sales in the UK, especially when you just want to sell a few bits and yet have to pay twelve quid or more just to sell.

But here in the US, I've been to loads of garage sales. Some are pretty meh, old crap like skanky clothes that I wouldn't touch with a bargepole. Other times you can get some absolute bargains. I went to one (actually four in the same street, a block away from here) yesterday that - had I just arrived - I would have bought half the stuff they were selling, like cribs, kid's bed, baby toys, toddler toys, strollers, kitchenware... would have saved me a ton.

Beaverstate

Our homeowners association has an annual yard sale weekend each July. It is advertised and very well attended by bargain seekers throughout the surrounding area.

CherryPi

I love yard/garage sales! It's been years since i've been to one (we used to go all the time as children in Canada), and I have to say I love a good car boot sale in England on a Sunday morning after a pork and stuffing sandwich!

WEBlue

I lost my taste for boot sales back home in England through doing about 6 in a row in the months before we moved over to the States last summer. The weather was either unbearably hot, blowing a gale, or bucketing rain. I had to pay £10+ for the privilege of being trapped for hours in said dusty or muddy field with no way to leave early. With the bad economy there were lots of lookers but not that many buyers. My husband only did one with me--that was it for him--the rest I did on my own.

Towards the end I got used to the pattern: unload & arrange my stuff while the early birds would grab at it & buy all the good items in the first hour, then sit there bored out of my head reading for 5 more hours while protecting what was left from blowing away or getting rained on (cover/uncover/dry off/cover again). . . .

Really, the only good thing about those boot sales were the little children--if one picked up something I was flogging I usually gave it to them (one of my kids' ol toys) . . . .

Bob

Hit and miss.

In our town, they tend to be shit. In our previous town, which was a lot posher, they were actually pretty good.

I don't bother to hunt them out like some people around here to, but if we see something, might pull over for a look, usually for cheap kids toys.

Definitely hit the library book sales in the local towns though. Ours sell hardback books for a buck, but on the last day it's $5 to fill a grocery bag with as many books as you can so it's a great way to get the kids a bunch of new books for cheap.

Bob

Our last place, condo, used to do it, but they stopped doing it the summer we were moving out, which was annoying.

Folks got a bit sick of the traffic through the condo and the HOA couldn't agree to have it in a particular area of the grounds and the management company wasn't going to cover the liability insurance from the dues, so no one else wanted to pay extra for it. Meh.

joto

I did a couple at the end of our drive when we were moving. Not much trade as it was up a quiet country lane. There was a flock of wild turkeys come across from the piece of forested flat ground we had though. I hopped in the car sharpish incase they took a dislike, but it was nice to see them.
I did go to a local one a few times in the UK, but didn't buy very much.

Beaverstate

Ours is entirely single family houses on separate lots. The traffic tends to be mostly foot. Those coming from outside the area are fairly dispersed throughout the hundreds of homes and dozens of streets.

cluedweasel

We've held two. Both times we had more stuff nicked than sold. I think I'll sit in a rocking chair with a shotgun on my lap the next time we hold one.

WEBlue

I've heard people say the tag sales were so much better in general up till a few years ago. This may be true on both sides of the Pond, that people nowadays are hanging onto their old stuff and repairing it rather than just getting rid of it at tag sales.

These library sales are terrific!! Every town around here seems to have the banner up for a huge library book sale coming this month or next. I don't remember this happening at our old English library at all . . . .

Bink

Yeah, we have that too. It seems to be pretty well attended (only been one since we've lived here).
We've done it and had good luck selling things and have also bought bits and pieces too from them. It can be a bit hit or miss though you can normally tell by the neighbourhood it's in how good it's likely to be.