# garage sale treasures **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 20, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garage-sale-treasures/622526 "2012-05-20T17:32:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garage-sale-treasures/622526/1 "2012-05-20T17:32:31Z")
So many sales and estate auctions right now, it’s a hoarder/junker/reseller’s wet dream. How much would you ask (selling or buying) for this [10" globe](https://www.antiquemapsandglobes.com/globes_one_globe.php?Globe=07164) (don’t look at their price…) Just stumbled across it in a garage sale. She said everything was a dollar. So He took it home. It’s exactly the same,pristine EXCEPT of course, it’s misisng the the nickel doojab at the top. Kinda cool,many extinct geographical names…in Europe, Africa and the Arabian peninsula… Another one is an alexander calder -ish mobile that caught my eye, very geometric, something to hang outside. Took it home for $5. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garage-sale-treasures/622526/2 "2012-05-20T18:09:18Z")
I’m always looking for [Purple Quahog Pearls](http://www.zimbio.com/Healing+Crystals+and+Gemstones/articles/PdlLKslqgW4/Quahog+pearls+amongst+rarest+gemstones). > [@](#): > > – in 2005 a rare quahog was discovered in a yard sale and bought for a mere $14 – when it came to auction, the piece was widely valued at anything between $8,000 and $1 million! The eventual sales price is unknown as it was sold to a private bidder in a sealed auction. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garage-sale-treasures/622526/3 "2012-05-20T19:03:08Z")
That’s the fun of garage sales: you never know what you’re going to find. I stopped at one yesterday and found a pile of items they let me have for five bucks. My favorites from the haul were the Vera Bradley and Liz Claiborne handbags. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garage-sale-treasures/622526/4 "2012-05-20T19:43:21Z")
I once found a platter still in its box that almost perfectly matches my china. So now I have two for large family dinners! I use it all the time and it was less than five bucks. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garage-sale-treasures/622526/5 "2012-05-20T20:20:57Z")
I got a used Bissel vacuum cleaner, in very good shape, for $15. I’ve gotten way mor than my money’s worth out of that purchase. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garage-sale-treasures/622526/6 "2012-05-20T23:08:55Z")
I have many yard / garage sale items in my house. I have an upright freezer I got in 2004 for $50 and it still works great. I suppose the best buy I ever got was a Kenwood Basic M2A amp and C1 pre-amp along with an excellent BSR equalizer for $10. ---
**Author:** ![conurepete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@conurepete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/conurepete)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garage-sale-treasures/622526/7 "2012-05-20T23:54:00Z")
I got my parrot George at a garage sale. Best find of the decade! ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garage-sale-treasures/622526/8 "2012-05-22T12:09:30Z")
Now what about “antique” stores? What’s the thrill in looking over collections of odds and ends? A feast for the eyes! The rush of picking for that pearl, that pet, the one of a kind thing…🆒 Bissells too, I still see for sale the antique wooden rollers , have one in a corner collecting dust, i should shine it up and hang it on a wall…My own garage sale will be in June. So off to the Peddlers Market, I have a mission. Find “garage sale” items to donate to a HS fundraiser garage sale. 😛 I remember seeing a shelf of unicorn figurines, (cheap schtick, but BRONY!) and a basket of harlequin doll heads (for pin cushions? wth?) But if I score the wood carved wizard staff I saw there, no i didn’t pick it the first time i saw it, tempted, so tempted. and all for say $20…I think I can try for that. How does that sound to you? 😃 WRBS. ---
**Author:** ![Quint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/76d3ee/32.png) [@Quint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garage-sale-treasures/622526/9 "2012-05-22T13:02:58Z")
I cannot ever imagine paying $100 for a painting at a garage sale. But [someone did.](http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/garage-sale-painting-believed-to-be-tom-thomson-sells-for-126500/article2435372/?utm_medium=Feeds%3A%20RSS%2FAtom&utm_source=Home&utm_content=2435372&service=mobile) ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garage-sale-treasures/622526/10 "2012-05-22T13:37:21Z")
On Saturday I got Michael Jackson’s _Thriller_ CD for $2. I already have seven of the nine songs on the album and I don’t even really like the other two, but a bargain’s a bargain. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garage-sale-treasures/622526/11 "2012-05-22T19:16:22Z")
Classic MJ, not scratched, it’s a deal! - Except for frames I usually don’t pay attn to paintings, maybe I should keep an eye towards the genre of Mathias Alten, a local “second generation impressionist” The market was closed today! Forgot, they keep odd hours. Went to another kaleidoscope into time, spent $11. Picked a beaded 70’s purse, a mushroom ashtray, but it looks like a planter, and two vintage leather softballs. I almost got attached to a 1940’s floor lamp, love old lamps…not today. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garage-sale-treasures/622526/12 "2012-05-22T19:35:01Z")
My facebook status from Sunday: > [@](#): > > Still sick, but I _needed_ to get out of the house. Hey, let’s take a look at the yard sale up the street. > > Little girl’s clothes – “$1 each” says the sign. Hmm…150 or so pieces. Nice stuff…[The Littlest Briston] would love a lot of this. > > The lady sees us looking – “Two for a dollar”, she says. > “And how much for _everything_?” > “Bwuh? Uhhh…$25?” > “I have $22.” > “Sold!” > > This kid is set for quite awhile… Now that we’ve had time to take inventory, I was way, way off. We got over 300 articles of clothing in her current size and the next four sizes for her to grow into. You could tell we’re dealing with a compulsive shopper here – this is all top-brand stuff, and about half of it still has the tags. Score. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garage-sale-treasures/622526/13 "2012-05-22T19:37:04Z")
Whoop, forgot about last week’s steal. I picked up a a new, in-the-box satellite car radio for seven bucks. Three days later, it sold on eBay for $98. Woot. ---
**Author:** ![Waxwinged](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c2a13f/32.png) [@Waxwinged](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waxwinged)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garage-sale-treasures/622526/14 "2012-05-22T20:39:35Z")
My best one was an old North American Wildlife guide, bought for 5$, going for 70$+ used on Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garage-sale-treasures/622526/15 "2012-05-22T21:05:28Z")
First edition of Carson’s Silent Spring. I’d been looking for a copy as a gift - nothing available in my local 2nd hand bookstore. I was told that if they could get one, it would be $200 minimum. Found one at a yard sale - every book - one dollar. The guy had an incredibly eclectic variety of books. I mentioned this to him. He said “ah, these are all my mother in laws. I don’t read books.” Hundreds of them. People had armloads. I figure he could have stuffed them in his car and gone downtown where he could have sold them for at the very least $25 each. He probably had a minimum of $5,000 in books there. In the end, he probably cleared $200, but made a bunch of people very happy. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garage-sale-treasures/622526/16 "2012-05-22T23:12:57Z")
From two weekends ago: Eddie & The Cruisers DVD - $1 Time Life Old West Series (complete and in perfect condition - $15 ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garage-sale-treasures/622526/17 "2012-05-23T00:34:17Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > My facebook status from Sunday: > Now that we’ve had time to take inventory, I was way, way off. We got over 300 articles of clothing in her current size and the next four sizes for her to grow into. > > You could tell we’re dealing with a compulsive shopper here – this is all top-brand stuff, and about half of it still has the tags. Score. You win the thread. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garage-sale-treasures/622526/18 "2012-05-23T12:16:36Z")
A lot of wins here! Could be risky, but buy in bulk get bigger discount - I left behind a whole box of used baseballs, one could get carried away, must stay focused on the mission. So of course I check ebay for vintage softballs :eek: alas I cannot identify mine, stitching is good, nice round shape, HUGE and s o f t. need a bat to go with,a wooden plank??? Am I gonna come back today with these two iron plant hangars I saw,but too roccoco for my tastes really. And what can one do with a soapstone bedwarmer? plant stand, hot plate? tombstone for a pet? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garage-sale-treasures/622526/19 "2012-05-23T12:34:47Z")
Not a huge bargain, but made my day: Mid 90s, I found a dusty camera bag with $10 marked on it. Offered $5 and they said yeah. In the car, I opened it to find a rather dirty camera, two lenses, and some other junk. My conscience pricked me to take it back to them, as they obviously made a mistake. They said, “No, it’s Gramp’s broken camera. I thought that’s what you wanted.” So I kept it. Having repaired cameras in the 80s, including this brand and model, I got after it as soon as I got home. Cleaned up, everything looked fine. Even the batt compartment was clean, no corrosion. Put in new batts and everything worked perfectly. I got a Minolta X-700, 50mm f/1.4, a Rokkor X 24mm f/2.8, a Minolta brand polarizer, and some funky Cokin filters out of it. Even used at that time, this was worth at least a couple of hundred bucks. The bag was junk, I threw it away. ---
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garage-sale-treasures/622526/20 "2012-05-23T13:14:32Z")
_Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis_, floppy disk version, for £4. This was maybe ten years ago and it was the bargain of my young life. Up until then it was the bundle of around 100 Beano comics 1978-1987 for less than a fiver. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/garage-sale-treasures/622526.md?page=2)