How do people act at garage sales?

[billjustbill]

The weekend's listing of newspaper ads had really odd garage sales....and people. Mostly, junk abounded, and as I watched their interactions, people that both ran them and attend them seem disgruntled and irritated with each other. From what I see, when things aren't organized or priced at a sale, the buyers have the expectation of "It SHOULD be CHEAP if not FREE".... The sellers don't like giving quick prices, and usually aren't prepared knowing that early buyers will "badger" them for a low price, and that creates resentment on both sides...

At a local liquidator's sale she does for the owner, usually some type of estate sale, she and her help had to watch one older lady because she would walk around outside and take things to her car....

We ran into another jewelery collector that asked if we attended a county public school sports fundraiser sale two weeks ago. When I said no because it was a bit far to go, she continued. "They had jewelry there, but by the time I got there, somebody had stolen the whole box, and they said it had some Sterling in it. Then, as I was leaving, there was a "WOMAN" that got mad when the kids told her the price of the DVD's they were selling. She was so mad, she THREW the DVD's at them and walked off."

How to people act at the garage sales you go to?

 

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[2ndisbest]

Funny you mention behavior. A guy tried to sell me some drugs once from his garage sale. Sure I look like I would be interested but I grew up with Nancy Reagan and just say no. But most times the people who run garage sales basically eye #%&@ me because of my appearance. As soon as I reach down to grab something they are shooting me a price or commenting about the item, which means yes, they were eye $%*&@#* me. And this is when there are 5,6, or 7 other people around. The gypsies make bank when I show up.

Though I do enjoy the "ebay" owners. They say I can get such and such on ebay or it is selling for that much on ebay. First off I am 99.99% sure I am not going to buy anything. So that lets me use all my one liners on them. Really? What is your account name I will look for the item. What you don't have an ebay account? Have you ever sold anything on ebay? No? Well I will let you imagine where the conversation goes from there.

As for other customers I have had them rip stuff out of my hand while negotiating with the owners of said item. Almost like I offered $5 and they said no so now it is their turn to make an offer and they just rip it out of my hand, this has happened to me twice. And the other people who just pretend you are not there when they have to get by or see something they want to pick up.

But my favorite type of people are the ones that will sit and haggle with an owner over .50 cents on an item and be rude about it. I like these people because it gives me an opportunity to strike up a conversation about how rude some people are with the owners. Get people bitching, they like to bitch. People are happy when they are bitching. Be on "their" side and wham now you can get some deals.

Such is life, all people, all types, all the time.

 

[diggummup]

Down here I can sum it up in one word whenit comes to the rude and less than honest buyers at the sales...
Haitians. These people will try to nickel and dime a person to death. Last weekI was at a sale where the woman was selling her items (she used to own an antiques store) to continue her cancer treatments. She had a couple of friends there to help her and was basically holding an estate sale inside of her home. There was a group of 3 Haitians at the sale. They got one of that womans friends so frazzled that she started crying and the wife had to comfort her. The owner of the house ended up throwing them out. as the commotion was going on, I witnessed one of the Haitians almost run out of the door with an armload of clothing, much bigger than the few pieces I saw her pay for. I told the owner but she didn't care and was just happy to have them gone. There were about a dozen or so people in the house at the time, everyone started applauding when they were thrown out.They work in teams. They haggle over the prices, wanting entire bags of clothes (or what have you) for a dollar or single items for a quarter, they use bully type tactics to try and confuse the sellers, i've witnessed them stealing on more than one occasion. I call them out every time. Straight up savages.
Another thing i've noticed lately when it comes to the buyers are the jackazzes who sit there with an item in their hand checking the value on their smart phone to see if it's a deal or not, or the one guy who uses a code scanner app to check barcodes. I am not an expert at everything, but if I see something i'm interested in and the seller doesn't want too much for it, i'll buy it. I don't need to check the internet of it's selling value before I purchase it. For the most part it's something i'm familiar with so I already have an idea of it's value. All these wannabees need to educate themselves before they try to "find their treasure" at a yardsale.
As for the sellers, I find that most of them at garage sales are just trying to get rid of unwanted items that are taking up space or gathering dust. They don't want a fortune but they don't want to give it away either. Then you have the ones that are trying to get rich quick. They've done all the research on their items and the values of such. They know what something "sells" ( actually it's just listed for that price, not selling) for on Ebay. Everything is highly collectible and valuable as well rare and old. Case in point was a sale I went to last week, guy had a small portable philco tv, dated to the early 70's. He tells me it's from the 1940's and it's very old, one of the first, he wanted $100 (thing wasn't worth $10 in that condition). I didn't even try to educate him, I just nodded my head and said hmm... really? This gave me an idea of what I was dealing with right off the bat. These are the ones I just walk away from and say good luck, while thinking "your gonna need it". Then there are the those sellers who when you walk up to look at their wares, you just scratch your head and wonder... why? Why in the hell are they even trying to sell this junk? Throw it out for christ's sake! It's junk, the goodwill doesn't even want it.
There are all kinds out there. Many buyers are trying to supplement their income due to the economy, many sellers are trying to do the same thing. There's nothing wrong with either as long as everyone is realistic and educated.

 

[jerseyben]

I have seen all of the above and/or had all of the above happen to me personally.

One disturbing thing that I have seen are old ladies that are straight swindlers! I watched an OLD lady put a ring in her hand and close her hand. She walked up to the owner holding another 1 piece of jewelry and placed another piece down and asked how much for everything. She never opened her hand to reveal the ring, just held out her hand. She then haggled over the final price and ended up walking away with a steal (literally). I just shook my head and moved on to the next sale in disgust.

Here is my most disturbing story of all:
I emailed a CL seller advertising a Sat garage sale to ask for a preview sale on Fri. He declined Fri but OFFERED to allow me to come to the 9am sale at 7am on Sat and be the first one there. I showed up at 7am and there is a guy sitting in his truck in front of the driveway 2 hours early. I walk up the driveway and the guy literally shouts to me that he is there first and we have to wait until the owner lets us in. I inform him I have an appointment and continue walking to the garage (where I can see the owner standing). The guy literally jumps out of his truck and sprints to the garage and starts shopping around. He made sure to look over everything before I had an opportunity and literally had piled stuff in front of him just so I couldnt get to it.

Another time I stood and watched a guy going through a tackle box. He set it down and closed it and then stood up as if to walk away. I asked him if he was going to buy it a and he clearly said "NO". I bent down to pick up the box and he says "what are you doing! THATS MINE"! I said, you literally just told me you werent buying it so I just shook my head and walked away.

 

[diggummup]

Like I said some of these buyers are straight savages. Meanwhile, most of them wouldn't know a bargain if it bit em in the azz. Some people have no common courtesy or repect for their fellow man. I do voice my opinion every now and then, if the situation calls for it (in my mind). There are some great finds out there and it doesn't always matter if your the first one there, though it does help sometimes. Last week I went to a sale that was advertised on CL for Sunday only. I guess they got scared off because of the threat of rain, no sale nor sign of life for that matter. On the way there we noticed a yard sale sign that said sat.& sun. for another house several blocks away. So, since the first idiot decided not to have his sale (or remove his ad), we went to the one where we saw the sign. Long story short I ended up purchasing a Sony PS2 with about 15 games, 2 wireless logitech controllers, and 2 wired ones, an very nice AKAI CR81 vintage 8-track recorder (working) with 9 tapes, a Eumig P8 8mm projector in the box, a Chinon 6100 8mm projecter (both working), a boxed set of 12 Apex no.2 tournament darts, a vintage 1950's siren whistle ring in the original packaging (similar to the Tom Mix version of that era), a (very cool) leather clad, metal, book shaped match holder from at most, the 1940's, judging by the photo of The Cloister Casino on Sea Island in Ga., and a late 70's Miami Beach Police Dept. uniform shirt with all the patches including the guys name tag. This was all purchased on the 2nd day of the sale for a whopping $35 with no haggling. And the best part was, we were the only ones there. Anyway, sorry I started rambling.

 

[cyberdan]

I don't mind if things are still in boxes or all jumbled up. I especialley like it when nothing is priced. WHY?? Because I like to scrounge around and find bargains and if they are not priced I name my own price.

What I don't get is (75% of the time) if I make an offer and it is too low I just get a NO and don't get a counter offer. I have to remind them this is a yard sale and I always start low expecting a counter offer.

 

[acevillav]

All sad but true stories. Here is my tale of woe. I had a tag sale this summer. I was thinning out my collection of antiques and collectables along with some of my moms older pieces. I put an ad in the paper that clearly stated NO EARLY SALES PERIOD. Anyway I was set to open at 8 so I got up early to dig a few coins. My phone rings at 7:00 People are literally pounding on the door to get in. I drive back and I am under siege by a mob of dealers pushing past each other to be the first to follow me in to the door. I say good morning and thank you for your interest but I won't open the doors for almost an hour. They went freakin nuts ! yelling, screaming etc. Long story short they paced up and down the side walk until I opened the door then it was a mad rush to grab any and everything if they were buying it or not just so the "other guy" would not get it. i tell yah people really suck sometimes. What happened to being nice and doing the right thing ?!?

Ace Villa-v

 

[jerseyben]

All sad but true stories. Here is my tale of woe. I had a tag sale this summer. I was thinning out my collection of antiques and collectables along with some of my moms older pieces. I put an ad in the paper that clearly stated NO EARLY SALES PERIOD. Anyway I was set to open at 8 so I got up early to dig a few coins. My phone rings at 7:00 People are literally pounding on the door to get in. I drive back and I am under siege by a mob of dealers pushing past each other to be the first to follow me in to the door. I say good morning and thank you for your interest but I won't open the doors for almost an hour. They went freakin nuts ! yelling, screaming etc. Long story short they paced up and down the side walk until I opened the door then it was a mad rush to grab any and everything if they were buying it or not just so the "other guy" would not get it. i tell yah people really suck sometimes. What happened to being nice and doing the right thing ?!?

Ace Villa-v

That sounds like a nightmare!

 

[diggummup]

All sad but true stories. Here is my tale of woe. I had a tag sale this summer. I was thinning out my collection of antiques and collectables along with some of my moms older pieces. I put an ad in the paper that clearly stated NO EARLY SALES PERIOD. Anyway I was set to open at 8 so I got up early to dig a few coins. My phone rings at 7:00 People are literally pounding on the door to get in. I drive back and I am under siege by a mob of dealers pushing past each other to be the first to follow me in to the door. I say good morning and thank you for your interest but I won't open the doors for almost an hour. They went freakin nuts ! yelling, screaming etc. Long story short they paced up and down the side walk until I opened the door then it was a mad rush to grab any and everything if they were buying it or not just so the "other guy" would not get it. i tell yah people really suck sometimes. What happened to being nice and doing the right thing ?!?

Ace Villa-v

This is a common scene down here at estate sales. People are heathens, i'm just glad i'm a very big guy and a little intimidating at times. I don't believe in cutting in lines, or jumping in front of someone when they are looking at something, or sticking my hands in a box of items while someone else is going through it. And as such, I expect and demand the same courtesy.

 

[MarkDz]

Interesting topic and some CRAZY stories here!

To chime in a bit... I prefer when the item prices are marked. I want to have an idea where the seller is coming from before I seek out him/her and ask about an item... because if we're on totally different wavelengths (e.g., he wants $15 and I'm willing to pay $0.50) having to discuss our difference of opinion can be awkward. I'm there to shop, not talk.

I haven't seen much crazy behavior that I can remember. Closest thing is when parents bring kids to yard sales and the kids just start playing with everything as if it were public property. The parents don't tend to intervene or buy anything.

 

[kennedyfan]

Wow, such horrible stories. I guess I haven't had such bad experiences. Then again, I'm usually not there at the early part of sales; we usually arrive after the starting time.

I do remember reading Craig's List about a yard sale having coins, with an explicit "no earlybirds" indication so I thought I would get there *right* at the start. So I arrived 10 minutes early to find throngs of people mulling around the yard already. It's hard to do the right thing when everybody else is not. Anyhow, I spotted the owner, and asked for "permission to come aboard", noting that he had said no earlybirds, and I didn't feel comfortable crossing onto his property without his explicit permission (unlike all the hooligans surrounding me). Anyhow, he was very pleased to be treated this way! As it turned out, I was able to get the first look at his small assortment of coins and gaming tokens, so I managed to get some nice stuff. So maybe politeness pays off.

(Really though, I think that if somebody is prepared to say they don't' want earlybirds, they should be prepared to actually enforce it.)

 

[jerseyben]

Regarding the whole earlybirds topic: Do people really think that little "warning" means anything? If you plan a yardsale for 8am you BETTER be prepared to have people start arriving at 7am. Anything earlier than that is being rude though.

 

[creeper71]

Regarding the whole earlybirds topic: Do people really think that little "warning" means anything? If you plan a yardsale for 8am you BETTER be prepared to have people start arriving at 7am. Anything earlier than that is being rude though.

I went to a yardsale once it was advertised as starting at 8am I got there at 7:45 cause I live 45 mins from the town it was in.. all kinds of people.. I say to the lady wow alot of people for a 8 am sale. She said well I had a bunch around 6-6:30am . I then said that is ridiculous. I also said sorry for being kinda early but I live in then told her the town an she said ou drove from there just for the yardsales? I ended up find really good stuff cause like Dig says people have no clue what is good an what is not...

 

[diggummup]

Regarding the whole earlybirds topic: Do people really think that little "warning" means anything? If you plan a yardsale for 8am you BETTER be prepared to have people start arriving at 7am. Anything earlier than that is being rude though.

I went to a yardsale once it was advertised as starting at 8am I got there at 7:45 cause I live 45 mins from the town it was in.. all kinds of people.. I say to the lady wow alot of people for a 8 am sale. She said well I had a bunch around 6-6:30am . I then said that is ridiculous. I also said sorry for being kinda early but I live in then told her the town an she said ou drove from there just for the yardsales? I ended up find really good stuff cause like Dig says people have no clue what is good an what is not...

Down here it's a "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" kinda thing. I'll show up early and if there is no one else there yet (on the very rare occasion), i'll sit in my car and wait until the start time, or until someone else shows up and starts looking, if the seller is already set up, or until i'm given the okay by the seller. Being early is fine as long as it's handled with tact. Besides your only gonna be early to the first one (or 2 depending). When I had my last sale (7 am start) I stated in bold "absolutely no earlybirds, you will be charged double!" on CL and guess what, I had a lady show up at 5:45 am, still dark with a flashlight. I chased her off, in a manner of speaking. I think 30 minutes early is okay if the ad doesn't mention "no earlybirds," 15 minutes early is fine if it does mention "no earlybirds," I mean you have to allow for travel time to some locations anyway. What gets me are the sellers that give a start time and you show up on time and they are just now starting to set up, looking like they stayed up all night drinking. Or the ones who just say screw it, and don't even have the sale at all.

 

[jerseyben]

What gets me are the sellers that give a start time and you show up on time and they are just now starting to set up, looking like they stayed up all night drinking. Or the ones who just say screw it, and don't even have the sale at all.

This happens to me at least once every time I go out...

 

[MarkDz]

Everyone's talking about start times. Now, what about end times?

I'll often see people listing their sale hours as, for instance, 9 to 1. Okay, that's four hours. If I went through the trouble of setting up a decent yard/garage/estate sale... and even more so for something like a large church rummage sale... I'd want to keep it open longer than that! Do they really have that much else to do, or is sitting on a lawn chair really that strenuous?

And when people pack up their stuff, make the drive, and pay to set up a flea market table only to start packing it in by 11:30am... I mean, why bother?

 

[jerseyben]

Everyone's talking about start times. Now, what about end times?

I'll often see people listing their sale hours as, for instance, 9 to 1. Okay, that's four hours. If I went through the trouble of setting up a decent yard/garage/estate sale... and even more so for something like a large church rummage sale... I'd want to keep it open longer than that! Do they really have that much else to do, or is sitting on a lawn chair really that strenuous?

And when people pack up their stuff, make the drive, and pay to set up a flea market table only to start packing it in by 11:30am... I mean, why bother?

I would have to ask if you have ever had a yard sale or set up a table at a flea market? If you have, then I'm sure you would realize why people do this as the norm. After lunchtime, the crowds die down to almost nothing and those who show up later are usually looking for the free stuff by then. I would say about 50% of my sales at the flea market are done in the first hour I set up.

 

[diggummup]

Everyone's talking about start times. Now, what about end times?

I'll often see people listing their sale hours as, for instance, 9 to 1. Okay, that's four hours. If I went through the trouble of setting up a decent yard/garage/estate sale... and even more so for something like a large church rummage sale... I'd want to keep it open longer than that! Do they really have that much else to do, or is sitting on a lawn chair really that strenuous?

And when people pack up their stuff, make the drive, and pay to set up a flea market table only to start packing it in by 11:30am... I mean, why bother?

Because, the early bird gets the worm. By noon there is nothing left but the real unwanted junk. If you were into this like I am, you would know this. My last sale I made all my money in the first 3 hours, the 4th hour, 1 sale. Time to call it a day. Either leave your crap out with a sign that says free or pack it up and preserve the rest of your day with something more worthwhile.

And to answer your question... Yes, I do really have that much else to do, I don't get into sitting in a lawn chair all day, strenuous or not. Maybe when i'm 65 or so, i'll enjoy relaxing under the shade tree with a glass of sweet tea in my hand watching the local wildlife, or maybe not.

 

[creeper71]

Everyone's talking about start times. Now, what about end times?

I'll often see people listing their sale hours as, for instance, 9 to 1. Okay, that's four hours. If I went through the trouble of setting up a decent yard/garage/estate sale... and even more so for something like a large church rummage sale... I'd want to keep it open longer than that! Do they really have that much else to do, or is sitting on a lawn chair really that strenuous?

And when people pack up their stuff, make the drive, and pay to set up a flea market table only to start packing it in by 11:30am... I mean, why bother?

Because, the early bird gets the worm. By noon there is nothing left but the real unwanted junk. If you were into this like I am, you would know this. My last sale I made all my money in the first 3 hours, the 4th hour, 1 sale. Time to call it a day. Either leave your crap out with a sign that says free or pack it up and preserve the rest of your day with something more worthwhile.

And to answer your question... Yes, I do really have that much else to do, I don't get into sitting in a lawn chair all day, strenuous or not. Maybe when i'm 65 or so, i'll enjoy relaxing under the shade tree with a glass of sweet tea in my hand watching the local wildlife, or maybe not.

Like Dig's said first 3 hours are money makers anything after that is a waste of time. I personally won't go to any yardsale after 10am unlessI happen to be driving by an see something that catches my eye...

 

[Midnightrider08]

I attend and both run garage sales on a regular basis and I've seen it all just about when it comes to behaviors.

During one large sale ..had about 12 people at once and this one lady was sliding dvds down her pants and everyone there was witnessing it ..finally after watching this go on and getting my enjoyment out of it ..I shook my head at the lady and told her in a loud voice .." If you don't have any money all you have to do is ask, you don't have to take food off my kids tables " well didnt she bolt for her van ..the other people laughed and stated they were wondering how long I was gonna let her get away with it. This lady was just brazen and simply did not care ..cause everyone seen her doing it. I must of made couple hunny in that hr alone and was good time to be honest.

Another time this family ripped me for a handheld video game system ..then tried to send one of their kids friends back to sell it to me ..I confiscated it and told him to send them back. So they come back and try to apologize and explain there kid had took it without paying and they hadn't know that it came from me ... in the process of all this I tending to other people. Had a big brown bag on a table folded up with adult movies in. I look over after cashing someone out and this families husband is walking to his car with my brown bag while his family trying to block my view. I yell to the neighbor to watch my sale and I take off after the guy. He's already in his car (passenger seat ) going thru his SCORE !!! Never sees me approaching ..I reach in the window and swipe the bag out of his lap ..He jumps out of the car and sees it's me and runs ..leaving his family ..so hell with it ..I give chase ..He runs good 1/4 mile - 1/2 mile to bridge and does a swan dive into the river. I stand on the bank and tell him in uncertain terms what will happen to him if I ever see him again at one of my sales. He questions me as to weather I would really do that over something like that and I explained what is mine is mine and it don't matter how insufficient. A thieve is a thieve ..so I go back to my sale and instruct his wife and kids that they are no longer welcome cause this is now the 2nd instance of stealing. To give him some credit or a bit of remorse...it's got to be bad when your resorting to stealing adult movies.

Do the flea market regularly as well ..and after a particular buy out I arrived with what was different sorta items then I normally bring ..was mostly a furniture & antique load ..I pulled into my spot and parked and wasn't out of the truck before buyers were on me like vultures ..long story short ..I never got set up cause, I was sold out before I even had a chance ..was awesome day ..1 hr ride there 1 hr haggling , 1 hr home ..couple weeks worth of pay..priceless IMO

Lowballers don't bother me much ..I sell cheaper then anyone else to begin with and stand behind everything I sell ..if someone asks for a cheaper price I give one ..and generally take whatever someone overs on something ..don't turn away people trying to give me money is way I look at it.

The people that bother me ..are the ones who never buy anything ..but frequent the free pile religiously. I'm bothered because of the fact they spend no money , but also bothered by the fact , that maybe they could use something I have and just can't afford it. I give away as much as I sell and buy and bring home more than I sell or giveaway ..

It's a sickness ...

but overall if someone got to steal from one of my garage sales then all I can do is reserve myself to the fact ..that they must of felt they needed it more than I did ..sometimes I let them get away with it ..sometimes I don't ..The adult movie incident family. The female I now see weekly when I get me dog food at the local dollar general ... and I can tell she bothered and embarrassed to this day.

The best way to shop garage sales is to buy the whole sale ... and let the better half and kids process it.