With gas prices these days, it doesn’t pay to drive around for yard sales where there are no great bargains to be had. You can actually wind up losing money that way. If you are going to hit the yard sales, you’ll want to target the best ones and avoid the duds. While sometimes there are unexpected surprises when it comes to yard sales, you can usually rely on a few guidelines to locate the best ones.
Know the Keywords
When you are scanning an ad or a sign for a yard sale, take a look at the words that describe the sale, the more specific the better. A multi-family, estate or moving sale may have the most stuff available for you. Even better is a neighborhood or community sale where multiple houses may be participating in the yard sale.
Pay Attention to Items for Sale
Take a look at the items that are offered at the sale in the ad. If you are looking for baby clothes, you probably won’t find them at a sale that lists antiques or tools. Most ads only highlight the best items, so assume that anything else that is being sold and not listed is not as exciting.
Know the Neighborhoods
Specific items tend to be sold in specific neighborhoods, and the prices can vary. I learned that in some of the best neighborhoods, prices will be high, even on common items, such as toys. The quality does tend to be a little better though, with newer items that people have grown tired of or have upgraded.
Large, newer developments may yield a lot of kids stuff, older neighborhoods offer antiques, household items and quirky things, and believe it or not some of the poorest neighborhoods can have the most volume of stuff for sale.