I use the "reverse search" on the internet with the person's yard sale address to call them and ask if they have items I'm interested in buying. This saves time and gas going to sales I won't find anything at that I want, & it gets me early to sales where I am interested.
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This especially helps to find if they have sizes I'm interested in.
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I agree a garage sale takes a lot of time and effort and the idea of someone calling to ask if I have something ahead of time isn't my idea of "playing nice". that said, what we do around here is list some of the major items so there is a heads up for kids clothing, furniture, bikes or whatever. We had someone come from several miles away for our entertainment center we listed.
TEAMDIABETES9/2/2010 7:45:00 AM
Agreed!
TREVUG4/27/2011 2:56:00 PM
I have to comment on this. I agree with most of the other comments. It is a huge intrusion on someone to do this. Most people having garage sales have taken a vacation day off work or something, and have put a ton of effort into setting up and everything. They are usually exhausted and wishing they hadn't decided to do it. To do that much research beforehand is commendable when shopping retail, but misses the point of garage sale shopping.
MY_NEW_ATTITUDE9/2/2010 9:56:00 AM
Imagine if you were the person having the yard sale and this idea got around. I know from my daughter-in-law's experience, having a yard sale is a lot of work the few days before the yard sale and the last thing you need is people calling to find out what you're going to have. Just do a quick drive-by the morning of and if you don't see anything, you don't need to stop.
HIKERJOHNSON9/2/2010 9:19:00 AM
If you have ever had a yard sale, then you know that it takes a huge amount of time the day before to set it up. Try to remember that a yard sale isn't a retail store. A person having a yard sale doesn't have a staff to answer the phone. I no longer have yard sales because buyers became so intrusive. People ask to use the bathroom expecting someone to let a stranger roam through the house. I had to physically remove a man who entered my house through the garage door...the only door I left unlocked. He started making offers on my furniture.
DEVON17549/2/2010 12:34:00 AM
That kind of takes the fun and surprise out of yard sale shopping!
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