resalenation blog

Garage Sale Buyer Pays $45 For $200,000,000 Ansel Adams Photo Collection

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 15:57:00 -0500

This is how you go garage sale shopping, folks! Rick Norsigian, an American collector, bought a set of 65 glass negatives at a garage sale in Fresno, CA. He paid $45 dollars.

The purchase took place a decade ago. During the following ten years the negatives were properly authenticated and have been given a value of $200 million dollars.

"The experts have emphatically determined that the negatives were in fact created by the iconic photographer Ansel Adams," said Norsigian, who also released the findings on his website.

Ansel Adams was an American photographer and environmentalist, best known for his black-and-white photographs of the American West, especially in Yosemite National Park. Some of his work can be seen at his online gallery.

I know what you're thinking. This would never happen to me when I go out garage sale shopping! But don't give up hope! You don't have to be an antique dealer to find things of value at garage sales. My best tip is to simply find something that appeals to you and make a good offer on it. It may not turn out to be a $200 million dollar photo negative collection, but you have to start somewhere!

-bk

In the Comments: If you made a $200 million dollar find at a garage sale, would that be your last garage sale ever, or would you continue to search for more "buried treasure"?

Discovery News - Ansel Adams Photos Turn Up At Garage Sale

Garage Sale Season Is Heating Up!

Sun, 02 May 2010 15:33:00 -0500

Do you smell it? That wondrous odor of dust and cleaning solution that comes with the spring cleaning season? People are beginning to clean out their basements and garages, and getting ready for the big sale!

Garage sales are a bit of work, but if you take a proper perspective, they can be a lot of fun! Here's a quick tip on how to decide what stays and what goes.

1) Get three containers. Depending on the amount of stuff, they could be shoeboxes, trash bins, or possibly large tarps spread out on your lawn. Put some space between them, because you are going to need it!

2). Label the containers. Three suggestions are KEEP, SELL, and DONATE. As the labels imply, anything that you can sell, place in sell. Anything that absolutely has to stay, place in KEEP. Anything that doesn't fit in any of those two places put in DONATE.

3) Check your emotions at the door! It is easy to load up the KEEP pile, but you have to make some tough decisions. Do you really need that little footstool your great-grandpa made for your dad when he was six years old? How about those 30 extra picture frames you've been storing in the basement? I think we all know the answers to these questions.

4) Have fun with it! Take digital pictures of things that stir up memories before you get rid of them. Invite your neighbors to participate in your garage sale with you. Most of all, imagine how much extra free space you will have once you clear out all this stuff!

Enjoy your garage sales! Let us know how yours is going in the comments!

-bk

Do you have garage sale news, tips, photos or stories to share? Send them to tips@resalenation.com

Twitter Co-Founder's iPhone App Allows Anyone To Accept Credit Card Payments

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:16:00 -0600

Are you tired of posting "cash only" at your garage sales? Have you ever wondered how many sales you've lost from not having correct change? Do you dream of a paperless society, where currency is transferred through the air in digital ones and zeros? Thanks to Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, you may soon be able to securely accept credit card payments at your garage sales from your mobile phone.

Called "Square" (as in 'squaring up' with a friend), a small postage stamp sized magnetic reader plugs into your iPhone or Blackberry (or, potentially, any phone with an audio jack), which then sends the credit information to Square servers for processing. This allows anyone with a mobile phone to accept credit cards at their garage sale!

Square is still in beta, and is not yet available to the public. Currently you can request information from Square at Squareup.com, and as soon as the units are available you will be notified.

One more neat little perk; Square donates a penny of every transaction you take to a cause of your choice. Considering the scope and possibilities of this project, that could make quite a bit of cents!

-bk

Squareup.com - Accept Payments, Anywhere

Do you have garage sale news, tip, photos or stories to share? Send them to tips@resalenation.com

Insight: What Was Your Best Find?

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:32:00 -0500

Garage sale searching is all about the deals. You can find tons of useful things at garage sales, but did you find a deal on the thing? Today's insight question asks you, what was the best thing you ever purchased at a garage sale? Was it something you were specifically looking for, or did you just get an unbelievable deal on it?

Personally, my best garage sale find was a gorilla suit, two weeks before Halloween. I paid $5 for it, and definitely got my money's worth.

Let us know your best finds in the comments!

-bk

Do you have garage sale news, tip, photos or stories to share? Send them to tips@resalenation.com

Counterfeit Bills Turn Up At Missouri Garage Sale

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:56:00 -0500

If you're holding a garage sale in Kansas City, MO this weekend, keep an eye out for counterfeit $100 bills. Pam Barker, a local resident holding a garage sale this weekend, had two different instances where people bought small items with a $100 bill.

It wasn't until later that Barker noticed the bills had the same serial number. Upon closer inspection, she saw neither the security strip was present nor was there a watermark. Also, some of the printing seemed to be offset.

I don't know about you, but unless the money looked like it was drawn on paper with a crayon I probably wouldn't have noticed it was counterfeit. Barker will continue to hold garage sales, next time armed with a counterfeit money detector pen.

-bk

KMBC.com - Counterfeit Bills Turn Up At Garage Sale

Do you have garage sale news, tip, photos or stories to share? Send them to tips@resalenation.com

Government "Resale Round-Up" Enforces Recalled Toy Resales

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:58:00 -0500

Welcome back! Fox News is reporting an interesting new government action imposing standards on toy resales in garage sales nationwide.

Launched by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the "Resale Round-up" enforces new limits on the amount of lead in children's products and makes it illegal to sell toys that exceed those limits or are recalled for any other reason.

The strict standards were set in the 2008 Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act after a series of high-profile recalls of Chinese-made toys.

The standards were originally interpreted to apply only to new products, but now the CPSC says they apply to used items as well.

In theory, this sounds like a great idea. However, there is a catch, for those of you holding your own garage sales.

In order to comply, stores, flea markets, charities and individuals selling used goods — in person or online — are expected to consult the commission's '24-page Handbook for Resale Stores and Product Resellers' and its Web site for a breakdown of what they can't sell.

Anyone found selling anything on the list faces fines of up to $100,000 per infraction and up to $15 million for a related series of infractions.

Yep, you could be fined $15 million dollars for selling a box full of the wrong kind of bath toys.

Before you get all freaked out, take a deep breath. CPSC says the fines are intended for large companies with serious infractions. In the first place, you are probably not intentionally selling lead toys to unsuspecting garage sale shoppers. And second, I doubt that the CPSC has time and manpower to send an inspector to your garage sale. But it is a good heads-up of the expansion of government influence in resale circles, as well as a good awareness raiser about checking the recall list on toys your may be putting in your garage sale.

Let's work together to keep our kids safe, and avoid $15 million dollar fines!

-bk

Fox News - New Government Policy Imposes Strict Standards on Garage Sales Nationwide

Do you have garage sale news or a story to share? Send it to tips@resalenation.com

Teri Hatcher Garage Sales For Charity

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 22:31:00 -0500

Teri Hatcher (star of TV's Desperate Housewives) knows how to throw a party. She also apparently knows how to host a garage sale. Inspired by her 11-year old daughter Emerson, Hatcher held a garage sale for charity and raised over $20,000.

According to the details, Hatcher's garage sale included clothes, purses, and her daugher's old toys, not unlike what you may be selling at your own garage sale.

What made Hatcher's sale a little more unique (and profitable) were things like Disney Hotel packages and some boots, which just happened to be autographed by her co-star Eva Longoria Parker.

The other pro-tip from Hatcher's garage sale which you may not be able to pull off is the $50 cover charge to explore the sale, whether or not you buy anything.

But hey, it's for charity! All the money raised is being given to Aviva Family And Children's Services, Casa Pacifica Centres For Children And Families and Westside Food Bank.

"You get motivated by the giving - I can't wait for the next one!" said Teri.

We can't either, Teri. Just make sure you post it on Resalenation.com so we know when and where!

-bk

UKPress Association (via Google News) - Teri Hatcher Throws Garage Sale

Do you have garage sale news or a story to share? Send it to tips@resalenation.com

New Garage Sale Regulations

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 21:07:00 -0500

Changes in garage sale ordinances in the small town of Hemet, California may be coming to a city near you. Just this week the Hemet City Council voted to 'tighten the rules' on garage sales this week.

The goal, according to Planning Manager Deanna Elliano’s report to the council, is to eliminate the continuous garage sales some neighborhoods have experienced.

What the new rules are not intended to do is make it more difficult for those who hold just one or occasional garage sales to divest themselves of personal property, according to Elliano.

Don't be too scared about these local ordinances, because they are probably not going to affect the quality of your once a year sale.

Among those with complaints were members of the City Council, who reported in July that they were getting complaints from residents about garage sales so frequent they seldom lapsed, and even some sales that never ended.

I know of a few places like this in my town, where it seems the garage sale never ends. The new Hemet rules will limit yearly garage sales at one address to a total of four, as well as requiring a permit, which several cities already require.

Do you have any constant ~~garbage~~ garage sales in your neighborhood? Should there be regulations to moderate these sales? Let us know in the comments!

-bk

The Valley Chronicle - Rules On Garage Sales Get Stricter

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Garage Sale Shopping Across The Nation

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 21:48:00 -0500

Everyone loves a good road trip. Whether you're driving in a car or a humongous RV, the open road calls to us all. Who wouldn't love to take a few weeks off and spend it touring the countryside?

The neat thing about Resalenation.com is that you can garage sale shop on the road! You may have had fun searching the sales for local pickup items, but what about when you are visiting family across the country? Did you ever think to check the map for garage sales in parts unknown?

In the coming winter months, a lot of the local outside garage sales in Wisconsin (and similar northern states) slow down. Luckily, the southern half of the country is still warm enough to spend time outside. If you are planning any trips to warmer climates, take a few minutes when you arrive to check for some local garage sales, and see what you can find. You can use Resalenation.com to find garage sales, but you can also use other forms of information. Local newspaper classified ads are still a great way to find local garage sales!

The added benefit of shopping garage sales that are not local is the great ability to find strange and wonderful items. You never know what you will find at a garage sale, but you will definitely find different types of items in different locations around the country.

If you have had great treasure hunting success at a non-local garage sale, we want to hear about it in the comments!

Keep searching for treasure!

-bk

Do you have garage sale news or a story to share? Send it to tips@resalenation.com

In Pictures: Where Did They Dig That Up?

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:30:00 -0500

-bk

Do you have garage sale news or a story to share? Send it to tips@resalenation.com

Insight: What Are You Looking For?

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:15:00 -0500

[INSIGHT articles are your chance to share your tips and techniques for success. Post and read the comments for experienced insight from our readers!]

Hey Resale Nation! It's time to share your valuable wisdom and garage sale knowledge. The question for today is: what are you looking for? What is that item that gets you up off the couch when garage sale weekend rolls around?

For me, I am a classic video game junkie. I love finding old games and consoles at garage sales. Any time I can get a great deal on any of these items, it's been a good day.

Let us know in the comments what you would love to find at a garage sale, and how hard you've been looking for it!

-bk

Do you have garage sale news or a story to share? Send it to tips@resalenation.com

Do You Have ABBA's Jumpsuit?

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:46:00 -0500

If you have recently gone garage sale shopping in Healesville, Australia (northeast of Melbourne) and purchased a white jumpsuit, the police are looking for you.

It turns out that the jumpsuit in question originally belonged to the pop music group ABBA, and was worn by singer Agnetha Fältskog. The current owner of the jumpsuit had stored it in a shed on some leased property. The renters of said property held a garage sale and, it is assumed, sold the jumpsuit at the garage sale.

The tenants will be ~~whipped with a stick~~ interviewed by Australian police, but they would also like to speak to anyone who may have attended a garage sale at the Don Road property in May of this year.

If you believe you may have purchased ABBA's jumpsuit on accident, please contact Australia.

-bk

ABC News, Australia - SOS Issued For Original ABBA Jumpsuit

Got a good garage sale tip, article, or photo? Send it to tips@resalenation.com

Tips: Pricing, Pricing, Pricing!

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:57:00 -0500

Most of us as children were taught the simple phrase, "Don't talk to strangers." Even though garage sale shopping is often a positive, social event geared toward building community relationships and bargaining for the best values, often shoppers are too shy to ask a stranger how much an item costs or to negotiate a better deal. This is why pricing every single item at your sale is important if you want to move your stuff.

Let's face it; labeling every item can be time consuming, especially if you have a lot of loose figurines or a box full of similar stuff. But if you don't somehow price your things, people will pick it up, look for the price, and set it back down again if they don't find one. Here are a few quick and easy tips for pricing everything.

1) Use printable labels. You can customize an entire label sheet with different prices and just go bezerk sticking them on your stuff. You can print our custom Resale Nation labels here, or you can create your own. Either way, this is a great way to get a ton of labeling done quickly.

2) Everything's $1 Boxes. Garage sale shoppers love these things! Get a big box, put everything of similar value in the box, and label the box. You don't have to label everything individually, just stick it in the box! Make sure the box is labeled clearly, so there is no confusion. Also, it doesn't have to be a dollar box. You could make it $5, $10, or a 50 cent box, or have one of each. This saves a ton of time, while still pricing items clearly.

3) Know Your Prices. Many sellers suggest pricing your items slightly higher to prevent 'hyper negotiation'. This is fine advice, but you should personally know your bottom line for all your items. Keep a mental tally of the lowest price you will sell your best items, and walk the fine line between making a profit and getting rid of your old stuff.

Remember, garage sales are cleaning up valuable real estate in your home, so don't let anything back inside after the sale! Take care to accept anything close to resembling a decent offer during the sale, and consider donating anything left over to a local charity and taking the tax deduction!

-bk

In the comments: Any other pricing tips? Let us know below!

Got a good garage sale tip, article, or photo? Send it to tips@resalenation.com

Garage Sales: In Pictures

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:11:00 -0500

-bk

Got a good garage sale tip, article, or photo? Send it to tips@resalenation.com

About.com: Garage Sale Moving Tips

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:29:00 -0500

The internet is filled with wonderful information, and About.com has a lot of it. This article at first glance seems to be about packing for a move, but in fact is a detailed instruction manual for how to prepare for a garage sale.

There are great preparation tips, ranging from sorting and gathering to advertising and pricing. Simple tips like recruiting card tables before the sale are important to remember, as well as bundling separate items into larger groups that save counting change and allowing shoppers to think they are finding a better deal. There is also a great section on safety that will keep you from regretting your garage sale.

The one essential missing tip is to post your sale on Resalenation.com! But of course, you won't forget that, will you?

-bk

About.com - Host A Garage Sale

Do you have garage sale news or a story to share? Send it to tips@resalenation.com

Insight: How Many Garage Sales Have You Held?

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 22:22:00 -0500

[INSIGHT articles are your chance to share your tips and techniques for success. Post and read the comments for experienced insight from our readers!]

Hello Resale Nation! It's that time again to share your experiences with the rest of us. Garage sales are an interesting case study. Some people host one garage sale in their lifetime, others have annual sales, others seem to have one every other weekend.

We want to know; which one are you? How often do you host garage sales, and how successful are they? Are you a 'once in a lifetime' host, or do you love the thrill of people walking into your garage searching for buried treasure every weekend?

Let us know in the comments how many garage sales you have held, how successful they have been, and what you love about garage sales. If you don't host but love shopping garage sales, let us know how often you go out. Every weekend? Once a summer? Only when you know the goods are good?

Enjoy the weekend!

-bk

Do you have garage sale news or a story to share? Send it to tips@resalenation.com

Antiques Roadshow Recap

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:23:00 -0500

The latest episode of Antiques Roadshow on PBS was a repeat (due to summer scheduling) but a good one. There were two amazing finds from a garage sale and an estate sale that led to some big smiles!

One story was a woman who went garage sale shopping with her father. He bought a nuts and bolts bin for one dollar. Later on, he found a watch taped to the back of the drawer. He had since passed away, but the daughter brought the watch in to Antiques Roadshow and had it appraised.

It turned out it was an authentic art deco ladies wristwatch from Tiffany and Co. Tiffany and Co. often outsourced the creation of their wristwatches to the Swiss (think Swatch, but better) and this particular watch was made by the premiere crafter in Switzerland, Patek Philippe.

Purchased for a dollar, the wristwatch was valued at over $5,000!

The second story was a harp teacher who had a parent of a student ask her to come and look at a harp being sold at an estate sale. The harp was missing strings, and very old, so they passed on it. Later on, the harp teacher decided she would like to follow up on the harp, and contacted the antiques dealer who had purchased the harp at the estate sale. The harp teacher purchased the antique harp for $2,400, and later brought it to Antiques Roadshow.

The harp turned out to have been crafted by the harp maker for Marie Antoinette in 1776. It had it's original feet and some original strings, as well as some original rose decorations, since 1776 was the 'year of the rose'.

Purchased from the antiques dealer for $2,400, the french court harp was appraised at $60,000.

Yep. Sixty thousand.

Dollars.

Your treasure could be waiting for you as you go garage sale hunting this weekend! Have a great time searching for buried treasure!

-bk

Do you have garage sale news or a story to share? Send it to tips@resalenation.com

Garage Sale Success: It's In The Details

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 22:00:00 -0500

The Florida Sun Sentinel has a spectacular article today about holding a successful garage sale. The author held her own sale and netted a cool $4000, just by following her own rules of success.

First, she determined what she could sell individually online. She also did her homework on the specific items in the garage sale.

While setting prices, do research on very old and unusual items.

"The time you invest researching will pay you back tenfold," said Brian Belli, who along with Donn Moczynaski conducts estate sales and owns an antique mall.

You want a fair price for those diamonds in the dust.

The article also mentions the importance of pricing, checking local garage sale ordinances, and watching out for 'pros and thieves', professional garage sales shoppers who love to either steal from your sale or rake you over the negotiating coals.

Watch out for antiques professionals who will try to lowball you and then sell your items at much higher amounts. They'll look on the bottom of items for markings, and they may come with a magnifying glass or a jeweler's loupe.

Often, fraudsters will collect a bunch of items and hide an expensive item in the pile. Look over what people want to buy.

The author's garage sale took two weekends because it included three generations of items, but a $4000 profit is worth a few extra hours of price checking and organization!

-bk

Sun Sentinel - Garage Sale Success: It's In The Details

Do you have garage sale news or a story to share? Send it to tips@resalenation.com

How Stuff Works: How to Salvage A Garage Sale Find

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 21:06:00 -0500

Have I mentioned how much I love the site howstuffworks.com? I love knowing how stuff works, and all the site does is tell me how stuff works. 'Nuff said.

So, they have a great article detailing how to find great things in garage sales and then bringing them back to life so they can be enjoyed or resold at a huge profit. I love enjoying things and huge profits, so again, howstuffworks.com delivers.

A few of the tips: when purchasing electronics, stick with brands you are familiar with. You are usually able to go online and find user manuals for your product which will then help you understand features that may not be obvious.

Also, when purchasing stuffed animals, you can stick them in the freezer overnight to remove dustmites and then wash them in the washing machine on delicate. Good as new!

To read the full article, head over to the link below. And keep searching for undiscovered treasures!

-bk

Howstuffworks.com - How To Salvage A Garage Sale Find

In the comments: what are some great finds that you have brought back to life?

Do you have garage sale news or a story to share? Send it to tips@resalenation.com

Insight: What time of year do you prefer?

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:02:00 -0500

[INSIGHT articles are your chance to share your tips and techniques for success. Post and read the comments for experienced insight from our readers!]

Living in Wisconsin, there is only so much of the year that is available for garage sales. Winter is a little cold to be wandering the neighborhoods looking for treasures. However, it is possible to have yard sales in the winter with a little creativity!

And of course, in the southern states, garage sales abound all year long. Today's insight article simply asks, what is your favorite time of year to hold or shop garage sales? Let us know in the comments!

-bk

Do you have garage sale news or a story to share? Send it to tips@resalenation.com