What’s your best Garage Sale finds?

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joegrizzy

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i was at an estate sale not too long ago and saw a Master Violet Ray, nice box in good shape, all the electrodes and tubes. i knew *what* it was from books and stuff about Tesla, but i'd never seen one. it was $60, and the place was super busy. needless to say with covid and whatnot, work has been off and on, so i decided $60 wasn't worth it, and I would come back on Sunday to go for half price.

went back on sunday and it was gone. looked them up on ebay and whatnot, and definitely couldn't find one anywhere *near* that condition that was actually vintage for anything less than $500.

i just like cool quirky stuff, and i honestly don't think i will ever see one of those ever again, in ANY condition. so that was likely my best garage sale "find" but i didn't buy.

otherwise it would be Yankee Push Drill that a woman had listed as a "long screwdriver" for $2.00. I snagged that right up, even had the bits inside. should have seen her face when i opened it up; i love finding old stuff.
 

GnometownHero

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Neighborhood wide garage sale, I bought a decent rear tine rototiller for $100, around the corner about 10 houses. I traded it straight across for a 1952 Winchester Model 70 in .308 ( first year of 308) with a red field 1.5 -7 x40 scope. Stock was scratched and dented.
I took the Model 70 to a gun show in Portland and traded it for a new Ruger 77 Target heavy barrel laminate stock in 243 and a Sightmark 2.5-15x 50 scope.
 

joegrizzy

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Neighborhood wide garage sale, I bought a decent rear tine rototiller for $100, around the corner about 10 houses. I traded it straight across for a 1952 Winchester Model 70 in .308 ( first year of 308) with a red field 1.5 -7 x40 scope. Stock was scratched and dented.
I took the Model 70 to a gun show in Portland and traded it for a new Ruger 77 Target heavy barrel laminate stock in 243 and a Sightmark 2.5-15x 50 scope.
that's the sort of bartering economy that is going to very much come back in style in the near future i think.
so many people resale stuff on amazon, ebay, facebook marketplace, etc.
but i think bartering and trading will come back in fashion as inflation takes hold.
 

GnometownHero

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that's the sort of bartering economy that is going to very much come back in style in the near future i think.
so many people resale stuff on amazon, ebay, facebook marketplace, etc.
but i think bartering and trading will come back in fashion as inflation takes hold.
The guy with the model 70 needed to reseed his front yard after new sewer line replacement, he had a Browning side by side 12 ga with 24" barrels and chokes and a nifty sight kit like a African rifle, he worked pipe line welder in Alaska. That was his bear gun. He wouldn't budge off $500, 1988 price
 

undeg01

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About 20 years ago, I picked up a nearly new Craftsman chainsaw, case, extra chain, bar oil and gas mix for $10 bucks. The guy told me the engine ran just fine but the drive sprocket seized up after he used it just one weekend and he was not “mechanically inclined” so didn’t think he could fix it. I bought it thinking I would need to replace the sprocket bearing and maybe the sprocket. When I got it home, all that was wrong was that the hand guard safety lock was engaged. I used the hell out of that chainsaw for about 14-15 years.
 

OK Corgi Rancher

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Mine was more of a "selling my ex-husband's crap after our divorce" sale... Stumbled on to it by chance in Evergreen, CO. Saw a very old Leupold scope on a table with odd, military-like numbers...like maybe a serial number. Wasn't sure. I had a few other things and asked about the scope. She asked me if it was worth $10? I said it was to me and took it home.

I couldn't find anything online so I called Leupold customer service. The rep I talked to was more interested in making sure I understood the scope was still under warranty and they would repair it if they could. I finally convinced him I just wanted information and described the scope. He asked me to take a picture and send it to him so I did.

About 2 or 3 weeks later I got an envelope in the mail. Inside the envelope was a letter describing the scope, when it was made, when it was first offered for sale, model #, etc... Also included was a photocopy of a magazine ad from 1953 or 54...can't remember...of the scope and the price was $79 back then. He wasn't sure what the significance of the numbers were but said scopes were often submitted for testing to various organizations, including the military, and it's possible it was one of those.

I put the scope and information packet from Leupold on GunBroker and the winning bid was almost $600.
 

joegrizzy

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The guy with the model 70 needed to reseed his front yard after new sewer line replacement, he had a Browning side by side 12 ga with 24" barrels and chokes and a nifty sight kit like a African rifle, he worked pipe line welder in Alaska. That was his bear gun. He wouldn't budge off $500, 1988 price
yep, and trading with locals in your community would ensure that should you need the thing you traded again in the future, you could always (albeit at least a chance) get it back.

there was a time when things like vintage Mo Betta shirts and other 90's western things were just swapped in anadarko garage sales. if you went around, eventually you find something you liked for absolute bottom dollar.

but now people realize they can put that same thing online and some trendy coastie will pay big bucks for it. i don't blame them, but man i *never* find that kind of oklahoma made stuff at garage sales anymore. and you could always rely on stuff like that, bill wallace books, local musicians memorabilia, i guess now you can always find thunder gear.

but once those kind of items leave the state; they don't come back. if i ever sell my tools, i would definitely trade them off to someone local as opposed to trying to find top dollar. same with firearms for that matter; i don't blame guys for selling and shipping on gunbroker. but i like to just sell/trade local.
 

sherrick13

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I go to estate sales not garage sales.

Garage sales are full of things people want to.get rid of.

Estate sales are full of stuff people wanted to keep until death.

My best find was a WWII para Marine jacket.
 

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