More Neighborhood Sales!

This is the time of year many neighborhoods host garage sales. You can usually just park your car and walk from sale to sale. Saves on gas and let's you hit a multitude of individual sales in a short amount of time.

If you live in the Minneapolis area, I noticed that three neighborhood sales are coming up in the near future. This week, Richfield has their community garage sales on May 20 and 21. Also coming up are the Kenny and Armitage neighborhood sales on May 29. And finally, the ECCO neighborhood sales (East Lake Calhoun) are June 5 from 9 to 4 pm.

Medina Flea Market Update

I took the short drive from south Minneapolis to Medina on Sunday morning to attend the first flea market of this season. The weather was perfect. Looked like all the (200+) vendor spaces were taken. One vendor told me she had to show up and set up at 4 am just to get a good spot for the 6 am to noon event. Lots of buyers were there looking for bargains. My find was a 1930s wood table radio (non-working) for five dollars. It was priced at $10, but the seller took my offer.

A reminder that the flea market will be operating Sunday mornings through October. Buyers are free; parking is free. Vendors are charged $20 to set up.

Instant Ancestors

One of the topics I wrote about in my book, Garage Sale Fever!, was what to do with empty photo frames. You see them at sales, priced at one dollar or less, and rarely are they purchased. My discovery is to put an old photograph in the frame and to sell it as an Instant Ancestor. I found that both frames and old photos do not sell well alone, but together they create interest and sales.

Old framed photos not only draw attention to the frame, they increase the value of the frame. I use old photographs (1920s to 1950s) of cars, children, dogs, horses, horse-drawn carriages, people in old bathing suits, ---- anything that draws interest. I have found many people collect specific photos of old cars, trains, planes, etc. The photos come from boxes of family photos where the subject is unknown. Or I purchase interesting photos at garage sales. I sell them generally from one to five dollars, framed. Give it a try!

Bryn Mawr Garage Sales

The Bryn Mawr neighborhood garage sales were packed on Saturday, as usual. I arrived at 8 am and it was difficult to find a place to park. My treasures purchased included a vintage ceramic deer planter, an old vase, season one of the Golden Girls on dvd (just $2!), a tv /dvd combo for $8, and various books and vhs movies. Less than usual, but I was pleased. Left about noon. Looking forward to more sales this weekend.