Originally Posted by
cybertect
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Garage Sale appears to be an American phenomenon and involves people hiking up a sign and selling their stuff out the front of their own house?
In the UK we have the 'car boot sale' which usually starts at some ungodly hour of the morning (6.30am ). Turn up with your car with sometimes hundreds of others, park up and sell from there. Not so often good for bicycles IME.
That's right. Despite the size of our SUV's, we wouldn't be able to fit a tenth of the useless trinkets we've accumulated in our consumer storage facilities (big is better!).
I generally avoid local 'flea markets' as they are called here, or other centralised neighbourhood sales where portage by car or bike trailer is necessary, for the same reason you cite: very few bikes. However, I did find a middling Celeste Bianchi for $35 at one once. After a cleanup, lube and adjustment, it sold for over $250 on ebay!