Exactly!!!

The boot sale is closer to what we call a Flea Market. Some of them are quite organized and have regular venders. Some venders specialize in certain things.

Not everyone has a garage, so there are also yard sales, barn sales, porch sales, etc. But, you are correct, put a sign in the front, and spend a couple days getting rid of your junk. Sometimes a street or neighborhood will band together to have their sale on the same weekend to get more traffic.

I saw a quote somewhere, that the only difference between a yard sale and trash pick-up is how close it is to the curb.

I had a very similar experience last weekend. I saw a Specialized frame laying in the weeds, it was not in the sale. So I asked, hey, how much for the bike in the weeds? $5 and it was mine. I ended up "borrowing" a brake caliper to complete the $10 NIshiki I bought at the next sale.

I will clean up the Specialized and get it back on the road as I have a donor bike looking to assist.

Be sure to include church yard sales. I always hit them early when I'm hunting. Folks with nice bikes that have sat in a garage or basement pull them out and donate them. I picked up a Kona this year (along with a Seiko diver's watch that's worth more than most of my bikes!).

My preferred order for acquiring used bikes is:
#1 - bulky trash pickup
#2 - garage sales
#3 - second hand/thrift stores
#4 - pawn shops
In my home town we have what's called "bulky trash pick-up" twice a year - designed specifically for vegetation and big/bulky items that won't fit in the regular trash bins. You pile the stuff up according to what it is on the curb, and they have different trucks come by and pick up the various items. I download a copy of the schedule dates and neighborhoods from the city website, and drive around those neighborhoods the week before the city truck comes. Used to find ALOT of bikes there. The last year or so, it's dropped off considerably. People are fixing up their old bikes, and gas got real expensive last fall.
Garage sales help out the person directly selling it, thrift stores are one step removed from that. Pawn shops I try to stay away from as they get stolen merchandise and I hate to be supporting that kind of thing.
Also, let it be known that you fix up/rebuild bikes. I've gotten several bikes from people thru word of mouth or who knew I did bikes, as they get rid of them when the kids go off to college or cleaning out the garage/shed.

Dallas has bulk trash pickup EVERY MONTH, thank god! I've found so much stuff by the curb I couldn't even begin to list it all, although no good bikes yet. However, I found an Edouardo (sp?) Bianchi road bike, mid 70s, at a garage sale a few months ago for $10! Flipped it on CL for $300 the next week.

Came up empty handed today. Hit around 15 garage sales in a few different areas, didn't find one decent bike for sale. I did find a good DVD of Smokey and the Bandit and Rocky Balboa and a bunch of toys for my son though, lol. Only thing bicycle related was a kids Bell street helmet with skulls, brand new for $1. lol

Aside from the Pinarello, Raleigh USA, and Bianchi I got for $1 each last summer, I've never found any high-end bikes at yard sales. But I, too, have been successful getting bikes by asking. In one case, it was a 1968 Hercules that I spied on the garage wall that the old lady could not take down herself. I offered to do so, then offered $10. She said her husband, the owner, wanted $20, so I said no thank you and waited until the following day when I went back and found it unsold, so I did get it for $20. In another instance when I asked the homeowner if there were bikes for sale, she said no, but her female friend assisting her told me that she had bikes in her garage attic in another suburb she'd like to sell, so I arranged to meet her at her home and got a pair of baby blue 1974 Schwinns for $10 each.

About a third of the bikes I have acquired were found in the curbside trash with not much wrong with them beyond some rust or flatted tires, or missing cables. The best name bike I found inthe trash so far this summer is a Suteki.

*gasp* Motherlode.

My number 1 yard sale find of all time. It is the classic they forgot to put the Cannondale bike out at the yard sale until I asked. I paid $40 for it. The previous owner threw in an extra tire, two sets of clipless pedals and a Terry Butterfly saddle. I sold the saddle for $15. It was ride ready having just been tuned up, with almost new tires. It may have cost me more than $20, and it may not be vintage, but I used it as my main road bike for two years. This year I still use it for short club rides or when the weather isn't too good.

That's amazing Roccobike.

Always ask if they have bikes. I drove by about 5 sales last Saturday. The last one had a Cannondale MTB for $1. I fixed the cables, installed new grips, and replaced the chain, back tire and tube with some used ones in better condition. The bike sold Monday for $170 - I could have gotten more.