How do you find bikes at garage sales?
 

Hey everyone, I hope I didn't offend anyone by creating a new thread on this topic, but I thought other people could benefit from your answers, too.

I continue to hear people finding good "finds" at garage and yard sales. Admittedly, I am 23 years old and have been to only a few garage sales in my lifetime and really am not to that point yet where I just need stuff to fill up my house. So, how in the world do you find garage sales and how do you know there will be a bike there? One of my worst memories growing up was my dad practically giving away his PX-10. I know there has to be other people out there like him.

Thanks!

At 23 years old, you'll have to learn to get up early and strike early at garage sales. Also, sometimes you just have to ask, before you get there or when you get there. Head to the garage first too if it's an estate sale. I only score bikes 2-3 times a year at garage sales, and normally those are from ones where the bike(s) are not advertised.

Aren't garage sales advertised in craigslist?

This thread reminds me of a very apt example of how this forum is self defeating, by growing our community we actually create a lot of the competition, teach people mechanics they tend to become flippers, demand increases and then so does pricing.. and yes garage sales are advertised on craigslist.

In that case we need to tell the newbies to hit the garage sales late in the day when they can find the best deals! :)

LoL that's just wrong, I have no problem with sharing our love with the new guys, just commenting it makes it slightly harder for all of us :D

long ago I read a mythical tale of 2 "pickers" who were friends, lets call them dave and bill
they have a code, if one is interested in an item, the other does not get involved in the dickering.
well on this particular day they went to a yard sale and dave found a roy rodgers set,(or somethign even more valuable) in the box with all the little items Dave found it first, and knows very well that bill is into this stuff but decides to carry it around the sale just to piss off bill.
then comes the dickering, and Dave offers 10 for it, Bill is really steamed now."Ill give you fifty!"
but Dave is now really mad-"200!" so the women selling the set was just blown away at this behavior and takes the 200.

the guys continue life being mad at each other and try to get at each other buying stuff the other was into.

had a weird ending involving them making peace and a spaceship.

that story is still floating around on a forum somewhere-

+1 Chuckk, you've hit the nail on the head, square and hard.

I have no problem getting up early. I just don't want to blindly travel around Columbia (not much a bike city) looking for a bike. Maybe it's more commonplace than I think. Thanks for your help.

I haven't had luck myself with garage sales. I do make it a point to stop at everyone that I can, and just recently I've started trying the "Do you have any old bikes in the back" question as well. It hasn't worked, but someday it might pay off and I'll find a gem in my size.

To be crazy honest...I'm pretty happy with my bikes now and not feeling much of the N + 1 until I fix what I have.

techinique explained here:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...+find+a+merckx

Does Randy's site cover garage sales? I know it has a lot of hunting techniques.

Its funny because my best garage sale find last year was a 1976 Peugeot PX-10 that is mint. I got it for 45 bucks...seller wanted 50 but it was missing a pedal so I got 5 bucks off. I also found a Sekine SHS, Schwinn Worldsport, Schwinn World to name a few last year.

Craigslist has a search function. You can search for bike in the garage sale section.

Mookie Blaylock was fun to watch. Here is a picture of my Mookie, R.I.P. (named after both Mookie Wilson and Mookie Blaylock).

http://i850.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps0d290387.jpg

I dont bother with garage sales.....I have other sources that have worked out much better over the years.

Agreed.

Although I have found a couple of gems, I won't beat the street anymore for twenty dollar bicycles.

Not when there are still $6 San Gabriel bamboo fly rods and $15 Phase Linear amps to be had....... :)

I've burned up enough gas to buy a grail bike without ever finding one decent, reasonably-priced project at a garage sale.

There was a time when there garage sales presented some real opportunity, but that has pretty much evaporated here.

+1

Thrifty Bill may burn more gas than the both of us combined!!!!

i assume that was a rhetorical question :D

OP, read this (and the rest of the site) --> http://www.mytenspeeds.com/My_TenSpe...Sales_Page.htm

Something that you will hear ThriftyBill say over and over is it helps if you don't go to garage sales only looking for bikes, because he finds very few bikes. If you don't enjoy garage sales and are only looking for one item, you will get discouraged quickly

personally, I use craigslist, but I live in an area where people tend to sell things on craigslist rather than have garage sales. I also have moved out of road bikes into a niche market where there aren't as many buyers and even fewer who know how to recognize value in that market :D

The Trader, and The State, list garage sales, as does CL. Look for ones in Lexington, Forest Acres, Shandon, etc. if you can get there. Cayce/WesCo, depending on the neighborhood, may be worthwhile as well.

I grew up in Cola-town, still visit family there occasionally, and you're right, it ain't a big bike town. May also behoove you to cruise the University towards the end of the semester. I furnished an apartment from stuff that departing students just tossed on the street.

It really wasn't I've only perused his site a few times, by the time I realized what it was I had already developed my own techniques, so what's your current obsession Frantik?

I will feel it out. The garage sales on CL sometimes list what they have. I do think with CL, people now have an alternative to garage sales.

I look for moving sales where sporting goods are advertized.
I figure if they are into "physical recreation", they are more likely to ride bikes.
There is one part of town I avoid. It's all toddlers bikes.

Toronto is oversaturated with people lookings for nice bikes. So it's getting harder and harder to get them from garage sales.

old school mtbs of course ;)