You may have seen Karl Wallenda or Muhammad Ali in his prime, but you have never witnessed a greater exercise of skill than a flea market dealer stocking up at a garage sale. First he picks off the furniture. Sellers always underprice the really fine pieces, and chances are he’ll get them to knock off another twenty or thirty dollars. As soon as they accept his offer on Grandma’s Queen Anne dining room suite, he’ll make a furniture pile in one corner of the garage and then go to work on the guns, silver, and jewelry-in that order. Finally he’ll fly through the other odds and ends and be off, the whole transaction lasting less than three minutes.
Can you compete with him? Probably not, since he’ll do things you were brought up not to do. But if you intend to try, there are a number of things you need to know.
First let’s take a look at the kinds of sales you’re likely to encounter. To a beginner they all seem alike, but after a while you’ll be able to identify several distinct types.
The Honest-to-God Estate Sale. In strictest usage, the estate sale offers just what the name implies: all the personal effects of someone who has departed this life. Often members of the family will pick out a few favorite items, but you’ll generally find everything from furniture to ragged underwear.
In some ways this kind of sale offers the most opportunities to collectors and dealers-particularly if the pricing is done by relatives or the church ladies, since their knowledge is likely to be limited. Unfortunately, most estate sales are conducted by professionals who’ve had years of experience, and your chances of picking up a Tiffany lamp for five dollars are very slim. On the other hand, these professionals get paid a percentage of the take (usually around 30 percent), so they tag items in order to sell. For this reason, you can count on finding some genuine bargains.
The Ersatz Estate Sale. Not really an estate sale at all, but a lot of household items put on the market by their owner, who is very much alive and either getting divorced or moving to another city. You might pick up a good stove or washing machine at one of these, but usually what you see is junk, the good stuff having been divvied up or packed into the U-Haul parked in the alley.
The Once-in-a-Lifetime Cleanout. The best of all possible sales: Mom and Dad decide that after all these years they’ll clean out the attic and get rid of the clutter in the spare bedroom – that faded Persian rug, the broken clock, some tarnished silver. Just odds and ends. Of course, the stuff cost practically nothing back in the Thirties, so they figure if they get a few dollars for everything they’ll be ahead of the game. Needless to say, what they’re selling is often priceless. If you’re lucky, you’ll run into one of these maybe twice in a decade. Usually the first dealer gets it all, $5000 worth of merchandise for $17.35. But if you’re living right, you’ll arrive in time to pick off a few choice pieces, and Mom and Dad will be delighted when they count up their change at the end of the day.
The Neiman Mark-Up. Perhaps the most frustrating of all sales. These people have the same merchandise that Mom and Dad were practically giving away, but they’re a little more sophisticated. They’ve bought a few things at The Galleria and window-shopped at Rose Driver’s, so they price their own sale accordingly, allowing for a 10 percent annual appreciation on all items. The result: a display of goodies that no one will dare touch, much less buy. Most of the people who shop garage sales are “regulars,” either dealers or talented amateurs, and they simply turn their backs on anything tagged with a retail price.
The I-Can-Get-lt-for-You- Wholesale Sampler. This sale is almost exclusively stocked with samples – clothes, gadgets, toys, figurines, cosmetics, and other retail items. Someone in the household travels for a manufacturer, and these are the remains of last year’s line. If you’re looking for an old Waterford decanter, you might as well walk away. But if you’re a size 10 (female) or 40 regular (male), you should at least check out the clothing, which consists of unworn garments. Usually the prices are excellent at sample sales, and once in a while you might find something you’ve wanted all your life – like a hand-woven planter’s hat from the Phillipines.
The North Dallas Junque Fair. Nothing over five years old. It’s just been paid for, so this couple is redecorating. What they’re offering you is last year’s decor at something more than a flea-market price. Here’s your chance to buy a whole houseful of Spanish Mediterranean: the octagonal tables, wrought-iron candlesticks, wagon-wheel chandeliers. And for your walls – the senorita with the comb in her hair or the blue-and-white matador hand-painted on imitation suede. If this is your kind of thing, be sure the furniture is real wood and the pictures are not framed in plastic. And remember – Spanish Mediterranean is out. This year North Dallas is going Oriental.
The Absolute Zilch. Occasionally you walk up a driveway, stop before a table, look down, and stare in amazement at… nothing at all! A bleached bra, three or four old coffee cans, a plastic plate. They’re tagged at a nickel apiece, so you can’t say the price isn’t right. But you wonder how they have the nerve – and with a Continental parked in front.
The Backyard Flea Market. Sometimes a flea market dealer will bring his stuff home and put out, a garage sale sign. When you first spot the wide assortment of good items, you think you’ve struck oil; then you look at the price tags. If you see something you really can’t live without, ask him to reduce it by half. He’ll probably make you a counter-offer you can live with.
Now that you know what you’re looking for, you need to know where to find it. Each area of Dallas has its advantages and drawbacks, though on balance some are clearly better than others.
Highland Park. Occasionally you run across a spectacular sale here, though it’s not as good an area as you might expect. One of the problems stems from the rigid enforcement of sign ordinances. People have to advertise in the newspapers in order to draw a crowd, and the more brazen dealers strike before dawn, leaving nothing but the dregs for us decent folks. Though Highland Park residents might be a little more likely to own a signed Tiffany lamp, they would also be a little more likely to know its value-which could run as high as $80,000.
University Park. Much better than Highland Park, because the police are more relaxed about signs. As a consequence, a lot of sales aren’t listed in the paper. If you drive up and down Preston Road between 8 and 10 a.m. on a clear spring day, you can find all the action you want – and sometimes beat the dealers to the scene. This is an older section of North Dallas with relatively expensive housing, so the good stuff is there. I’ve picked up two room-sized Oriental rugs in this area and a good many pieces of silver. Don’t be surprised, however, to find disappointments and occasional zilches. No place has a monopoly on trash.
North Dallas between Lover’s Lane and Walnut Hill. Probably the best area for beginners, and good for the pros as well, though they can’t cover all the best sales the way they can in the smaller Park Cities – which is why the amateurs have a chance. A number of the richest people in Dallas live near the intersection of Park Lane and Inwood Road, and often they’ll fill a whole yard with stuff they bought from John Astin Perkins three years ago. If they’re really just clearing out for redecorating and not in the throes of bankruptcy, they may just let it all go for nothing. The best dealer I know works this neck of the woods every weekend, and what he hauls to his flea market stall every Sunday would be at home in the best shop on Sale Street. Sometimes he makes no more than one or two stops, but on a good day he’ll pick up $500 worth of collectibles for a fraction of that figure.
East of Midway, however, Park Lane winds into less fruitful territory, though if you’re patient you can find some good things in these more modest neighborhoods.
North of Walnut Hill. Good appliances and a lot of Junque to be had in this part of town, but comparatively little in the way of antiques and collectibles. Most of the houses are expensive but relatively new, which means their owners probably aren’t as hung up on old things as people in the Park Cities. If you’re looking for hi-fi equipment, a second-hand boat, good costume jewelry, or that Spanish Mediterranean furniture, then here’s the place to be. Otherwise, stay south of Walnut Hill.
East of Central, south of Mockingbird, north of Henderson. This is a fine old section of town with beautiful houses and some real surprises. Many of these people have been living in the same place for over 30 years, and you just might hit a Once-In-a-Lifetime Cleanout along Greenville Avenue or McCommas. In good weather there are scores of sales, very few of them advertised in the newspaper. All you have to do is drive up one street and down the other to find them in abundance. But be prepared for the number of zilches you’ll have to pass over before you find a good one.
The Suburbs. Irving is the only suburb I’ve covered extensively, though I’ve made a few swings up into Farmers Branch. On the basis of this selective experience, I’d say that there’s less good stuff in the suburbs than in North Dallas, but the prices are better. The dealers tend to ignore these areas, so if you’re willing to endure long dry spells, you might find some real treasures in a place like North Irving, where the houses are brand new and so are the people.
After you’ve picked your area (you ought to stake one out and learn it thoroughly), you’ll need to do some preliminary planning before you hit the road.
You might use the newspaper and a map to plot your stops before you leave. You should always be willing to detour for an unadvertised sale, but it helps to set up a tentative route, just to avoid unnecessary driving time. Remember, the first hour and a half is worth the rest of the day. Be sure you have plenty of cash, in small bills. If you run out at a crucial moment you might miss the deal of your life.
Start fairly early in the morning. As soon as it’s broad daylight people will begin to set up for business. If you can get there while they’re still hauling out the stuff you’re in real luck. Be sure the signs you follow are fresh. No use tearing off in search of last week’s garage sale.
Beginners tend to be shy about walking around somebody’s house in order to get to the garage. Don’t be. People wouldn’t have a sale if they didn’t want you crawling all over them. If you see an item and want to think about it, pick it up and hold it while you look around. Not too long, just long enough to make up your mind. If you leave it on the table while you’re thinking, someone else may grab it up. If you buy a large item, take it with you, even if it means a tight squeeze. If you leave it behind, someone else may get it, with or without the knowledge of the seller. If you must leave to borrow a pickup, get a signed receipt. Then stash your purchase behind the garage or on the other side of the house where no dealer is likely to see it. Better yet, scratch out the bargain price you paid and write in a much higher figure. Then put a SOLD sign on it.
Personally, I think it’s in bad taste to ask anyone but a dealer for a reduction in price, but plenty of people do it. If you’re reluctant, you might look at the item for a minute, shake your head, and put it down with a heart-rending sigh. Sometimes this is all the hint a seller needs. Or, you can squint at the tag and ask, “Does this really say five dollars?” And if you’re absolutely determined to bargain, you might try a remark like, “Is this your best price?” That’s a dealer’s phrase, but it’s a little less vulgar than, “Would you sell this cheaper?”
An estate sale is a different matter. If you see something you can’t live without and the tab is too high, tell the people running the sale what you’d be willing to pay. Offer to leave your name and telephone number. If no one else buys the item by the end of the last day, you’ll probably get it at your price. As I said, these people are working on commission and 30 percent of something is better than 30 percent of nothing.
Even if you don’t buy anything, it’s nice to say “thank you” as you leave.
If you are a buyer rather than a seller, then you should take everything I’ve said and convert it to your own use. In addition, here are some tips that might prove helpful.
What to Sell. Everything. Clothes are harder to move than household items, but there’s a market for them if they’re priced slightly below similar items at Goodwill. Don’t forget old photographs, single pieces of china, burned-out motors, broken stools, your extra Rolls-Royce. Some people will buy used plumbing fixtures, and rusty tools go at a premium. A few junk items are fine, particularly if you put them all in one box marked 25￠, but the most attractive sales are those that have a wide variety of things to choose from.
Pricing. Most people price some items too high and some too low. If you don’t know what is and isn’t valuable, ask a friend who does. If you don’t have a friend, you can buy The Kovels’ Complete Antiques Price List at many bookstores. This paperback lists over 45,000 items and is the collector’s Bible. Almost everything you own will be there, except for clothing. Remember, however, that these are dealers’ retail prices, so you’ll do well to cut them by 30 or 40 percent.
Advertising. Most dealers and collectors use the Dallas News classified ads, even though the Times Herald conveniently lists sales by location. If you live some place like Irving or Garland, you might want to use your suburban newspaper. Of course, if you don’t care to spend the money, you can draw plenty of customers by putting up signs on nearby thoroughfares. Arrows help. Remember, however, that in most places signs on median strips and corners are technically illegal. In Highland Park, you’d better confine your advertising to your own front yard. And even in North Dallas, the building inspector occasionally goes on the rampage and pulls up all the signs along Marsh or Hillcrest or Walnut Hill. In East Dallas and Irving the signs stay up for weeks, to the confusion of everybody.
Money. Get a lot of change the night before, in silver and dollar bills. It’s probably good policy not to accept checks, but I’ve taken a good many over the years – from dealers as well as other buyers – and I’ve never had a problem.
Hours. Make up your mind what time you want to open up, then stick by your guns. If you’re running a classified ad, pay the small extra charge to say, “No Early Birds.” Then put a sign on your door: POSITIVELY NO SALES BEFORE 9 A.M. ANYONE KNOCKING WILL BE REFUSED ACCESS TO THE SALE. NO EXCEPTIONS. Hard stuff like that. You’ll get a good night’s sleep, and the dealers who would have bugged you at six will be back at nine, just as eager to buy.
If you don’t run an ad, you should wait till you’re set up to put out your sign. However, you probably ought to be in business by mid-morning, because a lot of dealers and collectors quit around eleven, figuring that the good sales have already been picked over.
Bargaining. If you enjoy the thrill of stiff competition, then put up a sign somewhere saying, WE WILL DICKER. But as a rule of thumb, don’t come down on prices before lunch. If someone asks you to, tell him to return in the late afternoon, and if the item hasn’t been sold, consider his offer. I’ve watched too many people, eager to make a first sale, come down on a price that’s already too low.
Many dealers try to chisel you down asa matter of policy, even when they knowyou’re practically giving them the item.Don’t let them bulldog you. If you standfirm, chances are good that they’ll payyour price on the spot.
