Five Hot Yard Sale Buys!
It’s garage sale season and whether you’re buying or selling, you should know the hottest buys at yard and garage sales, and items you should dodge and ditch! We’re clueing you to what sells, what doesn’t and what shouldn’t at a garage or yard sale!
Toys, Tools, Sports and Music
1. Vintage video games from before the year 2,000 and video game consoles often command a premium price on eBay. If you happen upon a Nintendo system like a Nintendo 64 or a Game Boy, grab it! And if you spot cartridges for those systems, especially for only a dollar or two, you’ll often be able to make a nice profit, especially if the cartridges are in original packaging.
2. Trading cards like Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon cards can be worth a premium price when resold. Foiled cards generally command more money, unless there’s noticeable wear and tear. Look up individual cards on eBay, particularly foiled ones or cards with distinctive designs. And if you can buy an entire collection of foiled cards, you may have scored a truly hot buy.
3. Tools that still work can almost always be flipped locally unless the garage sale price is unusually high. At nearby estate sales (look online for those near the Castle Rock area), keep an eye out for corded power tools and full sets of tools that are in great shape, as they’re often priced low just to get them out of a garage.
4. Musical instruments that work and are $20 or less are almost always flippable for a nice profit. Parents may purchase an instrument for a child, only to wind up selling them for next to nothing when the child doesn’t quite take to it or moves on to different interests.
5. Sports equipment will often retain its value, especially if manufactured by a quality brand. When you find an item that’s in good shape, do a quick Google search or scan a site like eBay to figure out it’s worth. Poorly-made equipment probably won’t retain as much of its original value, but most sports gear in really good shape for just a few bucks will make you some money upon resale. 
Good Housekeeping has a list of 10 more things you should never pass up at a yard sale, including costume jewelry and retro appliances, and Readers Digest lists things like children’s formal clothes and seasonal things like ice cream makers.
And from Popular Mechanics, one unexpected item on the list, vintage electronics like speakers since the reliable, analog technology has stayed pretty much the same since its inception.
Never Buy These at a Garage Sale
You may have heard these warnings before, but they bear repeating: never buy sports helmets, tires, mattresses, child car seats or cribs. It may be tempting but the safety factor is much too critical to take a chance on a sub-standard equipment – especially where a child’s welfare is at stake!
Exponential Value
Unless you’re as versed as Mike Wolfe from American Pickers, you may not know the monetary value of an antique you come across in a garage sale. But just reading this list of epic garage sale finds in Architectural Digest will have you salivating and scheming to try and uncover the next amazing $2 discovery!
Discovering Crystal Valley
The master-planned community of Crystal Valley has it all, nature, trails, small town living with sought-after amenities and amazing homes by Colorado’s top home builders! Explore all of the beautiful Crystal Valley model homes — in ranch and two-story styles – from D.R. Horton, Kauffman Homes and Richmond American Homes — priced from the high $300s.
