Happy Fourth of July!!

Due to the holiday (and the heat), I took a vacation from garage sales this weekend...hard to believe, I know! However, I'd like to share a new resource with you, which can assist with either finding or running garage sales: Garage Sale Tracker.

Below is an article from Rich, who writes articles and blog content for their site. His latest article: "How To Find Vintage Goods this Summer" offers advice on some of my favorite topics....and I LOVE the idea of the iPhone app!! Read on:

"If you’re trying to figure out the best way to find those rare vintage items this summer than perhaps I can be of assistance. The best place to pick up on that favorite table, pot, linen, or dress that you used to love back in the day would be to find local thrift shops, goodwill stores, consignment shops, flea markets, and garage sales.
Thrift Shops are great because a lot of these shops offer a lot of charitable donations in return for tax write-offs for the donations. Since the items are donated that means the purchase cost is 0 and thus you get great savings and great finds. Goodwill and Salvation army shops fall under this category. Often times at a thrift or Charity shop you will be able to find retro clothing for .50-10.00 a piece depending on the garment, classic toys, and various recreational items.
Consignment Stores are another great place for vintage antiques and furniture more so than clothing because the bulk of the consignment stores that you may find end up being more geared towards the home furnishing side but if you are looking for a more affordable and unique way of decorating your home than a consignment store will be right up your alley. Also a consignment store will be priced slightly higher than a thrift shop because the items are brought in by another vendor and placed at the store to sell.
Flea Markets are hit or miss these days. As some are filled with sellers who buy items in bulk and just re-sell them as any Wal-Mart or Target may do while others have great vintage finds such as clocks, clothes, furniture, and tons of other miscellaneous items. Also many serve food and act as a large yard sale so they become an all day event.
Finally we get to Garage Sales which are a combination of everything mentioned above. It really isn’t set in stone what you will find at a yard sale except that it’s the best place to find a rare vintage item cheap since there is no over head cost (except for setup time and advertising) but there are tons of great antiques, books, clothings, childrens items, jewelry, and just about anything you can think of at a garage sale.
So to find all of these shopping destinations it is best to browse through the newspaper classifieds as they often list the upcoming yard sales, new thrift shops, and so forth. If you’re an iPhone user garage sales tracker has a garage sale iphone application for finding yard sales, consignment shops, and flea markets that works with it’s website as well. For Goodwill there is a directory of all of their stores: www.locator.goodwill.org

Happy Vintage Shopping!"

I encourage you all to check out Garage Sale Tracker and see what sales are coming to your area, or get help with your own sale.

Have a great week!

Mona Kay