The thrill of the hunt

Early morning garage sale shoppers look through matching home furnishings, adult and children's clothing and furniture at a garage sale in West Lodi. (Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)

The thrill of the hunt

From glass chickens to antique desks, exercise equipment to wrought iron patio furniture, there are bargains to be had at garage sales. Lodi shoppers get goosebumps over good deals. They have inventory lists of what to buy. They are on the hunt.

By Lauren Nelson
Lodi Living Editor

Updated: Friday, May 9, 2008 10:13 PM PDT

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It's 8 a.m. on a not-so-lazy Saturday and the driveways of suburban Lodi are neatly lined with fold-up tables covered in women's shoes, Care Bears and Play-Doh, piles of tools, VHS tapes and antique wine bottles. Early risers with lime green fanny packs and pockets bulging with quarters and small bills examine exercise equipment, camping tents and patio furniture on display.

The hunt is on.

Some have no idea what they are looking for.

Other's have lists, and won't stop until the last item is crossed off — even if it means dedicating every weekend to the search.

At a single garage sale, there seems to be items for every type of shopper. A couple of grandmotherly types gush over a wall rack that is made to hold spools of thread. "I paid $75 for it, but I'll sell it for $15," the seller repeats every time someone inquires. Women pick through baskets of $2 Mary Kay face cream. A hardwood floor cleaner is swooped up for $1, and a wooden high chair sells for $15.

Pro garage sale shopper Bruce Schweigerdt has already found one of the treasures on his checklist — a tan collapsible nature hat for $2.

"You can go to a store and pay $65 for this," he said, holding his wide-brimmed hat proudly.

Schweigerdt is one of Lodi's renegade garage sale shoppers, someone who does it for the love of the game and thrill of the bargain.

When it comes to garage sale shopping, he and his sale buddy, Jerry, have rules.

"We have a four 10 rule. We go 10 miles, hit 10 sales, spend $10 and get home by 10 (a.m.)," Schweigerdt said.

Like many savvy shoppers in Lodi,

Schweigerdt takes his bike — a $100 garage sale purchase. With canvas saddle bags ($10 garage sale find, R.E.I. brand) and a bike utility trailer ($20 garage sale), his bike is rigged to carry just about any treasure.

Lodi garage sale shoppers don't know exactly how to describe what it is they love about garage sale shopping. Some say it's better than after-Thanksgiving sales. Better than finding something you thought you lost forever. One shopper even whispers that the thrill of finding the day's treasure is — sometimes — better than sex.

Knowing Lodi garage sale rules

Bruce Schweigerdt found a collapsible nature hat for $2. (Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)

>• The city of Lodi allows residents to hold two garage sales each year, and they may not last longer than three days each.
• Garage sales can only be held between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
• Garage sales are not allowed on sidewalks, alleys, streets or other public rights-of-ways.
• Follow the rules of signs:
• Garage sale signs may not exceed four square feet.
• Signs can only be displayed for 24 hours before and after the sale.
Source: Lodi's Municipal Code (municipalcodes.lexisnexis.com/codes/lodi)

Tips for having a successful garage sale

Matching houseware went quickly at a boutique-like sale. (Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)

Consider where you live. Living on the deserted outskirts of town might be provide the privacy you crave, but it probably won't bring the biggest crowd of shoppers. You might want to ask a city-dwelling friend to use his or her yard.
Don't bother if all you have is junk. Yes, junk is subjective. However, most people can (or will) do a simple drive-by of your house, and if it looks like you emptied your box of broken toys and junk drawer on the table you are going to lose business.
Plan around pay day. Savvy Lodi shoppers say they see the largest swarms of shoppers around the first of the month, after most people get paid. It may benefit you to have a sale this weekend too.
Always be ready for hagglers. Set prices just high enough that you'll be happy to accept a haggler's offer. But don't go too high because they'll just walk through without buying.
Advertise your garage sale. Advertise in newspapers, on the street (follow city rules) and on free Web sites, such as Craigslist.org. Post smaller signs on bulletin boards around town: coffee shops, libraries and ask your friends to post signs in their workplace lunch rooms.
Have more than enough small change. Keep coins and small bills. You may end up getting a 10 a.m. rush of four people who want to buy those 50 cents toys with $20 bills.
Beware of the bad eggs with bad money. Be careful when accepting large bills. Last Saturday, a Lodi group accepted five $100 dollar bills at a garage sale. Two of them were counterfeit.
Source: News-Sentinel staff, Lodi garage sale shoppers

Tips for successful garage sale shopping

Greg edward plays with a children's toy while he shops with his wife. (Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)

Make sure you hit the bank before your early morning shopping spree. Keep lots of change and small bills on you.
It's OK to haggle. But be reasonable and respectful. If you get the seller to agree to 50 cents instead of $1, don't go handing them a $5 bill. As your mom should have taught you, try putting yourself in their shoes.
Layer it up, so that you can take it off. It'll be chilly in the morning, but it warms up fast.
Before you go, make a plan. Check Craigslist and the newspaper for garage sale ads. With a Lodi map or online map, plan a route so that you save time and gas. Better yet, take a bike. Maybe you'll find a utility cart or saddlebags on your venture. Along your route, stop at the sales of people who left it to chance and didn't publicize.
Even though you're probably paying cents for something, it should still work. What's the use of a CD if it's scratched to death or VHS with stretched tape? Make sure your item does what it's supposed to.
Don't feel obligated to buy something from every garage sale. So what if you don't need a badminton set and fishing reels. Just say "Thank you," "Good luck" and move on to the next.
Source: News-Sentinel staff, savvy Lodi garage sale shoppers

What to know when buying a newspaper garage sale ad

Mapping out your shopping route makes going from house to house easy. (Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)

• How specific you get in your ad is up to you. Some simply list the day, time and address. Others go all-out with specifics and mention items for sale: Coca-Cola neon clock, '50s dinette set, custom carpets and winter sports equipment.
• Don't say "No early birds" in your ad. They birds are going to show up regardless. And, you may send off some of the best shoppers.
• If you are having a garage sale on Friday and Saturday, don't say it in your ad. Instead, advertise on each day. If Saturday shoppers see you had a sale Friday, they might skip over you, thinking that the best deals are already gone.
• In the Lodi News-Sentinel, the best days to advertise are Friday and Saturday.
• In the Lodi News-Sentinel, garage sale ads are $18 for two days and $13.50 for one day. Garage sale kits — six signs, directional arrows, 60 labels, a guide to having a garage sale and an inventory list —are $6.
• The best day to run a garage sale ad is the same day as your sale.
Source: News-Sentinel classified department

It's the excitement in finding anything shiny that literally gives Karen Taylor goosebumps when she talks about her obsession with garage sale shopping.

"I'm an 'aholic,'" she said. "My family worries about me."

It's been over 40 years since she started garage sale shopping with her mother.

But to add to the excitement, she has turned to the Internet.

One of the best finds was a 1940s plaque she bought for a quarter.

She turned around and sold it on eBay for $207.

Even though frequent garage sale shoppers like Schweigerdt and Taylor would swear that the garage sales are one of the best parts of Lodi, they still run into skeptics who say garage sales are full of junk and only for the poor.

Shoppers like the clean-shaven, well-spoken Schweigerdt think that's absurd. He says that even his friend, Jerry (who asked to keep his last name confidential), has more money than anyone would ever expect, and he still rides his bike to garage sales every week.

Susan Lake — who is holding a garage sale that looks like a boutique filled with glass home furnishings, almost-new $100 outfits with $15 price tags and size 6 children's clothes — says she's seen all types of people. Mainly, she says shoppers are city employees and people with good-paying jobs.

As the day gets warmer, Lynn Edwards' to-buy pile gets larger. As the owner of Exhale Salon in Lodi, she garage sale shops with her husband because it's something fun to do together — and they get to keep their house stockted with stuff for visiting youngsters.

"I garage sale for my grandkids," Edwards said. "It's the best way to go."

For her, part of the fun is not knowing what is hiding under a stuffed animal or inside a box of random goodies.

"Remember this?" she asks her husband, raising a plastic bag of wooden sticks. "Tinker Toys!"

There's something about the excitement of looking through someone else's things, the thrill of the find, the nostalgia and the sense of community that draw the regulars out of bed early on Saturday mornings.

"It's a treasure hunt," Schweigerdt said. "You find things you never imagined."

Schweigerdt loads his just-purchased suitcase with wheels into his utility trailer, snaps the clasp of his helmet and adjusts his plastic, green-tinted glasses. His treasure hunt is only half way over. He pedals through the old Lodi neighborhood, his orange cart following over every bump, the orange plastic flag flapping in the wind.

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