Yard sale buyers unwritten code of conduct

[rszdtrvl]

I call bunk on this, but please give your opinion.

This happened 2 weeks in a row.

We arrived at a yard sale an hour early (it was an estate sale). DH and I got out of the car and were first in line.

A guy gets out of his car about 5 minutes later, tries to make small talk, and lets DH and I know that we were the 3rd car to arrive, therefore we are not first in line.

DH was not surprised, as last time he went to a sale he was told the same thing.

I think the people are full of hooey.

I say that the first people IN LINE are the first people to get into the sale. Not the first people who show up and stay in their nice warm vehicle until 10 minutes before the sale or until the line starts getting long.

I say that the same rule applies to yard sales OR estate sales that applies to Black Friday shopping. You MUST be in line.

I would like to see someone hop to the front of the line at Best Buy right before opening and say "But I was here first sitting in my car".

Am I right? Is this just people trying to see how naive we are or how much they can get away with? Or is this what the locals call an "unwritten yard sale code"?

Anybody???

 

[Cindy B]

I agree. You are in line. Not sitting in my car. Who is to say that you aren't sitting in your car to visit a neighbor or listen to the ballgame on the radio? I've even seen people smoking in their car since they can't in the house.

To those "I was first" complainer- I would say "too bad, so sad".

 

[NYCDiane]

Whoever is first in line is first. If the guy would have told me that crap, I would have told him "no, I am the first in line. If YOU were sitting in your car, then take your place at the END of the line". I wouldn't let him get ahead of me. I hate when people try to pull that garbage

 

[YO's Mom]

If you were at a professional estate sale (handled by an agency) where only a certain number of people are allowed in at a time, the rule is first in line, first through the door.

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

Next time tell that guy to take a hike to the back of the line. I would love to see him try to pull that crap on Black Friday... "yea, my car was in the Walmart parking lot first- I get the $100 big screen TV!"

 

[AnastasiaF]

I think I'll try that at the grocery store next time its crowded. I'll just cut in the front of the line and say "I was done shopping 20 minutes ago, I was just in the restroom".

First in line, first one in.

 

[Janepod]

I think it's first car. But I'm not an early bird.

 

[delmar411]

it's first in line. The guys were trying to pull one over on your DH.

 

[Ed J]

The first rule is you should keep off the property till the sale starts.

Next rule, no early birds.

You don't follow these rules you'll be denied acsess to any of our estate sales.

Estate / yard sales are not held at supermarkets or chain retail stores, making compairsons to those stores is not a good comparison.

You want to be the first one, get there first. This line stuff is just that, a line, it's for people who don't get there first to try and cheat their way to be the first in the house.

 

[NYCDiane]

What exactly is an "estate sale"? I see them advertised all the time in the local paper or those free papers and they always just turn out to be yard sales.

Is there a way to find a list of companies that handle estate sales? Or a list of legitimate estate sales?

 

[mistysue]

I agree you shouldn't be standing up on the property until the sale time. That is so rude. It's like the people who show up to knock on your door to be the first at a garage sale. It is NOT a retail store. The same rules do not apply, and certainly not any insane black Friday rules. Black Friday rules also dictate that you can trample and rip items from people's hands.

Seriously you stood at the door first so suddenly it's cool to pretend you didn't know other people were there first? It's a self centered way of giving yourself the benefit for somebody else having the decency to wait until the advertised sale time.
Most people won't fight you for it because the people who are reasonable enough to wait their fair turn are also the type who won't confront you for elbowing your way in so society lets it pass- but that doesn't make it right.

If you didn't know the other people were waiting that is one thing, but if you know somebody is there rushing up to the door so you are magically now first is rude.

 

[robinb]

The first rule is you should keep off the property till the sale starts.

Next rule, no early birds.

You don't follow these rules you'll be denied acsess to any of our estate sales.

Estate / yard sales are not held at supermarkets or chain retail stores, making compairsons to those stores is not a good comparison.

You want to be the first one, get there first. This line stuff is just that, a line, it's for people who don't get there first to try and cheat their way to be the first in the house.

So does that mean the 'car line' was already a line? I can where the folks in that neighborhood might consider it one.

 

[chris31997]

That is why it is posted "No Early Birds". If it is not posted in the ad than it is generally understood, at least in the places I have been, that you will have early birds there. When I have done these, I do not cut deals with the early birds but get very generous as the day goes on

Estate sales and garage sales are differant.

 

[npcougar]

I've had the same problem with the buses at Disney. Sitting on the bench is not lining up.

 

[rszdtrvl]

I got in line because I wanted to have first dibs on an item (well, DH wanted a specific item in the sale).

We were not going to wait in the car. We were going to get in line as most people do prior to the doors opening. There was even a sign that read "Line Starts Here" to let people know where to line up. So people showing up early is totally the norm, especially for this estate sale company.

Yard sales are vicious around here. An Estate Sale is when someone is selling the remainder of an estate from somebody who has passed away.

The norm for people to arrive at a sale in our area - especially an estate sale - is 1 1/2 to 2 hours prior to the sale.

In our case, the sale started at 8am. We were there at 7am. The house was empty, as it was a company that is running the sale.

By the time the doors opened, the line was halfway down the road.

 

[mickeymaker2003]

A posted sign saying "Line Starts Here" obviously means the sale organizers are fine with the line forming early. If you are in your car, you aren't in line. First one willing to stand there gets first dibs in my opinon. If they want to be first, they should not be sitting in their cars.

 

[rszdtrvl]

I agree you shouldn't be standing up on the property until the sale time. That is so rude. It's like the people who show up to knock on your door to be the first at a garage sale. It is NOT a retail store. The same rules do not apply, and certainly not any insane black Friday rules. Black Friday rules also dictate that you can trample and rip items from people's hands.

Seriously you stood at the door first so suddenly it's cool to pretend you didn't know other people were there first? It's a self centered way of giving yourself the benefit for somebody else having the decency to wait until the advertised sale time.
Most people won't fight you for it because the people who are reasonable enough to wait their fair turn are also the type who won't confront you for elbowing your way in so society lets it pass- but that doesn't make it right.

If you didn't know the other people were waiting that is one thing, but if you know somebody is there rushing up to the door so you are magically now first is rude.

As I put in my other post, there was a sign that read "Line Starts Here" where they wanted people to line up. There was nobody in the house, as this specific sale was being held by a company that specializes in estate sales. They are very well known around here, and even have a website.

I did not stand at the door first because I didn't have the decency to wait. If it was not me, it would have been someone else. If you are at the sale first, then get in line. Otherwise you are not in line. A car does not count. I do not consider this elbowing my way. I see it as getting in line where it says "Line Starts Here" to be one of the first into the sale.

People line up for these specific sales 1 1/2 to 2 hours prior to the sale starting.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

What exactly is an "estate sale"? I see them advertised all the time in the local paper or those free papers and they always just turn out to be yard sales.

Is there a way to find a list of companies that handle estate sales? Or a list of legitimate estate sales?

"Estate Sale" around here means auction. Doesn't matter where you are in line, only matters how much $$$ you've brought.

If I were a homeowner & two different parties claimed to be first in line, I'd treat it the same way. If I'm asking $75 for an item & have 2 people who want it, I'm going to see who's willing to go to $80.

My wife once showed up at 4:00 a.m. to get a Little Tykes cabin at a yard sale. She was the 1st car. When the 2nd car arrived, she got out of her car & put her hand on the cabin and stayed there until the homeowner came out at 7:00 to start the yard sale

Anyone wanna buy a Little Tykes cabin?

 

[Ed J]

As I put in my other post, there was a sign that read "Line Starts Here" where they wanted people to line up.

That was omitted from your original post and I call shinanagins on you adding this little tid bit later on.

Was this sign at both sales where your husband called out for being a line cutter or just the most resent one?

 

[Styx Fan]

If people are just parking up and down the street, I don't know how anyone could keep straight which order the are in. The first few cars may know who they are, but after that who could possibly know the order. I think you must be out of the car and lined up to really keep it organized. On the other hand, there is nothing they could be selling that could get me to line up for a couple of hours