A friend once said that he doesn’t like Yard Sales because they are like walking through the graveyard of a person’s hopes and dreams. Now whereas that dark logic does kind of make sense I have to disagree. I love Yard Sales and all of the nostalgic chaos that they bring with them. If you add to the nostalgia the fact that Yard Sales are a very direct form of recycling it really is wins all round.
You get something cool (and maybe useful for next to nothing), the seller gets a few dollars (and more importantly their garage back) and the world gets a slight reprieve due to the fact that you haven’t bought something that needed to be built brand new.
Now I’m not going to lie. There is a lot of crap that you’ll have to wade through before you get to something good but trust me, there is gold in them there hills. So without further ado let’s have a look at…
Amazing Tech Related Yard Sale Finds
1. Doom 2 on Floppy Disk!
Now a few of you might have never seen a floppy disk before but, in their day, they were true technological marvels because they held a whopping 1.44mb of data . Not gb but the measly old mb. Often they weren’t write protected, which meant most games that people had on floppy disks were mere copies that only had the title and disk number hand written on the label. That makes this Doom II discovery by Grandpa all the more special.
2. The NES Jackpot
We all remember the frenzy that erupted last summer when Nintendo released the NES mini classic but didn’t make enough units to meet demand. The little guys started turning up on ebay for thousands of dollars and people were still buying them! Amazing then that local Yard Sales have hauls like this one going for only $10.
3. The Mobile Gaming Motherload
Who knew that a mere $20 could get you so much Pokemon! Some of the other classics bundled in for this low low price include Tony Hawk’s 2 & 3, Madden, Mario Golf and 2 Zelda games. Who needs data and WIFI for their mobile gaming when they have a Gameboy Color. Absolute classic.
4. Wheelchair Tanks
Yes these incredible machines were found at a Yard Sale. Unfortunately they cost a little more than a Gameboy Color but still, they are AWESOME! These Tankchairs were designed by a combat vet with indoor and outdoor activities and urban use in mind. Surprisingly, the one with the tracks was much cheaper than the wheeled version. You can see videos of them in action here .
5. Pew Pew Pe Pewww
Source: Reddit
This Star Trek Phaser Mouse looks like one of those items that looks way cooler in the box than it does when in use. You can definitely see that it is a Next Generation phaser but it might be hard to recognize, depending on the shape. Still though, I’d have snapped this right up once I’d read about the “ Action Phaser Sounds ” and “ Electronic Phaser Beam Lights “.
6. The Technics 1200 Turntable for only $25
These bad boys are built like tanks . You can literally drop them on the ground and they should be ok. This is why they’ve held their value so well over time. If you wanted to try and buy one now you’d have to pay at least $300 for the privilege. Not down the local Yard Sale though.
7. Somebody had Medical Insurance
That right there is an artificial femur bone that was removed from the seller’s grandma before she was cremated. This is the beauty of Yard Sales. People will try and sell literally anything they want to get rid of. Fair play to the seller for getting money for this, even if it is a little morbid, and fair play to the buyer for finding such an ingenious use for it.
8. The Horror, The Horror
Now that is a hefty haul of horror movies. For $10 this is possibly the best deal I’ve ever seen in my entire life. We’re not talking B-Movies here. Just look at some of the titles included there. They’re all absolute belters. I definitely couldn’t get through all of them without having somebody there to comfort me. If the seller was also selling bed sheets I hope people steered clear.
9. Only the Speakers were bought at a Yard Sale!
The computer was found at the dump . Yes you read that right, that computer was actually rescued from the dump and is now someones working PC. What a find.
10. Finally, The Fake
We scoured the internet and online forums to find you these amazing Yard Sale finds but whilst doing so we also stumbled on to a couple of fakes. Our favorite fake Yard Sale find was this guys Nintendo GameCube that came stuffed with cash and other goodies. You can check out everything else that supposedly popped out here .
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Now obviously, stumbling on to the deal of a lifetime requires a bit of luck but you will not find that deal if you’re not looking for it.
If you’ve ever found anything amazing at a yard sale make sure you let us know about it in the comments below.
Happy hunting.