Treasure Lesson: Know Your Sign Language

Garage/Yard Sale signs can be a good way to determine what kind of items you might be encountering at the sale.

While this might not apply in ALL situations, here is the knowledge I have acquired:

1) If a sign looks like someone blindfolded themselves and grabbed the first available writing implement and flat sided object to scrawl/carve/chisel on…more than likely you are going to find rusted tools, chipped dishware, and more clown knick-knacks than the Barnum & Bailey circus.

2) Signs that look as though someone hired Michelangelo to create them can be misleading. At first one thinks “Hmmm…great sign must mean great stuff!”. Oh..but beware! When I see a sign of this caliber, I think “Hmmmmm…great sign..excellent lettering…love the 3-d/smoke effect…..but if you are paying more money and attention to the making of your signs…your not “mussing yourself up” crawling around in the attic and basement for the cool stuff that’s been sitting in boxes waiting to be unearthed. NEXT!

3)Beware of signs that appear that a child has made them. You’ll inevitably pull up to a driveway with a desperate faced youth hawking his collection of Pokeman cards and McDonald’s Happy Meal Toys on a card table. Unless you have a heart of steel, it is hard to drive away from a youngster that has the “If you don’t buy something from me, my mom’s gonna make me donate these things..or worse yet…give them to my brother” look on their face. Save yourself the angst, guilt, and 30 minute explanation on why the Kookoojo card dominates any other winged character card in the deck.

Lesson: Look for a normal sign. Cardboard, marker, address, date, good size lettering. Okay..and perhaps a little smiley face.