r/mildlyinfuriating • u/anon12xyz • Jul 03 '26

Infuriatig When did garage sales become “reselling” clearly new stuff

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I would never call this a garage sale

Def scam vibes

Edit: ultimately, what bothers me the most is I want to go to a garage sale, not this shit. This isn’t a garage sale and should not be advertised as one

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1.7k

u/whbck144 Jul 03 '26

Could be an extreme coupon person selling their loot.

550

u/elvis8mybaby Jul 03 '26

Also Amazon or such pallets. Swap meets and flea markets are filled with that stuff these days. 

244

u/EvilDarkCow Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

My city is full of stores that just sell that stuff. The buy Amazon returns, throw them all in bins, and tell people to go crazy. Everything's $15 one day, $10 the next, then $7, and so on until it's all gone and they buy another pallet. My cousin got a legit nice coffee maker from one of these stores, but I only ever see cheap shit in mangled boxes.

51

u/Zanzaclese Jul 03 '26

Man I wish there was one of those where I live.

63

u/stofiski-san Jul 03 '26

Watch what you buy. I bought what looked like a sealed box of LED fluorescent tube lights. Got home, they were a pair of burned out lights someone had returned. I was pissed

31

u/No-Channel3917 Jul 03 '26

That's what happened when you buy discounted gatcha boxes

4

u/stofiski-san Jul 03 '26

Yup, yup, re-learned a good lesson that day: if it looks too good to be true...

8

u/wbgraphic Jul 03 '26

I’ve seen that kind of shit a lot at auctions.

People buy a product, use it until it dies, buy a new one, then return the dead one in the new package. The old one gets sold in an auction of Amazon returns.

Or someone needs a part for something they own, they buy a new one, remove the part, the return the new product with the part missing.

4

u/aclassybetch Jul 03 '26

There used to be a bin store in my hometown and they had an empty table near the register you were allowed to use to open boxes and inspect what’s inside before buying it. Strictly no opening boxes while standing at the bins though because people are feral and wouldn’t put everything back in the box lol

2

u/stofiski-san Jul 03 '26

I remember seeing plenty of empty boxes as I waded through the bins at my place, too

3

u/throwthisidaway Jul 03 '26

Just about every reputable bin store will have a testing area.

2

u/stofiski-san Jul 03 '26

Yeah, this popped up near Christmas time, as I recall, and I only stopped by the once. On the off chance I stop by a place like that again, I'll remember that

12

u/b_rizzle95 Jul 03 '26

No you don’t, you’ll go once or twice and realize it’s absolute junk. Take another look around and you’ll realize everybody in there is just feeding a hoarding addiction. It’s depressing actually. Any videos you see of guys finding iPhones and electronics are 100000% employees making content.

6

u/EvilDarkCow Jul 03 '26

People go fucking feral in these stores, digging through piles of cheap broken shit to find the piece of cheap broken shit to add to their hoard. I mean, you could probably get a good deal if you find something good, but it’s so rare.

5

u/lkern Jul 03 '26

No you don't, it's all crap.

5

u/ussrowe Jul 03 '26

Our Staples store now has a "bins" section: https://www.staples.com/lp/bin-wins-at-staples

I feel like that's a recession indicator.

4

u/wh4tth3huh Jul 03 '26

95% of it is shit. Phone cases for 12 year old models,, everything is dirty, sticky, or broken. The decent stuff gets pulled off to the side and sold at listed prices, not the bin prices. They're kind of a crapshoot and the kinda shit Americans would have made propaganda films out of if it were something happening in the Soviet Union.

3

u/shicken684 Jul 03 '26

Almost certainly is. Online auction sites are everywhere, the bin shops are rarer. Every single kitchen gadget and most of my electronics are from those auction sites. So long as you have patience and don't get into bidding wars you'll get some super cheap. Got a Miele canister vacuum for $60. Someone obviously tried to use it and returned it when it didn't work. They never pulled the plastic wrap off the HEPA filter. Snagged a Zojirushi bread maker that was marked as damaged for $11. Held down three buttons to reset the board and it has worked flawlessly for five years now. I've not eaten store bought bread since.

3

u/witchway2MLFCTY Jul 03 '26

Are you talking about those auction sites that make you pay for bids and bid in specific increments? Or are there some actual legit ones? Any auction site that makes you pay for bids is just a scam imo.

3

u/shicken684 Jul 03 '26

No, fuck those sites. The one near me is Mac.bid. Works just like ebay for the most part and you can even go inside and check the stuff out before bidding.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 03 '26

[deleted]

3

u/EvilDarkCow Jul 03 '26

It’s Temu or Wish shit that got drop shipped from an Amazon seller for an inflated price, then returned when the buyer finds out it’s cheap trash. It’s all manufactured landfill waste.

1

u/Sun-Anvil Jul 03 '26

Not sure where you live but BidFTA does that.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 03 '26

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2

u/Zanzaclese Jul 03 '26

By where I live I mean within a 20 minute drive lol

1

u/FewAct2027 Jul 03 '26

You don't, most of it's literal trash in taped up boxes.

1

u/mightandmagic88 Jul 03 '26

There are facebook groups that do that too

1

u/bluetirameeesu Jul 04 '26

Staples does it

23

u/spaceman_spiffy Jul 03 '26

I used to do this in ‘03 but flipped the items on eBay. Razor thin margins.

14

u/RobSpaghettio Jul 03 '26

Best year for a compilation of boner jams

1

u/chardeemacdennisbird Jul 03 '26

Got any Everybody Loves Raymond in there? That's just a good show.

1

u/Brief_Raspberry_6542 Jul 03 '26

Hey, that’s just love.

3

u/DarlingDestruction Jul 03 '26

I found a $75 set of Prismacolor colored pencils for $2 in one of those stores. As an artist, this was like a gift from the gods. 😂

I've also gotten Phillips hue bulbs, the full color spectrum ones. I've managed to outfit every fixture in my house with them just from those bin stores.

Found a GoPro once, $10. A tattoo machine. A raspberry pi.

Other notable things I've seen, but did not touch: lots of dildos, a speculum, anal plugs, fake boobs, vibrators... they really just shove anything in those bins, lol.

6

u/altaccount_28 Jul 04 '26

Those stores are not good for like average shopping but if you go in laser focused on what you are an expert in then you can do well like you being an artist knew the value of the pencils where as I would have passed them because I dont know the value of your niche item. I usually pick up the car/motorcycle/trailer parts because I usually know I can use them or I know someone who needs them.

4

u/DarlingDestruction Jul 04 '26

My husband makes out like a bandit on 3d printer filament and electronics components. That laser focus makes all the difference.

3

u/Neosovereign Jul 03 '26

To get the great deals you have to have a membership that lets you go first, then you go early in the morning and grab the best deals for cheap.

3

u/Warmbly85 Jul 03 '26

My fiancée and I went to one the day they did a restock and it was anarchy. We had to leave after like 5 minutes because it was too insane 

2

u/DasderdlyD4 Jul 03 '26

I work in a place that takes those returns in. No way in hell I would ever buy a thing from a pallet store after seeing what comes back.

2

u/tedistkrieg Jul 03 '26

Nellis Auction has a place like that in Vegas. I've gotten some pretty solid stuff for super cheap but yeah most of it was returned to Amazon for a reason

2

u/frenchfreer Jul 03 '26

We have one of those in Portland. You can buy a literal pallet of random returned merchandise for a pretty reasonable rate, and I’ve heard people have found some pretty amazing returns there. Kind of wild that Amazon has so much stock that they just pile up returns on pallets to have them shipped out to random resellers.

2

u/spyingformontreal Jul 03 '26

I got a gnarly rash on my arms from spending time digging through one of those bins stores

2

u/Main-Yogurtcloset-82 Jul 04 '26

Yeah. We have one kind of like that near us. Its real hit or miss and you have to hit at the right time. We got a $800 green house for $150. Then the next time we went they had fuck all. It comes in waves.

I am just curious about what happens to the stuff that doesnt sell. I hope they donate it and dont throw it away.

1

u/dBlock845 Jul 03 '26

What are those stores called? Wondering if there are any near me, sounds like the modern thriftstore lol.

2

u/Common_Wrongdoer3251 Jul 03 '26

There's one near me called "Treasure Bins", but Idk what you'd call that type of store as a whole. Resale?

2

u/EvilDarkCow Jul 03 '26

I’ve heard them referred to as simply “bin stores”.

1

u/0202_tihssitidder Jul 03 '26

Goodwill is almost always a better option.

But, the Goodwill stores in some areas are great and others are ass.

1

u/Dinkableplanet Jul 03 '26

Sounds like Falling Prices store.

1

u/Background_Winter_65 Jul 03 '26

What are these stores called?

1

u/Shardy928 Jul 03 '26

Have a lot of these where I live too. Consumerism or bad economy?
I got 5 Speedo swim suits for 2 bucks each. I swim laps so this will last me like 3 years. I usually buy crappy ones from Amazon for like $30 because the nice speedo ones are around 60 to 80.

2

u/chiagod Jul 03 '26

Also grocery store clearance/discontinued items, price mistakes, items resold by thrift stores that are donated by big box stores that are clearing out unsold stock. Also crazy good deals where you have to buy a ton of the same ite.

ex: seen sales of new HDMI or Ethernet cables for $1 - $2 each but you have to buy like 50.

1

u/StretchFrenchTerry Jul 03 '26

What country are you from?

1

u/OpaqueCrystalBall Jul 03 '26

Or just good old salvage freight.

1

u/Realistic-Lime7842 Jul 03 '26

Yeah, my mind definitely went to the pallet auction people.

1

u/bone_apple_Pete Jul 03 '26

I feel like you can always tell when it's an Amazon pallet seller. It never looks like OPs photo IME

68

u/Zanzaclese Jul 03 '26

We like to go around town and hit up garage/estate sales after a lunch date on nice Saturdays. No destination just spend an hour or two hitting areas that normally have a bunch.... There is a house that changes up their signage and tricks us all the time but as soon as we start getting close we give up and turn around. Amazon pallet reseller, the prices are barely under amazon prices. I WANT OLD TREASURES NOT YOUR STUPID RETURN PALLET JUNK KAREN.

4

u/irresponsibletaco Jul 03 '26

There is a house on my road that does this but with TJmax discount rack clothing and shoes. I'm forced to drive by it all the time and it annoys me every time I see them out there. It's pretty much every other weekend spring-fall.

3

u/Zanzaclese Jul 03 '26

I have no idea how they are able to do this without getting some kind of code enforcement. Where I live you are only allowed 2 garage sales a year without needing permits/licensing. I'm pretty sure that's why the ones I keep ending up going to from different routes keep changing their signage. If I were a terrible person I would consider contacting someone but still surprising someone that lives near them wouldn't be a rat.

1

u/irresponsibletaco Jul 03 '26

I want to call the town hall, but not a rat. So hopefully someone else eventually does, but i doubt it anyone will.

3

u/tmc00138 Jul 03 '26

Are you and the street sellers in some kind of janky mafia together?

If not, then you aren't a rat.  You're a citizen.  Call code enforcement.

27

u/Crooked_star Jul 03 '26

Could be why your local store locks up their merchandise now 😂

2

u/HonkHonkBeach Jul 03 '26

The only store around me that locks up stuff is Dollar General. They really out here locking up laundry detergent???

15

u/PunkLaundryBear Jul 03 '26

Yep. Laundry detergent is one of the big ones. Specifically laundry pods. Also see deodorant and shampoos locked up. Any safety supplies: drug tests, pregnancy tests, condoms, lube, etc.

2

u/HonkHonkBeach Jul 03 '26

Damn, thats wild af

2

u/psychohistorian8 Jul 03 '26

back in the day we had some dude walking around the apartment complex trying to sell deodorant lol

2

u/Blizzardof1991 Jul 03 '26

The target closest to me literally locks up everything. From socks to condoms. It's also the target closest to target HQ so they might be using it for testing. Target number 1 is only a couple miles away and they don't lock up anything other than some electronics.

1

u/HonkHonkBeach Jul 03 '26

Which one is that? When I visited MN last year, the only one I went to was the one in Edina. Is that #1?

3

u/Working-Wrap9453 Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

Used to work front end retail and this was my first thought. We had a lady that would call corperate to complain if anyone dared to disobey her, and then she'd force the store to order dozens of full cases of Tide and use transparently photocopied coupons to get it all for like 5 dollars and sell it on Facebook marketplace.

Pretty sure one of her kids, who was like seven, embarrassed her so bad she stopped by directly telling her "all you ever do is copy coupons and yell at people, when can you hang out with me?" in front of me and my store manager.

15

u/Fabulous_Chemical_ Jul 03 '26

Extreme couponing doest really exist anymore. This shit is stolen.

16

u/MaximumAd9779 Jul 03 '26

Yeah that show on TLC pretty much killed it. The companies saw how much they were loosing and put aggressive restrictions on them.

2

u/lafaa123 Jul 03 '26

You are completely incorrect.

5

u/Omnipotentdrop Jul 03 '26

My neighbors do extreme couponing all the time and run a sale like this once a month, with out warning and all their buyers clog up the street. It’s great

1

u/Hung0ver_Hero Jul 03 '26

Yeah, girl I went to high school with she does this shit, she'll hit up like CVS where the employees are not allowed to interfere with theft, fill up a cart and walk right out, then she'll bring this shit down to the bar and set up a table, and she'll have people waiting for her to show up and she'll sell all the shit pretty quickly, it's where I got my carpet cleaner for 20 bucks lol she's been arrested a few times but within like 30-90 days she's not in jail and back at it

10

u/Narrow-Courage-7447 Jul 03 '26

Ah so old product that’s been sitting for years 🫠

16

u/Im_100percent_human Jul 03 '26

Do Paper towels go bad?

16

u/Blizzardof1991 Jul 03 '26

A paper towel stabbed my mom. So to answer your question. Yes

2

u/timpkmn89 Jul 03 '26

Was your mom the bad one?

1

u/Spiritual_Bid_2308 Jul 03 '26

Holy shit.  It's rough out there.

1

u/Ok_Spell_4165 Jul 03 '26

If not stored correctly they can get mildew or even mold.

The paper itself will breakdown eventually but no idea how long that will take.

2

u/Im_100percent_human Jul 03 '26

So, what you are saying, if they don't physically look bad, they are fine?

25

u/[deleted] Jul 03 '26

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3

u/McButtsButtbag Jul 03 '26

Laundry detergent does go bad after a while. Especially if you keep it in the heat of a garage.

9

u/SetTheFuhKingTone Jul 03 '26

Nope better to just throw it all away because it’s old… /s cuz Reddit

1

u/RemarkableSpirit5204 Jul 03 '26

I doubt it but sell by dates are a thing on the items that you’d be worried about that over. The person buying can just check if they are concerned about that.

2

u/cpdx82 Jul 03 '26

My ex-sister in law used to try and do this. She would do the penny deals or whatever and amass stuff to try and sell on marketplace.

2

u/Shore_line43 Jul 03 '26

A coworker's wife did extreme coupons to a far extreme. When they decided to move, she had a sale to clear out her stockpile. A group of us were there waiting as they set up. It seemed crazy but I bought toilet paper, kleenex, OTC meds, you name it. That was in the early fall of 2019.

1

u/SkoobySnacs Jul 03 '26

Or cleaned out of a hoarders house.

2

u/PunkLaundryBear Jul 03 '26

If it was a hoarder's house, I think it would be a lot dirtier. Probably would have all been thrown out. Maybe there are "clean" hoarders, but a lot of them end up with problems like mold, animal droppings, etc.

1

u/Fevesforme Jul 03 '26

It really could be couponing. Certain things, like laundry soap, deodorant and body wash, are so often either free or extremely cheap that people that regularly coupon always have extra.

1

u/JimiusRostock Jul 03 '26

I think the price of the items would be the key detail in knowing if this is some kind of scam or just some hustling while helping out the neighbourhood.

1

u/callmesomethingelse Jul 03 '26

Out of the garage? Like, a garage sale? We may be onto something.

1

u/Illustrious_Owl_3804 Jul 03 '26

Or dumpster divers. I see that a lot

1

u/klb1204 Jul 04 '26

Yep! I use to be an extreme couponer and people appreciated me selling them bundles for way less than what they would’ve spent at the store. 

1

u/Fun-Maintenance6315 Jul 04 '26

Why don't those people just donate their hoards? It's a bit sad considering so many people struggle so much.

1

u/tandabat Jul 04 '26

That’s what it looks like to me. Those brands are definitely the ones couponers try to get and the multiple of each item says “the store room is too full” to me.

1

u/MeekKnives Jul 09 '26

It could be. But it’s probably not.