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Bake Sale
When an angry spouse, ex-girlfriend, or ex-boyfriend sells off their partner's belongings at ridiculously low prices out of spite.
Beaded
When a naive vendor is outfoxed by a savvy shopper resulting in a Manhattan. Lawn gypsies thrive and gain pleasure from Beading.
Big Ticket Item
The term professional yardsalers use for an item of high worth (not necessarily of large size).
Block Sale
When 30% of a residential block is hosting a yardsale. The nephew of the Miracle Mile.
Book Sale
A sale planned and produced by the instructions listed in profit books, meaning "by the book."
Buffing
When a vendor makes a point to emphasize even the most minute of qualities an item holds to justify his asking price. The neutralizer of Roasting.
Bundling
See Grouping.
Creepers
Drivers that slow down and disrupt traffic in order to gauge a yardsale.
D-Man
The driver or the wheel man of a yardsaling team, never leaves the car, keeps time, does preliminary sweeps, must be well-versed in the ways of the streets and their currents, and carries the majority of the spending money.
Dan Quayle
An unintentionally comedic yardsale sign that may contain misspelled words or inaccurate information.
Dealers
See Lawn Gypsy.
Dewey
A shopper that thinks he's Beading a vendor but is in fact mistaken about his purchase's worth.
DOE
Date Of Excluded; a sign lacking in vital information such as address, date, time, etc.
Dumping
See Roasting.
Early Birds
See Lawn Gypsy.
English Channel
Two or more simultaneous yardsales across the street from each other.
Estate Sale
An upper-class yardsale that usually takes place inside the home. Tend to be held when the resident of the estate has passed.
Garage Sale
Basically a yardsale, just in the garage - synonymous with rummage sale, lawn sale, spring sale, etc.
Golden Weekends
Weekends that fall on the last two days, or first two days of the month. people generally need money pretty bad during these times in order to pay their rent or their bills. Results in more yardsales and better bargains.
Grouping
A method of lowering individual asking prices by offering to buy several items all at once.
Haggling
A tug-of-war method of bargaining that usually results in acquiring goods typically at plus or minus 75% of the original asking price. Very time consuming and unprofessional.
Jack
The raising of an item's price.
Knock
An attempted outbid on an item in mid-bargain, may result in a jack.
Lame Duck
An expired yardsale sign. Proper etiquette dictates that these be removed once they are rendered invalid.
Larboard
The left side of the car.
Lawn Gypsy
Someone who pesters the vendor, typically by being too pushy or showing up way too early. A professional yardsaler without etiquette. Known to secretly have second-hand, antique, or novelty shops at which they resell yardsale-bought items at a ridiculous mark-up.
Lawn Jockey
A name given to a vendor that runs a weekend store.
Lost Dog
A term used for a sign that resembles a yardsale sign from the distance but isn't. Usually lost pet notices, advertisements, weight loss programs, summer jobs, etc.
Mambo Combo
A yardsale with two or more vendor parties that may or may not live in the same neighborhood. May be a strictly business partnership between strangers. The end result of piggy-backing. Similar to but differs from multi-family yardsales. Not to be confused with the grip stand.
Manhattan
A type of transaction in which an item of great worth is acquired for almost nothing in comparison to its actual value.
Miracle Mile
The white unicorn of yardsales, an extremely rare case in which a steady stream of yardsales stretches on for miles on end. The 127 sale in Alabama is a great example of this.
Multi-Family Yardsale
A yardsale in which relatives, friends, or neighbors hold one large yardsale or several contiguous yardsales. May result in a block sale.
Munsoned
A modern term inspired by Woody Harrelson's character in "Kingpin" synonymous with Beaded. Coined in the realm of yardsaling by Buck and deemed worthy of the YS Dictionary.
Murphied
The unscrupulous act of withholding valuable information from a shopper in hopes of making a sale.
Nomad
A deceitful lawn jockey that switches locations weekly. Known to squat.
Pearl Harbor
An invasion of lawn gypsies while still working a yardsale.
Perpendicular
A driving pattern which allows for questionable yardsales of the day, including DOEs, to be hit only if driving clockwise towards a nearby promising yardsale.
Pickers
A term that the yardsaling community commonly uses to refer to [unscrupulous] people who turn a profit from reselling yardsale-bought goods. Pros resent being classified as pickers seeing as how it puts them in the same category as lawn gypsies.
Piggy-Backing
When a vendor with his or her own goods seeks to join an already existing yardsale. Results in a Mambo Combo.
Polishing
See Buffing.
POS
Piece Of Sh_t; a sub par yardsale not even worth slowing down for.
Professional Yardsaler
One who makes a living by reselling yardsale-bought items and follows the yardsale code of etiquette. A Pro yardsalerr prides himself on his professionalism and efficiency. Not to be confused with Lawn Gypsies.
Profit Books
Manuals that teach the public how to maximize profit out of a yardsale. Tips include pricing, layout, marketing psychologies, keeping inventory, etc.
Prosumer
The highest level a bargain hunter can hope to achieve.
Recon
Early morning reconnaissance mission for freshly posted yardsale signs or traffic obstructions due to construction or public events.
Retailer
Either vendors who exclusively sell new goods still in their unopened original packaging or sell overpriced "vintage" goods. Retailers may or may not run weekend stores.
Roasting
When a shopper emphasizes even the most minute flaws of an item in an attempt to persuade a vendor to lower their asking price. The neutralizer of Buffing.
Schmoe
A very lax vendor, not all that adamant about prices or organization. Focuses on getting rid of his or her junk.
Schmoe Sale
Your average yardsale, the vendor in charge is just a "Schmoe."
Sidewalk Sale
Nomadic retailers selling crappy items at high prices on city streets.
Sign of the Sheik
A perfectly flawless and aesthetically pleasing yardsale sign containing all critical information, made of a durable material, clearly legible, and posted in a location that makes it easy to spot. Named after the classic film starring Rudolph Valentino.
SNP
Suggested Negotiating Percentage; 65% of the asking price (if asking price is at or below used wholesale value), an efficient and direct way to bargain.
Spotter
The front man of a yardsale team, navigates for the driver, works as quickly as possible, does preliminary charting of the course, and makes the deals happen.
Squares
The term pro yardsalers use for non-pro shoppers.
Squatter
A vendor that engages in the act of squatting in order to hold their yardsale in a more heavily trafficked area. May or may not be a nomad.
Squatting
The act of setting up shop on the property of others without permission whether it be the lawn of an apartment complex, city property, or, although rare, even the lawns of others.
Starboard
The right side of the car.
Stuffing
When a vendor raises his original asking price to compensate for the profit loss that occurs through haggling.
Surrogate
Lawn or property that has been temporarily loaned to a friend or family member for the sake of a yardsale.
Tag Sale
A sale in which everything is tagged and priced, a lower form of the book sale. On the east coast, especially in New York, this can merely be a synonym for a yardsale.
Track
The physical location where the sale is finalized.
Treasure
A term squares use for big ticket items.
Turn Out
To evolve from square to pro.
Vendor
The person in charge of running the yardsale. May not always be the owners of the goods or even the property on which the sale takes place. May even be hired guns.
"Wal-Mart"
Flat out retail sale in the form of a yardsale/sidewalk sale.
Weekend Stores
Yardsales that reappear weekly. Tend to vend lower end goods.
Yardsaling
The act of seeking or hitting multiple yardsales either purposefully or accidentally.
Yardsale
A sale in which people sell used or unwanted goods on their property in order to clear up space or make some quick cash.
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