Nice tommy bars, Provincial!
I've been on a self-imposed tool hunting lockdown for the last 30 days (after an expensive out of town vehicle repair...), and it's killing me. I typically enjoy hitting the flea and estate sales, so reading these stories is extra entertaining. Garage sales can be great for cheap prices, but the return on the time and fuel invested isn't worth it. The worst I ever saw was an estate sale in Savannah, GA which involved elbows when they opened the gate and let everybody in. I stepped back and let them go, and decided I'd never do THAT again. It was nearly 20 years before I went to the next estate sale.
I like the professional sales around here, as they put up pictures in advance, so I can decide (under normal circumstances) if I'm going or not, or arriving late. The flippers and dedicated collectors (!) start arriving around 0600 for sales which open at 0800. With 2 hours to stand in line, and typically only so many faces, you start to get to know each other, and who's after what goodies. The sale company I follow is good about managing flow into the house to avoid the elbow situation. What makes me crazy is when people sit in their car when it's cold or rainy, then want to walk to the front of the line with "I was here..." Where I grew up, you'd get your throat slit for that ****; I've said something a few times, but nobody else in the line will back me up, so it's kind of a waste (NJ vs. NC). Oh well, not worth getting worked up about.
Cool and rainy here today, so glad I'm not standing in line at Day 1 of the estate sale. Professional sales here go 50% off at noon on Saturday, but there's usually nothing but junk left by that point...and not much of that.