What I Learned From My First 127 Yard Sale

Fresh off of my rookie 127 Yard Sale experience and I have thoughts!

The sale last weekend had something for everyone and then some: busted children’s toys alongside antique wooden ladder back chairs, ziplock bags of vintage jewelry next to boxes of rusted silverware. It was field after field of vendors selling their wares, which made me feel slightly giddy as someone who loves the hunt, but also a little cowed. How in the world are shoppers supposed to look through all of this stuff?

The short answer: we aren’t. This was probably the hardest lesson of the weekend.

1. Don’t try to cover too much ground.

Our plan had us covering the 70 mile trek of Route 127 between southern Cincinnati to Frankfort, Kentucky with the goal of checking into our Airbnb around 4pm, showering, and heading out to dinner. Despite leaving Columbus at 6:30am, this did not give us much time to stop at the countless yard sales & multi-vendor stops along the road. I’d guess we only hit one in every four sales, which included us skipping lunch (thank goodness we packed a cooler of snacks & Diet Coke) and not getting to the Airbnb until closer to 5pm. I wish I had prioritized a smaller portion of the route so that I could have popped into more of the barn sales and neighborhood yard sale sites, which brings me to learning number two…

2. More vendors in one place doesn’t mean a better selection.

   

In fact, our experience was quite the opposite! The multi-vendor locations that I carefully saved on my Google map felt picked over by the Saturday of the sale. On Sunday we popped into more of the true yard sales past Frankfort and had much better luck finding better quality pieces, like the Hermes scarf I found for $3. We also met some of the nicest, most helpful people. On to learning #3…

3. The serious pickers shop the week before the sale.

   

We met Anthony, a long-time antiques dealer based in Kentucky who specializes in American antiques, under a tent in the front yard of his historic home. He has been in the business for over 30 years. Anthony now focuses on the restoration of antiques and has a team of pickers that he sends out to source for him, which sounds like my dream job? His sourcing team heads out a week before the sale officially starts for the best selection. Anthony said they have the most luck on a specific stretch of the route, so next year my plan would be to…

4. Focus on the part of Route 127 south of Frankfort, Kentucky and into Tennessee.

According to Anthony, this stretch of the road is rumored to have more true antiques and “less junk”. The Signal Mountain area of Tennessee, anchored by Mountain Arts Community Center, has historically been the home of many talented craftspeople and their creations have filtered down into the yard sale offerings. Next year, I think I would start the sale around Chattanooga the weekend before the actual sale, then make my way back up to Ohio.

5. Don’t limit yourself to just the yard sales — add thrift stores and antique shops to your itinerary.

   

One of my favorites discoveries of the trip was the New Leash on Life thrift store in Frankfort, KY. They were running a 25% off sale in honor of the 127 Yard Sale and had beautiful pottery, vintage china, and a lovely little Herend tureen in the hand painted Rothschild Bird pattern that I snagged for $34. My new friend Anthony mentioned Rags to Riches Antique Center in Harrodsburg, KY is another treasure trove with high-quality antiques that are affordably priced, so much so that even resellers could make a profit on them. I wish I would have thought to add these types of stops into my route!

Overall, my first 127 Yard Sale experience was a bit of a mixed bag. I loved exploring a new area of the country and Frankfort was a very charming city to wander through…

But if I were a reseller hoping to load up on items for my antique shop, I think I would have been a bit disappointed at the selection left on the Saturday and Sunday of the sale. Perhaps this concern would be alleviated if I had shopped earlier in the sale, but in my experience, this would not be an event I would recommend for those looking for an easy, breezy antique shopping weekend. It was a long, hot slog that is best suited for true pickers who love digging through piles of junk to find treasure in the wild.

If that sounds like you, then you’re in the right place :)

Happy hunting!