Have you ever wanted to go on a treasure hunt?

Here’s a secret. Nowadays, buying secondhand is the closest you can get without becoming a caricature of Indiana Jones.

Between thrifting, online resellers and Facebook Marketplace, there are new options every day. But I’ve always found estate and garage sales are particularly special. You’re not just in a storefront or interacting with sellers in a digital space. You’re actually in peoples’ homes, in their yards, perusing items and feeling the history of where these things came from.  

Lebo has plenty of these sales if you know where to look. Usually, they’re on the weekends. Keep your eyes peeled for signs stapled to telephone poles, scan your feed for social media flyers, and keep tabs on websites like estatesales.net and Craigslist. One particularly sunny Saturday this summer, after a week of scouring my sources for nearby sales, I carved out a chunk of my schedule to go treasure hunting. My targets were an estate/garage sale found on Craigslist, and a garage sale advertised by a poster put up in front of Howe Elementary. 

As I pulled up to my first stop, I braced myself to approach a stranger’s house. The Lebo resident hosting the sale, who requested to remain anonymous, sat in her garage reading a book, and immediately gave me a friendly and thorough description of which items were available. I stepped over the threshold to the basement and was met with a veritable mini antique store. 

A sturdy wood table studded with delicate trinkets stood at the entrance, and a glance further in revealed an ornately painted nightstand, a great big chair upholstered in buttery yellow vinyl, various wood furniture pieces with patterned carvings, and appealing vintage art prints. A neatly folded pile of ladies’ blouses sat by a box of plates and cups. There were even baskets of fresh garden veggies, like cherry tomatoes and hefty zucchini.

Perhaps most unique at this particular sale was the gorgeous historical chair from Pittsburgh’s old Nixon Theatre, in lovely condition from the richly stained wood back to the seat upholstered with blue and orange patterned fabric. 

Returning to the garage after a careful browse, I struck up a conversation with the homeowner and learned that most of the items for sale had been inherited from family members and accrued over the years. She preferred to host a sale in person so that potential buyers could see the wares for themselves, rather than relying on a couple pictures online. You can actually see the quality for yourself without fearing it’ll be worse in real life. 

This Lebo resident frequents garage sales and estate sales for a variety of reasons. The fair prices, no sales taxes, ability to negotiate a deal, and wide variety of quality products are among the benefits.

Many items I found, like vintage furniture, were crafted locally and with durability in mind rather than mass production. I must admit, it’s hard to imagine my MDF TV stand still functioning 30 years from now. Buying furniture from a different time may be a bit more pricey upright, but can often turn into a great investment as the craftsmanship stands the test of time. 

Bidding this sale and the accommodating seller farewell, I made my way back to my car and headed towards my next destination on the very edge of Mt. Lebanon. This garage sale was brought to my attention by a sign posted at Howe Elementary School, a sign I pulled over into the parking lot and abandoned my car — and friend in the passenger seat — to get a picture of. 

Approaching the sale, I noticed it was a fairly different collection of items than the first one. Here, instead of inherited antiques, I encountered a clothing rack of trendy sweaters and once-worn homecoming dresses. Displayed on a couple folding tables were rows of neatly folded sweatpants, jeans and pajama shorts still carrying their original tag. Two big, colorful Squishmallows waited patiently for a new home, and a closer look into a wicker basket revealed jewelry and unopened perfume. 

Lauren Stacy and Danica Kramer, both Class of 2024 Lebo graduates, sat in folding chairs under a shaded tree. The sale was hosted at Stacy’s house, with Kramer offering some additional items and support. It was evidently a way to clear out items they no longer needed, but I was curious about the choice to host a garage sale. To me, garage sales and estate sales seem like a more “grown-up” venture, where Gen-Z thrive in online spaces like Depop. 

“I know a lot of parents do them but I feel like teens like me are starting to because it’s a way to get rid of stuff you may not want but someone else finds and could use,” Stacy explained to me, mentioning how she visits sales like these with her mom almost every other Saturday. I learned that Stacy appreciates the transparency of in-person sales, echoing the sentiments of the earlier Lebo resident I spoke with.

“A lot of people sell online and I feel like doing this can keep it more honest,” Stacy said. “I know online people like to scam or they won’t end up sending you the items. When you buy something secondhand it can sometimes be advertised in a different way than it actually is.”

Stacy also made note of the financial benefit, not just for potential buyers getting a cheaper product, but for sellers able to make a little profit rather than relegating their perfectly good items to the trash. Additionally, garage and estate sales are a key part of the community, especially in Lebo. 

“It’s usually people we know, too, helping each other out,” Stacy said. 

Perhaps this is the greatest beauty of these sales. You are able to walk into another person’s life and leave with a valuable new possession while giving them the opportunity to have more space or a funding boost. Everyone wins. It is a deeply personal event. These treasures are proof of lives well lived, of school dances spent with friends, or evenings with family gathered around a familiar coffee table. When you resell items, it never really ends. Now, it’s something special to someone else: a neighbor, a friend, a member of your community. 

I was struck not only by the wide variety of items offered at these sales, but by the sellers’ passion. All of the hosts lit up talking with me, and it was evident that perusing garage and estate sales was an important part of their lives. 

So next time you find yourself seeking a new chair, or a new outfit, or just feel in need of an adventure, check your community before the big stores. Hopefully, like me, you’ll find it much more rewarding.