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Garage sales can bring great deals

By Sharon Harvey Rosenberg, Source: MCT News Service

From an antique pearl collar for $1 to expensive suits, my husband and I have found great bargains at yard sales. At one yard sale, we picked up a large stack of new Ralph Lauren cloth dinner napkins in various colors and patterns for 50 cents each. The seller had purchased the napkins for a dinner party but changed her mind about the color scheme.

Beyond the great deals, garage sales and estate auctions also offer an insider's glimpse of many neighborhoods. We've made friends and learned the local landscape by visiting various yard sales in South Florida.

For the best results, use the newspaper's classified ads to help plan your route, look for moving sales and go at the end when tired sellers are ready to drastically cut prices.

Here are my top five garage sale finds:

_Little Space Aliens: A bucket of little rubber action figures for about $2 on Pine Tree Drive _ near a golf course _ on Miami Beach.

_Zegna suit: A beautiful Italian wool suit (typically sells for $1,200) for my husband for $15.

_Little Tikes Car: List price: about $60. Gently used model at garage sale: $5. The Little Tikes Car _ hard plastic vehicle in primary colors, is the hottest-selling toy car. Garage sales are great places to pick up toys _ especially durable plastic items from Fisher-Price and Little Tikes.

_First edition "Lord of the Rings" trilogy: Long before the Hobbits hit the big screen, we stumbled across a first edition, boxed set of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien for $10 at a yard sale.

_My blue suit: We found a two-piece light wool suit for $20. I was amazed when the suit fit as if it were custom made for me.

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(Condensed and excerpted from" The Frugal Duchess of South Beach" by Sharon Harvey Rosenberg, coming June 12 from DPL Press. Contact the writer: sharonhr(AT)bellsouth.net)

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(c) 2008, The Miami Herald.