My Top 5 Garage Sale Finds

By Aaron LaPedis

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Ever since I was in my early teens, I have found garage sales to be a great resource for items I can easily resell for profit. Over time, that interest has turned into a weekly obsession.

I get excited every time I think about the treasures out there that are just waiting to be found. I learn something new from each purchase, and hopefully you too can learn from my best successes and biggest missteps. The following five stories depict some of my most memorable finds, both good and bad.

5. Beatles Yellow Submarine Lunchbox with Matching Thermos: My most recent exciting find was a Beatles lunchbox; and not just any Beatles lunchbox, but a Yellow Submarine lunchbox with an intact thermos. Do you remember those metal thermoses that take you right back to second grade? I swear I can almost smell the milk inside when I screw off the top. All sentimentality aside, this lunchbox was extremely valuable because it still had its original thermos. Typically collectible lunchboxes become separated from their matching thermos, thus lowering the value. When you have the thermos it can often double the value of the lunchbox. This particular lunchbox is currently selling for between $600 and $1,200 on eBay, and I only paid about $30 for it.

4. Windup Tin Toy Monkey on a Motorcycle: Number four on my list is a rather rare tin toy. While visiting a garage sale, I came across a windup, German-made, tin toy monkey on a motorcycle. The person selling the toy actually brought it back from Germany during World War II. He had recently come across the toy when cleaning out his house for the sale and decided to sell it. I knew from prior experience that it definitely had value, but when he said he wanted $45 for the toy, I replied "What is this, Sotheby's?" He laughed, and eventually I bought it for $28. When I returned home to look up the toy's actual value, I wasn't able to find it anywhere online. At the time, I decided to hold onto the toy, not knowing its true value. About a year later I sold it on eBay for $895.