roccobike

Yard Saleing 101:
Buying bikes at a yard sale is still a great, viable way to find bargains. Hey, if they're selling it at a yard sale, they probably have no clue what it's worth.
Search on Craigslist and newspapers for yard sales in your area. "Community" yard sales offer many houses to search in a short amount of time.
Arrive early, For a 7:00AM yard sales, you should be at your first sale not later than 6:45. By 8:15, all the good bikes are gone, time to go home.
If you're a flipper, buy brand name mountain bikes if they are cheap. They can be flipped too.
Consider $5 department store bikes. They can be a source of tires, shifters and cable housing.
When at a yard sale where you don't see bikes, ASK! I've found at least 10 bikes and more parts by simply asking "Are you selling any bikes or bike parts". Its amazing what comes out of the basement, under the house or storage shed. Two of my best buys, a Trek 560 and a Cannondale SR500 I obtained cheap because they "forgot to put the bikes out for the sale".
Always ask "Can you do better on the price?" Ninety percent of the time, they do!
If you see competition evaluating the bike, pull out the money and shove it in the sellers hand and walk with the bike. One of the local guys doesn't bother to get out of his car when he sees me holding a bike.