Portland’s Largest Garage Sale returns to the Expo Center (2060 N Marine Dr) this Saturday, November 5, 2011 from 8am to 5pm.
They call it a “garage sale” but really it’s like a huge flea market.
Visit hundreds of vendors under one roof – you’ll find everything you can think of (except raffles, helium balloons, food & beverages, knives, real guns, and pornography).
Admission is only $4 (kids 12 and under get in free). A limited number of $20 “early bird” passes will be available for entry from 7-8am.
Expo Center parking is $8 per vehicle, so take the MAX!
Visit PortlandGSale.com for more details.
I’m not sure why anyone would pay $20 to get in early? It should be renamed Garbage sale. Truly awful. Just do yard sales for a better experience. My daughter wanted a dinosaur from one of the junk vendors. He said “all those big dinosaurs on top are $2.50 and the ones in the bin are $1.50.”. She pulls one out of the bin and charges my wife $3. Can we say lier rip of artist. Had I know I would have called him on it but my wife not wanting to cause a scene, which would have included my daughter crying, just gave him the 3 bucks and walked off. Do yourself a favor go to an antique mall for free or just wait for summer. All they have is trash at this place.
The November 5th one this year was really busy. My whole family went early in the day and we all ended up with something. The variety was very good, though it was disappointing to see how many of the booths were of commercial junk. All in all, not a bad trip…my feet hurt, but I enjoyed myself.
To anyone wondering what it’s really like, keep this in mind: there are crowds; people that bottleneck aisles; lots of boxes to dig through; crowds; a wide variety of just about anything (especially jewelry), with an emphasis on slightly older/vintage/antique items (you won’t run into many new things); usually not a lot of young children; plenty of things to see; and a lot of places to roam. Wear comfortable shoes!
If you don’t like getting your hands dirty, don’t like crowds, and/or don’t like bargaining, then don’t waste your time. If you like all those things and more and enjoy looking for treasures in someone else’s junk, then go! It’s worth the slight entry fee.