"The desirability of and/or your need for an item at a garage sale will be in direct inverse proportion to the likelihood of your actually being able to purchase it."
The four most common/infuriating occasions when Murphy's Law of Garage Sales holds true:
(1) A desired item is something that's just stored in the family's garage; it’s not one of the items for sale.
(2) The item has already been sold, and the homeowner is just “holding” it till the buyer gets back with either the money or a vehicle to transport the item to his own home.
(3) The item is too expensive, and the seller will not budge on the price. (Note: this is not always an "all hope is lost" situation --- you may have at least two additional options. First, try coming back again later in the day to see if the item is still unsold --- if YOU think that the item is overpriced, then most OTHER yard-sailers may think so, too, and so nobody else may have bought the item yet, either, giving you a second crack at possibly purchasing it at a reduced price, especially since by now the seller may likely feel a bit "desperate" to get rid of it. And second, have a glance at the trash-heap out front of the person’s house that evening --- sometimes unsold yard-sale items will simply be tossed out, and so you can then get them for free.)
(4) The item is something that you would logically want to test out first to make sure it operates satisfactorily, but there is no hookup for electricity/water/telephone/internet/antenna/audio/video at the site of the sale, and the stubborn owner will not allow you to either bring the item into his house or temporarily take it somewhere else to test it.
(1) A desired item is something that's just stored in the family's garage; it’s not one of the items for sale.
(2) The item has already been sold, and the homeowner is just “holding” it till the buyer gets back with either the money or a vehicle to transport the item to his own home.
(3) The item is too expensive, and the seller will not budge on the price. (Note: this is not always an "all hope is lost" situation --- you may have at least two additional options. First, try coming back again later in the day to see if the item is still unsold --- if YOU think that the item is overpriced, then most OTHER yard-sailers may think so, too, and so nobody else may have bought the item yet, either, giving you a second crack at possibly purchasing it at a reduced price, especially since by now the seller may likely feel a bit "desperate" to get rid of it. And second, have a glance at the trash-heap out front of the person’s house that evening --- sometimes unsold yard-sale items will simply be tossed out, and so you can then get them for free.)
(4) The item is something that you would logically want to test out first to make sure it operates satisfactorily, but there is no hookup for electricity/water/telephone/internet/antenna/audio/video at the site of the sale, and the stubborn owner will not allow you to either bring the item into his house or temporarily take it somewhere else to test it.
by QuacksO August 1, 2018
Get the Murphy's Law of Garage Salesmug. “Any lone gunman shall be presumed to be a white, male Christian nationalist until definitely proved otherwise.”
by sp762 September 13, 2025
Get the Kirk’s Lawmug. pibling-in-law.
by Simaduria July 26, 2024
Get the pibling-in-lawmug. Also known as the 4x4 Rule.
When trying to figure out what a project will cost and how long it will take you take the worst case scenarios that you can possibly imagine for both time and cost. When you have those 2 numbers you then multiply them both by 4 and that will give you an accurate estimate of what the project will actually cost and how long it will actually take to complete.
When trying to figure out what a project will cost and how long it will take you take the worst case scenarios that you can possibly imagine for both time and cost. When you have those 2 numbers you then multiply them both by 4 and that will give you an accurate estimate of what the project will actually cost and how long it will actually take to complete.
Customer: it’s April. We were supposed to be done in January!
Contractor: Right.
Customer: This invoice is for $4000 and the estimate was for $1000!
Contractor: Right.
Customer: What the actual f%#k?!?!
Contractor: Hutson’s Law is scarily accurate.
Contractor: Right.
Customer: This invoice is for $4000 and the estimate was for $1000!
Contractor: Right.
Customer: What the actual f%#k?!?!
Contractor: Hutson’s Law is scarily accurate.
by Crash Hawthorne September 19, 2021
Get the Hutson’s Lawmug. The thesis stating that one obvious and preventable death is fated to happen before any obvious solutions, changes or reforms are enacted, ie. decapitation by ice skates when playing hockey and the introduction of neck guards to the sport.
Person 1: "Hey, do you remember that shaky pipe at the bottom of the apartment building that the landlord never fixed?"
Person 2: "Yeah! What about it?
Person 1: "Well, it finally busted and the valve domed someone on the head and killed him! And after that, of course NOW the landlord decides to fix it!"
Person 2: "How preventable. The Tamr Law takes another..."
Person 2: "Yeah! What about it?
Person 1: "Well, it finally busted and the valve domed someone on the head and killed him! And after that, of course NOW the landlord decides to fix it!"
Person 2: "How preventable. The Tamr Law takes another..."
by xxdragonwolftamr January 30, 2024
Get the The Tamr Lawmug. My nephew-in-law is a good person.
by KOBO8956 September 22, 2021
Get the nephew-in-lawmug. 