When Shopping At A Garage Sale, It's 'Buyer Beware'; Experts Say

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Summer is garage sale season, but just because it's on sale, doesn't mean it's a great deal.

Sheik Kamalodeen scored himself quite a find at a recent garage sale in Mount Vernon -- he paid just $5 for a vacuum cleaner.

"I think one like this might be 90 bucks at the store, or more," he told CBS2's Valerie Castro.

But the editors of Readers' Digest said not everything at a garage sale is a great deal, even if it's cheap.

"Everybody wants to save money, but at some point you could end up with things that are just unsafe, plain old gross, or broken, and nobody wants that," Aviva Patz, senior digital editor, Readers' Digest said.

The Readers' Digest 'Do Not Buy' list includes several baby products; cribs because they could be subject to recalls, car seats since they may have been in an accident or have changing safety standards, and older bottles which might contain the chemical BPA.

Some other items include makeup because it expires, hats for potential lices, and CDs and DVDs which may be scratched.

Bathing suits are another item on the list, because they may not be sanitized and can easily rip.

"I would not by undergarments," Nancy Franco said, "Even if you clean it and disinfect it, I'm still not comfortable with that."

Some more no-no's according to Readers' Digest are shoes because of potential foot fungus, and stuffed animals.

"Think about what your kids do to stuffed animals, you don't even want to think about that," Patz said.

Readers' Digest said if you still want the items, then buyer beware.