Lisa Payne has been garage sale shopping for years.  Her passion for it began quite innocently.  

One glorious spring day, a friend asked Lisa to join her shopping.  Lisa jumped at the opportunity to browse around stores and spend her money on useful, and fun, merchandise.  Pregnant with her second child, she was especially interested in baby equipment, toys and clothes.   

On the way to the mall, the two friends noticed a series of pink, neon signs.  Lisa paid little attention to the banners, but her friend, Alice, remembered fondly her garage sale days in Iowa and began talking about them out loud to Lisa.  The two looked at each other, shrugged a “what the heck” kind of shrug, and made a bee-line for the advertised garage sale. 

What started as a casual weekend diversion for a working mom steadily developed.  The thrill of finding a terrific something at a fabulous price was exciting to say the least.  As Lisa spent less for things she needed (kid’s clothes, toys, books, and more), her interest in the sport of the garage sale grew.  She was transformed from weekend garage sale warrior to a  four-time a week garage sale guru.    

With this much practice, and a questioning, analytical mind (comes from all those years as a lawyer), Lisa learned what it takes to make a garage sale successful.  She decided to combine her love of the garage sale with her love of writing.  The result is “Once Upon A Garage Sale...,” a unique, comprehensive work about garage sales, just for sellers.  

When not searching for the next garage sale bargain, Lisa can be found giving seminars about garage sales, consulting about garage sales, or enjoying and raising her two children with her husband of over twenty years (not necessarily in that order!)