Tell me more ×
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 1 down vote favorite
1

What would you call a person who searches around the block looking for useful & used stuff to buy?

Also what would you call a person who sells stuffs that are no longer being used at home?

share|improve this question
1  
I would call some of them hoarders. – Orion Nov 30 '11 at 22:20

6 Answers

up vote 9 down vote

You might call such a person a scavenger.

scavenger [ˈskævɪndʒə] n 1. a person who collects things discarded by others

This could mean either buying or finding such items.

share|improve this answer
Scavenger seems to imply one is searching for refuse. The question states they are willing to recompense the current owner. Therefore, I contend they are not in the act of scavenging. If they happen to find a useful object in a garbage can on the side of the road, the object has been disowned, as is then subject to being scavenged. – Mike Christian Jun 28 '11 at 18:36
If that were the case, then a scavenger hunt would be a contest to find garbage. However, I definitely agree that scavenger implies acquiring without purchasing. – Russell Poirier Jun 28 '11 at 18:43
Very close but still not there yet. But thank you SO MUCH for your attention, you guys are awesome. May be a scenario will help you understand what I am looking for. Supposed Bob's looking for a tent for his camping trip, but he doesn't want to spend hundreds buying one. So he goes around the neighborhood and ask if anyone owns a tent which he can rent for a day. He's gon return the tent after the trip. What would you call Bob? Or how would you describe Bob's action in one word? – Desmond Liang Jun 28 '11 at 18:54
It's more like Bob's renting as oppose to buying, or Bob's considered to buy a time-share of the item. – Desmond Liang Jun 28 '11 at 18:58
1  
@Desmond, what you are suggesting sounds quite different to me. Isn't Bob just a 'borrower', and the person he borrows from the 'lender'? – Andrew Eisenberg Jul 25 '11 at 23:46
show 1 more comment
up vote 5 down vote

That's a rag-and-bone man, isn't it? Steptoe and Son.

share|improve this answer
1  
As I recall, the real-life ones used to call themselves totters. Perhaps they're making a comeback these days. – TimLymington Sep 19 '11 at 22:21
up vote 4 down vote

Pickers -- there's a whole show about it.

share|improve this answer
+1 (Added link) – Callithumpian Jun 28 '11 at 19:06
I like it. It's a relatively recent slang for "garage sale participant", but certainly appropriate. – KeithS Jun 28 '11 at 19:11
up vote 1 down vote

I would call them an antiquer. Someone who shops and buys antiques.

And someone who sells would be a trader of some kind.

share|improve this answer
1  
I'd be careful with "antiquer": it's more common usage is someone who treats furniture to make it look antique. – user1579 Jun 28 '11 at 18:07
up vote 1 down vote

A junker, maybe?

From Michael Zadoorian, Second Hand (2000) (italics mine):

Chapter One

Junk

When I die, I will leave nothing but junk. If I went to my house, to my estate sale, after I died, I would buy everything. Of course, since I bought it all in the first place, that shouldn't be much of a surprise. Yet even if I wasn't me, I would buy it all. There are others that would do the same. People come to my house and are amazed by my junk, covet my junk. But those people are junkers. When people who aren't junkers come to my house, they laugh at my things. Or they say my house is creepy because everything in it was owned by people who are now dead. I tell them, "They're not all dead. Some are in nursing homes."

[...]

The Search

My merchandise comes from estate sales, thrift shops, garage sales, Salvation Armies, church rummage sales, block sales, tag sales, moving sales, you name it. [...] When you're a junker, you surrender yourself to the search. [...]

share|improve this answer
up vote 0 down vote

I've heard yard-salers used for both the sellers and the buyers.

In some situations, one of the following might work:

vendor
peddler
hawker

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.