I'm curious to find out how the rally in prices for gold -- and silver to some extent -- affects prices at garage sales as well as the turnout at garage sales and tag sales? Sterling silver pieces such as tea sets and flatware sometimes make their way into garage sales in better neighborhoods and at tag sales too. Will those items still hit the garage sale market or be kept out by savvy owners who will seek better prices elsewhere such as resale shops. Will you be checking out garage sales looking for gold and silver items that the sellers don't realize they have?

And what about those charity thrift stores? Some of the bigger charities have specialty shops for collectibles and higher end merchandise? Are you checking them out? Or have they already raised their prices beating you to the punch?