There are three million tall tales in the naked city, and just about twice that many in your average rummage sale. The better the story behind an object, the more you'll pay for it, right? And it doesn't help that anything over 5 years old can be officially described as "antique." Here's a partial list of danger signs to help you spot overpriced merchandise.

· Anything described as "authentic," "collectible," "antique," or "a real collector's item."

· The brush with greatness: "This putter belonged to LBJ before he was president."

· When a seller says something like: "People from (insert name of faraway place here) are just snatching these things up and selling them for 300 dollars apiece. You're lucky I have any left."

· Any sales pitch that ends in "Swear to God."

· Excessive markdowns -- such as marking a Zippo lighter down from $3000 to $27.50. ("Look at all the money you're saving!")