posted on April 28, 2003 04:37:28 PM new
Hi everyone ~ I need your help!
I'm putting together a special report for those who want to learn how the pro's get the best bargains at yard/garage sales. It'll be a compilation of everything I can find in my research, including input from ebayers like you all. I'm looking for things like the rule of not driving a nice car and dressing nice, carrying small bills, not saying the word "ebay", etc.
I know there are a few other threads where this has been mentioned, but I would love to hear what you all have learned in your garage sale travels!
posted on April 28, 2003 05:57:17 PM new
Here's one - travel in pairs. What you miss, your partner might see. If you want to ask your partner's opinion always say "Do you think Aunt Tilly would like this?" Aunt Tilly being eBay and how much she might pay would be the selling price. Sometimes I call home and ask Aunt Tilly. It's amazing what the old girl (DH) can look up on the spot.
posted on April 28, 2003 06:35:36 PM new
make sure you up and ready at the crack of dawn...get there at least 30 mins. before the advertised time(even if it says no early birds) I'll sit in the car and watch them they usually says come on if you want to.Travel in pairs is awesome advise(one male ,one female works best) What i would pass over my husband picks up because it's a guy thing...he know what guys would buy and what most of it's called...I get real lucky with the women items(he likes to pick and say somethings ugly then when it sales high i can rub it in)The stranger something looks the better it sells!! but true !!And the most important thing i've learned is never never buy something you don't want to keep in your house....cause if it doesn't sell you have to keep looking at it !!
posted on April 28, 2003 07:00:57 PM new
Here's another important one...Keep a notebook of addresses where the good one's are and especially the bad ones are - "Well it sells on eBay for...". I do and boy does it save me time. A lot of people like me hold annual or bi-annual sales. I get lots of repeat customers because I price really low to sell and will bargain.
posted on April 28, 2003 07:35:56 PM new
We go to garage sales as a family. I buy a lot of Disney movies, and people are more willing to give better deals if they think they are going to a family. Same with video games, helps that my son is really into them and gets excited. People who are selling at garage sales for some reason are more happy to think their items are going to a family than up for resell. Little do they know. I've gotten SO many comments stating they are happy they are selling to someone who will really enjoy the item. They are right, I enjoy the item, the profit from the item! I don't understand, a sale is a sale, but oh well. I agree about the extra set of eyes, it is easier to make sure you have gone through everything.
I think the getting there early depends. In my area, garage sales start late, like 9am or 10am. People rarely set up before the listed time too. I once had someone tell me I needed to come back, they were not open yet (it was 8:45 for a 9:00am sale, did they think they were Sears?)
Other tips - plan out your trip in advance, especially the first ones. I try to go as fast as I can for the first few sales. After the first hour, I can go more leisurely because any really good deal is probably gone.
Finally, if you are looking for a specific item or items, ask! I've gotten many things just by asking. I'll tell them I am looking for video games or video game systems, and you would be amazed how many people forgot to put this stuff out, or decide they no longer need that old nintendo system now that they have upgraded to an X Box.
posted on April 29, 2003 12:09:51 AM new
Hmmm....
When you get a price, and pay for that antique piece of furniture, take a couple of drawers with you when you go to get your truck, that way they can't sell it from underneath you while you are gone.
When you see something that the big fat guy is eyeing, go sit on it, when he asks you if you are buying it say yes.
Sneeze onto the pile of pink and cream cotton damasque table cloth and matching napkins, it will be yours.
Contain your glee when you find tin toy alligators inside an old coffee percolator.
Do listen to stories that people want to tell about their items. Sometimes peoples stories are more fun than the garage sale.
posted on April 29, 2003 01:15:41 AM new
I never seem to have any luck with the huge heavily advertised garage sales. I always go to the ones that barely say anything in the newspaper.While everyone is at the big estate sale, I'm going to the sale that was advertised as "Garage Sale 8-2 then the address" and getting the good stuff. I love Friday sales, mostly retired people looking for different stuff than I am. I sell mostly vintage from the 50's-70's and always hit the neighborhoods of older more affluent homes. People retiring to condos and don't know that their Herman Miller chair is worth anything. Go to the brand new neighborhoods for baby and kids stuff ( not my thing).
posted on April 29, 2003 08:43:50 AM new
Here's something else I do...only takes about 3 or 4 mins. and it saves you so much time.I get the news paper,flip it to the yard sales section...then read the addresses.Were in a small town thats easy to remember street names so anything close to the house is a number 1 ,then the next closest is a number 2...and so on till i've numbered them all....this way you don't miss a yard sale and have to double back.
Heres one of my favorite finds ...it's prolly not worth a nickle lol but I thought it was so cute ...it's a stackable HedgeHog each new layer is another HedgeHog...I only paid 3.00 for it and the old lady that sold it to me told a great story of where it came from.To make it short She said her and her husband took a trip to Russia 30 years ago and brought it home with them.Has a neat mark on the belly.
posted on April 29, 2003 11:32:15 AM new
This hedgehog: I love!
I have a little worthless item I got at a garage sale, but the lady selling it told me how it got from minnesota to seattle, her family sat around looking so bored, but I think her spirit is in this item, I was sad to buy it.
Japerton
posted on April 29, 2003 11:46:49 AM new
don't expect to find many bargains if "Antiques" is mentioned in the ad. Most people that list it think anything over 5 years old is a priceless heirloom.
if you are looking for vintage items, go to the older, poorer neighborhoods...you will be surprised at what you can find.
in our little town we go to the "other side of the tracks" first....the rich side of the tracks will be crowded and have higher prices.
posted on April 29, 2003 01:58:13 PM new
The old adage buy and sell what you know works well with garage sales. Cute cheap things bought on spec may get to clutter up your house instead of someone elses. (cute hedgehogs looking for a new home are exceptions!)
Look for good stuff. If its cracked, chipped, dirty, missing pieces, needs repair, needs parts, etc leave it behind. This is sales not repair. Of course if you are like me and like to fix things...& collect things the keep pile is always bigger than the for sale pile!
posted on April 29, 2003 03:56:08 PM new
I read our newspaper's online garage sale ads for the weekend. Some weekend we have over 100 sales in town.
Then I map out a route using mapquest. Very helpful and keeps me on task. Prevents backtracking.
Anchorage only has about 250,000 people but it's a fluid population with 2 military bases and the oil companies moving people about. I like to think of Anchorage as the garage sale capital of the world.
Not a lot of antiques in this area however. Most people moved here in the 70's and 80's.
posted on April 30, 2003 05:17:12 PM new
A few of my favorite garage sale tips are:
1) If possible, drive past the garage sale house the night before the sale, to familiarize yourself with the area. If there are folks working in the garage, stop and ask if they are willing to do an early sale (even if the ad states no early birds). If they agree, big bonus for you because you get first dibs on things; if they are a stickler for no-early-sales, maybe they will at least let you look around so you can get an idea what they have for sale and you can determine whether or not it is worth your time to go back the day of the sale.
2) If driving to the garage sale house the night before the sale isn't possible (too far away for instance), try using an online reverse telephone lookup service to get a telephone number based on the address listed in the ad (assuming the phone number isn't an unlisted one). Call and ask if they are willing to do an early sale, specifically telling them the item(s) you are interested in.
Be prepared for the question "How did you get my phone number? It wasn't listed in the ad". Hee hee.........sneaky, I know, but hey, that's the fun of being online. When I was in search of mega amounts of Little Tykes toys when my children were little, I used this trick many times and got the stuff I really wanted before the sale ever started!
3) Use your online auction selling and/or buying experience to your advantage. I went to a garage sale last year and the person ahead of me was eyeing the same pair of bookshelves I was (I had just bought 150+ children's books from a seller on eBay and needed a place to store them - something other than in boxes sitting on my den floor!). Anyway, the price on the bookshelves was $20 for two - the person ahead of me offered the garage sale hostess $15 for both, and she was ready to sell them, but I moved in and offered $16 - the other person said he wasn't going to pay that and walked away. I took home two beautiful bookshelves! I was in the bidding-war-mood and would gladly have offered up to $25 or $30 for the set of bookshelves!
4) Be sure to leave your name and phone number with the garage sale host/hostess if you see something you want but aren't quite willing to purchase it for the asking price. Ask that they call you if the item(s) don't sell.
Last week I spend $150+ at a garage sale (got a number of steal-of-a-deal items including two large hepafilter air purifiers, a Nordic Track exercise machine, and a 6-in-1 game table for the kids) - the hostess called me over the weekend to say she still had a lot of items left over after the sale and wondered if I wanted to stop by to take items for free before she loaded up her van and took them to the local Salvation Army. Unfortunately I was home taking care of sick children, but I thought it was really cool that she called and invited me over!
posted on May 1, 2003 02:02:42 PM new
Avoid those sales that mention the word "collectible" which usually means new mass-produced junk and worth almost nothing. Also, lower income areas usually have the best deals as they are trying to get rid of stuff that is taking up too much space. Higher income areas tend to price their items according to what it cost new, so that $100 shirt for $20 might be a good deal if you want to wear it but not if trying to re-sell it. If the ad mentions "name-brand" clothing that is a red flag that it will be too expensive to make any money.
but true !!And the most important thing i've learned is never never buy something you don't want to keep in your house....cause if it doesn't sell you have to keep looking at it !!
