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14
Tips to Help You Find Great Deals at Garage Sales
by Karen Kuebler
For the most part, this can
be a fun Saturday activity that can save you tons of money, and become
addictive. Warning: Remember not to brake too fast for garage sales; you
don’t want to get rear-ended!
I personally believe garage
sales are the best thing since triple coupons for the "cost effective
spender". Others might call us tightwads, penny pinchers, cheapskates,
frugal....but I just think we are making smart choices with the money we
have to spend!
Here are some tips for
making "garage saling" fun and worthwhile:
1. Keep a list of things you
are looking for that you "know" you need or want. Often I’m looking for
certain garden equipment, kitchen utensils, tools, etc. that I can live
without until I find a good deal.
2. Find a good route, in a
fairly affluent area, and follow the route and signs along the way. I don’t
mean for this to sound snobbish, but I have often found the best quality
items in more affluent areas. Generally speaking, clothes, toys, and other
items are in great condition because they have a faster turnover as they
replace their inventory more often. You’ll save gas by following a
particular route once you’ve found an area you like rather than driving in
all directions.
3. Get to know your prices,
just as you do with your regular shopping. For example, I would never pay
over $.25 for a paperback book. Since we like to make copies of movies, we
look for video tapes at garage sales. We have often found them at 4/$1.00.
We won’t go much higher than that. Some people are clueless about what to
charge because they haven’t been to garage sales. You can find wonderful
deals, or you can find things way overpriced. If I stumble on one where the
items are really high, I usually walk away pretty quickly, unless they have
something I’m extremely interested in purchasing.
4. Polish your negotiation
skills! This is the best place in the world to practice negotiating. It is
also a great learning opportunity for your children. We used to make this a
weekly family affair. One of our sons loved to negotiate at garage sales.
Now he is in Sales Management and does very well in his profession. There
are different ways to negotiate, and sometimes you can get a *feel* for how
flexible the people are with their prices by listening to others making
offers. I use one of two approaches. I will either say, "Are your prices
negotiable? If so, what is the lowest you would go on this item?" The other
approach I will use is to simply offer a certain amount based on what I am
willing to pay for an item. This is particularly true of items I find often,
or something I could walk away from and not be sorry if I didn’t get. Always
show respect to the seller when negotiating. You will get much further by
being friendly and not trying to use an intimidating lowball approach.
5. In addition to items on
your list, look for things that will make nice gifts. Keep a list of those
people you need to buy gifts for and any particular interests they might
have. You can find wonderful jewelry at low prices. I’ve often found board
games in "like new" condition, or still packaged in the original shrink
wrap. If the game has been opened, take the time to make sure all pieces are
there and things look new. I also have found books in new condition for
gifts. Garage sales are great for finding "specialty" gifts that might fit a
particular person’s hobby or tastes.
6. You can sometimes find
great deals on clothes. It was much easier to shop for my children at garage
sales when they were younger and had not developed any particular sense of
style! Many times I have found clothes and shoes that I like for myself. I’m
one of those who likes to tell everybody about my great finds. I remember an
occasion where I was at a business luncheon and an executive at my table
complimented the antique scarf pin I was wearing. I knew him very well and
felt comfortable, so I told him it was an earring I had found at a garage
sale and had paid 10 cents for the pair! He laughed and said I should come
up with a better story the next time I received a compliment. I guess we
shouldn’t feel compelled to tell all of our secrets.
7. If you have an expensive
car, use a different one for garage sales. If you drive up in an expensive
car, or wearing flashy jewelry and fine furs (yeah, right!) there goes any
leverage for negotiating.
8. Look for block sales.
These are great because you can park your car and walk to several at once.
Many areas hold annual yard sales and we track those.
9. Don’t be afraid to ask
for something you might be looking for but don’t see. My husband always asks
sellers if they might have any video tapes they want to offload. Many people
say "just a minute," disappear into the house, and shortly we are walking
away with a box of tapes we just bought for a song.
10. If you enjoy doing
crafts and making gifts, garage sales are fantastic for finding craft
supplies. I have found countless items such as yarn, embroidery thread,
cross stitch material, stitchery kits that have never been opened, scrap
material, silk flowers, lace, shadow boxes, frames, etc. I have also found
many supplies for my painting hobby which makes it much more cost effective.
11. Tools, camping
equipment, outdoor and indoor furniture are always available at yard sales.
This can be a cost effective way to pick up what you need at prices you can
afford. I would personally tend to stay away from electronic items since I
don’t know much about them. If we find something that either my husband or I
are pretty sure we can repair, we might take a chance if we can get a real
bargain.
12. We always look for items
we can resell to make a profit. We used to resell things at garage sales or
through want ads. Now we have Ebay! We have made a lot of extra money over
the years doing this.
13. To avoid filling up your
own house with more clutter and items you won’t use, always ask yourself if
you will be able to use the item you are purchasing, give it as a gift, or
resell it for a profit. In my earlier days, I accumulated too much stuff
just because I couldn’t resist great bargains. I have become much more picky
with all purchases, including my yard sale finds.
14. Budget a certain amount
per month for garage sales. Keep the money in an envelope so you will have
cash for your purchases. If you buy items to give as gifts, then you might
add some to your garage sale funds from your gift fund. There’s always a way
to do some creative financing here.
Have fun with this. Expect
to go to many garage sales where you won’t find good bargains. My husband
and I have a slogan: "We have to kiss a lot of frogs sometimes before we
find the prince." Expect to run across a few people who are rude. Probably,
they woke up on the wrong side of the bed that morning because they had to
get up so early to set up for a garage sale so you could get some good
deals! For the most part, this can be a fun Saturday activity that can
become addictive. Warning: Remember not to brake too fast for garage sales;
you don’t want to get rear-ended!
Copyright 2001 by Karen
Kuebler
If you have any interesting stories or tips
about setting up a garage sale or shopping at garage sales please e-mail us at
CBHcontact@gmail.com. |
