Josh Elledge - Chief Executive Angel
When shopping yard and garage sales, it’s best to have a plan to maximize your bargain-hunting, especially if you are planning to hit a lot of sales in one day.
Maximize your money:
Don’t be afraid to negotiate. Most people are not offended at a lower offer. They want to get rid of their items, and you want a good deal. Negotiating does not mean you are cheap. It only means you do not agree on the value of the item yet.
Ask for the price. Sometimes items will be unmarked. Don’t be nervous to find out how much they want, or to offer what you’d pay. It may not be unmarked because they want a lot, it may simply be it didn’t get marked in the haste of getting everything out.
Go for the bundle bargain. Sellers are most amiable to taking lower prices when you are purchasing a lot at once. Gather up your items of interest, note what the total would be, then offer one lower price for all.
Make a cheat sheet. Carry a list of what you actually need, to help you say no to impulse buys. Otherwise, you might regret spending some of your money when you hit the next sale.
Only buy items you have a plan for. Don’t buy something just because someone might be able to use it someday. It’s a waste of your precious bargain-hunting dollars.
Go later in the day. If you can find out ahead of time how long a sale will go, you might want to try going closer to when they will be closing up. You’ll stand a better chance at getting a steal. This can also work if you see an item you really like, but they aren’t willing to take less earlier in the day. Stop back and see if they still have it. Larger sales, such as church and civic group sales, often will start bargaining with half-off or “fill a bag” offers in the last hour or two of their sales. Time your stop to hit these possible additional savings. (Of course, the trade-off is that the sales will be more picked over; so your success with this technique will vary.)
Maximize your time:
Check the internet for information on block, church, and multifamily sales. Plot your route around these larger sales, hitting smaller, individual sales as you go.
Get a sense of value the sellers place on their items. Glance at prices as soon as you approach a sale. This will communicate instantly whether or not you’ll be seeing eye-to-eye on value with the sellers. If prices are higher than you’d like to be paying, leave immediately to redeem limited shopping time.
Carry small bills and change. It makes paying faster, plus it looks better if you’ve just negotiated a lower price.
Get out early. Obviously the earlier you start, the more time you’ll have to hit sales – but the benefits go beyond that. First, sales tend to be slower early in the morning, so you’ll get first look, and first chance to bargain. Second, some people do not keep their sales open very late, so by getting out early you won’t miss potentially great sales.
Quickly evaluate the stage of life represented by sale items. Larger items usually reveal the stage of life the sellers are in. For example, you may want to skip the sale with baby toys and a stroller out front, if you’re not in the market for such things. Move on quickly to get to a sale that better suits your need list.
Do the drive-by decision. Most people put the best out front, close to the road, so if you see things you consider just junk, move on. Other items for sale are likely to be more of the same.
Ask if they have what you’re looking for. If you’re on the hunt for a particular item, ask right away when you arrive. This will not only save time, but help you not miss that perfect find.
