As the weather here is cooling off and people are cleaning out their homes to get ready for back-to-school time, yard sales are popping up everywhere! You can find some great treasures at yard sales – whether in their original state or as pieces to makeover.
Here are my favorite tips for shopping at yard sales:
1. Come prepared.
To make your yard sale shopping easier, bring cash, a tote bag or shopping bag, and comfortable walking shoes!
You want to bring cash because most sellers are just homeowners or family members selling their unwanted items; in other words, not a business. So, cash is usually the only acceptable form of payment. Some might take a check, but you wouldn’t want to lose out on a treasure if they don’t. For yard sales, cash is king.
Also, bring a bag for taking home your finds. I have found that, while some sales have plastic grocery bags there for shoppers, not all do. Bring a reusable tote to bring home your purchases.
2. Grab what you want before someone else does, even if you are waffling.
Yard sales are always first come, first served. If you see something you love, make sure that the person running the sale knows that you are going to buy it. Take the price tag to them (if there is a price tag) or have them mark the item as “sold.”
If you aren’t sure whether to buy an item, but you think you love it and wouldn’t want to live without it, pick it up anyway. If you don’t, someone else will, and it will certainly be gone by the time you decide to buy it. You can always put it back if you decide not to buy it. That being said, use this technique judiciously – only for items you love and are pretty sure you’ll buy. You don’t want to make the seller mad!
3. Prepare to negotiate.
Sometimes the prices of items are marked and sometimes they aren’t. Either way, the prices are usually negotiable.
At the beginning of the sale, you might not be able to bargain as much – it’s the beginning of the day and sellers want to get top dollar for their stuff. But, by the end of the day, sellers are usually willing to give big discounts just to move the stuff out.
When negotiating, don’t insult the seller by making an offer that’s ridiculously low, especially if the sale has just started. You want to get a good deal, but not at the expense of making the seller mad. Which leads me to…
4. Do your research before you go.
Let’s say that you are planning to go to yard sales looking for something specific – a Coke crate, for example. Before you set out to the sales, find out what Coke crates generally sell for. You can go online to sites like Craig’s List or eBay, or even the yard sale pages on Facebook, to find out.
Once you know a fair market price for that item, you can better negotiate with the seller. You know what a reasonable price would be; if the seller can’t meet that price, then walk away and know you did the best you could, based on your research.
5. Have fun!
I love yard sales because you never know what you’ll find. That’s part of the fun of them. Talk to the sellers – they are usually friendly and you might learn something about their home or the items they are selling.
What are your favorite yard sale tips? And what’s the best thing you’ve ever found at a yard sale? For me, I bought a piece of folk art for $10 and I later found out it’s worth close to $200! I’d love to hear – share in the comments!
