As the price of everything inflates quicker than my waistline
some of us out there need to work a bit harder to make ends meet. The
thought of having your own business quickly comes to mind but who has
the time and patience to open up and run a brick and mortar? I know I
don't, so I started to wonder what I could do to make some extra money
and it hit me. Junk!
Now I don't mean digging through trash or
anything. What I am talking about is something people either love or
hate, garage sales.
I am not going to lie, I love looking through
peoples "junk" at yard sales. I don't know what it is, maybe I think
I'll be lucky enough to find someone selling a Van Gogh painting for $5
but I love it. It's also an interesting look into someone's life when
you see take a look at the items they have laid out for sale.
For
garage sales you have two obvious options, selling things at your own
garage sale or buying things from someone else's. I do have my own yard
sales when my clutter level gets near overload, though quite often my
"garage sales" become a microwave oven sale due to me collecting
appliances. But really to me it's much more fun to find deals at other
peoples garage sales. My tips for garage sales items are cheap tools, as
there is always someone willing to buy tools at a fair price. The other
items I target are geared toward retro "hipsters", old record albums
and anything considered vintage.
Years ago the word vintage to me
was just another word for junk. But kids these days love the retro
styling of the things from us older folks past. Old blenders and
microwave ovens sell really well for some reason as does clothing. If I
had of known people would be so into old clothes I would have saved
every piece of clothing I owned and made a fortune! It seems like
anything made before 1980 sells pretty well with dresses from the 1950s
being the hot sellers for me personally.
Here are my quick tips for a successful haul:
- Time is of the essence. Get out there early.
- Get in and out. Don't spend all day at one spot. Hit as many as you can.
- Check your local newspaper for locations and durations of garage sales
- For multiple day garage sales make sure to attend the last day when most people just want to unload everything.
- Bring plenty of cash. Not just for buying either, make sure you have quarters, dollar bills and fives to make change.
After my garage sale hunt I clear out a space in my
garage and prepare to sell. I tend to stick to eBay for my selling as I
just find it easier to deal with. If I end up picking up items that are
just too heavy for cheap shipping I sell those on Craigslist. Although I
typically sell all my clothing on eBay if I don't have a lot of time I
will sell clothing to my local vintage clothing store. But I must warn
you, they don't pay all that well.
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