Garage Sale Tips to Increase Sales Selling on eBay

So many people flock to the thrift stores. Maybe they hit flea markets and pawn shops too. But there are those who don’t really seek out garage sales. If you are one of them, I want to let you know that maybe you should try it out. I’m going to talk to you about how to prepare for garage sales to be able to yield the most money from them in terms of reselling.

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Apps Can Make It Easier
If you’re new to garage sales, I recommend that you download Yard Sale Treasure Map or GSALR. Those are two apps that will help you locate garage sales, which will make this whole process a lot easier. These apps pull information off craigslist and other yard sale websites, yard sale websites. They aggregate the information in one location so you have it in one place; it comes right to your phone.

Using these apps along with the GPS on your smartphone will help you coordinate points along your path, which will save you a lot of time and effort.

Check Craigslist and Other Garage Sale Sites
I typically use craigslist. If you try this site, what I suggest is that you look at where the garage sales are going to be—you’re going to have to figure out where to start. What point in the town are you going to start? Are you going to start in the southern portion, the northern portion, the east, the west? Wherever you decide to make your starting point, that is where you will have your golden opportunity, which is generally between 8:00 and 9:00 in the morning depending on where you live. That golden hour will make the most money because you will have beaten out the other resellers.

You need to properly position yourself. So the night before, go on craigslist and get a feel for which garage sales are selling what and the types of items you are looking for. Maybe one just south of you is selling some bikes or video games, and you decide to start there. Maybe you are looking to build up a clothing business, so you go where the ad says they have lots of high-end clothes.

Get a Jump on the Competition
This is something that a lot of people don’t do. The tip here is to make offers a couple days before or the night before the garage sale. Write to the person holding the garage sale and say, “Hey, I see that you have this specialized road bike. Would you take 54? I can pick it up tonight.” Believe it or not, a lot of people will actually take that deal. When you throw cash in somebody’s face, it’s hard to resist.

This is one reason I love garage sales. Even if you are brand new at this business and don’t have a lot of money, you can build up some nice inventory. You can buy items at dirt-cheap prices. It’s a great way to be able to accumulate items to sell.

The biggest mistake a lot of people make when they get started in reselling is to jump right into private label or wholesale or retail arbitrage right off the bat. Yes, some people can make it happen if they’re very talented or have past experience dealing with e-commerce or products or anything to do with making money online. But the average person is going to want to minimize the risk as much as possible.

Have Your Cash Ready
Another tip is to make sure the night before that you have cash ready. Get cash ready in your wallet. Have all different types of money from dollar bills to fives, to tens, to twenties—even change. You don’t want to find something profitable that is marked at a quarter and you only have dollar bills on you.

Also, keep your change in different pockets. Don’t have all your twenties and tens and fives in one pocket. When you make an offer for something for five bucks, you don’t want to pull out a wad of tens and twenties along with that five-dollar bill. That might make the seller less likely to cut you a deal.

Move from Garage Sale to Garage Sale with Purpose
Don’t get into these long-winded conversations with people running the garage sale. One thing I’ve realized about garage sales is that the people running them are usually just the average person looking to make a little money while having a pleasant time. They’re sitting back on lawn chairs, collecting money, chitchatting, and having fun—and that’s a good thing. But many of these people—especially the older folks—like to get into in-depth conversations.

Now, don’t be rude or disrespectful. But be short—be very short—because time is money. You want to hit as many garage sales as possible, especially earlier in the morning before your competition gets to swoop in and buy up all the good stuff. Don’t mess around and chitchat during the early-morning hours.

Get Your Car Organized
When I’m going out to garage sales, I like to have my car ready. So clean out your trunk and any other junk in your car. Put some boxes and bins in the car to organize the smaller items you will be buying.

Have a few snacks and some water with you so that you won’t have to waste time stopping somewhere if you get hungry or thirsty. You can even get a thermos of coffee prepared so you don’t have to run out for that morning boost. Just be prepared.

Always Have a Backup Plan
There are going to be times where garage sales just don’t work as planned. Maybe the sales that day are far and few between. Maybe the merchandise you are seeing just isn’t up to par. Maybe the weather takes a bad turn and everyone shuts their garage doors for the day. It happens.

Have a backup plan. If the garage sales are not working out, have some thrift stores in mind that you can hit. Or try the pawn shops. Hit up the clearance section at some retail stores. Just have a backup plan.

If you’re brand new to reselling, garage sales are a great way to make money. Don’t pass up this profitable avenue! Take these tips and see how successful you can be!