Focus On The Family

Garage sale shopping is a cost-efficient way to buy items for the household, office and personal use if you’re on a tight budget. Garage sale shopping can also be quite fun because you can never really tell what you can dig out from those old boxes.

If you’re in the mood for garage sale shopping, here are several tips to keep in mind to ensure you’ll go home with the best purchases in town:

WHERE THEY’RE BEING HELD
There is probably one garage sale that’s being opened each day across the state. Most garage sale owners however only make use of free advertisements so you have to pay attention to the posters sticking on columns and walls to know where exactly garage sales are being held.

Try visiting public places as well like city halls, hospitals, schools and country clubs. Most of these places have bulletin boards where anyone – upon gaining permission that is – can freely advertise garage sales.

Check websites as well for any news regarding garage sales that are being held in your town.

PREPARATION TIPS FOR GARAGE SALE SHOPPING
Ask a friend to join you in your shopping spree. People tend to have a better and more pleasant time shopping when they’re with company.

Bring only the amount of money you can afford to spend. Bringing extra will only tempt you to spend beyond your budget and that’s not a good thing to do if you have valid reasons to scrimp for the rainy days ahead. And while we’re on the subject of money, try to bring smaller bills than bigger bills because there are times when people at garage sales are unable to give you change.

Wear comfortable and weather-appropriate clothes because there’s a possibility that the garage sale you’re about to check out is going to be quite crowded. Avoid wearing light colored clothes, your favorite outfit or anything expensive unless you’re ready to have them dirtied. Garage sale shopping is fun, yes, but we didn’t say it’s going to be held in a dirt-free environment, did we?

Make sure you have the right directions. If there’s no contact number for you to call and have the address confirmed, ask around until you find someone who is familiar with the place. Be sure to take down directions very carefully.

CHOOSING THE BEST GARAGE SALES
Avoid garage sales that are sloppily organized. Garage sales are essentially chaotic but disorganization will only make things worse. A disorganized garage sale may turn you off from garage sales completely and since that just won’t do, find another and better organized garage sale to check out.

Secondly, if there are several garage sales being held on the same day and they’re all located in the same vicinity you can try checking them out one by one first to compare rates.

PAY LESS BUT NEVER PAY FOR MORE
Items in garage sales can either be overpriced or underpriced. If an item is labeled brand new, you should still be willing to only pay as much as 75% of its estimated original value and never more than that. For items that are in good to excellent condition, you should only be willing to pay for half of their original price and again, never more than that.

HAGGLE, HAGGLE, HAGGLE!
Haggling is one of the reasons why garage sales are so much fun. This activity isn't possible in malls and stores that use fixed prices but at garage sales, haggling is practically expected and made into an art form! If you’re shy about haggling, don’t let the other party realize that because they’re sure to act more aggressive towards you. Guess the lowest possible amount they would offer you for the product then try your best to bring the price down as near as your pre-determined amount. Of course, keep in mind that haggling doesn't give you license to act rude or ill-mannered.

CONCENTRATE ON THE SMALL STUFF AND NOT THE BIG ONES
Focus on looking for small miscellaneous items that you can’t find anywhere else. The big pricey items are greatly discounted, yes, but they’re sure to take a huge chunk of your shopping budget. It’s better to go home with lots of small purchases rather than just one expensive – albeit discounted – item.

Remember that garage sales are meant to be fun. If you’re not enjoying your time, dump the place and find another one. Good luck!