You have probably already seen the signs around the neighborhood – estate sale, garage sale, yard sale, rummage sale. Garage sale season begins in the spring and continues full force through summer. Today I’m sharing my favorite garage sale shopping tips.
I’m passionate about smart spending and scoring a good deal, so garage sale season is one of my favorite times of the year. I’ve been going to garage sales for as long as I can remember. My mom is an avid garage sale shopper and would take me with her when I was little.
Garage Sale Shopping Tips
Shopper Garage Sales
I want to share some tips today for how to shop for the best deals at garage sales. Garage sales are a great way to find deals on clothing, housewares and other goods. I’ve purchased many personal and household items over the years from garage sales and estate sales.
Sometimes I am looking for something specific but most of the time my purchases end up being an item I needed or wanted, but didn’t know until I saw the item for sale. My best secondhand shopping experiences are when I have time to shop, don’t feel rushed and am enjoying the thrill of the hunt.
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Garage Sale Deals
Having shopped at garage sales basically since childhood I’ve learned a few things along the way. Here are my tried and true tips for shopping at garage sales. These tips will help you to have an optimal shopping experience and save the most money on your purchases!
• Shop with an open mind. I always tell sellers I’m just browsing, and I truly am. I’ll know my purchase when I see it. There are some items in the back of my mind on wish list, but the joy of garage sales is finding that perfect item you never knew you wanted or needed.
• Have proper change. Even in today’s increasingly electronic world, the bulk of garage sales are cash only sales. I always have quarters, dollar bills and fives. Bring enough money to cover what you typically buy. If you are open to spending more, say $50 on the perfect piece of furniture, then have the money with you. The last thing you want to do is give up a deal because you didn’t have the funds, or worse, haggle a $1 item down to 50-cents and then ask for change.
I’m starting to see more sales, especially estate sales accept credit card or Venmo. This is great if they offer it and you want to pay electronically but I would strongly urge you to always have cash on hand when shopping sales as this is still not the norm. And many small sales run by homeowners are not going to accept any payment outside of cash.
• Plan the course. I like to research sales the week of on Craigslist and in the newspaper classified ads. I also recently started using an Estate Sales app to find sales. Then I input the sales addresses in advance into my Garmin Nuvi GPS Navigator System. The GPS navigator helps me navigate neighborhoods I may not know well, keeps me hands free and helps me hit up sales next to each other.
Today most everyone has a cell phone with GPS which is another option. It’s helpful if you have a phone holder or phone mount for the phone in the car. This keeps you hands free. Also if it’s possible input the sales in advance and save the locations so that you can route your journey in the same fashion as the Garmin GPS would. This takes a little extra time but you will be thankful that you’re saving time on sale day heading easily from sale to sale.
• Wear comfortable clothing. Dress for the weather and wear some good walking shoes. I always check the forecast the day before and figure out what I’ll wear when I shop. Keep in mind for garage sales you are primarily shopping outdoors. Also, if it’s going to be sunny don’t forget sunscreen, your sunglasses and maybe even a hat or visor. The HALO Visor works great for wicking sweat away on a hot, sunny day!
A crossbody bag or purse is helpful or a fanny pack to allow you to hold your money and belongings and remain hands free while shopping. It’s also helpful to wear pants or shorts with pockets, or a jacket with the same. This allows you to easily toss your keys in a pocket when you exit your vehicle.
• Start early, stay long. Do not snow up early and harass a seller before the advertised start of a sale. I’ve been on the selling side and that is not enjoyable. But, if the sale begins at 8 a.m. feel free to arrive a little early, find a parking spot and walk up as soon as the sale opens. If you are shopping later in the day, many sellers want to “get rid of everything” and are more eager to make a deal.
If you’re looking for a good cutoff time to begin that later in the day haggling (more on that below) I would suggest shopping sales after 12 p.m. That’s usually the halfway point of a sale. But it’s also important to note if the sale is multiple days. If it’s a three day sale for example, the first day may be prices as marked only. But if you shop on day two or day three the sellers might be more open to negotiating prices.
• Bring water, coffee and snacks. I love treating myself to a Starbucks coffee when I’m out shopping at garage sales. Also, bringing a water bottle and some easy-to-eat snacks help feign off hunger during a long day. Individually wrapped nutrition bars such as LARABAR are perfect. Fresh fruit, such as bananas, nuts or trail mix and snack cracker packs are other options that work well on the road.
Also this might sound minor but figure out your bathroom stops as well! If you are shopping all day you will need a break at some point. A few years back a friend and I were shopping in a densely populated residential neighborhood and had to try three different small businesses before one had a public restroom. This cut into our shopping time. Planning ahead can help. In the summer public parks are another option and typically have restroom facilities.
• Don’t be afraid to haggle. Haggle within reason and know your limits. If you are only willing to pay $1 for an item and the seller won’t budge on price, be OK walking away. If you really want the item, you can try to haggle and then decide to pay full price – but know what your plan is. Haggle within reason and don’t offend the seller. If an item is $7 I may offer $5, but I’m not going to offer $5 for an item marked $20. I do not haggle on every sale either. Use discretion.
Another tactic which a friend of mine just used recently was negotiating based on number of items sold. In this instance if there are say books marked $2 each, you could make a bulk offer and ask the seller if they would accept $5 for 3 books. In this example you would save $1. I also know a lot of people who are not comfortable negotiating in any way. But it is an option if you wish.
• Be friendly and have fun. Put on a smile and be friendly to other shoppers and to the sellers. I always say hello and thank them for having a sale even if I didn’t find anything. Also, if there are other shoppers looking at items you are interested in, be patient and respectful and take your turn. If you find an item you want to buy it’s OK to hold it until you pay but don’t hold items you later decide you don’t want. This prevents the seller from having their items for sale for others to buy.
Garage Sale Shopping
In Summary
Those are my favorite garage sale shopping tips. I am looking forward to using those tips to score great deals at sales this year. Some years I shop a lot of sales other years not as much. I am hoping this will be a good shopping year to execute these garage sale shopping tips.
Are there any tips or shopping secrets I missed? Please share in the comments.
I love your blog and your tips here so much! Thanks!!
I collect what I wish to purchase and haggle on the whole rather than piece by piece. If I think an item should be less, I examine it carefully and point out imperfections in my haggling. Many times the seller only remembers their items as they were new and may not realize they had a problem.
I’ve never haggled in bulk but I like that idea! Thanks for sharing your tip.
Great tip about staying out late. It hasn’t often worked out for me (everything always seems so picked over once the afternoon hits). BUT, I have given incredible deals to shoppers who have come near the end of the day to my own sales. It’s sooo nice to just not have to re-box everything.