Last week, in the Daily Journal, I shared with the noble Sir Ryan Trares {a Royal Family Reporter favorite} some of our favorite strategies for maximizing your garage sale experience. This is the season for neighborhood sales galore! I hope you can save money and stay on target with your budget with these tips.
1. Go Early or Go Home. The early bird definitely gets the worm when it comes to garage sales. If you can, schedule time to go on Thursday morning when things begin rather than waiting until all of the other shoppers have picked through things. At a bare minimum, head out at the crack of dawn on Saturday AM.
2. Use an App or the Web. Garage Sale Rover and Garage Sales Tracker are two of my favorites but there are many more. They pinpoint the locations of sales on your phone, give you directions, and sometimes even list specific items for sale. Indianapolisyardsales.com is also another great resource for scouting before you leave your house, as is Craigslist.
3. Know What You’re Looking For. Everyone has a golden goose that they’re seeking when it comes to yard sales. Mine is always fitness equipment. Shopping without an end game in mind is dangerous. You’ll come home with all sorts of extras and overspend. Have a short list and be ready to scan for those items. By the way, anyone have a fancy treadmill they want to unload on the cheap? 🙂
4. Bring Cash. Most seasoned garage-salers that rarely can you use checks or plastic when it comes to picking. But bringing cash will also keep you on target with your budget, too. When it’s gone, you go home.
5. Always Bargain. I’m not saying that you have to lowball a seller or be rude but it never hurts to ask if they’ll take less than the asking price. More than likely, they want to be rid of an item more than you want to buy it. Be prepared to say, “No thank you.” or pay full price if the answer is “No.”
6. Circle Back at the End of the Day. Not willing to pay full price? Come back toward the end of the day {or the end of the sale} and see if the owner will take less for remaining items.
*This post contains an affiliate link.  That means while you score a great free app on Amazon, you  might also help our family build up our emergency fund and eventually  pay off our mortgage.  And for this we classify you as Royally Swell.
To have a successful shopping, people should make a list of stuff that they are looking for and bring enough cash while attending a garage sale. I really liked these tips.