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Save Money with Yard Sales

July 6, 2012 by Lazy Man 6 Comments

Save Money with Yard Sales
Save Money with Yard Sales
When I was growing up it was practically tradition that my mom and I would spend two weeks a month going to yard sales in the summer. Maybe it was the way frugality was stressed growing up, but there was always a great emotional rush of finding something you wanted for just a little bit of money. I imagined how much I more I could buy with my allowance. Also, for this 8-year-old kid, it was a treasure hunt.

That feeling had gone away in recent years. My wife and I lived have lived in apartments and condos that were around 1200 square feet. There’s not a lot of room for buying much of anything. In fact, we had been thinking how to sell some of the stuff we have. However, with our recent move, things have changed. We’ve moved into a cavernous 1500-1600 square foot place – complete with two living rooms. One of the living rooms is mine to be designed a sports haven (my wife’s idea). My wife has chosen to make her living room over with a wine-theme to entertain guests (or just relax after a long day of work). This has led us to redesign a room.

My wife has an idea of what pieces she might like, but there’s quite a bit of flexibility. For instance the couch could be accented by pillows of a wine-glass theme or maybe a throw with a grape-based one. Flexibility and the need for a number of things makes for successful yard sale experience. With that in mind and the start of the summer season, I thought it would be appropriate to give these tips to save money with yard sales:

  • Focus on the Wealthy Neighborhoods – Why focus on the wealthy? Two reasons: 1) Their “crap” is often a luxury to a person with an average income. 2) Much of the time, they just want to get rid of stuff. When I lived in the Boston suburbs, we’d go to places like Wellesley (which has become the biggest real estate price gainer in the last year according to Forbes). In Silicon Valley, we can almost go anywhere and find people in million dollar homes. My wife and I found two wrought-iron patio lounge chairs for a total of $200… originally $1600 at Pottery Barn. They aren’t brand new, but wrought-iron should last us for a long, long time.
  • Get There Early – I’ve never been to a yard sale where the philosophy is to add the good stuff in the middle of the day. The standard practice is for the sellers to set things up the hour before it’s supposed to start. If you can show up ten minutes before the start, you can beat the crowd and get your mitts on some of the best stuff.
  • Take a Chance – Sometimes it’s worth buying something that you might not ordinarily want. We found a nice framed mirror on Sunday. We didn’t have a need for a mirror, but I remembered spending around $200 for one of similar quality as a wedding present for a friend. It was $40. When we got home, it looks like it could fit well in the wine room my wife is designing. I figured that in the worst case we could probably turn around and sell it for $50.
  • Negotiate – I shouldn’t have to mention this, but nearly everything is negotiable at a yard sale. Often times, you can bundle a few items together and get a low-priced fourth for free.

While we are moving in and adding new stuff, we are still focusing on getting rid of the old. To get a head start, we designated an area of the garage for when we host our own yard sale later this month. To prepare, I’ve bookmarked these yard sale hosting tips from Get Rich Slowly and FrugalDad. After all, our trash is another couple’s treasure, right?

For more tips see: this post on yard sales.

Photo credit: Orlando Rob

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Comments

  1. Miranda says

    June 2, 2009 at 5:18 am

    I love yard sales, and now is yard-saling season! However, it never occurred to me to go to the wealthy neighborhoods. I usually just walk around in my neighborhood. But I can see where going to a different neighborhood would provide access to a whole new set of high quality items.

    Reply
  2. Michele says

    June 2, 2009 at 5:26 am

    You do have to be careful what you buy in the wealthier neighborhoods. I have hit garage sales in such places and found that the asking prices for some items are far more than I would be willing to pay Maybe in Ohio people are just greedier. But I have never really had luck in the wealthier neighborhoods.

    Reply
  3. meinmillions says

    June 4, 2009 at 6:18 am

    I love yard sales. I always stock up on all of my summer reading at them! My best find was a genuine Prada purse for $40. I don’t think I could ever find a better deal than that!!!

    Reply
  4. Jessica says

    June 5, 2009 at 3:48 am

    Completely disagree on the wealthy neighborhood tip. I have the best luck in college neighborhoods and some of the more ecclectic, historical type neighborhoods. The wealthy neighborhoods seems to have more outdated stuff, usually over priced. The college kids and young families have GREAT prices and more things I am interested in like clothes, inexpensive furniture, and cds & dvds.

    Also, map out where you are going before you leave by using the classifieds and craigslist.org . Driving around looking for signs can be fruitless and a waste of gas.

    Reply
  5. Jerry says

    June 5, 2009 at 7:38 am

    I LOVE yard sales. People are always selling something I want/need. You can find furniture, clothes, anything just about. There’s never any insurance you’ll find *exactly* what you’re looking for but if you go with an open mind there’s always great stuff.
    Jerry

    Reply
  6. threadbndr says

    June 5, 2009 at 8:53 am

    I’ve had mixed luck with yardsales, but the hunt is fun in and of itself.

    I’ve lucked into some nice vintage items from the 1930-1950s.

    Reply

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