Garage and Estate Sale Tips

Garage sales and estate sales are neighborhood events, usually held on weekends, in which a household or group of households make items they no longer want or need available for sale. Yard sales are a more literal description of garage sales as the items for sale usually make it out of the garage and into a yard. These sales are distinct from estate sales which are more like liquidation sales of a home's assets. Both can contain rewarding bargains.

When venturing to yard and estate sales it helps to be prepared. This is especially true if the events are intended for specific purposes such as the acquisition of useful items for home use or resale. For example, the chairs and screen in the picture below were obtained at the yard sale in the image above. This particular yard sale was an annual event held by a church so it had a great deal of items for sale including electronics, furniture, clothing and artisan items. The reason annual garage sales can be better is the volume of items for sale in one location.

$5 screen, $5 chairs

To make the most of yard sales and estate sales the following tips are helpful to keep in mind. This is because they assist with optimizing the yard and estate sale experiences. The first thing to do when preparing for estate and garage sales is to find out about them. Contacting churches and community centers is a good place to start, followed by newspaper classified ads, public message boards such as at grocery stores, laundromats, and online at websites such as Weekend Treasure.

• Be the first one there
• Be familiar with the neighborhood
• Know how much things are worth
• Eye the items before the sale begins
• Research garage & estate sales in advance
• Know what you need, not what you want

Not all yard and estate sales will necessarily yield profitable or helpful items. In this sense knowing when to buy and not to buy becomes a little like investing. Developing an eye for practicality such as discounted gifts, needed replacement items and profitable resale items are some things to look for, but only if the intended purpose is followed through on. For example, purchasing an item because it is more valuable than it's worth runs the risk of becoming a redundant acquisition if it is not sold again; that's why they're being sold at a discount in the first place.