Garage sales

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Ever have garage sale? Some people have them every weekend. Some people seem to enjoy spending their day out front of their abode trying to make a dollar or two-hundred. I can’t imagine they make much as they never go out and grow inventory. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. I have never held a garage sale in my life. I probably should soon because I have been accumulating a fair bit of stuffs since my days of hitting the roads for g-sales began. My friends would say I am a pretty good at finding the deals. In reality... I am no sales man. I just put myself out there. Kind of a see what sticks thing. What is a garage sale? I know this seems like a funny question but oddly enough I have met a select few who didn’t have a clue. Garage sales are where people want to get rid of their old worthless crap or their more valuable worthless crap, and from what I have learned it is that most people would rather sell cheap, than have to lug the stuff back inside. Most g-sales happen by people cleaning house, moving and downsizing, and even to make ends meet. Often times you can find things that are still brand new and still sealed in the box. Though, if you have the intent on finding something with a warrantee; faaget about it. Feel like you need things to do on your Saturday mornings? My girlfriend and I often get up at or around 7, enjoy a cup o’ joe’ and get on the go. We don’t have a set time that we go until but most sales begin winding down around noon and most if not all are packed up by 2. It is truly sad when an entire day is ruined by ensuing rain clouds or extreme weather. Often times we are so hard set on going that we ignore the forecast and going g-saling anyhow. People tend side suffering in heat rather than the cold. I have learned that summer month seem to yield more yard/garage sales then the winter months. I would have thought people would be selling things to make room for Christmas, but that’s just the optimistic buyer’s side of me talking. Been before and it seemed like a waste? To be a good G-saler; patience is the name of the game really. I have had awful days (I only go on Saturday) where I don’t find a single thing worth my dime. This can be discouraging especially when it has happened to you a couple of weekends in a row but deals are out there so don’t be discouraged. Also, if you are anything like me; you aren’t a morning person. So, sacrificing one of your sleep-in mornings can be a very difficult thing to do. I would say that of all my hobbies G-Saling is my favorite. First off I get to spend my morning with my baby girl. Just me, her, and “shopping.” I get to buy her small things that I only cost a dollar or two but oh boy does it make her smile. Second, you sometimes stumble upon new areas as you travel. We have found some really neat parks, independent business, random flea markets, local coffee shops, and breakfast places. Where do we go? We just simply get in the car and drive down a few of the larger streets where all the housing is and look for signs. “G-SALE, YARD SALE, ESTATE SALE.” Some routes are better than others of course, and just because you took a road that wasn’t so hot last weekend doesn’t mean it will be as bad this weekend. That means that you don’t need to keep pushing you’re driving farther and farther out from home. Estate sales are my favorite because I like looking at homes (want to buy one). Also, the have more furnisher than g-sales do. If you are looking to fill a house with decent furnisher on a budget this is a place to do it. Now you can’t plan on getting all your furnisher at once. Nor can you hope to match every piece exactly. Most people who are looking for a bargain aren’t going to be that picky anyhow, but the rush you get when you see that perfect piece. For instance I found a pair of marble top rustic nightstands. Initially 50 bucks each. I passed them up and by sheer luck they were there the next weekend HALF OFF. 50 bucks for 2 MARBAL TOP night stands. BEAT THAT IKEA!!!! Estate sales are often held in homes where people have since passed or they are moving and having a fire sale. So if you don’t mind possibly taking home a ghost or two with your new belongings, have at it. Personally I enjoy the new company. What kinda junk do you really buy at a garage sale? Depends. Obviously one of the biggest things to find is junk. Some people only sell junk and frankly I don’t see why sometimes. Though, some junk is more junkier than other junk. For instance I can take a bunch of scrap wood junk that I bought for a dollar and turn it into a bench (to put more junk on). Some people just know things that normal people wouldn’t. I could walk right passed a million dollar Van Gogh that I found to be junk and never even know it. It happens sometimes. Hopefully never to me. There are more practical things you can be looking for though. For instance, my girlfriend needed to watch a movie for extra credit in class. We had to rent it online for 6 bucks. The next day we found it on DVD for a dollar. The timing may have been a little off but had we needed for the next weekend we would have saved ourselves 5 bucks. VHS is a great buy because you can find a VHS player any weekend for 5 bucks. Movies sell for 25 cents normally. Making it a great idea for when you want to get a box of 50 Disney movies for kids to watch for all of 10 bucks. (DONE IT). Want to turn your new hobby into side cash and cheap new things? There are many things that I still kick myself in the butt for not buying. Mostly because I sell some of the stuff I find on Facebook for profit. I also use a few selling apps. I find the Art sells the best. I am able to pick up framed art for 5 bucks and sell it for 30 with very minimal effort. Over my years of garage saling I have traded up for better furnisher, gotten more furnisher, gadgets and gizmos. Here is a short list of finds. Paintball gun w/ tank and hopper- $20 – Sold for $100 16.6 Cu Ft Frigidaire up right deep freezer- $40 (Kept 2 years now) 2 Marble top night stands- $50 (Kept) About 20 framed art pieces -$5 each - Sold 15 each Beach Cruiser- $10 - Sold $100 Combo gas/charcoal grill - $10 - $30 parts 5min labor – Sold $150 You can’t find what you plan, and you can’t plan what you find. There are some amazing things in this world that I didn’t know existed until g-saling. I mainly didn’t know so many people existed that would buy such ugly furnisher. There is something out there for everyone, and someone out there is giving it away for near free or free. You just have to hunt for it. Happy Garage saling.