Monday, May 21, 2012

Going to drop some garage sale knowledge

   I say all the time to utilize Craigslist, the Facebook selling groups, and garage sales as much as you can when you have a kid - they outgrow everything too quick to pay full  price for it! So, why not take advantage of it while you can - becuase you know when they're teenagers they probably won't go for it! - and save some money!
  
    We have great garage sales here sicne we're in a military town - people are having to pack up and move, and theres a weight limit to how much you can take and such, so they unload most of it before they go. (We did the same thing on our move from MS back to TX years ago) That's the perfect time to buy!
    Usually garage sale "season" is middle part of the year, but this past year I saw some well into November, and started back up in March-April since we didn't really have a winter. So it's almost year round fun!
   Also, they start early. Like, crazy early. Before the "spring forward" time change it starts at 6am since the sun is up, and "fall back" time it's usually 7-8am. Those 6am days are brutal - that means I'm up at 5:15am, eat some cereal, stop at Starbucks maybe, hit the ATM up, then be at my first sale atleast 15 minutes beforehand. You need to be there early incase you have re-salers like we do here - they literally come with big trailers and hit up every garage sale they can, load it up, and then go park on the side of the road and double the price of something  to try to make a profit. They're awful.
   With your smartphones you can download the Craigslist app, and keep tabs on what garage sales are going on, and map them. I tend to do that the night before-  I"ll sit down and see which side of twon has the most garage sales going on, then map it and put them in order according to my biggest "want", then time, and location so you're not wasting precious gas.
   The worst part for me is haggling, I suck at it. Usually Rich does it for me - which he has really gotten into garge saling - and we can get out cheaper. That $200+ crib bedding we got for $10? Rich. A $40+ dollar kid toy that looked brand new and B loves, $1. Rich. You have to feel the seller out, see if they prefer to talk to the women or men, and let that person do the haggling. Even if you save a buck, tha'ts a buck you can put towards something at another sale.

   Here's some of the stuff I got this past week, what they were asking for it, and what we got it for. :)


This is the twin bed Mom bought for Braxton - which we looove! It came with two mattresses (there is a trundle under there!), a super thick memory foam topper and the bed itself. They were asking $325, I got her down to $275. The Monster bedding was a different story, there was no haggling, no budging. But, it was still a steal! The twin bedding alone retails for $89 (That's another thing, if you have a smartphone, look the price of something up and haggle with it - try to always get it for a third of the orginal price!!), the green rub was $60, the individutal monsters run about $20 each, not counting the body pillow, mini pillow and shower curtain. We got it all for $60, and it's never been used. That's a steal, and worth paying their full asking price.


Across the street from me is some grandparents who raise their grandkids, and they do a sale a few times a year to sell all the stuff they've outgrown. We got this pile, and the chair a few pics down for $5, they were asking $8 - not a big difference, but again, it goes towards another sale later! We got the chair below, 4 shirts, 3 shorts, 2 fake-crocs, and a pair of New Balance shoes that look brand new. I know the price of the NB shoes are about $30 even for a kid, so paying .50 cents for them is a smart move! The clothes look brand new, are a good brand, so .50 cents each is another good deal. I didn't have any in these sizes, so it was a win-win for Brax.


This is a Little Tykes climb-n-slide, I think it retails for $60-80 depending on if it's on sale or not. We got it for $20, and it's in great condition. Inturn I sold 2 of the slides we used for outside, that B isn't a fan of (he loves this one becuase of the spinny wheel ontop) for $20, and broke even.



I found a basket to put B's medicine in in the cabinet for .50 cents. Do I care that it's got snowflakes on it? No. But the liner flips inside out for an everyday beige color, but I like the blue. :)


This stool goes with the last picture. I got this to use at the foot of B's bed since it's so tall, but the ottoman we bought when he was first born works better. I'm not going to let it go to waste though, it'll go great in the living room, or infront of my rocker. We got it, and everythign in the last photo, for $10. Orginally the lady wanted $10 for the steamer alone, but it was end of the day and she didn't want to bring stuff back in, so we got it all for $10. Sometimes it's worth going at the end of the day around 10-11am and checking out what's left and see how low they'll go.


This is she chair form the clothes picture above.


This is a steamer (which we used last night, it worked awesome) -  it comes in handy for in the summer so your house doens't get too hot like mine, or for the next baby when I make their own food. Also a book, and the first Bourne DVD, which we didn't have. So if you if you think about the movie alone being $20, atleast that for the steamer, it's worth it.


   Garage saling can totally be worth it if you're willing to go look. Some weekends suck, and you won't find anything, or they'll have the price so high you can buy it b rand new with no cooties on it for $5 more. Those times I just walk away, the next weekend may be better. Plan then around paydays - like here it's mainly military, so I know to hit the good garage sales around on the 1st/15th since it's their payday.
   So, go out and see how much you can save :) I guarantee you it'll add up, and you'll wonder why you paid $50 for a toy, and then find it for $5 at a garage sale!

1 comment:

  1. Look at you, you need to write a book on how to get great deals at yard sales & on Craigslist haha. That is a great bed & you got it for a great price. Love it!

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