Dandelions and Daydreams

When you garage sale, it sounds contradictory to only buy something if you would pay full price for it. What place does full price have in a garage sale? I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, a garage sale bargain isn’t a bargain if you don’t need the item or won’t use it. When I go out shopping at garage sales, I only buy something if I know that I would pay full price for it later. This builds on the idea in Part 2: Shop with a List. I make the list first so I know what I want. As I shop at garage sales, I look for a bargain on these items. If I don’t find the things on my list, I will eventually (when it’s in the budget) buy many of these items new. This idea works for home decorator items, clothes, gifts, or whatever you are shopping for. If I wouldn’t buy something at retail prices, I shouldn’t buy it at a bargain price.

When you go shopping at a garage sale and are sorting the treasures from the trash, ask yourself, when I have the money, would I buy something similar for full price? If you really love your garage sale finds, they won’t turn into clutter as soon as they get carried in your front door.

For the garage sale junkie, a summer Saturday can be the perfect invitation for bringing more clutter into your home. One of the best ways that I have found to sort the treasures from the trash is to shop with a list.

List the home decorations you want to buy
Every few months I walk through my house and make a home improvement list. This will become my shopping list as I garage sale. When I find a potential treasure, I already know if I can use it in my house or not. If I don’t know where I will use it, I will pass this “treasure” because it’s really just trash in disguise.

List the clothes sizes for each member of your family
Garage sale clothes are cheap, so there is a lot of potential for great buys. The drawback is that there usually are no refunds from a garage sale and so clothes that don’t fit are wasted money. At the beginning of the garage sale season, measure everyone in your family and list their clothes sizes. If you take measurements of waist and inseam for pants, torso and arm length for shirts, neck size, etc. you can carry a soft tape measure with you and check the clothes for fit before you buy them. On this list, it’s good to have the actual clothing sizes along with the measurements as a double check. This will take just a few minutes, and could really pay off in garage sale savings. If you have children who are growing fast, buy a size above when you buy clothes for the next season.

List names that you are buying gifts for
If you are the sort who doesn’t mind giving second-hand gifts, garage sale season can be an ideal time to buy Christmas presents (or any other type of present). Make a list of names for people you need to buy presents for. When you buy a present for a person on your list, make sure you cross off that name so you don’t buy multiple presents for the same person.

When you buy gifts at a garage sale, carefully check the quality of the item. I often find quality gifts that I wouldn’t be able to afford otherwise. I’m fortunate enough that most of my friends and family are delighted to get unique gifts given with love even if the gift was bought second hand. You know who these friends are, go out and garage sale for them.

Don’t be afraid of garage sales, just bring your armor with you. Bring your lists.

Everybody loves a great bargain, and one of the best places for a savvy shopper to find a bargain is at a garage sale. Garage sales are usually held for one of two reasons: to get rid of junk, or to make money. The value of the sale depends on the motivation of the seller. I think my favorite type of garage sales are moving sales. The seller will often put nice stuff up for sale, like furniture that wouldn’t get sold if the owner wasn’t moving. Not only is nicer stuff sold at moving sales, but also the seller is motivated. The real danger in a garage sale comes when you get caught up in the excitement of getting a great bargain and forget to be frugal.

I have collected these five tips on how to be frugal at a garage sale: shop with a list, only buy something you would pay full price for, leave your checkbook at home, bring a friend and negotiate like your life depended on it. Over the next few days, I will be expanding on these ideas so that you can learn how to get the most for your money and find the best bargains during this garage sale season.

To get things rolling, leave a comment and tell me what your best garage sale tip is.

With the summer solstice passed and garage sale season well underway, the most frugal among us could use a few pointers on how to become an expert garage saler. The art of buying from a garage sale has been well refined through generations of bargain hunters. Over the next few days, I will be posting a series on how to get the most for your money at a garage sale. Check back tomorrow for the first part of this series.