Posts Tagged ‘Garage Sales’

494 garage sales in Virginia this weekend. Whew!

Don’t have a GPS? No problem, there are printable maps with directions available on the website as well.

It’s time to hit the road and get shopping, there are few hundred just in the Hampton Roads area.

This week I created the button for the whole state of Virginia, instead of just the Tidewater sales, to my one-click button for automatic TomTom installation this week.

Have fun shopping!

Not only did I create the one-click download for your TomTom device for Hampton Roads, but I created one for the whole country this week to see if anyone uses it.

Hampton Roads
United States

Don’t have a TomTom? Most other brands of GPS devices can import a CSV file. Look for the button just above the listings on our garage sale map.

It’s Friday morning on the east coast and there are already over 4,700 garage sale listings — I’m quite confident we will pass the 5,000 mark by tomorrow. Check out a glimps of the national map:

The site is set up to view just your local area, because plotting this many sales takes a few minutes and would frustrate most people.

Even during a recession, you can spruce up your home or office with new furniture and accessories to add character and warmth. One of the tricks to doing this, while saving money, is to buy items second hand, and garage sales are a great way to do this.

When shopping for home decor at garage sales you will have to keep your eyes open for items that will enhance the look you are going for. There’s no point in picking up a wall sconce, even if it’s only a buck, if it doesn’t match what you are going for or looks like it’s from the wrong era. The stuff is out there, but you’ll have to be patient in finding it.

It helps to scan the ads before heading out so you don’t waste time looking at sales full of baby stuff or antiques (unless that’s what you’re going for). Sites like GarageSaleFinder.com and craigslist are completely searchable, so you can plan your route to hit the sales that have accessories or furniture that you’re interested in.

Particularly with furniture, go early. Furniture sells FAST.

Angela Sullivan gives some great advice to readers of her blog:

Look for quality. Many homeowners are just looking to clear out their basement or garage, and are selling items that are otherwise valuable. Others just have a bunch of miscellaneous items that could easily be thrown in the trash. Thy to find that diamond in the rough.

She’s really nailed it. You have to really look at the items you’re buying, there’s no returning an item if it doesn’t work or doesn’t fit the space. Fortunately, at pennies on the dollar compared to retail, your risk is minimal and chances are you’ll be able to find something that will add that extra bit of flair to your rooms.

A cute article in the Buffalo News from late last summer gives an analysis of shoppers they experienced at their sale. Mostly, I think I disagree with the percentages, but I guess it depends on the region, the time of year and your merchandise. Allison, the author, even gave the shoppers in each category cute names like “Dollar General” and “Voyeurs”.

1) Dollar Generals come with no intention of spending more than $1, and satisfy their recessionary consumerism with the purchase of a book or toy for $1 (60% of customers).

2) Voyeurs drive by at 1 mph and look out the window to see if it’s worth getting out of the car, then decide to keep going (15%).

3) Silent Lookers actually get of the car, look disapprovingly at merchandise, and drive off without a word (10%).

4) Extreme Bargainers offer an insulting fraction of marked prices (5%).

5) Smooth Salers actually look at merchandise, offer a compliment or two, and if they purchase something, happily pay price as marked (10%).

In my neck of the woods, we don’t have nearly as many Voyeurs. Or maybe I just sell better junk so they actually get out of the car. It could just be that what was actually visible from the car wasn’t all that interesting. (See Top 25 tips for having a great garage sale for some ideas on planning your next garage sale.) Hmmm… Or maybe there are a LOT more sales in Allison’s neighborhood so getting out of the car is saved for sales with specific merchandise. The fact that Allison had 10% silent lookers makes me think that it was, in fact, WHAT she was selling. Seriously? 1 in 10 not buying anything? Heck, I’d close up and go back to bed if my sales were that bad. 5% on extreme bargainers? Maybe it was just that her prices were high and what she thought was extremely low was really the going rate.

I couldn’t tell from the article if Allison ever goes garage sale shopping, she may not have the experience to know how to price stuff. In any case, it was a cute article and I rather enjoyed Alison’s writing style.