Well, I had a productive morning! Anybody who knows me, knows how much I love finding great deals. I've actually made it into a side job during the summer months. I spend a few hours on Friday and Saturday mornings buying furniture from yard sales, cleaning it up, retouching paint when needed and then reselling for a profit. Sometimes the furniture needs a quite a bit of work, but usually not.
The past few weeks have held some exceptional finds, that were too good not to share. We kept the fun things, and sold the rest. This helps supplement me staying at home with the kids, and I love finding new treasures!
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| Cool vintage school clock. Paid $5. Worth $50. Now in garage. |
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| Fish welcome sign. MSRP $275. Paid $100 This was for my brother in law. He got a great deal! It came with receipt from a chainsaw carving competition, and will be great at their property. |
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| Radio Flyer trike. MSRP $59. Paid $4. Sold $25. |
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| 3 paintings from Z gallery. Paid $30 |
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| lot of kids toys. Paid $20. Sold $100(ish). |
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| EACH painting has a price tag of $199. MSRP $590. Paid $30. These are now in the dining room. |
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| Antique brass fire extinguisher. Paid $15. Worth $100(ish) |
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| Little Tikes Slide. MSRP $39. Paid $2. Sold $20. |
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| Pottery Barn Chesapeake Bay Kid's outdoor table and umbrella. MSRP $349. Paid $45. I think we will keep this. |
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| Princess Slide- MSRP $79. Paid $5. Sold $30. |
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| Martha Stewart Patio Set. MSRP $400(ish). Paid $75. Sold $250. |
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| Crate and Barrel set of Jackson Chairs- MSRP $798. Paid $20. Sold $175. |
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| Little people talking zoo- MSRP $69. Paid $2. Sold $30. |
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| Cost Plus World Market patio table. MSRP $199. Paid $5. Sold $85. |
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| Jeep Jogging stroller. MSRP $149. Paid $5. Sold $50. |
Our two biggest finds were both last summer:
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| Bausch and Lomb solid brass telescope on a cherry wood base.. We paid $130, and later learned that it is valued between $1900-$4600!!! We chose to keep this. |
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| 7 piece teak patio set. We paid $150 and sold within two hours for $650. Even that was a steal! The same set brand new was nearly $3000! We regret not keeping this. |
As you can see, I mainly just purchase big items. I don't waste my time looking through knick knacks. I drive by a sale, and if I see a big item that catches my eye, I'll stop. I make sure that everything is nice and cleaned up before posting on Craigslist, and always list for a tad less than similar postings. This way, I don't keep my money tied up. Most of my stuff sells within a day or two.
Helpful hints for making your own extra garage sale money:
*Start with a budget. I took $100 out of our checking account at the beginning of the season. As soon as I made this money back, I paid back the account. I keep my profits in the safe, so I always know how much I have to work with, and only use this money for buying new items.
*Buy things you like. I see a lot of great finds, but only purchase things that appeal to me. It makes it easier to sell, or to blend in with your house until they sell. The tricky part can be wanting to keep stuff, but you can always chose to upgrade from old furniture to new finds, and sell the old stuff.
*Only buy stuff that it is great condition. It's easy to clean something, but hard to sell something that is falling apart or has untreatable stains.
*Set a goal, and come up with a fun use for the money. Last year Adam and I vacationed to New York and Boston on garage sale profits.
*Chose a garage sale route that is close to your house. Don't assume that good stuff can only be found in nice neighborhoods. I find 99% of my things in older homes.
GOOD LUCK, I can't wait to hear about your finds!
