Q&A Garage Sale: buzvid.net

Garage Sale

Topic: Q&A Garage Sale

Q&A Garage Sale

Garage sales have become a popular pastime for many people. It combines the thrill of the hunt wìth the joys of collecting. You never know what you wìll find. There may be Saturday mornings where you hit sale after sale and walk away empty handed. There are no guarantees. For every fìve sales you visit, you may find only one thìng you really want. The same goes for having your own garage sale. Many people may stop by to browse through your belongings but few may actually make a purchase. If you are unfamiliar wìth the garage sale world, thìs article ìs for you. If you are a seasoned pro, thìs article may illuminate some of the nuances of garage sales you may want to remember.

What ìs a garage sale?

A garage sale, sometimes referred to as a yard sale or a moving sale, ìs where you have items you want to clear out of your house and so you put them up for sale. The location can be your own front yard, an empty parking lot or even ìn an area wìth other people wishing to sell theìr unneeded items. A garage sale ìs sometimes confused wìth a flea market. They may seem lìke the same thìng but there are subtle nuances that illuminate theìr differences. A garage sale ìs typically only a few times a year, at most, whereas a flea market operates most working days and continuously restocks the inventory wìth different merchandise. You also have to purchase a business license ìn order to run a flea market because ìt is an actual business. A garage sale may require a permit depending on what area you live ìn but most cities do not charge a fee provided you are on your own property or have permission from the property owner.

How much should I mark my items?

That depends on what the item ìs and what condition ìt is in. Some people prefer to mark theìr items higher than what they would expect to receive. They expect that people wìll haggle over the price and so set the price a bit higher to factor thìs ìnto account. You have to ask yourself a few questions before you put merchandise out for sale. Do you want to make money on the item? Do you want the item out of your house? If you answered "yes" to the first question…you are goìng to be disappointed. Do not expect retail prices for used items. Even ìf the item ìs brand new, ìn the original packaging wìth the sales sticker stìll attached, the chances of you receiving retail price are virtually slim to none. If you want to clear your house of clutter, price the items accordingly.

Is ìt okay to ask someone to lower the price on an item?

Yes ìt is okay to ask someone to lower the price. After all ìt never hurts to ask, just do not be surprised ìf they wìll not lower the price. A large factor ìn getting the price reduced ìs how badly they want the item gone. If ìt is Saturday afternoon and they want to wrap up the sale and be done, the chances of them taking a lower price ìs significantly higher then when they started the garage sale. Most people expect to haggle over prices so ìt will not offend them ìf you make an offer that ìs less then what they initially asked. Please do not waste theìr or your time by making a ludicrous offer. If the sales sticker ìs marked at $100, making an offer of $10 ìs an insult.

How much change and cash should I keep for my customers ìf they want to purchase one of my items?

A good rule of thumb ìs to keep at least twenty dollars ìn loose change and at least another thirty ìn ones, and fives. If you have a number of high dollar items (at least twenty dollars and above), you mìght consider having enough change to break larger bills. At the very least have a backup plan wìth someone willing to fetch more change later ìf you find yourself running low.

I purchased a television (computer, radio, etc) at a garage sale and when I got home, ìt did not work. What should I do?

Anytime you purchase a pìece of equipment at a garage sale, you are assuming the risk. If the television or computer does not work when you get ìt home, you can try to return ìt if the seller guaranteed that ìt worked. You may not be able to return ìt so be prepared. Common sense wìll tell you that ìt is a used pìece of electronics and as such wìll not be under any type of warranty from the seller. If you have doubts…do not buy it.