I once again had a sale of my own yesterday. It was awful; I've never seen so few people stop by. I only ended up making $26 by the end of the day, $15 of that was from the camping mattress I pulled out of my neighbor's dumpster last week.
My friend thinks that people are starting to recognize my signs and are now skipping my sales. I'm unsure what to think but yesterday was very disheartening. I'm considering keeping only a few items for Craigslist and then taking the rest to Goodwill just to get rid of it.
In other news, last Saturday, September 15th, I went on my usual non-garage saling day neighborhood walk. I actually bought something for a change: two very large (and very heavy) wine glasses ($0.25 total) from a very nice couple with whom I've become acquainted by visiting their garage sales and vice-versa. I intend to give them to a friend for his birthday along with the very ugly rooster carafe I got out of a free pile from in front of a neighbor's house. Nothing exciting, but I thought I would report it anyway.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
Always Check the Boxes
I coined a new phrase garage saling the last time: "When in doubt, get out." The phrase refers to when you see what potentially may be good items at a sale but you're considering a drive by. You obviously don't want to pass up anything good so you get out to check the sale, even if you see only one potentially good item.
I initially coined the phrase when looking at boxes. Many times at sales there will be boxes with no way of you knowing what they contain from the street. I'd say that nine times out of ten they hold garbage, but sometimes they hold interesting items and sometimes even something worth buying.
A really common garage sale item is the box filled with random computer cables. I always go through these boxes when I see them; my main garage saling friend seems to think I really like cables and still hasn't caught on to my secret: many times there are good items buried under or mixed in the cables. You just have to dig around. That's how I found the copy of Goldeneye 64 the last time I went saling.
I initially coined the phrase when looking at boxes. Many times at sales there will be boxes with no way of you knowing what they contain from the street. I'd say that nine times out of ten they hold garbage, but sometimes they hold interesting items and sometimes even something worth buying.
A really common garage sale item is the box filled with random computer cables. I always go through these boxes when I see them; my main garage saling friend seems to think I really like cables and still hasn't caught on to my secret: many times there are good items buried under or mixed in the cables. You just have to dig around. That's how I found the copy of Goldeneye 64 the last time I went saling.
Monday, September 10, 2012
And Yet Another Record Broken
I just got back from a Craigslist deal. With it, I set myself a new record for most profitable garage saling day ever.
My previous most profitable day was December 10th, 2011. If you're a dedicated reader, which I seriously doubt, you will remember that is the day I purchased the laser tag set which I resold for $110, netting myself $104.
This evening I sold the mechanical keyboard I purchased January 14th, my first day of garage saling in 2012. I got my full $60 -- about $30 more than I anticipated making -- so I was willing to break my own rules and meet a Craigslist person at night but I was still sure to meet him in a well-populated, well-lit location. The buyer was pleasant and the transaction was very easy.
With this sale, my profit for January 14th, 2012 has reached $156.60 before gas (I paid $13.40 and sold the keyboard for $60, the hiking poles for $35, the Nerf guns for $65, and the silver for $10), beating my previous record of $104.
My previous most profitable day was December 10th, 2011. If you're a dedicated reader, which I seriously doubt, you will remember that is the day I purchased the laser tag set which I resold for $110, netting myself $104.
This evening I sold the mechanical keyboard I purchased January 14th, my first day of garage saling in 2012. I got my full $60 -- about $30 more than I anticipated making -- so I was willing to break my own rules and meet a Craigslist person at night but I was still sure to meet him in a well-populated, well-lit location. The buyer was pleasant and the transaction was very easy.
With this sale, my profit for January 14th, 2012 has reached $156.60 before gas (I paid $13.40 and sold the keyboard for $60, the hiking poles for $35, the Nerf guns for $65, and the silver for $10), beating my previous record of $104.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
9/8/12 Purchase Summary
I had another great haul yesterday. While I bought more items than is typical for me, I still spent only $2.75 and I managed to buy an item for myself, an item for a Christmas gift, and several resale items.
My first purchase was two TI-83 graphing calculators and one manual. As I mentioned yesterday, these are being added to the $2.65 challenge. I've had a lot of people emailing me about them recently so hopefully they sell soon; I should make $40/calculator.
I later bought a copy of Goldeneye for the Nintendo 64 along with a food scale for $0.50. I just happened to find Goldeneye in a box of random electronics (always check the boxes of cables, there is sometimes good stuff buried); it's already sold on Amazon for $12. I bought the scale as a gift for my dad for Christmas because my mom would never buy him one despite him asking for years. I got pretty lucky getting both items for $0.50 considering the scale was marked at $0.75; the seller wouldn't even consider my friend's offer when he tried to bargain.
I bought a copy of Super Mario World at a church sale for $0.25. It's on Amazon right now but it won't sell for a while. This was only the second church/organization sale from which I ever bought anything.
I later on bought one of the oldest Game Boys, a case, and one game for $0.50. The woman originally wanted $10 but she quickly went down once I showed her that the batteries had exploded inside the Game Boy. I took it home and scraped out the gunk and, much to my not surprise, it worked. Unfortunately, some of the pixels are dead but it can supposedly be fixed. I don't think I'm going to bother, I'm just going to list it on Craigslist -- sans game -- with the Game Boy accessories I bought a few weeks ago. Sadly, the game is Tetris 2 (not Tetris like I thought it was) but I'm still keeping it despite having learned that Tetris 2 is a terrible game. I have no estimate for how much I can get for the Game Boy stuff.
My last purchase was a tea infuser mug for myself. I had tried to buy it a few months ago when the seller had another sale but he wouldn't accept my offer of $0.50. Yesterday he relented (although at first he still insisted on $1, he eventually realized that he had had it for a while) and I got my infuser.
And the obligatory photo of my purchases, of course:
My first purchase was two TI-83 graphing calculators and one manual. As I mentioned yesterday, these are being added to the $2.65 challenge. I've had a lot of people emailing me about them recently so hopefully they sell soon; I should make $40/calculator.
I later bought a copy of Goldeneye for the Nintendo 64 along with a food scale for $0.50. I just happened to find Goldeneye in a box of random electronics (always check the boxes of cables, there is sometimes good stuff buried); it's already sold on Amazon for $12. I bought the scale as a gift for my dad for Christmas because my mom would never buy him one despite him asking for years. I got pretty lucky getting both items for $0.50 considering the scale was marked at $0.75; the seller wouldn't even consider my friend's offer when he tried to bargain.
I bought a copy of Super Mario World at a church sale for $0.25. It's on Amazon right now but it won't sell for a while. This was only the second church/organization sale from which I ever bought anything.
I later on bought one of the oldest Game Boys, a case, and one game for $0.50. The woman originally wanted $10 but she quickly went down once I showed her that the batteries had exploded inside the Game Boy. I took it home and scraped out the gunk and, much to my not surprise, it worked. Unfortunately, some of the pixels are dead but it can supposedly be fixed. I don't think I'm going to bother, I'm just going to list it on Craigslist -- sans game -- with the Game Boy accessories I bought a few weeks ago. Sadly, the game is Tetris 2 (not Tetris like I thought it was) but I'm still keeping it despite having learned that Tetris 2 is a terrible game. I have no estimate for how much I can get for the Game Boy stuff.
My last purchase was a tea infuser mug for myself. I had tried to buy it a few months ago when the seller had another sale but he wouldn't accept my offer of $0.50. Yesterday he relented (although at first he still insisted on $1, he eventually realized that he had had it for a while) and I got my infuser.
And the obligatory photo of my purchases, of course:
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Calculators, Calculators, Calculators
I've decided (well, I decided a while ago but I just mentioned it now) that all of the calculators I've purchased recently are part of the $2.65 Challenge. This includes the TI-83 I bought on April 7th for $0.50, the TI-83+ I bought on June 23rd for $0.50, and the two TI-83's I bought today for $1. Together, these four items cost me $2 so I have an additional $0.65 to spend on the Challenge.
Today I sold the oldest (and by far the most beaten up) calculator, the TI-83 from April 7th. I've been having people email me about it all week but people kept being scared off by the condition. I finally had someone pick it up today for $40 so I'm well on my way to making a good profit off my settlement.
Today I sold the oldest (and by far the most beaten up) calculator, the TI-83 from April 7th. I've been having people email me about it all week but people kept being scared off by the condition. I finally had someone pick it up today for $40 so I'm well on my way to making a good profit off my settlement.
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