Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Summer is Here, Time for Hunting at Estate and Garage Sales



My favorite time of the year has arrived. Garage sale/Estate sale season is in full swing. While many people flock to Estate sales I lean towards garage sales more myself. You will always be surprised at the great treasures you can find at a garage sale, not to mention the huge price difference had you found the same piece at a company ran Estate Sale.

When I am out and about at these sales I always head straight to the jewelry section. This is usually located near the check out area. I rummage through each and every piece looking for signed items, shiny items and things that spark my interest. When looking for things to resell I have to put my own opinions to the side and think about what my consumer will like. Is it a popular brand or design? Are all the stones in tact? Is this something that will sell fast?

Than I have to consider the profitability, is the price something I can still mark up from and make a profit. Many times at Estate sales I find there is not much room to mark up the piece, however with a garage sale I usually have plenty of room.  After I find a few things for my shop than it's time for things I WANT!! I am a lover of cameos and rings, my favorite thing are old cameo rings (best of both worlds) after I have gathered my treasures I always do the next step NO MATTER what.  

ASK FOR A DEAL!!!
Never be afraid to ask for a discount or break if you are buying several items (I even do it if I am only buying 1 item) These sales are usually intended for downsizing and getting rid of unwanted items not a retail environment. They will usually not be offended when negotiations are brought up an often more than not they will give you the deal. They would rather sell 10 pieces at once than spend a whole weekend waiting for top dollar to sell only half of them. Any money you save increase the profit when you sell it in your shop.

Another tip to save $$ - revisit estate sales on their last day (usually Sunday)
Most Estate sale companies that run a sale for their client want everything to be sold so they have a discount the last day (usually 50% off) this is one of the best days to find things for reselling and to definitely get a deal when you buy a lot of pieces. On many occasions I have gone on a last day and if I have grabbed lets say 15 pieces i will ask for even more off. Remember they want this all sold so that their clients get the most out of their sale. No one want to lug things back into the house or have to box it up for donation. With that said don’t be discouraged if they say no, you will eventually run into that person who will not budge on their prices ever. When this happens go back to the profit margin, if you can’t mark it up than perhaps pass on this one. Remember there are tons of great finds out there so don’t spend the whole pocket book at the first sale!

I am a jewelry junkie and therefore find it exciting to go hunting each weekend that I can. Shopping at estate or garage sales is the most economical way for myself considering that I am in the Chicago metro area. Antique shops and consignment shops are always too expensive for me to shop at and ever try to resell. I hope you enjoy my little tips and hope that you will consider them the next time you are out shopping/hunting for jewelry. and please leave a comment and tell em some things you do! I love to hear shopping strategies.

By: Bill Guest of PaganCellarJewelry

Now for the GIVEAWAY!! I will be giving away 1 pair of handmade earrings in the color of the winners choice Value is $20 item will ship worldwide so everyone enter and come back and tweet daily!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

44 comments:

  1. Enjoyed the read, Bill, and your Giveaway sounds great!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love to yard sale! It's one of my favorite things to do! Now that I'm older, I'm more picky about what I buy, but you can find some amazing things for not much money!

    Thanks for sharing your tips!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you for sharing and the tips:)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great post! I enjoy scrounging around garage sales too!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you for sharing these tips! I enjoyed this post.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I find a LOT of vintage buttons and Mother of Pearl buttons at estate sales :) LOVE shopping around like that!!! Good luck in your giveaway!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Interesting read. I love rummaging through house clearances and as a Jewellery maker and always on the look out for unusual Gemstone beads I also find 'Casualty' corners in Charity shops a great place to find unusual items that can be given a new lease of life.

    ReplyDelete
  8. A fun post about finding great deals! Great tip on waiting for the last day at an estate sale. My father brought us up with the philosophy, "It never hurts to ask ...." in regards to getting a better deal. Thanks for the reminder!
    Amy

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great post, and good information !

    ReplyDelete
  10. Really great post and information. My parents love garage sales and I can wait until my kiddos are older so it is easier to tow them around more often! Love your pieces and your article, great tips!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Love your post... great ideas for those that love the garage/estate sales!

    Love your giveaway idea too!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Great information! I will definitely put this to use with Poison Garden :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Fun Stuff. Good Luck on the Giveaway.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Very interesting information Bill, thanks for sharing. I didn't realize there was so much effort and 'methods' involved in buying and reselling jewelry.
    I would love to win the giveaway too (entered)

    ReplyDelete
  15. LOVE garage sales! In fact now I'm itching to go bargain hunting this weekend!

    :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks for all the nice comments!! :-) glad you all could read it!! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Great article!! I find some of my best buys of costume jewelry at garage sales!!
    Thanks
    Kathy

    ReplyDelete
  18. I always assumed estate sales would be too pricey, but now that I know, on the last day prices may be alot better...just might check one out! By the way, Bill your jewelry is always lovely! You have good taste!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Great article - thanks for the interesting tips!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Wonderful post, and good luck on the Giveaway

    ReplyDelete
  21. Great post, Bill, with Great information!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Great tips Bill!!! I love to take old jewelry apart and never really thought of garage sales as a source!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Loved your post, Bill. Lots of information for summer shopping. Gotta love those garage sales. The best for vintage finds!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Great post, Bill! This is also my favorite season. I prepare for the sales by scanning the paper the night before. I pick the ones that are in the older but still nice parts of town where there are more elderly people. And then I try to get to the best ones Early. And if it is an estate sale run by a company, I get there before the sign up list goes out so I can be in the top ten people in the door. I also bring my husband with so he can scan for the larger items like hats and handbags.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Great post Bill. We ran estate tag sales from the mid 1970's through the 1980's. Our sales were one day only sales with prices reduced in the afternoon. We took left bids from people before we lowered the prices and many things sold to the people who left bids. I just wish that I had paid attention to costume jewelry in those days. Our estate sales were held in a very wealthy area of central northern New Jersey. We gave out numbers and sometimes we had over 100 people in line before the sale would start. I will bet that there were a lot of mad dashes to the jewelry tables.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Great info Bill!!! Thank You for sharing!!'

    ReplyDelete
  27. Really interesting info
    Thanks for sharing:)

    ReplyDelete
  28. I wonder how many garage sale I can find during the week. I have always wanted to go stalking but I work on the weekends. Great post!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Oh I love a good yard sale too! I like your ideas, and agree not to be afraid to ask for a discount. Great information!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Billy, I love garage sales and estate sales. I've found some terrific vintage pearls and glass pearls that I reuse in my designs for great prices.

    Love the tips. Hope you have a great giveaway. I'm going to pass to let other non-jewelry people enter.

    ReplyDelete
  31. I love getting tips from fellow sale shoppers. Everyone has a different and special technique it seems. I have found that in my area in the nicer housing addition sales the prices are super cheap as they just want to get rid of their 'junk' and don't care how much money they make. P.S. I LOVE ETSY!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Unique Cozy Treasures - Bill, I love garage sales and here in Iowa we have a lot of auctions throughout the spring, summer and autum months. There is always some great finds. Thanks for the info.

    ReplyDelete
  33. My husband and I love yard/estate sales - in fact we hit a fabulous estate sale this past weekend where we got a lot of great things for our new summer house. Hit them the first day for the great finds, then again the second day for the great deals. Great post.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Informative article Bill.....

    ReplyDelete
  35. Great information - as one who has had to put on an estate/garage sale in the last year. I was willing to negotiate on most items. There were a few that I had researched and knew exactly what they could bring and I didn't go down on those - Everything else though was fair game.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Great tips Bill! I might add, get there early!
    I am a garage/estate sale junkie for vintage jewelry and other interesting treasures. My favorite story is an estate sale I went to on the first day, straight for the jewelry which was rather pricey for the pieces that interested me. Went back the last day and there was a sign at the front door that said fill a bag for $4. I was 2nd in line, went for the jewelry & asked if that applied to it as well and she said "Everything". So I opened my bag & said fill it up! Some of the pieces from the first day were still there so I left doing my happy dance!!
    Lynn
    http://www.lynnsbeadsnthings.etsy.com

    ReplyDelete
  37. I love your story Bill! Thanks for great tips! I actually never thought much about this way of shopping before. And now I'll definitely try! I had no idea you can get deals like that! Sounds like a lot of fun!!!

    ReplyDelete
  38. Excellent article Bill! Great tips for tag sales!

    ReplyDelete
  39. I love the informative post, and what to look out for, thank you also for the Giveaway! Sounds great.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Congrats... HOlly... can not wait to see what you pick!!!!

    Thanks Bill for doing your giveaway on our Blog!

    ReplyDelete
  41. Great post. Thanks for all of the tips. I am very big into yardsaling and need to start checking out more estate sales. One website I love for yardsaling is http://www.yardsalesearch.com. It's awesome because it maps out the local yard sales and saves me a lot of time and gas!

    ReplyDelete