Finding useful and valuable trinkets at a Yard Sale or a Garage Sale is the goal of every professional or amateur junk hunter. It’s a fun art and science, and there are plenty of things to be on the look out for when trying to get a profit. You want to be sure every purchase is something you can turn for profit You don’t want to waste your time on duds or one-way dead-ends. You also don’t want to invest too much on what you think will be a great profit turner only to realize you were barking up the wrong tree. Part of being successful is being prepared and having a knowledge base of what to look for and what to avoid. Here are some things that may be undervalued by the seller that you can take advantage of.
Record Players and Receivers and Other Old Electronic Pieces
Old electronics went through a lull in the 80’s and 90’s, when the new fancy technology was seen as being so important and revolutionary. But now, people are starting to appreciate the fact that vintage gear was not only built better and therefore is still good, but it clearly sounds better. Of course you can’t just buy any old electronics item and expect it to have value. But if you know what to look for, you can find some gems. For guitar amplifiers, tube amps are going to still sound good and will have value. A lot of times they will need repairs to get them back to life but that’s easy to do or have done. These are not expensive or heavily involved repairs. Same goes for vintage stereo receivers. They may not be in working order, but a relatively minor fix can get them up and running again.
Nice Watches Were Built Well Back in the Day
A lot of watches you find at a garage sale or yard sale are in disrepair and in the currently-not-functioning category. They can still be impressive and beautiful pieces of jewelry that have just lost their resale value because their primary, intended function doesn’t work. But don’t let that opportunity pass you by: there are rolex repairs places like the watch buyers group that will take a broken down watch and fix it up. It doesn’t have to even be that expensive, and moreover, you can send the watch to this place and so even if you live on the other side of the country, you should still snatch up that broken watch.
Everything Sounds Better on Vinyl
There’s no secret here: vinyl is back. The problem with that is most yard sales will be picked over by the time you get there, so you need to be one of the first to show up if you want any chance of finding the vinyl gems. You also need to make sure the records are in good condition – they don’t have to be in mint, but look for writing on the sleeves or scratches on the disc itself – those can drive down resale price. You also want to look for where they were made, and what era they were recorded, and who the players are. A little research ahead of time will give you all the info you need to know which records should be snatched. You can also Google the titles from your phone from the sale, just don’t let on to the people who own the records that you know what you’re doing!
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I enjoy going to garge sales to find things the family could use at a good price. I have not yet tried to resell any item , but perhaps in the future, I shall start doing this too. Thanks for the good advice.
I love my garage sale gems. Hubby found a watch, it needed a crystal and cleaning, the pocket watch was brought to the jewelry store, they offered him $60 unfixed, then went to $80. He wanted it, fixed it, and loves it. It keeps perfect time. You don’t find gems all time, you do have to really look, but you can find some beautiful items. My daughter collects dolls, I found three well made doll chairs for $2-3 each. I picked them up, cleaned them, and what a wonderful Christmas present they will be.
Great tips thanks for sharing this one I love trying to find gems at yard sales I am praying to find a million dollar painting one of these days. I never thought about old records though I will keep my eyes peeled now for some goodies.
I like garage sales for getting things that I need at a good price. I don’t have any interest in doing it for possible profit.
I love finding unique items like these at yard sales. It is fun to dig around and look at all the stuff that I can find. Sometimes I miss the old vinyl records.
These are all great and I have looked for them all at every yard sale and flea market I’ve gone to. I’ve also had pretty good luck with pottery and glass. You can make huge profits on them, but the only problem is that you must have a lot of knowledge. If you’re not careful you can lose money just as easily. Happy hunting!