Category Archives: Tag Sell It

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Father’s Day

For all the father’s out there, yesterday was a particularly great day. A day to be with your family, and especially, your kids.

I woke up early yesterday thinking about what I’d like to do with my son that day. I decided it was the perfect day to give him the bicycle I had recently purchased and put together for him. He was overly excited until we both realized he was still a bit too small to reach the pedals.

I then had to come up with a new plan and decided it would be a great day to take him to his first garage sale. This might seem like an odd choice, but I was first exposed to garage sales when I was right around his age, and I truly think it taught me a great deal of important lessons. I learned the value of money, the value and history of collectibles, and perhaps most importantly, I learned how to interact with people of all different backgrounds. And I learned all this from going to and throwing garage sales. So why not start my son out a few years early by taking a trip to a few different sales.

It was a fantastic day, not only because I was able to teach my son a bit about one of my life’s passions, but also because we found a few great items. We found a 5-string banjo with its original case for $35 as well as an antique, hexagonal, bamboo fishing rod for $25. After a quick bit of research, I found that I could sell each for over $100. If I took the time to clean up the banjo a bit, I could probably resell it for closer to $200. Not a bad find!

The moral of my little short story here (apart from the usual message of using a smart phone to help you find undervalued items such as these) is to be sure to take time out of your day to be with your children. And instead of taking them to the ball game, maybe it’s time to take them to a garage sale. Teach them early. It’s a hobby that could take them far.

Hope you had a happy Father’s Day!

- Aaron

To learn more about Aaron LaPedis, visit www.thegaragesalemillionaire.com or contact him at thegaragesalemillionaire@gmail.com.

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Used Books: Man’s Greatest Underutilized Resource

I read like there is no tomorrow. On a good week, I can read 5 to 6 books. It also means that I spend a lot of money on books and Librarians have come to have a love/hate relationship with me. However, I figured that I can still get my reading fix while not leaving my wallet gasping for air. Used books have become my best friends and here are a few reasons why used books are the way to go:

Used books are often cheaper than both their physical and electronic brethren. In addition, paper backs are even cheaper than their hardback counterparts. You can often find hardbacks for under ten dollars and paperbacks for under five dollars. It should be noted that pricing can vary from seller to seller. Generally, used books are kinder on your wallet than new books are.
Buying used books is a good way to give back to the Earth. It is no secret that books are made of paper and that often creates a lot of waste. Buying used books reduces the number of books printed and selling used books gives used books a new lease on life. Either way, you are helping out Mother Nature and you are making someone very happy by giving them to chance to read your book.
I find that when I go used book shopping, they always have some of the most unusual selections of books. Now, when I say ‘unusual’, I mean they are not typical selections you would see at a chain bookstore. This is pleasantly wonderful, because I get a chance to read books that I would not normally pick up. You can find some wonderful novels that way. You can also find older and rarer additions. It really is amazing some of the novels you can find at the bookstore.
Used Books have character. There is something wonderful about knowing the book in front of you has lived many lives. It is so interesting to think about the journeys the books could have taken. Maybe, it’s just that I read way too much for my own good and romanticize the idea of used books. Either way, there is something about used books that give them character.
You can always resell! You aren’t stuck with a book for life and you can pass it on once more. You get to give that used book another chance at life. One of the books I recently bought used was absolutely terrible, but I am going to resell it because I know there is someone who will treasure that book and enjoy it.

So, to sum up the article, used books are awesome and a great way to spread books around. I hope you have fun reading and that you get to go on many different journeys with many different books. I want to leave you with a quote that sums up one of the many joys of reading and I wish you a happy reading with your used books.

We read to know we are not alone-C.S. Lewis

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Garage Sale Tips

10 Tips for an Epic Family Garage Sale

Whatever you do, make BIG, BEAUTIFUL AND COLORFUL SIGNS!

1) Get Organized

Section a room or area in your home to be filled with the items you wish to sell
Be sure to obtain a permit from your municipality if required

2) Source your inventory

Categorize your items for display purposes, and create an inventory list of what you’ll be selling

3) Price your items

Use a pricing worksheet to outline the prices you’ll be asking and the lowest price you’ll be willing to accept. This is a good way to keep track of profits too.

4) Be creative in advertising your event

Utilize as many methods as possible to get the word out (post your event online (Tagsellit.com, Craigslist.org), Newspapers, Social Media, Create and Post Signs where permitted (be sure to remove them after the sale)

5) Be prepared to prove your items work properly

Have batteries, extension cords and tools handy to assist prospective buyers in their decision making process

6) Be knowledgeable of the items you’re selling

Once they’re sold you can’t ask for them back, be sure you do your due diligence before you sell jewelry or art

7) Recruit your friends for help

An extra pair of hands and eyes are always helpful when working a yard sale

8) Assume responsibility

Be sure your homeowner’s insurance policy covers you while having your event at your home
Be aware of items you sell that have been recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission – you’re not allowed to resell these items!

9) Have fun!

Keep a smile on your face, be pleasant and remember the ultimate goal is to get rid of as much stuff as possible, so keep an open mind when it comes to bartering, haggling and negotiating!

10) Donate your unwanted items to neighborhood organizations that accept them

Salvation Army Website – http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/

Goodwill Website – http://www.goodwill.org/

Local Houses of Worship

Tax Benefits, Charitable Donations Information – http://www.justgive.org/

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Lessons learned from another garage sale

I feel a bit like a broken record.

No matter how much I talk about advertising and promoting garage sales, people still don’t seem to heed my advice. A friend of mine had a garage sale this weekend, and even though I’ve given him pointers throughout the whole process, he didn’t follow through on the signage.

He did pretty well with the sale itself, but he made a few key mistakes when promoting the sale. He created nice, big signs, but then got a little fancy with the colors and letters. When you get too creative (ie. using a different color for each letter or making your font swirly or stylized) it can often be hard to read. Keep in mind that most people will see your sign for just a few seconds as they’re driving by. If it isn’t simple and bold, they won’t be able to figure out where they should be going. Not to mention, you have to include an address or arrows. My friend did not do this, and he lost a lot of business to a sale a few blocks away. Shoppers saw that sale first and assumed it was the one they were trying to find. Some never made it further down the street to the right sale.

This sign has the right idea. The sign is large, and the text is easy to read. Plus they included an arrow directing you toward the sale.

When it comes to garage sale signs, keep it simple. Here’s the basics of what you need to remember:

Make at least 20 large signs.
Use white poster board with simple red or black lettering. You don’t need to get any more fancy than that.
Include arrows and an address.
Put your signs up a few hours before the sale.

In addition, always advertise your sale on TagSellIt and Craigslist – they’re both free! Then let your friends know about your sale on Facebook, Twitter and any other social media sites you use. If you follow these simple tips, you’ll have a much better turn out at your next sale. And the more people that show up, the more sales you’ll have.

One last thing – Watch out! because you never know when I’ll show up at your garage sale and use your sale as the next topic on this blog!

Good luck, and happy hunting!

-Aaron

Watch out for my feature on Yahoo.com on Tuesday, June 11. You’ll get to see me help a New Jersey family throw a garage sale!

To learn more about Aaron LaPedis, visit www.thegaragesalemillionaire.com or contact him at thegaragesalemillionaire@gmail.com.

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What’s it worth?

Be it an attic, basement or garage, chances are you have some items that may hold more value than you think – or less. Have you ever considered checking out what they’re worth? Earlier this week the Today Show aired a short segment called “What’s it Worth?” Members of the Today Show brought in some interesting items they own and had them checked out. Take a look:

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

So, what kinds of cool stuff is hiding in your home? Have you ever thought about getting them appraised? A great resource we recommend to many of our users is WorthPoint. WorthPoint is the largest resource for researching and valuing your art, antiques and collectibles. They offer individual users both a free trial and paid membership-based access to their experts. Be sure to check with your trusted local Estate Sale, Consignment or Pawn Shop professional about items you have questions about. Many of these professionals have expanded access to sites like WorthPoint or know Appraisers who can help you identify and price your treasures.

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The lessons learned at Denver Comic Con

This weekend, Denver hosted one of the top five comic cons in the United States. My art gallery set up a booth at the event where we sold Marvel super hero art, animation cels and artwork from the nationally recognized artist Fabio Napoleoni. It was our first time at this particular convention, and I thought it would be a great idea to have a booth in order to meet new clients and give the gallery a bit of extra exposure.

Any time I go to an event such as this one, I have the opportunity to observe other businesses to see how they operate. I’ve found that I learn a great deal from observing and allowing myself the chance to adjust and improve my own tactics in order to become a stronger gallery owner.

Observing other booths reminded me of a tip that I don’t think I’ve shared before. A lot of people don’t realize that no matter the situation, you can always negotiate a price. It doesn’t matter if you’re at a garage sale, an estate sale or a comic convention, prices are negotiable. The way to negotiate, however, is the big secret.

It’s always advisable to observe the seller before you approach them. Take the time to notice the size of the crowd at the location as well as how many people are actually buying. Instead of walking right up and making an offer, if you’ve taken the time to observe the environment, you can negotiate from a position of strength.

For example, from my booth, I observed our neighbors and the traffic at their booths. After just a few minutes, I realized that they did not have a lot of shoppers, and they weren’t selling much. With this knowledge, I would have been able to approach their booth with confidence, knowing that I could offer them a lower price for their items. They clearly were not having much luck, so they would have been more likely to negotiate down to a better price in order to move their product. (Please note that this does not mean you should offer an insultingly low amount. You never want to offend a seller and burn a bridge.) Had I not taken then time to notice their lack of sales, I may have made a much higher offer or else paid their sticker price.

So the next time you go to an event with the intention of buying, take a minute to look around. Don’t rush into an offer. In these types of situations, being the tortoise rather than the hare can often be the better choice.

Good luck and happy hunting!

-Aaron

To learn more about Aaron LaPedis, visit www.thegaragesalemillionaire.com or contact him at thegaragesalemillionaire@gmail.com.

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Learning by doing

Last weekend I was in New Jersey helping a nice family put on their first a garage sale. We’ve been in contact for the last month, getting things prepared and going over all types of tips and tricks. I think it’s safe to say that they learned a lot from their first sale, but I would be remiss if I didn’t admit that I learned (and re-learned) a few things myself.

It’s not every day that you help someone throw a garage sale from start to finish. I’ve obviously thrown dozens and dozens of sales on my own, but when you’re working with someone else, there’s always a few surprises along the way that you don’t anticipate. Not everyone lives in the same kind of area as I do, and not everyone has the same type of items I do. This means that some strategies have to be modified. At the same time, there are certain tips that hold true no matter where you live or what you’re selling. I’d like to use this experience to share some things that I learned and reinforce a few of my most important tips for throwing a garage sale.

The biggest thing to note is that no matter how great your sale is, if people don’t know about it, they won’t show up. You need to advertise as much as possible in as many places as possible. You should use every avenue possible, including the internet. Facebook, Twitter, and Tagsellit.com are all free and can give you priceless exposure. In addition, you should never discount the need for physical signs. The family I was working with waited until right before their sale to put up signs, and this put them at a disadvantage. I always recommend putting up signs a few hours before the sale to give shoppers the chance to locate you. Not only that, but I would have put out twice the amount of signs the family had. You can never have too many, and they can never be too big. All of these factors will affect the number of people who show up to your sale. To top of it, some of our signs were yanked down at some point during the day. This doesn’t always happen, but it does reaffirm my advice to never put signs up the night before your sale. You need to make sure they’re out a couple hours before the sale, but putting them up the night before will open up the chances for someone to pull them down or for mother nature to ruin them.

The size of the sale is another factor to consider. If you only have a few items, you should probably hold off before having a sale. People don’t want to waste their time on a small sale, so they might not even stop at your house if you don’t have a large-enough looking sale. If you are low on items, do another sweep of your home; I can guarantee you will find more items to put out. If you still don’t think you have enough, try soliciting friends and neighbors. Combine your sale with someone else’s to make a really large display. The bigger, the better.

Once your sale is underway, you should make sure you have at least two people with a fanny pack of change. We only had one, and it significantly slowed transactions. I also recommend that you have as much change available as possible. Most items will require singles or even coins. If you don’t have a large supply handy, you’ll lose sales.

Lastly, spend the time to go through your items and see what can be easily cleaned or repaired. Unfortunately, the family I was working with did not take the time to this, and it meant we had to mark prices lower than we could have. If it will only take a minute or two to wipe down or fix an item, the value will be paid back four-fold.

In the end, we had a pretty great garage sale. The family was able to make a good amount of money and clean out a lot of unneeded items from their home. Hopefully they (and you!) picked up a few tips and will be able to make their next sale even better!

Good luck, and happy hunting!

-Aaron

To learn more about Aaron LaPedis, visit www.thegaragesalemillionaire.com or contact him at thegaragesalemillionaire@gmail.com.

PS, If you live in the Toronto area, catch me on the Marilyn Dennis show on Monday at 10am ET.

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Become a Millionaire by Shopping Garage Sales

ONE MAN’S TRASH IS ANOTHER MAN’S TREASURE

So how does one become a “Garage Sale Millionaire?”

Our own Aaron LaPedis, AKA “The Garage Sale Millionaire” shares his tips:

EDUCATE YOURSELF: Reality TV is not always reality, BUT, shows like Antiques Roadshow and Pawn Stars can still be good teaching mechanisms in that you can learn what items are in demand and how the experts appraise them. Become an expert on a handful of items, so when you come across those items, you know how much, if anything, they’re worth on the market.

Remember, sometimes the most valuable things to collect depend on the geographic region you’re in. If you live in the South, you’re surrounded by Civil War stuff, whereas in Colorado, there’s not much of it, so it’s priced at a premium. The same goes for Western memorabilia – it’s popular in the Midwest, where there’s less of it. So when collecting, consider the place you’re doing it in: What is that state or region known for? That’s where you’ll get the best price and the best value.

NEGOTIATE – IT’S THE ART OF THE DEAL: Be it a thrift shop, consignment shop or pawn shop, when you’re talking about the money, find out who the owner is because you’ll get the best deal from that person. The owner doesn’t have to worry about paying a commission and if they’re having any kind of money crunch, they’ll want to turn inventory. Cash is often king, because a lot of places don’t take credit cards, so you’ll get a better deal if you’re willing to pay cash.

DON’T LEAD ON TO BEING THE NEXT MILLIONAIRE ON THE BLOCK: How you dress is also important when shopping for collectibles. That means dressing in inconspicuous clothing, leaving expensive jewelry and shoes at home and parking your car a block away. If you drive up in a Lexus in front of a garage sale I’m holding, I’ll probably be hard-pressed to give you a good deal. Also, build a rapport before you start negotiating. Don’t immediately rush in with, “How low can you go?” Start a conversation about the weather an find common ground somewhere… cozy up to the seller, to the point you both agree it’s a good deal for both parties.

MIND YOUR MANNERS: Don’t be that guy… If an item is $100 and you offer $15, that’s an insult. You’ll turn that person off right away and they’ll never want to do business with you. I would start just under 50% on an item, sometimes even less, depending on how badly I want that piece. Don’t ever try to crush the other person during negotiations. The deal is never a good one if it doesn’t get done.

GETTING RIPPED OFF SUCKS, SO USE COMMON SENSE: Know that 50% to 60% of all signatures on memorabilia and documents are fake. Autopens allow people to copy signatures and unless you’re a foremost expert, you’d never know the difference. When you buy an autographed collectible, you don’t want to pay cash. Use a credit card or PayPal to protect yourself, and let them know you’ll insist on a refund if it’s not real. There are third-party authenticators that will verify whether or not an autograph is real. Sometimes making a “non-refundable” deposit to show the seller you’re interested before committing to paying asking price can save your A$$.

USE TECHNOLOGY TO YOUR ADVANTAGE: I have an online tip for buying offline – I use the website Tag Sell It and I also have their app on my smart-phone.

MOST IMPORTANT: Read My Book

FIRM BELIEF: Not only can garage sale treasure seekers make some money reselling various items, but they can make very substantial residual profits over time.

As the owner of two art galleries in Denver and former host of a local PBS show calledCollect This!, LaPedis knows how to track down hidden treasures and turn them into a profit. His recent book, The Garage Sale Millionaire (Wiley), offers advice on how to make money by digging around garage sales, storage units and everything in between. Aaron became an owner and partner with Tag Sell It Inc. in 2013.

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Sweet Treat for Business

“Chocolate-Dipped Tag Cookies”

Customers love anything that’s free, who dosen’t? Here’s a brilliant idea we found on Pinterest that your new customers will love! Bake a simple sugar cookie in the shape of a tag, slip a string through the top hole with your business logo, name or website on it and dip in chocolate. Let them cool and display them on the counter for your customers — they’ll love it and they’ll love you!

This is a fun and easy business development idea for any new business, consignment shop or even served as refreshments at your tag sale!

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My first time

Well not mine …. But I was lucky enough to take a friend of mine to his very first garage sale a week ago. It was an amazing experience.

My friend would never have gone to a garage sale if he wasn’t filming me for a TV segment. Typically, camera men don’t play a role in the footage they’re shooting, but instead just record it for others to watch. And while his experience will probably never be shown, it definitely made the trip for me.

We were in the Park Hill neighborhood of Denver, and there was a community-wide garage sale going on. Multiple houses had filled up their lawns and tables with bargain items. For me, it was my happy place, but for my friend, not quite. He never understood the appeal of a garage sale and was a bit overwhelmed by the assortment of items.

Throughout the morning we went from garage sale to garage sale, combing through items in search of hidden treasures. I wasn’t having much luck finding a good bargain buy, but then we came to a sale that changed my friend’s image of garage sales.

He was setting up his camera for a shot when he happened to look down. Out of nowhere, he screamed out like a little girl “I found one! I can’t believe I found one!” It was the moment of all moments; when a person catches the garage sale bug. My friend was referring to a mandolin slicer. It was brand new, still in the box, and was sitting amongst an array of kitchen gadgets. He scooped it up and charged right over to the woman in charge.

Without asking for any advice, he asked the woman how much it was and proceed to hand over the $7 she requested before I could say a word. He then proudly smiled at me, his newly purchased item in hand. I looked straight at him and calmly said “You know you’re with the garage sale millionaire, right? Did you even think to ask me for advice? You probably could have saved a few dollars, if not at least some advice on negotiating.”

He didn’t even seemed phased by my question. He was simply so excited to have found a brand new mandolin for a mere fraction of the retail price. “Now I know what my wife and I will be doing every weekend from now on,” he said.

At that point I wasn’t sure if I should call up his wife to apologize or to congratulate her on a newest. Either way, when you finally find that one item you’ve been searching for, it just doesn’t get any better.

Good luck, and happy hunting!

-Aaron

To learn more about Aaron LaPedis, visit www.thegaragesalemillionaire.com or contact him at thegaragesalemillionaire@gmail.com.