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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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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.

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The Garage Sale Millionaire: The book that almost never was

I’m often asked if writing The Garage Sale Millionaire was difficult. Garage sales are my passion, and writing about a topic you’re so deeply invested in can sometimes make the process easier, but can also make it more difficult. Today I’d like to take a minute to tell you a little bit about the process and challenges I faced.

Everyone believes they have one book in them, and The Garage Sale Millionaire was mine. Knowing your subject matter is the first step to writing, and I was pretty confident I had that down. I have to admit, however, that I thought writing and releasing the book it would be a lot easier than it was.

Writing the book wound up being more of an act of love than anything. It took me about two years to finish the writing, and that didn’t even end up being the hardest part. I was rejected by over 30 agents and about 100 publishers, and thought for a while that the book would never reach the public. In the end, I was able to get a deal with BookMasters. At the time, I thought they seemed like a great distributor, but unfortunately the day I signed on with them was almost the beginning of the end.

I sold a lot of books through BookMasters, but wasn’t paid a dime. After all the time, energy and money I had invested, I was left with almost nothing. I learned the hard way that everyone in the book business is not necessarily going to be looking out for your best interests. If you’re writing a book in order to make money, you should probably think long and hard about it before you dive in. The authors are typically the ones who get shafted in terms of profits.

I wrote The Garage Sale Millionaire out of love and passion, so I knew I still couldn’t give up. After a few smart decisions and a little bit of luck, I managed to pique the interest of Wiley Publishing and signed a contract for the release of a second, hardcover edition of my book. Now my book is available across the country.

The reason I’m sharing this story is to help illustrate the fact that everyone has a passion and a goal. Whether you want to do something simply for your own fulfillment of for the greater good, I believe that once you start, you should never give up. It will be difficult; nothing good comes easily. People will try to take advantage of you no matter what field you’re in, but if you’re passionate about your cause, you should set your sights on your goal and  not give up until you make it.

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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Tag, you’re it

I went garage sale shopping last week, and as I was looking around at my fellow buyers, scrambling and rushing about, I realized that I had the best tool possible at my disposal; I was using the Tag Sell It app. I always mention using your smart phone to research items on the spot, but I don’t typically mention one of the most valuable things it can do for you: it can tell you where the good deals are. The Tag Sell It app can assist you with a great number of things, but one of my favorite features is the sale search tool. You can actually map out the sales in your area and plan your garage sale route the day before, saving you valuable time. While everyone else is driving around with a newspaper and a map, or worse yet, driving around randomly, hoping to spot an garage sale sign, you’ll be zipping along, snatching up the best deals before everyone else even know about the sale.

I like to plan out my route the night before so that I’m all ready to go in the morning. I have everything ready to leave my house at about 7am, so that I can be at the first sale right when it opens. Most of the great items will be gone by 11am, so you need to plan out where you want to go first.

How do I decide which sale to visit first? Again, I turn to the app. You can check the sale listings to see what types of items will be at the sale and decide which ones sound the most promising. Hit those locations first, saving the more ambiguous sales for later in the morning.

Do keep in mind, however, that you can always swing by a sale around 3pm or so to pick up any items you’ve had second thoughts about. Odds are, if they’re still available, you’ll be able to get them at a much lower price. You might even get lucky enough to snag the items for free.

So my best advice to all you garage sale junkies is to save yourself some time and effort. Use the Tag Sell It app to plan your day, and have fun the next time you head out!

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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Goodwill is good money

This weekend I had an out of state film crew in wanting to film me doing what I do. This meant that they wanted to follow me to garage sales, estate sales, auctions and anywhere else I’m able to make money buying and selling. For all of you buyers and sellers out there, I’m sure you can guess that having a film crew watching everything you do and say adds a lot of pressure to the situation. You can’t always guarantee that you’ll find a great item on demand. Needless to say, I was extra observant everywhere I went.

On Friday, I decided to try out my local Goodwill store, living garage sales for later in the weekend. I don’t visit Goodwill as often as I should, so I’m not in the loop on new shipments and items like I am at other locations; essentially, I was walking in without any idea of what I might (or might not) find.

I took my time, looking through each of the isles, scanning over everything. When I reached the art and frame section, I saw my big break. Low and behold, they had a beautiful piece of original artwork. I wasn’t familiar with the piece, but it looked like it could be worth something, so I busted out my smart phone. I did a quick search of the signature in the corner and realized that it was definitely worth a more than the $40 sticker price. I wasn’t sure yet how much it would be worth, but I knew it was definitely going to be a gem.

I took my find home with me and immediately did a more thorough internet search of the artist “K.S. Ringi.” I soon learned that the artist in question was a Swedish artist named Kjell Sorensen-Ringi, who passed away in 2010. His unique painting style appears to be more difficult to come by, but based on the pieces I did find, I would have to say that given the size and condition of the piece I purchased, the value could fall anywhere between $500 and $900. Even with the cameras rolling, I was able to find a $40 purchase worth over $500. Not bad for a high pressure situation!

 

This just goes to show that even though the economy has improved slightly, this doesn’t mean there aren’t deals to be found. I will say, however, that if you want to find great deals, you need to make your visits a regular habit. If you like garage sales, you need to go garage-saling on a regular basis. If you like pawn stores, you need to visit your favorites regularly; the same goes for flea markets and auctions. I may have gotten lucky on this trip, but you really can’t visit these spots just once a month and expect to stumble upon something every time you go.

So get out in the beautiful sunshine and hit those sales!

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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A word on recent events

My heart goes out to everyone affected by the recent tragedy in Boston.

It is absolutely unacceptable when children and adults are at risk of injury or worse when they’re simply out enjoying a public activity. And to add insult to injury, there are now people out there trying to make money off of these types of horrific events. If you check eBay, and probably many other sites as well, there are people trying to sell items and memorabilia from the marathon for no reason other than to make some fast cash off of the misery of others.

A screen shot of the various items for sale on eBay after the 2013 Boston Marathon.

This is by no means a new practice. The selling of events tied to notorious individuals and tragic events has been around for as long as these tragedies have existed. The first time I encountered this type of behavior was when was filming a show for PBS that featured murder memorabilia. I wasn’t particularly excited to feature this type of item, but after researching the topic, I felt it was necessary to really show the public all the details of people profiting from the downfall of others. During the show, we displayed items from John Wayne Gacy, who at the time was one of the most notorious serial killers the country had seen. Before conviction, he was known to dress up as a clown for various fundraising events, and after his sentencing, he created and sold various clown paintings. These pieces were collected by well-known, prominent people as well as your every day citizen. People spent up to tens of thousands of dollars to buy these pieces, simply because he was such a notorious figure.

One of the more well-known paintings from John Wayne Gacy.

I once had someone offer to sell me a yearbook signed by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the two students responsible for the Columbine High School shooting of 1999. The seller offered me the book for $1,000, but I would never even consider buying an item that represented such a terrible occurrence. The value of an item like this has increased only because of the memory of a horrific incident in which people lost their lives. It’s this point that makes selling these items such a terrible act.While I do not condone the sale of items whose value is tied to horrific and tragic events, I do think it’s important to discuss them so that buyers become aware that these kinds of listings exist; and they will continue to exist so long as there are buyers willing to consider purchasing such items. After the events of the Boston Marathon, these sellers have come forward, one again trying to profit off of someone’s misfortune. Please do not partake in the buying or selling of a collectible that has been given a value based on the loss of someone’s life. People will continue to exploit tragedies so long as we give them the opportunity to do so. Because of this, it’s our responsibility to turn the other way and choose not to buy such items.

Once again, to the people of Boston, my thoughts are with you.

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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Who wants to throw the garage sale of a lifetime?

If you answered “me,” and you happen to be in the New York City area, I’ve got a great opportunity for you! May 17th and 18th I will in working with Yahoo! Finance, helping one lucky family throw the garage sale of a lifetime! If you’re within 1 hour of Manhattan and you are looking to throw a garage sale, send us an email (garagesale518@yahoo.com). Not only will you get personalized assistance with your garage sale, but you’ll get to appear on Yahoo.com (and who doesn’t want their fifteen minutes of fame?!?) I’ve worked with the Yahoo! Finance team before and can attest to the fact that they are fantastic, and between their assistance and my expertise, the selected family will be sure to throw a fantastic – and profitable – garage sale. If you’re interested, send us an email (garagesale518@yahoo.com) with your location, a family photo, description of family dynamic, why you want to throw a garage sale, list of items you hope to clear out, how much money you’d like to make, what you’d like to spend the money on. I would love the chance to meet you and your family and help you throw a successful garage sale!  If you aren’t in the New York area but know someone who is, help us spread the word!

If you’re on the fence, check out my last feature with Yahoo!

Secrets from the Garage Sale Millionaire

I hope to see you in New York!

-Aaron

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

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eBay is about to get more expensive

One of the bigger venues for selling your garage sale finds is about to get a lot more costly.

Starting May 1st, eBay has decided to change their fee structure, effectively raising prices for a good chunk of their sellers. My response to eBay, “What are you thinking?”

Believe it or not, sales on eBay have actually been going down recently, in part because eBay keeps getting more expensive. Sellers are now searching out other more affordable or

even free venues in which to sell their products (ie Tag Sell It!). As affordable as these other options may be, what if you just aren’t yet ready to give up your eBay store? What is a seller to do?

First, you need to understand where you fall in the new fee structure. The number of items in your store is going to play a big part in this distinction. Essentially there are a few different types of “stores” you can join that will cost you a monthly fee and allow you to list “x” number of items in your store per month for free. You’ll be paying for each listing beyond that “x” number, so if you have a large number of items in your store – around 500 or more, you’re going to need to get smart about selling. Each month you will be charged for the number of active listings you have, so you want to move your items as quickly as possible while still getting maximum profit from the sale. So how do you do this?

Make sure you’re basing your pricing off of the real market value of your items. If you’re pulling a price out of the sky, you could be way too high. If this is the case, your item won’t sell quickly, or possibly at all. You should take the time to check the completed sales section of ebay and find a good average sale price. If the item sold for $100, and you have the exact same thing, you will probably only be able to sell it for around $100. You may think that your item is worth more, but unless it’s in better condition or has more features, it most likely will not. Even if the value really is a lot higher, the market is going to dictate how much buyers will pay. If it’s available for less, no one is going to opt to pay more. If you need to get the full value for the item, you might want to consider waiting to list it until the market settles down. You don’t want to be paying a fee every month to maintain a listing that will most likely not sell for your asking price.

 

You can find the Completed Listings section at the top of a search page next to the Sold Listings section.

My next point is one that I stress all the time: to make sure you take good pictures, and not just one; you need lots of pictures. Depending on what store you have, you should be able to list up to 12 pictures per item. If that’s not the case for your store, try to limit yourself to two or three high quality photos. Buyers will feel more comfortable purchasing when they have a better sense of what they’ll be getting.

This listing is using the maximum allowed photos. It has a shot of each individual item in the listing so the buyer knows exactly what they’re looking at.

Third, when calculating how much it will cost to ship your item to a buyer, know that if you charge too much money, you’ll wind up in trouble. If someone buys the item, they will have the option to rate your shipping fees, and you can bet their rating won’t be positive. Worse yet, buyers could choose to avoid your listing all together. USPS has pretty affordable rates, and you can easily get a quote from their website if you have the weight and dimensions of your item. Stick to this cost, maybe adding a few extra dollars to cover packaging materials and the time involved in boxing the item.

Last but not least, buyers will more than likely have questions regarding your listings. You need to be sure you’re answering them in a timely manner. Online shoppers are savvy and will most likely be able to find the same item elsewhere if they don’t hear back from you. Try setting up your account to send messages directly to your cell phone so you can easily respond back as soon as the question is asked. The faster you respond, the faster you sell.

Finally, I would like to say to the executives at eBay, “You’re charging sellers too much.” If you keep it up, you will continue to lose more and more business to other venues that are either free or less expensive. Sellers are savvy and will find a way to sell without the help of your site if you don’t remain competitive.  Venues like Tag Sell It are completely free and are quickly gaining users as buyers become fed up with higher costs from eBay.

If you’re a seller and you haven’t started shopping around yet, you might consider perusing your options before May 1st arrives.

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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Planning ahead

Hello from snowy, Denver, CO!

Today is a good day to be thinking about your next garage sale. You might be thinking to yourself, “What can I do on a snowy day that would help with an upcoming garage sale?” Well that’s a great question that I’d like to take a minute to answer.

I’ve been stuck inside for most of the weekend, hiding out from the snowy weather and slippery roads. While most people see days like these as a time to laze around watching movies and catching up on your favorite television show, I see these days as the perfect time to begin preparing for a garage sale. I’m not going anywhere, so why not spend my time sorting through my things, combining a bit of early spring cleaning with garage sale preparations.

I spent most of Saturday afternoon going through my office and bedroom, and next on the list is the basement. As I go from room to room, I’m pulling everything out, making sure I actually touch everything – nothing is spared from the once over. If I haven’t used it in over six months or a year, it’s getting the boot. But I’m not going to actually throw out anything. No matter what condition it’s in or how bizarre it might seem, one person’s trash is often another person’s treasure.

The small Chinese pottery bowl that started as a $3 tag sale only to turn into a massive $2.2 million windfall at auction. Source: AFP/Getty Images

To give you a prime (if not extreme) example of this adage, while taking a break from my cleaning and sorting this weekend, I came across a New York Post article professing “NY family buys bowl for $3 – it sells for $2 million.” Can you believe that?! This family saw a seemingly ordinary bowl at a garage sale and purchased it back in 2007 for $3. After admiring it for many years, one of the family members decided to do some research (a true treasure hunter!). They soon found out that their ordinary bowl wasn’t so ordinary after all. Turns out, the bowl dates back to the 10th or 11th century and only one other piece exists today, and it’s in the British Museum collection. Sotheby’s estimated the piece would sell for between $200,000 and $300,000, but it wound up fetching a startling $2.2 million! (if you’d like to read the entire article, head here http://tinyurl.com/blokw4n)

I’m certainly not saying that everyone is going to find some hidden gem in their home, but you never know! Maybe something you’ve been sitting on is worth a pretty penny. And even if it isn’t, it might be worth something to someone else. The art dealer who purchased this bowl clearly wanted it since he was willing to pay way beyond the estimated value. On a smaller, more relatable scale, that trinket that’s been sitting in your closet might not appear to worth anything, but it might be worth something to someone out there. So don’t throw it out; sell it.

Go through every desk, closet, cupboard, basement corner and garage shelf and keep everything. And to add to that, if you’ve got something that seems unique, maybe take a minute to do a quick Internet search to see if it’s worth anything significant. You never know what you may find!

 

On another note, I just received an email from a follower who recently finished reading my book (thanks, Bob!). He had some really great garage sale tips to add to my repertoire, and I’d like to share a few of the pre-planning tips that you could start thinking about now:

  • Before throwing your garage sale, check with your town to see if you need a permit. If you do, see how far in advance you need to apply.
  • You should also check to be sure your town allows you to post signs throughout the neighborhood.
  • A few weeks or months before your sale (think now!!!) you should start saving paper and plastic shopping bags to use for your big buyers. They’ll appreciate the bag and it’s a great way to recycle!
  • Try to coordinate your sale with another local event. If there’s a festival or art fair in your town, try coordinating with that time frame. You’ll get a lot of out of towners that might notice your sign and swing by after they finish up at the festival.

 

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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The glitter of gold made me crazy

Does this picture look familiar? Just wait until you hear what happened with these viles …

 

I like to profess that I am an expert in everything I come across in the world of garage sales, estate sales and auctions. While I will most likely still claim this to be true, last weekend I was definitely not on top of my game.

If you remember from my post last week, I headed out to an auction despite the snow and crummy weather. This was the right decision, but it was about the only one I made that day. I so badly wanted to find something I could flip that I was far too easily blinded by the glitter of gold, literally.

One of the auction listings was for three tubes of pure 24karat gold flake. Each tube was crammed full with gold flake, and I got really excited at the thought of buying and reselling them. I saw that there were six of these three-vile bundles, and I knew I had to have them. I even waited around for an hour just for the chance to bid on them.

The first three-vile bundle started at $50. I was only bidding against two other buyers (a positive from the bad weather), and I ended up winning the first set for $75. The auctioneer then offered me the other five bundles, and I couldn’t resist. I bought them all.

I came home, proud of my purchase; proud enough to blog about it on here! After I settled down, I started doing some research, preparing to list my winnings online. I started checking eBay for similar items and was greatly disappointed by what I found: a number of listings of viles just like mine for a much lower price than I had just paid. It turns out that even I can be blinded by an item, and I realized then that I should have been taking my own advice. I didn’t do any preemptive research before bidding. I had an hour to peruse the internet on my phone and I had done nothing of the sort. Had I done so, I would have  quickly realized that while gold is going for over $1600 an ounce right now, gold flake weights next to nothing. So while I was looking at how tightly packed those viles were, a whole tube of gold flake still weighs next to nothing no matter how full it is. I clearly got too cocky, and I paid the price. Three tubes are probably only worth about $30 in a good market, not the $75 I paid.

So once again, I’ll share my advice, and hopefully this time I myself will listen! First, do your research. Whether that’s going to completed sales on eBay, or doing a general online search for the exact item. eBay is always a great place to start, but it’s not the final word on this kind of information. There are plenty of specific sites out there describing just about any item or collectible – you’ll be surprised what you can find with just a few minutes of research. And if you can’t find any information, you should consider that fact that sometimes it’s just better to walk away and plan to buy another day. If I would have followed even just one of these steps, I would not have lost money at that auction, and hopefully you won’t repeat my mistakes.

Good luck, and happy hunting!

Aaron

 

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