We came across this great blog entry a few days ago revealing the secrets of garage sale timing and thought it was really interesting! Here’s a summary of expert opinions on the advantages and disadvantages of arriving at certain times during a garage sale:
Arriving Early
“The Early Bird Catches The Worm” – True, but does the early bird catch a bargain? It’s a roll of the dice.
The Pros: First to arrive means first to pick the all the “best stuff”
The Cons: Arriving too early might mean missing some of the goodies that are put out within the first hour of the sale
What to watch out for: When the sale starts, sellers have an inflated idea of what their stuff is worth, so naturally you’ll pay a premium early on at a sale
Arriving mid-day of the sale
The Pro: Busy time, sellers are looking to make deals, so if you buy multiple items, you should make a pretty good score
The Con: There’s still time left in the day, so sellers may be holding out on haggling too much on their items
Arriving at the End of the Sale
The Pro: The sellers are tired and typically make deals on their remaining items for rock bottom prices just to clear it
The Con: Stuff has been picked over all day – that’s not to say there are still some good things to find though
The experts advise you set a budget for whatever time you end up at a yard sale, know in advance how much you are willing to spend, and know that there’s always another garage sale around the corner or a week away.
Link to Original Blog on BargainBabe.com: BargainBabe
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