By Canney Savanney Have you ever watched the show American Pickers? No? Well you should start watching that show immediately; you soon might discover that your old items are worth a lot more than just the title “junk.” Garage sales are chock full of great deals and pieces rich with history. Depe...
By Canney Savanney
Have you ever watched the show American Pickers? No? Well you should start watching that show immediately; you soon might discover that your old items are worth a lot more than just the title “junk.” Garage sales are chock full of great deals and pieces rich with history.
Depending on where you live, garage sales can be very beneficial as a supplement source of income. Peak season in WNY takes place during “spring cleaning” and throughout the summer with most occurring before kids return to school. Even though garage sales may seem a bit dated they have many benefits and cons.
Pros:
1) No sales tax
A perk of buying goods at a garage sale is that you don’t have to worry about paying taxes. With most people having their items marked down 90 percent of the original retail prices. It’s the ultimate bargain hunters dream!
2) Enjoying outdoor summer shopping
No one wants to be indoors during the summer especially for us who live up North. We suffer being cooped up indoors avoiding the long, harsh, cold winter. Everyone likes to soak up all the natural vitamin D3 from the sun and its warm radiant glow.
3) Sellers clean house
The seller’s overall goal is to get rid of all of the clutter that is consuming their daily lives and restricting activities they can do. Freeing up their space and fattening their wallets are two of many benefits that sellers follow. Now they’ll have more money to invest with and spend on a variety of other things, like a summer vacation.
Cons:
1) Opening and Closing for the seller
If you are the seller you must lug everything from your home out and mark it down with how much you want to sell it for. Then you must pack it in every night depending on how long you plan on running this sale. You can either bring it all back in or cover it up and rely on the good nature and faith in people. The only upside is hopefully you will not be taking back in as much as you brought out originally.
2) The seller must deal with bargain hunters
It’s okay to be a bargain hunter. All of us are looking for great deals in life. The down side is if you do not have a strong poker face people will be able to tell and shake you down even more. The upside to this situation is you are getting at least something back for what you originally spent all while removing the untidiness from your home.
Overall, garage sales like anything can have their perks and downsides too. Like anything in life, you must be willing to commit to it and decide it is worth effort to sell or buy. If you like more stories like this or would like to hear a certain topic next month write to submit@yourhwh.com and ask your Savvy Shopper what you want to have covered.