How to Really Bargain at a Garage Sale
Apartment Therapy recently did this post which included some tips on garage sale bargaining. I am of the opinion that most people who write garage sale bargaining tips don’t actually attend a lot of garage sales (cough, cough). So the same tired advice (”The later you go, the more they’re willing to bargain,”) gets over-recycled and is never actually used. Since anyone who goes to garage sales knows a little about garage sale bargaining (like, “bring cash, most sellers won’t take credit cards”), we don’t need the generic advice. So I’m here to up your bargaining skills a level: to bring you from beginner to novice or from novice to pro.
- Yes, bring cash. But bring a variety of bills — from big to small. And don’t keep it all in one place. Before you approach the seller, separate the absolute max you’re willing to pay into one pocket so the seller can literally see your inability to pay more for that lamp… and you’ll walk away with it 90% of the time.
- When buying like items, get a box. Pile all your like items — dishes, books, costume jewelry, whatever it is — into said box, and when you approach the “cashier,” before they start counting up your items, offer them a ridiculously low price for the entire box. (Don’t be afraid!) While 80% of sellers won’t go for it, they’ll counter with a slightly higher price still nothing close to what you’d pay for each item if counted individually.
- Round down. This is one of the simplest bargaining techniques and it helps to take advantage of it to the fullest. If your pile of items equals $21, it’s harder for the seller to imagine taking $15 for the pile. But if your batch of bargains comes to $26, they’re likely to accept $20.
- Think about your bills. Again, use the power of your bill denominations in your bargaining. If something is $45 and you only have $20 bills, you’re likely to pay $40 for it — sellers hate to make change, especially earlier in the day if they weren’t prepared.
- The more you buy, the better. Conventional wisdom tells us this — but not for the usual reasons. The more you buy the easier it is to confuse sellers about the true value of things. It’s much easier to get a $75 pile of stuff for $60 than it is to get a $75 end table for $60. So shop in numbers — or pool your stuff with a friend to try to amass the most stuff for a better deal.
- Throw something in. If the seller barely budges, accept their offer but at the last second say, “Would you throw this in?” while holding it up. Make it something under $5. Most sellers have no idea what’s happening and agree before they know what hit them.
- Keep silent. For example:
You: Would you take $5 for this lamp?
Seller: Five? That tag says $20.
You: [Silence]
Seller: We paid $100 for that originally.
You: [Silence] [Look at lamp with skepticism]
Seller: Fine. How about $10?
You: Um…. okay.Works every time.
- Practice these phrases:
- Would you take a quarter for this?
- If I put these both together, would you give me the pair for seven?
- I’m sorry — I was just driving by and don’t have change — would you take just $40?
- Would you give me the box for $10?
- Will you do $5 on this?
- Will you throw in the garden gnome? - Nightmare of nightmares! They won’t bargain! Make it quite clear you’ll walk away. If the price they’re asking isn’t worth it to you, just politely say, “That’s fine, I’ll just put a few of these back, then.” Remember: you’re teaching them a valuable lesson in price structure. Walk away.
I so agree on pretty much all you’ve said here. The most important lesson I’ve learned over the past few years of garage sale-ing — do not be afraid to walk away. It’s very rare that you won’t find the same or a similar item at some point, and be able to get it much cheaper. If prices are high and people won’t bargain, I walk away every time.