Best media (books + videos) for how to spot good things at garage sales?

[TreasureHunters]

Can anyone recommend any links, books or vids on what to look for etc?

 

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[TreasureHunters]

Thanks thats the stuff I was looking for, and things like how to learn best silver marks etc..

 

[mjlalt]

 

[TreasureHunters]

weird there was a post below my first that someone send a link about a garage sale millionare..

 

[Lafitte Deux]

I think I saw that article on Yahoo Business News.
That's probably where the link came from.
Hope that helps.

 

[Red James Cash]

just go to your library and start reading on collectibles and antiques.

 

[diggummup]

go to youtube and put garage sale in the search box, you'll get all kinds of info on what other people buy and sell. That's a start and remember... condition, condition, condition.

garage sale - YouTube

 

[jerseyben]

You do realize this very forum has most of the info you are looking for, right?

 

[TreasureHunters]

right but there is so much more to learn

 

[diggummup]

right but there is so much more to learn

You will always be learning, until you die.

 

[batcap]

I go to sales, see what they have and look it up via android ebay app. However when I'm curious to know what peculiar things people are buying I use eBay at home. See the crazy stuff that shows up when you do this:

At eBay paste in this search term: vintage -car -trailer -Rolex -airstream -camper -Gibson -fender -motorcycle -truck -chopper -racer -bus -boat -watch -chronograph -Harley -Mercedes -Porsche -ford -Chevrolet -bicycle -ring -jewelry -Royce -Bentley
That will bring up all kinds of old stuff and partially block known large and obvious big ticket items.
click "sold listings"
sort by "price: highest first"
select "auction only"

Now scroll through the results. Who'da guessed 2 western electric vacuum tubes would be worth $16,000?
JBL Speakers - $25,000
Magic -the Gathering cards $23,000
Star Wars toy $20,000
Marantz Amp $16,000
Train passes $12,000
And so on, and on, and on. Take your time and work your way down to the $200 -$300 range. Nobody can write a thorough and up-to-date book about the crazy stuff collectors will buy because interests change with every season. Your brain can find patterns that lists just can't offer. As you work your way down you might be surprised to find how often you see loudspeaker horns right on the first page. I've never seen one for sale, but now I know there's a market for them. Modify my search phrase as you see fit; I don't have much space, so I look for smalls.

 

[Red James Cash]

One thing to remember TreasureHunters is anything that was originally advertised and sold as being a collectors item is not a collectors item.Stay away from it.

 

[clorox]

There's actually a TV show that I find to be very informative: Bargain Hunt. It's a British show on the BBC, where they give two teams 300 pounds each to buy three items in an hour with the help of an antiques expert at an antiques fair and then resell at an auction. It's more game show than reality show, and they really don't pull any punches at the auction. Well over half the items don't sell for profit, and most teams don't profit overall.

It's a little tricky to figure out how to watch it if you're not in the UK, but I think it's worth it.

 

[famous turtle treasures]

All the info to get you started is right in this forum. Like you said, there is a TON of info, so just start out with something that interests you.

Do research on that subject, go to ebay and do completed listing research, that research will probably turn up new research to research ( at least it does for me ) Then when you think you know what to look for, go hit the streets.

Start looking at the quality of items. Pick stuff up, feel the weight, learn the the types of materials that the items are made of, where they were made at.

When you look at an item, don't think " oh how much can I sell that for ", ask yourself other questions like, can I find a customer to buy this item? Who would buy this item? Why would they buy it? When you start asking yourself these types of questions you will start finding more and more stuff will jump out at you.

When you are out and about and start seeing a lot of on type of thing, write it down and research those things to see if they are selling.

Also when researching prices, make sure you understand why they sold for what they did. Like diggumupp said, condition, condition, condition.

 

[clovis97]

The best advice anyone ever gave me about this business is to study completed listings on ebay.

On the items that you don't buy, write them down, making a list. Once you get home, study, in depth, the completed listings. Your list should be a mile long if you are new to this business, but you will quickly learn. Most of the time, you'll thank yourself for passing on the item, and you'll never forget the heart breakers.

My big heartbreak was commercial serger sewing machines for $25 each, and they were selling for over $300 on the bay. The woman had 8 or 9 of them. That's one that I'll never forget, even though I was young and new to the business at the time.