Re: what's your strategy when going to a sale
I've posted some of my strategies before, but here is my current thinking on garage sales.
- Say Hi; connect with the owner for a moment before asking for specific stuff. I feel that you are more likely to get a yes if they like you. I've had many sales where they start to say no, but then think about it for a moment and remember something that matches what you are looking for.
- I'm going to agree with jnkhntr on the timing issue. If you come in right at opening or during early-bird time, the seller is going to be a bit stressed out. Yeah, it's conceivable that they might have put some goodies out that the earlybirds might beat you to, but most stuff like coins don't get brought out. So asking early or late isn't going to make a big difference.
- Discretion in asking is a nice ideal, though it's often not easy to do if there are lots of people around. Besides, I have gotten a few leads from a fellow shopper hearing me ask about coins, and say that *they* have something to sell. So it's some good and some bad.
- Save driving/walking/bicycling time and miles by pre-planning your route! If you have a list of addresses from Craig's List or other sources, enter them into MapQuest's Route Planner and let it rearrange your stops.
http://www.mapquest.com/routeplanner ... Of course there may be some signs that you spot along your route, so you might deviate, but at least those signs are usually right in the neighborhood.
- Be prepared for a tentative "yes, but" answer where they don't have what you are looking for available *right away*. Perhaps they have them in storage, or inside but inaccessible, or they are at another house. People are generally happy to get your phone number to call you when they find it. Ask if it is OK to get their phone number and call them in a few weeks if you haven't heard from them. Why? Because THEY WILL NOT CALL YOU. Really, I've traded one or two dozen phone numbers over the last season, and never gotten a call from anybody. But if I call, and I can reach them -- I don't bother trying to leave a message on their machine since they NEVER seem to call back -- I've been able to meet later (at their home, or a coffeeshop) and buy some stuff from them. I've gotten a few really nice collections that way, and I'm still working on meeting up with a number of leads I made over the summer. (It may take *months* for the seller to finally dig up their wares. If they aren't ready to sell yet, just be friendly and mention that you'd like to call them again in a month or so to see if they are ready.)
- This is something I've tried, but not with much success. If there are some garage sales that got listed on Craigs List too late, or maybe you couldn't go that day, or you just couldn't get to all of them, I try and email them (using the anonymous email address Craigs List provides) and explain why I couldn't make it to their sale, and ask for the goodies I'm looking for. Usually my emails are ignored or I get a very friendly "sorry, no" reply. I did get one hit and we ended up meeting but she was asking too much. Anyhow, it seems like it can't hurt to try. I suppose you could even ask people who are holding garage sales a little bit out of your usual geographic area. One caveat: Craigs List seems to have a limit on the number of messages you can send this way, per day, so you can't practically do this *too* much. I'm curious if anybody else has used this technique.
(I definitely prefer to visit the sales, though. I think you are more likely to get a Yes if they have met you. Occasionally when I ask for coins, they ask if I had emailed them earlier; I guess there is somebody else who emails everybody without visiting them. I don't think you're likely to be as successful.)
I haven't really had any luck with Flea Markets, though I suppose if I had plenty of time, I'd go with jnkhntr's idea to ask at booths where they don't have any coins & trinkets on display. The ones that do (usually in the glass cases) charge WAY more than they are worth.
