Garage sales what do you look for and for what price to pay?

**mike1** · 09-13-2019, 07:37 PM

Going to go garage saling next week. What do you guys look for and what prices are good to pay for stuff? I paid 30$ for jumper cables extension cords and other misc wires got 12lbs bb. And some #2 wire to.

**Evictor** · 01-09-2020, 05:43 PM

You lost money. Never buy stuff that you intend to scrap without knowing if you can actually turn a profit. Keep in mind that selling for scrap value is the lowest value of any item you can get.

**mikeinreco** · 01-09-2020, 06:31 PM

My rule of thumb (I don't frequent them much anymore) is to offer a few bucks for anything........It is a "GARAGE SALE" not ebay or a retail store............$30 for a bunch of extension cords might have been a good deal had you intended to use them

**ChildhoodDream** · 01-09-2020, 11:15 PM

I still check out a few "garage sales" when I happen by them. I find that there are 2 types, those that are looking to get rid of the stuff they are selling and the other is those that buy things at Menards on rebate sale and other "flea market" type items that they buy to try and resell at a GREATER value. I don't much care for the later as after I check them out a few times, as they are "open for biz" many times a year with mostly the same stuff they had in the past. I do find a few things at those sales the first time or so.

I prefer the Goodwill and other thrift shops for looking for the good stuff. I find that the thrift shops are getting thin on things that are of interest to me.

But back to garage sales and the type. I mostly look for things for my many collections, but I also will buy VHS and DVD players and other electronics that are worth more then the asking price. Items like high value stereo items and gaming items. I do find things that I know I can trade or sell to others that I know.

As for wire, ext cords and the like. It has to be CHEAP for me to buy it unless it's wire and cords I can use and I'm fussy about the wire and cords I use as I have so much of it already. I will buy the new wire when it's reasonably priced. I buy a computer or so and other obsolete electronic items when they are almost giving it away.

eBay is a great place to find the current values of almost anything.

**auminer** · 01-10-2020, 03:48 PM

I won't charge people to haul off old wires...

**t00nces2** · 01-10-2020, 04:29 PM

I look for stuff I feel I can use, or stuff I think is really cool, or stuff I think I can use for my home repair biz or stuff I think I can flip. Todat I cought a straw broom and a polished brass Defiant passage door handle, NIB for $1. I also bought an old DieHard battery charger/starter in really nice shape for $5.

The door handle I will I will wind up installing on a door someone wants fixed and I will charge what a new door handle would cost in Home Depot (I may cut them a break depending on how I feel about the customer). The straw broom is already out in the shop and will be used when I need to take a sweeping pill. The DieHard charger will be listed online for $25, and if asked, I will generously allow them to reluctantly talk me down to $20.

The proceeds will be put back into the garage sale purse for future purchases.... That little purse has a voracious appetite!

I also look for metal to scrap. Brass, copper, silver plate. I will buy battery backups for $1 as long as they have the battery in them. I buy extension cords for a dollar, if the weight justifies the $$$'s.

From what I have seen here, I live in a pretty lucrative yard sale area. If you want a really good look and commentary regarding garage sales, I have actually created a thread that I have posted some of my better scores as well as other people adding items they have found... https://www.scrapmetalforum.com/day-...boo-ya-10.html

You are seriously barking right up my tree, baybeeeeee!