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10 Steps to Getting a Good Deal on Anything
- Build a relationship with the seller.
A little humor goes a long way.
- Make a reasonable offer based on what you know you can pay. (Offering $1 on an item priced $20 is insulting and will probably cause ill will.)
- After getting a feel for the pricing structure, gather your items before asking the seller for a group price.
- Keep your poker face on.
- Decide what you can live without before you negotiate.
- Ask for the seller's best price or ask "Would you take x?" rather than insulting the seller's price or saying, "I can get it elsewhere for less."
- Negotiate a compromise; for example, if you have $100 in your pocket and the "best price" is $125, ask if that would work.
- If the seller insists on $125, show your money and ask what your $100 could buy.
- Hope the dealer sees the cash in hand and says, "You can have it for a hundred bucks."
- Either pay the agreed on price, dump the less desired items, or be prepared to walk away.
Do:
- Realize you're getting rid of things you don't want and price accordingly.
- Use price tags that won't damage items or boxes.
- Have a sense of humor. "Holler if you don't like a price" works nicely.
- Set up your items like you're a store. People need to see items to buy them.
- Inform buyers if you know something doesn't work.
- Give your leftovers to charity. See if the charity will pick up donated items.
Don't:
- Act as if you're operating a museum. People touch things at garage sales.
- Be greedy.
- Be crabby.
- Sell broken things.
- Sell things from the 99¢ store for a dollar.
- Quote eBay or book values. Nobody cares.
Do:
- Go early for the best stuff, late for the best bargains.
- Park appropriately (not in the flower bed or the neighbor's yard).
- Head back to your car if you pass people walking away from a garage sale empty-handed.
- Realize that fancier neighborhoods have fancier stuff.
- Ignore the dust and dirt. Beauty is more than surface deep.
- Think about repurposing old items.
Don't:
- Buy just because it's cheap.
- Buy things that need fixing, unless you're really going to fix them.
- Nickel and dime. If something is a nickel, don't offer a penny.
- Assume that all the pieces are there in an opened 500 piece puzzle.
- Ask to use their bathroom.
- Don't wear expensive shoes. Sellers often judge how much you'll pay by the clothes you're wearing. The finer the stitch, the higher the price.
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