One of the best ways to get furniture, decorations, and other essentials for your first apartment is by shopping at yard sales. Read on below for six great tips to get the most bang for your buck and find great items for your first apartment.
Don’t expect sellers to have change
First of all, before you go looking for yard sales, make sure you bring some smaller bills with you. Especially early in the day when not many people have stopped by, many yard sales might not have change for a $20 or $50 bill.
Look for areas with multiple sellers
To be more efficient with your yard sale searching, look for areas that have multiple sellers on the same day. Often, you can find neighborhoods or whole towns that coordinate a big yard sale day that many people will be involved in.
Timing is important
Where you shop isn’t the only important factor. The time of day you go can affect your luck as well. There are two main strategies to consider here: shopping early or late in the day. If you go out early, you’ll be able to find great deals before other people take them. This is especially important if you’re looking for high-demand furniture items like a kitchen table or dresser.
On the other hand, going to sales late in the day is a great way to find less popular items that owners are just hoping to get rid of. This gives you a lot of bargaining power.
Price check online
While sellers are typically good about marking items down significantly, it can help to check the retail price of items you see to make sure you’re getting a good deal. You won’t be able to find exact prices for everything online, but with many branded items, you can use eBay or Facebook Marketplace to see how much other people are asking for a similar product.
Don’t be afraid to ask for a better price
Shopping at yard sales isn’t like going to a retail store, and the prices aren’t necessarily set in stone. With that in mind, don’t be afraid to ask for a better price on an item, especially if you were able to find it for the same price or cheaper online. Most items being sold at yard sales aren’t things that the owner particularly cares about, so they’re just looking to sell them for whatever they can.
Remember: There are no returns!
While you can find plenty of good deals at yard sales, it’s important to remember that there are no returns, so you should only buy things you’re sure you like. Consider the furniture and decorations you already own, and imagine how everything would look with your current decorating scheme.
This also means you should inspect everything you’re considering purchasing for damage. Major damage might mean you won’t want to buy the item, but some minor flaws can be an excuse for you to try and get a lower price.de
