The Wright Book of Garage and Estate Sales

By Loren A. Wright

If you have items which you no longer use, need or like; clothes that aren’t just right or which your children have outgrown; toys that your children or spouse no longer play with; things that are taking up needed space or have been replaced with new items or that don’t fit into your new home, then you should have a garage sale. You can get rid of these unwanted and unneeded items, and make money that can be used for newer purchases, building up an "emergency" cash reserve for your family, saving for your children's college fund, paying off bills, or whatever you desire. Or perhaps you have been left with an estate to liquidate. Whether you need to have a one time sale or are looking for a part time or full time job, this book will give you the essential dos and don’ts which will help you maximize your profits and minimize your efforts. Do you feel horrified at the rising prices of retail items when shopping? Do you feel like a sucker paying retail? Do you wish there was a better way to buy things? A way that will help stretch every dollar you earn so that there is a little cash left over at the end of the month for investing, saving for that college fund, or just for having fun? There are many perfectly good items that can be purchased at a fraction of their retail cost at garage sales if you get organized and know how to go about finding them. It has been said that the best investment is a good deal. Shopping garage and estate sales is a good investment of your time and money if it is done right and efficiently. This book will give you tried and true strategies and professional know-how to do just that.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Loren A. Wright
• Release date: Apr 5, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311878205

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The Wright Book of Garage And Estate Sales

garage-and-estate-sales.com

published by

Windfire Productions

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Manufactured in the U.S.A.

All Rights Reserved

Copyright 2013 by Loren A. Wright

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The information in this book is offered with the understanding that it does not contain legal, financial, or other professional advice. Individuals requiring such services should consult a competent professional. The author and publisher make no representations about the suitability of the information contained in this book for any purpose. The material is provided as is without warranty of any kind. We give no endorsements for any products, materials or services mentioned here and are not responsible for problems from the use or misuse of this information. We do not make warranty, expressed or implied; do not assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness or any information or process disclosed; nor represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Although every reasonable effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the contents of this book, errors and omissions can occur. The publisher assumes no responsibility for any damages arising from the use of this book, or alleged to have resulted in connection with this book. The book is not completely comprehensive. The readers are advised to consult other books for additional information and advice concerning the topics of this book and other topics related to the topics of this book.

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Table of Contents

Dedication

Forward - Why This Book

Introduction - So What's The Big Deal?

Chapter One - Holding Your Own Garage Sale

Chapter Two - Advertising Your Sale

Chapter Three - Price It Right

Chapter Four - Final Thoughts On Having Your Own Sale

Chapter Five - Shopping Garage Sales And Estate Sales

Chapter Six - Your Garage Sale Tour

Chapter Seven - Professional Estate Sales

Chapter Eight - Managing An Estate

Chapter Nine - Finding A Good Qualified Appraiser

Chapter Ten - Collecting

Epilog - So Now You Know

More Help - Clubs, Publications, Websites And Other Resources

About the Authors - The Wright Stuff

Dedication

This book is dedicated in loving memory of Jean & Geoffrey Wright, my parents who were more loving and patient than I will ever be, and my wonderful wife Eleanor who put up with my spending many hours on this book, and my sweet daughter Cori. I love you all very much.

Loren A. Wright

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Forward

Why This Book?

Jean E. Wright, my mother and Geoffrey D. Wright, my father made their living for many years holding estate sales, garage sales, participating in flea markets, antique sales, mall sales, and finding buyers for antiques, collectables and unusual items, as well as having several antique shops of their own over the years. They also worked in a related field, appraising personal property for estates and insurance. During this time, they also built modest collections of things they loved. They built their collections and inventory of items to re-sell by aggressively shopping sales every Friday and Saturday and Sunday afternoon after church (sometimes twelve to fourteen sales a day) to find things selling at a bargain that they could then re-sell at their own garage sale, for a profit, of course. I'm Loren Wright, their son. As I grew up, I often helped with their sales both at their home and in the homes of people whose estates they were selling for the heirs. It was hard work, but their persistence and knowledge allowed them to change people’s junk into very tidy sums of cash for the owners and provide a nice income for themselves in the process.

When my mother decided to retire I suggested that she write a small book with tips to help others have successful sales and do what they did for so many years. She agreed and this book is the result. She left the manuscript to me in a partially complete handwritten form although Dad typed much of it into his (Commodore) computer from her longhand version. As he did, he added his own tips and narrative to Mom’s writings. After they both passed away, I complied the writings and tried to organize them and also add some homogenizing commentary and a tip here and there where I know my parents would have wanted me to. Although this publication contains three writing styles, I have tried to form it into a cohesive and helpful primer on the subject that provides many insider tips that will help most readers.

You are now the beneficiary of this work and it will, if followed, help you make extra money by improving your ability to hold garage sales, and shop garage sales efficiently if you wish and maybe help you into a full time business in the world of estate sales and even personal property appraisals if you so decide. You can surely save some money by buying things from estate and garage sales, that you need for your home and family at a fraction of retail cost, thereby stretching every dollar to its maximum value. It is said that, a penny saved is a penny earned, (Edward Ravenscroft's Canterbury Guests, 1695: This I did to prevent expenses, for... A penny sav'd, is a penny got). The saying means that saving a dollar (or a penny) is just as good as earning a dollar. And in the current economic climate, earning dollars is not as easy as it used to be. So if one can make a few dollars by selling stuff or save a few dollars by buying used items at less than retail prices, it can be quite helpful to how your budget looks at the end of the month.

If you have items which you no longer use, need or like; clothes that aren’t just right or which your children have outgrown; toys that your children or husband no longer play with; things that are taking up needed space or have been replaced with new items or that don’t fit into your new home, then you should have a garage sale. You can get rid of these unwanted and unneeded items, and make a little money which is useful for making newer purchases, building up an emergency cash reserve for your family, saving for your children's college fund, or paying off bills. Whether you make this a onetime event or a regular event, this book will give you the essential dos and don’ts which will help you maximize your profits and minimize your efforts.

Sales can be fun and rewarding but they can also be a nightmare if you are not properly prepared. Once you finish reading this book, you will be prepared to have a good efficient and profitable sale and avoid most pitfalls of the endeavor. You will have basic knowledge and skills to succeed at this self propelled business which you can do almost anywhere at any time to make and save money. This of course is especially important in difficult economic times such as the present time.

If you are like me, you often feel horrified when shopping at the rising prices of retail items. Sometimes I just feel like a sucker paying retail. There is a better way to buy things. A way that will help stretch every dollar you earn so that there is some cash left over at the end of the month for investing, saving for that college fund, or just for having fun. This book will give you tried and true strategies and know-how to do just that. There are many perfectly good items that can be purchased at a fraction of their retail cost at garage and estate sales if you get organized and know how to go about finding them. It has been said that the best investment is a good deal. Garage sale shopping is a good investment of your time and money if it is done right and efficiently.

We are also admonished by scripture to be good stewards of what we are given and what we earn. Saving money and not wasting it is the essence of good stewardship. I think that it is wise to be frugal in spending and thereby have extra funds that will allow us to help our families, those in need, and to support local charities, and our churches as well.

Unlike the days when my parents were involved in these activities, these days we have web sites like E-Bay and Craig’s List that are immensely helpful in both selling and pricing things for sale. But although these web sites are useful tools, there really is no substitute for an old fashioned garage sale whether you are buying or selling.

This book will pay for itself the first time you put this information into action!

This book is for you if:

You want to sell just a few items or a whole estate to make some extra money and avoid most common pitfalls while doing so,

and / or:

You want to buy more with the money that you have and pay less for what you do buy,

and / or:

You want to be your own boss and have your own business either part time or full time in the garage sale / estate sale realm.

After reading this book you will be prepared to have a more profitable garage sale as well as shop efficiently at the sales of other people, effectively giving you more money in hand as well as greater buying power. Read on, and welcome to the family of avid garage sale-ers. But be careful, it does get into your blood.

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Introduction

So What's the Big Deal?

Garage sales, yard sales, tag sales, rummage sales, estate sales, flea markets, fund raiser sales, charity sales, auction warehouses, antique warehouses, swap meets, mall sales (which are antique dealer sales held in shopping malls), they all basically function the same way. They all sell used and new items, both everyday items and specialty items, in a low overhead format, at generally discounted prices, as-is, where-is and usually with no refunds accepted and with negotiating of the sales price a common activity. In England where they call the trunk of their car the boot, they put stuff they want to sell in their boot, gather together in a parking lot or vacant property to sell their stuff, and call the gatherings, what else, but a boot sale.

For this book, and for simplicity, I’ll just call most of them garage sales although I have