10% of Retail Value

If you could get something that was slightly used, but still in very good condition, and sometimes brand new for 10% of what that person paid for it... would you?

If anyone answered no to that question... stop reading.

I have some great friends who have spread the infatuation of Garage Sales to me. At first I was skeptical. With thoughts of, "I don't want to buy other people's junk." I might have even thought I was "too good" for that sort of thing.

But my first trip to a garage sale was a couple years ago. I was half awake and wanted a rice maker. What are the odds of finding a rice maker at a Garage Sale you ask? Well... evidently pretty good (although I still look and have yet to find another one). So the first place we went to, I found a BRAND NEW, NEVER BEEN USED, rice maker. This rice maker (pictured below) sells for $24.99 at Target. I got it for $1, yep one dollar. That is 4% of the retail value... or if you like to think in terms of Discounts... How about seeing a sign that says 94% off... would you buy it... So I say this because some people at Garage Sales do not realize how to price or sell their "treasures". They put way too high a price on their valuables, adding their emotional value on their items. My dear friend said multiple times over this weekend when she saw things were overpriced "10% of the retail value (or what you paid for it)" is what people should sell things for. I completely agree with her.

I love telling people about the treasures that I find at garage sales and seeing their surprise about the quality of it. I love knowing that I saved a ton of money by purchasing things that I needed at a 90% discount! It is the joy of the hunt that keeps me coming back for more. Below are two pictures of the treasures that I found yesterday!

Not exactly what mine looks like, but very close. Walmart - $269, Garage Sale - $20 = 7% of price.

3-Cup French Press Brand-New (exactly the same as what I got), Target - $24.99, Garage Sale - $1 = 4%... YES!

Inventory of Belongings

So I have been told that I need to put this up on my blog... so here it is...

The other Saturday I got really excited because I was done with school and didn't have to do homework. So I was sitting on the couch thinking to myself that it was a perfect saturday and what could I do to make it even better? I decided that making a spreadsheet of everything I own and what I think it is worth, whether I want to sell it in a garage sale or not (so I know what I want to take with me when I move), and then when I move what I will need to purchase and how much I think each thing will cost me.

So for the first picture: This is the major things that I own right now and how much I think they are worth. Then at the bottom I have a sales goal for my garage sale and what stuff I want to sell.

The Second picture is what I need:
Go ahead... laugh it up. But I feel much better now!