So you are thinking of selling on eBay?  You have nothing to sell?  No money for start up?  Do you have a piggy bank?  Because that is all you need to start eBay selling, your spare change!

There is a readily renewable source of products for you located at your neighborhood yard sales.  I've always been hooked on these Saturday morning socials, how about you?  No?  Then why not start now?  These tips may be right up your alley.  Just what you need to know to be a yard sale junkie all the way to the eBay bank!  Just add a little gumption to get out of bed early on sale day and you can have a quick cache of items ready to list the same day and with very little cash outlay.

Spring has sprung and with that it is the start of prime garage sale, flea market and just junkin' days.  Also, going to the Salvation Army and Goodwill stores counts, too.  No matter what you call it, there are great bargains out there for the stooping, snooping and picking! 

Are you saying you just can't look through other people's cast offs?   Get over that, please!  Do not be embarassed to go plundering through personal items, usually they want you to take them off their hands. .  Smile when you pay someone a quarter for a knick-knack you know will sell for a hundred percent profit.  I think we should consider it a sort of recycling duty that helps still useful, collectible and durable goods find new homes.  A hobby has now become a profitable hobby.  Let this be your call to arms!  Your products are out there, be inquisitive and adventurous.  You could become a savvy yard sale entrepreneur this week!

Tips for Savvy Yard Sale Shopping!

Get Serious!  The items you find may well be money in the bank for you.  And that is how you must think of the items you see and the plans you make to acquire them.  Do some homework.  Check out eBay trends by using The Hot List and even the Want It Now pages so you will know a good thing when you see it.  A basic rule of thumb for me is the weirder the better!  Another is if it catches your eye, chances are it will appeal to someone on eBay and basically, you only need one someone to make an eBay sale.

Have a Game Plan!  Watch the papers, but not just for yard sales.  Most papers list estate sales and local auctions in the legal notices as well.  You can get a map of your town or city, usually free, from the Chamber of Commerce.  Put it in to your Yard Sale Kit.  Yes, you do have a kit.  It is that ugly, floral tote bag in the back of your closet.  We all have one, go get it out, dust it off and along with your new map, put into it: a magnet, for determining metals; a magnifying glass, for those hard to read pottery marks; a bottle of water and some wet wipes for you as yard sales and auctions can be hot, dirty work.

Make A Map!  Computer map questing can help if you go far afield with specific directions but a good local map is invaluable.  Map out your route the night before.  Type the times, addresses, items for sale and phone numbers from the newspaper ads.  Type it up in a larger than normal font, so you can read it on the fly.  The idea is to get from point A to B as speedily as you can, not Nascar speed, but have your route down pat.  Put this sheet on a clip board and into your kit it goes.  With the cost of gas you want to be economical in your route, but sometimes you have to go for the gold and that may mean backtracking.  However, if you number the sales on the route, hitting the most promissing ones first, on a good day you won't cover the same track twice.  Remember time wasted on the road, is a gem going to Johnny or Jane on the spot!

Bring Cash!  And not in big bills!  Sale holders hate twenties at seven in the morning.  Be thoughtful, bring ones and lots of quarters.  Shake that piggy bank down.  You'd be surprised what 25 cents and a pleasant attitude will buy.  It also helps to have cash in hand when you want a lower price.  Something about seeing that green makes a seller more amenable to your polite request.  Not always, but always worth a try.  Not good at bargaining?  With practice and simple sentences success can be yours in the bargaining arena.  Have your cash ready and simply ask: Will you take a bit less for this?  You can even state what you are willing to pay for that future eBay jewel.  Have the amount in hand and ask: Will you take $$ for this?  Always look them in the eye, smile and you can negotiate with these two sentences anywhere anytime.  Be prepared for disappointments, but chin up, there is always more stuff out there.  A note, be mindful of what you want as an eBay price so you don't over pay in the yard sale frenzy.

Get Creative Searching For Your Products!  Do not sleep late if the yard sale ad says no early birds, that worm could still be yours.  Never hurts to ask!  I have even offered to help them unpack their wares and been allowed to do so.  Then I know where the goodies are when sale time arrives.  If you think you'd like to sell books, take books to the local library and ask if they have a Book Sale shelf.  Offer to swap your book for theirs plus a quarter.  Join the Friends of the Library group and volunteer at their book sales, you may be allowed first purchase before the public sale.  Donate household items to local charity group sales.  When you drop off, ask if you may lookk through their items . Often they will let you make purchases ahead of the sale. Now do not shake your head and mumble that it is not fair to the public for you to buy early.  Remember you are selling on eBay now and the local church bazaar and charity rummage sales are your trade shows.  Always ask!

Always Ask!  Yes, that bears repeating here.  In the yard sale world you can always ask and should.  For a lower price, for other items of the same type, for missing pieces.  If the yard sale ad in the paper has a phone number, don't be bashful, call it and ask if you can look a day ahead of time.  In a small town this works well.  At the sale be pleasant and talk to the sale holder.  If it is an estate sale held by relatives or a moving day sale, you may be allowed to look inside the house for more treasures.    Or ask if you can leave them your phone number in case they find other items they wanted to sell.  This works great for books.  people always remember later they had books on the shelves they wanted to put out.  Remember, just ask!

Think Outside the Cardboard Box!  Think outside your taste and personality.  You are scouting for goods for millions of people across the globe in the eBay venue.  You might not appreciate that like new avocado green fondue pot marked $1.00, but buy it!  Because someone somewhere will love it and pay you $35 for it!  And that Rubik's Cube puzzle you could never figure out?  Still in its original dome and marked  fifty cents, buy it! .  Fifty cents of frustration for you maybe,  but someone will happily pay $37.00 for it.  True stories, fun stories abound on ebay, join in the fun by listening to your gut feeling.  You will quickly begin to develop a sense for items that sell.  Sometimes it is the oddest things that are your really big winners.  Trust your eBay sense and take a gamble.  That's what eBay is all about for me.  A small gamble for a big return and along the way it's as much fun as a barrel of monkeys!  Hey, isn't that a vintage game? Wonder what it would fetch on eBay?

Good Luck!