WHERE TO BUY MERCHANDISE LOCALLY TO SELL ON INTERNET AUCTIONS


YARD SALES
Yard sales can be great places to buy cheap, but rarely will you find a "gem". Be selective here.

I don't spend a lot of time looking for auction merchandise at yard sales unless I have nothing else to do. Generally it's a waste of time. But every once in a while you get a surprise. At one yard sale this past summer I got a "bag full" of books for $2. That included a 1st edition of Jack London's Hearts of Three, and 2nd edition of his Revolution and three W. Sommerset Maugham first editions including A Writer's Notebook and Then and Now. The total lot was woth $500


RUMMAGE SALES
Rummage sales are similiar to yard sales in that they are generally a waste of time, but you may find a real find at times. The sales are run by churches or fraternal organizations and include books, coats, furniture, glasses, and a ton of stuff. Be selective here too.


LOCAL AUCTIONS
Local auctions are another valuable source of great auction merchandise. I have found there are very few local auctioneers who know anything about the value of used books.

Its easy enough to spot a 100 year old mahogany table as being valuable or a set of silverware that's stamped "sterling", but a used book? Few know or care that they don't know. Most of the time you can go into any regional auction house and buy boxes of books for a few dollars without anyone bidding against you. Who knows, there may be a real gem in there or several.

But even old, dusty books can be bid up to the sky. So set your limits and if you don't get it- you don't.


Charitable Fund Raising Auctions and Sales
Charitable fund raising sales and auctions. These sales occur during the summer months and are put on by volunteers of the organization who's trying to raise money. Items are donated to the organization, the volunteers mark them with prices or tag them for auction.
The trick here is not to look to anxious if you find something you really want. And, remember it is for charity, so - be nice!

Estate Sales
Estate sales are one of my favorite places to buy used books and anything else for auctioning on the Internet.
Why?

Well, think of what it means to have an estate sale. In most cases it is because someone has passed away and the beneficiaries of the estate want to get rid of the old stuff to pay off outstanding debts of the estate or to put the cash in their pockets. The sale could also be held because an elderly person is going into a nursing home and needs to get rid of his or her old stuff. Estate sales are attended by some pretty shrewd operators and, if you want to get good buys you'd better get there early.


The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is actually an interesting place to look for eBay merchandise. They are reasonably priced and not often, but once in a while, a gem can be found.

Here's the story of a guy who went into the basement of a Salvation Army and walked out with a map detailing the continents in 1677 - it was worth $19 million. You probably won't be that lucky, but...

Used bookstores are a terrific place to find bargains. Occasionally you'll find a used bookstore owner that is knowledgeable, but if they are generalists they won't have time to research the books that come through their hands each day. There are just too many books for them to handle.

So you can find some great bargains and they will probably be in better condition than most of the other sources. If you are the owner of a used bookstore, you've probably let some valuable books be sold right under your nose for 1/100th of what they were really worth.

If it happens with books, it happens with all kinds of merchandise. That's why it's so important to have a deep knowledge of the area you're dealing in.


Mail-Order Sources
Mail-Order Sources. There are many booksellers and glass dealers and other antique dealers who only do business by mail. Get on as many mailing lists and ask for as many catalogs as you can. You will find bargains from time to time and it's worth getting the catalogs even if you never buy anything because they provide important market information and descriptions of items.



Dollar stores
Dollar stores have books and other merchandise-- and guess what? They're all $1!

A few of my finders have found some real gems there. Like a fine copy of Jean M. Auel's The Clan of the Cave Bear ($80) and Stuart Kaminsky's Bullet For A Star ($200).

Like all of the sources I'm listing here make it a regular part of your schedule to visit Dollar stores when you can.

New Stores. Yes, you can find good stock in new stores - at the sales table. The larger stores like will have tables of "Bargains" which include items that have been "hurt" (damaged in some way) or "close-outs" or "specials".

The only caution I have regarding this kind of buying is that, in most cases, a 'no return' ink stamp is imprinted on the bottom of the item thereby reducing it's collectible value by as much as 60% or more. If you find a nice piece of merchandise on the bargain table and it's missing the mark-- you're lucky- buy it.

Shows and fairs are usually run by an association in which members of the association can display their items.
Not all shows and fairs are for antiques dealers. There are many craft fairs, and other kinds of shows.
Most of the fairs are held in a large hall at a university, hotel or convention center or auditorium.

The Internet can be an excellent place to items of all kinds. See my directory of wholesale and liquidation sources for great places to buy cheap.

Here are a few additional ways to buy collectibles and antiques that will guarantee even more profits:

This one my brother uses and has graciously allowed me to include it here:

Every day he looks in the classified section of his local newspaper. He looks under the heading of "Merchandise" for sale or "Household Goods", etc. Look at the listings. Most of the listings will be for used furniture, appliances, etc. Also, they will have a phone number listed to call about the items they have advertised. Call them. Say that you saw their ad and that you noticed they are selling household items. State that you are interested in buying used books or pez dispensers or baseball cards or whatever and say, "I was wondering if you had any you would like to sell?"

The reason this works is: 1) they were going to throw them out anyway and; 2) if they are in a 'selling' mode, they either want to get rid of some junk in their house which you can help them do or they are trying to scrape enough money together for some reason (maybe a trip to Disney World or something) and they will be happy to let you have their stuff for some extra cash. Just remember I'm not talking about taking advantage of anyone here. If you find a truly valuable item in their collection, pay a good and fair price for it.

Anyway, these are most of the ways that I know of to buy collectibles and antiques at dirt cheap prices. The important thing to remember is that if you bought right you will be able to sell right and make substantial profits.


Entire Contents © Copyright 2001 by David Vallieres. All rights reserved.