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Auction Strategists Newsletter

Brought to you by Jenni Hunt
www.jennihunt.com

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In this newsletter:
1. What’s Coming Up… FREE Inventory?!
2. Garage Sale For Inventory Plan
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Hello ~

Do you have a budget for your inventory?… Or, do you fly by the seat of your pants when it comes to buying items to resell? Maybe you are just scraping by right now and just buy inventory when you can… there are so many people in this boat right now due to the economy. If this is you, stay tuned – in the next newsletter I am going to show you a strategy to get used items to resell on eBay without spending a penny! Yep – you heard me right! There is an article I wrote a few years back on this topic and I will be featuring it in the next newsletter.

Enjoy!
Jenni

PS. The Summer Toy Guide is LIVE and going strong! Know what used toys are selling on eBay this summer with the Summer Toy Guide – you get 3 months with the package for just $27!

Learn more here: http://www.mytoyguide.com/summer

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Garage Sale For Inventory Plan – YOUR BUDGET
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Last week I shared with you some of the strategies I use to map out my route on a g-sale day… and today we talk about the all important budget!

Your budget will really come down to the market you are in (and of course how much you have to spend on inventory). Since I focus on selling children’s items, that is going to be the point of reference for this weeks topic of budgeting for yard sales.

I usually bring $80-100 with me when I am hitting yardsales. This doesn’t mean that I don’t stop for more… in fact, I often don’t spend all of it! I have been able to do fine with around a hundred bucks.

Before I head out, I try to break down the 20’s to smaller bills. This usually helps sellers as well because they aren’t having to give me change if I find something for a quarter.

Most children’s items can be purchased for a buck or so… but, here is a general idea of how I gauge things. Please note – there are always exceptions – and if you are paying attention to the HuntedTreasure (www.huntedtreasure.com) or MyToyGuide (www.mytoyguide.com) weekly reports, you’ll know if you come across a true treasure.

Here are the guidelines I usually go by when I am looking to build inventory from garage-sales.

>>>Children’s Clothing
I’ve seen a huge range for children’s clothing. Every once and a while I hit a goldmine and find name brand clothing in pristine condition for a quarter a piece!

For twenty five cents – there isn’t much risk and I’ll buy up whatever I can. What’s even better about finding this kind of deal is that when you are looking to buy a bunch of stuff… usually the seller is excited to give you an even better deal! Unfortunately, I only find these kinds of sales a few times a year.

It is more of the norm to find a sale with children’s items for a buck a piece. Still – this is a great deal for name brand clothing. And, remember, if you buy more than one piece – ask if they will take less for the bunch. Usually, if I’m buying 5 things for $1 each, I’ll look for one or two pieces more and then ask if they will just take $5 for all of it. Usually they say yes. Now, for a dollar a piece – if you make an outfit out of 3 things and resell it for even $20, you’ve done alright for yourself.

In summary…
Children’s Clothing: $1 or less
I usually plan to only spend a dollar or less a piece
Exceptions: If I find a top of the line dress or outfit that I’ve seen resell for $40+ easy, I’ll pay up to $10 for it… but, I don’t usually pay more than that.

>>>Children’s Bedding:
I usually buy bedding for a nursery bedding set. I don’t like storing things for long and finding a piece here and there, although effective, isn’t something I often do.

Usually I’d be willing to pay $20-25 for a nice sized bedding set… especially for Pottery Barn or another high end brand. Other sets like Classic Pooh or the John Lennon bedding – I’d probably pay up to $20. It depends on what is included and the condition. Usually for a bedding set I look for the basics of a comforter and sheets, crib skirt, mobile… but, what usually makes me super interested in buying is if there are extra unique pieces. Something like a diaper hanger… matching picture frames, lamps, rugs, wall hangings, nightlights, etc… the more the better!

In summary…
Children’s Bedding: $20-25 SET
Exceptions: sometimes I’ll go up on super high end brands or round crib bedding.

>>>Children’s Toys:
One of my favorites to shop for is toys! Usually parents are so sick of all the toys they have in their house that they will practically give them away… especially if you have kids in tow! Seriously. I’ve had garage-sale sellers not even ask me and just pile a bunch of toys on my kids telling them they can have them. If only they knew the treasures they were giving away! 😉

Toys have a huge price range for me. Many toys can be found for well under $1… but, I’ve also found big playground type toys  for as little as $10. Usually when I am shopping for toys, I’ll have a few items that I am specifically keeping my eye out for. The Summer Toy Guide is an excellent resource for this!

Ten dollars is usually the limit I set on an item from a garage sale… but, if there is something that I’m confident will sell well I’ll buy it for more.

In summary…
Children’s Toys: $1-10 depending on size of item and resell value
Exceptions:  Large climb on toys or ride on cars – $20-40 depending on value and condition.

>>>Movies
Okay, I know I said toys are my favorite… but, I love to score on movies too! Many people are getting rid of their VHS and even their DVD’s to upgrade to Blue-Ray… and you can get amazing deals on what they are getting rid of. Usually, my rule of thumb is $1 for VHS and $3-4 for DVD’s. Don’t forget when you purchase more than just one from a seller to barter a bit. If they are $1 each for VHS and you are buying 5 – see if they’ll take $3… It never hurts to ask.

It is important to know what resells well before buying a bunch of movies. Not all sell well – and they tend to sell better during the winter months when kids are inside longer.

In summary…
Movies: $1-4 each
Exceptions: Every once and a while I’ll come across a move series for $5-7. Once we had a WWII (I think it was WWII) mini series on VHS – it had never been watched and was $5. There was a list of over 70 people waiting for it on amazon! We just named our price of $120 and it sold in seconds! 🙂

>>>Gear
Baby gear is usually plentiful at garage sales… but, it isn’t cheap and not all items resell well. I usually just keep an eye out for a few things and expect to pay more for them.

What I look for is pretty limited:

Bob Jogging Stroller – $20-40
Sit and Stand Stroller – $10-15
Kelty Backpack Stroller – $40 (these haven’t been selling as well as previously)
Medela Pump In Style – $40

In summary…
Gear: $20-40
Exceptions: I have to be confident that an item is going to resell well for me before I’ll consider more.

So how much will $80-100 buy?

Let’s take a look at a typical day for me and how far $80-100 goes…

Clothing – I’ll often spend $30 total on children’s clothing and plan to have at least 30-40 pieces from that much. If I get 40 pieces and can pull 13 outfits out of it (about 3 pieces an outfit), I’m happy for a few hours of shopping. If each outfit can bring in just $10 profit, that’s $130 I’ve made just from clothing!

Toys – Usually, I only spend $30-40 on toys and have more than enough to resell. Many toys can be bought for under 50 cents – so that is a LOT of toys! Even if I pay a buck for each toy and turn it around for $15 on eBay (about $10 return), I could make $300 from just one morning shopping!

Videos – I don’t usually spend more than $10 on videos… and I like to shop for VHS more than DVD’s – just my personal preference really. I don’t pay more than $1 a movie – and again, if I can sell them for $15 each, that’s about 10 bucks made on each one… or a hundred bucks from movies.

So how did we do…
With the above scenario we spend $70-80 and the return looks like it could be well over 500 dollars in profit!

The Risk…
Before we close up, I wanted to say something about the risk with garage sales. I think this is one thing that keeps eBay sellers from building their inventory this way… but, I really think that the risk is minimal if you know what you are looking for – and you budget it right.

Look at it this way… if you buy something thinking that it will sell – and then, it doesn’t… or you end up having second thoughts and decide not to sell it… take it to consignment! I bet someone could build an entire business on buying items at garage sales and then taking the items to consignment for resell… talk about easy! We’ll actually be looking into this more in the next newsletter when I share a special article about building inventory without spending a penny!

That’s it… The next piece in the Garage Sales For Inventory series is all about the big shopping day!

Stay tuned…

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Copyright 2010 Jenni Hunt, www.jennihunt.com

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