Yard Sale Finds

I started reading Yard Sale Mommy last month and finally got a chance to try my luck at the whole yard saling experience these past two Saturdays.

My first Saturday experience was pretty good - I didn't get a whole lot, but then again I didn't spend a whole lot either. I figured I should start small and see how it went before diving in head first. I only went to two yard sales in my neighborhood since I didn't want to drive too far for my first yard saling adventure. The first yard sale was pretty small so I didn't get anything there. I then went to the second yard sale and as I was walking up their steep driveway (we live in the hill country after all), I saw a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and I quickly picked up the pace because I knew from Yard Sale Mommy that these are good sellers. I might exercise more if I knew there was a pristine Clubhouse waiting for me at the end. I paid $2 for this clubhouse (it had a sticker on it for $3) - what a steal since I figured I could get at least $30 for it. At first, I thought it didn't have any figurines with it, but when I got it home I discovered there was a mickey mouse in the mouse ear compartment so that made the deal even better. I currently have it listed on ebay and am up to almost $30 with 3+ days to go. Not bad for a $2 investment!

At this same sale, I got a big bag of Thomas the Train duplo. I also knew from Yard Sale Mommy that anything duplo and anything Thomas the Train sells well so I figured I couldn't go wrong with this purchase for $5. I loved duplo growing up and passed that love on to my daughter, so she can always play with it if it doesn't sell (so far, it's not looking good). When I got it home, I looked it up on eBay and found out it was the Load and Carry set and then realized that the most important piece of the whole set was missing (the Thomas face for the train). I went back to the yard sale and left the lady my number to call me if she found it, but I never got a call. There are some extra pieces that don't belong in the set, so I included those in the listing hoping it would make up for the missing Thomas face. Oh well, lesson learned on this one.

Last week, I read a post on Yard Sale Mommy that said that the switch-a-roo toys for Evenflo exersaucers are good sellers on eBay. I couldn't wait until Saturday to try my luck so I found one on Craig's List for $10 (I offered $7 and she took it). I was able to get about 7 toys plus a snack tray and a seat off of it to list on eBay. So far, I've sold 4 of these toys. I priced them lower than others to start since I wanted to sell them quickly. I had noticed that some of the toys were selling for $8-$10, but others weren't and since I'm a newby I tested out my toys at the $5 price point. I got a quick sale, but I'll probably try a higher price next time.

My 3yo daughter had to test out the exersaucer.

 This past Saturday, I tried the yard saling adventure again and was pleased with the first sale of the morning. I managed to pick up an exersaucer for $5 and it had a musical, light up arch bar that I knew went for $20 on eBay so I was giddy to get it for $5. My guest room looks like an exersaucer graveyard at the moment.

I also picked up two mini radio flyer wagons for $1 each (these people had twins so they had two of everything to sell it seemed). I found one completed listing that sold for $30, but others that didn't sell for $10 - I think it's all in the title as Yard Sale Mommy has taught me - so I'm going to list it exactly like the $30 one and try my luck with selling one of these. I'll let my daughter keep one and will sell that one when she gets tired of it. They're good for giving her dolls a ride.

I'm already looking forward to this Saturday when I can try my luck again at the yard sales. Thanks to Yard Sale Mommy for all the great tips and tricks for this newbie and for the opportunity to link up! I have a personal blog, but created this one so that I could share my yard sale finds and other shortcuts to make life easier as a working mom.