Shopping: Treasure from Garage Sale Throw Aways

Garage sales are many times as much about neighbors visiting each other than they are about making money. But a clever shopper can find some real treasures at garage sales, even though they may be in rough form. Nonetheless, it is entirely possible to take your hobby of hitting the garage sales each week and turn it into an outstanding career for the work-at-home mom.

The one golden rule of the successful garage sale addict is to get out early. On your average Saturday, there might be dozens of garage sales in town. If you hit the sales as soon as the homeowners open their garage and are ready to sell, you can grab the real treasures before the general public gets out. One of the myths about garage sales is that mostly what people sell is all junk. That myth comes from the fact that most people don't get to garage sales until later in the day when all of the good stuff is already sold.

To build a work-at-home business finding treasures in garage sales and turning what you find into profitable items to sell, you must get to the sales early and bring plenty of cash. The good items will also sell for more than your usual five to fifty cent items most people pick up. Come with cash to spend and a good-sized vehicle to carry off the larger items. The valuable items you will find at garage and estate sales will usually be in the furniture or large appliance categories. Its best if you can take those items with you and take them to your property before anyone else gets a chance to see them.

The great thing about using your love of garage sales as a home based business is that the kids can join mom on the outings to garage sales. By letting the kids have a few dollars to spend on 5-10 toys that are often for sale, the big step of developing your inventory from garage sales becomes a family affair. And that is the whole idea of building a work-at-home business. The kids will also have fun helping you load the larger items into your truck and seeing you refurbish those items for sale down the road.

You can take on as much or as little business as you can store and reasonably fix up for resale. If you just want to use your garage or shed to store the items you buy, you could quickly overflow those storage spaces. That means you are forced into quick turn around. To get the best prices for your items, though, you should be able to store items to give yourself time to restore antique, fix damaged appliances and search for the best markets for the treasures you found.

A background in restoring antiques is a great skill to bring to your garage sale business. If you have a teenage son who has a flair for mechanics, he could be given the job of fixing up appliances that just need a little tender loving care to be perfectly functional and ready for sale. By sharing the profits with kids that help out, they will become enthusiastic participants in your garage sale home business. That is a source of bonding and loads of fun for the whole family.

You might consider renting a storage facility to store the many treasures you find at garage sales. If you expand where you shop to estate sales, you will often find some fine pieces at those sales that you can fix up rather easily and sell for a nice profit. The storage facility gives you the flexibility to store and work on items based on what you know will turn a fast profit. And the cost of the facility is deductible as a business expense.

The markets for used items in great condition are easy to find. Antique and furniture stores will eagerly buy restored furniture items that they can sell at high prices to the antique crowd. Online sources like Craigslist are great ways to find local buyers for the outstanding bargains you have to offer. And when you can offer restored furniture and appliances at bargain prices, you will still turn a tidy profit because you learned to convert your love of garage sales to a way to make your dream to be a work-at-home mom a reality.