Have you resold garage sale finds for profit? Via Shutterstock
If you live in LA, hitting a garage sale means running into celebrities. Writer Rachelle Romberg talks about what celebrities she’s met – and how she has sold their junk for much, much higher prices. Rachelle is auditioning for a staff writer position on BargainBabe.com! Missed the audition announcement? Here it is. Each day this week we are running one audition post.
Did this post help you save money? While I will make the final decision on who to hire, your input is extremely valuable. Here is Rachelle’s post:
Do celebs have yard sales? You bet! They have stuff to get rid of, too. Over the years, living in Los Angeles, I have happened upon yard sales held by none other than the Kardashian family (the girls were teens – I bought a ton of NWT dresses for $1 each and sold them on eBay for 25-35x that amount), Renee’ Zellwegger (lots of used running sneakers, not my size), Carnie Wilson (bought clothes and toys for my daughter, she is one super-nice celeb !) and Seth Green (saved the Buffy martini glass for me since I was a big fan).
I have been able to turn yard sale finds into great deals for my family, and I’ve sold many items for a good profit.
- A few years ago, I found a Remington Steele baseball cap at a sale for a dollar and sold it on eBay for $160. I made a hefty profit for almost no work, and some fan got a great collector’s item.
- Last year, a family put their yard sale leftovers on the curb with a “Free” sign. One of the discarded items was a sharp-looking stroller. I whipped out my smart phone, checked that it hadn’t been recalled (http://wemakeitsafer.com/
Strollers-Recalls) and sold it a week later for $99 at the L.A. Kids Consignment Sale (http://www.lakidsconsignment. com/). - I shopped a children’s boutique sample sale, clothing ranging from $10-$15. A few weeks later, I went to a White Elephant Sale at the same location and all the leftover boutique items were apparently donated and now selling for $1 apiece! I filled two huge green garbage bags full of clothes! Many items I kept for my two kids, some I gave as baby and birthday gifts (they were all NWT!) and the rest I sold at the kids’ consignment sale mentioned above. The money I spent went to a great charity and I was able to score a win for myself as well!
- My husband, a rare book seller, has also found some terrific deals at estate sales. He has been known to buy pamphlets, books and ephemera for as little as twenty five cents and turn around and sell them on eBay or Bookfinder for sometimes over a hundred dollars apiece!
I have been “saling” for years. For fun, for enjoyment. I started as a single girl in Hollywood. Now I take the kids and hubby with me. I never set an alarm because as a tired mom, I value sleep above almost all else. My kids love the hunt for great bargains. The other day, my daughter saw an ad on TV for some glittery pink girly toy that undoubtedly cost a fortune. She said, “Mommy, can you buy that for me? …At a yard sale?” At that moment, I was so proud.
And we have found many items my kids have put on their “wish lists” – a $99 Big Foot toy that was all the rage a few years ago – $5 at a yard sale. Overpriced Justice shirts that we’d seen in the store just a week before in the thirty dollar range – $1 apiece. Like-new baseball pants and cleats for my son for a fraction of the price, with all proceeds to charity.
To make “saling” a success, I check The Pennysaver, craigslist, and local signs posted in my neighborhood. Some of the best sales are not pre-planned, but stumbled upon. Like the celebrity yard sales. You never know what – or who – you will come across.
About the writer
Rachelle lives in LA and is an expert on bargain hunting, kids’ consignment shops and consignment sales, and mystery shopping.
Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price.
Great article, full of interesting information but what does NWT mean? Thanks!
Katswan, it means new with tag.
Celebrities and their stuff can be found in lots of other places. My favorite teen heart-throb David Cassidy had a moving sale at one of his vacation homes in upstate NY that I attended. A thrill of a lifetime. David Cassidy lightbulbs, coffee mugs that may or may not have been used by the man himself etc etc etc. I once found a limited edition leather production crew jacket from One Life to Live soap opera here at a podunk little thrift store in Maryland and sold that for big bucks on ebay.
That is too cool! Right after the movie Titanic came out and was a big hit, I went to a yard sale held by someone who had worked on the movie. He was selling crew jackets, great quality wool with leather arms and an embroidered image of the ship, not available in stores. My husband was a big fan of the movie, so I bought him one for him. He still wears it today and I’m sure it has increased in value. David Cassidy is definitely a thrill!!! Was he at the sale??? I have bought lots of soap and TV show/film cast and crew gifts over the year and sold them on eBay. It’s fun because so many people don’t have access to this kind of thing and they are thrilled to find this kind of thing up for sale. I even bought and sold Aaron Spelling’s stationery! LOL!
Great article!!! My one reservation is that I’m reading it at night so I can’t drop everything and rush out to a garage sale! I regularly troll thrift stores and have been off the garage sale beat but after reading this I’m going back on that beat as well.
I enjoyed this article because I love estate sales! I’m inspired to start back visiting estate sales in my area (Dallas, Texas). The tendency to bust the budget has kept me away for the past several years.
When shopping at estate and garage sales, it is important to keep a list of the items you are looking for and stay within your budget. If you don’t stick with your “wish list”, you will find that you will spend a lot more than you anticipated and will usually end up with stuff you like but don’t need!
However, if you have a “trained eye” and can spot hidden treasures, you can literally clean up! Going into an estate sale with a plan is a smart strategy. If you like vintage clothing, it would be to your advantage to head straight for the closets and not stop to browse in the living area or kitchen first.
Having a buddy to accompany you to a sale can be extremely helpful too because you will have an extra set of eyes and hands to grab the steals before other bargain hunters get to them.
With celebrity sales, I imagine you could make a hefty profit, especially if you can authenticate the item with supporting documentation or pics of the celeb wearing or holding the item. And knowing the history behind an item is an added bonus when it’s time to sell because it adds more value to the piece.
This article has given me the impetus to dust off my fanny pack, walking shoes, magnifying glass and other tools of the trade and some sales this weekend in my area. 😉