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When did you start yardsaling?
Why did you start yardsaling?
Aside from videogames and videogame merchandise, what else do you buy?
Where do you put all that stuff!?
Do you resell what you buy?
How do you visit so many sales in a week?
Where else do you find videogame deals?
How do you get these deals?
How can I get deals like you guys?
Who are Dom and Liz?
Dom (22) and Liz (24) are a couple from Massachusetts, USA. They have been together for over 5 years, and share a love for videogames and collecting.
We had been thinking about trying our hand at yardsaling to find old videogames, and finally decided to start on Saturday, April 9th, 2005. We quickly checked our local newspaper for sales and headed out...at the late late hour of 10AM.
We grew up loving videogames (all the way back to Atari!) and have always enjoyed collecting them. Thanks to CheapAssGamer, our GameCube, Game Boy Advance, Xbox, Playstation 1 and 2 collections were already growing rapidly, and we still had all of our old Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Game Boy, Sega Master System, and Atari games and systems. But we wanted more! We have always dreamed of someday owning a house full of videogames and videogame paraphernalia, and we hope to achieve this through yardsaling.
Anything that catches our eye! Liz is a long-time Lego fanatic, and always picks up anything she sees. Anime and manga (media and merchandise) are also on the list, but these don't turn up too often. We also pick up any books and VHS tapes that look interesting, especially if they are from the 80s. You just never know what you'll find!
Everything we buy is stored in a combination of bookshelves and plastic storage bins, spread between Dom's house and Liz's house. Both the Dreamcast Kiosk and Neo Geo Arcade live in Dom's bedroom. It's pretty cramped right now! We will be buying a house in the very near future, and at that point we'll be able to display everything more to our liking.
Nope! We buy and keep everything for the sheer enjoyment of collecting.
Increased familiarity with the communities we visit probably contributes the most to the high sale frequency per week. Additionally, we live in a well-populated area that gives us lots of options, especially between the months of April and September (prime time in our region). Finally, we only spend 1-2 minutes at each sale, even if we score something. "Get in and get out quick" is our motto. Liz creates an itinerary every week using Yahoo Maps, making a list of directions from sale to sale, carefully planned to limit backtracking. Liz then drives while Dom navigates, and by working together they can maximize their time!
Craigslist, Freecycle, and flea markets have contribued some good deals, but yardsales will forever remain our favorite and most successful venue for videogame deals.
We were definitely shaky when we first started out, but over time we learned how to bargain and haggle. We try to keep a clear idea of what we want to pay for games and systems, and stick to that. We can always adjust that depending on what we have in front of us (e.g. "rare" games or systems), but for the most part we try to stay within our preset price range. We also hit a large number of sales, increasing our chances of finding items. Our "luck" is nothing more than a combination of persistant haggling and dedication to hit lots of sales.
All of our tips (as well as tips from our yardsaling friends at CAG) can be found in the CAG Wiki Yardsale Guide (also linked at the top of the page). Follow these tips, go out weekly to as many sales as possible, and don't be afraid to haggle!