The Garage Sale Millionaire: Make Money with Hidden Finds from Garage Sales to Storage Unit Auctions and Everything in Between, Revised and Updated

The Art of the Deal

To master the art of the deal, you’ll need to understand a few different techniques for becoming the greatest buyer you can possibly be. Even though you won’t become an expert negotiator overnight, the more you deal with items at garage sales, secondhand stores, estate auctions, storage unit auctions and on eBay and Craigslist, the closer you’ll come to achieving expert Garage Sale Millionaire status. Being successful at negotiating is not based solely on how aggressive you are as a buyer. A more important skill is knowing how to talk someone down on their price in order to achieve the greatest deal possible. There are three ways to buy an item: face to face, over the phone or through e-mail. Of course, there are different tricks to employ for each of these methods that will yield the highest rate of success.

Dealing with Someone Face to Face

When dealing with someone in person, the seller will be able to look at you in real time and make lasting judgements regarding what your financial status might be. This is accomplished largely in part by the way you’re dressed. Whatever you intend to purchase, whether it is jewelry, art, cars or pretty much anything else, a salesperson will always size you up by giving you the once-over. I’m not saying this practice is fair or that I agree with it, but it is a reality.

This is a very rare 50-million-year-old fossil from Wyoming called “Notogoneus/Diplomystus Aspiration.” To obtain this amazing item, I negotiated for two ...