Suggestions For Yard Sale And Flea Market Hunting?

Without really knowing your area, I'm not exactly sure what kind of information you are looking for here. Umm, go to sales, look for coins? Bring a loupe and a magnet. Don't be a afraid to negotiate. Don't be afraid to "walk away" from a deal.

If you don't see any coins or bullion ask if they have any for sale. It may not be laying out for all to see.

Certain things at yard sales don't make the sale because most people don't want to sell something they know nothing about. The average yard sale will not have coins laid out for the easy pickin's. I see coins at estate sales but it's very rare to see them at yard sales. You have to ask for coins. I buy watches too. If you don't ask, they won't volunteer the information. Even if they have coins, they'll probably say no just to defuse the situation. And when they say yes, most of the time they are looking for a free appraisal.

Never, ever be afraid to go a day before the advertised time or show up on the early side. That's how you get the good stuff. I've been going to yard sales for the last 23 years and I think I can count on one hand the amount of times I bought coins. Like I said earlier, estate sales are a different story. Usually over priced but you may get away with finding a VAM or die variation/error that makes the coin better than they think.

The most important thing is trust. If the seller likes/trusts you, then you have won half the battle. When I ask for things are start out small. I'll ask for things like broken watches or old pennies. I never start out with big buzz words like gold or Rolex. If they have it, they may show it. I'll try to break the ice with a small purchase just to test the waters. Sometimes, when they start getting your money, they don't want to stop. And if you get invited into the house.....Jackpot. I got to one yard sale at around 7AM and didn't leave until after 11AM. They even wanted to make me lunch. There were other dealers there and I was the only one who got into the house. Even then, no guarantee you will get to buy one thing.

The other obstacles are spouses. Husband doesn't care about his mothers stuff but the wife throws in the monkey wrench and kills the deal. Or vise-versa. I've had a son who wanted to give me a killer deal but his bother said no way, I'm keeping the jewelry. It happens. We can't get it all. Yard sales are like door to door sales. Sometimes you have a great day and other times you have a horrible month.

While I have hunted yard sales I usually find it to be a waste of time. I have never gotten a good coin score from a yard sale, there is always someone who was there earlier and already asked about coins. Fleamarkets though sometimes have decent prices. the best places that I have found have been local buy and sell shops. A few in my area have sold me coins when I asked for them. they never have them out but did have some in the back from an old purchase. I was able to get one oz bars for 15 each from one place and I regularly get very good commondate morgans for 25 from a jewler at a local year round flea market.

Make connections and friends. the deals will get better the more you buy from one person