Garage Sale Hunter Gets A Massager For $15 After Haggling, Then Picks Up M&M’s Christmas Lights Worth About $25 For Just $3

Susan Parker

2 hours ago

“Does this massager work good?” the garage sale hunter behind Reselling With Russell asked. The seller told him to go ahead and plug it in. It worked, and the asking price was $20.

He offered $15, and the answer came quickly: “She’ll take 15.”

A $15 Massager Plus Two Small Extras Made $19

At the same sale he picked up a string of vintage M&M’s Christmas lights for $3 and a set of brand-new Razor scooter wheels for a dollar. His total at the table was $19.

He says the lights, used but still working, are worth about $25 plus shipping for $3 spent. “I’ll take it.”

The wheels were a gamble. They had never been opened, with a little surface rust from sitting so long. He says they probably don’t make that scooter anymore, which is why replacement wheels can sell.

Late In Garage Sale Season, A Blow Mold Elf Is Worth “Hundred Something Dollars”

Another standout was a vintage Christmas elf blow mold by General Foam Plastics. He thinks he paid $2 or $3 for it, and he says it is worth more than a hundred dollars by itself.

His advice: “This is the season to start picking up blow molds.” Halloween was that weekend and Christmas was right around the corner, so he says to get them listed now.

Waiting In Line Behind 20 People At An Estate Sale Paid Off In The Garage

He says he rarely does estate sales where he waits in line to get in. About 20 people were ahead of him, and he did not expect much because sales near him are “notoriously overpriced.”

He dug through the garage and found a bin of military gear at $4 an item. He took a basic early model Garmin, worth about $30, that another shopper had pulled out and put back. He also took a pack worth $30 to $40.

The best finds were two rucksacks with their metal frames still attached. He says they sell for about $150 each plus shipping. With the pack and the Garmin, he figures at least $350, maybe $400.

An Olympus Flash Camera Worth $200 Cost Him A Dollar

All the 35mm cameras were a dollar each, and he did not look any of them up. “Some of them are worth like $10, $15. Some are worth hundreds.”

One was an Olympus electronic flash A11, which he says is a $200 camera. Several others are worth $30 to $40 each, and he guesses the bag holds about $400 in cameras.

CDs At 50 Cents Included Insane Clown Posse Albums Worth $15 To $20 Each

The sellers at one sale were asking 50 cents each for CDs, with a pile priced at 25 cents each, and he says it was “a no-brainer.” The haul included the Super Mario Galaxy official soundtrack, Rage, Bullet for My Valentine, Eminem, Green Day, Three Days Grace, Avril Lavigne and Apocalyptica.

He says the most valuable ones were the Insane Clown Posse CDs at about $15 to $20 each. His rule: don’t pass up CDs at 50 cents unless they’re Christmas or mass-produced country.

A Worn Snap-On Ratchet Got Him A Toolbox For $10

At a later estate sale, he found a Snap-On PF70 3/8 ratchet, probably from the 1960s or 70s, in a toolbox. The seller wanted $20 for the box and its tools, and then offered $15.

The ratchet needs a rebuild and is missing a screw, and the other tools were cheap imports. Still, he took the whole thing for $10 and put the value at $40 to $50. “He was happy too,” he says.

Smaller Wins Rounded Out The Haul

A Cutco 1768 spreading knife. He says he hardly ever sees Cutco.
Kate Spade sunglasses he calls a $40 set, which he got for $5 with the case.
Platform Crocs for $2 that he says are a $30 to $40 pair plus shipping.
Miss Me shorts and pants for $15 for both after he asked for a deal.
A baby monitor, which he says always sells because buyers need an extra camera or a replacement display.
A Revere four-slot egg poacher with a copper bottom, which he rarely finds complete.

Even the oddball buys had a plan. He says baby monitors have sold for him again and again, and anything that does not sell goes on his own trinket shelf, like a small stone gator he picked up because he liked it.

He also bought a Garmin that another shopper walked away from. In his words: “I took that right away.”

What To Take From His Garage Sale Strategy

Plug in electronics before you pay, and ask if the price is negotiable.
Bundle several items and ask for one price.
Buy by the season, with blow molds and Halloween items before the holidays.
Pay a dollar for items like old cameras where the range runs from $10 to hundreds.
Check the bins in the garage, where estate sale items are often less picked over.

He says it was late in the season, but there was still plenty to find. After this video, he plans to do a couple more garage sale episodes and then shift to thrift store videos until next summer.