Home › Forums › Random Thoughts › On-the-spot research vs buying on gut instinct
- This topic has 15 replies, 16 voices, and was last updated 3 years, 5 months ago by
Inglewood.
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04/06/2018 at 12:59 pm #37212
Just curious how much research my fellow scavengers do while “in the field”.
Speaking for myself, if I’m in a store and I see something interesting, I generally use my phone to look it up as best as possible and I’m pretty averse to buying it unless I find some solds that are comparable. (Or I’ve sold the same thing before).
For this reason I do feel a bit out of my element at garage sales, estate sales etc. where phone research is harder. Generally only roll the dice there if something is very cheap relative to what I think I might get.
Are you guys on your phones a lot out there or are you making decisions on the fly?
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04/06/2018 at 1:19 pm #37215
I’ve been doing this since long before smart phones or the internet, so I go mostly on instinct. Sometimes I’m right, sometimes I’m wrong. I use the phone for stuff I’m unsure of, especially if its a little pricey. Just came from a church rummage sale where price was by donation, so never used the phone, just went with my gut.
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04/06/2018 at 1:54 pm #37217
I’m always looking for expensive weird stuff I may have never seen before so I have no aversion to looking stuff up at the point of sale. I’ll do it discreetly if possible, I’ve often loaded up a shopping bag at an estate or yard sale and go off in a corner to look stuff up.
If I see anyone looking at me I just shrug and say checking sizes or something.-
04/07/2018 at 8:34 am #37258
This is us. If it’s over $10 and Ive never seen the item before, I’ll do some quick research on my phone discretely.
Most stuff we buy is under $10 so we just go with our gut. At this price it’s a no risk situation.
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04/06/2018 at 1:56 pm #37218
I mostly go by gut. If I’m at a live auction, I might research before the auction starts; otherwise, I don’t have the time. On line auctions are different, obviously. Garage & rummage sales are mostly instinct. I’m not afraid to make a mistake since the cost is usually just a dollar or so.
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04/06/2018 at 2:48 pm #37226
If it is pricey, we will look it up (I usually act like one of the boys texted me and go away and look it up). If it is cheap, we take the chance.
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04/06/2018 at 2:51 pm #37228
While research is king in pricing and describing an item, in this specialized field, I think you have to do go with your gut and do research if possible when sourcing. I would offer not to limit yourself to only places in which you can research before buying. I would offer that if there is an item that appears to be worth selling but you are not able to research it before buying it, consider the cost. If the cost is low, I would say go for it. If the cost is high – maybe $5 dollars or more- and you know nothing about it, unless you are willing to take the gamble of loosing your money if it does not sell, do not buy it.
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04/06/2018 at 5:53 pm #37241
I definitely do a lot of research while scavenging, b/c I’m spending $5-15 per item, typically, and sometimes a lot more than that. Also b/c I would rather spend the extra time researching up front than being stuck with a bunch of low-profit items. But sure, if I’m at a rummage sale where things cost less than $1, I just go by my gut for most things.
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04/06/2018 at 6:30 pm #37243
If it’s something with a clearly stated brand or signature, or a vintage mass-produced item, I generally look it up just to see if eBay is already flooded with them. If it’s something like a cheapish ($6 or less, maybe) piece of art pottery or painting that has a great look and a scribbled signature, I usually just go with my gut about whether or not someone will want it as a decor item. If I can hunt down the signature later and it turns out to have more than simply decor value — bonus!
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04/06/2018 at 8:04 pm #37249
You know why the Verizon guy isn’t on TV saying “can you hear me now?” any more? Well, he got lost and couldn’t get a signal to call for help. It’s a black hole in my area. No signal. So most times I have to go by gut and prayer, bc I have no way of looking it up!
Unfortunately, this works against me when I AM in an area that has signal. I’m so used to not looking stuff up, I don’t think to do so when I have the opportunity! LOL
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04/07/2018 at 10:33 am #37264
Around here we pay a bit more for items. I currently mostly shop at thrifts and have no problem looking things up in the store. I’m definitely still learning and have a backlog. Sometimes I’m pleasantly surprised, but more often I’m grateful I looked because it’s salable but not worth my limited time these days or may take a while to move. At rummage sales I will look things up in a corner some place as well even though prices are better. I’m finally at the point where it’s easier to walk with few or no items and I’m quickly able to consider the packing, shipping cost / effort, and storage requirement. At first it was difficult for me to leave any interesting saleable items behind unless there were condition issues. Thus, the Piles I’m still working.
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04/07/2018 at 9:42 pm #37299
You can always say you are looking it up to check reviews for modern items. For more of the mystery item category you could just you are trying to figure what it is or how old it is. If specifications matter you could just say you are trying to find out the specs to see if it will work me or my situation / configuration.
I use to be more discreet but not so much anymore, I find people don’t really care much anymore since everyone is on the smarty phones all the time for all sorts of reasons.
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04/09/2018 at 8:36 am #37385
I try to research but some estate sale houses will have such terrible internet reception that that isn’t always possible. I have made some fairly bad purchases on “gut” but also some really good ones. But I also make a lot of ” what the heck its a buck” purchases that I do not research at all. And I still feel weird when I whip out my phone to research :/
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04/09/2018 at 8:39 pm #37461
If i’ve sold an item before and it’s no brainer then gut all day.
Otherwise my process at the thrift is to throw everything interesting in the cart and
find a quiet place and vet the items for condition/price/resale.
It’s a funny thing but you could be in the quietest section of a dead thrift and some asshat
will always come down the aisle and ask you to move to look at that one dish towel you are blocking them from inspecting.Grrr.-
This reply was modified 3 years, 5 months ago by
Retiredfireguy21.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 5 months ago by
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04/10/2018 at 9:43 am #37484
If it’s in my niche, I’ve sold something similar before, AND I’m in a rush & it’s under $5, I’ll just throw it in my cart. If it’s in my niche and I’m not in a rush and it’s only $1 or more, I’ll look it up on my phone. I actually think I’m better off going with my gut while in a rush a lot of the time, but I’m also more prone to leaving good, interesting things behind as well if I’m in a rush and can’t thoroughly look through it all.
If it’s not in my niche at all and I don’t know what it is, I’ll look it up if I’m at a thrift store. I’ll look up comps on Amazon/Ebay currently listed/Ebay solds. If I’m not in a rush, I’ll take up to a few minutes looking up weird items and looking at results. I don’t care if thrift store people see me looking stuff up on my phone.
If I’m at an estate sale and it looks weird and interesting to me, I’ll just bundle it up into a pile with other weird stuff and ask for a bulk price. That way, at least I’ve brought down the cost of the item in relation to everything else, if it ends up not being worth anything. I know I’ve picked up something good if other estate sale people try taking it away from me to look at themselves (!) while bringing it up to the check-out area.
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04/10/2018 at 10:31 am #37492
For me, about 90% of the items I buy are from years of experience knowing the subject matter I’m selling.
The other 10% are just curious items I find that I look up on my phone in a quiet location. Of these items, I would say 2/3 are duds, and the other 1/3 are winners – and sometimes huge winners.
For example, I’ve been reading on the forum about graphing calculators – I found this box of school supplies with one in it for $2 at a local thrift. I looked up the calculator (along with a few others in similar lots) on my cell phone and one sells often for around $60. Bought that lot, listed the calculator, and it sold in hours.
My rule is that anything that is old with boxes/manuals, looks in good shape, or is a category I hear has good items in it (mostly thanks to this forum) I will take the time to look it up on my phone and build my knowledge. Even taking the time to look up garbage will let you know next time it’s not worthwhile when you see it.
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