I’ve been on the lookout for a console table for our front porch to be able to decorate with the seasons. This one came up yesterday on a facebook yard sale group. There were a lot of people interested, but I’ve found an email/text with the phrase: “I can pick it up today and pay cash.” with a smiley face, your name (if you are a woman) and your phone number/email has proven to be the best for scoring items.

It shows that you will show up (they want it GONE!),

that you have the money (you won’t try to to talk them down or pay with a bad check),

that you are a woman (sometimes important if the seller is a woman she won’t be concerned if she is alone), 

you are friendly. (smiley faces = friendly),

and they can contact you easily with the method they prefer.

When contacting them: if they seem younger, texting always seems to win. If they are older, CALL. They usually prefer good old fashioned talking on the phone.

Best places to check:

* Craigslist in your area

* Facebook yard sale groups -- search on facebook the name of your community, your county, or the largest one that is close to you. For my old town, it was called Montgomery County Yard Sale. There are usually more than one. Request to join the group and the postings will show up in your facebook feed. It is a group of local people that post their things they are trying to sell online. You must be a facebook member to join. Warning: people are quick on these sites! Don’t wait if it’s something you really want. It’s always good to reply on the listing that you are interested in it, and send a private message as well to show you really want it.

Online classified ads -- remember how we used to check the newspaper for classified ads? Most are online now.

Those are my tips -- what about you? Any tried and true tips for scoring awesome items online? I am off to paint that table…