How to Save Money Shopping Online in 5 Minutes!

By Robert Pagliarini

Tis the season to negotiate. Your other 8 hours are precious, but if you can save 15% on a big purchase and it only takes five minutes, it’s a great use of your time. If you shop online, here’s how you can save 5%-25% off your purchases by negotiating (and you won’t feel like a schmuck arguing with a vendor at a flea market).

The next time you are shopping online, load up your cart, but before you click “buy,” look for a “chat” or “live help” button. Click it and watch the magic begin. It will open a chat session with a customer service rep. Type that you have a full shopping cart but you are comparison shopping. You’d like to purchase the goods from their company but you want a 15% discount.

Most of the time they’ll initially say they don’t have the authority, but don’t take no for an answer. Ask them to check in with their manager or you will abandon your shopping cart and click over to their competitor.

This won’t work all of the time, but it will often enough to save you some money. Don’t forget, you are an online consumer. You have ALL of the power. It takes milliseconds to jump to their competitor’s homepage.

In other cultures, negotiating is not only expected but is a social custom. To not negotiate is rude. So do yourself and your wallet a favor and spend a few minutes negotiating a big discount on your next online order.

You can read my recent chat session below where I saved a quick 15%:

****************************************************

Thank you for choosing [COMPANY]. A representative will be with you shortly.

You are now chatting with Christie.

Christie: Hello! How can I help you with your order today?

You: I do a lot of business with the company. i’d really like a discount on my order. can you help me?

Christie: I don’t have discounts to give out.

Christie: We are offering 15% off on Thanksgiving day items. Are you ordering one of those?

You: no

Christie: I’ll be right with you.

Christie: I’m sorry for the delay. I’ll be right with you.

Christie: Thank you for waiting. I’ll be with you in just a moment.

You: if you can do 15% off i’ll proceed. otherwise i’ll order through [COMPETITOR]:

Christie: I’ll be right with you.

Christie: I’m sorry for the delay. I’ll be right with you.

Christie: Thank you for waiting. I’ll be with you in just a moment.

Christie: I’ll be right with you.

Christie: If you go ahead and place your order then give me the order #. I will issue the 15% off.

You: ok

Christie: Did you complete your order?

You: working on it

Christie: Ok.

You: [ORDER NUMBER]

You: do you need anything else?

Christie: Ok I have issued the 15% off. Your new total is [$XXX]

You: thank you again

Christie: Is there anything else I can help you with?

You: goodbye

How do you get rid of your unwanted items?

This month's poll asks the question: Do you sell or donate your unwanted items?

We want to know what you do with your unwanted items and why?

Please share your answer by clicking the comments link below. (NOTE: Feel free to use the Name and URL option . . . you don't need to enter an URL. You can just type in your name and leave the URL field blank.) Thanks for sharing and enjoy!

Do You Know Your Community's Yard Sale Sign Restrictions?

One of the best ways to advertise your yard sale (besides using Rummage Wisconsin.com) is to place yard sale signs around your neighborhood. We all do it, and it works! However, do you know your community's yard sale sign restrictions? Does your Homeowners Association have a policy for posting signs?

Most people assume they can stick a yard sign on a corner or telephone phone pole, but some communities don't allow those actions, and some communities actually require permit to post signs.

We decided to look up a few Wisconsin communities' yard sign restrictions and were surprised by what we saw. For example, Cedarburg does allow yard signs, but has specific requirements about where you can post them. According to the town of Cedarburg's web site:

"Yard sale signs are allowed provided that no person shall attach posters, notices or advertisements to utility poles, meter posts, or trees in or along any street right-of-way within the Town and that no person shall put up any notice upon property of another person without having first obtained the consent of the owner of such property. The maximum time limit for all yard sale or estate sale signs is three consecutive days and nine cumulative days in a one-year period. Such signs may not exceed 10 square feet in area."

The city of Kenosha does not require a permit for yard signs, but they do have similar restrictions as Cedarburg.

In Prairie du Sac, the city only allows you to put up signs on private property (neighbor's yard etc.) According to one of our site users, Amber Hulett, "if you put the sign on anything publicly owned, they drive by and take your sign without ever telling you."

So, check with your community and/or homeowner association's sign-posting requirements before you stick that sign in the ground or on a pole. And don't forget to pick them up when your sale ends!

Now we want to hear from you. If you know what your community restrictions are for posting yard sale signs, please share by clicking the comments link below. (NOTE: Feel free to use the Name and URL option . . . you don't need to enter an URL. You can just type in your name and leave the URL field blank.) Thanks for sharing and enjoy!

Funny Rummage Sale Stories

Do you have a funny Rummage Sale story? If so, we want to hear from you. We'll accept all kinds of stories (just make sure they are tasteful folks!).

Here's an example:
I attended a Rummage Sale not too long ago. As I walked up the driveway that lead to the sale, I noticed an older gentleman sitting on a lawn chair in the garage. As I moved closer to him, he stood up to greet me. To my surprise, he was wearing his boxer shorts with a white tang top, and black socks and sandals. OK...here is were it get very humorous, the gentleman's boxer shorts had yellow rubber duckies on them. What a sight, and what a "quack". ;)

Eventually he went back into the house as his wife came back out to the garage to take over the post. I laughed as his wife just silently shook her head at him as to say to him, you are embarrassing.

Now we want to hear from you, what funny Rummage Sale stories can you share? Simply click the comments link below. (NOTE: Feel free to use the Name and URL option . . . you don't need to enter an URL. You can just type in your name and leave the URL field blank.) Thanks for sharing and enjoy!

Do You Ask for a Rummage Sale Item Discount?

We all go to Rummage Sales to find discounted items for sale. Most of the time the seller has discounted the price (many times dramatically) from its original store price tag. Knowing that, do you ask for a discount when rummaging? If so, do you have any bargaining tips to share?

Let us know by clicking the comments link below. (NOTE: Feel free to use the Name and URL option . . . you don't need to enter an URL.)

Also, learn more by reading Susan Goldberg, Garage Sale Expert
"Never be afraid to ask for a discount" article . . .

What Is Your Favorite WI Sale Event?

At Rummage Wisconsin.com, we, of course, love all the sale events listed on our site. But we do feature some of the more popular sales on our site home page. These featured events include all types of sales - Rummage, Craft, Antique, Flea Markets, Farmers Markets, and Bake Sales to name a few.

Now we want to hear from you, our site users. What are your favorite Wisconsin sale events?

Share your favorite sale events with the Wisconsin online audience. It's simple, you don't need to sign up, all you have to do is click the comment link below this article and type in your favorite sale event.

Thanks for your comments!

Hey there! Rummage Wisconsin.com is using Twitter.

Twitter is a free service that lets you keep in touch with people (or Us) through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?

Why? Because even basic sale events and site updates are meaningful to you and your friends —especially when they’re timely.

Join today to start receiving Rummage Wisconsin.com's updates Tweets (updates).

How To Improve Rummage Sale - Sales

Tips to Improve Sales

• Greet people who come to your garage sale and engage them in conversation.
  
  
• Encourage shoppers to return during a two day sale. Post signs to say that new items will be added daily or that prices will be reduced on the second day.
  
  
• Have a silent auction on expensive items. Ask customers to submit bids along with their name and phone numbers. Put in a reserve bid, if you wish.
  
  
• Be organized with your sale items! If everything is jumbled together, many people won't bother to look for bargains. Tables can be made from sawhorses and lumber. A few hooks and some string will let you hang clothing and looks much nicer.
  
  
• Put some of the larger items out near the street, to catch the eyes of those who are driving by. You will be surprised at how many people will stop to look, even though they are not interested in the dining room furniture.
  
  
• Have a garden? Consider selling flowers and produce from your garden...you'd be suprise on how well these items sell!
  

Have a tip to share, click the comments link below this post. See more tips at Rummage Wisconsin.com

Save Time Getting Ready for Rummage Sales

Rather than marking separate prices on each of your rummage sale items, use the Color Coding Price System.

Get round, removable, multi-colored stickers. Designate a different price for each sticker--everything with a red sticker costs 50 cents, green costs one dollar, yellow costs 3 dollars and blue costs 5 dollars.

Then, simply place one of these round colored stickers on each of your small ticket rummage sale items. Of course, you'll have to individually price your more expensive items.

Finally, hang a large sign that shows the colors and the prices that go with each. It will be a lot easier on you, and rummage seekers will be able to see what your items cost at a glance.

Read our Garage Sale Pricing Guide

Having Fun With Rummage Sales

Attending Rummage Sales can sometimes be a drag for some family members. You know, the kids get bored or the hubby just sits in the car and listens to the game. Well, one of our TWN E-Newsletter subscribers, Jodi Schneeweis (from Hubertus, WI), shares with us how she and her family and friends have fun with Rummage Sales...

This past summer the neighbors and I came up with a little bit of rummage-sale fun! It is a bit of a scavenger hunt with the most clever find-a winner! With the help of your site (RummageWI.com), we hunted the local sales for cookie cutters that would suit dog treats or cat treats in such shapes as mailpersons, fire hydrants, newspapers, fish, mice-you name it; the more original, the better. Then we taught our children and grandchildren how to make dog and cat treats from scratch (pardon the pun!). Click to view recipes

The neighbors brought along their decorated pet food bowls for our furry four-legged friend's treats. While we baked the treats the kids watched movies such as Disney's AirBud, 101 Dalmatians, and The Cat in the Hat we had purchased at the sales. An air-pop popcorn popper supplied the snacks while a vintage Kool Aid pitcher and glasses served the beverages. We crowed over our fantastic "finds" including air-bake cookie sheets, spatulas, and pet supplies. It was a great time for those of us on a budget! We plan on doing this again next rummage season. The pets loved the treats we made which are much healthier than store-bought treats; especially in light of last year's import dilemmas with melamine! We now knew that those pricy-trendy biscuits could also be replaced at more reasonable prices. I used the same methods over the holidays to give small pet gifts using snowmen cookie cutters. We would like to thank you for the sale listings that made our party possible!

If you would like to share your Rummage Sale fun (selling or buying), please share it with us. (Thanks to Jodi for sharing her great idea and story.)