Today was the Tonner digital factory sale, so it brought to mind some of my experiences with sales that may be useful to you, faithful readers.
The types of sales I'm talking about are limited availability scheduled sales with deep price reductions. Examples of this would include online sales like The Junky Spot's black Friday sale this year, any cyber Monday sales, Tonner's DFS or Thrifty Thursdays or Tonner Tuesdays, or similar. Some of this advice will apply specifically to retail or estate sales offline. I will specifically outline doll and toy related sales here, and I will discuss clothing sales on my other blog. But generally, it should be applicable to most really compelling sale experiences.
The absolute most key thing about acquiring sale merchandise is being advised of the sale long enough before hand to plan for it. Finding out about a sale can be more complicated than it sounds. If you want the deals, you have to be really invested in finding them. A good start would be Facebook. Find the dealers you like to buy from on Facebook and follow their pages. The Junky Spot and Tonner both have pages that update frequently with new inventory, sales, and upcoming releases. This can be a very useful set of services to serious collectors. You can also get on e-mail lists, but I don't check my email very often. :P Still, e-mail lists can be extremely useful when it comes to estate sales.
Once you find out about a sale online, begin prepping immediately. Check your finances, move money into the bank if you plan to pay by debit card or into Paypal if you plan to pay that way. Practice logging into your account on the dealer's website. If you can't log in, you can't check out. Resolve any problems. Insure you can use your browser to make purchases on that site. I've had Firefox problems on Tonner's website, so I used Internet Explorer this morning.
The morning of the sale, double check your preparations. Watch to make sure you have the time right. Now, just because you have an official starting time doesn't mean you know when the sale will actually start, especially if the wording around the time is a little fuzzy. Words like "approximately" or "about" are telling. This morning, the Tonner sale started about thirty minutes earlier than stated. I made the mistake of not being vigilant, and it cost me an opportunity. Even after making purchases at three different Tonner sales, I still make little mistakes. ;)
Now, here's another crucial point. The sales I'm talking about are very, very limited. So, when you're making your selections, think critically. Would you rather be sure you get one or two amazing items or combine shipping for your entire purchase? Yes, these sales are that extremely limited. If you dilly dally, you will miss out. Period. Are you willing to split your order up and pay extra shipping? Because if it's that good of a deal, you should be. Grab your must haves. Do not waste time in those early seconds with third stringers. Come back and look at those again after you've seen everything else. Make your purchase, and check back. If you see a price that's ridiculously low, it will sell out.
This is applicable with estate sales too. Once you get inside, if you've seen pictures of what will be included in the sale and you know what you want, don't look at anything else until you've seen it or you know it's gone. Then you can do your piddling about.
Speaking of estate sales, prep for those similarly to your prep for online sales. Know what time it starts. Get cash ready, because you'll be paying in person. Bring your own shopping bags if they'll let you, and fill them up quickly. Familiarize yourself with the location of the sale. Examine the pictures carefully, and try to determine what type of room the picture was taken in and what part of the house that room is likely to be in, head straight there when the doors open. Dress warmly even in the summer, because in the dark of early morning, it can be chilly.
Now, here's a key difference between online sales and estate sales. When you're going to an estate sale run by a professional estate company, come early! We're not talking five minutes early, we're talking hours in advance of the sale, because they may hand out numbers. If they do hand out numbers and they promise they're not opening early, you can get in your car and come back, but again, make sure you're about fifteen minutes early for the opening time just in case. If a sale starts at eight and you get there at six, you may still be the fifteenth person in line. Estate sales are serious business.
I don't have much specific advice for doll collectors in the estate sale context. If you're paying for the items outside and you're done shopping, look at the items you've selected in the light of day. This can make a huge difference, because estate sale houses are frequently dimly lit. Sometimes houses that are unoccupied like estate sale houses will have no power. So, looking at your purchases in the light of day can make a big difference. Some parts may not be original or may have been glued back together. I once nearly bought a JFK doll which had a replacement rocking chair from a craft store for what I would have paid for one with its original chair. Barely caught it before leaving the sale. This is not the estate company's fault, nor is it the former owner's fault because it was not intentional deception. The previous collector made the decision to replace a broken or missing chair for display, and is no longer available to advise buyers about the condition. And the estate company, although well meaning, may not notice little details like this. Give your purchases a once over, pay, load up your trunk, lock your car, and then go back in to see if you missed anything.
Don't get carried away. Collecting can turn into hoarding if you're not careful. Pick gems, leave the junk. And get in on some of these amazing deals. I'm still shocked at the prices you can get awesome Tonner dolls and imported dolls if you know where to go and catch a sale.
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