To assure your success on the big day, you will need to follow these tips.

TIP #1-BE FIRST! This is the most important tip to remember. You must be first to as many garage sales as possible. If you arrive at a garage sale early, while the sellers are setting up, walk up calmly and very nicely ask, "Do you mind if I look?" I'm rarely turned down. What is the worst thing that could happen? They will either say yes or no. If they say no, just say "Thank you, I'll come back later". If they say yes, I scan the items quickly. I ask very few questions if they are busy. Sometimes I even help them unpack. I try to get out of their way as quickly as possible. I pick up the items that I want and try to give them the correct change. I'm then off to the next garage sale. On a very good garage sale day, I will have been to 20 or 30 sales before 8 AM. Remember, be nice to the sellers, having a garage sale can be very stressful. Getting to be first is a privilege. Be courteous!

TIP #2-TAKE A FLASHLIGHT. A lot of time you will have to leave your house before daybreak. You must take a flashlight. Searching for house numbers and street signs before daybreak is almost impossible. I also use my flashlight for looking at garage sale merchandise across front yards and in basements where lighting is inadequate or it's still dark outside. Believe me, you don't want to miss a thing. A great idea is to find a flashlight that you can wear around your neck. I've seen them at Walmart. I, myself have a snake flashlight, which is flexible. It can be coiled around your arm or neck. This keeps your hands free so you can freely pick up the garage sale merchandise and examine it.

TIP #3-BE OBSERVANT! BE FOCUSED! BE ALERT! As you are pulling up to a garage sale, begin scanning the items for sale! Even while walking down the driveway, look everything over. Do you see any furniture, pottery or glassware? Constantly be looking for anything of value that you could buy and then resell. I don't buy anything unless I know that I can make at least $5.00 profit. Remember to be alert! You have to treat this as a business. Do not get involved in any conversations! As I approach the garage sale, I usually say "hi" or "good morning"! Mind you, I'm still scanning everything. As I see something that I want, I go over and pick it up. First, I visually look it over. Then, if I'm still interested in it, I will feel it with my finger tips. All the while I'm looking for item #2. Feeling glass or pottery with your finger tips can help you find chips and imperfections that you may have missed with your eyes. If I do find a chip or crack, I usually don't buy it. There are exceptions to the rule. If the piece is a Hummel or Roseville pottery etc., and the price is very reasonable, it can be repaired. But repairs can be expensive. Most items, though, are just not worth the bother.

As I see the items that I want, I pick them up as quickly as possible. Even if you are undecided, carry it around with you. If you don't pick an item up right away, or if you stop to think about it, someone else will probably get it. If I see many things that I want to buy and I can't hold them, I free up my hands by starting a pile. I inform the seller that I'm starting a pile and all the things that I'm putting in this pile I plan on buying. If it's a big item, like a piece of furniture, I glance over it quickly. I check the price and the condition of the piece. There is a little test that I give furniture. It only takes me a second to evaluate it.

This is what I look for:

• It has to be made of wood, brass, iron, or other sturdy material.
• It has to be in good condition. I don't mind refinishing, or adding knobs or handles, but nothing major.
• The price has to be right.
• I have to feel like it's interesting or useful enough to be able to resell it right away.

A lot of people enjoy woodworking or redoing furniture. I don't. I buy furniture in good condition so that I can resell it-as is. When I find a piece that I want to buy, I quickly let the seller know, so that I can keep on looking. When I'm finished looking, I pay for my things and make arrangements to pick up anything big later on in the morning. I not only leave them my name and phone number, I also write down their name, address, phone number and what I'm picking up. We agree on an approximate pick up time, and I leave for the next garage sale. If you are leery about leaving an item, take a piece of it with you. For instance, if you buy a chest, take one of the drawers. If you buy a dining room suite, take a chair. No one would buy a chest with a drawer missing.

TIP #4 SPEED IS IMPORTANT! And I don't mean in your car. I can't stress how important it is to buy your items, load your car, and leave for the next garage sale. If, while driving up to a garage sale, I notice that they don't have much, I drive on to the next sale. If I do go in to a garage sale and I don't see anything, quickly go on to the next one.

TIP #5 BRING A BUDDY! Bringing a friend can be good or bad! You need to bring someone who will help you and not hinder you-someone who is going to help you spot items, help guard your piles, help load your car and help you with directions in finding garage sales.

TIP #6 ASK! While at a garage sale it takes just a second to ask if they have, for instance, any furniture for sale? Sometimes they forget to bring something out, or it is too heavy to move. Also, I have seen little signs on the wall of a garage, advertising furniture for sale which is inside the house. A lot of times people miss seeing the small signs, so it doesn't hurt to ask.

TIP #7 TAKE CASH! Always take small bills and change. It saves a lot of time when checking out if you pay for your merchandise with the correct amount of money! Nothing takes up more time than waiting for the seller to get your change. Also, a lot of sellers don't have a lot of change at the beginning of a sale, so don't upset everyone by pulling out a $100.00 bill to pay for a $1.00 item.

Carry your money in a purse around your waist or in your pocket. It will free your hands so you can pick up merchandise and help your chances of not losing it.

TIP #8 OFFERING LESS! Asking the seller if they will take less for an item is up to you. I won't quibble over the asking price if it is first thing in the morning, if the seller is busy, if there are other people around who want it or if the price is fair. If you do decide to ask the seller if they will take less for an item, be very calm about it. Act like you could care less about it. If you act like you really want it, the chances are they won't come down. But if the price is high, I will say, "What is the least you will take for this item?"

TIP #9 MANNERS! Don't drive recklessly or fast. When you park at garage sales, park so that other cars can get by. Do not park and block people in. Do not block neighbors driveways or mailboxes. Do not walk through flower beds. Do not steal! Be respectful of other people's property.

TIP #10 HELPFUL HINTS! Carry a box and newspaper to wrap glassware and pottery that you may purchase. Carry a magnet to test metals. A magnet will only stick to iron and cheap metals. It won't stick to copper, silver, brass, or bronze. A magnifying glass is helpful for reading small print and markings on glassware, jewelry, pottery, etc. Take rope to tie down your trunk, in case of a big purchase.