How To Score Great Deals At An REI Garage Sale
As a backpacker on a budget I have become quite familiar with the REI Garage Sale over the years. Just this past weekend I received a significant discount on a new sleeping pad at my local sale. In celebration, I am sharing my tips, tricks, and strategies for scoring great deals at an REI Garage Sale.
What Is An REI Garage Sale?
At a garage sale, outdoor retailer, REI, sells returned merchandise at significantly discounted prices. For garage sale events, REI opens earlier than their normal opening time exclusively for co-op members. If you aren’t an REI member yet check out my post about the benefits of co-op membership and see if it might be right for you.
REI’s generous return policy means that many garage sale items still have a lot of life left in them. The retailer will accept returns for pretty much any reason for up to one year. Therefore, many items at the garage sale have been used once or twice and then returned because the buyer decided that product wasn’t quite right for them.
REI tags garage sale products with a special tag that includes the reason for their return. The tag on my recently purchased sleeping pad, for example, read “used twice, customer reported sleeping pad is too loud”. Some items have never been used at all but have damaged packaging, missing parts, or tags removed. All sales are final on garage sale items.
Locate A Garage Sale Near You
REI doesn’t seem to widely publicize garage sale events. You will not receive an email or a flyer announcing the event even if you are an REI member. I have noticed that my local store does leave some very small flyers around the store leading up to the event but that will not help you much unless you are visiting the store pretty regularly. Luckily, garage sale dates are posted online.
On the REI website, click the word “stores” in the upper right of the page. Then, search on the the map for a store near you. Click on the name of your prefered store to visit your store’s page. This page displays classes and events happening at that particular store as well as hours, location, and services offered.
If the store has a garage sale event coming up the date and time will be posted in the grey column on the left side of the page. If there is no sale listed, check back later. It used to be that garage sales happened once or twice a year but they seem to be occurring more frequently, almost monthly, at stores in my area.
Arrive Early
You will need to arrive early and there will most likely be a line at the door. Most garage sales I have attended have begun at 9:00 AM. We usually try to arrive by 8:30 and have never had more than 15-20 people ahead of us in line. At larger stores in bigger cities, however, there may be more of a crowd.
Have A Plan
Before you go, make a prioritized list of items you would like to find. The best stuff goes fast so you need to shop for your top priority piece of gear first. Before the doors open, a store employee will come outside and remind everyone of the rules (no running, no shoving, etc.). Often, they will also give some information about where different sale products are located. Garage sale merchandise is usually on racks or in bins that are brought out specially for the event so sale products may not be in their usual locations in the store. If you go with a friend, definitely split up and go to different sections.
Shop Carefully And Take Your Time
If you see something that catches your eye, hold onto it while you continue to shop. I like to find a quiet spot to sit and go over items that I am considering purchasing. All garage sale purchases are final so it is important that you are sure about your purchase before going to the register.
Returned items may be dirty, damaged, or missing pieces so make sure you take everything out of the box or stuff sack and inspect it or try it out. Don’t be afraid to set up that tent, crawl into that sleeping bag, or take those trekking poles for a few laps around the store.
Many garage sale items are missing their original packaging so I also like to look up products on my phone before making a purchase. I read the product description, check out specs like size and weight, and browse customer reviews to help me make an informed decision.
Take A Second Look
Once you have decided which items you are going to purchase and returned the rest to their racks, it is time to take a second look. Many other shoppers have been doing exactly what you have been doing and are now putting back things that are not quite right for them. Revisit the locations of your sought after items but also remember to keep an eye out throughout the store for things that may have been left in unexpected places.
Take A Hike!
Get outside and celebrate your new gear and sweet savings!
Are you a garage sale fanatic? Share your garage sale tips and favorite finds in the comments below!
