I have a bit of time on my hands at the moment and I’m making use of some of it by gathering all the stuff that we never use or need and listing them on Trade Me and . Besides de-cluttering and making a bit more space, I will end up with a few extras dollars in my pocket. This whole process got me thinking about people who sell items on and offline for a living and where they source their items.

Some have regular suppliers that they turn to, others may make items themselves, some use drop ship services such as Doba and others may buy items from auctions to resell via whatever methods they use. The source that I am going to talk about a bit more is government auctions.

On a recent trip to Zimbabwe I had the opportunity of attending a government auction. Up for grabs was a whole range of goods that included cars, clothing, electronics, alcohol, books, tire shipments and the list goes on and on. These types of auctions aren’t ones that are advertised too much and those who know about them like it that way. The fewer the people attending, the better their chances of walking away with BARGAINS!

What surprised me the most was the price at which the items were being auction off for. It was to say the least ridiculous! Without going into details, an example I can give is of a person that a bought part shipment of products for about US$1500 knowing that they could be sold for US$9000 at a minimum. For those attending the auction with the intention to resell, their potential profit ranges were a little below that but still very good. If that is not a good profit then I don’t know what is.

Government Auctions take place all over the world and more often than not, they just want to get rid of whatever it is they have. Because of that, you will walk away with a bargain. I can’t tell you where they take place in your part of the world. I don’t even know where and if they take place in New Zealand (but I am very keen to find out). If you are a bargain hunter or reseller and haven’t discovered the world of government auctions, attend one and see for yourself if its worth it of not. They are not that elusive if you really want to find one.

Recession or no recession, one thing that is good to know is the art of haggling. Last weekend we made some big purchases for some very much needed household items. We were lucky enough to find the items at what was literally a steal and my wife had the audacity to ask for even more of a discount and without much negotiation, she got one. Thinking that was just a fluke, we stopped by a big retailer for one more item and she did the exact same thing and got yet another discount on a sale item.

A lot of the time, haggling is not a long drawn out process, it is simply a matter of asking for the price you want and sticking to your guns. If the salesperson is willing to lower the price you may or may not get whatever it is at the price you want but at least you will have been able to save yourself some money if you do get a discount. That being said, what have you go to loose by asking for a better deal?

When it comes to what you can and cant negotiate the price of, I say anything goes. A lot people will for example say or think that there is no way that it can be done with a big retailer but it can. Having that mindset is just limiting yourself and taking yourself out of a position where you could save big!

One more thing to point out is that the whole process can work out a whole lot easier if you are cashing rather than financing whatever it is you want. I guess that there is going back to the notion that cash is King!

Last weekend my wife managed to save us a thousand or so dollars by simply asking. The next time you are out and about shopping for something give it a go and see where it gets you. You too could end up saving big. Remember, EVERYTHING is negotiable!