>>5311311. Check on-line vending sites daily.
If you're only occasionally scrolling thru Craigslist and such, you'll always end up losing out.
2. Know what prices stuff is going for.
This give you "Jew power" to haggle sellers down the price.
3. Have your cash on-hand and available.
"Umm... I can maybe buy it Monday, after I get out of work and go to the bank" = lost opportunity.
4. Be prepared to drive out to look at stuff.
Plenty of deals out on the quasi-rural fringes of metropolitan areas.
5. And be prepared to drive back home.
If it's a bum deal, do a 180* and moon walk away.
6. Old doesn't necessarily mean old junk.
If the fabric is in good shape, the rest of it will probably be also.