Eight things to consider when buying someone out

Over the past few weeks I've bought large amounts of things from folks running yard sales. The first buy-out was a whole bunch of scrapbooking and stamping supplies from a home business owner who was moving on to other things. The second buy-out was a large collection of music CDs this past weekend.

These two purchases set me back $700. Of course, a deal like this isn't a deal if you don't (a) have a use for the things you're buying or (b) have an “exit strategy” for passing them on or reselling them. These two deals were a combination of things I wanted (or my wife wanted) along with a lot of stuff that I could re-sell.

So, assuming that you run across a buy-out opportunity and it would make good sense for you to buy out, here are a few things I think about or do during the process:

Do they want to be bought out? For instance, when I saw all of that brand-new, unopened scrapbooking stuff, I figured she was going out of business and trying to clear out her merchandise. Or $1.50 a CD isn't a particularly expensive price, so she probably was trying to get rid of them, too. It doesn't hurt to ask, but if you're not keen on rejection you can probably get a sense what the answer would be.
You generally do have to ask. Sometimes the seller will say “Make an offer on the whole lot” or post a sign to that effect but often they won't. If it's later in the sale, they may be more willing to consider a buy-out offer as the thought of re-packing all of their unsold merchandise looms.
Think of a number that you'd pay for the whole lot. Presumably you're interested either in keeping the stuff or re-selling it so it probably goes without saying that you need to know what a good price to pay would be. It should be low enough that it's worth your while (you're probably doing them a favor if they accept your offer) but not so low that it offends them.
Ask them to give you a price. It's often said about price negotiations that the first person to give a price loses. I don't think it's really about winning or losing but if they do give you a number it's information you can use. If they give you a great price (way less than you thought it would go for), pause for a minute and take it or try once down if you're feeling daring. If it's way higher than you thought it would be then they either know more about what it costs than you do or they really don't need to sell it all at once.
If they've marked all of the items, you can start from there or assume that's their starting price. The CDs already had $15 for 10 ($1.50 each) so I didn't ask her for a number. I just made an offer below $1.50 times the number of CDs she had.
If they won't give a number, make a reasonable offer. A super-lowball offer probably won't be successful. You want them to consider it, not dismiss it. If it's way too low you risk offending them and losing the chance to deal later. If they see you as a fair dealer, they may volunteer more items or more information, so I've found it pays to not be too much of a vulture when buying someone out.
If they ask if you're keeping the stuff or re-selling it, it's best to tell the truth. You may get the deal if you intended on re-selling it but said that you were keeping it all. If word gets around though, your opportunities dry up.
Expect to pay cash. I ran over to the ATM to get mine for the CDs. These can be substantial sums of money and you're still probably a stranger to the seller. So cash is king!