Best Tips for A Successful Yard sale

[marshallandcartersmo]

There are a lot of sales on both Friday AND Saturday in my area. Actually, when we've had yard sales we always have them on both days. If you can, have it both days----two times the chances to make more $$$$!

 

[abcboys]

I love garage sailing. I don't have them a lot anymore since I find them more work and I don't have a lot to sell but I love to go to them and I will tell you what I like.

I'm surprised someone said clothing doesn't sell. I have 3 boys and most of their clothing is from garage sales. When I've had yard sales, clothing is usually mostly of what I sell. You don't have to price super cheap (25) but don't price high either (10.00) If you have good quality gap, gymboree stuff I would pay a couple of dollars for nice outfits or jeans. Some yard sales I go to people price jeans at 10.00 and they sit there all day.

Like others have said make sure it is organized. I hate looking at clothing at toys thrown on tarps on the ground.

If you have small free toys that will make little kids happy while mommy or daddy shops.

Don't follow the person around asking what size they are looking for and then proceed to show them every outfit in that size. Just leave them alone unless they ask.

Yes, some people will try to haggle. Unless they are trying to get a 5.00 for .10 it's nice to give them a bargain. Sometimes if I'm buying 3 things at 2.00 I might ask if they will take 5.00 for all of it.

Say 1/2 price after 12:00 when the sales will be winding down.

Go ahead and start your sale early. True garage salers do not wait until 8:00 to get started.

 

[CamAnd]

Thanks for all the helpful advice!!!! These forums are awesome. What's your opinion of yard sales over holiday weekends? I'm thinking Memorial weekend Friday/Saturday. Good or bad idea? As far as advertising, we do have a local circular that reaches a good size radius. Is it best to advertise 2 consecutive weeks before, or just the week of the sale?

 

[daisyduck123]

Thanks for all the helpful advice!!!! These forums are awesome. What's your opinion of yard sales over holiday weekends? I'm thinking Memorial weekend Friday/Saturday. Good or bad idea? As far as advertising, we do have a local circular that reaches a good size radius. Is it best to advertise 2 consecutive weeks before, or just the week of the sale?

Well, I think more people tend to NOT have yard sales over holiday weekends -- so if you have one, there won't be as many as usual on your day. But then, I'm not sure if all the "regulars" are around to go on those weekends.

**ONlY advertise the week of your sale. A couple of times my mom & I have shown up at a house, seen other yard sale shoppers standing in a driveway looking around at the empty driveway, & we all look at each other. THEN...someone will check the paper & notice that the date is for the following week...not a good thing...just make it for the week of your sale...that's what 99% of the people do around here anyway.

 

[jonestavern]

In our neck of the woods holiday/long weekend sales are HUGE.
So ask around your area~

Jean

 

[Katie]

what a bunch of great ideas!!

Also, we had a garage sale two weekends ago, about 1,000---nothing big..mostly clothes( kids kids kids).

We also did about 180.00 in food. We put hotdogs in the roaster, bought bulk chips(individual), bagged cookies(storebought) and had drinks. We had a"value meal" which included hotdog,chips,cookies and drink for 3.50! Sold lots!! Plus we ala'carted everything else! We actually had people come just to eat!

I agree with haning up the good stuff! Easier to find. When you have a few spare minutes, take the hangers from the stuff you sold already and hang up the stuff laying on the table..it will go faster!

also, for some reason, people don't think ahead at garage sales. So winter stuff is not going to go in the spring and summer stuff, obviously is not going to go in the fall! I always donate everything I don't sell to Goodwill, but keep the "off season" better clothes and they always sell at the next season sale!

I sold all my kids(sigh) Disney videos (54 of them) for 2-3 dollars apiece. I sold about 30 hardback books from my book club for 3.00 apiece.

Good Luck!

 

[jeancbpugh]

Group themed things together.

For example, I took a box and put in a bunch of Toy Store things: a video, a t-shirt, a Woody Doll, some Toy Store McDonalds toys, a Toy Store wall paper border. I got $40 for it. A bunch of the stuff in the box had little or no value if sold individually, but they helped the group sell.

 

[LynnTH]

I too am a garage sale "Pro". My mom and I have one every year. Anyone in the family who wants to put items in the garage sale is more than welcome. The more the merrier. We usually end up with about 10 families in our garage alone and then my moms neighbors have theirs on the same day. We get a lot of people to our sales. I like having them with others as the garage is then so full more people will stop. ( I know if I drive by a garage sale and only see a few little tables I don't even bother).

As one poster said - signage is critical. We always get large neon poster board and make BIG signs with arrows. You do need to be able to follow the signs and to see the writing when driving by. Some people don't look in the paper for sales they just follow signs (like me). We do however, put an ad in 2 local papers. Our sales are always held Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Thursdays are big garage sale days here and are usually our biggest day.

I may be in the minority here also but kids clothes in our area sell extremely well. I have sold the gymboree outfits for about $5 or so. The brand names sell well as do the Target stuff (just priced lower). I once took in a bunch of clothes to a consignment store and they were going to give me $70 for everything. I told them no and sold them in the garage sale and made about $350 for the same clothes. We usually average about $1500 - $2000 per sales with most of the money going to me( usually about $700). Kids items and toys also do really well and surprisingly mens things. We get a lot of guys looking for tools and stuff.

Have fun.

 

[DaBoo]

I agree with lots of signs that are clear in BIG black letters. Its hard to read a bunch of small letters while driving. Keep them simple.

YARD SALE TODAY
7-1
123 JANE DRIVE
(with a big arrow to point the way)

I love to yard sale but nothing worse than driving around looking for it. Especially now with the price of gas.

Hope you do great. Tammie

 

[Breakfast@Tiffany's]

I think I saw this tip here - to make a clothes rack, use 2 step ladders and put a wooden dowel (or a shower rod or even a broom handle) in the middle. You can then display shoes or something on the steps of the ladders. I usually bring out a small bookshelf to display books and movies, it makes it so much easier for people to look than bending over a jumble in a box. Just make sure to mark the shelf with a "Not for sale" sign. If you have electronics, have an extension cord ready (strung from your house or garage) so that shoppers can test items.

Clothing prices can be tricky, it depends on your area, obviously. I sold separates at $1 and outfits at $2-$4. If clothing is stained, more than likely you won't be able to get much for it, a quarter at the most. Mark the size on the price tag, it makes it so much easier for shoppers, as well as yourself as you tidy up between busy times.

 

[Epscot]

My wife is a Garage Sale Queen. She has at least one (usually two, spring and fall) every year for the last 10 years. The main problem she sees when she allows her friends to bring "a few things" over to add to her sale is that people tend to overprice their merchandise. I guess it is human nature to think that your things are worth more than they really are. Put yourself in the buyer's shoes and imagine what you would pay for some item from a total stranger, especially if it is used.

Also, adult sized clothes don't sell well around here. My wife generally wears a ladies S or M and hardly any of her clothes sell. I wear a men's L or XL and sell a few more, but not many. Most of her customers tend to be looking for larger sizes.

Finally, realize that some (many?) shoppers believe that a garage sale is the last step before donating or throwing items away, so they try to haggle accordingly. This is not the case for my wife, as she will box most things that don't sell and store them in the attic until the next sale. After 3 attempts, she will donate unsold things. We won't try to sell things that we are going to throw in the trash.

Good Luck!

 

[Rebeccapaige!]

I definately agree on the kids clothes, the area really determines what people will pay. Where I used to live I could price a gymboree OUTFIT, up to $7. By my mom's house I can't seem to get over $5. I normally price clothes at 90% off. so a $50 outfit new I price at $5. but i've seen people price gymboree at $15 an outfit and still sell it. I usually price what I would like to pay at a garage sale. There will always be people who say that's too high etc, but they aren't the one who paid $50 for it! I sold $700 at my last garage sale and i'd $500 of it was kids clothes. Non namebrand clothes I price much cheaper and stuff like gap jeans etc, price at $2-$2.50. The only one i seem to be able to get the better prices for are a whole gymboree outfit. BUT I must say I do some research and do sell what sells really well on ebay first. If an outfit only goes for $8 on ebay then I just garage sale it, not worth the gas and time. It has to be an outfit that makes a ton of money for me to want to spend the time ebaying it. I also agree clothes sell mostly in season. I still put out the winter stuff in the spring though, because some people will buy ahead if they are able to predict there childs size. PJ's I sell for .50-.75 cents. I also agree with the poster who said hang it all to look nice, I buy those little snack size baggies and put it around the top of the hanger, to fit matching socks and hair things in. I'm probably the oppossite type of rummage saler, I will only buy like new gymboree, and I won't spend more than $10 on an outfit normally. If someone appreciates the price you pay they will pay a little more, but it is a garage sale so be fair too. I have never done well selling soda etc, at a garage sale. But baked goods went well with the little old ladies
Becky

 

[lindakmonty]

Garage sales are definately a lot of work if you want to have a successful one... I had my first one last year, but I sold over 2k and most of it was clothes!! It was all name brand excellent condition ...many still had the tags on them...but I cleared out a lot of stuff fast! We're going to have another this year. 2k.... that is a decent Disney trip but it can make you crazy plan ahead, put an add in the paper and put up clear signs. Good luck. With whatever is left at the end...I just take it to Goodwill.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

One other note about signs - is there a common color used for garage sales in your area? In one city I lived in, when you put an ad in the paper they would send you these bright pink 8 1/2 x 11 paper signs to advertise your sale in your neighborhood. So every weekend, we would drive around looking for the bright pink signs to find garage sales. When I had a garage sale, I always used bright pink posterboard to make the signs.

Here, there isn't any standard or common color for signs, but there are many "community wide rummage sale" days. Many of the cities will have dates when people can sign up to be part of the community sale weekend, and then they get signs and get their house on a map that is distributed to the people coming for the sale. They also get free advertising in the listings of the community sale. Check out your county or city website to see if/when these dates might be in your area. Even if you don't get on board with them, at least have your sale on the same day. Likewise, if you live several miles in the opposite direction of a community doing a sale, don't schedule yours on the same day as theirs - the hard core garage salers will be over at the community wide sale. (we made this mistake once! We had tons of great furniture and stuff because both my roommate and I were getting married and moving from WI to CA, but we picked the same weekend as a community garage sale in a town 10 miles away. We only made $300 and had to take 75% of the stuff to Goodwill...)

 

[My2Cinderellas]

I just held a successful garage sale iwth a friend. We do one every spring, and sometimes in the fall as well. Kids clothes are the bulk of our sales. Between us we have 5 overdressed kids.

After reading these boards and talking with friends around the country, garage sales and prices are definitely regional. In one part of the country nothing priced over $1 will sell regardless of brand or condition. I'm luckier, here kids clothes sell well and you can get more for things if they are in good condition. The nicest stuff I do ebay, but the rest goes in the garage sale. Prices are $4-5 for a nice outfit/dress, $3 cheaper dress/outfit in great condition or Gymboree with wear, $2 play dress, $2-3 jeans in great condition, $1 with stains/holes in the knees, $2-3 for pajama sets, $2 name brand shirt, $1 other nice shirts/shorts, $.50 target tee shirts. Shoes are hit or miss, and will only sell for us if marked cheap cheap cheap.

Hang the clothes up!!!! It's all about presentation and if it's easy for the buyer to go through. We use metal plumbing pipe (1" diameter 10 foot poles) duct taped to step ladders. the only clothing on tables were onsies and things that were in poor condition for a quarter.

by having 2 families (and a few more things that friends bring over) we have a lot of stuff out. I hate going to a sale that is 5 outfits hanging up and a card table with tacky 20-year old home decorations.

save plastic sacks from walmart/grocery store, people appreciate getting their things in a bag.

place a good sized ad in the paper - list lots of keywords that are big draws. we don't just say name brands, we spend the extra to say Gymboree, Gap, Polo, Oshkosh. list the baby equipment by name as well. Make it look like it's really worth their time to come to your sale.

good luck to you!!

 

[Bunchkin]

We had our 1st garage sale last August and did almost $700 is sales!!

Kids clothes sold great for us!! We are in a new subdivision and had lots of customers and even neighbors! Our kids have name brand clothes and we priced them similar to prices already listed here. DD does have some special boutique dresses that were hung up and special priced.

Other things that sold well for us:
Tools, children's book, coloring books, party supplies, ziploc bag full of balloons, backpacks/diaper bags/purses, gift bags (one woman bought my entire collection, I never throw a gift bag out from any occasion and decided to finally get rid of most of them), stuffed animals priced at $1, jumbo Winnie the Pooh stuffed set of friends sold for $40, house hold odds and ends.

In my newspaper add I listed the general stuff, but also threw in some eye catching things to draw attention. Like American Girl. I sold a couple outfits, doll and girl sized. This drew people from as far away as a 2 hour drive!!!!
I'll being selling AG again this year. Along with my DD's Build a Bears, Playmobile Pirate sets and will add these to the key words to my add again.
Also selling a bunch of Disney stuff!!!

We bought cookies from Sam's and water bottles too and pop. Left the cookies in the container it comes in so people could see they were store bought and not home made, just in case anyone would worry. WE sold a ton.
This year DH wants to bring around the grill to the driveway and do the hot dog thing!!! Since we have a ton of construciton going down our street we will probably get construction workers stopping again this year, not only to buy stuff but probably for the hot dogs too!!!

Display is really key!!! I have 2 huge white boards in my basement, I put one outside and advertised on it for all to see!!! It caught a lot of people's attention!!!
Big, clear signs are a must too!!!

 

[jeankeri]

Bunchkin- question about the Playmobil sets (we also have many of there)- How much would you be selling these for? We have sets like police station, farm, etc. If I were to group them in the oversized zip-lock bags, what should I charge? I was going to try to e-bay them, but of course our garage sale is coming up next week and I never got around to it . We do the sales every year, so I'm not adverse to setting a firm/fair price and packing them back up when the sale is over. Thanks for any answer.

 

[summerrluvv]

My only advice, and the most important IMO, is to put PRICE TAGS on the stuff!! I can't tell you how many garage sales I go to that have no price tags! I don't like to ask how much something is, so I'll usually just leave. Good luck

 

[left210]

I have yard sales and go to them just about every weekend. From my experience, people do not like the colored sticker pricing method. pink - .25, yellow .50, etc. because they are always saying now what was pink, etc. I recommend pricing each sticker and as already said make sure you price everything. People dont like to ask on every single item what the price is. Clothes sell really well for a good price where I am too.

 

[pjlla]

Anyone ever tried this??? I have a couple of pieces of NIB Princess House crystal and I was unsure of how to price them. So I checked Ebay. I printed the first page of a completed auction and will be attaching it to the item I am yard saling. I figure I will price my item a few dollars cheaper than what the auction went for. That plus the fact that there is no shipping should convince people that they are getting a deal, right?? Ever tried this? (And yes, I know I should Ebay them.... but I find Ebay to be waaay to labor intensive... plus I would be hesitant to ship something so fragile.)....................P