Having a yard sale. What items do shoppers typically look for?

[myAAbatteries&aTD]

Our neighborhood has a sale twice a year - I love it b/c it's free advertising for me and always lots of people! We just had it Saturday and we sold lots of my kids clothes (I only sell the ones that won't do well on ebay or consignment shop), toys, dh's coaching hats/t-shirts/wind suits (most almost new), storage shelves/cabinets/etc... (I"m always looking for this type thing, too!)

I look for kids' clothes, clean toys (Polly Pockets, Disney Stuff, board games, cars/trains for ds), storage things, really anything b/c you just never know what you might find!

People buy pretty much anything, so I"d put it all out!!!

I didn't have much left after this one - YEAH! I freecycled a few small bags of clothes and we let the Tx Paralyzed Veterans come pick up the rest.....

Good luck! Be sure to advertise and put up signs!

 

[mantaz]

DH's Grandma gave us a huge container of silverware one year. It was like a treasured possession to her. I finally took it out of the container and looked at it. It was a mixture of spoons, knives and forks. Stuck them in the yard sale with a $0.10 each. People were picking them up in handfuls! To think I almost went through and made matches! Stuffed animals sell really well around here as do my old disney VHS tapes. We get $3.00 each. Clean out whatever you don't want in your house. You never really can tell what will sell to what person. Just remember one man's junk is another man's treasure!

 

[PaulaSue]

OP, Clean items and semi organized (clothes grouped by men's, women's and kids, like s,m or l) or I don't even stop.

Items priced either indv or posted on a sign (books 50 cents each)

 

[Mkaz]

Canning/Jelly jars! Dh and I do a lot of canning/jelly making. Well, whenever we share our bounty with others, it's hard to get our jars back. Those little buggars can be expensive buying them new.

 

[puffkin]

People always ask for tools, sports equipment, instruments and jewelry.

Kids toys and baby gear (strollers, high chairs, etc.) go fast.

Kids clothing usually goes fast. Mens clothes are big here too, especially polos and button downs.

I hang my clothes across the garage on chains. THat way the clothes can't slide and bunch together. Works great.

I organize everything together by theme (electronics, housewares, children, holiday etc.). I don't price anything. When someone asks, I just give a price. That way I can change it as the day goes on. No one looks at the prices anyways, so why bother.

I also keep a corner of my basement for yard sale. We got wiped out this weekend, so only two boxes went back down banana: ). Through the year, as we come across things we don't want/need it goes down on the yard sale pile. Makes it a lot easier to organize for the next sale.

 

[FoundMyPrince]

Baby stuff (swings, bouncy seats, etc.) go very well.

Little kid stuff like outdoor play equipment (Little Tykes kind of stuff) sells well.

And, we always have older men that want tools. It's strange that others have mentioned it too - I wonder how far these old men wander for their tools!

 

[eclairemom]

We usually have a sale every year and do really well. Just put out anything you want to get rid of, I'll usually check and see if I can sell some things on ebay if they have a value because people aren't looking to buy collectibles at yard sales unless they are getting a really good deal. We price everyting cheap to move and have never had a problem with a bunch of left overs and you would be shocked at what people buy or won't buy. I tried to sell a kitchen table and 4 chairs and nobody bought it and it was priced at $40 which I thought was more than fair. If your selling clothes you will do better if the items are seasonal, people don't want sweaters in july no mater how cheap they are. Make sure every item is priced or there are clear signs like all clothes _____ because If I go to a yard sale and can't find a price, I won't ask how much it is and will usually not even look around if items aren't priced. Have fun it's a great way to make extra money.

 

[Marla Hellwig]

Over the years we have just about sold everything even old military stuff

one year we had a bunch of the milk white vases - one lady walked up said just what I was looking for - she was looking for the white milk vases for her daughter's wedding reception - they didn't match - the mother didn't care, and the daughter didn't either - everyone was a happy camper over that one

put it out - and if it doesn't sell either pack up to sell again or send off to charity

 

[dsneygirl]

At our sale 2 years ago we sold a tonne of stuff to a young guy for his dorm room, bookcase, TV stand, futon etc.

I am also plesantly surprised at how well clothing sells.

 

[IntercomGroupPage]

I have been trying to get motivated to have one but then I think about having to figure out how much to charge for things I get overwhelmed and then shut the garage door and say "forget it".

 

[rgmartin]

A BIG shocker to me was gift bags. Had a yard sale right after DS was born, had 30+ "baby" gift bags. Sister had "wedding" bags. We put $0.25 on each, sold EVERY LAST ONE!!! Lots of ladies said they would keep them at church for all of the showers that come up. I can't tell you how many I have thrown away over the years!

 

[unbroken chain]

Okay, that's funny about the bags - I had a yard sale once with a friend and she had this stack of nice paper bags with handles from somewhere. She brought them to nicely bag people's stuff that they bought. Someone came along and wanted to buy her bags! So she sold them!

Tools are big here too, and all kinds of kids' stuff. We have "Lawnmower Man" who is always buying lawn mowers, and only lawn mowers, even broken ones. I guess he takes parts from one to fix others. Also "Golf Club Man" who always asks for golf clubs and tells everyone how he hangs them all along the walls of his garage as decoration.

 

[madelyn]

I used to be a big garage sale shopper when ds1 (now 10) was a baby/toddler. Now I am more into shopping Ebay or Craigslist. But last year I participated as a seller in our neighborhood sale. It seemed that almost everyone who came by wanted the new items. I had a pair of new toddler boy Stride Rite sneakers in a sea of used shoes and I don't know how many people came up and tried to negotiate the price down. I think I sold every new item I had whether it was an unwanted Christmas gift, cheaper tote/handbag I didn't use or a small toy. I had alot of infant/toddler clothes all individually marked and it surprised me that people would still come up and ask how much something was. I went to a garage sale last week and the sellers (2 families participated) had 3 sides of the garage and a middle aisle lined with girl's clothes from newborn to 5 years. It was mostly hung up which made it easy but they didn't label the racks to indicate what the sizes were. Their pricing was simple $2 per separate (shirt/top/skirt/pants/shorts) or $3 for a dress or outfit set. $2 for a pair of shorts from Target seemed steep but then $2 for the Gap or Gymboree or designer pair would be a deal. I went 30 minutes before the end of the sale so I imagine most of the really good stuff was picked out. They did have some boxes of more worn/stained items for a quarter a piece but it didn't seem like many people were buying those. I also set out a laundry basket of free items but no one really took much from that except maybe the like new diaper bag I got for free at the hospital when my baby was born. I didn't set out many books or toys but there did seem to be a big interest in what I did put out.

 

[Miz Diz]

If you have any kids clothes in good condition that are name brand, I recommend taking them to a consignment shop or consignment sale. You will make so much more money. I just made $250 at a local consignment sale and I've never made that much at a garage sale, including everything - not just clothes.
People at garage sales expect you to practically give them stuff. If you mark something a quarter, they'll still ask you to take a dime or a nickel.

 

[madelyn]

Maybe it is just me (or my area) but I always left the resale shops frustrated. The last time I went (Kid to Kid) they paid me on the spot (in credit) but they generally reject twice what they take and then I got home and they took pieces of 2 or 3 piece outfits and I was left with incomplete sets. I thought that was really weird. I even called them to ask if I could go back and pick up my pieces but I can't remember if they told me I couldn't or if it was just too much trouble for me to go back. And at least one of the sets was washed and either never worn or only worn once so it wasn't from wear/stain issues. So I might have gotten $20-30 credit so it wasn't worth the trouble. I do mostly sell things myself on Craigslist now. It is a hassle to photograph and list everything but once that is done it is pretty easy and I at least know what I am selling my things for and I would rather get more and give my buyer the better deal (rather than the resale shop). I think I started in November and I have sold around $1300 worth of things of Craigslist but this also includes some of the baby gear items. I found it is easiest just to list things as soon as we are done with them. I haven't tried the consignment sales and it seems like most people seem to be happy with those. The bad thing about Craigslist is that it can be a slow process and I am not able to empty the closet in a day or even a weekend like you would if you took everything to consignment and you made the committment to not keep around anything that didn't sell.

 

[grlpwrd]

If you have any kids clothes in good condition that are name brand, I recommend taking them to a consignment shop or consignment sale. You will make so much more money. I just made $250 at a local consignment sale and I've never made that much at a garage sale, including everything - not just clothes.


People at garage sales expect you to practically give them stuff. If you mark something a quarter, they'll still ask you to take a dime or a nickel.

That I find to be true around here, too. Ugh!

I used to co own a thrift store. I also love yard sales. I also sell on Craigslist and ebay. My parents sell as vendors at a huge yard sale in Hawaii (the Stadium!) almost on a weekly basis and have been doing so since I was a child.

I know people want things organized - I know I don't want to forage through mess.(lol) They don't want to go through a pile of jumbled up clothes. Instead, they want the items to be clean and laundered, placed on a hanger, and hung on a rack.

People also want things laid out and priced. I use 3 or 4 long tables for that and if you don't have that at least have them laying on a sheet or something. Of course, consider older people who may not want to or are unable to stoop or bend. Try borrowing some tables if you can or even set up some wooden "horses" with plywood.

They also will gravitate more to your sale if it looks like you have more stuff. I have books, housewares, etc on tables, toys spread out on sheets on the ground away from the road - and I invite the kids to play while their parent shops, and just "stuff" in clusters. I have observed only about 10% of the people driveby while the majority stop. I actually counted.

As for specific things to sell? I think anything goes. People look for jewelry, old video games, collectibles, 90s stuff, furniture, baby stuff, tools, etc. I have a lot of odd requests so you just never know.

Just remember the biggest thing is to advertise. I am having my yard sale next month and I am advertising in the paper and on Craigslist. Signage is a big thing, too. Oh, and in our city we need to have a yard sale permit.

I love this website: www.yardsalequeen.com . Great ideas.

GL!

 

[swilshire]

our stuff will be priced really low and from 2p-3p everything will be free even if someone wants to take it all! Hopefully someone will! LOL

You might want to try a bag sale for the last couple of hours. Anything you can fit in a bag (either plastic or paper grocery bag, for example) for so many dollars. It's fun to watch how much people can squeeze into a bag and they'll buy things they wouldn't think of paying for individually.

If you advertise it, some people will wait and come just for that.

Sheila

 

[Taja]

My only experience holding a yard sale three years ago led to one conclusion: Everyone wanted cheap or free. Preferrably free! *LOL*

I had seriously good prices on things, although not much for children. New adult clothing (most with tags) at $1 or $2 (usually a set), hard cover books at 25 cents to 50 cents (sold quite a few of those--people needed them for display!), housewares in excellent condition 10 cents to $2.

One silly thing--and I almost didn't put it out--was bags of foam pack--packing peanuts. I had tons of the silly things and just never managed to get to local places that would accept them. So I put them in white ("tall kitchen") plastic trash bags, taped them shut and marked them 50 cents per bag. There were 20 of them. First sale of the day--took every one of them. No haggling. *LOL*

Edited to add:

I did have the clothing hanging on racks (had one from a previous business and borrowed some) and everything was displayed on shelves, tables or covered boxes (bought a roll of vinyl to cover party tables and covered the boxes). Had some interest in my display pieces, too! Had to quickly make "NOT FOR SALE" signs for them!

Everything that wasn't sold went to several local organizations over the next few weeks. Some pick up, some don't, but I know certain items are dumped by some organizations and cherished by others. I wanted them to go to the right places.

 

[Taja]

Okay, that's funny about the bags - I had a yard sale once with a friend and she had this stack of nice paper bags with handles from somewhere. She brought them to nicely bag people's stuff that they bought. Someone came along and wanted to buy her bags! So she sold them!

Tools are big here too, and all kinds of kids' stuff. We have "Lawnmower Man" who is always buying lawn mowers, and only lawn mowers, even broken ones. I guess he takes parts from one to fix others. Also "Golf Club Man" who always asks for golf clubs and tells everyone how he hangs them all along the walls of his garage as decoration.

I had one woman who purchases clocks and watches to use the parts in collages she sells! I sold her three clocks and threw in two broken ones (they were waiting to go in the next trash dumpster) and two broken Timex watches from childhood. Nothing valuable!

 

[emh1129]

outdoor children's toys (although looking at the ages of your children, I doubt you have any of those )
furniture
children's clothing
books