Garage Sale has been a bust

[kelscross]

Recently we had to move my grandmother into a nursing home and we have to sell her home and things. I thought since I would be the one coordinating the whole deal that I would put my stuff in the sale as well since I'd be sitting there anyhow.

I have tons, and tons of children's items...toys and clothing in impeccable shape.

We advertised in the local paper however, our city does not allow signs to go up regarding sales ( I just found this out) so they removed our signs. We were allowed to put them on our property and that was it. I figured we'd still be okay since we advertised..

Well...it has been a big waste of time so far. We barely had any buyers today.

I don't know what I did wrong. I was thinking of taking the stuff to the local flea market but it will be a big process seeing how I would probably have to rent a uhaul to simply get my children's clothes and toys there.

I wanted to make a little extra for our trip in September...any suggestions? Was it bad timing? All of our stuff is baby stuff and that usually goes pretty well. My prices are so low it's unbelieveable. Maybe it's the neighborhood and the advertising just doesn't do well.

Help!!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

I too had that happen once. Even though I advertised people who came said, oh this place was so hard to find. Also found out some local neighborhood kids ripped down my signs. Gee. I usually organize our school garage sale once a year too. I notice also its location. Do you have a relative or friend in another town on a busy street etc. where you could go. I know it would be a pain carting the stuff, but think of the money for your disney savings. I had one at my moms and we did so well, she happened to live on a highway. Tomm. my dh is having an antique guy come to fil house. We are cleaning it out too. He will pay us for what he wants and we decided not to have a garage sale because fil had mostly junk honestly and we figured since we live out of state its just not worth it, hotel, meals, advertising, permits etc. I will also just pick out what I want to. Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[nuzmom]

I live out in the country, so having a garage sale at my house just wouldn't work. So, I go to a local flea market and have done pretty well. I usually go twice a year, once in early summer and once in fall (right before school starts).

I think timing is important. I went last week and didn't take ANY winter/fall stuff because it just won't sell. Likewise, in mid-August summer stuff doesn't sell because people are looking for school clothes. (last week I made a profit of $167, a nice amount nice my kids clothing was mostly under a dollar).

A good tip that I use is to use blank white address labels for price stickers. You can cut them in 1/2 and there's room to put the size. Putting the size is important since it's time consuming for buyers to look for at the tags.

Also, group everything according to size and hang them up. Yes, a pain to get this to work, but be creative and really try to hang them up. I always have people say how nice my stuff looks and I think it's not only the condition of the clothes but also hanging them up and clearly marking the price and size.

If you're really in the mood to have a garage sale, maybe you can organize a few of your neighbors into a block sale or community sale. I know when my friend and I go shopping, we always hit these because chances are someone will have cool stuff. (You'll draw a lot more buyers if multiple families have a sale on the same day - make sure to advertise this way)

I'd load everything up and head to a flea market. What do you have to lose? I made LOTS of money on my baby clothes ($300) the last two years.

Good luck. I wouldn't be discouraged. Maybe it was the holiday weekend that kept people away. Picnics and stuff?

Let us know how you do.

 

[disneydreamer1970]

We had a yard sale here that wasn't doing well and my mother suggested that I take my stuff to a childrens 2nd hand shop. Well, I took some childrens and maternity clothes and videos down and made almost $200 in less than an hour! I will never ever have a yard sale again and will take my clothes to this shop at the beginning of each season!!

 

[kelscross]

nuzmom...I was seriously thinking about going to the flea market but I don't have a vehicle large enough to haul anything. My step dad has a truck but it's very small. I wonder how much it would be to rent a truck or van. A van would do the trick.

I also am considering moving the sale to a different neighborhood. My other grandmother lives in a subdivision that has alot of young people with young children. They are allowed to put sale signs up as long as they don't block views of the corners. The neighborhood that I'm having the sale now is a historical district with mostly older folks and I think that's why the city made us take down the signs (well they didn't make us...they just took them down)

I don't think I want to do Ebay. I have alot of nice children's clothes but they aren't name brand or anything.

Thanks for the suggestions guys and wish me luck! I want to go to Disney every year if we can.

 

[Daxx]

I can so relate! We just had a block sale last week. Advertised in the papers and on the day of the sale, we put up two nice A-frame signs (dh made them out of wood, gorgeous) on each end of the street to announce the sale. The local business on one end of the street gave us permission to post our A-Frame sign near their business. The people who own the house at the other end put it at the end of their lot.

Well, signs were out at 7am ... and one of our neighbors saw the police putting them in their car at 7:30 am. We had people come to the sale ... but didn't get the "drive bys" that we would have if the signs were up.

Sad part?! We saw a zillion hand-made poster type signs on lamp posts all over town. Our signs were on private properties that we received permission to post from.

Now, I could see if we left the signs up for weeks (like the signs other people have up), but we intended on taking them down at the end of the day b/c they were nice, wood A-frame signs.

I don't get why ours were taken down. When we asked the business if they took it down, they said no that they didn't even know they were missing.

Well, we only made about $50 and barely sold anything. We were so disappointed. I'm going to take my childrens clothing to a local consignment shop ... but I have to wait until she has time to "see me". Whatever, I can wait. But, it would have been nice to have the cash when we leave for our trip next week.

 

[sweet maxine]

I have reached the point at which I have found it comes out better for me to box everything up and take it to the Salvation Army and get a donation slip for it. I don't get that instant "cash in hand" like I would from a garage sale, but I do get the deduction on taxes, and it worked out well for me this last year. I have thought about having a sale in August while my mother will be visiting, as I could really use the help. I have quite a few cotillion dresses and some large toys my grandson has outgrown. I'm not sure it will be worth all the work, though.

 

[crisi]

I also do far better with a tax writeoff with far less bother than actually having a sale. But it isn't "cash in your pocket." You can take "fair market value" of your stuff - which is often far more than what you can get at a garage sale, and they'll usually take everything. Around here, a number of charities will pick up. All I need to do is box it up, itemize it for my own records, and make a phone call. I can even leave it on the front stoop.

For instance, our marginal tax rate is 36%. I have baby clothes I'd mark as $.50 at a garage sale. I can write it off as worth $2.50 fair market value. The tax savings is $.90 - I'm $.40 ahead over a garage sale, and I didn't have to spend nearly the time or the effort. Plus I get some credit on my state taxes as well. If I have 100 items, I'm $40 ahead.

valuation guide:
http://www.salvationarmy-usaeast.org/help/valuation_guide.htm

With baby stuff, you can see if a crisis nursery can take it. Or talk to your church - often times churches will organize charitable drives of clothes that they send overseas or into inner cities - or even redistribute to members in need.

If you are looking for cash in your pocket, ask around until you find someone whose neighborhood is having a neighborhood garage sale. A lot of people don't waste their time on anything less than a multifamily sale, and a neighborhood sale is even better. If no one is having one, think about arranging one. Talk to your city council and see if permits can be pulled for signs.

 

[Amirah95]

I live in the city and people are always looking for hand me downs. I live 10 minutes from Manhattan so it's a lot easier over here. My sister in S. Carolina usally sells at her churches flea markets because her house is just too far off.

Good luck on your 2nd try!

 

[zaxmom]

I don't know if they do it in your area, but here a lot of the churches have consignment sales for kids clothes, toys and equipment. You hang and price all of your own stuff and drop it off and you receive 70% of the price. The church gets 30% and gives you a receipt for their percentage. I have done really well with these. People will pay more for items at these sales. I have sold boys GAP jeans for $10 if that gives you any idea of what they will pay.

 

[mom of five]

I had a garage sale today also.

Mine was a bust too. Very few buyers. I made $50. I'm trying to look at the glass as half-full though. At least I made enough to pay for a family lunch for our upcoming trip!

 

[Robinrs]

We tried the garage sale route after my Mom died, I made less money than the price of the ad in the paper!

After my Dad passed I started taking pictures and putting the items up on eBay. I made over 1,000 in a month! I've been HOOKED since!

I now buy my inventory from garage/yard sales and second hand stores. I buy for a few dollars and sell for 2 to 10 times the amount on eBay. It's unbelievable what people will buy on eBay!

As my postman says, it's like inviting a million people to your yard sale!

 

[kelscross]

Well...today was worse than yesterday. We only had like two buyers and the man who gave us a deposit on the washer and dryer didn't show up! Ack! I don't know what to do. My cousin sold it to him and she didn't get his name or number. So we put up a note on the garage and back door to contact her.

None of the baby stuff sold at all. I think I made 10 bucks. However total I did make 150.00 for my grandmother but that was on her large appliances.

I am thinking of moving the sale to my other grandmother's neighborhood it is full of young families and small children.

Robinrs - I might consider Ebay but like I said not much of my stuff is name brand, mostly walmart brand or Sears places like that but they are in great condition. Do non name brand items sell very well on ebay?

Thanks for the encouragement guys. I'll let you know if I try it again another route (via flea market, other neighborhood, or ebay) how it turns out.

 

[pygmymom]

I won't have sales in July anymore--never made enough money to be worth it. Summer is in full swing by then and people are on vacation. Mid May seems to be the best time, Wednesdays and Thursdays if you can manage it. Many customers have found their way to my sale via signs, they are so important. I would definitely move your sale over to the other neighborhood with the more favorable conditions. September seems to be a big month for babies, so maybe a lot of baby items will go at a sale in August! Garage sales are a lot of work, and it can be very frustrating if you experience light traffic and low sales. Good luck!

 

[ceecee]

In our neighborhood garage sales are extremely popular. Maybe moving it to another would be a good item. We had tons of people, I placed an ad in the local paper. We aren't allowed signs either, but the city across the street does, so we put our signs there and that helps too. Name brand and new things sell well on Ebay, I haven't had much luck without the name brand things.

 

[overwhelmed]

In my town, many people get paid on the first (and 15th) of the month. if this is true in your area, then make sure you have your sale accordingly.

on this same notion, the best time to SHOP at yard sales, is at the end of the month when sellers really need the cash....

 

[Clotho]

We had ar eally disappointing garage sale last month, where we were trying to make some money for OUR September trip. It was just horrible--nobody came. And it was the first really sunny week-end we had, so I thought it would mean a lot of shoppers. Instead it meant that everyone was off enjoying the weather elsewhere, I guess. We ended up donating everything that was left. But we needed that money for our trip! *sigh*

I had a friend who's family had a garage sale every year. They were known for having big garage sales, so all the hard-core shoppers would make a point to make it. I have never seen such a successful sale before or since...

 

[Sunbeamblue2002]

Hello,

As a fellow Ohio res I thought that I would junp in here and inform you that our wonderful Gov Bob Taft has mandated that now you must have a vendors linesce to sell at Fle mts now. And you must also charge tax and keep records and report earnings over $250. I know this because I live in the Cleve area and like you had a bust of a yard sale. Had it at the begining of June. Well I had all the stuff out so I packed my moms Van and went to the Flea market. Well that very day they handed out the letters regarding all of this. The one thing I did recall is that if it was something you sold that you had already paid taxs on you didn't charge tax's. One of the guys said if your asked for you vend lic and you don't have one just pack up and leave so you don't have to pay a fine. So I haven't really been back. However I'm thinking about going back next week so if I do I'll let you know.

Also as a side note working in an Ohio NH in a management postion. Be very aware to keep your Gramma's money separet and documnet what you sold so that no one can acuse you of misapporation of funds. Which for someone in a NH is a first class fenony. Esp if you have faimly with unresolved issue and know that you had your stuff mix in with hers. I seen faimlys split over less. I hope everything work out for all of you.

Sunbeamblue2002

 

[kelscross]

Sunbeamblue...thanks for the info. I didn't know that if you just went to set up for a day that you'd have to have a license. I thought it was the folks who were set up there permanently. That saved me some embarassment and a fine!

How we kept track of the cash is we kept a log of what sold for what and then at the end of the sale we cashed each other out. I gave my mother and step dad the money for my grandmother. They take care of her finances. I understand about families being split though. My aunt is on the outs because she just doesn't understand how my uncle (who is the actual power of attorney for finances but appoints my mother to oversee it as she lives in the same town as my grandma and he doesn't) would want her to pay my grandmother back the 30,000 she owes her. My grandma wants a private room at the NH however her insurance will only pay for semiprivate so my mom and my uncle are splitting the difference. My uncle feels like my aunt should pay since she owes her money. Like that's gonna happen. It's a big headache I tell you!

Anyway let me know how it goes for you. I think I'm gonna try to set up in the other neighborhood like I was talking about previously.