Garage sale tips?

[JerseyJanice]

Anyone have any to share?

For years, our town had a town-wide yard sale. The high school band sold maps and advertised for you in exchange for a donation. They always did it mid-September, but that was our usual vacation time before DS started school, so we never participated. So now this year because I want to have one, they aren't doing it.

In any event, I've got mainly baby and toddler toys to sell. What's the best way to advertise? Should I place an ad in the local free paper? Post signs on telephone poles? Both?

 

[manchurianbrownbear]

We're also planning to have a garage sale in the next couple weeks.

In the process of cleaning out the garage on Saturday I had our driveway full of many of the "treasures" we plan to sell. We had a couple people stop and several drive by slowly just because we had stuff in the driveway so I'm wondering if it's even necessary to place an ad, post signs, etc...!

We have had one garage sale in the past, so we're not experts, but we did place an ad and posted four or five signs near our house. I believe the signs brought in more people than the newspaper ad, but I know people will scan ads for "big ticket" items like furniture and appliances.

Here's my theory; signs will bring in a lot of browsers or impulse shoppers who will buy a lot of small things, but you probably need a newspaper ad to attract people to buy larger or more expensive items. JMHO

I hope that helps. Good luck!

 

[Buckalew]

JJ, I had had 2 sales in the past. They went well and it is great to get rid of accumulated junk! People will buy the junkest stuff you own. The stuff you think will sell is often overlooked. It is amazing! LOL

Our city requires that you get a permit to have a sale. I think they even limit the amount of sales to 2 a year. Anyway, you might want to check on that.

I have always put an ad in the local paper and put signs up (of course, I don't live "in town") and be ready early -- people who really do garage sales seriously are up and out early buying, buying buying!

Good luck. I'm doing one on Sept. 14th. I spent yesterday in the basement going through boxes!

 

[JerseyJanice]

Thanks, Brenda.

You know, when we first bought my house, I had a lot of stuff still from my parents' house. Kitchen things, linens, decorative items.

Fool that I am, I put this stuff out for the trash. It was picked over before they made it to the garbage truck, though. There are people in my area who drive around looking at "trash" to claim.

A few months later, the guy next door had a garage sale. I saw what he was selling and was like, "darn! I throw away nicer stuff than he's getting money for."

 

[tiggerlover]

For our last successful yard sale we advertised in the local paper and posted a bunch of signs, but if I were to do it again I would forgo spending the money for the paper. We asked most people how they learned of the sale and they said by driving by or from the signs, so I recommend you saturate the neighborhood with signs, it is always a winner.

We found the best sellers were the kids clothes and the toys, so it sounds like you have the makings of a successful sale.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I just had a sale Saturday. Tips are:

1) Ad in local free paper, include directions to your home. I have found that is invaluable. Signs will bring in the impulse shoppers.

2) People love old kitchen stuff, BOOKS esp. cookbooks, mowers/garden machines, toys.

3) Have a couple of FREE ITEMS totes in your driveway. Things like adult clothing, sheets, old towels, glasses, coffee mugs...etc
Yes, someone came and took ALL of our towels. They were old and yuk & never would someone have "bought" them but "FREE"
gone like the wind.

4) If you have furniture I have found that it is best to sell it the day before, if they come looking for it. And they will come even if you put "NO PREVIEW SALES" in your ad. BUT what I have found is that you can get rid of furniture at a higher price the day before. Not always true, it depends on how much furniture you want to get rid of.

5) Line up with your local donation place to have a pickup shortly after your sale so NONE of the stuff comes back into the house.

GOOD LUCK

 

[Annie&Hallie'sMom]

Don't forget your permit!

I'd do posters and the newspaper.

Expect people to show up EARLY. If you say 9-3. there will be people at your house by 7:30!

 

[SeaShelley]

A&H's Mom is right, expect folks to show up very early, so be ready the night before. It was very frustrating to be trying to set up with people already there.

I even went so far as to put a sign at the end of the driveway that said: Garage sale 8-2 (prices double before 8!) Didn't stop a one of them from coming in!

 

[melk]

I have a question as I'm planning a yard sale in a few weeks. Do you take cash only? I just wonder about anyone ever getting a bad check at a yard sale.

Also, do a search over on the budget board. I seem to remember someone posting a great list of things to do and what to sell over there a while back.

 

[supercarrie]

When my family does garage sales, it is cash only.

And as other posters have said - BE READY THE NIGHT BEFORE! We once put a start time of 8am on the signs. People were showing up at 7am, when we were just bringing the stuff out. A couple people were so anxious they started carrying our boxes out so they could look through them.

 

[SeaShelley]

melk, I only accepted one check at my last sale and it was from someone I knew well. Other than that sale, I would only take cash.

Another tip I forgot to add (which I picked up from another site) was to put a sign on your cash table that says: ALL SALES FINAL - NO RETURNS. It's just basically a CYA!

 

[snoopy]

Yep, beware of the early birds. Some of these professional yard saler goers are like vultures, they practically camp out in front of the house waiting for you to bring the stuff out.

My sister and I had a yardsale at her house several months ago. We were very successful, and I attribute most of our success to signage, as well as making sure the stuff was clean and in good condition. And every piece of clothing I had for sale, whether it was a baby onesie or a nice outfit, was hung up and organized according to size.

We also advertised in our local paper, but if I had another one, I wouldn't do that again. I asked every person that bought something from our sale how they found out about us, and they all said they just followed the signs from the street. My sister lives in an afluent neighborhood, and I guess people come from all over the county/state specifically looking for stuff that these affluent people want to get rid of. My husband was responsible for the signs (and trust me, he took credit for it, heh heh!) - he got bright orange construction paper at the dollar store, and made approximately 30 signs - nothing fancy, just a sign saying YARD SALE in big letters, with an arrow pointing in the direction of the house. As you got closer to the house, the signs said the address. Everyone who came said the signs were so good and clear.

One other thing you might want to do, so your son has something to do and is out of your hair is let him run the lemonade stand. We had our boys selling bottled water, cans of soda, lemonade, and brownies/rice krispie treats - they made close to $100 that I let them keep. They sure loved having that money when we went on vacation this past couple of weeks. And be sure you have an extra person on hand - one to handle the money, the other to watch out for funny business. My husband, as you know, is a Secret Service agent so he is trained to look out for people who look suspicious, so I let him do that while I handled the money. People will come by in groups and try to distract the person with the money so another person can steal stuff. Sad, but true. Of course these people took one look at my husband and thought better of it, heh heh.

Good luck, Janice, if you have any other ??, let me know.

 

[2disneywego]

A couple people were so anxious they started carrying our boxes out so they could look through them.

That is exactly what happened to us with our first sale. I turned around and someone was carrying my living room lamps away! Some of these people are very scary!!!

 

[JerseyJanice]

I do have an important question, guys.

How do you decide what to price things? Do you look at what the stuff costs new and price it at a percentage of that?

I totally clueless as to what people would be willing to pay. On one hand, I want to get rid of the stuff so I don't want to price it too high. On the other hand, I don't want to get ripped off.

 

[snoopy]

Well, I guess it depends on what you have. For baby/toddler clothes, I priced them anywhere between $.50 (for one piece separates) to $5.00 (jackets, sweaters, etc.). Matched sets I would price anywhere from $2.00 to $3.50 depending on name brand and condition. Toys, I guess it would depend on the toy. We didn't sell a whole lot of toys since my kids still play with them. I did sell a ton of beanie babies at $2 each.

Also, things like strollers - liteweight $10, the sturdier strollers anywhere from $35 to $75. I had 3 Peg Perego strollers and a double stroller that I sold for $75 each, but again, they were top of the line and in excellent shape. I was told to sell stuff like this at a consignment shop, and I would have had I not gotten the price I was asking for. I wasn't going to negotiate these items. Other baby items I sold: exersaucer: $15; playpen - $40; high chair - $25; bassinet - $35; crib and dresser - $200.

Another money maker for me was kids videos - the Barneys and the Teletubbies and such that my kids had outgrown. I sold them for $2 each, and I wish I had more of them because they sold like hotcakes. Same with regular videos, if you have any of them. Hardcover books sold well, paperbacks not so good. Adult clothes aren't supposed to sell so well, but I sold alot of my stuff. It was hilarious because this one tiny woman came by and bought a ton of my size 10/12 clothes - she was probably a size 2! Who knows what she planned to do with them, because they would have been too big - and most definately too long. I sold my clothes anywhere from $2 to $10, depending on the shape and how in style they still were. I had a few pair of shoes that I sold - $5 each. DH and I were dying of laughter because this old woman, and I mean really, really old - like 80 or so, bought these boots from me - they were like biker boots, but with like a 3 inch heel. LOL, she was looking good!

I guess the most important thing I can tell you is if you think it won't sell, think again. Its amazing what people will buy. Price everything a bit higher than you might ordinarily, because people want to bargain. Its almost like its a game to them, they will fight with you over a quarter. Its a bit unnerving, especially if you are a person like me with very little patience for such games. In the end, it was worth it, it paid for a good bit of our vacation, but it was exhausting.