Garage Sale

[code3chica]

How many items before it is worth it?

 

[dpswift]

It depends on many different things. If you have a few big popular items you are going to do better than having a ton of junk.

If a friend or neighbor has a few items you can go in together and split the cost of the ads. Make sure that you list the types of things that you are selling to attract the right people.

 

[kymom99]

Do you live in an area that does well as far as yard sales go? If not, find a friend who might live in a better area. My mom used to take her stuff to her friend's house because they sold lots of stuff there. Also, my town does a community yard sale 2 times a year so they do the advertising, etc. That helps. I would say if I could make $100 it would be worth it to me.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I had 400 items on my one and only garage sale. It was not fun.

Between pricing everything and people who would see something for a quarter and ask if they could get it for a dime, I really don't want to ever do another one if I can help it.

I would say it would take 100 items to be worth it.

 

[kkwis2]

I would agree that it kind of depends on what kind of stuff you have to sell. Do you have big or unique items that will draw people in or is it a lot of "junk" that you just don't want in your house anymore?

Another consideration is how much time you have. It takes a lot of time to sort, price, find tables, market your stuff, etc.

To me, making $100 is not worth it if I've had to sit at the sale for 4-8 hours (4 + hours each day) plus the time it took me over several weeks to clean the garage, gather items to sell, price, sort, and generally make things look presentable.

When I had baby stuff, garage sales were well worth. Now that my kids are older I have found that even nice, name-brand clothing doesn't sell very well.

BUT, my sister LOVES doing sales. She does several every year and makes probably a minimum of $1000 - $1500 every time. But she rebates and coupons to the point that she gets tons of stuff free or nearly free (razors, shampoo, make-up, shaving cream, etc.), and then she sells of that stuff. (Don't even get me started on ethics of that).

 

[sksjasams]

How much stuff do you have? You need to have a lot of stuff to get people to stop...they will do the "slow drive by" to see if its worth getting out of the car.

If you do have a sale, be sure to post an ad on craigslist.

If you decide not to have a sale, you can always post individual items or groups of items on craigslist. We have had great success doing this. Be sure to include photos in your posts.

 

[timmac]

Regarding using rebates and coupons, then reselling, I don't think there's anything wrong with that. More power to the person who does so successfully. Of course, by the time all is said and done, the effort invovled to do that probably ends up being a lot of hours, and I'd wager the effective payoff is well less than minimum wage. (I use minimum wage only as a convenient yardstick)

For me, I'm pretty much of the mindset to *never* host a yard sale. The level of effort invovled compared to the actual payoff is minimal. Not only that, but my days off, particularly Saturdays and Sundays, are just too valuable. If I'm going to be doing work on those days--which I often do-- it's because I've got side projects that yield decent money. For any items I have that are actually valuable enough to sell, I'll use CraigsList or eBay, where I can reach a wider audience of people actually looking for what I'm selling and not just looking to pick up random stuff cheap... also then, I can list it on my own time as it is convenient.

The only possible exception I can see making, is if I ever buy a house that wasn't cleaned out from accumulated stuff (and that fact was figured into the purchase price of course), or somehow inherit that type of thing--like if my mom were to suddenly pass away and it was up to me to clean out her old place. I might do an "indoor yard sale" in that case, just to clean the crap out.

 

[tvguy]

It depends on many different things. If you have a few big popular items you are going to do better than having a ton of junk.

If a friend or neighbor has a few items you can go in together and split the cost of the ads. Make sure that you list the types of things that you are selling to attract the right people.

Did a garage/estate sale in July with the help of a friend who does 4 or 5 garage sales a year, and she is/was of the exact same mind set.

That was not what happened. The junk flew, and big popular things sat, ultimately ending up at Goodwill. I had a pile of broken junk in the back corner of the garage that I didn't have time to take to the dump, I had people asking why that stuff wasn't priced, I said "your pick $5", and most of it sold!

And if I have anyone ever ask me again if I have any "new retro" stuff, I'll scream.

 

[marthachick]

My in laws passed away in August within 3 days of each other & we've been cleaning out junk & getting ready for an indoor yard/estate sale. I really hope it does well. DH just wants to haul everything off. I told him we'd have the sale & (hopefully) let everyone else haul the stuff off. If there is stuff left when we finish, we're going to call a guy that runs an add in our local paper to come pick up the rest of the stuff. I dread it. :/

 

[djmeredith]

Consider donating it to a charity like Goodwill. Often, the tax write off is more than you would make having a sale. When I started using Turbo Tax, I was shocked to see how much value can be assigned to donations. In my opinion, It's not worth my time to do a sale, I just donate and write it off.

 

[lauradis]

Hey Tv guy

have any "new retro" stuff, I'll scream.

 

[kymom99]

We had a garage sale when my mom passed away and sold a lot of housewares stuff really cheap. Later a friend told me she had an auctioneer sell her parents' things when they moved to assisted living. She said she highly recommends it. Those of you facing the emotional task of getting rid of your parents' things may want to consider this. She got the name at a local antique shop.

 

[tvguy]

Hey Tv guy

have any "new retro" stuff, I'll scream.

 

[dpswift]

Did a garage/estate sale in July with the help of a friend who does 4 or 5 garage sales a year, and she is/was of the exact same mind set.

That was not what happened. The junk flew, and big popular things sat, ultimately ending up at Goodwill. I had a pile of broken junk in the back corner of the garage that I didn't have time to take to the dump, I had people asking why that stuff wasn't priced, I said "your pick $5", and most of it sold!

And if I have anyone ever ask me again if I have any "new retro" stuff, I'll scream.

I know what you mean a woman who bought ten used cloth diapers pulled some things out of my junk that I did not put out because it seemed more like garbage to me. While almost new clothes and toys sat.

 

[quigs3]

I know what you mean a woman who bought ten used cloth diapers pulled some things out of my junk that I did not put out because it seemed more like garbage to me. While almost new clothes and toys sat.

Last time I had a garage sale, the junk flew out the door while I couldn't get rid of the nicer items no matter how much I kept reducing the price. A few hours after it was over, I heard thumping outside. When I went to check it out, a man and woman who were at the sale earlier in the day were going through my garbage can.

 

[msp2mco]

I've done several garage sales, and their success has depending on great signage and a Craigslist ad. I had advertised in a local paper, but that didn't bring anyone in. For 3 of the garage sales, I was living in a remote location, so my neighbor and I probably put up over 12 signs to draw people into the neighborhood. I also lived on a busy street, so that was much easier to get people to stop.

I agree that it is a lot of work, but it is also a lot of work to haul everything away. When I had big kid toys, it just seemed easier to sell them at a garage sale than take them to Goodwill. Now that I don't have those things, I take a lot to Goodwill or I sell stuff on Craigslist or advertise it on a free market site.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

We live in a planned community and our association has a garage sale two times a year. We just had the one in October last weekend. This is probably our 4th time doing it. It's the only time garage sales are permitted. I always say to myself "this is the last one." My husband is the one who talks me into doing it again. The most we made was $400, last weekend we did $270. I will stress we sale things dirt cheap, people will only pay dirt cheap. If I have something for $5 they offer $1. We sold patio wicker furniture, table, 4 chairs, love seat with two additional chairs, lounger and table for $30. But....saving for Disney.

 

[marthachick]

Hey Tv guy

have any "new retro" stuff, I'll scream.

I found a closet full of "vintage" clothes. Seriously stuff from the 70's.

 

[powellrj]

I have seen my parents sit out all day to make $10 for a bunch of junk I would have thrown out. I mean things like cool whip tubs. They are thrilled and keep saying its $10 they didn't have yesterday and they have the time. My time is worth more than that! They are getting ready to take their "loot" to a sale at the senior center and told me they would save the money they make off all the books I had given them. I told them to please keep the $1.25 they may make off them!!