What are people looking for at yard sales?

[Wishing on a star]

You never know!!!!

The stuff you think is 'good' or 'nice' might very well be still there at the end.

Put EVERYTHING out.

And, my next tip... organize and display it....
If it is piles and boxes, people just will not see what all you have.
I am good at organizing and displaying... nicer clothes hanging.. other clothes sorted and folded and stacked...
Toys displayed in one spot.. Household stuff in that spot.

Don't forget stuff for the men too....
You will be surprised...
My DH is big on our garage sales... He likes to make the cash!
He puts out his old stuff, stuff from his Dad's... He sold a bunch of old fishing lures.
His unworn work-issue work pants... old tools... you name it.
The men shop too.

Here is my biggest tip....
The serious shoppers will be there very early on your FIRST day.
If Thursday or Friday is your first day, that is when they will be there.
Then, Saturday could be very slow.

So, put everything out, priced and ready.
Be ready to get up early, put out your sign, open your garage, and do business.....

You will probably do better than you think you will !

 

[kimmar067]

You will find that your baby items and kitchen stuff goes first....

....ITA - every time my Sis-i-L and I have a yard sale, her clothing/baby collection (she has a 7-y-o and 5-y-o triplets) stuff is the first to go!

 

[scottishduffy]

I currently hunt garage sales and like others have mentioned, I am after baby items!

I am looking for clothes for her, Toys, and old Halloween costumes. I am building a dress up trunk for her and love to buy people old Halloween costumes for a couple bucks to add into her dress up trunk.

My biggest pet peeve is when people don't organize their stuff! I am not digging through an entire bin of clothes to attempt to find the 1 yr old size. I much prefer people who have a couple bins with all items of the same size together. Also, a seperate bin of socks and shoes.

My mother looks for items for my nephew. As well as knick/knacky artsy things for herself. She also looks for elder care items. The nice shower handles, canes, and other items since she helps care for severeal family members.

We have community garage sales where I am. The whole town does garage sales twice per year. The people who made a killing were the 'refreshment' house. A neighbor and his daughter competed to see who could sell the most items. Dad managed the garage sale, girl set up a small tailgating tent in the driveway. The teen daughter bought a bunch of krispy kremes and brewed some coffee. Sold a donut and Coffee for $2. In the afternoon she switch to hot dogs and bottled water. That girl did triple the sales of her dad!

 

[Coconut36]

My MIL is the Queen of yard sales. I admit..I don't get them at all. The amount of money that woman has wasted on electronic type products she bought at a yard sale (anything from VCRs back in the day to DVD players, printers..etc) and then her "shock" when shortly after buying them discovers something is wrong with it. She does "collect" and then sometimes resells vintage jewelry so I know she uses them for that too.

I know a lot of people look for kid/baby items..clothes, toys..etc. That seems to be a really popular one. Also household items..especially kitchen items. Closer to the start of the new school year the college crowd can really hit up yard sales for household items for their new dorms/apartments. Honestly if you have it..put it out there. My parents sold all the old locks from their house..they replaced all the exterior locks and kept all the parts/keys and sold the old ones (the new ones were obviously a different key) and that sold. Things for DIY stuff you might have lying around that isn't going to get use..doors, screens, tools. Books can also be popular..be prepared for like 10 cents a book or someone buying a box for $2 type thing.

Do be prepared however for people to not want to pay much for it at all. They expect it beyond cheap. I sold a daybed once..in beautiful condition, solid wood with both mattresses and got $35 (so solid wood frame with mattress and trundle with mattress) for it and that was treated like a "generous" offer. I know not to expect what I paid for it but I am always shocked at what MIL tells me something would sell for price wise (she would know so I do trust her input there).

 

[denisenh]

Put a coffee can out there with a sign that says, "You're on your honor. Put your money in here & take what you feel you've paid for". Then stick all your junk out in the driveway, lock the doors, and go to the movies. If you're lucky, when you get home it'll all be gone - including the coffee can

First LOL of the day!

 

[Nature Mom]

Now this is a subject I know something about! My family calls me the "Junkin' Queen" because I love yard/garage/estate sales, and I have my own at least once a year. Last year's sale right before our WDW trip I made over $900!!

Like the PPs have said, be organized. Have your stuff on tables assorted by what they are. All the household goods on one, books on another, tools on another and so on. Price everything. People like much better to see a starting price and haggle from there instead of having to ask and then negotiate a price. On haggling: expect it. That is the pure joy for a lot of junkers, so price high enough that you are comfortable to come down, but not so high that you are turning people away with your prices.

People will buy ANYTHING! Some things that always go fast: baby items, tools, camping gear (or other outdoor sports gear), dishes and crystal (even sets that are missing pieces-lots of people who do mosaic art are looking for just a few pieces so don't think if you don't have a whole set it won't sell), holiday decor, household decor (especially pictures in large, nice frames), good linens and fabric, jewelry, toys, books and clothing (kids, tweens, teens especially and if they are name brand, even better). I had one lady buy every single Gymboree outfit I had out once, even though she hadn't even had her baby yet!! lol

People who are looking for specific items will ask if you have it and then probably leave if you don't. Don't be insulted, it is just the way we operate. If we have something in mind and set out early one morning to go looking for it, we will not spend a lot of time at sales where they don't have what is being sought because we are trying to hit as many places in the early hours as possible.

Once you have a good sale, you will think "well, why haven't I done this before?!" lol Good luck and happy junkin!

 

[TARDIS]

I collect tea cups and teapots. About 90% of my collection has been found at yard sales and antique shops. I love finding unique pieces.

 

[marcyinPA]

I haven't had a yard sale in a while, but when we have them, we get the same people every time who come really really early, and they are looking for tools, musical instruments, gold (jewelry). I pretty much never have what they are looking for.

I've had people look for collectibles too. I once sold a gallon sized ziploc bag of empty Pez dispensers. Some of them were duplicates, and none were that old. Some lady snatched it up like it was made of gold and held onto it for dear life until she paid me.

 

[NYEmomma]

I've never been a huge garage sale shopper... until I had kids. With DD, I started going to look for outside toys and climbers for her to use during the summer. With this pregnancy, almost everything I've bought for the twins I've bought secondhand (not garage sales since it's been too cold my whole pregnancy, but at secondhand stores and consignment sales).

I can't wait until they get here and start growing out of stuff and I can have a massive sale to get rid of it all!

I would look at Craigslist to get an idea of prices for items... and then probably price it a little lower than that (because some CL people are just delusional, lol).

 

[MrsDuck]

I don't go looking for anything in particular really-- more just on the prowl for treasures!

Ditto the PP who said to have things organized neatly with the prices clearly marked.

 

[*JoGo*]

When my children were little, I was looking for clothes, books, and toys. Now they are older and I mostly look for books and household items.

Some tips...
Have a free box but be sure it's a cardboard box because it just might walk off!

Put small, similar items in ziploc bags to sell more at once. Think happy meal toys... It usually stuff a baggie full and sell for a quarter or 5/$1.

Don't lay things out on the ground. Awkward to look at and also becomes disorganized quickly.

Rearrange things as it sells... Keep it neat and like items together.

On the last day I put a sign out that everything is half off. And sometimes I lower prices on individual items as the first day goes on and I really want to get rid of it.

Have lots and lots of plastic bags!

 

[rszdtrvl]

Right now I am looking for summer clothes for the family (shorts, tank tops, sandals).

Always looking for musical stuff (guitars, amps, drums) for my musician son.

Corelle dishes, DVD's, Video Games, Baseball Hats.

 

[sasywtch]

I usually will walk away from yard/garage sales where items are dirty/dusty and things are not priced. I'm shy and don't feel comfortable asking the price and if the person is busy, I don't want to wait around to ask the price of an item.

My DIL and I are exact opposites when it comes to pricing our yard sales. I price extremely low to get rid of the stuff. She prices at or above Goodwill prices. I don't have anything left to pack at the end of the day and she still has 1/2 of her stuff to pack up and store in the garage. I'd rather make $20 and have a clean garage then make $10 and pack alot of stuff up at the end.

 

[pyrxtc]

sports stuff for my boys, fabric and patterns this year for me. I cleaned out my house recently over the winter and just gave it all to my Aunt whose family went through it and then she brought it to donation.

I went to stop at a "yard sale" this morning and as I got closer I realized it wasn't a yard sale but an eviction with one cop on the street watching them pack up thier stuff and one at the door making sure they did not try to go back in. I think someone got kicked out, must have been pretty bad cuz 2 cops are all that's on duty at one time in my town anyways.

 

[curious3069]

You just would not believe what people buy, so throw it ALL out there and you will probably be surprised. Last yard sale my friend had the very first thing to sell was used undies, I kid you not. She also sold all her half-used tubes of high-end lipstick.

This is 100%, totally true. I put out very lightly used bottles of lotion, opened vitamins I could no longer take, single tubes of powered drink mix (think crystal lite), protein bars (unopened), etc. and they were the first things to go. We priced everything for just a little lower than Goodwill and got rid of almost everything. And made almost $1000 in about 3 hours! WE WERE SHOCKED. Had never ever done that well at a garage sale. Things we thought would sell quickly never did sell-ie the $600 Christmas tree (that I got on sale for $100 and had marked for $35) never sold. Used spools of wire? Gone instantly. Magazines also sold remarkably well. 2 ladies who love cooking magazines as much as I do cleaned up.

The other thing that shocked us-shoes. We marked them for $1.00/pair and sold them all.

 

[curious3069]

Rearrange things as it sells... Keep it neat and like items together.

Have lots and lots of plastic bags!

Rearranging and neat is also a good idea. Makes things look better and people can see quickly if they are interested.

 

[3smithboys]

Thanks for all of these great suggestions. I think the hardest thing for me will be deciding what to price everything. I really have no idea what to charge...

Some things I know we have to sell...

A stroller - in ok shape
Little Tykes outdoor picnic table (plastic), older but still looks ok
30" tube tv
19" tube tv
Tiffany style hanging lamp shade (to go over a table)
small kids bikes (with training wheels that can go with them)
set of golf irons (husband says - like new) and a driver
baseball gloves

This is just a start, but if anyone has any ideas on pricing just to give me an idea or ballpark. I know it's hard without seeing the things...

thanks!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

You just would not believe what people buy, so throw it ALL out there and you will probably be surprised. Last yard sale my friend had the very first thing to sell was used undies, I kid you not. She also sold all her half-used tubes of high-end lipstick.

Yep. I will echo you and other posters. I have sold used perfume, lotions, cleaners, chemicals, etc....

Heck one guy gave us 5 bucks for a whole box of old chemicals. DH and I were like, yea, take it.

As far as the perfumes, they were old and used and I had way too many so I thought why not? They were the first things sold, I kid you not. However I put some ridiculously low price on it though. I was hard to resist buying it.

 

[NYEmomma]

Thanks for all of these great suggestions. I think the hardest thing for me will be deciding what to price everything. I really have no idea what to charge...

Some things I know we have to sell...

A stroller - in ok shape
Little Tykes outdoor picnic table (plastic), older but still looks ok
30" tube tv
19" tube tv
Tiffany style hanging lamp shade (to go over a table)
small kids bikes (with training wheels that can go with them)
set of golf irons (husband says - like new) and a driver
baseball gloves

This is just a start, but if anyone has any ideas on pricing just to give me an idea or ballpark. I know it's hard without seeing the things...

thanks!

I'm sure pricing is different due to different costs of living in areas of the country (I know Philly is a lot more expensive than here in NE Ohio), but here's my take on pricing for the items that I'm familiar with...

The stroller, depends on how old it is, how rough it is & how nice it was (i.e. part of a travel system, an umbrella stroller, a jogging stroller). If it's older than probably 5 years, I'd price it at $15 if it was the regular type of stroller. Umbrella stroller, I'd price at $5.

The Little Tikes table pretty much lasts forever and you'll get buyers for it no matter how old it is. I'd probably put $10.

The TV's, I just sold 2 or 3 in the past 6 months on a FB buy/sell/swap group (like CL) and I've seen lots more listed... tube TV's, especially the small ones, just don't bring in much money anymore. At least around here. I'd list the smaller one at $10 and the bigger one at $10 or $20.

And I'd be open to negotiating the price on everything... as long as they weren't offering like 25% of what I asked, I'd pretty much take it (though my recent selling has been an effort to de-clutter my house so it all needs to GO!)

 

[erincon23]

You guys have given me lots of ideas! We didn't have a garage sale last year, but we had planned to -- so I've got buckets and buckets of stuff I had gathered, and I know there's lots more that I can add to it. Now I have more ideas of what to pull out of my cabinets! How long do lotions and stuff like that last? I have a couple of lotion sets that I never used -- my brother worked in corporate for Bath and Body Works for a while and gave us some of the things he got, but I couldn't stand the scents. They're probably 5 years old. Does that stuff go bad? And maybe I'll find my waffle maker when I start clearing more stuff out.