Yard Sale, Help.

[DaystarPrincess]

We have decided to clean house, time for a yard sale. Over the years we have collected so much stuff that I have save but never used so I thought why not get rid of it and make a little money. I have never had a yard sale so I need help in how to price items. We have saved dining room chairs(no table),wooden coffee table, dresser, faux fireplace, rockers, tons of old dishes, old painting pictures. Kids clothing name brand stuff Gymboree, justice, nike and etc. Most of the furniture is all wood but old probably around 30 years old or more but in really good shape. As you can tell I have kept things far too long.

 

[verleniahall]

kids clothes - /25-.50 cents each - they will fly away

the best yardsale that i did i didnt put prices on ANYTHING and negotiated when they came to purchase - i sold EVERYTHING that I had and made about 500

 

[DaystarPrincess]

I just need to unload all this stuff I have been hoarding for years, running out of room and I hate the clutter.

 

[biminibigblue]

Just remember that things are only "worth" what somebody is willing to pay, and before you turn down any offers, decide if you'd rather get a little extra money you didn't have or a bunch of leftover stuff you don't want. I always do well by not pricing and just negotiating.

 

[elaine amj]

i like pricing - because I hate going to yard sales with no prices. I like to bargain, but without a starting point, I just leave and go to the next sale. I used to organize large community sales and most shoppers would also move past sellers with no prices. The best tips I learned is to make it look like a store as much as possible. organized, tidy, separated by types (don't jumble up houseware with clothes, etc).

Clothes won't sell unless they are neatly organized. An alternative is to bundle everything into sizes and sell them by lot. You won't make as much over each piece, but you'll get rid of it all. I tend not to sell much clothes at yard sales, but when I post a lot on kijiji/craigslist, I typically get someone to come and take the whole bundle.

I also make sure each item makes sense so people are not wondering what something is. So if I have something a little weird, I'll add a large label with at least the name of the item. For electronics, adding something like "DVD player - works!" is helpful as people are suspicious.

And like a PP said, stuff is only worth what someone will pay. Most newbies price their things way too high and expect to get too much of their money back.

Also, signage is SUPER important. Make large, bright and visible signs with giant arrows. Place them EVERYWHERE. That is THE most important trick in the book.

 

[DaystarPrincess]

Thank you for the good tips. I'm definitely going to be using them.

 

[Malibustyle23]

Please price everything you have! I will absolutely leave a yard sale every time I see it has no prices. I could be interested in a lot of different items at your sale but I am not going to want to ask you every few seconds how much this and that and that costs. Especially if you have another customer or something else going on. I don't want to interrupt you just to see if I am interested in your prices.

Back to the question though, clothes I generally price at a dollar a piece or a bag ful for whatever price. I hang them up on a rack I have and try to organize by size.

The larger stuff you have two options either put your rock bottom cheapest price or put a few dollars more than that and be willing to bargain. A few hours before your sale is over Mark everything half off or whatever if things haven't sold.

My other tip is if you can sit everything on a table or up high don't put the stuff on the ground.

Good luck!

 

[verleniahall]

I am SUPER happy if I don't have to bend over all the time to get something off the ground

 

[jormom1030]

I love going to yard sales, but I HATE when things are not priced. I don't want to have to ask about everything. My last yard sale I didn't individually price every item, but I had a large poster that told the prices for each category. I don't like to pay more than 25/50 cents for kids books. Please don't put stained clothes out and think you are going to get a lot of money out of them just because they are Gymboree or Hanna Anderson. (That is one of my big pet peeves)

 

[jmmess]

I'm so bad and letting go of stuff that I bought and saved. Your post has motivated me to start getting rid of stuff. (My DH will be so happy!)

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

Just remember that Yard Sale shoppers want "rock bottom" prices, so unless you are willing to do all the work and sell your stuff for rock bottom prices, then a yard sale might not be for you.

I have much better luck with Craig's List and Facebook Yard Sale Pages, especially for pricier items. People won't come to you for individual items of clothing, but they will for lots. It won't necessarily get rid of things as fast, but what one lady does on the "Destash" thread (which you should totally join us on) is lists 5-10 items a week on Craig's List and eBay. Then the next week, she bumps whatever didn't sell and adds items to hit her limit. If you start by just trying to sell 5 items a week, you will make very notable progress within a couple of weeks.

 

[cheapster316]

Do you have ant kids consignment ales in your area?we have 4 within30 mile area twice a year. I just finished spring ones but fall one's usually start in August. Gymboree and justice I can usually get $4-$6 a piece on. I have to usually pay a consignment fee of $12 and they get 30 percent of my sales by t it is how I pay for Disney

 

[queenbetsey]

I agree with minniesweetheart out here local exchanges on face book are pretty popular. you can post items singles or in "lots" like clothes all in one size etc, also you can post your yard sale with pics and prices to generate business. I understand you may want to do this in one or two days instead of waiting on individual items to sell on craigs list or exchanges so at least check fb for exchanges in your area.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

After several yard sales, I've come to the conclusion that the best thing you can do is park all your stuff on the lawn, mark it "free" and use the time you would have spent organizing everything on an extra shift at work, or a temp job. You'll be money ahead & have a lot fewer headaches.

 

[katyjeka]

I will not shop at a sale with no prices, I just hate asking how much for everything. We also will not dig around on a wet grassy ground, gross! We had a sale a few years ago, it was a lot of work but I believe I made almost 800. It amazed me the amount of people who would ask if you would take less on a quarter item. Crazy. We had at least 20 dozen golf balls(husband collected them) and had them 50 cents a dozen, someone actually asked if we would take a dime a dozen. We donated them to our local high school for the golf team.

 

[scrapquitler]

Please price everything you have! I will absolutely leave a yard sale every time I see it has no prices. I could be interested in a lot of different items at your sale but I am not going to want to ask you every few seconds how much this and that and that costs. Especially if you have another customer or something else going on. I don't want to interrupt you just to see if I am interested in your prices.

THIS!

And have an extension cord available for people to plug electric items into so they can see that it really will turn on. I'm no way going to buy a lamp without knowing that it will function.

 

[princessesintraining]

I haven't had a yard sale in years, but I post lots of items on my local Facebook garage sale pages or kids only pages depending on the items. Clothing I like to sell as a lot, but will post it with a lot price and then an individual item price. I usually price items slightly higher than my bottom number, so there's roo. To negotiate. Bigger items/more expensive items also get listed on Craigslist.

Good luck! These pages allow me to get rid of items as I come across them and keep them from takin up spec in my house. Always meet people in a public place. If it's a large item and they must come to my home to pickup, I make sure not to be alone.

 

[cats mom]

After several yard sales, I've come to the conclusion that the best thing you can do is park all your stuff on the lawn, mark it "free" and use the time you would have spent organizing everything on an extra shift at work, or a temp job. You'll be money ahead & have a lot fewer headaches.

Exactly how I feel about yard sales. The last one we had I spent weeks getting everything ready, apparently yard sale code dictated no one pay asking price, they would only buy if I bargained, and I was surprised at how many people wanted full provenance on every item.

Geez, I paid $125 for those jeans less than a year ago, I'm asking $5 for them, and you're holding them so you can inspect every inch, do I really need to do a full run down of exactly when and where they were purchased, who wore them, how many times, and then drop the the price to $3 too?

While still not perfect, local FB groups work much better for me with things I think worth selling, and I'm a huge fan of donating... gone in a flash.

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

Exactly how I feel about yard sales. The last one we had I spent weeks getting everything ready, apparently yard sale code dictated no one pay asking price, they would only buy if I bargained, and I was surprised at how many people wanted full provenance on every item.

Geez, I paid $125 for those jeans less than a year ago, I'm asking $5 for them, and you're holding them so you can inspect every inch, do I really need to do a full run down of exactly when and where they were purchased, who wore them, how many times, and then drop the the price to $3 too?

While still not perfect, local FB groups work much better for me with things I think worth selling, and I'm a huge fan of donating... gone in a flash.

Ahh I'm SURE there is a Facebook page out there for $125 jeans and you'll probably get at least $70, you just have to make a trip to the post office.

But this is EXACTLY my point on yard sales. I think most of the shoppers are hunting more for "bargains" than they are for actual stuff that they may need, so they want to talk you down on everything to feel like they got a good deal.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Ahh I'm SURE there is a Facebook page out there for $125 jeans and you'll probably get at least $70, you just have to make a trip to the post office.

But this is EXACTLY my point on yard sales. I think most of the shoppers are hunting more for "bargains" than they are for actual stuff that they may need, so they want to talk you down on everything to feel like they got a good deal.

Because those people who get a bargain turn around and post items up on eBay or Craigslist, making lots of money.