Yard sale- where did I go wrong?!?

[Abra Cat]

We had a yard sale yesterday, and I had several of my kids' outgrown clothes for sale from 25 cents for a pair of tights up to $4 for a coat. I had brands like Lands' End, Gymboree, and Hanna Andersson, all in great condition, clean, neatly folded, and clearly priced. You want to know what I sold? A pair of tights for 25 cents! That's it! We did brisk business on everything else, but no one was interested in kids clothes. Where did I go wrong?!?

 

[MickeyMonstersMom]

It sounds like you did all the right things, from presentation to pricing. My guess is that people did not need the sizes you had out there. Some summers I can find every size except the ones my kids are in! If you can, try having another sale next weekend or next month and see if a different crowd shows up. It also helps to advertise the specific sizes in the newspaper, too (if you haven't already). Good luck!

 

[232271]

is there a kid's resale shop around you could sell them to?

i think it was just bad luck.
so if not, try again!

 

[sk!mom]

Have you thought about Ebay. The name brands that you have, especially Gymboree, sell well on Ebay if they are in good condition.

 

[Daydreamer64]

I never have any luck with heavy cloths unless we are selling fall and winter cloths in a fall yard sale. Everyone is looking for summer cloths for now. Save them and have another sale in the fall- works every time!

 

[Chim Chiminy]

I never am able to sell clothing at our yard sales! Frustrating.......

Now, I take everything and EBAY it, thanks to this board.

Make much more money off of items than I would at a yard sale.

 

[kilee]

You said you had them up to $4.00. I won't look at clothing over $1.00-- usually looking for it closer to $.25-$.50 at a yard sale. No it's not a lot of money-- but a yard sale is going to be the place you're going to gross the lowest. If you want more for them, then it's time to ebay or go to a consignment shop. Just my opinion from a die hard yard sale go-er.

 

[MrsPete]

I'm suprised! It sounds like you did everything right.

Did you have a good location? Good signs to direct people to your house? Was it a good weekend (i.e., first weekend of the month)?

Ebay is a good idea, though it's more work because you have to mail everything.

 

[always quiet]

I had a yard sale last weekend. I had lots of kids clothes...mostly Healthtex, all in good condition with no tears or stains. Had them priced for $1.00 if it was a 2 pc set, or .50 if it was only a shirt or pants. I sold not one outfit!! Yard sales for us seem to be hit or miss.

 

[Twirly41]

My mom and I just had a yard sale Saturday. Made about $85 but that included 2 big items that sold for $35 and $30. So on small items we only sold about $20. I really think it's a sign of how bad the economy is right now. People just don't have the extra money to spend on anything. We are going to try again this Saturday also. Hopefully with a lot of people getting paid at the end of the month, maybe we can get some more stuff sold. We really priced things really low but the crowds were just not there.

 

[Jana49]

If you had winter clothing, that's probably your problem. Most people won't buy kids' clothes off season.

Other than that, it sounds like you did everything right. Try it again some other weekend, and good luck!

 

[Abra Cat]

Thanks all, for the suggestions.

I never have any luck with heavy cloths unless we are selling fall and winter cloths in a fall yard sale. Everyone is looking for summer cloths for now. Save them and have another sale in the fall- works every time!

I had a mix of seasons, so if only the summer clothes sold, I could understand that!

You said you had them up to $4.00. I won't look at clothing over $1.00-- usually looking for it closer to $.25-$.50 at a yard sale. No it's not a lot of money-- but a yard sale is going to be the place you're going to gross the lowest. If you want more for them, then it's time to ebay or go to a consignment shop. Just my opinion from a die hard yard sale go-er.

I only had one item for $4, and only a couple $3 dresses; everything else was $1-$2. And the thing is, if anyone would have made a lower offer, I would have gone for it, but no one did. The extra money for our trip is nice, but I mostly wanted to get the stuff out of our house. What's funny is that we actually wound up selling a bunch of other stuff that we didn't expect to.

I'm suprised! It sounds like you did everything right. Did you have a good location? Good signs to direct people to your house? Was it a good weekend (i.e., first weekend of the month)?

Ebay is a good idea, though it's more work because you have to mail everything.

Our sale was part of our annual neighborhood yard sale, so there was quite a crowd, but obviously they weren't interested in kids clothes. I gave the clothes to charity— I'm too lazy to do another yard sale so soon, or Ebay.

 

[dizagain]

We had a sale on Saturday too! I really didn't have too much luck with my girls'clothes either. I have had great success in the past, so I am holding onto the nice stuff to try again in the fall. I do not price my stuff so low - I will not take $1 for a $75 dress! I usually mark two-piece Gymboree for $3, Ralph Lauren dresses for $4, Gap jeans for $3, etc. I have never had a problem getting it and plan on trying again! I know this past weekend that everyone who came had boys...not good for my toys sales either! It all depends on your crowd flow - it changes every time! Good luck trying again!

 

[DianeV]

Clothes and baby items are strange..you have to get the right people...I wouldnt price expensive clothes too cheap either.

Its funny because I will sell the no brand $.25 shirts and no one will buy the $2 Disney Store dress that is like new.

Sometimes it doesnt make sense at all

 

[Deb T.]

Hi Abra Cat,

Do you by chance live west of Raleigh? We also were part of a neighborhood sale last Saturday! Maybe we live in the same neighborhood! Anyway, I personally thought it was a very slow day. We've been participating in the neighborhood sale for five years, and this time we only had a fraction of the amount of people who usually stop in. I know it was graduation weekend, so that might be one reason why things were slower. We only made half of what I predicted. As far as clothes, I only had adult sizes, and everything was marked at a dollar. I also had a table of toys and two tables of miscellaneous stuff, plus three boxes of books and video tapes - most items were marked $0.10 - $0.50 and nothing was over $2.00. I definitely had everything priced to sell! However, by 10 a.m. I was handing out paper grocery sacks to the few people who came and said they could have anything they could fit in the bag for $5. Only four people took me up on that offer. I still ended up taking 9 full bags of stuff to Goodwill today. So, I don't think you did anything wrong - I honestly think it was just a bad weekend for garage sales. I wish us both better luck in the fall!

 

[Robinrs]

I do very well selling little girl's clothing on eBay that I buy from yard sales. eBay offers surfers a chance to look for exact sizes and styles while a yard sale depends upon someone who needs your exact size to show up.

Like my mailman said, it's like inviting a million people to your yard sale!

 

[ceecee]

I do a garage sale every year and have tons of stuff over $1.00. Most dresses I put $4.00 on, I had new with tags that I put more on. The only thing that didn't go were great winter coats! Most everything else sold. I made $1100.00 total last year (my mom and sister brought stuff too)! Had a few larger priced items....car seats, Little Tikes toys, etc.

 

[soccerchick]

I had a yard sale too this past Saturday...we cleared over $176 (didn't count the change) after our ad, poster board, etc.

I actually sold a lot of clothes at this one, but clothes are hit or miss for me too. We are getting our house cleaned out to put on the market next month, so I put out more clothes than I normally would and did sell quite a bit. However, I have done very well at 2 consignment sales this spring and will probably continue to do that instead of putting clothes out at yard sales. I just received a check for $92 and that was just my leftovers from a sale in March where I made over $200.

I personally don't like participating in neighborhood yard sales. Yes, you get lots of cars driving by, but I think there's too much competition to really get rid of your stuff. Our neighborhood had a sale the week before, but DH had to work so we couldn't do it. The advertising is cheap (or free) but I only made $80 at a previous community sale and had too much leftover. I prefer to go solo or with just one or two neighbors and buy an ad with some specifics listed. I also try to avoid weekends when I know some of the big developments will hold their community sales.


Hope you have a good sale if you try again this weekend!

 

[JerzeeGirl4Disney]

The only clothing I will sell at a yard sale are those items I would have donated to salvation army, church or whatever (bulk bag donations) The nicer clothing I sell on ebay and make a decent buck.

So for the yard sale clothing, what i'll do is throw the clothes by size in big rubbermaid bins a bin for each different size and gender. Then I have my shopping bags I save from grocery shopping and the gimmick is...Fill a bag for $3.00 Trust me this really works and you dont have to price anything or fold and present the clothes neatly, people love to rummage through to find the best clothing since its all the same price, its fun people love it and I sell out everytime!

We always have our yard sales in the fall-we make out so much better than during the spring and summer, now I have the same people coming back every year Columbus weekend looking for the clothes bins

 

[eljojo]

I think it's a sign of how good our economy is -liberal media only wants you to think it's bad, unemployment is low, inflation is low, new housing is highest it's been in years, travel industry (including WDW) is way up. Plus, people can afford to buy new stuff at discount stores like TJ Maxx, Gabe's etc. for a few dollars more than yard sale prices. We used to make $600-800 at our yard sales every year, but the past two years we only made $200. It's not worth the work any more.