Any advice for someone planning her first yard sale? For instance is it better

[snagglepuss]

to price each item or ask people what they think is a fair. I've read both points of view on line so I'm wondering if anyone here, whether as a buyer or seller, has yard sale experiences they like to share. I'm all ears.

[NightWatcher]

1. Price it 25% higher than you think it should be

That way, when people talk you down 25% you still come out on top. I love when people try to negotiate on something that you are practically giving away.

[snagglepuss]

2. Pricing high to offset inevitable negotiatation is probably a good idea.

i'm just worried someone might look at the price and walk away.

[OriginalGeek]

6. My father-in-law probably visited thousands of yard sales in his time

My wife used to complain all the time because he'd go almost every weekend and bring back the most useless junk you can imagine and then get mad at her because he would try to give it to her and she didn't want it. Dirty dishes, kid's toys (even after our kids were grown), tools we didn't even know what they were for, broken furniture...but man he loved going and didn't stop until his physical ailments wouldn't let him get out of bed any more.

And if you had something priced for a quarter he'd offer you a dime and be willing to pay 15 cents. If you wouldn't budge from asking price you were a "Sorry sunnuvvabitch who must not want to sell nothin". But if you dealt with him and even if you got more than he offered as long it was less than sticker you were a "Good man".

I think he pretty much saw the entire world as either sorry sunnuvvabitches or good men.

[LynneSin]

3. When people are buying at yard sales, they feel better about themselves when they negotiated

and can brag to their friends how they talked the price down to a lower price.

So make your prices a bit above what you want to get for it so you can give folks the thrill of negotiating.

[Mr.Bill]

4. Put prices on the item

but put up a large sign saying Make Offer On Any Item. Some people are shy about negotiating, some thrive on it. This way you have both ends covered. You can always say a price is firm, or tell them to check back later when you may be lowering prices if the item is still there.

If you advertise in the newspaper or online say it is your first garage sale ever. Believe it or not, there are pros who do nothing but shop yard sales and resell. They pounce on unseen/fresh merchandise. They will be there in the first hour you open. Expect them to male lowball offers, but they do come to buy.

Another tip is to say No Earlybirds in your ads. This eliminates the annoyance of people knocking on your door before you open (no matter how early you open) or even the days before the sale.

[snagglepuss]

8. thanks

[Ahpook]

9. Good advice

You can count on people showing up earlier than the listed starting time though. List a starting time of 8am and you'll have people there at 6:30 or 7

[riderinthestorm]

12. +1. This is good advice. Count on customers being there at 6:30 am regardless of your start time nt

[geardaddy]

5. Make sure to spell the sign correctly!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1018637637

[Kali]

28. BWA!!!!

thanks for that link, missed it earlier

[sammytko]

7. Give yourself plenty of time to get organized

Have help. Have lots of change, small bills and coins. Keep an eye on your money. Someone will try to walk off with something. If you are concerned about that, keep small items close to your table.

Have a table for your supplies, pens, plastic bags, hangers, water, trash can. Be comfortable.

I like to price everything. Remember this is used stuff, so price accordingly. Visit other yard sales to get ideas. Kids stuff sells faster.

If there is stuff you just want to get rid of, have a free box.

[snagglepuss]

10. Good suggestions. Thanks.

[Baitball Blogger]

11. Depends on where you live.

If you have a good prospect base, which is a lot of people who need to shop garage sales, I would keep the prices down to move. Sometimes, it's the price that does your talking for you.

Though, don't go by me. Based on my own advice, we moved a lot of items during our garage sale, but didn't make any money.

[rug]

13. The one and only yard sale I had, someone asked who was being evicted.

Be neat.

[HeiressofBickworth]

14. And a safety note

do not allow anyone inside your house -- even if they say they just want to use the bathroom. You can't watch them all the time, and this is how things are lost either from the house or from an unwatched sale. It is also how more disreputable people case houses for later burglaries. You can direct people to a more public restroom nearby (like the corner grocery or gas station).

[snagglepuss]

25. I suppose directing people to the neighbor's Forsytia bush wouldn't pass muster:)

I not so trusting as to let anyone in. Very scary.

[HeiressofBickworth]

26. Depends on the neighbor and the location of the bush!!

Out of town and behind the house would work just fine.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

29. I was wondering where that pile of muster came from.

The neighbor's cat isn't that big.

[whistler162]

15. Pre-cut and roll the grass before

you sell it. Takes to much time to cut and then roll it once you sell the yard.

[snagglepuss]

21. .

[libodem]

16. My friend does ebay

And garage sales are her bread and butter. I used to go quite a bit but I collect the junk I find and I have no more room.

If you can find tables to it is off the ground and laid out I find that better. And do price stuff. Masking tape pulls off nicely. Man some stickers are a drag to get off. You have to resort to Pam or goo-begone when Awesome won't work. Oh yeah its nice if the stuff is clean, too.

I've been to some were they just threw a bunch of toys on one blanket and the clothing on another. No prices. Yuck.

I hate to dig through boxes. But, obviously I have.

I really don't like the no price just ask approach. I feel like the seller knows you want it once you pick it up so they can charge you more.

Best of luck.

[snagglepuss]

22. "I hate to dig through boxes. But, obviously I have."

ditto. Finding tables will be a nuisance but I think your right that tabls make for a much better experience.

[Lars39]

17. Sell cans or bottles of soda from an icy cooler.

You can make a steady little profit if the weather is pretty hot.

[snagglepuss]

23. Hmmm.

Good idea. Thanks

[sharp_stick]

35. My kids sold lemonade

at our garage sale two years ago and made a killing. My wife wouldn't let me take a distributer cut even though I bought the stuff and helped make it.

After that two neighbors had garage sales and asked my kids to sell lemonade at those too, people really seemed to enjoy it.

[seaglass]

18. Good luck. I had my 2nd and last yard sale 2 weeks ago, it was a horrendous experience.

We priced as much as we could beforehand but it got to be too much work so we did put us signs for like items (for example all lamps were x price). We priced stuff very low but the people who showed up wanted stuff even cheaper. Yuck. I wish I had just donated all the stuff it was so not worth it. If you have any emotional attachment to the items you are selling it is very hard.

This is what I used to establish pricing:

http://www.garagesalestracker.com/garage-sales-guide-pricing.asp

[snagglepuss]

24. I've been selling some stuff on craigslist and the other day someone wanted me to

drop the price from 10 to 5 for a very nice Samsonite backpack that was practically new. I think my expression alone told her that she was nuts to think I would sell for 5. She did a whole routine of handing me back the pack and walking away only at that point to relent and angrily hand me over 10. I'd rather drag stuff to Goodwill than to give into to people who expect to pay next to nothing. I suppose it might be diifferent at a yard sale. I really appreciate that link. Thanks.

[Skittles]

19. use that sign OUR CRAP COULD BE YOUR CRAP!!!

posted recently here on DU

[MineralMan]

20. Here's a tip: Price stuff low and accept any offer.

If you're selling stuff at a garage sale, it's probably stuff you don't want and don't need any longer. So, what you get for it is free money, most of the time. My goal at every garage sale I do is to unload the junk and get some cash. I put low, fair prices on items, and then sell them for what is offered. The result is an empty driveway and cash in my pocket.

My last garage sale netted over $900, and I got to clean my house and garage of stuff I hadn't used in over a year. Good riddance to it all, and the cash paid my property tax payment. Good news all around.

Make your goal an empty driveway and sell your stuff as quickly as you can. It works.

[herding cats]

27. I imagine you're deep into the process at this point.

The only advice I have for you is keep a good attitude. Some of the patrons will be, not so pleasant to deal with, to put it kindly.

In the future I have advice for you. As you remove things from your home to make room for other things to your garage, or whatever storage place you use, put a price on them. That's some really good advice I recently got myself. I also tend to sell at a higher price (25% of my marked price) on my first day and then 50% on what's left the second day. Hopefully there's not much left by day two.

If you know of a charity that will pick up what's left when your done, have their number on had when your finished. It's both a good feeling to give it to a charity, and it rids you of the unwanted items left over.

My last garage sale was in October of last year when I moved. I had a bunch of "junk" I would have no place to fit into the place I was moving into and I needed some money. I made over $1,000 in a day and a half. It was worth the effort when everything was said and done.

Best of luck to you!

[orleans]

30. sundays suck. i made five dollars one sunday. & that was all!

good luck.

[snagglepuss]

31. Who'd have thunk that? Would you recommend Saturdays?

[orleans]

33. my neighbor does them on thursdays, fridays, & saturdays

she does really well on thursdays & fridays

[snagglepuss]

34. Hmm. Thursday and Fridays. I hadn't thought of weekdays

but given the lack of competing yard sales those days I can see why they would work. Thanks.

[magical thyme]

32. definitely put prices on the items

As I buyer, I really resent being put on the spot and asked what I think is "fair." It's your stuff and it's your sale. It's your job to determine how much you want for it, the bottom you'll take, and price accordingly.

I held a couple yard sales a few years back to bring in extra cash when I was scraping the bottom of the couches, pockets, etc.

My last yard sale, 2 well-off looking mothers with 2 teenage daughters drove up in a shiny white new SUV. While the mothers distracted me, the teens made off with some costume jewelry. That was the end for me. I'd run out of decent stuff to sell, I'd sold something that I regretted later (and do to this day) and I was robbed. Just be wary of groups of people that split up, with one pair showing noisy, distracting interest in something that doesn't fit. "Oooooh!!!! Tooools!!!!!" didn't make sense as they were driving away...

[begin_within]

36. The people that shop at yard sales...

...are looking to get stuff for nothing, or just a token amount, a dollar or two. They are hard core bargain hunters. The are looking for value and want it for nothing. Personally I use those neighborhood-wide yard sale days as a way to get rid of stuff I don't want, and I just put a sign that says, "Free." People will take anything that is free. I've been amazed. If you can't bear to give stuff away, just mark everything $1 or at most $2. That way you can still get rid of stuff you don’t want, but also make $50 or maybe $100 in the process as a side benefit. If you look at a yard sale as a profit-making event you're likely to be disappointed in the day. If you have some item that really does have substantial value, i don't think a yard sale is the best way to sell it because these are not people willing to pay fair market value for it. And the chances of someone coming by who really wanted that particular item are slim. For items of value I would consider using eBay, Craigslist, etc. but as a way to simply get rid of unwanted stuff a yard sale can be fun and you can end up with some pocket change.