Garage Sale Tips
- Thread starter CYdTracked
- Start date
The best thing we did was to use colored dot stickers versus pricing things individually (blue-$.50, green -$1, yellow - $2, red-$5, etc) and then put amounts on bigger ticket items. Then put up a chart detailing what the stickers represent. We got a lot less haggling that way for some reason.
If you're holding the sale during a hot day, sell some bottled water or soda or have kids do a lemonade stand.
If you're holding the sale during a hot day, sell some bottled water or soda or have kids do a lemonade stand.
If you itemize your deductions during tax season, you will generally be better off donating and taking the value deduction.
Amusing story.
Wife always had a garage sale. Subdivision organizer. For 15 years straight. One year she sold our French Maid outfits we both wore prior Halloween. Yes, I know. Anyway, small college in our town was having a costume party that night and two students (M/F) show up at Noon .... drunk. Had just clipped a car in our subdivision and drove off to our place probably not even knowing. So they buy the costumes, go to the car, change into them ... and the cops show up. Get them out of the car and handcuff both of them. Off they go to booking. Imagine the call to the parents. Ahhhh youth.
Wife always had a garage sale. Subdivision organizer. For 15 years straight. One year she sold our French Maid outfits we both wore prior Halloween. Yes, I know. Anyway, small college in our town was having a costume party that night and two students (M/F) show up at Noon .... drunk. Had just clipped a car in our subdivision and drove off to our place probably not even knowing. So they buy the costumes, go to the car, change into them ... and the cops show up. Get them out of the car and handcuff both of them. Off they go to booking. Imagine the call to the parents. Ahhhh youth.
My only advice is to do anything else other than this on a weekend.
On a side note, I’ve always been amazed at why anyone, ever, would buy new clothing for a child age 0-12 years old. You can literally purchase enough barely used clothing at garage sales for under $50 to clothe your child until they are a teenager.
On a side note, I’ve always been amazed at why anyone, ever, would buy new clothing for a child age 0-12 years old. You can literally purchase enough barely used clothing at garage sales for under $50 to clothe your child until they are a teenager.
Price everything cheaper than what you think it's worth. If somebody offers a little less? Sold. Day two slash all prices fifty percent. What doesn't sell goes to the curb for the scavengers. Also, call the local Christian radio station and put out an add for baby clothes. All of the moms and grandma's with pregnant teenage girls in their household will swarm to your sale.
Box up all the kids clothes, small toys, and books and take them to a kids resale place like Once Upon a Child. If you really want to, take the stuff they don't buy from you to another reseller.
List any big ticket items on Facebook Market.
Goodwill the rest. Garage sales aren't woth the hours.
List any big ticket items on Facebook Market.
Goodwill the rest. Garage sales aren't woth the hours.
When possible, I enjoy listing big items for free on Facebook. While some people are resellers, most are really excited to get and use the stuff. Makes me feel good.
We do this for our 3. They’ll get new clothes but pretty much only for holidays or off the sale rack (wife can sniff out deals from a mile away). Most of it comes from Duckworth in Ankeny and when they’re done with it, it goes back to Duckworth for resale. Duckworth is great because they don’t take any crappy/dirty clothes or toys.
Another option for donating clothes is to your local elementary school. We just went through KG round up and they said they’re running short on their stash for when kids have accidents or need a different outfit for whatever reason.
Most stuff I just take to Goodwill. It's 5 minutes down the road and a lot less work. Plus, my neighborhood is full of moms who but embroidered designer clothes for infants, so the Target and Wally World clothes we bought for our kids wouldn't sell anyway.
On the flip side, our neighborhood has a yearly yard sale. Picked up a great secretary's desk for like $100 from a lady who was downsizing.
Agree on putting your QR code for venmo out front.
On the flip side, our neighborhood has a yearly yard sale. Picked up a great secretary's desk for like $100 from a lady who was downsizing.
Agree on putting your QR code for venmo out front.
So my thoughts after about 1.5+ garage sale this weekend:
- Glad I had a neighbor that has done this about every year not only to see how they price and organize stuff but it just made the time go by faster having someone to talk with.
- I'm amazed at how some people will haggle over things priced for $1 or less. Unless they bring a whole pile of clothes or stuff to by you can't tell me that something I have $1 on that probably cost me at least $10-20 new need another 50 cents off. If someone brought a pile of clothes that had a few more than 10 items and offered me $10 for all I took it but wasn't going to play the game of "you have this priced for 50 cents, will you take 25 cents" game if that is all they were looking for.
- I have a few clothing items like coats and ISU branded stuff that I did prices for like $3-5 depending on what it was. All the clothing I had on the sale was newborn to 5T in size and mostly girls or neutral colored stuff and thought for sure all the ISU stuff would be gone quick but most of it wound up coming home. Didn't even have someone ask if I would take less. Maybe didn't have enough Cyclone fans come through?
- Having shade on a hot weekend like today is a must. Setup my 10 x 10 tailgate tent just outside of the garage and we all agreed we were glad to have it
- Some people have the weirdest taste in items, things you thought would not sell went faster than you thought and other things you thought would go fast you had to knock more off the asking pricing or didn't sell or get any interest in.
- Little kids that come with some coins and wanted to buy something tugs at your heart even if they are around the same age as your own kids. If they brought some toy and was just short I wasn't going to tell some kid he didn't have a dollar to pay for it I just said how about I take 50 cents and you keep the rest to buy something else today. I don't doubt some probably do this intentionally at every sale but I'm not going to tell a kid he/she doesn't have enough for something I am just going to give away later if it doesn't sell.
In all came away with about $200 from the sale and sold all but 1 of the big items I had that was taking up space in the house and maybe came back with half or a little less than I brought for clothes and toys so I call that a success. Have 2 big tubs of stuff to take somewhere to donate now and 1 kids desk that I couldn't even get an offer on that I will try to sell on FB marketplace as it goes for $100 new so I was shocked I couldn't even muster an offer out of someone while stuff I had some kids picnic table I had priced about the same sold within the 1st hour.
- Glad I had a neighbor that has done this about every year not only to see how they price and organize stuff but it just made the time go by faster having someone to talk with.
- I'm amazed at how some people will haggle over things priced for $1 or less. Unless they bring a whole pile of clothes or stuff to by you can't tell me that something I have $1 on that probably cost me at least $10-20 new need another 50 cents off. If someone brought a pile of clothes that had a few more than 10 items and offered me $10 for all I took it but wasn't going to play the game of "you have this priced for 50 cents, will you take 25 cents" game if that is all they were looking for.
- I have a few clothing items like coats and ISU branded stuff that I did prices for like $3-5 depending on what it was. All the clothing I had on the sale was newborn to 5T in size and mostly girls or neutral colored stuff and thought for sure all the ISU stuff would be gone quick but most of it wound up coming home. Didn't even have someone ask if I would take less. Maybe didn't have enough Cyclone fans come through?
- Having shade on a hot weekend like today is a must. Setup my 10 x 10 tailgate tent just outside of the garage and we all agreed we were glad to have it
- Some people have the weirdest taste in items, things you thought would not sell went faster than you thought and other things you thought would go fast you had to knock more off the asking pricing or didn't sell or get any interest in.
- Little kids that come with some coins and wanted to buy something tugs at your heart even if they are around the same age as your own kids. If they brought some toy and was just short I wasn't going to tell some kid he didn't have a dollar to pay for it I just said how about I take 50 cents and you keep the rest to buy something else today. I don't doubt some probably do this intentionally at every sale but I'm not going to tell a kid he/she doesn't have enough for something I am just going to give away later if it doesn't sell.
In all came away with about $200 from the sale and sold all but 1 of the big items I had that was taking up space in the house and maybe came back with half or a little less than I brought for clothes and toys so I call that a success. Have 2 big tubs of stuff to take somewhere to donate now and 1 kids desk that I couldn't even get an offer on that I will try to sell on FB marketplace as it goes for $100 new so I was shocked I couldn't even muster an offer out of someone while stuff I had some kids picnic table I had priced about the same sold within the 1st hour.
