Garage Sale Tips Please!

My kids clothes sold well, adult clothes not so much. It was hot weather & people wouldn't even look at a sweater or coat, they were more interested in summer clothes. Baby items moved well and toys and books flew out of there. I also sold alot of my ex husbands tools. I kept my stuff organized as you said. You never know what someone is looking for so stuff you wouldn't think of may move fast.

Be ready early, because people will be there an hour before you're ready, to get the best stuff. Very annoying. Also for some reason no one wants to pay the price listed on the item, you are expected to bargain. It's a quarter people, lighten up. Good luck Jenay, take a valium that morning or drink wine during the day.

Bless your heart. I hate yard sales, but for some unknown reason Mr. dbuck likes to have one once a year, maybe it's all that extra golf equip, he needs to get rid of. Anyway, I have found that if you are thinking about throwing it away . . . then it will sell. The good stuff will sometimes sit longer than anything. My observance is that people just love going thru boxes. If you will put several things in a box, put $5 on the box, they think they are getting a bargain. People do love baby stuff. I still remember the sale when I sold all the baby stuff, high chairs, walkers, etc, kind of sad. Kids bluejeans sell very well. Best of all . . . there is a lady here in town, that I always call when I have a yard sale because after the sale she will come and take everything that didn't sell away, that way you don't have to find a home for it AGAIN. Maybe you have someone like that in Louisville.

Good Luck.

Ditto what cheering said. Departments work great.

Why don't you mark your stuff a little higher so you'll get what you want for it but they think they're getting a bargain after they haggle with you

And watch your more expensive small items (jewelry, etc.) they will be shoplifted before you know it. Sad but true.

you see what you do is get all your old s"it and put it on a blanket in the middle of the driveway. when the stuff is nicely displayed nobody wants it. let kate make a sign and put it at the end of your street. sit kate outside with a jar for all the money she is going to collect. everyone will give her money b/c they think it is so cute she is having a yard sale. they key is to not put prices. people will give her way more that what the stuff is worth b/c you have a cute little girl sitting out there. when the sale is over take the blanket with the remaining collectables and store them in the storage container at the end of the driveway.

p.s. you could also dress up darg vadar and let him dance up and down the street to pull more people in.

We had one last fall before we moved.
I am like Dbuck, I hate and detest having a garage sale, but sometimes you just have to.
One thing I learned:
People will buy anything! ANYthing! If you don't want it, put a sticker on it for a quarter or fifty cents and it will suddenly become sold merchandise.
I agree with Dbuck about the Boxes for Browsing.
We had a lot of plants for sale and they all went, as did CDs and videogames.
And early birds really do come annoyingly EARLY because they want first dibs.
Make sure you have plenty of dollars and quarters.

As previous posters have said, put out all your junk. We have found that tattered towels sell like hotcakes, while nice stuff just sits there. At our first garage sale a black velvet blanket with pictures of buffalo, that you hang on the wall, that my husband's brother had given him, actually incited a fight between two buyers. I couldn't believe it.

A friend told me to put out my never used makeup items that come with the gift with purchase...like all the stuff from Clinique that I had in a basket and won't ever use....I put $1 each on all and I sold so much of that it blew my mind.

Wow- a lot of "who would have thunk it" here--thanks you guys!! I have been downstairs all morning pricing stuff. I may need to re-price some items- I'm too cheap!


J-funn gets "Most creative yard sale idea" award.

FTLOG, a garage sale in this heat? It is 105 here everyday! Good luck jdarg.

Oh I forgot . . . old bed linens, bedspreads, and drapes (if they match), but I was really surprised that the bed sheets were such a hot item. Go figure.

FTLOG, a garage sale in this heat? It is 105 here everyday! Good luck jdarg.

I don't think it will be that hot here! If it is, I'm gonna set my table up in the middle of a kiddie pool, with my "recycled" beach umbrella providing shade.

jdarg my forecast calls for a chance of rain and storms Saturday. Can you have it in the garage?

jdarg my forecast calls for a chance of rain and storms Saturday. Can you have it in the garage?

I'm gonna now. Possibly- if every waterproof can be outside (like sleds, yard equipment, etc.) Dammit.

Well you know how things are here, it's calling for a chance of rain Friday and Saturday. We could get snow for all the accuracy we have in forecasts.

Are you going to put an ad in the paper? I remember when Alex was little, my friend told me about a garage sale in her neighborhood I checked the ad they'd put in the newspaper, and one of the items listed was Brio. I called the people up and bought every last bit of it before the garage sale even happened! If you have any big ticket things like that, you might want to think about an ad. It will draw people in.

Put a price on everything. Yes, it's a pain in the neck but some people are really shy about asking the price of anything and if they don't see a price marked, they'll pass it by. Your goal is to get rid of your extra stuff, so make it easy for everyone.

Do you have any sawhorses and old doors or big sheets of plywood to make makeshift tables? Better than laying things on the ground.

I can't stress enough how important it is to have twice as much loose change and small bills as you think you will need. Twice as much. At least.

I sold all the make-up bags that come with the cosmetics like Clinique, like Tamara. People scarfed those up. You know what else people bought? Cards. We had a ton of cards from all the times we've donated to different charities, and I marked them all 10 cents a piece and they disappeared in no time flat. Go figure that one out!

Face the fact that this garage sale is going to wipe you out, first in the preparation for it, then in the aftermath of dealing with all the bargain hunters out there. Have your kitchen well-stocked with wine and goodies because you will need it to recover. And have the pizza delivered that night.

Hey I even had people buy partially used Yankee candles (fragrances I didn't care for) for .50 each! People also bought old, but clean, bathroom rugs. I never thought these things would've sold.

But I've found people do not want old computer monitors or printers, since new ones are practically disposable now. Other than baby clothes, clothes don't sell well around here.

Also, like others have said, books, dvd's, videos and video games sell fast.

If you have enough table surfaces, you could categorize them by prices. Like everything on this table is $5, or this table is .75, etc. But you would have to have enough space and surface to do that. It saves you time.

Advertise on www.craigslist.com It's free and I had young professionals respond to some unique items.

And what you don't sell and don't want to keep, contact the American Cancer Society - - they will take it all.

Good luck.

Jenay I am available if you need any help before or during the big sale event. Give me a call, I'll be there.

Mermy is right, have lots of change and then some. Park a car out of the driveway so someone can run out if need be. Besides it makes people think someone is buying all your stuff and they need to hurry over and get it before anyone else does.

Besides it makes people think someone is buying all your stuff and they need to hurry over and get it before anyone else does.

That cracks me up. And talk about sneaky ingenious!

That cracks me up. And talk about sneaky ingenious!

It'll work I promise. She needs fake shoppers to mingle around her tables. I volunteer for that, just keep the margaritas flowing I'll mingle till I drop.

It'll work I promise. She needs fake shoppers to mingle around her tables. I volunteer for that, just keep the margaritas flowing I'll mingle till I drop.

Wow- you can handle margaritas at 8 am???? You are a PROFESSIONAL!!!:clap_1:

Actually, I just conducted a little pre-sale with a couple that I know that has 2 flea market booths. They were here for an hour. They bought a fair amount, but not enough to give me any more space!!!!

Free Donuts and refreshments are a MUST!!!!!!!!!!!


With purchase of course......;-)

Take it easy on yourself - don't overorganize.

Maybe group some stuff but don't worry too much about that. Just get it out there in plain sight. We've used the lip of the opened garage door to hang clothes on. Here in TX clothes sell well - t-shirts, jeans, shorts (That's not been the case in some other places I've lived.)

I say don't price too high. People go to garage sales for bargains and will stop looking if they think things are priced high. It will be funn when it's done and you count your cash. It's always amazing how much you can make on your junk!

If the weather is hot let the kids sell popsicles. They're a hit!

.

Make sure everything you put in the sale is clean. It is a good idea to run all you can through the dishwasher to give it that extra sparkle.

We are lucky here. There is a lady that will take all of your "stuff" to sell and for 30% of the final total, she will do all of the pricing, working, selling and cleaning for you! All you have to do is gather everything for her to sell!