I’m planning on having a really big yard sale in a couple of weeks and it’s been years since I’ve done this. Mainly it’s a bunch of bric-a-brac and glasses and plates and ‘junk’ and extra towels and the like. I’m trying to remember the dos and don’ts of these things.
I’ve decided not to advertise it until that morning, when I’ll put up signs (I live on a cul-de-sac in a relatively well trafficked part of town so I think the driveby traffic will be sufficient). The reason for this is that I’m not an early riser by nature (as in 8 a.m. is ridiculously early for me to wake up on an off-day) and in years past if I advertised a yard sale from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm I had people stopping by at 6:30 a.m. when I was still asleep. Also I like to have them slightly later so that people can get the 6 a.m. sales out of their system.
The main things I can’t stand at yard sales are:
—Unmarked prices- I can’t stand the “make an offer” or “how’s $3 sound” yard sales- I hate the feeling of "if I’d seemed less interested she’d probably have said $10 instead of $20 so I like to know how much it is up front.
—Ridiculous prices- this is a yard sale, not a flea market and not a consignment shop, things should be priced to move. I don’t care if you paid $7 for this in the store 10 years ago, it’s worth a quarter now; I don’t care if that was a $500 sofa, you’ve had it for 10 years, I’ll give you $25 for it. I don’t care if your grandpa carved that ashtray for your grandma out of the skull of a dead Kraut at the battle of Verdun, if it had that much sentimental value you wouldn’t be selling it, I’ll give you $3.
So, price things visibly and to move. Any other suggestions or just random yard sale likes/dislikes/observations you’d like to share?
You nailed my two big ones, 1) no prices (I’ll even take ‘$1-5’ tables or bins), and 2) People out of touch with reality and how cheap things have truly become.
On the other hand, they always say not to give stuff for free or price it too cheaply, as people will perceive it as worthless. If you’re up for bargaining (which tends to work best if you only do it for multiple-item sales, if getting rid of stuff is your main goal), add a buck or two to your ideal price.
Clothing, well, it never sells well, so put it all at .25 and hopefully it will go. It never ceases to amaze me the price people put on out dated clothing.
If you have a buttload of books, which rarely sell well ( esp if they are older.) consider doing a " All you can cram into a grocery bag for $2" kinda deal. I fyou have newer titles, then you can set them out with stickers at the price you think you will get for them.
Encourage Early Birds. You will sell most of your stuff in the first 3 hours of a garage sale.
If you have anything of a particular interest, put it on the sign: Tools or Sporting Goods or Camping Stuff or ( I know this doesn’t apply to you) Baby Items. ALWAYS help.
Personally, I’ve always felt advertising on the signs a " Everything Under a Buck or two Bucks, Chuck" kinda sale would bring in EVERYONE and possibly induce some kind of feeding frenzy.
You can either get rid of your stuff or make money. Pick one.
Make sure your grass is mowed. I don’t want to pick up ticks while wandering through an urban jungle.
As much as possible, have stuff relatively visible from the road, especially the good stuff. I cruise but rarely stop unless I see something that catches my eye.
Group like object together.
Good luck. I’d rather donate than watch people paw through my stuff.
My biggest pet peeve is people who don’t use tables, but throw a pile of clothes and other junk on blankets on the ground. Also, sort. if I’m looking for a puzzle, say, I don’t want to have to sort through piles of clothes. I also agree with the OP ones, but when we had them we started early and blocked off the driveway to avoid early birds. (Or put the prices out last and charged them a premium.)
Price everything in multiples of 25 cents. That way, all the change you’ll need is quarters. If it’s not worth 25 cents, make a ‘free’ box or put multiple items together in a clear plastic bag.
It’s good to put an ad on Craigslist with a brief list of big items for people looking for specific stuff (e.g. cribs, sofas, lawn mowers). If you want to avoid early birds, just write the ad in advance and post it immediately before you start the sale. It takes about 30 seconds to do.
Have old grocery bags for people to put their stuff in if they buy a bunch of small things.
Put big arrows on the signs pointing which way to go. Not everybody has a map or knows your street, so it’s easiest if people just follow your bright yellow signs.
Resist the urge to cut price or early-birds. OTO, dont resist cuting those same prices f latecomers. Thedifference being you have chance to seel it to those inbetween a"full" price.
I know that a cooler full of soft drinks priced at a modest mark-up can bring in more sales. I bought them @ 1.49 a six pack, sold them at 50cents each.
I see entirely too much broken shit at garage sales. Don’t do that.
I know this doesn’t apply to you, but if I see kids’ toys and clothes at a garage sale, I won’t look at anything. I would make kids’ stuff a separate sale altogether. It draws an entirely different crowd.
If you have “GUY STUFF”, advertise that on your signs. My husband won’t cruise a garage sale unless he KNOWS there are tools or wood scraps or something he’s actually interested in.
If you happen to be selling old LP records keep them out of the sun.
If you want to sell anything electric, make sure there is an extension cord hooked up so people can tell it works. If it’s a TV or stereo you might just leave it running all day.
If you have kids participating in the sale, a good idea is to fill a cooler with ice and let them sell cans of soda for $1.
I will also second pullin’s observation that you can not leave the cash box unguarded even for a moment. Best is to keep the money on your person and when you make a big sale take the extra money in the house while someone else watches the goods. It’s sad but true that some people will steal and even shoplift from a yard sale.
don’t hold anything for someone who’ll be back later.
we did that once - a good quality dog crate. one customer asked us to hold it for her until she came back in the afternoon.
when she came back, she expected to get it for half price, “since it obviously hasn’t sold.” well, that’s because we were holding it for you…
ultimately, I told her that rather than sell it to her for half price, I’d take it back into the house and let it collect dust. she got quite angry, went to her truck and drove around the block, then paid full price.
not worth the hassle. no holds on any merchandise.
The proper reply to “can you hold this for me?” is “I dunno, this other guy said he’d be back in (look at watch) twenty minutes. Do you want it, or not?”
Your sign says “yard sale” or “garage sale.” So have a price ready when some smart alec asks “how much for the yard?” One couple I knew said, “$56,000 for the garage, but the house is free.”
If you are selling something you originally bought from an infomercial, have a spiel ready. “Fifty-nine cents, but wait! If you buy right now, we’ll throw in this set of eternally sharp steak knives! Operators are standing by!”
This happened to me so much that by the end I had lost my patience: Don’t haggle me if the price is insanely low to begin with.
Really? You’re offering me five cents for that French Press I priced at TEN CENTS? If you don’t get the fuck out of here in the next ten fucking seconds I’m going to beat you to fucking death to the soothing sounds of this 25 cent rainstick.
There was a story in Reader’s Digest a few years back (one of the “Life in these U.S.” or whatever columns) which while I don’t know how true it was I have no problem imagining it happening. A woman is having a yard sale and a lady asks her “Will you take fifty-cents for this [widget]?” The woman says “Yes I will, but it’s already priced at twenty-five cents- it’s in the quarter box.” The customer then says “Oooh… I thought it was in the dollar box… will you take fifteen cents for it?”
