It's that time! Get your clutter cleared out and make some money!

Do you have a strategy for pricing the items you want to sell? Let's help new yard salers with some tips.

Last weekend, we went to a yard sale, friends are moving. They didnt price anything. I found that really hard. I like to know the price people are asking. At this sale, the DH wuld give one price and the DW a different price. I paid $6 for 6 doz canning jars and two metal tool chest, the husbands price. Then I found a cookbook and a wooden sunflower. The wife wanted $2 for them. So my advice is set a price either on items or a sign giveing a general price for books, clothes, kitchen items. Babs

We had a few "blow out" sales when we moved last summer.  We literally sold our entire house.  Lots of work.  This is what I did:

 Furniture and decorative items were staged.  I set them up out on the lawn to look like outdoor rooms.  I had several people comment on how neat that was and it definitely encouraged people to hang around and check stuff out.  I priced things to MoVe, so larger items were individually marked and smaller "like" items (picture frames, vases, knick knacks) were all the same price for each.

Ziploc odd and end items up, staple the tops shut and sell for one price.  No opening up and rooting around allowed.  Examples would include bags of fabric scraps, kitchen gadgets, garage odd/ends, gardening supplies, small kids toys, socks/undies.  Things don't tend to get feet and "walk" that way either, especially little items.

 Books/Videos/DVD's should be the same price for all.  Don't bother individually pricing them, if they are the same price then people tend to buy more.  Also, think about things like, "buy 4, get the 5th free", especially with books. 

 Clothing, espeically kids stuff, price low!  I would sell kids stuff for a quarter a piece.  Nicer items such as dresses, jackets, etc for kids hang on hangers and price individually.  Let people see how nice they are and include the hanger for free, always a nice selling point.

The last hour or so of my sale, I would sell a bag for a set price and then tell people they could fill it.  Kinda like a rummage sale.  Pull out anything you don't want included.  I would do this only if I was ready to haul it off to Goodwill, not if I was planning on having another sale and including remaining items. 

I have been donating a ton, there are some things I may want to try to garage sale this spring/summer. If so I will organize things by price on tables and bins, etc. and color code stickers from the dollar store. This works out very well.

$1 box, $5 table, things with set prices, color code stickers and so on

we donate to the church store  I  still go to yard sale around  usually one of the girls was at the sale and call me about something .. Last week Em and John were at a sale and found cowboy boots I brought 4 pairs almost new Frank is thrilled he loves them .,  I usually go to a few sales .. the Church sales usually we get a call the night before and we can go then and the DSS does one for Foster kids we give them things and buy alot we support Fostering completely . The Juniors and Senors have a sale soon to raise money  and yes we support 125%  but mostly we dontae to the church store  12 of us started it almost 30 years ago down to 4 of us know 1 in the nursing home  1 in Florida just my Friend Michele and me left she is there 3 days a week and I spilt my time between it and the food Bank .. Life is good.

The last few times I had yard sales, I made sure my prices were lower than the local thrift stores. There weren't many yard sales around to compare to so that seemed a fair standard.

We found it easier to set prices by category like t-shirts for .50 and books for .25. Large items or special items like a nice dress were priced individually.

 I usually donate items. I give things away on my local freecycle group and through craigslist.

 

When I buy something from a thrift store, I usually come home and check the price for a like new item Online. I've found that for general merchandise in very good condition, 1/10 of full retail is a good figure. Of course, some items would be priced differently. I wouldn't go over a dollar for a hardcover book or 50 cents for softcover. DVDs I would price individually since the title of the movie really makes a difference. I don't really hve many garage sales. I prefer to donate to thrift stores. Good luck with your sale!