Do any of you have any special tactics on yard sale pricing? Do you price at a percentage of the cost new and do you price the items with tags or talk your way through it? What works best for you?
Our garage/yard sale was today. This was a multiple family sale, between myself, my sister, and the neighbor. Some items were marked and some were make an offer, and some prices were mentioned as each person touched the item are gave it the special eye. The purpose of our sale was to get rid of unused items, however, to make enough money to warrant sitting outside in 98 degree heat. We were open from 7 til 3 p.m. and my driveway made $568.00! We offered the baby clothes for $0.25, which I probably only sold about 7 items, DVD's for $1 to $2, an entire collection of American girl for $85. My brother in law spelled the street wrong, so we may have had even more traffic, however, we were happy with getting rid of a lot of unnecessary stuff and making a bit of money. As well, the kids purchased each others things from across the street. All in all, we had a great time haggling price and making fun of a long day.
Definitely put prices on everything. People hate asking.
I won't buy stuff because of that.
Make everything cheap. Garage sales are to "move" everything
not to make a "mint".
Price to sell: mags 25 or 50 cents, books $1 etc. Be prepared to make a deal, have signs, get a lot of change from the bank. Oh and be ready early. People come crazy early. Ugh. : ) Good luck!
Definitely put a price on it but be prepared for the haggling. I priced things lower than I really wanted, but I also didn't want to bring the stuff that didn't sell back into the house. Example: Books~3 for $1; Baby Swing~$15 or $20; Coffee Table~$15. Good luck!
Good question. It depends on a few things.
1.What's your goal, to make money, just get rid of the stuff, or a combination?
2. What's the going price?
3. What's the condition of the item?
Here's a few of the prices in our area...
paper back books $.25 or $.50
hardcover books $.50 to $1.00
children's books - the paperback toddler type $.10 to $.25, paperbacks or board books $.25, hardcover $.50
video tapes $1
DVD's $2 to $3
adult clothing $.25 to $50 for t-shirts, shorts, jeans - sweatshirts $.50 to $2.00 - jackets up to $8 depending on type, brand, etc (note: adult clothing usually does not sell well)
beanie babies $1
Children's toys that are clean and in good shape usually sell well and you can get a higher price for them.
Visit a few sales in your area for ideas.
When pricing keep in mind, what would I pay for this item? Also, mark it a few $$ more than the absolute lowest price you want. If you want $20, mark it at $25.
Sometimes to make things easier you may want to just price all similar items the same. For example my girlfriend priced a table of knick knacks at $.25 each. Some of them she could have gotten a $1 for, but her time just wasn't worth it.
Good luck.
We always price things cheap. Our objective is to get rid of things..not make a ton of money. Usually we end up getting rid of most things and making a decent amount If you price too high, things won't sell anyway. We always donate the things that don't sell.
If you have things that are worth a LOT of money, maybe try selling them individually on craigslist or something.
I have a sign that says EVERYTHING $1, EXCEPT IF MARKED. It saves me time and practically everything is gone within a couple hours.
i can tell you this. if i go to a garage sale, like today, and find a tricycle for $40, or a sit and spin for $10 i leave w/o looking at anything else.... because i know they will all be ridiculiously priced!
I don't buy anything at a yard sale that is over $1.
Prices should be easy to read and posted, IE: all onsies $.50 each. or on every individual item. I think yard sales are to get rid of things. Selling online is a way to make money. Also, if your goal is to raise money then taking the items to a local consignment store is a better money making option.
Our last garage sale was a multiple-family sale with two of our neighbors and one neighbor was not putting prices on her things. I was rushed for time anyway, so I decided to try that. Most price stickers get "lost" during a garage sale anyway. It worked OK, but I was way too low on the prices, I was just giving it away. You could also try grouping items with a common price (all books $2, all t-shirts $3, etc.)
I sell cloths for .50, books for .25. If I want closer to retail for something I sell it on Craigslist.
I have multiple yard sales a year. I price some and others I let them make an offer. Or while they are looking at an item I might say that's $5 or that's $1. Most of the people that come to my sales are repeat customers and others like to haggle. I might say $1 and they haggle to 10 cents. I either raise the price or lower depending on the moment LOL. We do give a lot away at quarter and $1 items but we sell more. Good luck and happy selling.
if you want say 2 dollars for this book.. put 2.50 or 3.. and then when someone says wow thats to much.. say what will you pay me.. they may say 1.75 you say.. how about 2.. it's the best i can do... and hopefully you'll get 2.. if it's something you want like 50 for.. try 55. or 60 dollars... this should work good..
I believe the appropriate percentage if 1/3 the original purchase price if used and 1/2 if new.
I price things to sell, I may add a couple of bucks on to higher priced items. A true yard sale person will try to talk you down some. I think its fun to barter a price too!
always price things that are big higher then what you expect them to sell for because they will always try to talk you down :)
If you really want to get rid of stuff, mark it really cheap. Most of the things I put in a yard sale, are things I plan on hauling to the Thriftshop anyway if they don't sell so I have a 'Dollar' sale where almost everything is a dollar or less.
When you get tax credit for stuff you donate to nonprofit thriftshops, you're credited with a 10% of the original price. So maybe you can look at your stuff that way. One thing I can't stand is when people overprice and then wonder why so little stuff sold.
Good luck!
I price my items pretty low because I want them to sell. When I have a yard sale I am usually doing it to purge items and I am going to donate what is left anyway. Regular garage salers tell me they like how my sales are set up, organized, and that I price well. For clothes I do $0.25 for tanks/tee, shorts, baby clothes and $0.50 for long sleeve stuff, pants, dresses. I price specialty clothing items higher and separate them from the others. I mark the majority of things with stickers (the premarked ones). They usually come with blank stickers to write in my own price too. You have to be careful and make mental notes of what you priced items because people will switch stickers. However, for items that I have a large quantity of I will make poster boards or print signs on my computer (ex: All shirts $0.25, All shoes $0.25, everything in this box $0.50 each etc...) For big items/furniture/electronics I try to look at craigslist and ebay to see what the going rate is for those items. I tend to go a little lower than craigslist. For kids toys/baby toys and small items I often throw them in a box and mark the box "5 for $1". People like that! I do negotiate with customers and on some big items I might put a sign up that says "make an offer" but have a price in mind before you do that! Good luck and have fun. I am planning and preparing for my sale on Sept. 25th. I can't wait as I am running out of room to store the stuff :)
I'm a regular thrift store and yard sale shopper. I price based on what I'd expect the price to be at a thrift store and then deduct some from that price using what I'd expect it to cost at a yard sale as a guideline. If the item is new or nearly new, I'd probably price it at half price. I've learned that clothes do not sell well and price them at fifty cents to a dollar unless they're something really special. I've bought like new blazers for less than $5 at yard sales and use that as a part of my guideline.
I tag them, except for most clothes which I divide up into piles based on price. I do bargain some but not by much since I tend to price items on the low side. I don't like to bargain, even when I'm the one doing the buying.
I suggest that you spend a week end going to yard sales in your area to see what the trend in pricing is. And spend a couple of hours in a nearby thrift store.
