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Garage/ Yard Sales

covered in blisscovered in bliss chi-caw-go Posts: 1,332
edited May 2009 in All Encompassing Trip
Has anyone had one? Any tips or tricks to share? I'm having one this weekend... in addition to good signs and ads, I've got:

prices clearly labeled
variety of sufficient change (which I will carry at all times)
lock house
carry a phone
prepared for a thief or 2
background music to make people comfortable

Anything else?
Anyone have horror stories?
Anyone make a ton of $$$?

For some reason, I'm really nervous!
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • Phantom PainPhantom Pain Posts: 9,876
    Just make sure you're not selling something for $3 thats worth thousands !

    ;):o
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  • decides2dreamdecides2dream Posts: 14,977
    my husband and i have considered this numerous times...and ultimately never went thru with it, didn't seem worth the hassle of spending an entire weekend sitting with our stuff so someone can continually try to talk down your already uber-low prices. :? we had a TON of great stuff a few years ago, that we instead donated to charity and took a nice tax deduction instead. we still probably could have another now.....cash would be nice.....but i think we still can't be bothered..... :P haha.


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  • Kel VarnsenKel Varnsen Posts: 1,952
    My family had a garage sale way back. If you have enough stuff you can make some decent money. One awesome thing my dad did was on all the ads he put the start time ( I think either 8 or 9am). If anyone showed up early and knocked on our door, he told them if they wanted to come in and look around before everyone else it would cost them $10. Some people actually paid too.
  • inmytreeinmytree Posts: 4,741
    covered in bliss wrote:
    Has anyone had one? Any tips or tricks to share? I'm having one this weekend... in addition to good signs and ads, I've got:

    prices clearly labeled
    variety of sufficient change (which I will carry at all times)
    lock house
    carry a phone
    prepared for a thief or 2
    background music to make people comfortable

    Anything else?
    Anyone have horror stories?
    Anyone make a ton of $$$?

    For some reason, I'm really nervous!

    Just had one a couple weeks ago...I got rid of a bunch of stuff I wasn't using...

    I put an ad on Craigslist....and when the sale was over, I put another ad on Craigslist under the free section for someone come pick up the rest of the stuff that didn't sell. I didn't have to pack up my left over items I no longer needed....

    and yes, signs are Key...have lots with big writing that folks can actually read...

    Good luck with your sale....
  • comebackgirlcomebackgirl Posts: 9,885
    I just participated in a town-wide yard sale a few weeks ago. If you can get some neighbors to join in, that will draw more people. Highlight anything *special* you might be selling to draw people in. Good luck!
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  • mfc2006mfc2006 HTOWN Posts: 37,484
    we didn't have enough stuff to warrant a garage sale, so we opted to put it all on Amazon. lots of books, a few old guitar pedals & other random stuff. within 3-4 months, we had sold it all for a nice little profit. the key was putting the books in "bundles" of 3-4 each. i just wish there was some was to sell our old laptops. (iBook & PowerBook) i've searched online for buyers and i know they're out there. i may just have to take them apart & sell the parts individually.

    anyway, the point is....
    if you don't have enough crap to get rid of to warrant a yard sale, try amazon.
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  • WobbieWobbie Posts: 30,687
    It never ceases to amaze me that there are folks who spend EVERY weekend driving all over town to buy other people's unwanted crap :mrgreen: ! I mean, hoping to find an original Declaration of Independence for a buck is one thing, but these people are carting off lamps, blenders, black velvet paintings, etc.

    Good luck with yours!!
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  • koda74koda74 Posts: 86
    I like Garage sales, but I don't go to them every weekend or anything. I have a friend and once spring season hits all she talks about are what sales she's gone to and what she bought at those sales. She even talks bout this on Facebook, lol. Anyway, my sisters have had a couple sales during the summer last year and I found that selling drinks or popsicles helps them out alot . Maybe you've already got that covered, just thought I'd suggest it. Good luck!
  • Steve DunneSteve Dunne Posts: 4,965
    hosted one last year. be sure to have plenty of change (quarters). be ready to wheel and deal with folks. if you have a chair that's priced at $50 and someone offers you $35, take the $35. people will get there early if you've advertised it.
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  • peacegirlpeacegirl Posts: 841
    I've only had one yard sale but have set up at a local flea market plenty of times
    have plenty of change and definitely be ready to deal w/folks wanting to haggle on prices
    I would usually stand firm on prices early on but take less as the day went on b/c I was ready to get rid of it by then!
    Good Luck!
  • mickeyratmickeyrat Posts: 42,384
    Whatevers left over , donate to a charity. I work for The Volunteers Of America.The donated items go into our thrift stores And the money made from those sales goes to fund the various programs VoA has for helping people.
    I myself was a recipient of their Drug/Alcohol treatment program here in my hometown. Been sober ever since.

    All sorts of stuff VoA does. If you are interested Check out www.voa.org .
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  • The ChampThe Champ Posts: 4,063
    I'm confused. Isn't this what ebay was created for?
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  • Indian SummerIndian Summer Posts: 2,296
    If you have a large item that somebody has to come back later to pick up, make sure they pay for it first. I had a freezer once that a guy said he was gonna come back for. I told three other ppl that day it was already sold and he never came back.
    "It's all happening"
  • Who PrincessWho Princess out here in the fields Posts: 7,305
    I would second the suggestion about selling drinks, especially if the weather is warm. We had a cooler of soft drinks and bottled water priced at 50 cents and they sold very well. That was years ago so you could probably charge more than that now.
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  • Cinnamon GirlCinnamon Girl Posts: 1,854
    I LOVE yard sales. :oops:

    (If I could go yard saleing every weekend I would.....VIVA LA CRAP!!)
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  • Steve DunneSteve Dunne Posts: 4,965
    there's a town-wide flea market/tag sale going on this weekend in the town next to mine...jams up traffic like cheese in a colon. hundreds of vw buses, campers, carnies...an amazing display of 'your trash is my treasure'.
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  • decides2dreamdecides2dream Posts: 14,977
    Steve Dunne wrote:
    there's a town-wide flea market/tag sale going on this weekend in the town next to mine...jams up traffic like cheese in a colon. hundreds of vw buses, campers, carnies...an amazing display of 'your trash is my treasure'.


    i am easily amused...
    :mrgreen:
    Stay with me...
    Let's just breathe...


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  • Fender_ManFender_Man Posts: 408
    In the UK we have car boot sales where people just pitch up in a field and sell all their crap out of the back of their cars. Great for picking up vinyl and CD's, the season is only a couple of weeks old and I've already bagged 2 PJ boots on CD, a nice copy of the Singles soundtrack on vinyl and a mint copy of Led Zep 3 (total spend about $10). Once you find a few good items it does become quite addictive.
  • covered in blisscovered in bliss chi-caw-go Posts: 1,332
    even though it poured all day, I made 210.00! The highest priced items sold in the first 10 minutes and I wound up giving a lot of stuff away. (scraps of wood and used paint)

    An interesting experience overall but never again. One more day and then it all will go to charity.

    good things about all of this... I don't hate people as much as I thought I did and I can haggle!
  • Who PrincessWho Princess out here in the fields Posts: 7,305
    covered in bliss wrote:
    good things about all of this... I don't hate people as much as I thought I did and I can haggle!
    I LOVE to haggle! :D
    "The stars are all connected to the brain."
  • covered in blisscovered in bliss chi-caw-go Posts: 1,332
    whoprincess wrote:
    covered in bliss wrote:
    good things about all of this... I don't hate people as much as I thought I did and I can haggle!
    I LOVE to haggle! :D

    Today wasn't too bad... In most cases, I folded like a napkin on a Carnival Cruise. I took the advise of the poster that said to take whatever was offered. I don't care enough about this stuff to keep it, I'm not going to argue over a dollar! The big/expensive items were another story.. one person offered me 20.00 for a hand stenciled, 6-drawer dresser with matching mirror that was marked at 50. Pffftttt!!! I garbage-picked that dresser 10 years ago and brought it back to life... it went for 40. :D
  • covered in blisscovered in bliss chi-caw-go Posts: 1,332
    Fender_Man wrote:
    Once you find a few good items it does become quite addictive.
    There were quite a few people that were hunting for particular things. One guy wanted buckets and a woman teacups and saucers.
  • covered in blisscovered in bliss chi-caw-go Posts: 1,332
    Forgot to mention something...

    www.freecycle.org.

    It's a great free tool! Offer things and check in to see what people need.
  • CJMST3KCJMST3K Posts: 9,722
    be prepared for people to hand you less cash than you're asking for. Like if it says $5, they hand you $2 rolled up, without asking if they can get it for less... they just paid less. Kinda threw me off at first and I was like "fine, whatever"... but you could also assume they are handing you the correct amount at first. So, if your prices are firm on some things, be prepared for that tactic.
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  • covered in blisscovered in bliss chi-caw-go Posts: 1,332
    never again.

    profits today were 100.00. 1/2 as much as the rainy, shitty day that was yesterday. People bought 1/2 full cans of brut deoderant but they didn't buy a coffee table for 5.00. F that.
  • FifthelementFifthelement Lotusland Posts: 6,963
    Sounds like it was a successful sale overall. Over $300 collected. Did you manage to get rid of most of your stuff?

    When I left the UK last year I managed to unload most of my "big-ticket" items through friends and the employees at my regular pub. However, a deal for my brand-new (only a year old) 19" LCD TV fell through. I was running out of time and didn't want to donate it, so I raffled it off through a Canadian-themed mini pub quiz during regular pub quiz night. Ten questions and a £1 a sheet. I managed to make back about £50 and made one guy VERY happy. He got a new TV for £2.
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  • JaneNYJaneNY Posts: 4,438
    imalive wrote:
    I but these people are carting off lamps, blenders, black velvet paintings, etc.

    Good luck with yours!!

    If you're poor, or just want to save money, yard sales can be helpful if you stick to buying what you need. I clothed my kids when they were little in very nice clothes from yard sales and bought some clothes myself. If you go to 'ritzier' areas, you can get some very nice gently used items. Plenty of toys for my kids. Bought a canning pressure cooker for $15 that retails new for $150. Bought a stick blender that was new for $5. Obsessively treasure(junk) hunting is one thing, but just looking for what you need is another. Thanks to many frugal habits including buying whatever we could, used, we paid off a $24K loan on a house in 3 years.

    Kel - I love the idea of charging people $10 to look around early. If I ever have a yard sale I will totally do this, because people DO show up early.

    Keep in mind that people nowadays often turn around and sell what they bought at your sale, on ebay, so I'd say price accordingly. I think you have to keep in mind the purpose of your sale - is it to get rid of stuff primarily (if so, then price as cheap as possible so as much as possible goes), or is it to make some money (if so, charge as much as you think you can get).
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