Garage Sale question

luvmykids wrote: Do you price your stuff right at what you want for it and stick to it, or price it a few bucks higher so you can get bargained down? One of my friends is having one this weekend and I am taking a TON of junk....the point is really to not have to bring it back home so I have it all priced dirt cheap but I'm wondering if I should price some things higher, like Macie's toddler bed. It was top of the line and so was the mattress and it all looks brand spanking new still.

TrulyBlessed replied: If it is bigger items and you want to make sure you get a certain price for it then you could price it higher and let them talk you down. I tend to price a lot of my stuff low because I just want to get rid of it and if I mark it too high then I'm stuck with it and end up giving it to Salvation Army for free.

My2Beauties replied: I would price it up a bit higher and talk them down. I plan on having one soon and I have a swing and jumper and stuff to get rid of so I definitely plan on pricing up so that I can "bargain" with people. This is what I would do if you want something sold at a certain price.

lisar replied:
Ditto. Thats what we done.

TrulyBlessed replied:
Too bad you didn't live closer. I'm looking for a swing!

DVFlyer replied: Garage sale items are usually 1/3 or less than new price on expensive stuff. Smaller stuff probably worse.

Start at a reasonable "high" and by the end of the day, drop your prices or do "Two-for-one" deals where if someone buys "X" than you'll give them "Y". Or have a "box price". i.e. Take that whole box of clothes for "$x.00".

eg: By the end of our garage sales, most of the clothes are going for .10 ..... yes, cents.

Everything you don't sell, donate to the salvation army, YMCA.... places like that.

~Roo'sMama~ replied:
I've only had once garage sale so far, but that's the way we did it. We marked most of the clothes pretty cheap to begin with (25 cents to a dollar), but the big things like the jumperoo and walker we marked 5 or 10 dollars higher than we expected to get for it.

lovemy2 replied: I price it to sell - it isn't making me any money sitting in my house so even a little bit works - most people I find if it isn't even remotely close to what they would pay won't even ask......that being said - I do keep in mind that some things are worth more than others....like baby stuff - exersaucers, etc. etc. swings, etc. are always worth decent cake if they are in good condition - if its junk price to sell....IMO

MommyToAshley replied: I am having a garage sale this May too. And, I tink I will price most things to sell fast and I will be willing to bargain... LOL. I have a hard time parting with some of Ashley's special occasion dresses. I thought about putting them on Ebay once because I knew I could get more money for them, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

coasterqueen replied: I'm like Dee Dee, I'm going to price to sell and sell fast. Mainly because I don't want to be doing more than one sale. I told Dh I'd do it two weekends and that's it, it's all going to Goodwill after that.

I have big items like a lazy boy chair, air hockey table, other furniture, paintings, Megan's baby furniture ( ...ok, I'm ready to give it up now ) as well as clothes, and other JUNK. The bigger furniture items I will still price to sell quickly. I know what *I* want for them is probably NOT going to happen so I don't want to over price.

The problem I've always had is if something is too high I just walk right by it. I have never tried to barter the price with someone so I'd fear that others wouldn't want to do that with me, kwim?

TrulyBlessed replied:
I'm the same way. I'm too shy to approach someone and try to make a deal. You could always price it for what you want and also write or best offer, that way shy people like me will feel welcomed to give you an offer.

luvmykids replied:
Thats a great idea, I was going to take DH's weight bench and just put a sign on it that says to make an offer. Honestly, I'd give it away free but DH wouldn't be happy about it

mckayleesmom replied: When I sold baby clothes a couple weeks ago....I just put up a big sign that said ALL CLOTHES $1...except if it was like socks or something.....I hate going through stuff and pricing it individually.


I wasn't there long because of Russells fall.....so It didn't go to great. It was cold out and I wasn't there long enough

redchief replied: Just a note to new garage-yard salers... Check with your municipality and make sure there are no permit requirements, sign rules, etc. I know quite a few people who have lost their profits to a ticket for not following municipal rules.

~Roo'sMama~ replied:
Wow I never would have thought of that - thanks for the tip! My city would totally be the one to have some dumb rule and give us a huge fine for breaking it.

mckayleesmom replied: That is true Ed....most cities in California have them too. I remember me and some girlfriends having one when we were younger and they followed our ads and ticketed us.

coasterqueen replied: Hmm, good to know Ed. I never knew that. Thankfully I live outside city limits in the country and if county wants to ticket me I'll just complain to my county cop neighbor.

TANNER'S MOM replied: We always price our stuff at what we want. We usually have a 2 day sale and on the second day about 10 in the morning, we throw up a half price sale, and start grouping together grab bags so we can get rid of it all! At that point I am usually so done it's not funny!