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Gardenarian
11-4-13, 5:07pm
:help:

We have a bazillion things to garage sale. In the past, we have just let things go for practically nothing, but this time we are trying to make some money.
I'm finding the whole thing overwhelming. We have a shed full of boxes ready to go, but lots more in the house.
What I need are some words of wisdom.
And also how not to cave in to people who haggle and want something for nothing.

sweetana3
11-4-13, 5:33pm
Just tell them you have to wait for discounts until the sale is over or a sale is announced. Remember: to them nothing ventured, nothing gained. All you have to say is "Sorry, no discounts yet" even better with a smile. My husband when going to garage sales always asked it the price could be better. He never took it personally if they said no. It is totally within your control. Just remember that there are those out there giving things away and people running business gathering inventory.

sweetana3
11-4-13, 5:41pm
Oh, and clearly price everything. I will not ask how much things are. Just a peeve of mine. Large signs help a lot for category prices, like hardback books, although no matter the size of the print, someone will ask. Keep small items next to you and in sight. Still a lot of shoplifting. I wear my money belt around my waist or neck. No chance of a box of cash walking out. Helps to have a person be a cashier for the checkout area. Paper and pencil help in totaling. Always seems that everyone comes at once and then there is no one.

Try not to have boxes of stuff on the floor unless it does not have to be gone thru. So many people cannot get up and down. Borrow tables.

Husband's pet peeve is holding everyone off until a start time. If we get there 15 minutes early and you are ready, sell whatever you can. Never ever turn away a potential buyer. You are not running a store, you are trying to get rid of stuff in one day. We would not go back to such sales. Just figure there will be early birds and plan for it.

If you see buyers waiting, welcome them in or open the garage door. You want their money!!! Can help to have kids selling cookies or coffee. I am a sucker for kids.

fidgiegirl
11-4-13, 5:52pm
I echo nothing in boxes. Set it all out where it can be seen.

Don't put out junky stuff, broken, etc.

If you think someone won't know what something is, put a sign saying what it is.

Signage: BIG letters with address, dates and times, clear, plenty of signage, and take them down promptly (not such a big deal if you include end time of the sale right on the sign). Pet peeve of ours is to hunt down a sale and find it closed.

Craigslist your sale as well. Put up pics. Don't put up your CL ad until the day before or the day of.

Good luck! I'd be overwhelmed too, BTW. I love going to sales, but have never put one on - it might kill me! Hang in there.

Gardenarian
11-4-13, 7:34pm
Dh was thinking of putting up adds of some of the more tasty stuff early (kitchenaid mixer, fiestaware, guitar, my little ponies) to get more interest.

Better to wait until right before the sale?

fidgiegirl
11-4-13, 7:43pm
I suppose either approach would work, just if you put up early ads, also put one up really close to the date of the sale. Personally, I get confused when the ads are up too early, especially if they go up Wed. for a Saturday sale or something like that, then I think the sale starts on Thursday.

Gardenarian
11-4-13, 7:52pm
Good point. We don't have a lot of tables - I'm going to have to beg and borrow, I guess.
I really dislike the earlybirds - I understand, because I go to garage sales, but it's awful trying to get everything in order and then there is a rush of people when you are not ready...
this is exactly why I need help!
I hope this is worth it!

sweetana3
11-4-13, 8:32pm
If you use craigslist, do it often. There are so many ads and people who don't know the search feature that your first ones will drop right down. Use lots of explanation and key words to help those who search for things. There is nothing wrong with posting a week ahead with dates and times and then every day until the sale. NOTE: you don't have to give them an address until closer to the sale but explain this in the ad and tell them when the address will be posted on craigslist. Remember you are trying to get on people's schedule.

Please please do not forget date and time. The better your explanation of what is being sold, the better chance someone will be interested. If you will not answer email before, tell them in the advertisement or you will have people contacting you with questions.

Jilly
11-4-13, 8:50pm
I had a whole house rummage sale last year. Except for a couple of really large items, everything was priced at fifty-cents on the first day, and twenty-five cents the second day.

It was fairly amazing how many people wanted to haggle for a few cents, but as others have shared, some people need to make the effort, for them it is a big part of the process. Some people are just going to be their usual jerkified selves, but the nice people make up for them, and those odd folk will make for many amusing anecdotes later on.

A week prior to the sale I put an ad on Cragislist, posted on-line on my county's community message board and bought a small ad in the newspaper in the city near me.

When I went to check the next day to see where else I could advertise on-line and found that someone had already re-posted the darn thing everywhere I could find to list a rummage sale.

Even though tons of stuff left the property, there was a lot less. A couple of people kept coming back and I figured out that one woman was buying things to resell, so I told her to come back after the last day and take whatever she liked. Same thing for a man who was buying books (we had a couple thousand to get rid of). As much as I appreciated having all of that stuff gone, it was so nice to meet so many wonderful people, one of whom still stops by to see me at work.

Good luck, and have fun.

Jilly
11-4-13, 8:52pm
...there was a lot left.

iris lilies
11-4-13, 10:37pm
:help:
...
And also how not to cave in to people who haggle and want something for nothing.

Your philosophy is different than mine. I have a garage sale (well, had one once) to get rid of chit. My secondary concern is how much I get for it. But you can always say with a smile: tomorrow things are half price, come back then if it's still here.

A few years ago, I had a two day sale at our neighborhood's Antique on the Park sale and made $800 from stuff I had lying around here. I sold at what I thought were "wholesale" prices and sure enough, many of the vendors at this sale came round and bought stuff form me to put up at their own booth, win/win. I got rid of it and got some money, they took the risk of selling it at retail and packing it up to take home if it did not sell.

Then, inspired by that success, I volunteered to head up a fundraiser for our neighborhood park. I organized a booth of antiques and collectibles at the same same. Donations came in from neighborhood people. We made $5,000! My goal was to make some money but just as important, end up with no stuff. I did end up with a station wagon of stuff which we donated that night to the local church for the rummage sale. I told my sales force "make the deal!" and when people were interested in something, when they touched it, negotiate with them, sell the thing!

The following year this same sale was managed by others who were convinced they would not let things go for "nothing." Guess how much crap they had to haul home, and they are still storing it in their garage.

So ask yourself--want to move stuff? Price it low. You cannot expect to get anywhere near the cost of items in a shop, your sale in only on for 2 days. Your time is worth something. But if your time is worth nothing and you don't mind hauling items back into your house, only to haul them out for next year's garage sale--ok.

gimmethesimplelife
11-5-13, 3:44am
Some advice I have is if any of your merchandise plugs into electricity, have an extension cord running outside of your house or from an outside outlet so that people can test things before they buy.

Another idea is to decide upfront - is your goal to get rid of stuff and the money is secondary? Sometimes it's such a hassle you might be better off donating to charity. If money is the goal, get an idea online what you can get for various things and then decide in advance how far down you'll go from there if at all. The higher the price, the more likely its going to sit. To people trying to talk me down, I tell them to come back on Sunday - I usually block off three days for this process so for me it's a time investment and somewhat about money. I have had some people come back on Sunday and if it's after one pm, I let things go pretty cheap so that I don't have to deal with them any more.

Something else to consider is the demographics of the neighborhood around you - I live in a lower income area that is actually quite safe and nice in it's own way but not an area where you are going to get high prices for your things. Advertise! Advertise! Seriously. Craigslist is your friend and put out boxes with the your address on street corners or some kind of intersections. Weigh them down with a brick if you can.....this has gotten me some higher income folks to pick through my things.

I am about to have a serious sale myself of a lot of items belonging to the estate of a friend of my family who passed on last September. The deceased's family saw how much work this was going to be so they said I could have most of the effects and try to sell them - of course they wanted the more valuable and sentimental items which is to be understood.

And have fun! You will meet some jerks, some cutthroats who want to resell, and some interesting people too....a whole cross section of humanity. Enjoy it!

Rob

sweetana3
11-5-13, 6:38am
I have met some great people at garage sales.

reader99
11-5-13, 7:19am
A lot depends on where you live. The last sale I had I had lots of stuff and low prices and in 3 days made $10. We put it all at the curb Sunday night and it was gone by noon Monday. People could use the stuff but they weren't in a position to pay for it.

SteveinMN
11-5-13, 11:42am
If you use craigslist, do it often. There are so many ads and people who don't know the search feature that your first ones will drop right down. Use lots of explanation and key words to help those who search for things. There is nothing wrong with posting a week ahead with dates and times and then every day until the sale.
Actually, if one bothers to read craigslist's Terms of Use (http://www.craigslist.org/about/terms.of.use) (based on what I see on cl, hardly anyone does) there is plenty wrong with posting every day:

"The same or substantially similar content may not be posted in more than one craigslist category. A user may post content only in the single craigslist category to which it is most relevant, and must not post content to inappropriate categories. For example, content advertising classes or vocational training must be posted under the "classes" category of the "community" section and may not be posted in any "jobs" category. [...]

A user may post the same or substantially similar content no more than once every 48 hours."

There also is a prohibition of key words, but that seems to be based on misleading key words, like selling a Chevy minivan and putting the words Ford, Chrysler, Toyota in the ad so people searching for Ford or Toyota minivans find your Chevy ad.

And, speaking personally, I don't want to see ads in Furniture, Electronics, Clothing, and Toys because that's what will be at the garage sale. Got a couple of big pieces, like a dining room set or a garden tractor? No problem. But I see people post 8-10 ads for their one upcoming garage sale and then it just becomes noise. FTM, if you've got a big-ticket item to sell and you're teasing it before the garage sale, I think it's nice to let people buy it ahead of time if they're interested and don't want to wade through the garage sale to get it. The point is to get the stuff out of your life, right? Why turn away a customer?

Sorry -- I really love craigslist; I just hate to see it messed up.

Gardenarian
11-5-13, 2:26pm
Thanks for all the feedback!

I guess we have two categories of sale items:
1) stuff we want to get rid of (not so much - we make regular donations to Goodwill) priced very low
2) stuff we would be willing to sell it if we got enough money for it.

My general rule for garage sales is that things should be priced at about 10% of retail. So a $5.00 toy (in excellent condition) would go for .50. Books I usually sell for .25. If I think they're worth more, I can take them to the used book store for credit. We live in a really mixed income area and get people who dicker over ten cent baby clothes and others who are happy to pay a dollar for an old coffee mug.

I'm not willing to sell a $500 coat (gift), never worn, for a fifty cents. For $25, okay. So there are a lot of items where we are just going to draw a line. I'll just tell people, maybe you can get it cheaper - but not from me! My dh is willing to do Ebay if they don't sell at the garage sale.

I suggested that we make our sale a fundraiser for a local charity, but dh wouldn't go for it. I think people are less likely to haggle when they know the money is going to a good cause - and I would feel at ease letting go of stuff knowing I was supporting something really important. (When I give to Goodwill I never know - is this going to end up in the trash?)

Good idea about the extension cord, Rob - we have a number of appliances.

You're absolutely spot on about Craigslist, Steve. I hate it when people put up a zillion ads too. I know some people have links to a remote page that will have photos of all of their items. Anyone know a good site to use for this? I'm thinking now that it will be best just to post an ad several days before, and then the day before the sale. (Also posting to local FB group, town online bulletin board, and paper bulletin boards.)

sweetana3
11-5-13, 3:10pm
You can dislike it all you want but if you want to sell you need customers. People don't use the search command on craigslist often. For those that do, search terms are important if they are accurate. For example, if I am selling quilting material I would put quilting, quilter, quilt, fat quarters, fabric, material, cotton, yardage, and anything else that relates to the sale.

Why would I drive to a sale saying they had "lots of stuff" for sale? I see that over and over again. I agree that if specific prices are needed on items, mark "firm" on the tag. They may still ask but most buyers know what that means.

If you don't want to do it each day, post every 48 hours. Not much difference.

I would not post in different categories unless you have big items, like a washer/dryer, that would correctly be in another category.

People haggle no matter what. Our Unity Church asks for donations and you would not believe the pennies that they get for good stuff. Those of us going to garage sales are looking for a great deal since we are fine with used stuff or buying for inventory to resell and price is even more critical.

For our Goodwill, it is trashed if junk. There are stores and a bunch of huge outlet stores and you would be amazed at the people who are fine with going thru the Goodwill by the pound stuff. If it is not good enough for the stores, or their auction site, and no one wants it at the by the pound operation, it may end up at the landfill.

Goodwill is not the only thrift operation. If you are uncomfortable with their operation, find a local one for your good but unsold items.

Lainey
11-5-13, 7:24pm
and one more thing: keep your more valuable items close to you. Our area has experienced drive-by garage sale thieves, who will jump out of the car and snatch your valuable tooling, etc., that was so conveniently placed by the curb instead of closer to the house.

Gardenarian
12-2-13, 3:40pm
Just want to say - this convinced me NOT to have a garage sale! ;)

I just can't deal with the haggling and stuff. So I'm giving away everything I can part with, and dh is putting stuff on Craigslist and Ebay for me.

I need my sanity more than the money. :devil:

chrissieq
12-2-13, 4:04pm
I do a garage sale each year at our neighborhood wide sale - one day - everything left over goes straight to Value Village. I do pull the tags off cause I hate to pay $5 at VV with a .50 sticker!

This year we did a bag sale at the end of the day - everything you could fit in a grocery bag for $3 - it really cleared out the leftovers. Folks packed those bags like they were engineers!! I did pull out a few pieces of DD's clothing that still had tags attached (don't ask) which I took to consignment.

I find it pretty fun - friends always stop by - it's in the late spring so the weather is usually quite nice - and I have more room in the basement.