Have you ever wondered why some garage sales are more successful than others? It could be because of the items sold and how much they go for. There are many tips on how to make your next garage sale more successful, but first, let’s look at what you’ll need to make a good garage sale.
What Do I Require For a Garage Sale?
Sometimes you have to spend some money to make some money. If you don’t already have these essential garage sale goods, you should get some.
- Black permanent markers: You won’t be able to stick to the sale price, but it will be visible and won’t wipe off. These will also be useful for signage.
- Poster display: Posters can be used to publicize your garage sale throughout your community and to categorize sale regions (clothing, electronics, kitchenware, etc.).
- Pricing stickers: Customers search for the price tag. Make it simple to find and avoid answering too many questions.
- Folding tables: To exhibit your stuff, you’ll need some flat surfaces. Use foldable tables or other available tables.
- Cleaning supplies: Before your sale, give your products a once-over to ensure they look their best.
- Shopping bags: Shoppers may choose to purchase more than one item. Provide some shopping bags to make it easier for them. You don’t have to buy anything new; you can reuse things from the grocery shop.
- Packing supplies: If you’re selling fragile things, you may wish to give bubble cushioning roll and packing tape to assist customers in properly transporting their purchases home.
How Should I Market My Garage Sale?
Hanging posters in your neighborhood is fantastic for capturing people’s attention in the moment, but some seasoned buyers scour social media for a good deal.
Post the details of your garage sale in your neighborhood’s Facebook page, or if no such group exists, create a personal post and share it with your network. Perhaps invite a few friends to share the post as well. You can also publish an ad on Nextdoor and Craigslist. These are excellent (and free!) alternatives to placing an advertisement in your local newspaper.
What Items Sell the Most at a Garage Sale?
If you’re selling clothes, books, DVDs, and toys will be your best bet. Electronics are also popular items to sell at garage sales. Furniture is a solid choice if you have some nice pieces that don’t get used much anymore (or ever). Household items like pots and pans may also do well at your garage sale — but keep in mind that people prefer buying new over used when it comes to appliances.
What Should You Not Sell at a Garage Sale?
While you may have big plans for your garage sale, it’s important to remember that the best items to sell at a garage sale bring in the most money and are in the best condition. Here are some things you should not sell:
- Clothing that is stained or torn
- Items that are broken
- Old items (within reason)
Best Garage Sale Tips and Tricks
Selling your garage sale is a lot like selling anything else. You need to make it easy for people to find items, and price them so that they don’t lose money on the deal. The best way to do this is by following these seven tips:
#1. Make it as convenient as possible for your customers
The easiest way to make your garage sale successful is by making sure it’s as convenient for your customers as possible. Your location should be easy to access, and there should be enough parking for everyone who stops by. It’s also important that you have signed up with your address and phone number so people can find you easily, especially if they’re driving around town looking for a garage sale.
If the weather is bad, consider staging an outdoor event instead of trying to set up indoors (or at least have some cover). If it rains or snows while people are coming through the door looking at furniture and other items inside the house/garage/basement room where sales are taking place, then make sure there are places where people can stand inside while they wait out bad weather conditions outside.
#2. Do your research and price items to sell
When you have a garage sale, you’ll need to figure out how much money you will make from each item sold. If the price of an item isn’t competitive enough, it will be hard for people to buy it and make a profit on their purchases. It’s important not only that the price be right but also that it be competitive with similar items currently being sold online or in brick-and-mortar stores nearby (or even far away). When pricing your goods, keep in mind the following:
- What others are selling similar goods at; if nobody else has them for sale yet, then don’t worry about pricing yourself out of the market! You can always wait until after the event ends before deciding whether or not this will be worth investing time into—or whether there are better opportunities elsewhere where more people might know about them already, so those won’t need convincing first either way just yet.”
#3. Think about the best way to display everything
The second most important thing to consider is how you display everything. Do you want to use a table or a card table? If so, ensure it’s large enough for all your items. Can you use shelving? A bookshelf? A closet? And what if there’s not enough room in the garage itself? If so, maybe it would be better to consider using an outside space—like your backyard or driveway—where people can see everything at once without having to go inside and out again whenever they want something from inside their house (which could take a while). You can also use gates like those used by regular houses but make sure they’re strong enough not just because people might try breaking through them but also because kids might try climbing over them too.
#4. Consider offering a discount or an all-day sale
Consider offering a discount or an all-day sale if you have many items. Discounts effectively attract customers who may otherwise be put off by the idea of paying full price for something. You could offer discounts on certain items or for a certain amount of time—or even give them away.
You can also set up an event where anyone who purchases something gets entered into a drawing at the end of your garage sale. The winner will get free stuff from your store.
#5. Do the math for a 50/50 raffle
This one is a little more complicated than the others, but it’s worth it. A 50/50 raffle is a bet where you lose half of your money if you win, but you win 100 percent if you don’t. So, for example:
- You buy five tickets for $2 each, and all five are winners. You get 5x$2 = $10 back as profit (the other ticket was a loser). In total cost to run this activity would be $0 because they only spent two bucks on each ticket (half price).
#6. Use signage, but not too much signage
It’s important to have signs in front of your garage sale, but not too many. Signs should be easily read and visible from the street so that people can find you easily without walking past several houses before getting there. For example, if you’re selling art, you may want to consider using a large banner or poster hanging from an overhang on your house (e.g., between windows). This way, it’s easy for passersby who drive by your garage sale while driving at night or in the early morning hours when most people are sleeping anyway.
The key here is placement: make sure that any signs aren’t blocking anyone else’s view; otherwise, they’ll probably ignore them altogether—and if they do read them, then maybe give up on ever finding out anything about what happened here…
#7. Make it a family affair
If you have kids, it’s a great idea to incorporate them into your garage sale. Kids can help with pricing, organizing, and displaying items, as well as raffle prizes, games, and other activities. It’s also a good idea to have a parent or relative ensure that the children are safe when they’re selling their stuff in the yard.
Another way to make this an activity for everyone in the family is if you live close enough to see each other frequently during the day (like across town), then why not meet up there? You could do some family activities like going for ice cream or watching soccer together while selling off whatever items are on sale at your house.
A Beginner’s Guide to Garage Sale Pricing
Except for high-demand things like children’s apparel and baby items, where you might get a bit more if it’s in good condition or is a premium brand name, a decent rule of thumb is 10% of retail.
The more appealing your tables and setup, the more probable it is that you will obtain a reasonable price. This includes keeping your yard and garage neat and clean. Verify that your things are clean and that there are electrical outlets or extension cables nearby so that you can readily check the operating condition of appliances and tools. Clothing should be separated by gender and category before being neatly placed on tables or put on hangers. Children’s toys (all the better for the littlest customers to access them) and shoes are the only items that can be displayed on a tarp or blanket.
- Furniture often sells for $5 to $50.
- Small appliances are notoriously difficult to sell, so price them between $5 and $25.
- Pots, pans, and dishes are considerably more difficult to sell, unless they are high-end, such as Le Creuset, Townecraft, or cast-iron pieces. I’d recommend looking at eBay for prices on such things.
- Power tools typically sell well, so you may be able to get a little extra. Prices range from $10 to $50.
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- To move adult clothing, you may need to stick to a 25 cent to three dollar price range, and only go above for recent, like-new, brand name stuff.
- Children’s clothing can sell for $1-$5 and if you have sets of children’s items placed on a table, use a safety pin to keep the sets together or you’ll be digging through for the pants to match the blouse someone is attempting to buy.
- Knickknacks can range in price from ten cents to twenty dollars. If something has a brand name or a maker’s mark, conduct some online research.
- DVDs sell for $2-$4 where I live. CDs often cost $1-$2. Paperbacks are 25 cents to 50 cents, and hardcovers are $1.
- Jewelry is often cost between 25 cents and $3, but if you have some exquisite jewelry, it would be wise to visit a reputed jewelry store that buys gold and silver.
On some things, I will drop the price as the day progresses, or even earlier if there is a lot of demand but the item does not sell. I also keep a free box of items that I believe someone could find useful but would not expect them to pay for, such as clothing with tears or stains, broken items, missing components, and so on.
Garage Sale Pricing Dos and Don’ts
Consider the following factors when pricing garage sale items:
#1. Do you want to get rid of your junk or send your child through college?
While you may make a lot of money at your garage sale, you should not view it as an opportunity to “become wealthy,” since this might lead to higher pricing of products. The chances are that folks who come to your garage sale will immediately realize that your prices are too high and will not buy anything!
#2. Your prices should be comparable to those of your neighbors’ garage sales.
Those that attend your sales frequently choose to attend garage sales in a specific place for a purpose. Your prices should be comparable to what your neighbors have sold/are selling their things for. Guess whose clothes the buyer will buy if you sell your daughter’s designer jeans for $15 a pair and your neighbor sells her daughter’s same designer jeans for $7 a pair. Which jeans would you buy if everything else was equal (except the price)?
#3. Visit Craigslist, Goodwill, Salvation Army, and other thrift stores in your area.
This is especially useful for “large ticket” products like furniture and appliances. Spend some time browsing Craigslist to compare costs in your area. If your products do not sell at the garage sale, consider selling them online! (Or, even better, post your garage sale on Craigslist!)
Here are some pointers on what not to do when it comes to pricing items:
- Don’t think on how much you paid for it, how much you like it, or how often you used it. Buyers rarely notice if you paid $1,500 for a sofa that sat in your formal living room with no one ever sitting on it.
- Don’t think about how long you’ve had it or who it once belonged to. If it’s been sitting in your attic for 20 years or is owned by your great aunt Agnes, it’s not a deal if it’s overpriced. It also does not imply that people will be willing to pay extra for it simply because it is old or has never been used.
The only exception to this is if the object is actually a collectible or extremely valuable. Then you could be better off having it professionally auctioned off or selling it privately (via an appraiser).
What Is the Average Amount of Money Made at a Garage Sale?
The average garage sale makes about $50. But, this can vary greatly depending on the location and how much effort you put into your event. In general, if you plan to sell merchandise or other items at a garage sale and are not planning to charge for it, then expect to make about $50 per sale.
If you want more money than that (or if there’s something specific that stands out), then consider charging for admission or having an auction where people bid on things inside your house or yard. You may be able to increase profits by doing this.
Summary
The key to selling at a garage sale is to give everything a good look-over, take some time to decide on the best prices, and make sure there are no major flaws in your items. If you’re looking for ways to sell more items at your next garage sale, check out our tips and tricks for pricing things correctly. We hope this list will help inspire you as well.
Garage Sale FAQs
What is the best month to have a garage sale?
Early spring,
What makes the most money at a garage sale?
Gathering all the goods, you no longer want from every room in your home.
What goods can be sold and bought at a garage sale?
Old clothing, books, toys, household decorations, lawn and garden tools, sports equipment, and board games.
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