How To Price Used Tools For Garage Sale

I do a lot of shopping at garage sales. I've probably been to hundreds of them over the years, and I've learned to size them upwards quickly to tell if a detail sale is a proficient one or lame i before I go sorting through everything. And to me, one of the biggest red flags is looking around a auction and seeing no toll tags on any of the merchandise.

A lack of price tags tells me the seller hasn't made much effort. The goods volition probably be poorly organized, and fifty-fifty if I manage to find something worth buying, I'll have to hunt downward the seller just to notice out what it costs. And since they plain oasis't given much thought to pricing, it's likely to be too expensive to bother with anyway.

You can't accept a successful garage sale if you're driving customers away with high or unclear prices. To avoid this problem, you demand to make all your prices clear upfront — and those prices should be attractive enough to persuade buyers to open their wallets.

How to Price Merchandise at Your Garage Sale

Every shopper loves a bargain, and that's doubly truthful for garage sale shoppers. It'southward why they're willing to spend hours of their weekend driving for miles to accept in a promising sale or scouring their local neighborhood on human foot for the best deals.

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So while in that location are many ways to make your garage sale more appealing — from proper signage to ample parking — the price tag will accept the most pregnant impact on your actual sales. Pricing your goods conspicuously while likewise leaving room for haggling can hateful the divergence between turning your clutter into cash and having to haul information technology all dorsum to the attic.

1. Know Your Goal

Before deciding how to toll your merchandise, remember nigh the purpose of your yard sale. Which is more important to you: clearing out clutter or maximizing your profits?

If you're trying to declutter your home — for instance, because you're preparing to move or making space for a new family member — and so your goal is to articulate out equally much stuff equally possible. You can achieve this goal most easily by pricing your wares dirt cheap — not just well below retail prices, just below thrift shop and flea market prices too.

Still, if your primary goal is to earn actress cash, and then pricing your goods is a fiddling trickier. Yous desire to charge the maximum shoppers are willing to pay, but at the same time, you take to avoid chasing buyers off with too-loftier prices. To walk this fine line, you need to enquiry typical garage sale pricing in your area.

2. Check Prices Online

When setting prices for your yard sale wares, don't make the mistake of thinking virtually what they mean to you. K sale shoppers don't care that you lot originally paid $200 for that designer outfit or that those communist china teacups were a wedding gift from your Peachy Aunt Louise. All they intendance about is whether the price is a good bargain for them.

To find the prices buyers are willing to pay, practice some research. For high-value items like vintage vesture or article of furniture, bank check listings on sites like Craigslist and eBay to come across what prices like goods are fetching. If yous take really pricey merchandise, such equally antiques or jewelry, it might be worth paying to have them appraised earlier setting a toll.

Notwithstanding, don't assume you can sell your valuables for their market price at a garage sale, where everyone is looking for a bargain. Instead, consider press out the tape of an eBay listing for something similar and taping it to your lower-priced trade to show buyers they're getting a practiced bargain.

If yous take a piece that's worth a significant amount of money, concord it back from the sale and effort to sell it online. You stand a improve chance of getting a fair price that way than at a yard sale, where shoppers wait rock-bottom prices.

iii. Check Local Sale Prices

According to guides published past Real Elementary and The Spruce, thousand auction pricing varies widely past region. If you lot aren't accustomed to shopping at garage sales yourself, a piddling scouting trip can help y'all figure out what prices m sale shoppers in your area are used to.

First, cheque out websites like Yard Auction Search and Yard Auction Treasure Map to discover local sales. Then stop by a couple to come across what they're charging for products similar to those you have to sell. Visiting a couple of local thrift stores can provide valuable intel as well.

If you can't find some of the trade yous're selling at local sales, a good rule of thumb is to charge no more than 1-quarter to one-third of what a similar product would cost to buy new. Yet, this rule varies depending on what you're selling.

According to the garage sale pricing guides from Real Simple, The Spruce, and Angi (formerly Angie's List), some benchmark prices for specific goods are:

Wear: Adult wearing apparel typically sell for $iii to $5 per piece. Even so, brand-new garments with tags can sell for more. Winter coats and jackets are pricier at $v to $15 each, with heavy winter coats and designer jackets priced toward the loftier end. Baby clothes can fetch $one to $3 per piece if gently used or $0.25 to $0.50 each if they're worn.
Accessories: Developed shoes tin can sell for anywhere from $3 to $ten per pair, depending on the brand and their condition. Baby and toddler shoes probably aren't worth more than $one or $two. Costume jewelry typically sells for $0.50 to $2 per piece.
Books: Hardcover books unremarkably sell for around $i — perhaps $two for heavier tomes. Paperbacks are cheaper, at $0.25 to $0.l each. However, you can charge more for large java table books or rare books that would entreatment to collectors.
Records: Vinyl records, once considered passe, are now becoming collectors' items again. You tin can price them at around $2 each or more for records that are rare and in excellent condition. You tin can also try battle up records and selling them as a lot, specially if they're older types like 45s.
Other Media: CDs and DVDs, which still count as modern engineering, can sell for $1 to $5 each. Cassette tapes and VHS tapes, which are basically obsolete, probably can't sell for more than $1 each.
Electronics: Electronics and computer equipment typically follow the ane-third rule. Notwithstanding, new gadgets in their original packaging can sell for equally much equally half their retail toll.
Furniture: Depression-quality pieces, such equally battered mitt-me-downs or Ikea furniture, tin go for anywhere from $5 to $30, depending on size and condition. Sturdy, gear up-to-utilise furniture will probably fetch one-third of its retail price. That could be $150 to $300 for a sofa, $l to $100 for a coffee table, or $25 to $150 for a dining chair.
Dwelling house Decor: Minor decorative pieces, such as pillows and vases, tend to sell for between $2 and $7, depending on the size and condition. Wall art and mirrors can be worth more than: upward to $10 for minor ones and every bit much equally $100 for large ones. Working lamps in adept status should be worth $v to $x.
Tableware: Plain dishes sell for effectually $1 to $3 per piece. China is worth more, at $1 to $ten per dish. If yous sell your dishes in sets, an viii-piece set tin fetch $v to $30. A complete set of silverware is worth $three to $5, but individual pieces are worth only effectually $0.25.
Antiques: Antiques of any kind — furniture, housewares, tableware — are a special case. Dissimilar about secondhand wares, antiques tin sell at yard sales for their full market place value, which is ofttimes $100 or more. It's worth having your antiques appraised ahead of time. At the very least, check their value on eBay to figure out how to price them.
Kitchen Gadgets: Kitchen appliances, such equally blenders and nutrient processors, can sell for up to a 3rd of their retail price. Smaller kitchen tools, such equally lemon squeezers or whisks, can get for $ane to $v, with lower prices for more obscure gadgets that fewer buyers will want.
Toys and Games: Kids toys are typically inexpensive at yard sales — between $1 and $3, depending on their condition. As for games, it depends on the type. Old standbys like checkers or Monopoly probably aren't worth more than $1 each. However, electronic games and high-end lath games such as Gloomhaven and Scythe, which tin can cost upward of $lxxx new, can go for $5 or more than. And truly vintage games, which could be considered collectibles, can go for much more than based on their eBay selling prices.

4. Price Trade Conspicuously

To make prices articulate for your customers, characterization each particular individually with a tag that clearly shows the price. Putting labels on every product at your sale may seem like a lot of piece of work, but it will save you lot trouble on the 24-hour interval of the sale itself. Without clear labels, you'll spend near of the day dealing with queries from shoppers near what things price.

For the same reason, resist the urge to use colour-coded stickers to indicate the price. Information technology seems like it would salvage a lot of fourth dimension to just use blue stickers for $0.25, dark-green for $0.50, yellow for $1, and and then on. Yous can so make a chart to show what each color stands for rather than writing all the prices by hand.

The problem is yous will have to field repeated questions from buyers nearly what the labels mean. Even if yous post a chart, most customers won't be able to go on it in their heads and will but come back to you repeatedly to inquire about prices. In the long run, it's less work to toll everything individually.

Place each cost tag in a spot where information technology's easy to meet. Some garage sale experts recommend bright-colored price stickers that catch the center, while others adopt evidently masking tape considering it costs less. I like to compromise past using blue painter'due south tape, which is cheaper than individual stickers and still easy to spot. It besides has the advantage of being easy to remove cleanly.

If you take a lot of similar items you want to sell for the same cost, you lot can group them on a table with a single sign maxim, "Books: $1 each." This blazon of pricing works best for pocket-sized objects that are like shooting fish in a barrel to identify, such equally books, CDs, shoes, teacups, or baby wearing apparel. You lot tin can even encourage shoppers to buy more than past offering majority pricing, such as six books for $five.

However, if you await buyers to purchase products individually, it's best to cost them that mode. It's tempting to save yourself piece of work by group unrelated merchandise on a table with a label that says, "$v each," simply this strategy tin backfire. Things tend to migrate throughout the day, and a $five item could stop up on the $10 tabular array, where no one will consider it.

Or your $v item could finish upward on the $1 table. Fifty-fifty if y'all retrieve it was originally supposed to exist $5, shoppers who thought they were getting an incredible deal are likely to be annoyed when you reveal the real cost.

Worse still, sneaky shoppers could deliberately motion things from the $10 tabular array to the $i table in hopes of getting them for less than they're worth. Taking the fourth dimension to identify individual price stickers on everything avoids the problem.

5. Factor in Flaws

If annihilation y'all're planning to sell has flaws that won't come off with a good cleaning, such as a crack or chip in the paint, don't try to conceal them. Garage-sale shoppers are a savvy lot, and if they detect you're trying to play a joke on them, it could put them off your sale completely.

Instead, put a characterization on the object acknowledging the flaw, such as "lamp does not piece of work," and toll it accordingly. Buyers will appreciate your honesty, and a few minor flaws (or even major ones) won't deter the hardcore DIY crowd.

half-dozen. Be Flexible on Prices

The price you put on the tag isn't necessarily the price you lot should look buyers to pay. Garage sale shoppers are people who love a bargain, and they're not shy most trying to negotiate for a lower cost.

You tin account for this tendency to haggle by setting the initial prices just a petty on the loftier side. Nevertheless, this approach can backfire if yous take information technology too far. Non all buyers like to deal, and some will merely walk away from something that looks overpriced.

According to The Bandbox, a good compromise is to price things xv% to xx% above the minimum you'd have. That's low plenty to avoid scaring buyers away only high enough to give them a take a chance to haggle. If you price something at $6 when you lot'd accept $5, buyers who offer you $5 will experience similar they've scored a deal, and you lot'll still get the price you want.

However, in that location may be a few goods on which y'all prefer to state a firm price rather than leave room for haggling. For case, if you have a rare record you know could fetch $20 on eBay, you might be unwilling to accept less. In these cases, add the give-and-take "firm" to the characterization, as in "$20 firm," so buyers don't waste their time and yours trying to negotiate.

As the solar day wears on, you're likely to see the initial flood of shoppers slow to a trickle. When this happens, consider dropping your prices — not just past accepting lower offers but on the price tags — to brand your merchandise more highly-seasoned. Getting $five for a set of dishes obviously isn't every bit adept every bit getting $10, but it's amend than getting cypher.

7. Have a Free Box

If yous have a agglomeration of small goods you know won't bring in much money, why not simply give them away? Pile information technology all into ane box, and label it "free" in big, assuming letters.

Just seeing the word "gratuitous" attracts people's attention. It can draw in shoppers who would typically pass by a sale without stopping. In one case they've stopped, there's a improve gamble they'll check out your other trade too, and these boosted sales can more than make upward for the scattering of nickels and dimes you might accept managed to get for your gratis stuff.

Modest toys, such as those that come with fast-food meals, are excellent candidates for the gratuitous box. They're not worth much anyway, and they attract the attending of children who don't take any coin to spend. When they see their kids making a beeline for the toys in the gratuitous box, the parents will be more than inclined to stop and check out the rest of the sale.

Special Tips for Shared Garage Sales

Holding a garage sale is a lot of work. It takes hours to clear out closets, advertise your sale, price your goods, fix them out on tables, and clean up afterward.

If you lot don't accept that many things to sell or many high-value items, your auction probably won't bring in enough money to get in worth the trouble. For case, if you spend 15 hours preparing for a yard sale and only make $15 in full, all your piece of work earns you but $1 per hour. That's far less than minimum wage.

However, there's a way to alter that equation. If a friend or neighbour also lacks enough stuff to make a auction worthwhile, yous can team up and hold a unmarried auction. By sharing both the work and the money, you tin bring your hourly earnings upwards to a respectable level.

The Benefits of Holding a Joint Sale

Other advantages of having a joint garage auction are:

A More Substantial Sale. Past pooling your goods, you lot can have a more than extensive sale that's more likely to concenter shoppers. It will look more enticing from the road, and you'll take more merchandise to tempt buyers with in your advertisements.
Tag-Teaming. By working together, you lot can take turns watching the sale. That allows each of you to accept breaks without worrying someone volition make off with the wares.
Combining Your Skills. If you lot're not groovy at negotiating, but your friend is, let them accept over all the haggling duties. You lot tin can oversee other tasks, such equally making change.
Company. Running a garage auction can go kind of dull. You have to sit outside all twenty-four hour period monitoring the auction, even during dry spells when there are no customers to conversation with. When you hold a auction with a friend, you can keep each other visitor throughout the day, and the time seems to laissez passer faster.

Pricing for a Shared Sale

Still, belongings a articulation sale also makes pricing more than complicated. Yous need to keep track of which goods are whose and then the money they bring in goes to the correct person.

The easiest mode to do that is to use color-coded price stickers. For example, yous can put blue stickers on all your stuff and ruddy stickers on your friend's. Whenever you lot sell something, peel off the cost sticker and stick it on a piece of paper. At the end of the auction, you can tally up the total value of the bluish and red stickers and divvy upwardly your earnings accordingly.

Sometimes, a friend or relative can't help you with your sale but still wants to contribute to it. That's fine since the additional merchandise beefs upward your sale and increases its curb appeal.

However, if you're in this state of affairs, make sure you lot get prices for everything they contributed. A heir-apparent who asks for a cost doesn't desire to stand at that place and wait while y'all try aimlessly to get your friend on the phone. Inquire your friend for both a suggested price and the minimum price they'll take and then you'll know what to say to buyers who desire to haggle.

Final Give-and-take

Even if your garage sale is a roaring success, information technology'southward hundred-to-one every single item on your tables will sell. If y'all don't desire to drag the leftovers back inside and store them until your next auction, you demand another programme for disposing of them.

If you have high-value goods that didn't find a buyer, you can endeavour selling them online. However, if you lot just want this junk out of your business firm, donating information technology is easier. Many charities, such as Goodwill and the Vietnam Veterans of America, take donations of used clothing and secondhand furniture. Other things can find a new home through your local Freecycle group.

A garage sale tin can help you turn unwanted junk into welcome greenbacks. By pricing your merchandise right and presenting it appealingly, y'all can end the day with more of the latter and less of the quondam.