Ever had a Yard/GARAGE SALE?

[Spiritwolfe]

I've never had one but am going to in a few weeks and I'd very much appreciate any valuable tips you could offer me.
Thank you

[Kuffy]

Put a price tag on everything, unless you want to gauge price to individuals depending on how they are dressed and what kind of car they drive. Don't limit pricing to plastic money denominations like $10 $15 $20 etc. If you want $18.50 for it, then put that price on it. Don't lose $3.50 just because plastic money is easier to deal with. And price higher than you want for the item, because haggling is common.

[Fuzzie]

Not sure about Canada but I think yard sales etiquette probably varies culturally and regionally. For me it has only been a way of trying to sell stuff that would otherwise go to the tip or take too long to sell through an online auction site. The clientele that visit garage sales seem to only want to pay 50c for anything, irrespective of value and they want to haggle you down at that price point anyway. The upside is you don't have to work out pack and post costs.

You need some highly visible signage, that can be read from 50m in a moving vehicle, in the vicinity of your sale directing people to it. Remember to take down all the signage after you have finished and packed up.

You will need lots of small change in a fanny pack to start off selling all those 50c items to people with $10 bills.

The first people will turn up 2 hours before your advertised start time. In the dark. They will make ridiculous offers for the good stuff. They will be the professional garage sale vultures.

Get a roll of sale price sticky labels. Put a price on everything you can before the sale. Knowing what you want to get for an item helps all in a negotiation. If you just want to see it gone, put a sign on it that says 'beat the bin, make an offer' and be prepared to take the offer.

Pie stalls always seem to make good money. You might make more $ if you are allowed to also set up a sausage sizzle/lemonade stall/coffee stand. YMMV

Be clear in your own mind what you are happy to be left holding at the end of the day.

[Spiritwolfe]

Gosh! I have never had a garage sale and have been working on this one for over a year now but I'm not really sure if I'm cut out for this. For one thing I'm not a very social person and would absolutely despise anyone showing up two hours early. Seriously that's just rude and I don't do well with rude obnoxious people and from the info I'm getting about garage sales, these kinds will be creeping around everywhere.

Perhaps the garage sale is for things that you normally would just throw out but otherwise hope people will pay money for.
I've also been told not to add prices where you need to make change otherwise you spend the day giving out change and can't really keep an eye out for possible thieves.
There is only going to be two of us and I'm seriously starting to reconsider. Lol!


I had originally considered having refreshments like lemonade or ice tea and others mentioned that then I'll just have more to look after as well as people loitering around.


I think perhaps I need to find other alternatives to selling.
I know many things are going to be sold through kijiji


The more I learn about these garage sales, the more I realize that they just might not be for me. I'm not the most people tolerant person and that might be putting it mildly.


If I'm going to get up extra early to start this sale, the last thing I want are people getting in my way that shouldn't be there. My dogs will bark non stop.
And if people start getting rude and aggressive, I'm not going to take to kindly to it.


Nope! I don't have a good feeling about this.


Thank you very much for offering your words of advice. It's much appreciated.

[Spiritwolfe]

I'm not really sure what you is meant by plastic money. Surely people don't expect to use their debit cards or visa at a garage sale?
Do they?

Also is a pie stall just that? A stall for pies! Lol!

[jmk89]

Plastic money - Australian banknotes have been printed on polymer for over 20 years. So it just refers to notes as opposed to coins

[Kuffy]

I'm not really sure what you is meant by plastic money.

Lol, sorry. I forgot you are in Canada. Our coins are 5c 10c 20c 50c $1 $2. Notes are $5, 10 20, 50, 100 and made of plastic as Jeremy says.

Credit Cards are plasticfantastic!

[Spiritwolfe]

Ok thank you. I did not know this.
Yeah! Credit cards are plastic-fantastic until you have to pay for them. lol!
I suppose it could be fun if I have the right attitude. After all, it's just for a day right?

[Fuzzie]

Also is a pie stall just that? A stall for pies! Lol!

Yes, a market stall/stand/booth...
Apple pie ..mmm, blueberry pie ...mmm, cherry pie ....mmm

My original comment was somewhat tongue in cheek. I was implying as a way of making money, people seem to be more happy to pay for cake and coffee than used goods. Around here a major fund raiser for community clubs etc is a sausage sizzle.

The yard sale thing isn't all bad. Two people should handle it fairly easily. The really obnoxious people are thankfully few and far between. If you are confident you have set fair and reasonable prices on the things you want to sell, there is no need to run two prices depending on how someone looks and you have no anguish turning down unreasonable offers. If you sell online you also really need to set the prices in advance anyway.

[Spiritwolfe]

Yes, a market stall/stand/booth...
Apple pie ..mmm, blueberry pie ...mmm, cherry pie ....mmm

My original comment was somewhat tongue in cheek. I was implying as a way of making money, people seem to be more happy to pay for cake and coffee than used goods. Around here a major fund raiser for community clubs etc is a sausage sizzle.

The yard sale thing isn't all bad. Two people should handle it fairly easily. The really obnoxious people are thankfully few and far between. If you are confident you have set fair and reasonable prices on the things you want to sell, there is no need to run two prices depending on how someone looks and you have no anguish turning down unreasonable offers. If you sell online you also really need to set the prices in advance anyway.

And I'd rather sell baked goods or food in general than used goods cause I can actually really cook plus it would be WAY more fun. Apple pies, pumpkin, cherry, rubbarb and strawberry, lemon meringue , pecan . Oh ! Can you imagine the smell? On the side make some Belgian waffles with fresh berries and whipped cream.

Thanks for for the heads up. As long as I am confidently assertive I should have no problems.
Ive got tables, priced items, categorized sections, plenty of tables and tarps, extra garbage cans in case I do decide to add food. Even fresh baked cookies are a pleasant distraction for most people. Add a nice beverage and maybe people will stay and shop longer.

Id like to make some extra cash but I think my main reason for wanting this is that there is far too much stuff in this house. There's so much materialistic stuff that it is virtually impossible to appreciate it all because most of it is stashed away. While I'm nowhere close to being a hoarder , I have no desire to even slightly resemble being one. I'd really like to enjoy more of our house but can't because there's too much stuff. I'm sure I'm not the only in this predicament or garage sales wouldn't be so popular.


Do any of you ever look over your stuff and think "What was I thinking?"

[Bob38S]

Agree with all of the above, however, I would also add a further sobering note.

Unfortunately, possibly a sign of the times, there will be some who will take advantage by employing the 5 finger discount, even though you price things reasonably there always appears to be some who will just pinch things just because they can. A sad but true situation.

I have helped out in a few garage sales and have a few observations which may be of help.

1 You need help, you can't do it on your own.

2 Locate your cash point at the exit and try to have 1 way in and 1 way out.

3 Be prepared to haggle or refuse to sell an item, it seems that no matter how cheap or reasonable a price may be the question you will still get is "Will you take......."

4 Write down everything you sell including the price, this helps you to keep track of things and let's you reconcile your list with your cash tin. An apron with front pockets is a handy way to go for folding money.

5 Be aware of "professionals" , those who go to garage sales to pick up things as cheaply as possible for resale at markets. Quite often these are the ones who arrive hours early.

6 Ensure your house is locked, you don't want any unpleasant surprises while you have been kept busy.

7 Any items you are not selling should be removed from the area and stored away securely or some sort of physical barrier between what is being sold and what isn't.

8 If you have multiples of items, be prepared to bundle, eg books etc, $2 each or 3 for $5...

9 Get as many tables etc as possible so that items are displayed rather than have people digging through boxes trying to find bits and pieces. As things sell, replace the empty spaces if you have more than you can display or compact the area.

10 Have a box of largish stickers, brightly coloured which you can write Sold on and if possible an area set aside to locate these in. Some will buy and pickup later especially if the item is too large or heavy to take with them.

11 At the end of the day have a large bottle/s of your favourite brew because you will certainly need a "pick me up" as you will be "stuffed".

Just some thoughts.

[KBs PensNmore]

If you advertise in a local paper, put your street and suburb down, but not your house number. Start putting the signs up about 1/2 hr before opening to give you time to get them out and the one in front of the house at opening time. That way you don't have scavengers knocking on your door at 5.30 AM.
If you think you can't handle a lot of people, ask a close friend if they wouldn't mind helping out, all you can do is ask, then you'll also know how good a friend they are. I can taste your pies here, and I'm having breakfast.
Enjoy the day
Kryn

[Poppa]

We have held garage sales, and been to hundreds. We are in the business and pick up a lot of stock through garage sales, as well as stuff for ourselves. We love a bargain. We aren't rude though - we don't turn up early, and we don't make rude offers. If we think something is grossly overpriced for what it is, we just don't bother as we don't want to insult anyone. We've paid thousands of dollars for items at garage sales when they are worth it. We have also advised lots of folks where the best place to sell their stuff is. If you have really nice things and think they are worth a lot of money, then selling them at a garage sale might not be the best place - ebay, or local auctions, or specialty auctions may be best. But if you need to get rid of stuff and you can bear letting go of stuff at bargain prices, a garage sale is ideal. I would echo a lot of the advice above. Price everything clearly, advertise a strict starting time (and don't let the early birds in!). The advice from Kryn above is good - I hadn't thought of that. One entry/exit is good advice, and having enough people on hand to mind the store while you go and help people out with information is essential. Bribe friends with an offer of beer/tea'n'cake/pizza if necessary. And don't be afraid to price things expensively if they are really worth it - just don't be emotionally attached to it. Just because you paid $5k for a lounge suite doesn't mean you'll get $1000 for it at a yard sale. But if it is still in excellent condition and still in style, then you might. Assess realistically, not emotionally. Be friendly, and remember, you're trying to get rid of stuff, not get rich. Good luck with it!

[Opelblues2]

i had a yard sale once, problem I wasn't home at the time, 1500km away working. but I did find my clothes in a bag on the front lawn. I'm not joking. anyway -

label everything - price
lock your house
have back up extra people to help
large items like cabinets, beds, tables arrange pickup time after closing, this helps when the parking in the street is tight
lock your house
place in sections - garden, tools, kitchen, kids, clothes

[Spiritwolfe]

Agree with all of the above, however, I would also add a further sobering note.

Unfortunately, possibly a sign of the times, there will be some who will take advantage by employing the 5 finger discount, even though you price things reasonably there always appears to be some who will just pinch things just because they can. A sad but true situation.

I have helped out in a few garage sales and have a few observations which may be of help.

1 You need help, you can't do it on your own.

2 Locate your cash point at the exit and try to have 1 way in and 1 way out.

3 Be prepared to haggle or refuse to sell an item, it seems that no matter how cheap or reasonable a price may be the question you will still get is "Will you take......."

4 Write down everything you sell including the price, this helps you to keep track of things and let's you reconcile your list with your cash tin. An apron with front pockets is a handy way to go for folding money.

5 Be aware of "professionals" , those who go to garage sales to pick up things as cheaply as possible for resale at markets. Quite often these are the ones who arrive hours early.

6 Ensure your house is locked, you don't want any unpleasant surprises while you have been kept busy.

7 Any items you are not selling should be removed from the area and stored away securely or some sort of physical barrier between what is being sold and what isn't.

8 If you have multiples of items, be prepared to bundle, eg books etc, $2 each or 3 for $5...

9 Get as many tables etc as possible so that items are displayed rather than have people digging through boxes trying to find bits and pieces. As things sell, replace the empty spaces if you have more than you can display or compact the area.

10 Have a box of largish stickers, brightly coloured which you can write Sold on and if possible an area set aside to locate these in. Some will buy and pickup later especially if the item is too large or heavy to take with them.

11 At the end of the day have a large bottle/s of your favourite brew because you will certainly need a "pick me up" as you will be "stuffed".

Just some thoughts.

This is a seriously priceless post about garage sales and I'd very much like to comment on it but I'll have to save it for tomorrow. Thank you for taking the time to write out such awesome points.
Its great!