I love yard sales, garage sales, rummage sales and estate sales. I enjoy the thrill of the hunt. I don’t mind digging through random things to find unique treasures and deals. I love saving money by buying second-hand. Sometimes I even make money by finding great deals and reselling the items.
I’ve been to loads of garage sales and have hosted plenty of them myself. As weird as it sounds, I’m kind of passionate about yard sales.
That being said, I have one garage sale pet peeve. A complete turnoff. Something that might make me leave without even looking at your stuff.
My big pet peeve– Not pricing your stuff!
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve walked away empty-handed from sales (even when they had stuff I liked) because they didn’t have their items priced.
Check out my Ultimate List of Garage Sale Tips to learn how to host a successful and profitable sale!
First, let’s talk about why people don’t price things. Then I’ll tell you why you should always price everything at your yard sale.
Why people don’t price their stuff:
Laziness
Some people have no intention of pricing their items because the task seems overwhelming. Organizing and executing a successful yard sale is lots of work. Between gathering items to sell, inviting friends and neighbors to participate, making awesome signs, advertising online, setting up tables and organizing your stuff, it might just seem overwhelming to set and place prices on the items too.
Run Out of Time
Even with intentions to price your items, sometimes it doesn’t work out. If you don’t have everything for your garage sale prepared the night before, including pricing, you will run out of time. You might think you can take care of it at the beginning of the sale, but if your sale is well-advertised, the first hour or two of your sale will be the busiest. Plus, people will always come even before you’re officially open.
Don’t Know What to Charge
Some people honestly don’t have a clue what to charge for their stuff, so instead of deciding on something, they procrastinate their decision until someone picks up the item and asks about it. Depending on the particular buyer and his or her interest level, the price may fluctuate.
Don’t Realize the Importance of Prices
Many people who host a yard sale are not regular yard sale shoppers. They might not realize the importance of prices to their potential customers. Garage sale pricing is essential!
Why you should price everything:
Your Shoppers are Penny-Pinchers
Garage sale shoppers are budget-conscious people. People who are careful with their money aren’t just going to grab a bunch of things from your sale without knowing how much it’s going to cost them.
I usually don’t have much patience for sales without prices, but if they have good looking kids clothes, for example, I will go ahead and ask, “How much are the kids clothes?” If they give me a flat per-item price (like $.50 each), then I will look through the clothes. If they say that it depends on the item, then I won’t bother looking. I don’t want to ask about every item and I don’t want surprises when I check out.
People Don’t Want to Ask
Asking is awkward. Because I don’t want to have to ask about every single thing I might be interested in, I only ever ask about things that I’m really, really interested in. It always feels a little awkward to put the item back after hearing a price that’s too high for me. It makes me less likely to ask about anything else. There may be plenty of things that I would buy if the price was right, but I don’t want to ask about everything.
There’s Only One of You
It’s annoying, especially at a crowded sale, to have to find the host of the sale to ask about prices. If it is a well-advertised sale with good curb appeal, the host is probably busy helping lots of other customers. The annoyance is multiplied when you have to ask about each item you are interested in.
A Few Tips
Here are a few pricing tips (for my complete list of garage sale tips, see this popular post)!
- Price items ahead so you don’t run out of time. As much as possible, I like to price items as I gather them. Aim to have all your items priced the night before the sale.
- To save time, you can use blanket pricing for items like clothing, books, games, or anything you have lots of. For example, shirts– $1, pants– $2, dresses– $3. Make sure your pricing signs are clear and noticeable.
- For big ticket items, price the items higher than what you would like to get for the item. Bargaining is normal, so you’ll often have customers offer less than the asking price on items, but especially higher priced items. At the same time, don’t make your price so high that people are afraid to even make an offer.
- If you’re serious about getting rid of things (as opposed to saving leftovers for your next sale), have a special deal (50% off or “fill a bag for $x”)for the last hour or two. Be sure to advertise the deal so customers come back.
A yard sale or garage sale is a great way to earn some extra cash. To have the most successful sale possible, remember to price everything. Garage sale pricing is essential! You will sell more items, make more money, and be able to enjoy your sale if you price your stuff.
You’ll Also Enjoy
Do you have any tips for selling things like Matilda Jane that were very expensive and only worn one time?
Or tips for things that still have tags on them because I forgot to return it to the store?
Or also nice name brand things? Like a Patagonia puffer jacket that was worn 9 times because my kid hated it. Should I look at other sites like eBay to compare prices or just sell those on eBay?
Any item over $20 should be posted to Facebook Marketplace. You can certainly include it in your sale, but you can sidestep haggling by letting the buyer know you have the item posted on-line. You will not sell unique, expensive items at a yard sale. Not gonna happen. Clothes that still have the tags on them should be given their own garment rack or table with a blanket price of $5 or $10. Unless you have an expensive leather jacket (which should be posted online) you won’t get more than $10 for an item of clothing. Ditto shoes or boots.
I AGREE completely! Everything needs to be priced! I leave if it is not. I have yard sales and make sure that it is all priced.
I even go to other stores when they won’t even make the effort to put at least one price per itemS on the shelf fronts. Let alone not price each item. If you’re too lazy, I can find an appropriate shop that will gladly take my money for the work they have put into their stores. Color code priced stickers help keep things easy too. If doing this with other people mark their initials on on stickers too. Or cut triangles, squares, or stars.
Hi, I live in the UK and we don’t really have garage/yard sales, but your tips will hopefully help at my carboot sale. You drive to a field (determined by the organisers) and display your objects on tables and on ground sheets. My local one is near a supermarket so it gets quite busy. Having a yard sale would definitely save on petrol and effort unloading the car.
Thanks again for the pricing tips
I find it really irritating when the seller starts telling me what a great deal I’m getting on something – I’ll be the judge of that! Lol
Or telling you how much they “gave for” such-an-such item. It’s not my fault you’re crazy enough to pay $150 for a pair of pants. I’m not paying more than $2 😀
You should realize that things are more expensive these days and yes some jeans do cost $150 which I usually resell if in good condition for $25 or $30. Its sad that when we as buyers of $150 jeans do try to resell them with lots of life left in them for $25 or $30 you think that its overpriced. If you want $2 jeans go find a garage sale that people originally paid $20 for the jeans probably from another garage sale. You should always respect peoples pricing. As with anything if you dont like the price then go somewhere else. I tell everyone that has a problem with my prices. I did not pay a quater for my things…neither will you.
If you are reselling $150 jeans, take them to a consignment shop. A garage sale is where lower income, single mothers and bargain hunters shop and their whole budget is $25 – $50. They will not spend that on 1 pair of jeans.
Hi Stephanie! Great points! I thought I’d already read everything there was to read about doing a good yard sale, but you brought out more things. I especially like your section on why people don’t price. I agree with the person above making the point about overpricing. People price too high, then they say they will negotiate but I can’t even get in their ballpark when it’s already too high. And many times it’s on a piece that already has issues, and they want top dollar.
As a newbie blogger, and a frequent yard saler, I wrote an article on how to give a sale and what not to say in your ad. If you are inclined, go check me out!
Great post!
I Like your post but personally for me, I don’t mind if smaller to medium items are not priced, chances are those are the things that they really don’t want back in their house so i can just offer x amount of $ and they will take it. But i get frustrated when i see a bigger item or clothing not priced, I hate having to ask, Because I know they will give me a much higher price just for asking!(clothing mostly because it has to depend on the piece for the price ugh hate that!) I have gotten awesome pieces of furniture, some tools, and even a bike when there priced, because I feel its easier to bargain already knowing the price, and I personally know if its worth it! i Know the retail price on a lot of stuff, i like to prepare for yard sales ahead of time so i can get the best for my $ i hate going to an over priced yard sale knowing i can get the same item new for about the same price. i Love yard sales because i know i can get some awesome stuff for a better price. i know i sound really cheap, but sometimes new doesnt mean better.
When it is something that I really have been looking for, and the item is NOT priced, I ask if they will take an offer. Most will state a fair price. Sometimes I give them more as I really appreciated the pricing and sitting, and selling is a tedious task(especially after prepping for the sale). If you are at the point you just want to be RID of the stuff and not have to re-pack back into the house or take to donation STATE SO(make a sign), many people would be happy to take something they wanted(now free or super low cost) or will grab something that their relative or friend/neighbor has been looking for. If I am gonna donate, I don’t care who I am donating it to. Most times I never have enough to claim for tax write off even with donations.
I do understand it’s good to price, but have noticed for many years, more and more people are not pricing items and are selling out. Guess there’s just have too much treasured junk out there and no one leaves empty handed. Unfortunately with 3-5 households contributing and only 2 of us doing the selling, have not priced items for the last 10 years and have been very lucky doing well over $xxxx.oo on each yearly 5 hr sale. Half the people are regulars and many ask to be put on a call list. Easy to read signs, smiles, welcoming conversations, paper wrapping for glass ware, bags for items, free candy, $.25 sodas and popcorn, fun music and power strip for electrical testing keeps ’em coming back. And many thanks go to Craigslist ads!
Signage. Yes… large enough to read without causing an accident. Dates – not days of the week. I lothe looking for a yard sale that was the weekend before and the people too lazy to remove their signs(plus littering street poles). Post and opening time, and if not sure when you want to end – – just leave the end at a ? mark. No one can be super upset with an unsure end. That way too if you stayed open until late afternoon you still might have a few buyers who couldn’t drop in earlier. Sometimes those people are my favorite buyers.
Best sale I ever did was a Dollar Sale. Made $1,200. People bought more because it was only a dollar. A beautiful winter coat and a t-shirt cost $2. They didn’t mind the cost of the T-shirt. Several people came back after stopping at other sales. I did have some things that were not $1. Those were in a separate area and had price tags but nothing else was marked. Easiest sale I ever held. I will say that I did not have any kids clothes but if I had I would have done them at 4 for a dollar.
Sounds awesome. Love the idea.
I completely agree! I will walk away before asking a price! If I don’t see tags, I leave. Thanks for posting this. I hope the non-pricers read this post!!
I understand what you’re saying and have felt the same, but I agree with Ashley. Having a yearly yard sale with 4 households for the past 20 years and usually ended up being the only one setting up for everyone else, it’s was very hard to price each item. So I chanced it and didn’t price anything and made more money ($900 each day) than ever and have done that the last 5 years (and have averaged that amount and more each sale since). People would even give me their phone numbers to give them advance notice when our next sales were. I have noticed the last 3-4 years more and more people are not pricing either, seems like it’s a becoming thing. Bottom line, it’s a yard sale and you sell cheap! If you want to sell it for more, have an estate sale, sell on CL or eBay.
I have to disagree here. I find that where I live people are more interested in haggling when they have not set their sights on what they “think” it is worth versus what it is actually worth or what others are prepared to pay. I do think this is a location decision in that where you live there is different etiquette to where I live but I must say over here in my small Aussie town most people do not price and garage sales are popular and well attended. If I have $4 in my wallet and I see $7 on the item I am not even going to ask and at the end of the day what is the use if in the end the item does not sell at all versus the $4 in my wallet they could have had.
I absolutely hate it when items aren’t priced! I definitely get the impression from the sellers that they are basing prices on my level of interest in the item, and that is really frustrating.
I hate wasting my time, and having to ask on each item takes so much longer than glancing down at a tag!
I’m not afraid to ask for a lower price on 1 or 2 items if the prices are too high for me, but at the sales where the seller isn’t willing to budge on those first few asks, I tend to leave without buying anything and don’t waste my time and theirs asking on further items.
I love your suggestions. My biggest Y/S Pet Peeve is the people who stuff the pockets of the clothes you have for sale with religious material. Seems like no matter how well we watch out for them this always happens!!
Our garage is converted into a family room where we unfortunately began a Y/S pile a few years ago. Needless to say it’s now a mountain & sorting it all seems impossible. It’s overwhelming & we don’t know where to begin. Do you have any suggestions for the best way to organize Y/S stuff when there is little or no room?
Thanks for the great ideas!!
I can honestly say I’ve never had that happen! Is your area have lots of religious proselyting?
I say wait until the weather is nice so that you can use the space outside to help sort. Lay out tarps or blankets to sort on. Involve the whole family and maybe a friend or two so you can get it done efficiently. Best of luck! 🙂
When we do a yard sale we have a similar problem with not having a lot of room to spread out for prep. We’ve come up with a system of dedicating the whole evening the night before the sale for the sorting and pricing. Anyone in the house that’s not participating has to stay in their bedroom or one communal room. The rest of the house gets overrun with sorting, which we can deal with for one night. 🙂 I recommend sorting out all the clothes, books, movies, music first as you’ll want to display them together for shopper’s convienence and we usually do group pricing for them (i.e. paperback books $0.25, hardback books $0.50, unless otherwise marked) so it makes pricing easier. Taking out those big lots of stuff also reduces the pile of ‘stuff’ that has to be sorted and priced individually.
I agree with you, Stephanie, I like for prices to be marked. It’s not an automatic walk away if they aren’t, and I will definitely ask if it’s something I’m really interested in, but it just makes it so much easier for me. If the price is marked, I know immediately whether or not I’m going to get it. If it’s not marked, I have time to change my mind as I’m walking around, and more often than not I end up putting it back down.
I also don’t like to haggle, so maybe that has something to do with it. It makes me super uncomfortable, and I’ll sooner walk away from an overpriced item than deal with the awkwardness of trying to talk the seller down to a lower price.
For the people who say they love to haggle and so prefer when things aren’t marked, you can still haggle with marked prices, and I’ve even been to sales where the seller will put up signs, or tell all new walk-ons that prices are negotiable to encourage people to make offers on things they would otherwise pass on because of the price.
Yes! With prices you get the best of both worlds. You can haggle if you want to, but you don’t have to ask about everything!
I actually disagree. I am less likely to buy if items are priced. I have found that when people price their items, they are less interested in haggling and have somewhat of a “can’t you see the price on the tag?!” mentality. I LOVE to haggle for the best price and find it much easier to do so when things aren’t priced. Often when they do price things, they price them way too high and then you feel super cheap (which I am, but don’t necessarily want them knowing that) by offering what you actually want to pay.
To each her own! 🙂 We should go garage saling together, then you can shop the sales without prices and I’ll shop when there are prices!
This should be required reading for anyone participating in a yard sale. Seriously. The whole point is to get rid of the stuff and if they want to do that, they should probably be putting the prices up for people. Great information and tips!
Agreed!
I agree 100%!! If stuff at a yard sale isn’t priced, most likely I will walk away with nothing. I may ask if there is something I am really interested in but not often. I’ve been to some where I feel as though they’re sizing me up & trying to decide just how much they think I would pay because it takes them so long to decide on a price. Other times I’ve been at yard sales with more than one people working it and one person will give me a price then when I’m paying the other will say something completely different.
Yes! “I feel as though they’re sizing me up & trying to decide just how much they think I would pay.” That is how I feel sometimes too.
I love the ideas of ‘blanket pricing’ and the ‘fill a bag for $__’. I end up donating a lot of things because I just don’t want to deal with the hassle of a yard sale, but these will definitely be tips to remember if we ever do actually hold a yard sale!
Customers love it and it gets more stuff out the door. Win-win!
And another one—take down all your signs after your sale is over!
Oh yes!
I don’t do yard sales, but I resell full time so I go to dozens of them each week. I don’t mind non-priced items, in fact I feel it opens the door for more negotiation since they probably don’t have a clue what they want. I agree with the above comment, my pet peeve is those who attach ebay listings to items. I have gone to many yard sales with ebay listings attached. I turn around a walk away (and when I get to my car its super funny to see the look on their faces)
If there aren’t prices and you are comfortable negotiating, you can always offer a price before asking them what the price is. In most cases the buyer will give a low-ball price and the seller will counter with a higher price. The buyer has the advantage because they set the “ballpark.”
It’s crazy that people think they can ask ebay prices. There is a huge difference between having the whole world as your market (and people actually searching for your item) than having your neighborhood as your market (and people just hoping to find something they need).
I completely agree!! Pricing your stuff is vital to good sales for the reasons you mentioned above. I too will simply walk away if stuff is not priced.
With prices you get the best of both worlds. You can go to the checkout and know exactly how much you’ll be paying or if you like to haggle you are still welcome to haggle. Without prices you’ll miss out on that first set of customers.
I have been on the lookout at garage sales for stuff for my classroom and I really like it when you don’t have to ask! It always feels like I’m all set to haggle, which is not really what I’m trying for.
If haggling and negotiating isn’t your thing, it can bring anxiety and nervousness, so many people just avoid it. I don’t mind haggling sometimes, but only for things I really want (and I still like a price as a starting point).
We are garage sale goers and throwers… and it is funny because we do not always price our stuff and that is something I tell people not to worry about if they don’t have time. I find that people ofter grab things they are interested in and I can give them a “bundle price.” The closest I get to pricing every item is a color coded pricing system… blue $2, yellow $1 etc… and even with that there are unpriced items. But I might give it a try next time. Price everything and see if it makes a difference!
One of the problems for me is that a lot of times I won’t even pick up stuff I’m interested in if it doesn’t have a price. I think using a color code system would be a nice time saver.
If people aren’t sure how to price items, one suggestion is to go to Goodwill and then price 75 – 50% less than Goodwill.
We’ve also had success using colored dots as price stickers i.e., orange = 50 cents, etc.
If you are having a yard sale but aren’t a regular yard sale shopper (and thus don’t know prices), it will help you to check out some yard sales before you have your own. In addition to pricing, you will learn what set-ups are nice, what signs are attractive, and get some ideas for your own sale.
Oh, I have far more pet peeves than that. How about
– garage sales that aren’t garage sales but are really “flea market” junk sales.
– garage sales that should be “I should just have just hauled this to the trash” sales (not too many, but some”
` and all of our favorite, the “I want ebay prices for my stuff but I don’t want to do the work of researching, cleaning, photographing, listing and shipping my stuff” garage sales.
I can deal w/having to ask for a price.
You definitely get the whole gamut when it comes to yard sales! Those are also things that turn me off! When I have my sales I am very careful to avoid all of those. Putting out stuff that is trash-worthy makes your whole sale have a junky feel. It’s definitely better to not put out the junk! And justifying overpricing your items by attaching an ebay listing is pretty ridiculous!
In our area the “junk” is put in a “FREE” box. People love something for free & will stop just to see what’s in there & stay to shop
too.
Hey Stephanie – great post but I feel the opposite way so I just had to comment. Normally when things are priced I find them to be overpriced. Nothing turns me off more than an overpriced garage sale. I usually just leave and don’t buy anything out of principal, even if I could probably try to negotiate one item I liked. But let’s just say things were priced and not too bad, but still not in line with what I was willing to pay. If I find a bunch of things I’m interested in, I will usually scoop them up and then make an overall offer for a number of things. Usually when you are willing to pay $5 or $10, for a number of things, that individually would amount to say $6 or $12, I usually find the seller is willing to let it go because, let’s face it, a garage sale is not fun (although you can try to make it as fun as possible) and it’s a matter of getting rid of your stuff as quickly as possible. For me this situation is a win-win. So if stuff is not priced at all, I would do the same thing. Gather it all up and offer say $4. Seller may think it’s more worth $6 and we may settle on $5. Same outcome but less work for the seller and more incentive for the buyer to buy more stuff rather than just onesies and twosies.
I don’t like overpriced sales either and I don’t stay long at those either. In the places where I’ve lived, I find the majority of sales are reasonably priced though. I will often make an offer on the purchase of multiple items, but I like having the prices to be able to figure what an even better deal would be. In your case, the seller would not miss out on your sale, but they may miss out on many others by not having prices. For me it’s worth the extra work ahead of time to save stress during the sale, especially when things are crazy at the beginning of the sale.
I agree if there’s no prices I leave
I enjoyed your post and the opinions in your comments. I host yardsales and vend at the flea markets. Personally I establish price points for my items but intentionally do not tag them. By not puting a price on my items, my sales numbers are higher. When a customer asks a price, or I give a price as someone is looking, it creates a line of communication, for me, leads to a friendly conversation and more sales.
I also find that the yardsales I get the best deals from are the ones that are unpriced, especially if I am buying in any quality.
In my case it works to create that bit of a personal relationship, but I do it primarily to flip for profit.
Eeek! Yes! This is my biggest pet peeve too. I LOVE garage sales but am never comfortable when nothing is priced. Thanks for this post.
Yes! Asking about everything can be awkward.
I agree! However, many times price tags get ‘moved’ somehow which is really annoying for the seller. It is awkward at check out without price tags.
I’ve never had a problem with tags being changed. That would be frustrating though!
Well, glad I read this! We really need to hold a garage sale, but with a nursing baby and a preschooler, it seems so overwhelming. I was totally thinking about not pricing things or just saying “everything for $.25 unless otherwise marked”. Oopsy!
Having a flat price for everything still counts as pricing! As long as customers know what the price is– that’s the most important thing!
Depending on what you’ve got, you can probably say everything $1, rather than $.25. A dollar sounds cheap to most people, but it’s 4 times as much as a quarter, which means you’ll make a lot more. For smaller things, you could say 4 for $1.
Great post! Normally I’m fanatical about pricing every single thing, but I recently did a flea market and didn’t have time to price my items. Whenever someone picked something up, I’d just say “A dollar.” I did that all day long, interacting with the buyers and it worked really well. I was surprised. My #1 pet peeve is false advertising, like saying a sale is HUGE, when it’s one or two tables of stuff or saying it’s an estate sale, when it’s just a garage sale. I’ve been on many a ghost run too where the place either didn’t exist or they cancelled without putting in an addition ad. Gas and time wasted. 🙁
I’m glad you had a good sale! Yes, the “false advertising” is annoying! Having awesome (and accurate) signs is another thing that is a big deal!
Great post!
I agree… I, too have walked out of sales with no pricing.. Lately though, I’ve looked through the goods, pick out a few things I “really” want and make a ridiculously low offer. I figure if they want a certain price for their things, they should price them, and if they don’t like my offer, they can counter and we can go from there.
Only once, did I have someone turn down my offer, so it has turned out to my advantage!
My pet peeve, is having things overpriced…. UGH! I once saw an aluminum muffin pan (not a antique) for $7! I turned on my heels as fast as I could and hit the road! You’re right in saying us “sailers” are bargain hunters… I say sell your things online if you want top dollar..
That’s great that you’re having success with offers! 🙂 I hate overpriced yard sales too!
Yeah I’m with you on that!!! Went to one once and there was a cat scratching post (complete with cat hair mind you) that had no price but from the looks of it I thought surely it can’t be over $1. To my utmost horror, when I asked “how much for cat scratch post, she replied $10, it’s brand new. I literally couldn’t speak!!! So my buddy with me turns to me and says, “oh, they must be making them with lots of cat hair and dirt already on them.” I just walked away.
Another roadside Macy’s
While boxes or tables of items like you mentioned with clothes is a good idea, a lot of items are better left not marked. Be sure to have enough family or neighbors to service customers because a LOT of times people will offer more than you would have asked anyway. Obviously this is not for nic nacs etc., but TV’s, stereo, furniture simply put on a sticker that says “Make Offer”. I have made a lot of “extra” money by doing this. Yes, most items should be marked but not all.