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The two goals with your garage sale are (1) to clear things out and (2) get cash in. It’s plain and simple. The key to success in both of these goals is to correctly price the items in your sale. If your prices are too high, you will not move the items out of your home. If your prices are too low, you will move the items out but will not net the cash you were hoping for.
“Time is money,” the old saying says. You’re going to spend a fair amount of time gathering and sorting things to be ready for your customers when they show up at your home. You want to get a fair amount of money for the time you are spending on this endeavor.
Here are some tips on pricing things correctly to get the most bang for the bucks you will be getting and the time you are investing in advance of the big day.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
In retail sales it all about “location, location, location.” When having a garage sale it’s all wrapped up in the pricing. To boil it down quickly you need to:
If you do these three things you’ll see a huge return. The best advice is to make sure you PRICE EVERYTHING BEFORE THE DAY OF THE SALE. The reason for pricing everything before garage sale day is so you are not caught at the last minute making value judgments on the day when you should be the most relaxed and engaging. If you can engage and connect with your customers they will buy your stuff.
The price tag should be placed in a very visible spot on the item. People will walk away from a garage sale if they have to ask what the prices of things are. So pricing everything before the sale day will help you ease into the big day and it will communicate for you to your customers that you are glad they came.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”3923″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”3921″ img_size=”full”][vc_single_image image=”3922″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
Another old adage is, “you can price it to sell it, or you can price it to keep it!” Marketing and sale gurus know no matter how good the advertising is, people will not let go of their hard-earned cash if the item is priced too high. Those marketing execs also know if you price it too low you will not make what you need to as you sell off things. Well, the low pricing strategy may be a concern in the for-profit retail sales market, but this is a garage sale. Your time is your time, and cash in the hand is better than carrying those old jeans back into the house when you wanted to get rid of them and make some money. As you have people at your yard sale you want to get them to buy your stuff so you don’t have to keep it. In this case, your “bird in the hand” is your items, and the “two in the bush” are the two dollars burning a hole in your customer’s pocket. Before a customer wants to swap money for your “bird”, you have to connect and communicate with them.
We are here to help you make the most money at your sale, and at the same time make the process of converting sales easy when it comes to handing over your things to customers and receiving cash in return.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
Make sure all of your price tags are BRIGHT and BOLD. Make no doubts as to what your price is.
When you are doing items in bulk, use a big sign on a table saying, “All Books (your dollar amount)” or “Books 3 for (your dollar amount). Tape, glue, weld table signs to your tables so they cannot be blown away or fall off at some shopper’s carelessness. Oh, and make the table signs on bright card stock with a BOLD BLACK marker so even those with sight issues can see the pricing.
Stickers, cardstock, and string for hanging tags should all be super visible and brightly colored. It has been said already but price everything in an obvious location so there are no questions. If you have bright 3 x 5 cards for pricing soft goods like blankets, pillows, and clothing simply cut the cards into 1/4 sizes, punch a hole in the corner, thread your bright string through the hole, and then use a safety pin to tag the item in an obvious place. It should be visible at first glance, and always place tags in the same place on all your soft goods so you will always know where the price should be, and your customers will learn quickly where to look for the price.
Don’t place tags or pins in areas that will damage items. Placing a tag on the cover of a book is okay, but with paperbacks or glossy covers, the tag may not be able to be removed easily. Just think it through before you damage an item with a tag or pin.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”3925″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”3927″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
When it comes down to what price should you label something with you have to just feel it out. There are no hard and fast rules for pricing. There is a general rule that you can start with a price that is 1/3rd of what you originally bought something for and then lower the price for damage and wear. But this sometimes will place items higher than the general market will pay for that item. So here is where a field trip comes in.
Get in your car on a Saturday and go hunt garage sales in the area. Have fun, but don’t buy too much; you’re trying to get rid of things in your home. Coming home with more stuff will set you back in your de-cluttering process at this point. Just go out and look for things you may have in your sale and take note of what people are pricing things at. You will see consistency as you go to several sales, and you will see what is working and what is not. You can also ask fellow garage sale shoppers what they would pay for certain items. You’ll be able to take a straw-pole on the fly…kind of a man on the street thing…and note what the average market is for things you actually will be selling as other garage sales are trying to sell those items too.
If you see people selling books or CDs for $1 or even $.50 you will never sell yours at $2 to $3. If kids clothing or baby clothing is going for $1 to $2 in the garage sales you visit, you will never get $10 for that Nordstrom toddler outfit. Conversely, if you are planning on selling old pants for $2 a pair and the local prices are $3 to $4 a pair, you are going to lose potential cash by pricing your pants too low. Do your research well in advance and ask a ton of questions from your fellow garage sale shoppers.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
If you have a price on an item like furniture or electronics that you know you are “firm” on then simply mark that item “firm” under the price in fine point black marker. Don’t mark it huge and bold “FIRM”, people will walk away because it may seem like you are yelling at them and that you just want to keep your item unless somebody will overpay for it (I know you would not do that, but it may seem like that to a shopper). Just make it noted below the price that you are firm on the listed price — but be ready to get people that will ask if you would take less for the item. It’s a garage sale and people are looking for deals. If you don’t want to deal, simply say, “No.”
But haggling is part of the garage sale model. The people at The Spruce have some tips on how to haggle at a garage sale from the buyer’s position. I believe it’s a good read so you can figure out how you would respond to each of the tips a buyer may use. This will strengthen your skills in negotiation so you can get more money in your pocket for the items you are selling. On the more expensive items like furniture and newer large-dollar items, build some negotiating room into the price of about 10% to 20% above your minimum (but feel this out, and don’t make it too high or nobody will even ask, “Will you take less for this?”). This way you can give a deal when haggling and still get what you want at the minimum…a Win/Win for everyone![/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”3928″ img_size=”full”][vc_single_image image=”3929″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row]