We have decided to have a GARAGE SALE in two or three weeks. My garage sale experience is very limited: I don't shop at them, and have only participated in one once (or was it twice?) but not at my own house.
I do know this: we have plenty of stuff to sell to make it worth our while. I would not go so far as to call myself a packrat but I would go so far as to say that I pretty much never get rid of anything. The time has come to unload some baby stuff (sniff, sniff), toys, clothes, shoes, etc. and free up some space in the garage, closets, etc. I have been making a list of things to sell as well as necessary supplies; price tags, tables, maybe a clothes rack, etc. But being as inexperienced in this field as I am, I'm asking for your suggestions.
What should I know before embarking on this grand adventure? (yes I know that's a bit dramatic)
I would like the kids to learn something from this experience; who has done this with kids before?
How do I come up with prices?
What do I need to get to be prepared?
Don't tell me about the customers who pretend they don't speak English; I did encounter that one at my last experience a few years ago, and it went down like this:
Price tag: "$2 for one shirt."
Customer: "One dollar? I give you one dollar? One dollar for two shirts?"
Me: "It's $2 for ONE shirt."
Customer: "Ah, one dollar. One dollar for two shirts."
Me: "FINE! Take the two shirts!"
(I'm a killer negotiator.)
In completely unrelated news, a little boy at Zoe & Lucy's preschool told me the other day that I smelled like cookies. And it made my day.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Advice, please
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15 comments:
as far as pricing goes, i once heard that you should price things for 10% of what you paid. if you paid a hundred dollars for a chair, you should list it for 10, etc.
i got some good advice on this very topic, in this post's comments department.
Huh, that's funny that I was one of the aforementioned advice-giving commenters; I didn't even remember the points I brought up. Thanks Leslie!
I think pricing takes FOREVER. So I would try to have a table with all things the same price, like $1 or $5 or whatever and just price the larger things.
Also, you have to be able to give stuff up for maybe not as much as you'd like. When we had a garage sale here and I did it with Dan's aunt, someone would ask me how much a thing was and I'd give them a price. Then she'd load it up in her car because I didn't price it high enough for her. She has a problem anyway, but now she also has an entire living room full of stuff! (not just from the garage sale.)
When we did our Garage sale with Katie (Nate's sis), Ethan made some muffins and some other various treats to sell for his own, and he got to keep the profits for himself. After paying tithing, he got to use his money for something he wanted. I thought it was a good idea for him to earn some $ of his own. That might be fun for your kids. It sounds like you've got the rest of it figured out though...good luck!
MAKE POSTERS! announce your sale or you won't get any costumers. It really helps to have big pieces, that's generally what attracts people in and then they buy little stuff
If you are willing, have a free table of things you don't care for and would be glad for people to take
At ours, (as kids) we always sold ice cold soda/drinks :) On hot days like these, people really like that :D
Good luck!
I just typed a long comment and it didn't save it. Maybe that's my hint that it was too long. Here's the abbreviated version:
--Good idea about the kids selling drinks and baked goods. I'd buy!
--If you can't get a clothes hanger, at least hang stuff on the bottom of your open garage door. Heaps of clothes do not sell well.
--For easy pricing, I would do like a $0.50 table, a $1 table, etc. so that you aren't pricing everything individually.
--Finally, remember that all of this stuff was in the back of your car on Saturday, ready to go to D.I. So price stuff low and just be happy to sell any of it!
Never held a garage sale--but I need to. Do you have any idea how many toy trucks one acquires when one has four young boys? Once I'm sure I'm done with baby stuff (which I'm not, even though Dan says he is). Right now it just sounds like too much work.
Good luck though. Like the water, soda, muffin booth idea.
And really, when is Jamie going to start a blog?
Oh Laurie... when are you going to stop asking? It ain't happening until all of my in-laws are internet saavy. Then I will really have a reason. But since my mother-in-law doesn't even know how to "double click"... I wouldn't hold your breath!
Javier and his mom have enormous experience with this. The #1 thing a garage sale shopper wants to feel is that they lowered your price, even $0.50 or a $1. It's not about the great price you are already giving them, it's about them getting a better deal in the end. Javi's mom never asks for enough (in my opinion), but she ends up collecting anywhere from $300-500 (she is a pack-rat), which I would do back flips over!
I think the bake sale is a phenominal idea! Javi suggested to ask your kids if they have anything from their own rooms they would like to sell for their profit.
Yeah, I've asked Jamie the same question just a couple days ago...it's just not happening anytime soon ;)
Oh, and my mother-in-law has actual department store clothes racks. Javi says they are a little heavy and rusty, but I think they could totally help you. Do you want me to ask if you can borrow them? She's very generous and wouldn't mind if I just asked...
Keep it simple. Don't stress yourself out too much with details. As far as pricing: I agree with Jamie.
My only big advice is spend the money to put it in the paper. It is TOTALLY worth it.
I have no great advice, since I've never done a garage sale before! But when we're ready to get rid of all our baby stuff I am definitely gonna do one - I've heard that stuff sells really well. You can list it on Craigslist for free. I liked someone's idea of selling baked goodies & drinks - that seems like a great thing for your kids to help with. Be sure to let me know when you're having it...maybe I can stop by the day before and see what you've got and buy some of your cute girl stuff!
All the advice is great, man I wish I knew all that stuff before I had my garage sale. My biggest advice is to make sure you watch all your stuff. We had stuff stolen by this Mexican family and didn't realize it until after they left. They did a great job in distracting me and Ryan wasn't outside to help supervise. I was pretty upset but learned not to trust garage salers. Keep small stuff that is valuable by you! Goodluck, let me know when it is and we will try and come to it!
My experience doing apple sauce last year...if this helps at all! http://simpsoncrew.blogspot.com/2007/11/theres-nothing-like-home-canned-fruit.html
Good luck with the garage sale. Do you need any buyers of cute bay girl clothes?!?
www.yardsalequeen.com. FANTASTIC website. She'll tell you all you need to know. Good luck! Wish I could come!
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