Garage Sale Pricing Dos and Donts

It is getting that time of year again when people all across the U.S. are thinking about spring cleaning and having garage sales. The popularity of garage sales has never been higher, and with good reason. Not only is it good for the sellers who can clear out the clutter, but the buyers can find some incredible bargains as well! If you are planning have a garage sale this year you should know that the key to being successful is all in the pricing.

Our family has enjoyed going to garage sales for many years now and one of the things that always amazes me is how sellers come up with some of the prices they put on various items. You may see one house that sells a ton of clothing while the house across the street selling the same things is not having any success. Generally, it is because they never took the time to understand what they should be pricing their items at. So, how do you know what you should be selling your items for?

Are you only having a garage sale to get rid of some junk out of your house or clean up a storage shed? If so, then pricing shouldn't be too much of an issue. Put on the lowest prices possible and get rid of it all. Clothing can go for $.50 - $1.00, toys for $.50, and the list goes on. Your goal is to simply get rid of it all, not to try and squeeze out every last penny. So you only made $30 for the day, the important point is that you got the house cleaned out. So take your husband or wife out for dinner tonight and have some fun.

Are you having a garage sale in order to sell off some valuables and make some money doing so? If this is the case you will need to put more thought and effort into the process. You can easily do some checking with other garage or yard sales in your area to see if they are selling some of the same types of items that you want to sell off. What are they selling for? Are they in similar condition to yours? Are the items selling?

You may find that you would be better off selling some of your items on e-Bay than you would in a garage sale. For example, a nice set of Callaway golf clubs could fetch a much higher price on e-Bay than they would in most any garage sale.

Another important point is to price some of these items above your bottom dollar figure. This allows some wiggle room to work out some better deals with a prospective buyer. Everyone wants a good deal. If you come down off the price by haggling a little with your customer, you are much more likely to sell the item than you would if you remained firm in your price. The buyer feels like they are getting a great deal. Use this strategy in determining your prices before the sale. This may not work in every circumstance though, because many people are too shy to ask if you would accept a lower price. They may simply look at the price and walk away without asking you about it. But for the majority of people it is an important part of any successful garage sale.

Before you have that big garage sale this spring, take a little time to figure out your pricing before posting up the signs. It can make a big difference in getting rid of the clutter or having to put it back away again.