Hi Mamas! Garage sale season is upon us and I'm planning on having one in a couple of weeks. But, I've never had a garage sale before and I have no idea what to price anything. I have little girl clothes (still in really good condition from places like WalMart, Kohl's, and Old Navy), some Women's and Men's clothes, toys, home knickknacks, kitchen stuff, some camping stuff (air mattress, chairs, some pet stuff (bowls, etc), and some other random stuff. I would like to make something on it, but I also don't want to end up a bunch of stuff left either. Should I just designate tables- like everything on table 1 is $1, everything on table 2 is 50 cents, etc? Lastly, does anyone know where I can get some folding tables/ card tables from? I have one- I could really use one or two more.
Thanks ladies!
Hi A.,
At walmart on Route 31 in Crystal Lake we have some folding tables and folding chairs that are cheap.
We've had a garage sale for the past three years and we have set small things on tables marked with different price ranges. As long as you put all the $1.00 stuff on one table, all $2.00 on another, etc. there shouldn't be any confusion as to what something is priced. Last year I sold all my daughter's clothes and set all the clothes up on the tables by sizes, which also worked out great. I put up a poster and indicated the price of the clothes (e.g., pants/shirts $1.00, dresses $1.50, etc.) and then put an asterick at the bottom that indicated that others would be priced as marked. If there was an outfit that I knew cost more, I would mark it with a price. All the big stuff we just put stickers on and marked those by hand.
Also, I was at a garage sale last year where a woman had a posterboard up with different colored circle stickers on it and next to each color, she had a different price. So, all she had to do was mark her items with these circle stickers and then the people could look up at what the price was. I thought that was a good idea as well.
Good luck!
Hello-- I have garage sales all the time and when I price my clothes I look at where I bought it from. Shorts/shirts from walmart--.50-1.00 and more expensive stores I do a dollar or 2.oo. Just ask yourself what you would pay for it at a garage sale. Remember though usually what you mark it, people usually ask for it for cheaper. If you have something good and dont want the price lower, write firm on it ex. 20.00 firm. Also try to borrow tables from friends because you dont want to pay to rent tables then you wont profit from your sale. We usually bring out little shelfs from the house and our patio table from in the back yard. I have 2 small folding tables--where do you live? Also we try to hang all of our clothes up on racks-- (my husband made them for me) You can borrow those too if you live close. Otherwise---good luck with your sale!!
I love doing garage sales, especially if the weather is great, which it sometimes is, :) I usually price kids clothes based on brand or if it is new with tags.. Then I usually make a deal based on how much a person buys. If it's dry, I will spread blankets on the grass and put stuff there. I have used the 'price by category' method, it works. Also, for tables I have taken old doors or other large boards and stretched it across 2 coolers to make a table, if you think about it you probably can get creative.
Fridays are really teh best day.
Hope you have great success!
If you do the table price thing, things will likely get confused on prices as things get swapped from tables when people are looking and such. Would be easier to price by category (all pieces of children's clothes 50 cents each piece for example, each adult piece $1 each, t-shirts 25 cents, things like that). And put price stickers on things that don't fit in a category or on each thing. Be forwarned it's a lot of work! :) Big boxes or blankets work to put things on too beyond what you can scrounge up for tables. Best wishes to you!
sorry, no advice here...but...when are you having your sale? i saw you mentioned camping stuff and we're trying to get some to do a camping trip this summer (august). i'd love to come check out your stuff. thanks!
Not sure where you live, but there is a rental place in Algonquin/Lake in the Hills right on Algonquin Rd. just west of the river between 31 and Pyott Rd. I think it's called Ed's Rentals. I'm sure you could get tables there.
Using color-coded stickers does work very well, and instead of renting tables, you could group items by price or size in large bins or boxes. If clothes are in excellent condition, I'd ask about one-fourth of what they cost brand new.
