E. - I'm wondering how you feel about garage sales? Seems like the responses are all over the place on them. Personally, garage sales in Bismarck (where I'm from) are the main attraction on Friday's from April thru September! Truly, people come in droves to Friday morning sales and if a neighborhood gathers together, cars are literally everywhere. My children and I go 'garage sale-ing' every single Friday morning, unless one is sick. And we are very fussy. We quickly scan for sizes, BRANDS and colors + look for winter items. Never undies - socks and shoes ONLY if they appear 'new'. And once we have a stack going - we step aside and quickly review our finds. I'll pay as much as $10 for a brand name outfit... and believe me, set that down and another mom is right behind me picking it back up. The general rule of thumb seems to be 'a little worn' or 'a little faded' and the pieces will go separately for 50 - 1.00, but if the clothing is new, has a name brand, etc - on up to $5. Two piece outfits almost always start at $2.00. And we'll spend up to $1 per paperback book, depending upon condition. And the kids always come home with something to 'do' - a book, a puzzle, etc. Back to being fussy - if the yard is not kept up, junk sitting around, boxes of every sort stacked on tables etc - we drive right past, along with other cars heading to bigger better sales. (dozens each week). We stay in one corner of town - where the sales tend to be cleaner, tables have cloths on them, the walls of the garage are either tarped or painted and clean - and if there's an odor in the garage (cigarette, strong pet, or other) we nod to one another and leave.
I've come home with Nike shoes (tags on) for $2 / Arizona winter coats (tags on) $3... and have literally filled my children's closets with good quality clothing for dollars. To shop clearance, Craigslist, ebay and deal with shipping takes far too long. We do... for specific pieces (like name brand jeans in the correct size, etc) - but have such a good time together, sale-ing, going to the library, and out for drinks or ice cream once each week, that we wouldn't stop, not ever.
On the flip side, having a garage sale of our own is equally important. Now and them we come home with something itchy or too short or a book we already have. And we do grow and need to purge our closets, too. We try to stay in the 'going price range'. We sell only on Friday mornings from 9 - noon. Two-day sales are often 'hit' on the first few hours, then taper off into long sits for the owner. Since we started the shorter hours - we have a line of cars down the street by 8, waiting for the first sign that the door is opening... and the garage floods with people when the doors crack. And when it's posted for a short period of time, people will take an early lunch break, they'll stop at yours before going to the one that lasts all day or opens at lunch. And, I'm not kidding about this, stacks of clothing will pile up on tables around me... so my pricing has to be efficient. 25, 50 or by the dollar. never a dime or nickel and rarely to the half dollar after a buck. then leave tags on, and toss clothes in bags starting with whole dollar amounts, counting them out loud, etc. The importance in that ? Moving things along quickly will get people through fast, they want to go to more sales!! And your're 'done' by lunch. Seriously. We have several tables stacked (sorted, painstakinly and marked) a foot deep - and within three hours, it slows down enough for us to assess why the hit and miss pieces are still there - often it's obvious. like a torn knee or missing button I missed when pricing things.
The score? Many, many times... like $1000 bucks to use for kids' clothes for the next year or ??
No matter which way you choose to sell - you still have to launder, fold, price - but having a sale removes the photo, storage and shipping cost.
It's about perception... if you feel you'd not shop at a garage sale, it could be harder to deal with the strange folks that are rude or comment on pricing (they do come). But on the other hand, if you need to get things out, anyway - I'd try it. Then you'll know. You'll know how people shop your area, what prices they're willing to pay, and what goes.
Good luck!! If we lived nearer, I'd bet we'd run into you at your sale :)
T.