Substitute for tables for Yard Sale
lov2garden
20 years ago
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mirren
20 years agoRelated Discussions
How to have a yard sale? Help!
Comments (12)Some things I've learned about having yard sales. Price things low if you really want them to go. Price them high if you want to make a little money. Be ready to bargain no matter how low the price is, because people like to feel like they got a good deal. Put prices on everything. If you have a friend who is bilingual (Spanish/English) ask him or her to help out at your sale in case you get non-English speaking customers. Your gallon jugs are worth about $5 each, but you will probably get only $1 or $2 for each of them. Put a high price on them and then be willing to haggle. Be prepared for surges of customers and have someone else there to help you, besides it's more fun to have a couple people to talk to during the long, hot day. Plants will sell as long as they are priced very reasonable, in other words, less than what someone can buy them for at the Wal-Mart, and only if they look green and healthy. Tools sell better than almost anything else, yard tools, car tools, machine tools, electric tools, hand tools, doesn't matter, people love tools. I love tools, sometimes if I see a nice one at a reasonable price, I'll buy it as a backup for the other 2-3 that I already have in case they all break. Appliances sell well, but only if they are in good working order. And you will probably have to prove they work. If they don't work, you should say so. Clothing sells well if it's clean, pressed, hanging up and looks fairly good. I even spend some time pressing t-shirts to make them look nicer. Denim jeans always sell well, and kid and baby clothes will go like hotcakes if they are clean. If you have mostly clothing and just pile a bunch of wrinkled stuff on a table, you'll see most cars slow down, look, and then take off. Linens sell very well if sheet sets are size marked and tied with string or twine so someone can open them up, check for stains or holes and then tie them up again for neatness. If sheets or pillowcases get separated from the set, then it's harder to sell them. What to watch out for: 1.Vans with three or four adults and three or four children. When they get out, they fan out around your sale tables, kids make a lot of noise and distract you for a couple minutes, then one or two of the adults start asking questions and direct your attention and block your view away from the kids. I turned my head just in time to see two 8 year olds loading my $400 mountain bikes into the back of the van, as the driver was getting in, starting the engine and calling to the others to hurry up. 2. Shoppers with large purses, bags or very large coats. I bumped into one of those purses and found that my silver-plated bowl had "fallen" into it by accident. 3. If someone wants you to let them have something for less than you are willing to sell it for and then they get beligerent or abusive, don't be too shy or embarrassed to order them off your property. Keep your cell phone with you on a belt clip in case you need to call for help. This usually won't happen if there is a man with you, but a guy will sometimes do it if it's just you and another woman, or you by yourself. My favorite way to get rid of my extra stuff is make a detailed inventory, including actual value of the item and donate it to Salvation Army and take the tax deduction. No cleaning, ironing, price marking, haggling or cleanup required. If you sell $1500 worth of houshold goods at a yard sale, it's a lot of work and a lot of fun too, and you might get $250 from your sale. If you give the same stuff to Salvation Army placing a value on it of about 50% of what you originally paid for it, or $750 and get a receipt for your donation to use for your taxes, you may get less back on your taxes than $250, but that will depend on your own tax bracket. Cheryl...See MoreYard sales finds for Aug. 31
Comments (8)HAHA Luvs. We had to get a dumpster, the transfer station here won't take any wood, and you have to gift wrap most other stuff to get rid of it. Everything has to be placed in special bags that are 3.00 a bag! So when you have a lot of stuff, you have to get a dumpster. And yes, I am sure I am throwing out things that people would buy at a yard sale, but I don't like having yard sales. They are a lot of work! I guess we will be picking up speed now that Labor Day is over. Still a beau beach day today and the rest of the week too. Hard to think about fall, still feels like summer!...See MoreYard Sale or Goodwill????
Comments (26)Jannie, that is so funny, though of course how obnoxious can you be?! A money back guarantee for a quarter item at a yard sale...that might be one to add under the definition of 'chutzpah' wouldn't it?! I think I will go ahead and start hauling boxes to Goodwill. I'm totally convinced by everyone (well almost everyone, admire the folks who are energetic to do repeat yard sales) that getting this stuff OUT of my sight and home is the best way to go. I do have a lot of girls' uniform type skirts (no logo, just the pleated khaki or navy type) and other kids' clothes that I'm going to offer to a local after-school program based near my house. I can drop those off and I bet there are some kids who could really use them. And maybe my sister wants some random kitchen items; she just moved into a nice apartment after several years vagabonding it in rented studios. Otherwise, I'll tell my husband to keep bringing home the computer boxes*, as I fill them and move 'em out! *Aside-I LOVE computer boxes for this kind of discard. Not only are they an easy shape to stack and pack, they are a good size to put only what I can easily lift and haul and best of all they have lids! We get an endless supply of empties from the student computer labs at the college where we work but if you have any way to get 'em I suggest trying them out. I wonder if Kinkos or that type of place would give them away? Ann...See MoreQuestion about Rummage/Yard Sales
Comments (27)I've had a number of patio sales that went well for me...the reason I say for "me" is that last year two friends brought things over to sell as well...I kept telling them to price low and it will go. By 11:00 am they had made just under $200 to my $700. If people see higher prices I believe it turns them off. Who cares what you paid for something...it's not worth that used. I've always advertised having things for men too (tools,etc)...it keeps the the ladies browsing longer if hubby is busy :) Consider having a box with kiddy things that are either extremely cheap or sometimes free (1 per child if free). Kids are great cutomers! I have to agree with those that mentioned plants selling well, they do! I'v put out barely used makeup items that flew off the table ..can you believe? Yet don't we all have things we've brought home, tried once never to use again? (it can be cleaned with wipes) And jewelry for sure. Bottles of water are a real money maker, especially on a hot day. If you're able, coffee in the morning. One thing that I won't put in are sheet sets...even though I tied them with nice ribbon they ended up open and strewn over the table numerous times. Unless you plan on hanging them on a hanger so people can look don't bother. Nice kitchen items (bowl sets, appliances, serving spoons) sell well. Donate cups and glasses that have no mates, for the most part they sit cluttering up a well thought out table. Keep re-arranging your area, filling in empty spaces. You'll be able to show off something that might have been overlooked at first glance. I always have music playing, usually instrumentals (no head banging)and love watching who starts tapping a toe. Signs into the home that say "family only". And always a sign at the entry that says "we love making a deal, just ask!" And there will be those return customers...the ones that are 1st to the sale, run off to the next and realize yours was the best to begin with :-D...See Moretrekaren
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