Garage Sales 101: Part 2

Today is the day! My in-laws are partnering in our garage sale extravaganza, and they joined us for dinner and set-up last night. We made these for dinner...delicious...seriously...make them tonight. You can thank me later!

Today I will share all my knowledge pertaining to timing, pricing, and shopping garage sales. You should probably set aside at least 2 minutes in order to have time to soak this all in. :)

TIMING:
Find out if your neighborhood has a community sale scheduled. This will bring lots of traffic, and most neighborhoods will provide some advertising and signs. If your neighborhood doesn't schedule a sale, talk with some people on your street and plan a weekend for a multi-house sale. Many moms will seek out neighborhood sales...it's so much easier to park once and visit several sales without having to re-load kids in the car and drive around.

PRICING:
People shop at garage sales because they are thrifty! Most often, our stuff isn't worth as much as we imagine it to be. Think of what you would be willing to pay for an item now...not in it's original state in which you purchased it 9 years ago! If you have nicer clothing items or more expensive things, think about taking them to a consignment store. I shop at garage sales and consignment stores for my daughter's clothing. I expect to pay between $0.50 and $2 per item at a garage sale and closer to $5 or $10 per item (brand name) at consignment stores. If you really do have a bottom line for an item, start by pricing it a bit higher to make room for bartering. Also, if you're not willing to drop your price, be prepared to have it left in your garage after the sale! Try to think of your sale as an opportunity to clear your house of clutter, and as an added bonus you might make $50 or $100. Don't expect to become rich off of your sale!

SHOPPING:
I mentioned earlier that I love neighborhood sales. I have found the older, more established neighborhoods to have the best sales. Most sales are held on a Friday and Saturday. Kids' items tend to go fast! For the best selection in kid's clothing and toys, shop early on Friday mornings. If you feel that an item is priced high, feel free to offer a lower price. If you purchase several items from one place, often the sellers will give you a deal. Another approach to garage sale-ing is to go towards the end of sales, when people are clearing out, and sometimes even giving items away. If you do this, the best things will be gone, but you might find a gem or get an extreme bargain. Just last week I went to a sale where the owners were moving, and were giving things away for free. I paid $5 for a wonderful antique tool box, and got 2 big bottles of Mod Podge, some cute plastic cutlery (not pictured), 3 packages of birthday candles, a book for Maren (not pictured), a spool of ribbon, several packages of envelopes and a Pottery Barn trivet FREE!



I hope you find some great treasures if you're out garage sale-ing today and tomorrow! And, I hope I have a good report from our sale this weekend to share with you on Monday!