How to Price Yard Sale Inventory

As previously discussed, the goal of a yard sale is two fold: reduce clutter in the house and to make some money in the process. We'll discuss steps to take to ensure all the work done to prepare for a yard sale will yield a nice return.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Blank stickers: white or color coded
• 2 black permanent markers: one thin tip and one with a thicker tip
• A computer with Internet capabilities
• A pad of paper or something to take notes on.

1. If you followed the steps for properly organizing your yard sale inventory, you should have everything sorted and kept in boxes or stacks. It is easiest to begin with items that can priced in groups, like boxes of paperback books or piles of jeans, that way large quantities can be priced at once and saving time for more tedious, individual pricing.

2. Working through the boxes of items in multiple, determine a fair price that would cover all items. Say there is a box of used paperback books, all various genre in various conditions. It is easiest to make a sign on the box "All paperbacks .50 each or 3 for $1.00", for example. Remember your goal through the process. I have always found clothing, especially baby and children's clothing, to sell very well at yard sales. Pricing things at rates of .50-$1.00 will allow you move through your inventory fairly quickly. It is easiest to sort by the price you want, such as a .50-cent pile and a $1.00 pile and use color coded stickers to identify later on. Specialty items, such as coats or party dresses, can be priced higher ($3-$10 depending on quality and condition) but should be displayed separately and priced accordingly. I have also found that used denim for adults is typically very saleable items and depending on the brand & condition you can ask $3-$7 per pair. Adult sport coats, winter coats, and other specialty items normally sell well, too. Keeping your pricing in the $5-$10 range will help it move plus leave some room for negotiating, but more on that later. Also, a word about clothing: it should all be freshly laundered! When at all possible, hang garments as it is easier to shop. Folded piles are hard to shop and harder to maintain during the sale.

3. Once you get through your piles of multiples, you'll feel like you've made some progress because you should begin to see your piles dwindling. Next, select items that are to be sold in sets, like dishes, glasses, candle holders, and toys. This is where you may want to begin doing some research about pricing by comparative shopping on websites like EBay and Kijiji. Remember, EBay has listing fees, there are shipping fees, etc so prices may be higher than you could expect to charge. Also, a yard sale customer isn't always the same as an EBay customer---they are looking for a deal---so you don't want to price at the same rate. But, this will educate you to the value of the item. If you have time, stop in at a local Goodwill store and check out what they have for sale and how much it costs. Remember, their inventory is donations but they have expenses to run those stores, yet you can still find very reasonably priced items there. Use that as your guide and price slightly lower. All items should be clearly priced with your stickers. Also, anything sold as a set should be mentioned on the sticker along with the number of items in the set. For example: "Set of 6 dishes $3.00"

4. At this point, the inventory pile should be down to individual items like furniture, collectibles, games, old tools, electronics, etc. Again, reference EBay and Kijiji to research your items for comparable pricing, especially for collectible items. Again, don't forget your goal which is to reduce clutter. Clearly price each item using your stickers. Use wider tip marker for larger items and thin tip for smaller items.

5. Leaving room in your prices for negotiating is important because it is the unwritten rule that all prices at yard sales are open for negotiation. Most people like to see how cheap they can get things for. Again, if you do not overprice, you probably won't have too many negotiations to make but know there will a few die-hards who will negotiate that .50-cent item to .25-cents just because they can. When all fails, remember your goal. Do you want to make .25-cents or do you want to give it away and get nothing? Also, if you do not want to negotiate on a fairly priced item, write 'Firm' on the price sticker. It will eliminate an potentially uncomfortable situations.

Tips & Warnings

• Spend time wiping things down as it being priced. You will earn more money selling cleaner items than you will for dirty and dusty items.
• Think like a bargain hunting consumer when pricing your items. People are not going to pay for your memories or sentiments either. When all else fails, don't forget your ultimate goal...to declutter.
• You can sell a lot of items if you keep your prices low to fair.
• Write 'Firm' on any item you prefer not to negotiate on but limit this to less than 5 items---it should be something of value like furniture or a collectible.
• When negotiating, utilize the phrase "make me an offer I can't refuse" and you'll be surprised that often you'll get a counter offer higher than what you may have settled for.
• Have fun. It's hard work to do a successful yard sale but have fun during the process.

[Thims]

on 12/12/2008 Wow. Very informative. Priced just right!

[Tauri]

on 11/20/2008 The prep is the hardest part...tag what you can ahead of time. It shows you want to sell it! Make sure it is clean..nothing is more annoying to see dirty basement dishes on display. Get the kids to help...it also shows them worth of their belongs. Remember After you are done with your wekend or 2...Donate to Goodwill or a charity...it is always appreciated.