Pricing Garage Sale Items

"My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits
with my net income."
Errol Flynn (1909 - 1959)

Pricing garage sale items can be a frustrating, time consuming process, but your efforts will pay off. It seems like every Saturday morning you cannot drive a few blocks without seeing a garage sale sign up on the corner.

Garage sales are everywhere, and they are a great way for you and your family to make extra money. All you have to do is clean out your garage and your closets, and you will be supplied with all the merchandise you need for your next garage sale. Keep these things in mind when planning your garage sale.

What are your garage sale goals?

This is really important. Selecting and pricing garage sale items involves more than a quick formula. Knowing why you are having a garage sale will greatly impact how you approach your garage sale pricing.

For example, if your primary goal is clutter control in your home or rapid completion of a garage organization project, then you will want to keep the prices low. However, if you are selling higher quality items and you are focused on making money, you may want to adjust your prices accordingly.

Proper garage sale pricing can mean the
difference between a good and great day!

Use the 10% Rule

When you are pricing garage sale items, it is a good rule of thumb to price your items at about 10% to 20% of the original cost of the item. For example, if you are selling a hat that originally cost $15, you would price the hat between $1.50 and $3.00, or 10% to 20% of the original cost.

You should also consider the condition of the item when setting your price. If it is in great shape you can adjust a little higher and if it is not in the best shape, adjust a little lower. Lower priced items tend to sell faster.

Create Sale Categories or Price Groups

Rather than pricing garage sale items individually, you can set up "departments" or "groups" of items priced similarly. For example, you could put a group of books in a box or in one spot on a table and price them all at $.25 or $.50 or $1.00. By keeping similar items together, you are not only making it easier for your customers to shop, you are making it easier on yourself. It's also easier at check-out time when totaling things for the customer.

Get the Word Out - Advertise!

The most important thing you need for your garage sale is customers. Pricing garage sale items is a big concern for some people, but your prices won't matter if no one shows up!

Place an ad in your local paper or thrifty ad. Most papers have a section for garage sale advertising and the ad cost is usually minimal. Put notices up on community bulletin boards at grocery stores or the post office. Tell everyone you know!

Use Quality Garage Sale Signs

Even more important than your ad in the paper is the use of garage sale signs. Good looking signs really do make a difference. Use a lighter background with darker letters so people can actually read your sign, and be sure the letters are large enough to read from across an intersection.

When preparing your garage sale signs, be sure you have enough. Use at least three and maybe up to five or six signs, depending on your location. True garage sale aficionados are usually on the look for sales on Saturday mornings, but your signs need to lead people to you, kind of like leaving a bread crumb trail.

Garage Sale Sign Warning: Most cities, towns and populated areas have rules about signs. Please check with your local authority to be sure you don't place your garage sale signs someplace they shouldn't be. Most people ignore this warning, but now I feel better because I told you.

Helpful Resources

After completing your successful garage sale, you should store the things you are going to keep in an organized manner. For a great selection of helpful garage organization tools, check out the Stacks and Stacks website where you will find a wide variety of shelves, cabinets and other helpful garage-related items.

Return from Pricing Garage Sale Items back to Garage How To home page