Will your garage sale be a success or a flop. Sometimes it depends on avoiding the common garage sale mistakes. If you are planning a garage sale, make sure that you don’t get caught up in any of the following.
Pricing Too High
Sure, you may be able to get $5 a piece for clothing at an outgrown sale or $30 for that great toy on eBay, but garage sale shoppers are looking for a bargain. They won’t pay book prices, ever. Price your items low and make up the difference in volume.
Many times we price items high because of their original cost. We have to let this go. Other times we may be sentimentally attached to the item and subconsciously price it high because we don’t really want to sell it. Examine whether or not you really want the item to be sold, and if the answer is yes, price accordingly.
Not Pricing Anything
Most garage sale buyers won’t bother with items that are not priced. They either don’t want to be bothered, or they are too shy to ask. They also may be worried that you are offering different prices to different people.
Make sure that everything is priced, even if it is in a general way, “Puzzles, $1 each!” or “Anything on this table is $2.” Of course, you can announce that you are flexible and willing to take offers.
Throwing Stuff n Boxes
It is the rare garage sale bargain hunter who is willing to paw through a box of unrelated things to find anything worth buying. Tables are always best, but if you must put things in a box, at least group like with like.
While you might think it is fun to go on a treasure hunt of your used stuff, chances are that the buyers won’t feel that way.