I did not have any luck at garage sales this year finding winter jackets, snow pants or boots for my kids. These are items that I do NOT buy at retail prices, so the next place I look is eBay ( I  love eBay:)!

These winter items are cheap on eBay right now because it is the beginning of the fall/winter season!

I got the full set for my son for $39.50, plus $7.95 for shipping, not bad. In the full swing of the selling season, this set would probably have sold for $60-70 or more. If I remember right, I think I sold my sons set last year for $60 on eBay.

I also got a pair of black Columbia snow pants for my daughter for $5.24 plus $4.99 for shipping! I had been looking for these all last year, but they were selling for at least $20 plus shipping.

So, if you are going to need winter coats and other winter gear and don’t want to pay retail prices, be sure to check out eBay!

Here are a few tips for buying or selling your winter items on eBay:

• Buy Brand Name Items - these have a much higher resale value on eBay. I have bought used Columbia sets on eBay, let my kids wear them for a year and then sold them the next season for the same price or more!
• Buy items that are in EUC (Excellent Used Condition)  and try to keep them that way!
• Sell your items in EUC – You will get more money for your stuff if it is in great shape!
• Group Items Together - sell your winter stuff in sets, ie. jacket & snow pants, you can even throw in the matching hat and mittens to make your set more valuable! The boots should probably be sold separately because foot sizes do vary, but boots are great sellers too! Again, name brand and great condition for the boots too.
• Buy your winter items in the Early or Late season to get the best prices – meaning right now (Sept/October) or late (Jan/Feb).
• Sell your items in the winter selling season, late October – December to get the best prices for your stuff!

Take a look…Search Columbia on eBay right Now!

Good luck and let me know if you find any fabulous deals!

Where do you find the best deals for your kid’s winter clothing?

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A few things to keep in mind when you are making your garage sale signs:

• Bigger is Better
• Bright Colors are more noticeable
• Bold Black Lettering is easiest to read
• Big Arrows to point the way
• Adding Details like the distance, address, dates, headline or items always helps (if you have the room)
• Fabulously Fun & Flashy signs are irresistible

Here are a couple of great signs that I have seen on my garage sale-ing adventures:

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My garage sale was a huge success – get my Garage Sale Tips!

I made $1000 and that was my goal, I did not have quite as much stuff as I had at my last sale where I made $1300. It was my mother and I having the sale and we sold about $1800 total.

My kids were very happy with their profits as well, my 13 year old stepdaughter made $28 with her concessions and $30 on some of her clothing and books. My 2 younger kids got to help price some of their toys and put the stickers on (you can read more about that experience here) they did well also, my 6 year old daughter made $27 and my 4 year old son made $14.

Our ad for the local newspaper cost $38 and we rented 6 tables for $25, I think it was well worth the cost.

This is the perfect spot for the kids to hang out while mom shops! We have all of the kid’s stuff outside, including a nice low table (a sheet of plywood with 3 Rubbermaid tubs underneath) for the toys.

The toys were a big hit!

Usually I end up with a lot of toys left over, but this year we really sold a lot! I was surprised at how much we sold and here are the reasons why I think we did so well:

• The low toy table was easily accessible for the kids
• Every toy had a price sticker on it
• Like items and sets were grouped and bagged together ( like the Dora doll with about 20 accessories in the clear plastic bag)
• Everything was set out and displayed nicely (stay away from piles and big boxes that shoppers have to dig through!)

I had 2 big boxes full of free toys, which included all of those little toys that you get tired of cleaning up or stepping on, and any broken toys. They went like hotcakes…I think there were about 5 items left at the end of the sale!

For similar items like books, you can use a flat price like $ .25 each if you are not concerned about keeping track of the book sales or if there is only one seller. Add “Unless Marked Otherwise” if you do have some items with price stickers – I usually price the hardcover books higher and they will have a sticker.

We were fortunate to be able to use my grandparent’s pole shed for our sale, so we had quite a bit of room. It’s hard to shop when everything is crowded.

Here we have movies (VHS & DVD) and music Cd’s. Here is the exception to putting your items in boxes or tubs. These are displayed best if they are in low sided containers standing up or on their side so the titles on the spine can be seen.

I love it when I go to a sale and I can see right where I want to go, boys clothing sz 4-5…I am there! We also add the sizes to the women’s jeans (which we always seem to have a lot of).

Here I had some New eBay inventory that I wanted to clear out and have used signs to show what’s here.

I love this idea, I used this box sign for the intersection by my house that had traffic coming from 3 ways, so I put a sign on 3 sides. Just tape the poster board to the box and set a rock or something heavy inside the box!

You can add some of the types of items you have at your sale to your signs, if you have room.

Some think that I go a little overboard with my garage sale, but I think that all of these little extras make your shoppers feel a little more comfortable, help them find what they are looking for and encourage them to spend their hard earned money at your sale!

Please share some of your garage sale tips with us!

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I have made up some templates that you can print out using blank address label sticker sheets. When you print, be sure that the page scaling is set to NONE.

These stickers are ready for you to print out and then you can add your initials and a price!

These garage sale sticker templates are for the Avery 6467 or 8167 – 1/2″ x 1.75″ – 80 to a sheet:

Here are some Ready to Use with Prices -  Garage Sale Sticker Templates:

Click the prices to download the template:

$ .25

$ .50

$ .75

$1.00

$2.00

$3.00

$4.00

$5.00

$10.00

Again, these are the labels at Amazon:

Avery 6467 White Removable Multi-Purpose – 1/2″ x 1.75″ 80 to a sheet – these are great for movies, books, glass and toys.

Avery 8167  White Return Address Labels – 1/2″ x 1.75″ 80 to a sheet – these work great for everything else including clothes.

These garage sale sticker templates are for the Avery 6460 or 8160 – 1″ x 2 5/8″ – 30 to a sheet:

These will print 2 tags on each sticker so actually you get 60, you will just need to cut them in half.

These are the labels found at Amazon:

Avery 6460 White Removable Multi-Purpose – 1″ x 2 5/8″ – 30 to a sheet – these are great for movies, books, glass and toys.

Avery 8160  White Return Address Labels – 1/2″ x 1.75″ – 30 to a sheet – these work great for everything else including clothes.

Note ** You may be able to find these cheaper at an office supply store or on eBay (Avery Labels on eBay).

Good luck with your garage sale pricing!

Please let us know how they work for you or if you have any problems with the templates!

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Garage Sale Pricing with Stickers is Easy!

Pricing your garage sale items is a dreaded part of having a garage sale, so why not at least make the actual “Putting on of Prices” a little bit fun this year?

I am currently in the throes of getting ready for my annual family group sale. The younger kids (4 & 6) and I have been sorting and pricing tons of toys! They had way too many toys and numerous times throughout the year I would come out of their rooms with a box full of toys, tape up the box and set it in the garage sale corner in my basement to be dealt with later. Well, now it’s later:)

Each box of toys we open brings a long lost friend or item that my children have been desperately searching for, to deal with this situation we have a new box to set aside the things they truly love and want to keep. Then, at the end of the toy pricing expedition, they can choose the few that are most loved to keep!

This year, I decided to let them help with the pricing, put their own stickers on and they can keep the money from their sales. They already have plans for all the money they are going to make:)

I have always used address labels printed out on the computer for my garage sale stickers, it is super easy and they work great!

This year, we made fun garage sale pricing stickers for everyone, each person has a different style of sticker.  When you are having a group sale, it’s very helpful if each person has their own unique stickers, this makes it nice and easy when adding up the profits at the end of the sale.

I used the Avery Multi-Purpose Removable  Labels 6467 which are 80 labels to a sheet.

You can make whole sheets of the same price, like a whole sheet of $1.00 stickers or you can have multiple prices on a single sheet.

To make multiple prices, just print a specific number of labels per price.  so for my son’s stickers I printed 20 blank-no price labels, then put it back into the printer to print 20 $2.00’s (don’t forget to start on label #21) and then 40 $1.00 labels.

Click here to download & print my free garage sale pricing templates now!

Recommended Labels for Garage Sale Pricing:

Avery 6467 White Removable Multi-Purpose – 1/2″ x 1.75″ 80 to a sheet – these are great for movies, books, glass and toys.

Avery 8167  White Return Address Labels – 1/2″ x 1.75″ 80 to a sheet – these work great for everything else including clothes.

If you don’t have a program that can print this label, you can download templates for free from the Avery Website.

Good Luck and Have fun with your Garage Sale Pricing!

Please share your easy Pricing Methods with us by leaving a comment!

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And the more advertising you do, the more customer you will have and the more money you will make! Here are a few ways you can advertise your garage or yard sale.

Word of mouth

Tell everyone, your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, church, daycare etc. about your sale.  And have them tell their friends!

Print

Post flyers around town (where allowed) at your local library, post office, bank, grocery store. Post them at work or at church. Put a creative attention grabbing ad in your local newspaper.

Online

Post your sale on internet sites like  www.craigslist.com, and don’t forget your favorite social networking sites like www.twitter.com, www.facebook.com or www.myspace.com.

There is another site Garage Sales Tracker, where you can post your sale or search for garage sales in your area. I like the fact that each garage sale listing has a map and driving directions right on the page.

Garage Sale Signs

If you point them in the right direction…they will come! Who can resist the bright neon pink with big and bold thick black letters “Huge 5 Family Garage Sale 1 Block this way” with big and firm (not deflated) neon green balloons?

Make sure your signs look the same, use the same colors and wording on each sign. Post your signs at all high traffic intersections surrounding your home, check with your city/town’s policies regarding signage.

Here are a few free printable templates for your to use to advertise your sale:

What are some other ways that you have advertised your garage sale? Please Share:)

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I truly believe that your newspaper ad is not the place to skimp! My last garage sale was a huge event, it was a group sale with 4 of us selling our treasures. Our ad cost $100, but it was definitely worth every penny! I even met a lady from a town 30 miles away at the local gas station before the sale, with my ad in her hand and a car full of friends! We sold about $4500 as a group and my hard earned profits totaled $1400.

Here are a few things to include in your Garage Sale Ad:

Download the Printable Garage Sale Ad Worksheet

Date and Times – state the day, date and hours of your sale; you may also set a rain date if you wish.

Your address – be sure to include your address, especially if you are in a rural area, this is very helpful to your future customers.
I know that sometimes I will look up an address online if I am not familiar with the area.

Clear Driving Directions – give clear driving directions and if you are in a rural area, you may want to include the distances too (south on Cty Rd G for 2 miles, west on 150th for 3 miles)

Landmarks Close to You – such as: 1 block north of Blockbuster or 1 mile south of Burger King

Name or Names – If you feel comfortable, you can add your last name. We have a sale every year and we have a faithful following of people who come every year, so they watch for it in the paper.

Cash Only – If you do not want to deal with checks, you can state Cash Only in your ad.

Be Descriptive – You want your shoppers to see your ad and come to your sale, so the more information they have, the better. Describe your sale as: Huge Annual Multi-Family Sale, Heated Shed Sale, Huge Moving Sale and so on.

Catchy Headline – Use this line to catch the reader’s attention. Some examples I have seen are: I Cleaned out my Daughter’s Bedrooms, Obsessive Shopper Sale, I Have too Much Stuff Sale, Downsizing for Retirement Sale.

List your Items – I love reading those lists in the ads and if they have boys clothing in size 4T…I am there for sure! If you are selling clothing, be sure to list the gender and sizes and even brand names. Be sure to list any furniture, appliances and large items, outdoor toys, swing sets, popular kid’s toys or collections and baby items like cribs, walkers, car seats and so on.

Add a Teaser – Give them another reason to come to your sale by stating a little perk, like “Free toys on Saturday” or “Clothing 1/2 price on Saturday” or “Everything 1/2 price after 12:00 on Saturday” because at this point, trust me, you just want it gone!

Don’t forget to check the deadline for you ad, you definitely don’t want to miss the cut-off date!

Good luck writing your Garage Sale Ad!

Please share some catchy headlines or attention grabbing ads that you have seen or used:)

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Here are a few garage sale pricing tips for pricing children’s clothing.

First of all, if you have kids, you know that not all clothing is created equal! You are not going to want to sell that cute dress from Wal-Mart for the same price as the gorgeous dress you bought from Gymboree last Easter. You have to take into consideration the brand, age and condition when you are pricing and in order to get a little return on your investments!

Consider the Brand

Popular selling brands are Gap, Gymboree, Limited Too, Children’s Place, Janie & Jack, Hanna Andersson and other Boutique brands. You can put a higher price tag on these brands, especially if they are in great condition! People are usually willing to pay a little extra for these items, because they know what they sell for retail.

Consider the Age

The age of the clothing is also a factor to consider. The majority of clothing from 10 years ago will be considered outdated and not in style, this will drop your price a little.
There are some exceptions to very popular name brands that are in excellent condition, like dresses, outfits or coats.

Consider the Condition

This is the most important consideration in pricing anything for a garage sale…the condition! So, even if you have a very popular last season, Gap outfit in a very popular girls size 6, if it has stains or tears, it is not going to be worth much. Again, your customers will be willing to spend a little extra on something that is in excellent condition because they know it will last. I believe it is worth that extra effort to keep your kid’s name brand clothing in great shape!

Price suggestions for children’s clothing

These are prices that I see at sales in my area and prices that I use myself.
These are guidelines; you may need to adjust them for your area. If you are uncertain about a price, just  use your best judgment and ask yourself “What would I pay for this?”

Below are 3 different prices, the first is a low price, then an average and finally a high price. A no-name brand in ok condition would be at the low end and a popular name brand in excellent condition would be at the high end. Falling into the average slot would be a decent name brand (Carter’s, Oshkosh) in good condition.

Dresses $1.00 $3.50 $6.00
T-Shirts $0.50 $1.00 $2.00
Dress Shirts $1.00 $2.50 $4.00
Sweaters $1.00 $2.50 $4.00
Jeans $1.00 $3.00 $5.00
Pants $0.50 $2.00 $3.00
Outfits $1.00 $4.50 $8.00
Pajamas $0.50 $2.00 $3.00
Swimsuits $0.50 $2.00 $4.00
Socks $0.10 $.25 $.50
Shoes $0.50 $2.50 $4.00
Boots $1.00 $4.50 $8.00
Light Jackets $1.00 $3.00 $5.00
Winter Coats $3.00 $9.00 $15.00
Snowsuits/Sets $5.00 $17.00 $30.00

Here are a few more ideas to use while preparing your children’s clothing for the garage or yard sale:

- Start early (begin pricing your items 3-4 weeks before the sale)
- Make sure clothing is laundered and clean
- Write the size on the price tag
- Hang up dresses, outfits and coats as you price them
- Make outfits rather than selling pieces separately
- Use safety pins to keep outfits, 2 piece swimsuits, or pajama sets together
- Use Ziploc bags for sets of socks, tights or hair accessories

Your customers will appreciate the effort you put into organizing and attractively presenting your items and providing them with a relaxed and positive shopping experience! They will, in return, want to shop a little longer and spend a little more!

If you need help with the actual prices to put on your other items, my Garage Sale Pricing Guide is available separately for $5.

Share your Garage Sale Pricing Strategies with us ~ leave a comment below!

Tashia Calhoun

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I tend to price on the slightly higher side on the items I know are hot sellers, like kids name brand clothes for example. I don’t want to give these items away and I need to make my sale efforts worth my while! If your items are in great condition, name brand and not outdated, you can ask a little more and get it! Would you pay $5 for a pair of stylish Abercrombie jeans? I would because I know what they cost retail or even on eBay.

I find it very irritating when I am at a sale and some things are marked and some are not, I honestly don’t want to go searching for the sale person to ask “How much is this Shirt?” So, usually, if it’s not marked, I put it back.

Stickers

• I use stickers for pricing and I put a sticker on everything! Some people like to use a basic price chart, like $1 for all shirts or $2 for all jeans (unless marked otherwise) and so on, but personally I would rather price items individually because we all know that not all of the clothing you are selling is created equal! You may put $1 on your daughter’s Faded Glory Jeans from Wal-Mart, but you are not selling that Gap pair (that you paid $30+ for) for $1! The basic price chart would also not work well if you are having a multi-family sale because you will want to keep track of individual sales.
• Keep your prices at even amounts like.50, .75, $1 and not .95 cents. Stay away from .10 and .20, I figure my time in preparing is worth more than that! If you do have items that you believe are only worth .10, try bundling them with other like items, then you can give it a higher price.
• Use pre-printed $ stickers – I have been using the same sticker method for years, I use address labels (30 to a sheet), print them on the computer and then cut them into strips. I can put 3 prices and my initials on one label, so I print a whole sheet of $1 and I have 90 stickers. I stick with this method because there are always 3 or 4 of us doing a sale and we all want our stickers to be different from each others – much easier to spot when adding up the green!
• You can also use the smaller address labels (80 to a sheet I think) and print up sheets on the computer. You’ll want to print whole sheets of  prices, $.50, $1.00, $2.00, $3.00, $4.00, $5.00, when you get past here you can print a few rows of prices at a time. Also, be sure to print some blanks with just your initials so you can fill in prices for some custom items.
• They now have easy peel-off stickers that work great for books and movies and glass. I love these! And stickers with pre-printed prices!
• You can always resort to doing your stickers by hand too! Some folks use masking tape and just tear off pieces as they go. Just make sure your price is clear and your initials are on your stickers it you have other sellers.
• If you are having a sale by yourself, you could use colored stickers and say all yellow stickers are $1; this would not work well with other sellers though.

State the Size

Another valuable little extra is to right the size on the sticker. I try to do this with the kids clothes and all jeans for sure.  I always appreciate seeing the size on the sticker when I am at a sale, especially when I have my arms full; it saves me the hassle of trying to find the size tag inside! This will also save you some time when you set up your clothing according to size.

Garage Sale Pricing Box

I keep a pricing box in my Garage Sale Work Area! It is a shoe box with an attached lid that flips open. It is portable, of course, so I can take it elsewhere if I plan to price items elsewhere. Everything I need for pricing is in there and I don’t have to go running around looking for the scotch tape or scissors!

Here’s what I keep in my Pricing Box:

price stickers, sharpie markers, pens, safety pins, scotch tape, masking tape, scissors and paper

You can use whatever works for you, those small Tupperware bins with lids would also work great.

If you need help with the actual prices to put on your items, my Garage Sale Pricing Guide is available separately for $5.

Good luck pricing your garage sale items; it is a lot of work, but if you spend the time here, you will see higher profits!

Share your tips for Pricing Garage Sale Items!

Tashia Calhoun

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We have decided to have our sale on the weekend of  our town’s annual celebration days. So there will be lots of people around and we should make some decent money!

Today, let’s talk about preparing your garage sale items. Even if you have already had your sale, I’m sure you will find some valuable tips that you can use for next year.

Preparing Your Garage Sale Items

Work Area – If you can set aside an area where you can work on your items, it will be a huge help. I have a “garage sale corner” in my basement that is set aside for garage sale stuff only. I store all of the household items, destined for the garage sale, which I have collected throughout the year here. I have a table set up and all of my pricing supplies here also. If you have the room to do this, great. If not, don’t worry, you can set up shop at the kitchen table. You’ll just have to clean up after yourself:)

Tips for Clothing

• Make sure your clothing is clean:) You would think that would be a given, but I still see dirty clothing at sales, and not just stained, but actually dirty.
• If you have items that are badly stained, just toss them in the trash.
• Hang up dressy clothes, dresses, outfits, coats, snowsuits and costumes. It will save you a lot of time when you are setting up if you can hang them up in advance.
• Safety pins are fabulous for keeping 2/3 pc sets together, such as bikinis, pajamas and outfits. Ziploc bags work great for socks (in nice condition), tights or hair accessories.
• I have sold lots of clothing on eBay and I think… the more information you can provide, the better your items will sell! Even at the garage sale! If the item is new or was never worn, write that on the sticker.

Clean and Presentable

• You will have much more success in selling your items if they look nice and well taken care of.
• Make sure everything works and if there is something broken, state it clearly.
• Selling similar items in a bundle is very attractive ie. 3 cookie sheets, 5 kitchen utensils, dishes, books, hair stuff.
• When in doubt, just ask yourself “Would I buy this at a garage sale?”

Good luck preparing your garage sale items; it is a lot of work, but if you spend the time here, you will see higher profits!

Have a fabulous day!

What are some things that you do to prepare your garage sale items? Leave a comment below!

Tashia Calhoun

Author of Secrets of Successful Garage Sales & Planner

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