Garage Sale Questions

kel716

I'm not working this summer (very little coursework, no wedding or baby to plan for etc...) and have an inordinately large amount of time off.  I need to complete a project that can consume me as I usually do something productive, and I think trying to organize a garage sale could potentially be a good use of my time.

So, the pricing post the other day really helped me.  But, here's some other questions-

What are your favorite things to find at garage sales? 

What do you think sells well?

What doesn't sell? 

If you have done this a lot, how much money do you typically make?

What is a good combo of days?  Fri/Sat or Sat/Sun?  Hours?  9-3 or something else? 

Are there any other pointers? 

Our house is filled with a ridiculous amount clutter.  Possibilities include old printers, some unused furniture that I may try to sell on CL first, tons of clothes, shoes, etc...  books, magazines, DVD's/VHS tapes, CDs, pictures, frames, sports memorabilia, sporting goods, old computers (that yes would be cleaned up first), organization stuff, things we didn't use when we remodeled parts of our home, office supplies, unwanted cords, baby stuff, stuffed animals, some Christmas decor, old bedding, etc...  This is without me even taking a good inventory of what we could sell. 

Thanks for your input ladies! 

Soon2BHiker

I've had a yard sale twice now, soon after the wedding to get rid of our doubles, and another one last month. Both sales I did fri/sat 8-2. I advertised this last sale on craigslist and just put about 5-6 signs up through the neighborhood. I had so many people here. I made just under $400 on friday alone. My rule of thumb is..put everything out I no longer want, you never know what people may be looking for. After the sale, nothing comes back in the house, goes directly to goodwill. Good luck!

Moesten

Kel: If you do this garage sale thing, would you be willing to let me piggy back onto you? We have a bunch of stuff to get rid of like kitchen things and baby clothes but nothing that in and of itself is a good draw for crowds like furniture or electronics or kids toys. We always say that if we decide to sell it rather than donate we need friends to have a garage sale so we can bring our crap and sell it at their sale. Would you be okay with that? (BTW, I totally understand if you say no)

teacherjess

We had a pretty successful one last summer.

Favorite things to find are new or like-new items for good markdowns. I also had success selling this kind of stuff (George Foreman grills, tableware, a newer blender, etc.). Baby clothes and baby items sell well.

What doesn't sell well is clothes for anyone over 10, I think. I put out a ton of clothes and shoes and sold 1 pair of shoes the whole day. 

I made about $150 because people bargain like CRAZY.

I'd do either Fri/Sat/Sun or Sat/Sun. I see a lot of sales I'd love to go to, but everyone works on Friday during the day and then I figure all the good stuff will be gone by the time I get there Sat. I'd place an ad on Craigslist and put up signs/fliers!