Yard Sale Ideas - Cuba,MO

Totally not rude for lemonade. We also will get a case of water and some sodas and let the kids sell those for 50 cents each - they usually go.

Great planning to do it at the same time as a neighbor. Multiple sales are really good attention grabbers. The last time we had one I also went around to neighbors close by and told them about it or stuck a flyer in their door if they weren't home, and we wound up with 13 sales in a close area.

As far as pricing, kids clothes are a dime a dozen. I usually will price things in good condition at $1.00, Jammies or 2 piece things for $1.50, the less nice things at 50 cents, and really nice things (never worn jeans or dresses, etc) at no more than $3.00. BUT, here in San Antonio, there are virtually 100's of sales every weekend, so I have to price stuff low if I want it to go. Adult clothing I price a little higher, but not much. I am of the opinion that I just want it gone. My mom prices stuff higher than I do , and her stuff winds up staying longer.

Toys are also a GREAT sell. I keep those between $1 and $3 unless it is something smazing.

Good Luck!!!

The lemonade stand will be fun and not rude at all.

The coach sounds good at $50.

~I had my first (and only so far) yard sale 2 years ago and I made the most money on my kids clothes...I priced them too low, I had a .50 cent table and then a $1 table and everything sold...it was fantastic!

Good Luck! Have fun!

I go to a lot og garage sales. BIggest tool for success is a good, well placed sign. Bright color or white with very big legible lettering- very clear address, maybe a balloon tied to it, at the nearest busy intersection or corner. Then additional signs with arrows pointing the way to your house.
Next is organization. I'm not going to dig through anyones stuff. If you put all toys in one spot, all clothes hung up or folded in like piles I'm way more likely to look.
Don't bother putting OBO on the price. That part is implied and makes it seem like you don't even expect to get as much as you priced. You don't have to price things. You can wait to be asked and then say - make me an offer.
Kids clothes - price what you would pay for it at a garage sale, not based on what you paid. I can't stand when a garage sale owner tells me what they paid for something as a justification to overprice. I don't care what they paid new at JC Penny. I'm not shopping for new at JC Penny. I'm in someones front yard looking at thier clutter!
Couch - same principle. What would you pay for it if you needed a couch? Price it slightly higher than that.
Lemonade is good, but I'm much more likely to buy a canned coke out of an ice chest. If the kids are stuck on the lemonade idea, buy a case of canned country time lemonade.

Hi there,
The "rule of thumb" is to price for maybe a bit higher than you want to sell, then people can negotiate. Typically the yard sale price is about 10% of the new value. So, if you think your couch is worth $500 new, then $50 is about right. Maybe you can start it at $60.

As for the kids selling lemonade, sure, it sounds like a great idea. We have community yard sales down here and several homes set up cookies, water, lemonade, etc... for sale.

Also, if you have lots of little items (McDonalds toys; left over toys from playsets; etc...) then you can even have a "free" bin or 10 cent bin? The little kids LOVE to ask mom and dad for 25 cents to buy stuff. :) AND, it cleans out your stuff.

Have fun. :)
R.

I think $50 for the sectional would be a good price - the thing that I have learned about garage/yard sales is that if I price things cheaper, I get rid of more stuff and actually end up making more $ than if I were to over price things and only sell a few items because no one thinks that used things are worth a lot of money.....Anymore, I don't put any prices on anything - people will just ask you how much for this or that - and I will ask them how much will you give me for it. If it seems reasonable then I just say "sure" sometimes they have offered me more than I would've asked for it! If they are totally low-balling then I will make an offer back to them and go from there......I would do that with the sectional. I would be that someone will offer more than $50 for it if it is in good condition.....

I think the lemonade idea is fine.....we have sold donuts and hot chocolate or coffee at ours before too - and brownies.....LOL - people get hungry while they are out looking around.
Good Luck - hope you make a bunch!!

lemonade not rude at all (good idea!)

My aunt throws a lot of garage sales, she says never put a price that is more than 1/3 cost of retail. People want a bargain.

Couch maybe leave price off and ask people to make you an offer if they express interest in buying.

Although my husband & I did a pinky-swear-spit-shake that we would NEVER do O. again--we actually sold a hot dog & a Coke for a buck. Big hit! (we were making ht dogs on the grill for ourselves for unch & people were asking "how much?" LOL)

Just be prepared that EVERYONE wants a bargain at a yard sale--so price a wee bit higher than what you want.

And good, readable, sturdy signs are a MUST.

I love it when people sell drinks at a yard sale, and I always stop at lemonade stands whenever possible (I have change and my kids aren't insane), even if the lemonade looks a tad undrinkable. We all had those stands and it makes us nostalgic.

I think that is fine for the couch if it is in good condition. Do you have ANY way to deliver it? You could offer delivery for an additional fee since not everyone interested would be able to move it if they weren't actively looking for a couch. (I would love a sectional for only $50, but was happy with my free Craigslist pet-clawed sleeper sofa that my husband and friend moved for me.)

I would have clothing set with individual prices, but you could also do a bag price on kids' clothing that would be a bit of a deal for someone filling the bag, but still make enough for you selling the clothes. I think for normal adult clothes that less than $5 a piece is usually fine. I don't take a lot of cash with me to garage sales but hate having to make choices--you could mark clothes something like $5/each or 5/$20, or $4 each or 4 for $14 or $15. It encourages people to buy a little more.

People will also make offers even if you don't ask for them (unless you mark things as not negotiable). I found an antique sewing/craft table at a yard sale and fell in love with it but realized I didn't have the amount listed on it. The lady selling it insisted on selling it to me for what I had since she could tell I loved it and it had belonged to her grandmother's best friend and she had a lot of memories of doing crafts at it as a kid.