Spring has sprung, and that means one thing: it is yard sale season! We did our first yard sale a few weeks ago; and since we are in pre-move mode, we are also going to participate in our upcoming community yard sale this weekend. My philosophy: there is always something in the house that can be sold!
If you’ve been coming around here for the last year or so, then you know I have become quite the yard sale expert (self-proclaimed, of course). Between helping my father downsize by running/working 3 major estate-style sales, as well as having three sales here in our own home, I feel like I have the prep, the setup and the pricing down to a science! I’ve shared a bunch of my tried-and-true yard sale tips here already, but after chatting with a few friends who are getting ready to hold sales of their own, it occurred to me that I should share our best ever yard sale tool: our price tags!
To price or not to price, that is the question! I am pretty sure everyone has their own experiences, frustrations, and opinions about pricing yard sale items. However, after running 5 successful sales in the last year, I can honestly tell you that we found pricing to be 100% worth the effort, and here is why:
- Price tags encourage people to buy. If people can see the price you’re asking, they can instantly decide if they want it rather than having to hunt you down or get your attention. Just like the red stickers at Target – sometimes a good price is just the push you need to put it in your basket.
- If you’re not a quick thinker or you waiver on your feet, price tags help you get the prices you really want for items.
- If you’re not good at adding on your feet or can’t remember what price you quoted them 5 minutes ago, price tags will help you quickly and accurately tally people up and get them on their way.
- If you hate haggling, price things to sell (i.e., as cheap as you can go) and then repeat after me: “We priced things to sell so we are not negotiating.” Some people will push back, most won’t, and most will still buy what their holding.
- Price tags give people a starting point on negotiations. If you are trying to sell big ticket items and will entertain offers, put a price AND add OBO. Just putting a “make me an offer” sign will scare people away because they don’t know what kind of money you’re expecting. Give a starting price and be prepared to mark down as the day goes on.
- If you have a lot of stuff to sell (especially little things that are hard to keep track of) and/or a lot of people helping or “working” the sale with you, price tags will ensure you get the good/right money for the good stuff and let the right stuff go for cheap.
Do I have you convinced yet? Okay – the last thing you are probably thinking: “But it takes so much time!!” It might seem so, but we have that part down to a (quick) science too! Back when we started the estate sales at my father’s house, my sister created these unassuming label files and printed a bunch of them on Avery 8167 Return Mailing Address labels:
She included every single monetary increment we could possibly need, 2 per single label; they were printed on labels that actually stuck to all of our items (no more colored dots falling off of everything!); and best of all? They are super easy to peel and stick.
We had SO MUCH STUFF to price you guys; but because of these labels, we were able to quickly and accurately price everything we had to sell. When prices needed to be slashed, we just went around and put new stickers over the old ones. It worked so incredibly well that we all now use these files over and over for every sale we do.
Now are you convinced?!? Are ready to make your own?!?
First, I have the files all ready for you, courtesy of my sister of course! Click below to download:
PDF Version (non-editable): just print and go
Word Version (editable): if you want/need different prices
Print the files onto the Avery 8167 Return Mailing Address labels. There will be two prices on every single label…
Use a paper trimmer (or a scissors if you don’t have one), and slice down the center of each column, cutting all the labels in half…
Keep cutting all your labels apart until you have strips of each monetary increment (or several strips of each increment). You’ll notice that the files have extra columns for the more common garage sale values ($0.25, $0.50, $, and $2!!)
These files are great because 1) they are done for you 😉 and 2) you get SO many price stickers from one sheet (180 prices from just one print out!)… That’s a lot better than those boxes of sticky dots that have too many $0.25 stickers and not nearly enough $1!!!
To get ready for your sale, gather up your labels, and quickly go through your items one by one. Without over-thinking, pick a price, stick it on, and keep moving! At our last garage sale, I had everything priced in about 20 minutes!
If you’ve never priced items at your yard sale, give this a try! I promise it’s easier than you think and your sale will likely go more smoothly for you…maybe even putting a little more cash in your pocket!
With a fresh set of price tags ready, I’m off to price everything I’m selling on Saturday! Hope you all are having a great week! See you back here Friday!
Posted In 7 - Toolbox Sample Pages, Moving, North Carolina, Organization, Printables
