Lessons from a yard sale newbie
(Guest post by Jessie Devine)
I am by no means a yard sale expert. In fact, I know very little about pricing items, bargaining with shoppers, or any of the like. Actually, I can’t remember a time when I’ve ever been yard sale shopping in my life.
But that’s all about to change. It did change, actually, this past weekend, and here’s why. My husband and I are expecting our second child in November, which means we have a massive amount of stuff to clear out of what is now our spare bedroom. Good stuff, too. Tvs, artwork, home decor, gadgets, toys, and more. So when a family member asked me if I had anything I wanted to sell in her yard sale on Saturday, my response was, absolutely! I was really excited about the opportunity to make money from this extra stuff I had cluttering up my house. Besides, I’m on a budget and have new baby furniture to buy. I didn’t even have to be present at the yard sale. I just had to drop my stuff off and collect my money at the end of the day. This was going to great—or so I thought.
We decided to just put the two tvs in—our largest and hopefully most expensive items. I felt hopeful. I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up.
Only one tv sold (the larger of the two) and it sold for a mere $20. Apparently electronics aren’t good sellers. Makes sense. Newer, bigger, better, faster, clearer tvs and gadgets are constantly on the market. Who would want a 10-year old tv I’ve had since college? Ok, so I learned one thing about yard sales I didn’t know before.
So my question is, what sells at yard sales? What are people looking for? Obviously I have a lot more to learn, and learn I will. I’m in the middle of sorting and pricing baby clothes, my clothes, decorations, and some other odds and ends, because I have my own yard sale planned for next month. I’m determined to grow our baby fund by selling stuff I already own.
My first attempt may not have been as successful as I would have hoped, but oh well. At least 20 bucks will get me a box of Pampers.