I definately put price tags on everything. When several people all come at once, it's pretty difficult to haggle with prices on something. Often, if priced right, people pay what is marked. Some will try for less. Either way, it's a lot less hassle IMO, to have eveything marked. I use stick-on labels.

Wing It!

It isn't worth your time, especially if you plan to donate the "remaining items". As a former Thrift Store Manager, those darn tags are really hard to get off of items.

I'm sure your "yard sale" customer will appreciate not having to deal with tags as well. Plus, they like to haggle. Judge your price by your customer. LOL!

Gayle

I'm the complete opposite of Gayle...I go to LOTS of yardsales.If the stuff isn't marked,I leave.I don't want to haggle...I don't want to have to ask "How much is this" for everything I look at. If I see nothing is marked,I just look at Larry and say let's go!

I am with ChubbyRat. Mark it all.
Unless you want to do what DD#1 said at the last garage sale. Everything is $1, thinking she had all these boys clothes from newborn and up. Then she remembered some household stuff that wouldn't go for a buck. SO you still have to mark it 25 cents or whatever.

The big furniture or big ticket items I usually put a price on, as my other half usually helps but hasn't got a clue as to what prices I would ask. We also had a couple of tables with "all items on this table $x.xx". But I tried to keep it simple...all linens=$x; all dresses=$x; all tshirts=$x.

Sure do wish I lived where it was warmer and sunny....I really need to have a garage sale. Maybe in a couple of months.

Good luck at your sale.

I prefer to have the items marked...

I always get the feeling if they know you are interested that they will ask a higher price...

If it's too high for me I usually just leave it.

I know a lot of people expect us to ask for a lower price but I don't like doing that.

patti

I'm with Chubbyrat too! Mark everything. I don't like asking and will usually just leave if things aren't priced.

I don't always price clothing, but will hang a sign that all unmarked clothing is 50 cents or whatever.

I also go to a lot of yard sales almost every saturday once the weather gets better,and i like to see price tags on stuff.I also hold GS/YS and i mark almost everything.I just use masking tape or those bright colored stickers.
Kathi

Piece of paper and Scotch tape almost always peels off easily ... and some of the stick-ons do, as well.

Wouldn't matter whether the items were priced or not - if no eyes arrive to see, though.

Yard sales around here are seasonal - held in a snow bank goes over like lead bricks!

o j

I love garage sales... I actually even love setting them up or helping people with them... am I sick or what!!

I always get tiny little dots... in the stationary department, a pack for $3 or $4 will have 4 different colors and there are 50 dots per sheet and several sheets of each color. I make a few signs on regular copy paper stating the color price points.
Blue = $1.00
Red = $2.00
Green= $5.00
Yellow = o.25 cents

and so on

I will also use computer labels and you can print some pretty nice labels for pretty cheap if you cut them down in size. (I think I bought a pack of 500 shipping labels at a garage sale for 50 cents one year know that I would cut them up for my own sale)

I always find people buy easier if it is priced, Some people will haggle no matter what you do, but priced gives you a starting ground. Bottom line, YOU DONT WANT THE STUFF so anything is better then nothing :o)

I never throw out magazines... I give some to family and friends, but always have a box that I throw out at our annual garage sale. I will mark it 25 cents each or
10/$1 People are always shocked... they only want a few magazines but will take 10 for a $1 and the recycling is complete!

Good luck and have fun!!

Rosie

Prices on everything o in boxthat reads a certain amount for each I DON'T EVEN LIKE TO GO WHERE THERE IS NO PRE PRICING

count me in as another who walks out if things aren't marked...if you're gonna go to the effort to set up a sale, then put a little more effort in to making sure the stuff is clean, it works and is priced!

Ditto everyone who said, "Mark it!" I do not want to shop if items aren't marked. I have asked the price if I saw something I really wanted, but most times I won't stay to look. I dare say you will lose countless sales by not pricing. I'm not a fan of colored dots with a price chart, either. It's a lot like retail...make it as easy as possible for shoppers. At garage and yard sales especially, they want to see what you have, pay, and move on to the next sale. Besides, it is easier on you not to have to decide prices "on the fly" when people show up.

I leave if there are no prices. What I've noticed is when you do go to the trouble of finding someone who knows the price, there's a good chance that if you put the item back down after finding out the price, maybe it was not worth what they were asking, they will say something like "DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I PAID FOR THAT AT WAL-MART'S?!"... I've got better things to do and what does that have to do with anything anyway?... Really irkes me... Nancy

If the items aren't priced, I too will just leave. If things are priced, I usually find something cheap and buy it even if I wasn't looking for that item. I hate asking the price, however I will haggle at times!

I mark everything, much easier for me.

Yes, I agree with the others in needing things priced. Our Luther League has a sale every spring, and just free will offerings. They also have a lot of stuff left over!! I also feel it is so important to have things orderly....if it's pile of "stuff" I don't want to paw through it.

I'm another that will leave if things aren't marked. I'm not one to ever haggle, or even say "HOw much do you want for this?" If things aren't marked, I'm out of there.

I'm glad to see there are so many people like me & DH! Unless there's something specific that we REALLY REALLY want, we walk away from sales where .... * there are no prices and .... * items are dirty.

I despise asking for a price and then having the owner turn it back on me ... how much would you offer? (or ... Make me an offer). I always tell them up-front, I'm really cheap. I'll offer $$$ (and it's always waaaaaay low). If they say Oh, No ... I couldn't take that. I smile and suggest they put a tag on it then.

One other suggestion: If you have a bunch of nickle & dime stuff that you KNOW you'll probably have to pack up at the end of the sale? Put a BIG box by the edge of the curb and a BIG sign that says "FREE"..it's amazing how some will dig thru that box first, then come on in and buy alot more items. Saves you time & grief at the end of the day!

Mark everything! I use bright colored tags with strings and tie them on articles. I don't like the tape as it gets sticky and hard to get off, esp. if out in the sun. Some things, like plates, etc. you have to put a sticker tag on. I have better luck with low cost articles if I put either 25 or 50 cents on the box, rather than free. I like yardsale shopping, sometimes I will buy an item and maybe paint it or do some little thing to it and sell it in my sale for twice what I paid!

I mark all my things when I have a sale. I also am one who does not like to ask how much an item is at a sale. I'll do it a couple of times for something I really want and then usually I leave. I always feel like people "gauge" you and tell everybody a different price on an item! LOL

I'm in the line-up of 'no tags, no sale'. If everything is unmarked, I leave. If most are marked, & I'm interested in an item, I may ask - assuming the tag fell off. I will ask "will you take xxx" if it's something I really think I need/want.

If you're asking near-WM/KMart/Penneys/whatever prices, I'm not interested. If I could or wanted to pay their prices, I'd shop there. Remember, how much of this do you want to put back in your house? What doesn't sell has to be handled...again! Either to storage or to donate.

And, please, greet each potential customer with 'good morning' 'hello' or similiar greeting. Even if they don't buy anything, thank them for stopping by. If I'm not greeted, I know I'm not wanted as a customer. So put down the phone, stop chatting with your co-saler or best friend, lay aside the book, and be polite. You may be glad someone walked on by, but at least acknowledge they took the time to stop.

Good luck with your sale!

Thanks for all the great advice!!

Guess I better get to marking. I don't have a ton of stuff, mainly just small household items and some decorative things.

Rita

excellent advice Jay!! I always greet people with a good morning and thank them for stopping by...I've met some wonderful people thru my sales...

I like things priced.....I hate haggling with a passion and usually will walk away from a garage sale instead of buying if things are not priced.

I hate having GS, but one thing I did learn. Have your prices in increments of 25c and you won't have to worry w/ nickles, dimes or pennies. 25 50 100. Make it easy!

If you write on an item be sure it is in pencil if on paper or books They usually write it in the inside front. If on othr than paper like ceramic use a erasable/removeable marker since writing with a real pen can damage the value of the item.

Another one who hates to ask what the price is on everything and I hate to haggle. If the price is reasonable I have no problem paying it.

I would make signs, like all paperbacks 25 cents and hardback a dollar or something like that, so didn't have to mark those. And put like things together as in all kitchen items in one place, clothes in another, etc. I hate disorganized yard sales.

And make sure you go to the bank and have lots of change for coins and bills. People are always giving you a $20.

Have fun.
Clare

I will leave if items are unmarked. Please when you are marking put the price where it can be read quickly. I don't know how many I have went to in recent years, items marked, but where?...on back of the shirt or back of lower pant leg, really weird places. Put them on front, to the top. Don't use masking tape on things that it will leave a residue, best yet, don't use masking tape. I know lots of people do and you get home with an item and it's awful trying to get the tape off.

I went from having garage sales to opening my own thrift shop and have people come in and start asking 'how much is this' or 'how much is that'? I tell them everything is marked with a price, unless it has fallen off and that is unlikely as all the clothing is tagged with the plastic string and price tag and I tie on a price whenever possible.

I leave if there are no prices marked, therefore I mark everything when I have a sale.
I mostly use the brightly colored tags that have strings on them and I mark the price on both sides of it.
Anna usually has a lot of kids t-shirts and jeans that she has outgrown. On her clothes I put a sign that all t-shirts are 50¢ and all jeans are $1.
I also do as Vannie suggested. I price by 25¢ increments. I started out with $50 in fives, $50 in ones and $10 in quarters. We did very well with our sale, but I need to have another one in a month or so; maybe when someone else in the neighborhood has a sale. There were some things I had set aside in the attic to bring down, but I forgot about them until the sale was over.

Another tip is that a lot of senior citizens like to go to yard sales after they get their monthly check or checks. I don't know if everyone recieves theirs on the same day, but dh gets his on the third of the month. It's a good idea to have it on the next weekend following the first part of the month.

Linda

Definitely put a price sticker on every single object. I had two garage sales. At one, I had a glass candy dish marked 35 cents. A woman came up to me,"Will you take a quarter?" "Sure" I told her. She drove away but was back in 5 minutes "I want my money back. This thing has a chip on the bottom". LOL. I gave her a refund and put it in the trash. My other garage sale, someone stole a box of 1960's record albums AND my cash box. Bummer. I'll never do aother garage sale.

I don't do garage sales due to the lack of the support from the local people. I have signs out, balloons, everything priced, paid for two ads in different papers, including the local weekly etc and then had several people tell me how well they did, and OH I didn't know you had one!!
Never again in this town. Now I just give away or throw even when I know certain people are looking for what I have.

Hi, I have 2 yard sales each year and always set them up on tables with tablecloths (some are just plain sheets), sort things out into loose catagories, and price it all with obvious tags. We staple or string them onto clothing, so not to ruin it. There are a couple of EZ Ups for shade. Everything is clean, clothes are hung up, and there's an electrical cord plugged in and handy for testing stuff. I set them up all day on Thursday, then just block the driveway with a car at night. It stays up till Saturday afternoon. No one has bothered the stuff that we can tell. If we have high ticket items or things that might be popular with theives, we take them inside overnight. I use the same big bright signs every sale, so people know it's me. I stay outside late straightening or adding more stuff, so sometimes get customers very late at night. They like to call someone and say, "Hey, it's almost midnight. Guess where I am!?" Pretty funny. We give refunds if there's a problem with something. If someone wants us to hold something, we hold it for only a certain amount of time. If they say they'll be back in a few minutes, we tell them that we'll hold it for 1 hour. It goes back out after that.

One person handles the money at my sales. If several people are selling, we keep a running list and split it up at the end. The money person has a money apron with just enough cash for change and it never leaves the person. There's a place inside the house to stash 20's and we always keep the back of the house locked, just in case. It's a pretty easy guess that if people are in their driveway having a sale, probably no one is in the house.

My prices are usually the price I would be willing to pay at a yard sale if I really wanted the item. I've noticed at yard sales that if someone comes up and picks up an item off the ground that's, say, $10, and it's not priced, they will almost always offer less than $5 for it. If it's displayed nicely or hung up with like items and priced, seem to offer closer to $8. We get a few turned up noses on the prices, but most people seem to be ok with them and come back to the next sale. Linda

It doesn't bother me that there are no prices. I offer what "I" want to pay and it is usually accepted.

Another one here that hates it when there aren't any prices on things.
Unless it's something I feel I can't live without,I'll just leave and go on to the next sale.

Hi, Rita.

I thought I had my last one this past Spring, but since Christmas I am already sorting through stuff again!

Yes, having everything priced is best. I do have categories as in all shirts. all jeans, etc. For other things I use stickers that come in different colors and are marked with 25¢, 50¢, $1 etc. They are good on glass ware too and come off easily.

When there are several sellers involved, I prefer everyone handling their own money. I've seen problems with the money not being accounted for correctly, or even just Math problems. Sometimes the person will forget to write it down or put it in the wrong column. I wear a fanny pack and it is easy to take care of. I keep the loose change in the FP from year to year and just get some bills to add with it.

Good luck, and good weather! Let us know how it turns out.

Sue

I am another one who will leave if things aren't marked. I don't have yard sales, but I go to a lot of them. I hate when items aren't marked. It's a pain in the butt to ask about every single thing you are interested in, plus, I think the sellers tend to size you up and charge more if they think you will pay it. Usually when items are unmarked, they want more than the item is worth and more than I am willing to pay. I have to really want something to ask for a price. Usually, I will just turn around and leave.

No prices - no sale! I leave.

Here's something else I hate - when the sellers spread their stuff, especially clothes, on a blanket on the ground. I'm not gonna kneel on the ground to paw through the stuff. How hard is it to get a couple sawhorses and a sheet of plywood to rig up a table?

this was my Oct'07 sale...I made almost a thousand dollars on stuff I no longer wanted and wasn't willing to put on ebay...yes I had a thief...and he was stupid enough to come in his work shirt and I set off after the sale closed and watched the color drain from his face when he saw me speaking to his manager..(I wasn't saying anything about him...but sure gave him the idea that I was)...I always wear a waist pack to hold my cash and within a few days after the end of the sale my left overs are sent on their way to a couple of charitable organizations that are ready to take it on! I try never to bring anything back in the house, unless I think I can sell it on ebay...

Yet another who won't haggle, and doesn't buy things that aren't priced. I'll figure out the highest price I would pay for it, and I'll ask "will you take (X amount) for this?" if I can't live without it, and it's not marked. I never let them give me a price. I decide what I want to pay, and if they won't accept it, I put it back.

I know I could probably have gotten a lot of things cheaper, but I just can't haggle. I used to have a BF who loved to haggle, so I'd take him along, and we got some great stuff really cheap!