Having a Yard Sale - Exhausting Work

I love going to yard sales, but being on the other end, preparing for a yard sale and then having it is exhausting work. We started by offloading about ~500 pounds of “stuff” from Nine of Cups and transporting it to my sister Lin's. It turns out that was the easy part. How ever did we ever accumulate so much? Once we got all the crap … I mean good stuff ... to Lin's and unloaded, we had to sort it and price it, plan and market the yard sale “event” and then actually participate for two days while people showed up, looked and hopefully bought all the treasures we had for sale. We've done this many times before and we've been reasonably successful at it. We measure success by 1) how much $$ we've made and 2) how much stuff is left at the end of the sale that needs to be carted off to a thrift shop or to the dump. Here's what we've learned …

1. Marketing your yard sale event. If you tell them ... they will come.

Marketing and advertising is important. You've got to let people know that you're having a sale and advance notice is important. We listed our yard sale in the local community newspaper, on craigslist and several local websites that are designed specifically to advertise yard sale/garage sale. Most are free and well worth the effort.

Additionally, signage is critical.

Catching someone's attention when they're driving is difficult, but someone who spots your signs and heads to your yard sale might be a potential buyer. Use brightly colored signs, with consistent colors (some folks might miss the verbiage on one sign, but follow the color), with clear, concise information: Yard Sale, location and date(s) are the key and necessary elements.

Make sure to place signs in strategic places to insure you draw as many potential buyers to your sale as possible. If you put them out a day or so early, people might make sure to put it on their agenda for the weekend. Also, be a responsible citizen. Remove your signs when your sale is over. We keep track of the number we put out, so we're sure to retrieve them all at the sale's end.

2. Price your stuff to sell

I know you paid $100 for that dress or lots for those skis, but if you want to sell them for anywhere close to what paid, you might consider a consignment shop that specializes in designer clothing or used sports equipment. Otherwise, be happy to get $10-$15 if you're lucky. People go to yard sales for bargains. Things are only worth what someone is willing to pay for them. If you want to move your “merchandise”, you don't have to give it away, but price it reasonably low so it will sell. OR be prepared to donate it or pack it away till the next yard sale.

3. Preparation is important.

Pre-pricing and pre-sorting are two tools to success. We usually use colored adhesive dots with associated published prices on signs scattered around the sale area, e.g. red dot = 50¢, green dot=$1, etc. There's nothing worse than having to ask someone for the price of each item and the only person who knows the prices is with another “customer”.

We try to sort items in advance and put them into the same area ... electronics, antiques, clothing, glassware, kitchen, books, toys/games. If something is particularly distinctive, we put an extra little tag on it with some info … “vintage teapot made in England”. Some folks like to root around in boxes full of junk. You can certainly leave a few boxes of miscellany for this purpose, but usually some sense of order is appreciated. Don't leave good items stuck in their boxes. Take them out so folks can see what they're buying.

Also, make sure you have change ready … lots of dollar bills, quarters, etc. If you're selling higher priced items like furniture, have larger bills available. What's worse than making a sale, but not being able to make change?

5. Be ready on time

If your sale is scheduled to start at 8am, have everything out and ready by 8am. People expect that you'll be ready to go when you say you will. Be prepared for early birds and either embrace them or turn them away. Though sometimes frustrating, we prefer embracing.

6. One man's trash is another man's treasure.

Things we don't think will sell, usually do … and vice versa. It's an amazing phenomenon. We put out everything there is to sell and at the end of the sale, we decide if what's left is worth keeping. We usually donate to a locate charity … preferably one that's willing to pick up.

So … how well did we do?

Unless you plan to have your sale inside, one thing you can't control is the weather … especially in New England. The weather forecast vacillated between thunder & lightning, hail and heavy rains to overcast. We took our chances and as luck would have it, we were the only ones who didn't cancel our yard sale on Saturday AND there was no rain. It sprinkled a bit, but we were ready with tarps and never needed them. People showed up steadily and bought lots. Sunday was a bust with off/on showers and few customers. Still, we felt the whole ordeal was successful and worthwhile.

In total, the family netted just under $800 for stuff we didn't need and/or want any longer. We've called a local charity to pick up the rest and Lin's basement is pretty empty … lots of room for more stuff. We plan to celebrate with a New England lobster feast at home … then Lin and I plan to go to yard sales next weekend.

By the way, I logged over 10,000+ steps on my FitBit each day … the best kind of exercise … I didn't have to think about it.

13 Tips for Thrifting

Yesterday I wrote about our successful thrifting excursions of late and I thought I'd enumerate a few thrifting tips we've learned along the way. Thrifting is not just being frugal, it's making good use of your money while enjoying the hunt. It's smart shopping.

1. Not all “thrift” stores are equal. The better known ones, Salvation Army (aka Salvos), Good Will, St. Vincent de Paul (Vinnys), etc. differ from city to city and even store to store within the same city. More affluent areas seem to have better quality merchandise. Some shops are great for clothing; others for books or furniture or brick-a-brack. Check them all out and find which one(s) suit your needs.
2. Not-for-profit thrift shops are many times exempt from charging sales tax ... an 8% savings here in Las Vegas.
3. Check out discount days and shop those days to get the best bang for your buck. It's not just seniors who are eligible for discounts, by the way. Students/teachers, police/firemen, military or other organizations many times have special discount days, too … up to 50%. Some shops in Las Vegas have casino discounts and just having a player's card from any casino entitles you to discounts on certain days.
4. Most thrift stores have a date or color code that indicates specifically tagged items are on sale that day at a discounted price. You can sometimes combine your senior or other discount with the discounted price making your purchase even more economical.
5. Frequent thrifter discounts are available at some thrift shops. Some Salvation Army stores participate in Flok and offer your first item purchase at 50% off, then subsequent special deals/discounts on purchases with significant savings. Once a month, the whole store is 50% off except for a few specialty items. Check individual stores for programs they offer.
6. Savers, a thrift store chain that seems to be everywhere these days, offers a SuperSavers Club Card for bigger discounts based on frequency of purchases and also special discounts for those who donate used items to Savers. I find their prices higher than other shops, but the selection and ease of finding sizes, etc. are better than most other stores.
7. Go with a list because it's easy to get carried away. I pile everything I like in a cart and walk around with it for awhile. Just before I'm ready to check out, I review all the purchases and usually end up putting several things back.
8. Go for brand names and quality. Mary, my sister-in-law, got a nearly new pair of Levis for $1. David got a Nautica jacket for $4.99. Also, be on the lookout for antiques. I found a Staffordshire teapot in perfect condition for $2. The bargains are there … you just need to look for them.
9. Try on before purchasing. Check the zippers and buttons; make sure there are no stains. Check out your furniture purchases well, too. Make sure the drawers work, the hardware is in place and the chairs are solid. Items are usually sold “as is”. Most thrift shops do not accept returns although some Good Will stores offer a store credit for returned goods with the tags still on and the receipt.
10. It's not just thrift shops that offer good bargains. Consignment shops are another source of good quality, used items at significantly lower prices than new. There is less room for discounting in consignment shops. Since the seller is going through a middleman (the consignment shop), he/she has to forfeit a percentage of the selling price. There are consignment shops that specialize in high end designer clothing; others specialize in good quality furniture and accessories.
11. Consult Craigslist for specific items, especially furniture that might be offered very reasonably. That's how we found our dining room set. Craigslist also lists yard/garage and moving sales. Again, making purchases from individuals also alleviates the sales tax and gives you some room for bargaining.
12. Estate sales are listed on Craiglist as well. These are usually liquidations of estates of people who have died and it's relatives that are selling off the furniture and merchandise. Be aware of the emotion that might be involved in the sale of some items.
13. Don't forget used furniture stores, junk shops, flea markets, pawn shops and, of course, auctions … all good opportunities for bargains.

Be patient. If you haunt enough shops and your expectations are realistic, you're bound to find what you're looking for.

The Thrill of Thrifting

I've written about thrifting in the past and attributed it to our parsimonious natures, as well as our penchant for reusing and recycling. It's not like it's an odious task for me. Truth be told, I love thrifting, in case you haven't guessed. It's how we've clothed ourselves over the past two decades and done a pretty good job of it, I think ... always good value and pennies on the dollar compared to new. I set us a new challenge when we bought the house. I wanted to furnish the house as much as possible using used/recycled furniture and wow, have we ever scored big. I was already familiar with some of the thrift shop opportunities in Las Vegas. There's the usual suspects: Salvos (Salvation Army), Good Will, Savers and Catholic Charities, to name a few. We also discovered Epic Thrift, Deseret and Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Most all have a “senior day” when additional discounts are offered to the over 55 crowd and from this I determined the best day to shop. At Mary's suggestion, we also checked out Colleen's Consignments for several good buys and, of course, Craigslist was consulted frequently. We scoured the yard sale and estate ads for items of interest.

I made list of what we needed … a rather long list since we haven't owned a house for a long time. Mary moved some of her furniture to the new house and furnished her and Karen's room plus some of the family room, but there were big voids and lots of empty space in this 8-room house. We needed stuff! We set ourselves a reasonable budget and promised to stick to it. Shopping at the not-for-profit thrift shops, by the way, also saved us the local 8% state sales tax which was another important savings. Salvos also participates in a program called Flok with a phone app which provides coupon savings on purchases, as well as frequent buyer discounts.

We haunted all the thrift stores regularly. It was hard passing up good buys before we actually moved, but we did our best to wait. We started out small. We found a great set of three swivel bar stools for the breakfast counter with four extra chairs for $67.50 and a versatile side table for the family room for $37.50. Both purchases were made at Salvos which ended up being our favorite store(s) for both value and selection. There are three stores in Las Vegas and we hit them all. Catholic Charities, however, came through with an 8' tall, lighted cherry bookcase for $75 which accommodated the family book collection and fit perfectly into an alcove in the family room.

Once we actually owned the house, we began furnishing in earnest, but with specific needs in mind. Patience paid off. We found a solid cherry dining room set with china cabinet on Craigslist which fit perfectly into the new dining room.

We'd get up early in the morning to head to estate and yard sales. We'd hit the thrift shops and consignment shops to see what was on offer. The inventory changes almost daily. Some of the furniture was awful, but there were gems to be had.

A like-new sofa was purchased at Colleen's Consignments and a cherry secretary which we certainly didn't need at all, became a necessity when we saw it at Salvo's for $68! Habitat for Humanity Restore was a good source for a beveled-glass, over the mantle mirror, as well as some new bathroom hardware.

We wanted to set up an office in our bedroom and since we wanted everything to “match”, the challenge was to find matching desks. David found two matching granite-topped writing tables which worked perfectly when we purchased a couple of inexpensive file cabinets to go with them. Acquiring desk lamps and accessories are in progress. The extra chairs that came with the bar stool purchase work just fine at the desks.

We'd been searching without success for a chest of drawers. Now that we have a place to leave clothes, we wanted something to put them in. The piece de resistance was found at an estate sale on the west side of town. A beautiful solid wood armoire in excellent condition was for sale and we snagged it the moment we saw it.

We had a couple of missteps. I bought a hanging pot rack for the kitchen, but found that with our vaulted ceilings, it just didn't make sense. Luckily, I sold it at our moving sale and actually made a small profit on it. We needed a kitchen table and chairs for the breakfast nook and couldn't seem to find anything that we liked. We ended up settling for a small oak table with two chairs which sufficed, but wasn't great. We should have been more patient because just a few days later, we found a great table and chair set at Salvos which was almost perfect. We've got the original set advertised on Craigslist and we're hoping to sell it before we leave to fly back to Trinidad. Even if we don't sell it, the total cost for both sets was $120, so we're not out all that much.

Oh, there are still things to find and buy to get us totally settled. We need some good artwork on the walls, accessory pieces, accents, and floor lighting. I found an excellent used window treatments book on Amazon that will help with drapes. The living room echoes … we need an area rug or two for the wooden floors to absorb the sound. A good wing chair next to the sofa would be nice. Altogether, however, we've spent less than $1,800 to furnish the house, well below the allotted budget. Which means, of course, I have “credits” for future yard sale, estate sale, thrift shop, craigslist, etc. purchases. Currently, I'm high on the thrill of thrifting. Cheap entertainment for a sailor on land. If only marine parts were such a bargain!!!