How To Price Garage Sale Items 2024: A Quick Guide + Tips

In this article: A guide for pricing garage sale items for a profitable sale based on retail and resale price plus pricing and organization tips that can help you boost sales.

Dear Dollar Stretcher,
It’s been awhile since I’ve had a garage sale, so I’m clueless about how to price garage sale items. I was wondering if some of your readers could help me?
Mimi

Pricing garage sale items can be tricky. You want to strike the right balance between attracting buyers and making a profit.

Here are some guidelines to help you price your garage sale items effectively followed by some tips from our frugal readers:

How To Price Garage Sale Items Based on Retail Pricing

Assess the condition of your items and start pricing using these guidelines that will leave you room to come down in pricing when negotiations begin:

Excellent or like-new condition: 50% of original retail price
Good condition: 25%-30% of original retail price
Fair or poor condition: 10% of original retail price

How To Price Yard Sale Items Based on Resale Pricing

If you don’t know the original retail price of some items, look up similar items on online marketplaces like eBay, Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace to get an idea of the average selling price for used items in your area. Or use this value guide from the Salvation Army.

Once again, price slightly higher so you can make a counter offer when a buyer asks, “How much will you take?”

5 Tips To Make a Garage Sale Easier

Here are some additional pricing tips that can make the day of the sale more manageable.

1. Price in Increments

Use simple pricing increments, like 25 cents, 50 cents or whole dollar amounts. Handling change will be easier for both you and the buyer.

2. Be Flexible

Be prepared to negotiate, especially if a buyer is interested in multiple items. Offer discounts for bulk purchases or be open to lowering the price if the buyer points out flaws you might have missed.

3. Group Similar Items

Create bundles or lots for smaller items, like books, CDs or toys. Buyers looking for deals find lots more appealing and help you move inventory more quickly.

4. Use Color-Coded Stickers

So what is the best way to label garage sale items? Use different colored stickers to indicate different price points to help with organization and ease of browsing.

5. Be Prepared To Adjust Pricing

Unless you intend to list unsold items online for sale, if certain things aren’t selling, consider reducing prices to make them more attractive.

Remember, the goal of a garage sale is to declutter and make some extra cash, so be willing to let go of items for less than their perceived value. The main objective is to sell items and clear out space, not just make a significant profit.

Sign Up for Savings

Subscribe to get money-saving content by email that can help you stretch your dollars further.

Twice each week, you'll receive articles and tips that can help you free up and keep more of your hard-earned money, even on the tightest of budgets.

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time.

Garage Sale Pricing Tips From Our Frugal Readers

We reached out to our frugal readers for their tips on pricing garage sale items. Hopefully their advice can help make your next garage sale a success.

Consider Your Neighborhood When Pricing Garage Sale Items

The best rule of thumb in garage sale pricing is to price things at about half of what you paid for them, or less, depending on the condition. Or consider what you would be willing to pay for it.

The area you live in is another important factor. If you live in an upscale part of town, you can ask more and probably get it. However, if you are near a college campus, many apartment building complexes or senior living centers, you should price things a bit lower to ensure they sell.

To get a good feel for the right price, visit your local thrift stores. It will give you an excellent idea what the market will bear.
SP in Fargo, ND

An Attractive Set-Up May Earn You More

The more attractive your tables and set-up, the more likely you are to get a good price. This includes having a neat, clean yard and garage. Make sure your items are clean and that there are electrical outlets or extension cords available to easily check for working condition of appliances and tools.

Clothing should be sorted by gender and type and either stacked neatly on tables or hung on hangers. The few things you can get away with displaying on a tarp or blanket are children’s toys (all the better for the littlest shoppers to reach them) and shoes.

Furniture will usually sell for $5 to $50.
Small appliances are usually hard to sell, so price them between $5-$25.
Pots, pans, and dishes are even harder to sell, unless you’ve got something high-end like Le Creuset, Townecraft or some cast-iron pieces. I would suggest checking eBay for prices on those items.
Power tools usually sell pretty well, so you might get a little more. Price between $10 to $50.
To move adult clothes, you may have to stay within a 25 cent to three dollar range, and only go above for recent, like-new, brand name clothing.
Children’s clothing can sell for up to $1-$5, and if you have sets of children’s clothes stacked on a table, use a safety pin to keep the sets together or you’ll be forever digging through for the pants to match the shirt someone is trying to buy.
Knickknacks are a little unpredictable, going anywhere from 10 cents up to $20. If something is marked with a brand name or a maker’s mark, do some research online.
Where I live, DVDs will sell for $2-$4. CDs are usually $1-$2. Books 25 cents to 50 cents for paperbacks and $1 for hardbacks.
Jewelry is usually priced 25 cents to $3, but if you’ve got some fine jewelry, it would be worthwhile to check out a reputable jewelry store that purchases gold and silver.

On some items, I will lower the price as the day wears on, or even earlier if an item is getting a lot of interest but doesn’t sell. I also usually have a free box with things that I think someone might find useful, but I wouldn’t ask them to pay for, like clothing with tears or stains, damaged items, pieces missing, etc.
Rhonda

Some Do’s and Don’ts of Garage Sale Pricing

For pricing garage sale items, you might want to consider a few things:

Do you want to clear out the clutter or put you kid through college? While you may very well make quite a bit of money with your garage sale, you shouldn’t look at it as an opportunity to “get rich,” which can lead to higher pricing of items. Chances are good that those who arrive at your garage sale will quickly discover your prices being too high and won’t buy anything!
Your prices should reflect that of your neighbors’ garage sales. Those who come to your sales often select to go to garage sales in a specific location for a reason. The prices on your items should be comparable to that of what your neighbors have sold/are selling their items. If you are selling your daughter’s designer jeans for $15 a pair, and your neighbor is selling her daughter’s same designer jeans at $7 a pair, guess whose jeans the buyer will purchase? All things being equal (except for the price), whose jeans would you purchase?
Visit other local vendors, such as Craigslist, Goodwill, Salvation Army and other thrift shops. This is particularly helpful for “big ticket” items, such as furniture, appliances, etc. Spend a bit of time surfing the web on Craigslist to check out local prices. If your items do not sell at the garage sale, you may want to consider putting them online! (Or better yet, advertise your garage sale on Craigslist!)

Here are some helpful hints of what not to do when considering pricing of items:

Do not consider what you paid for it originally, how much you love it, or how often you used it. Buyers frequently do not care if you paid $1,500 for a sofa, it sat in your formal living room and no one ever sat on it.
Do not consider how long you’ve had it or who it belonged to. Just because it’s been sitting in your attic for 20 years or owned by your great aunt Agnes does not mean it’s a bargain if it’s over-priced. It also doesn’t mean that people will be willing to pay more for it because it’s old or never used.

The exception to these is, of course, if an item is truly a collectable or very valuable. Then you may be better off having it professionally auctioned or having it sold through a private sale (via an appraiser).
Mary

Set Prices for Your Garage Sale With Your Goal in Mind

Want to know how to price garage sale items? The first thing you need to decide is whether you are selling items to make money or if you are hoping to get others to pay you something to cart off stuff you don’t want anymore.

If the former, you should visit local thrift shops and antique shops to see what they are asking for similar items. This will give you an idea of the value of your items, but be prepared to carry most of your stuff back into the garage at the end of the day. Note that most shops don’t sell out in a day.

If the latter, which is the reason for my sales, I price items at what I would want to pay for them if I were considering purchasing them at a garage sale. Since I am an avid bargain-hunter, this means that I price my items considerably below their market value. However, at the end of the day, I have some space in my basement and some money in my pocket.
Patti

Reviewed January 2024