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How to Price Garage Sale Items?

by Jerry JuaMaking Money

Aug 15, 2020

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When I was organizing my first garage sale, I wasn’t too sure what to price my items at. Should I go for the most profit, or would that discourage buyers? After doing some research, I thought I’d put together this helpful guide to pricing garage items.

So, how do you price garage sale items? You want to price your garage sale items cheaper than their second-hand value. If you have particularly valuable items, you shouldn’t sell them at a garage sale but should sell them online.

The specific price for the common categories of items needs further explaining, as well as why you shouldn’t sell valuable items at a garage sale. So, read on to discover the answers to these questions.

What should I charge for my garage sale items?

A reasonable estimate for the categories of garage sale items are:

Home decor

Home decor includes:

Lamps
Vases
Potted plants
Bar carts
Mirrors
Hunting trophies
Ornamental bowls
Candles
Candle-holders
Decorative boxes
Sculptures

Some of these items can be of high quality, whereas others can be pretty cheap. So the price you should charge for them should be based on what you bought them for.

For cheap items, you can charge $1 to $3. For more expensive items, I would not recommend selling them at a garage sale. These items should be appraised if you are unsure of their value. Then they should be sold online on websites such as eBay or Sheepbuy.

So, the revised list for cheap items that you purchased from $10-$50, should be sold for the following.

Lamps: $1 to $10
Vases: $1 to $5
Potted plants: $1 to $10
Bar carts: $5 to $10
Mirrors: $5 to $10
Hunting trophies: these are a bit different, and you can charge a bit more. $10 to $50
Ornamental bowls: $1 to $5
Candles: $1
Candle-holders: $1 to $5
Decorative boxes: $1 to $5
Sculptures: $1 to $10

Toys and games

There are different varieties of toys and games. Some are elaborate and worth a bit more, whereas others, like a pack of cards, can be sold next to nothing. The common types and how much you should charge for them are:

Action figures: $1 to $5
Remote controlled cars, helicopters, planes: $5 to $20 depending on their quality. Some are cheap and small.
Card games: $0.50 to $5
Board games: $1 to $5
Puzzles: $1 to $3, depends on their size and amount of missing pieces.
Spinning tops: $1 to $2
Models such as model castles building and vehicles: $1 to $5
Dolls: $1 to $5

If you have collector’s items such as Magic: the Gathering cards, Starwars figurines, and vintage board games, you can get a better price by selling them online. Some of these items need to be appraised independently.

You can find a reasonable estimate by searching on Google for how much they have sold for in the past.

Electronics and devices

Some brands, such as Apple and Samsung, can fetch considerable prices. In contrast, unbranded or cheap electronics can be sold for a few dollars. I will list the common types and what you should sell them for below:

CDs. $1 to $5. Keep an eye out for top-rated artists that can be worth considerably more, such as Michael Jackson or The Beatles.
Audio cassettes. $1. You might have some long and helpful audio courses or fiction stories read by their authors. These can be worth a bit more and might be collector’s items.
DVDs. $1. They are so cheap now. You can buy movies for under $5, so it doesn’t make sense to sell them for much more. Sometimes bundling them might bring more money.
Mobile phones. $1 to $5. Older mobile phones might not work on existing cellular network providers like Verizon. They may only have a nostalgic or comedic value.
Smartphones. $5 to $50. If you have a particularly valuable smartphone like a Samsung Galaxy or iPhone, try selling them online. If you have old and cheap type smartphones, they generally aren’t worth much, and you can sell at a garage sale for the above-recommended price.
VHS tapes. $1 to $5. The price range provided depends on how popular the movie or tv show was. These can also be collector’s items. Films that were popular back then maybe worth selling online. A website that can guide you if a movie was popular back then is IMDB.com. As for the price on how much to sell it for check Amazon or google.

Vinyl Records

Vinyl records are unique in that some are worth a considerable amount of money. I wrote an in-depth article on this topic.

You should give it a read if you have vinyl records that you want to sell at your garage sale. You can read it by clicking here to go to the article.

In general, fairly common vinyl records are worth $1 to $5. If it’s a popular title like Pink Floyd or The Beatles, some people might be willing to spend a bit more for it.

Books

Different categories of books are worth more or less.

A good rule of thumb is to price books the same as what resellers would purchase them for. A table of selected prices can be found below*.

Book category	Price per lb	Price per kg	Price per book minimum
Paperback fiction	$2.00	$4.44	$0.57
Romance	$1.80	$4.00	$0.51
Mystery	$2.30	$5.11	$0.66
Science Fiction	$3.00	$6.67	$0.86

*These prices are based on those advertised on Booksliquidation.com, as of August 2020.

Autobiographies and thick hardcover books can be worth $1 to $5 dollars, depending on the title.

If you have a signed copy, or a specific print is limited edition, it is typically worth a lot more.

You can see what prices they are going for online, to see if you should keep them aside and sell them online.

Coats

Coats can be sold for under $5. If your coat is a designer brand, you can get about ten times more. In which case, you should sell them online rather than at your garage sale.

Used coats that aren’t designer brands should be priced at about $1 to $10 depending on how nice they look and their condition.

Shoes

It’s a similar situation to coats when it comes to pricing shoes. Branded sneakers such as Nike, Adidas, or similar can be worth $30 to $50 depending on their condition.

In which case, it is better to sell them online on your website, on an online marketplace, or social media.

For unbranded and low-cost shoes, you should price them around $1 to $10.

Baby Clothes

Baby clothes are generally only lightly used and don’t get much wear and tear. This is because babies don’t move around much and don’t rough and tumble like older children.

But, babies grow very quickly and outgrow their clothes just as fast. That is why it is easy to find second-hand baby clothes for a relatively low price since there is a good supply.

Because of these factors, you should price your baby clothes to clear and charge only $1 to $5 at the most.

Adult clothes

Adult’s clothes are worth more retail than baby clothes. However, both are worth about the same when it comes to second-hand clothes at a garage sale.

For items that aren’t brand names, you should charge $1 to $5. Designer items can be valued online by looking at current listing on websites such as eBay and Amazon.

They generally go for about 50% of retail. But, the price can differ based on their quality, popularity, and condition. Any research you do in this area will be helpful to you.

In most cases, you shouldn’t sell designer clothes at a garage sale, and reserve them for online thrift websites such as ThredUp.com. Or by selling them on Sheepbuy, eBay, your website, or your social media accounts.

Tools

Tools are so diverse in their values that describing them is beyond the scope of this article. A good rule of thumb is to charge less than 50% of its new retail value. You can find their retail value by searching for a specific brand and tool online.

50% of the retail price is the maximum, though. If they are near new and hardly used at all, then this is a reasonable price.

But, tools that are worn and well used should be priced at about 10% of retail. Or a reasonable price. For example, Phillips head screwdrivers are less than $5 new. So, you should price them at about $0.50 to $1.

But, use these guidelines, knowledge, and your best judgment to determine a fair price for them.

Bicycles

Bicycles in good condition can be sold for $10 to $20. Bikes with stretched chains -where the gears slip- or missing components such as seats, pedals, or brakes can be sold for less than $10.

High-end bicycles are worth a lot more. New, they can cost many thousands of dollars. High-end road bikes, cyclocross, and hybrid bikes should be sold separately and not at a garage sale.

You can also sell them to bicycle stores that purchase second bikes. They will generally only offer you 25% of their value because their business model is usually to try to sell them for 50% of their retail value.

That means, if you sell them yourself online, you can get 25% more for them.

Furniture

There are a few different types of furniture. These are:

Sofas. $1 to $10. Sofas in good condition can be sold for $10 at a garage sale. If they are of high quality and in good condition, you can price them a bit more. Some businesses make good money by buying used sofas, re-upholstering them, then selling at a good profit.

This can be an option for you if you are only getting rid of a sofa because the upholstery is worn.

Recliners. $1 to $10. Similar to sofas, they can be reupholstered and sold. If they are a high-quality recliner, you should keep aside and create a listing online to get a better price.

People often perceive second-hand couches, recliners, and sofas as a bit icky, depending on the number of stains and dirt, which can be seen on the upholstery. If it is very clean and looks good, you could charge a bit more. Use your best judgment in this regard.

Dinner tables. $5 to $30. Dinner tables are made from quality wood and are sturdy. So, in some cases, you can charge a bit more. If the surface is scratched up or has marks from not using coasters, you should price it according to its condition.

Dinner tables made of wood can be sanded down and re-lacquered fairly easily. So, if its a high-quality dinner table, you may want to do this and then resell it.

Dinner table chairs. $1 to $10. These can also be re-upholstered or re-surfaced fairly easily and sold for much more online.

So, consider that and perhaps do some research into the process. It might be the case that you restore the chairs and can keep them rather than selling them.

Drawers. $1 to $15 for low-quality sets of drawers. Bigger sets of drawers are worth more than smaller sets. But, most can get hard to open and close after prolonged use.

They can also get scratched up when they are moved around. So, they tend to be worthless over time.

Desks. These should be priced the same as drawers, at about $1 to $15. If it is a large wrap around desk, you could charge on the higher end. If it is a smaller desk, then you should charge a bit less.

If you bought it for quite a lot when you got it new, then you could raise the price. Look online for what they are going for second hand and adjust your price accordingly.

Why are garage sale items priced so cheap?

People generally expect to get really low prices at a garage sale. As a result, if your items are priced medium too high, they won’t sell.

This makes selling them online a better option to maximize the amount of money you get for them. Many people hold garage sales to help out the community. So, they aren’t much concerned with how much they get from their unwanted items.

What are the options for selling your garage sale items online?

You can sell your garage sale items on:

An online marketplace. Such as eBay, Sheepbuy, or Amazon.
On your social media accounts.
To specialist reseller websites for used clothes, such as ThredUP.com.
On your own website. Creating a website or putting your items on your existing website.

Conclusion

You should price your garage sale items at less than 50% of their value. Normally, garage sale items sell from anywhere between 0% and 25% of their retail value. This is because people expect low prices at garage sales.

There are unique items that can be worth considerably more, such as vinyl records and electronics.

Suppose you suspect it might be a collectible item and want to maximize the amount of money you get for them. In that case, you should then research online or ask for help from a professional appraiser to get an accurate price.