People who don't put prices on garage sale items

debodun

debodun

SF VIP
Location
way upstate in New York, USA
I hate that. You have to keep asking "How much for this?" Also signs that say "No reasonable offers refused." How am I to know what is reasonable to the seller?

That happened to me a few years ago. I stopped at a garage sale and the woman had some Avon bottles with that sign on the table. I offered her 50¢ for one. She gasped and in a very huffy voice replied something to the effect that I should know that they are worth at least $5 each.
Well, 50¢ seemed reasonable to me, but not to her.

The tables were turned on me last year (no pun intended) when I had a vintage tilt-top table out for sale with a $100 price tag on it. One woman stopped and snatched it up and shoved a $10 bill at me. I asked her what that was for and she said "For the table." I replied "You're kidding, aren't you. That table is $100 and you're offering me $10?" She answered that it wasn't worth $100 because it was missing its metal claw feet. Now I know that table never had claw feet - it isn't the style - and there are no indentations or nail holes where they might have been attached. I still have the table.

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Just had a moving/garage sale. Everything was marked, and I posted a sign that all items were "priced as marked". Only had one young lady offer a lower price, and since she was a cutey, yeah, sure.
 
I don't have garage sales, I usually just donate the stuff or put it outside with a Free sign on it, things disappear pretty quickly that way. If I had to do a garage sale, I would prefer to mark my stuff so I'd have less interaction with the people. They'd know by the price if they wanted to walk on by or buy.
 

SeaBreeze said:
I don't have garage sales, I usually just donate the stuff or put it outside with a Free sign on it, things disappear pretty quickly that way. If I had to do a garage sale, I would prefer to mark my stuff so I'd have less interaction with the people. They'd know by the price if they wanted to walk on by or buy.
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This was a first for me. Made about $1,200 in just 2 mornings (9 -> 1) And I enjoyed talking to everyone. What didn't sell went to a local charity
 
My dad had a large yard sale one time. He posted a notice stating that all prices were firm and believed to be a fair price. People still tried to make offers..life huh? I know a guy here who even at church or charity sales will hem and haw over a nickel on the price just so he can get it his way. more life?
 
We go to every yard sale we can find every week, it's a fun hobby for us and we have fun interacting with the people there. Saturday was memorable because of on young woman's vibrant personality. I asked her if there were any tools or hardware, she grabbed a cardboard box full of junk and said "here take all this, it's free". I set the box down and thanked her but wanted to look around some more. I noticed her darting across the rooms several times tossing more things in my box and by the time I left, the box was nearly full. I slipped her $4 as I was leaving and heard her say "hey ma, I just sold $4 worth of stuff". I sorted through it all when I got home, just a couple of small items I wanted, some trash, and a few things that will go in my next yard sale as filler.

I see yard sales as a social occasion as well as a way to get rid of stuff. Making a little money while doing it is incidental. We usually have a sale every year in late summer when the weather is warm and nice. I put prices on everything and each item is priced individually; no boxes of miscellaneous stuff. All prices are low, comparable to other yard sales. Who cares what it costs new, it has to be a bargain today and I'm always willing to engage in friendly negotiations.
 
In answer to the question,I think sometimes the folks having the sale watch just to see how excited you are about the item you probably circled five times over trying to decide. If you look really interested and there is no price on it and you ask, they can ask a higher price because they know you want it. I love garage sales and part of the reason I don't go anymore is because I'm trying to get rid of clutter not add, and I just know I'll come home with something to stand around. When my mom lived with us and I had friends over,I would give them the garage sale tour. I was proud of my finds but my mom was mortified that I would do that.
 
My maternal grandmother used to have garage sale, too. She never put prices on her things. She said she set the price by what model of car and what style of clothing people had. A Cadillac and designer clothes meant higher prices. My dad used to tell her that the rich-looking people probably couldn't afford higher prices because they were paying for their luxury cars and fashion clothes.
 
We used to have 2 yard sales a year but now one is about all we can manage. We always price things. I hate to go to a sale where nothing is priced. At lest give me an idea of what you think some of your items are worth. We enjoy the interaction with the folks who stop in and some stay for an hour or 2 just talking to us. Most people know I seldom come down on the price I set and my husband will. One sale I had 5 or 6 years ago I was really tired the last day and I told a few people to decide what they thought they owed me. They seemed surprised but no one ripped me off. I have a few trunks of stuff I was sort of saving for the kids but 2 of them have told me that they really didn't want all those odds and ends. Glassware, knick knacks, old things off telephone and electric poles, books, extra Tupperware, etc. Most of the cloths are good quality but no one seems to buy them so most we just donate to the thrift stores. Right now we are both trying to decide if we have the energy to have a yard sale anytime soon.
 

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