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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Yard Sale Help!
debbiedoeszip 05:41 PM 05-24-2017
I'm closing my daycare and I want to have a yard sale to get rid of the toys and equipment. I haven't had a yard sale in almost 20 years and I'm not one for yard sale-ing so I have no idea how to price stuff. I want to price items so that they sell though. I want it all gone.

I have two barely used packnplays bought less than a year ago. I'm thinking $50ea? They cost almost $200 ea with tax. Is there a rule of thumb for yard sale pricing? I know that if you are reselling anything online, even just out of the box it won't get you more than 50% of what you paid for it (generally, and IME). Any tips or advice?
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kitkat 07:21 PM 05-24-2017
I do an annual rummage sale and price things cheap because I want them gone. I don't go to sales, so I'm not sure how much cheaper I am than others. I'd rather it be gone and have a little money in my pocket than to have to keep storing it.

For bigger items, I look on Craig's List to see what others have it priced at for comparison. I've noticed that I'm able to sell things at a higher price when posted on a local Facebook buy/sell site and quicker. I'm not on Facebook, but my SIL is, so she posted for me. I sold a toy in less than 24 hours thru that. I had it in 2 or 3 rummage sales before that with no takers.

For the PnP, I would start at $50 because you can always go down. Or start higher and go down. Good luck on your sale!
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Mike 08:02 PM 05-24-2017
I used to do lots of yard sale shopping, and 3 years ago went to 3 closing daycare yard sales to get some things for my daycare. As a general rule, I find that if something is almost as good as new, 25% is a fair price to put, and you will likely get offers for less, so decide how low you're willing to go. Something that's used but still good would be more like 10%.

Starting price does affect whether or not it will sell. If someone sees something they'd pay $20 for, but the price is $60, they won't even make an offer, so you need to price items based on how important it is to get rid of them.

Been a while since I had a yard sale, but here's my general rule of percentages.

New or like new
- 40% if the money is what I want and I don't care if they sell
- 30% if I'm hoping they sell, but want to make money too
- 20% if I don't want to put it back into storage

Used but still decent condition is generally half those percentages.

If you were in my area, I'd go check out your yard sale.
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Blackcat31 08:14 PM 05-24-2017
For me as a sale shopper, the biggest thing is knowing if the seller is willing to negotiate or not.

If you are, post signs or add "best offer" to tag prices.

I love a great deal but if you truly want stuff gone let people know you are willing to be flexible.
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Max 08:41 PM 05-24-2017
My 2 cents... You can sell things at a higher price if listing on craigslist, FB, or another online outlet. Customers are usually seeking out something specific and are willing to pay more there. So that may be ideal for bigger items if you want a decent price for it. But a garage/yard sale should be priced even cheaper That being said, $50 on a $200 PnP could be a good deal, but not a great one. It's hard to say without seeing it. And if you get the right customer, you could def sell it for that price.

You could always have a 2 day long sale and make everything half off on the second day?
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childcaremom 03:27 AM 05-25-2017
Originally Posted by Max:
My 2 cents... You can sell things at a higher price if listing on craigslist, FB, or another online outlet. Customers are usually seeking out something specific and are willing to pay more there. So that may be ideal for bigger items if you want a decent price for it. But a garage/yard sale should be priced even cheaper That being said, $50 on a $200 PnP could be a good deal, but not a great one. It's hard to say without seeing it. And if you get the right customer, you could def sell it for that price.

You could always have a 2 day long sale and make everything half off on the second day?
I'm closing, too.

I agree with the bolded. I have everything listed online first. I'm trying to recoup some of the cost and have things priced higher.

I've given myself a month to clear out as much as I can online and then will have a yard sale to get rid of everything else. $200 playpen I would start at $100, imho. I always say that I'm open to offers if buying multiple items....

If you want stuff gone and don't care about cost.... price it low and it will fly out.
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bklsmum 03:47 AM 05-25-2017
I agree about trying to sell some things individually first and would add that you should advertise them and your overall closing sale on some local daycare FB pages and boards and in the childcare section on your local CL.
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debbiedoeszip 05:19 AM 05-25-2017
Thanks everyone for your advice. I will try to sell some stuff online first. I have about a month before I close down and a lot of the things I'm wanting to sell aren't being used as much or at all. Whatever doesn't sell during June then I'll list low for the yard sale. I'll probably put in the yard sale ad that items are priced to sell and that I'm also willing to negotiate. Again, thanks for the tips and advice everyone
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284878 11:08 AM 05-25-2017
Here is a yard sale checklist that I found awhile back. (I am attempting to load my first file.)
Attached: yard-sale-checklist-white.pdf (454.4 KB) 
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