I am giving my daughter-in-law a rubber duck baby shower in may, my thing is I need ideas on centerpieces, first I'd bought a bunch of plain baskets and then I put paper curlie things in them to kinda fill it up more, then I added things like diaper bag size baby powder, lotion, oil, wipes, a wipe holder, thermoeter, teether, thing for nose suction, ear section, finger nail clippers and baby file, medican spoon, med. droper, and such as that, but today I decided they didn't look that pretty so I'm looking for ideas on centerpieces, also any crafts we can do I've already made book markers, a framed poem each for mom and dad, I bought candy bar wrappers, if anyone knows of anything else please e-mail me at hickreenut@bledsoe.net, I would love to do lots of things but when you live off of less than $600.00 a month and I'm doing this all by myself I have to watch my budget, I also need cheap food ideas. Oh I also have a 3 layer diaper cake full of goodies in them as well. Thanks, nana_of_3 ... View related article.
another good cheap idea is cut little squares of paper, put your int. if having a multi-family yard sale and your price, then staple it to the inside tag of the clothes item, this way the tape doesn't melt ruining items. Pictures, photo frames, mirrors etc is a pain in the butt to get off when using tape! ... View related article.
In my opinion a yard/ garage sale is best All it cost is time, and poster board, with e-bay you have to #1 take photo's of every items your gonna sell, #2 describe every item in detail, #3 pay for it to be put on e-bay, then you run the risk of non-payers so your out for your photo, your money to have it placed on e-bay. You have to look for boxes, bubble wrap, if its a breakable item, then a trip to the post office to weigh it to see how much it weighs, so you'll know how much to charge.
Like some one else mentioned the "buyer" pays the postage, but if you ask for $5.00 postage on an item that costs them 2.00 to mail out then the customer can leave negative feedback because of your shipping prices,. Then you also have to worry what if it gets lost or they just lie and say they never got the item. At a yard sale, folks can look over the item and not be "surprised" when they get their stuff.
On Ebay I have bought stuff that I paid for and NEVER got it at all, so you have to look at everyone's feedback to see if they ship promptly, if they've had any type of negative feedback, plus a lot of folks wants pay-pal. Not everyone has a credit card, nor do they care to have one, where at yard sales you can say cash only, no checks, and no credit cards.
If your stuff is marked at the right price which is (nation wide for the most part) 10% of what you gave for it new, or $2-3 dollars if new with tags. You'll move more stuff at once, where on e-bay, unless a person sees your other items for sale they will only buy 1 item from you.
Yes yard/ garage sales takes a little more time, but is a lot cheaper than e-bay. Here in TN poster board is only 50 cents a sheet, so even if you bought 6 sheets, cut them in half, you're still only out $3.00 for 12 signs or you can even use a box, and add a big rock in it so it doesn't blow away. Then make signs to place at stores, laundry mats, on drink machines, etc, which cost maybe 10 cents,if you make them on your pc or even by hand.
Like I live by TN's largest state park, so I put signs up over there with directions, and I try to put things out that I know campers may have forgotten to bring. You also get to meet new people who may become regular customers if you have a lot of nice, name brand stuff. Then all you'll need is thumb tacks or nails, stuff to make tables out of. You can lay a blanket on the ground for things such as toys, so kids can see the items and want them insuring yet another sale.
I've given over 20 yard sales in 23 years. I make no less than $500.00 for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I don't have to wait for the auction to end, then wait on my m.o, or check, wait for the check to clear, then pack it and all that. I do how ever recommend that you have PLENTY of bags from your local grocery store, because I hate going to yard sales where they have no bags. Try to have different size bags too, so they don't leave carrying 5 small bags.
Pricing is easy, you can buy the stickers with prices on them, use masking tape, cut small pieces of paper out, write your price on them and staple it to the label, ALWAYS price your items, even if you have to go to e-bay, and see about what things are selling for. Go to other yard sales to see what their prices are. I also suggest that you try to get several families involved so on your posters/ signs you can write 5 family yard sales, or multi-family yard sales. You can also run an ad in your local paper if it's not gonna cost you a lot.
You'll need a few tarps to cover the stuff up at nights in case it should rain. Always check your weather for that week, even in your ad in the paper or on your signs/ poster put the date, time, location. Maybe add a few items on it that you'll have like " home interior, baby clothes, baby items, clothes of all sizes, etc, or put something for everyone, then put " if rain, sale will be the next weekend."
Put similar items together, and if possible put the same sizes together. Mens in 1 place, womens in another, kids in another, shoes in 1 place, books in another, and house hold items in another. If you don't have the fancy things to hang clothes on like stores have, run you a $1.00 rope from the dollar store and add a piece of card board between each group of clothing. Make sure you have nice clean clothes and shoes.
Don't put anything out that you wouldn't buy yourself. If you know a shirt is missing a button and you don't have one, make a little tag and write " one button missing". Have a give away box for things that still good. It's also good to have batteries on hand to let folks see that the item does work, or a drop cord for things like blow dryers, Iron's lamps, etc. I've sold furniture, lawn mowers (which we had gas in so they could crank it) clothes, shoes, purses, make-up, grills, tires, toys, movies, cd's (keep movies and dvd's. cd's etc in shade if at all possible). Keep pictures out of the sun too so they don't sweat, candles out of the sun so they don't melt. Use common sense on those type of items.
Trust me, I have folks ask me all the time, "when is your next yard sale gonna be, make sure you let me know!" I'm cheap on my items. I don't go buy stuff cheap at yard sales just to bring them home and mark them up like a lot of folks do on e-bay or even yard sales. Be fair about your prices.
Get several family members or friends to help you out to keep an eye on your money, and as bad as it sounds, to make sure no-one walks off with stuff they didn't pay for because shop lifters doesn't just shop lift at stores, they steal everywhere! Plus it gives you time to spend with that family member or friend, and have a good time with it! Hope this helps some, nana_of_3 ... View related article.
from all that i've read and seen on tv you should charge 10% of what it costed NEW, example if you gave $6.00 for a shirt you shouldn't ask more than 60 cents, folks are looking for good deals, not to pay 1/2 or full price for used items. with my yard sale ( and I only wear name brand clothing) I charge no more than $2.00 for adult jeans, 50 cents for kids jeans, 5 cents for like baby socks, bib's, burp clothes, 25- 50 cents for shirts or shorts, 50-75 for 2 piece outfits, your new stuff i'd go no more than $3.00 if they still have the tag, $1.50 or so if new with no tag. shoes 50-75 cents on kids shoes. another good tip I've found at my many yard sales i've given and I always make at least $500.00 in 3 days is I put like items together, with baby stuff you can also put like a bunch of small toys in a bag for 1.00, bag of socks for 1.00, bag of bottles for 1.50, and like someone else said if they buy a bunch of stuff make them a deal, like if you'll take all my baby bib's and you have 25, let them have them all for 1.25 making them 5 cents each, after all you don't need this stuff taking up your space, you can use the extra money and if marked cheap enough folks will buy more from you. I like a good bargin as we all do, so I'd never give say $2.00 for a shirt, $5.00 for a pair of used jeans...unless they were $100.00 pair of jeans and a $50.00 shirt! i've given probably 20 yard sales in my 23 years of marriage, so I do know a little about what i'm talking about. like I said put like items together, if you can even put same sizes together, put mens in one place, womens in another, kids in another, babies in another, household items together, toys on a blanket so kids can see and reach them, put books together, and all your small things like nail polish, make-up, baby socks, bib's, small toys etc in a bag( like a sip lock) and price them as 1 unit.also ALWAYS price your stuff, I hate nothing more than to go to a yard sale where stuff isn't priced and have to ask how much is this? I always cut little pieces of paper and staple them inside the shirt or pants, because lets face it, not everyone is honest and will try to remove the price tag if its one of those sticker type price tags, and if your like me you can't possibly know what you priced each item, also if things are worn a lot, have holes, stains make a freebie box, some little girl may want this stuff for her doll, or someone may want it for the material for quilts! I hope this helps! ... View related article.
