Yard Sales - Are they worth the effort?

United States
May 13, 2011 11:35pm CST
I have been going non-stop all day in preparation of a multi-family yard sale in our neighborhood. I am totally exhausted! I have never reallyparticipated in a yard sale in the past. I'm interested to see your opinions and experiences with hosting yard sales. Do you make enough money out of it for it really to be worth all the hard work? What is the most money you have ever made at a yard sale...and let's just throw a twist in there. What did you do with the money you earned from the yard sale? Did you save toward a vacation fund perhaps? Enjoy a special dinner maybe? Or perhaps you used the money to simply pay a bill. Would love to hear your experiences.
4 people like this
9 responses
• United States
14 May 11
Hey there, I did do one several years ago and was quite pleased with the earning. I wanted to get rid of so much odds and ends I no longer needed and a friend convinced me to do one. I actually had a descent motorcycle my ex left behind and no longer wanted so I sold it for $300. Also sold a few older small appliances, clothes and books. I made $700 on a two day sale. It was extra money because I was doing quite well at work. So I saved it and spent on activities for the kids for some time later.
2 people like this
• United States
14 May 11
Wow! What great earnings! I wish I had a motorcycle to sell! LOL! I know I'm not looking at sales anywhere near that, but hopefully still worth the effort! I'll keep you guys posted on how wee did.
1 person likes this
@dreamy1 (3811)
• United States
14 May 11
We do a lot of yard sales and flea markets. Some days we have made zero some days are ok. Can't remember the most made at a yard sale but the most we made at a flea market was about $360. Our house is in a good location because it's on the corner and there is plenty of space for people to pull up to the side to look plus the yard is long so we can put a lot of stuff out on the side. We do it to get rid of stuff and make money. Sometimes we will buy stuff we see really cheap just to sell it at the yard sale or go to the flea market. If you can make even a dollar off something it's better than giving it away for free to Goodwill. This summer I will be getting into it even more because I need money to pay off my credit card and save for a new car. Before we didn't use the money for a specific purpose we just saved it and dipped into it every now and then if we didn't have money in the house like use it for gas money or a trip to the grocery store or something like that. Yard sales are kind of fun because you get a chance to meet different people in your neighborhood that you may not have met before. We were going to put some stuff out this weekend but it's going to be rainy so not a good time.
@dreamy1 (3811)
• United States
15 May 11
Well $75 is more than you had before right. I would try again. Yes you definitely need at least two people when doing a yard sale.
• United States
15 May 11
Very, very true! Maybe we'll consider it again for the future....maybe in the fall when it's not scorching out - we're here in the hot Florida sun!!
• United States
15 May 11
Wow! I guess you never know. We did okay I think. We made about $75.00. I do, however, feel like we have so much stuff leftover that it would be ashame not to try again to sell these items. I really probably will end up donating them though just because of the work that it takes to go into the sale. I don't think the sale would have been as tough as it was if my hubby didn't have to work and could have been there to help out and to help me watch our 2 year old son at the same time. I had my hands full so it got a little stressful.
@shorty08322 (1270)
• United States
15 May 11
i did one befor it was slow and then did another one it iwas ok i like going to them
• United States
15 May 11
I definitely like to go shopping at them better than selling stuff. It was a lot of work. We had quite a bit of traffic, but there were some other sales going on within miles. Not sure if that helped us or hurt us. Maybe helped us by getting traffic into the area or maybe hurt us because they already spent too much at the other ones and didn't want to at ours! :-)
@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
14 May 11
Yard sales have not caught on yet in Italy. I wish they would because then I could get rid of some of the stuff that is just taking up space in my home and basement. I think they are a perfect way to recycle things that are still in good order but unwanted by their owners, making a bit of cash too. Let us know how yours goes and good luck!
@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
14 May 11
Now, I don't want to confuse you but let me explain... I am English but moved to Italy over 30 years ago. Right now though I am in England as I have things to attend to here. Once they are seen to I will be back in Italy because that is where my home is Oh I guess I would do the same with toys too - assuming that I ever got round to putting them in the sale in the first place
• United States
15 May 11
Very cool! I would love to visit Italy one day. I hear it is so beautiful. So, the yard sale was a little bit successful I would say. We made $75.00 but still had tons of stuff left over. I am planning to donate the remaining items to charity. It sure was a lot of work. I'm not so sue I would do one again on a day I have to work at night, though. let me just say, it was a very long night! :-)
• United States
14 May 11
Will do! Wow! I did not know you were in Italy. For some reason I thought you were in England. Anyway, yes,they are a cool way to recycle things and help families out with some cheap prices by selling items that would probably just keep accumulating for some time. Looking forward to seeing smiles on kids faces when they ask their mommy or daddy for something....And that's where I'll lose money. I'll probably give half the toys away! Keep you guys posted. :-)
1 person likes this
@sender621 (14894)
• United States
14 May 11
I believe that yard sales and garage sales are worth the effort. you never know what great bargain or worldly treasure you will find there. Sometimes it comes along just when you need it the most. other times it is just a gift.
• United States
15 May 11
That is a nice way to look at yard sales from the viewpoint of the buyer. I think I like the shopping part better than the selling part! I hope we were able to help some people out by our VERY LOW prices. We got to the point where we were selling just about everything for $1.00 or less.
@Kalyni2011 (3496)
• India
14 May 11
Welcome to mylot I have never tried this, here in india this is not popular, you will not see any woman doing it, the old cloth etc are usually made in to quilts. Here there are some vendors who collect old clothes, shoe etc in exchange with steel utensils, cheap quality, biscuit packs and sell them to poor persons. here a man/woman from middle class family will not buy the used, second hand stuff. Thanks for sharing God bless you, have a nice day ahead. Kalyani ‘Namastey’. .
• United States
15 May 11
Thank you. It is so interesting to hear how other cultures view things differently than your own. It's especially cool to learn how those less fortunate, with less money, are assisted. I really like the ideas of making a quilt although I have know idea how to sew. By the way, what is a biscuit pack? That sounds very interesting.
@cher913 (25782)
• Canada
15 May 11
i think so. we have one every year and make about a couple of hundred. its a great way to get rid of stuff you dont want anymore and make money from it. i cant remember what we used it for last year, but this year it will go towards either fun times for the family or bills.
@ebuscat (5935)
• Philippines
14 May 11
For me not but as long as the thing's is lost by not income it by a small amount.
• United States
15 May 11
I understand. For the amount of work that went into it, it was a small profit.
• United States
14 May 11
My mom did a lot of yard sales. She always made some money but I think for her it was more about getting stuff we didn't need out of the house. Her only complaint was people who wanted to haggle over everything. Of course now you can also sell anything on the internet. But it's more effort and some things just aren't worth it.
• United States
14 May 11
I am super excited to get some old stuf out of the house. It accumulates so quickly. Thanks ofr another great idea. I could also sell things online. I am really getting some great ideas I was not expecting from this discussion. The "price haggling" is one thing I am not looking forward to. I'm sure I will give in pretty quickly. I do not negotiate well. :-/