I'll brain dump some more, since this thread has turned to page 2. At Estate Sales, Everything is being sold, and it usually happens inside and out. The recent Estate Sale I referenced above is a good example of some of my observations.
Household items like sheets, linens and towels and all types of kitchenware sell very well, as do children's games and toys in decent condition. Partyware sells, as do small appliances. Office supplies. Outdoor furniture and garden stuff sell in the summertime. Man stuff like tools, radios, small motors, paint and heavy duty cleaning stuff sell. Got a pressure washer? Gone. Bicycles? Ditto.
Any category that's unique to Estate Sales does well. Cleaning supplies (including laundry detergent and window cleaner), disposable kitchen storage (foil, ziplocs, foil, wax paper, paper towels). Anything bulk that's identifiable as coming from Costco such as what's left of TP, paper towels, cleaning wipes, and kleenex multi-packs sell, even if it's been opened. And OMG, food pantry staples sell, as long as they're not bulging cans of weird stuff.
Desks, bookcases and storage-type furniture sell. Kid's stuff like highchairs, pack'n plays, baby baths, changing tables, bassinets will all sell if condition is good and price is low.
Books, clothes, upholstered furniture and collectibles totally blow. So do Christmas decorations in the middle of summer. If you have them to get rid of, price them super cheap. Use category signs, such as "All Books 2/$1.00" and "All Clothes $1.00". We did sell little girl's party dresses for $5.00 each, but we hung them from the canopy, with a price tag on each one.
Now, the difference between a yawner and a blowout is a series of steps.
- Organization - group like things together.
- Get shit off the floor. Beg and borrow all the tables you can lay your hands on. The higher up, the higher the price, I say.
- Pricing - Tag as much as is humanly possible. Use the smallest Avery-type return address labels and cut them in thirds. They're cheaper than the Dollar Store price tags and more customize-able. For linens, wrap sets with blue or masking tape and write the description and price right on the tape.
- Pricing, Part 2 - If you can't price it, print out signs to the effect of "The more you buy, the more you'll save. Bring your selections to the check-out table." It lets people know your prices will be reasonable.
- Lots of great signs. (My dollar store sells neon color posterboards 2/$1 and sets of punch-out letters for a buck apiece.)
- Use Open House type A-Frames if you can get your hands on them. I store the library's book sale signs between sales and make good use of them for other purposes, in exchange for storing them. I just tape the Estate Sales right over them. Know a realtor or better still, a former realtor? Borrow theirs, but take good care of them.
- If you have expensive things, print out an ad for the same item on EBay (or wherever). Attach it to the item. Show their price, then your lower price. This works well for high-end stuff. People will pay more if they know the value. We did this for high-end cookware and it worked well.
- Place ads everywhere they're free. Craigslist, NextDoor, FB, etc. Include pictures wherever possible, especially if you have good stuff.
- Have an obvious entry/check-out point. I use the kind of pop-up canopy that you see at every soccer game, and NO, it's not for sale, sorry. This is where your check-out table will be, plus a chair, also NFS, but you won't be sitting in it much.
- You and your helper(s) should all wear the same color shirt. Makes people think you're pros, and that you're everywhere. We use leftovers from an annual community event that gives out free t-shirts. Nobody reads them but they see the color. We used red this time, but neon green works well, too.
- Have plenty of change. Also make sure you keep lots of water and quick snacks on hand, because you'll be too busy to eat.
- Have bags and boxes for people to load their stuff into.
- Have a FREE box and replenish it as the day goes on.
- Bargain back! Have fun with this and feel free to defend your prices. Sometimes I ask people what price will make them happy. Then I say, "Well (double that) is the price that will make me happy. Can we meet in the middle?" Works so often it's hilarious.
- Have a plan for what to do with the leftover stuff. My favorite strategy is to make signs that say "50% Off Everything". Use them on the last day or in the last few hours of a one-day sale. What little is left goes to GW.
Is this a shit-ton of work? Yes, but sometimes it's the best option. In the last few years, we did it when my parents died (sold the house that day, too), when we cleaned out my MIL's houses prior to sale (sold one to a neighbor a couple of weeks later, kept the other.) We did another when we were selling DH's house and consolidating both of our households. Then, last month I did the one described above. It's a lot shitload of work, but we made over $2k at each one, sometimes much, much more*. More important, we got rid of shit, and it went to people who will use and enjoy it.
Amusing note - I sold a bunch of nice golf gear to a couple of millennials. I congratulated them on shopping at an Estate Sale. They were so darn cute, I wanted to hug 'em. Of course, I told them about MMM. Oh, and one of my helpers was the owner's millennial grandkid who was really into the sale. When I asked about it, they said their dad took them to estate/garage sales every other Friday after school. Love it!
Random sidebar- I bought a lot of 14 small Hummel figurines, still in boxes, at an Estate Sale that was being held at an Open House (which is a great way to sell a house, BTW) a couple of months ago. They were new in boxes, but afterwards, I wondered why the hell I bought them. DH was very amused, because he was sure I wasted ten bucks.
I put them on the check-out table at this sale and sold them for $5.00 each. Sonofagun, they all went. I did give someone a discount for purchasing multiples, but I turned my $10 into a $50 profit, for the win. Still, collectibles don't sell. My theory is that these sold because they were new in box and only $5.00.
TL;DR: Garage sale with random crap? Don't bother. Estate sale? Might well be worth your time.
*When we did the Estate Sale at my MIL's second home, we found over $11k IN CASH stashed in various places throughout the house. Probably would have missed that if we had just hired someone to haul it all away or dumped everything. Just sayin'.
Oh, and we got $11k cash for her car, too.