Clearing out

Our friends Steven & Thad live in a community that has an annual yard sale that's very well attended.  Last year they unloaded a bunch of stuff so I decided I'd participate this year too.

Not that I have anything to sell that's particularly valuable.  The point is not to retire off my yard sale proceeds, but rather to get rid of unneeded items.  Clear out cabinets, clear off shelves, thin out closets.  You get the drift.

Knowing that Spouse the "collector" would likely be adverse to me attempting to sell everything that I think we don't need, I convinced him to help me go through the items in our kitchen cabinets, in the garage, and in the closets to approve or deny my suggestions of what to sell.  It worked, and he was surprisingly open to getting rid of most of the stuff I wanted to get rid off.

Of course, the yard sale is at Steven & Thad's, not at our house, so that means I'll need to haul it there. Although the yard sale is not until next Sat, I decided to load up as much as I could fit into the back of my SUV yesterday, while I had the time to do so.

Unfortunately, this is less than 1/2 of the stuff and the rear of my car was already full!

Because I use my car for driving real estate clients around I couldn't fold the back seats down to put any more stuff inside.  The rest of it had to sit in the garage and next to the side door which leads out to where my car is parked.

I actually enjoy selling stuff at yard sales.  Spouse & I used to buy lots of stuff at yard sales so I know what people are expecting to pay for someone else's used stuff:  not very much.  So I am quite realistic with my expectations of what someone will give me for my used stuff.  

I don't bother putting price tags on anything.  Its a waste of time, and if sales are slow and you wish to be negotiable you have to reduce all the tags.

No... 

I don't price anything.  When people ask how much stuff is, I ask them "How much do you want to pay for it?"  At least 50% of the time they're willing to pay as much OR MORE than what I would have asked.  I think people really like it when they suggest a price and I say "Works for me!"  And if they offer me less than what I want, I simply say "Hmm, I was thinking more like ___" and see how they react.  I certainly don't want them to walk away empty-handed over a couple bucks.

For sure my goal is to clear out unneeded items, and whatever money I make in the process is a bonus.  Look for a follow-up post with my results.