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Is holding a garage sale worth it?
Testers
Yard and garage sales augur spring just as sure as robins, daffodils, and shortstops. They can be a great way to declutter while making a little cash. But for all their effort, are they worth your time? We did a test to find out.
Twelve households around Consumer Report’s Yonkers, N.Y., headquarters
To determine the median time it takes to hold a yard or garage sale, plus the median profit and hourly “wage” for a sale.
Step 1. Cleaning out closets, attics, garages, and other spaces took from 2 to 20 hours, participants reported.
Time: 6.54 hours
Step 2. Publicity included word of mouth and making and posting signs. Several sellers participated in a town or neighborhoodwide sale, which cut the time and money spent on promotion. Lynda Hammond, author of “The Garage Sale Gal’s Guide to Making Money Off Your Stuff” (Gibbs Smith, 2011), suggests making signs no bigger than 15x15 inches that simply say sale, with an arrow. Advertise on Craigslist, eBay Classifieds, GarageSaleHunter, and YardSaleSearch, and local news sites such as Patch. Mention the categories of items for sale. Post your sale on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social-media outlets.
Time: 0.5 hours
Step 3. Organizing and pricing took from less than an hour to 6 hours. Hammond maintains that pricing is time-consuming and stressful. She suggests merely asking buyers for their best offer, which could be higher than you anticipate. But our nonscientific analysis of the 12 yard sales showed the median time for pricing in advance was just an hour. One seller saved time with preprinted price labels found at a dollar store. Another priced similar items identically: all kids’ shirts, 25 cents; all kids’ pants, 50 cents. “I really wanted stuff to go, so we kept our prices low and told all comers that we were willing to bargain,” a seller said.
Time: 1 hour
Read more from Consumer Reports on the best ways to sell your stuff.
Step 4. Setting up took half an hour to 5 hours. One seller stockpiled bags and boxes so that customers could carry items easily. Another mentioned the importance of having dollar bills and coins on hand for change. Other tips: Examine your sale goods; you may find lost dollar bills or keepsakes in pockets and corners. Organize items in one place for quick transfer outside on the morning of the sale.
TIME: 2.24 hours
Step 5. Most participants held their sales on just one weekend day. But Hammond recommends including a weekday and starting early—say, 6 a.m. on a Thursday or Friday—to snag commuters on their way to work, and parents after they drop off their kids at school. “You’ll have few other sales to compete with, and you’ll get serious shoppers,” she says. One seller let her kids set up a lemonade stand to make their own money and attract customers.
Time: 6.56 hours
Step 6. Breaking down and cleaning up took from 15 minutes to 3.5 hours. A seller who holds frequent sales puts unsold items back into labeled bins to be ready for the next sale. But most others donated their leftovers. (Those who itemize can find values for used goods at salvationarmyusa.org.) One seller said she fills bins with discards throughout the year for donation or another yard sale.
Time: 1 hour
The most profitable participant netted $956, based on 20.5 hours of work, which translated to an hourly “wage” of $46.63. Four sellers earned less than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. The lowest hourly “wage” was $4.32; that person netted $80 for 18.5 hours of work.
Net earnings: $220
Time: 17.84 hours
Hourly ‘wage’ (net earnings/time spent): $12.33
This article appeared in the May 2015 issue of Consumer Reports Money Adviser.
Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website. Copyright © 2006-2015 Consumers Union of U.S.
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