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Tis the season for…Yard Sales!
I adore going to these types of sales. It’s a fun hobby, plus a great way to get desired items for huge savings.
On the flip side, I don’t particularly enjoy having a garage sale, but I recognize that it’s a great way to de-junk, de-clutter, and make some extra cash in the process. I not only love going to garage sale, I do enjoy having them every summer as a way to clear the crap from our home and gain some moola.
However, there are some things that are creepy, tacky, inappropriate and just plain bad karma to sell at a yard sale. Just to give you a heads-up on these items (for your future reference), here’s a list of things that I would advise not selling:
Things You Should Never Sell a Yard Sale
1.Used Underwear: Nope. Just NOPE. I don’t care how broke you are, that is just nasty.
2. Medicine. Besides being illegal to buy and sell drugs at a garage sale, who would be dumb enough to pop someone’s old prescription meds? I take that back, I know a bunch of people who would take them but that doesn’t make it right, safe or legal.
3.Taxidermy Animals: Since other people didn’t shoot it or catch it, don’t sell it.
4. Personal Hygiene Products. I’ve always been stumped when I see other sellers selling half-empty bottles of shampoo and slightly used make-up. I will spare you the germs and bacteria speech and instead suggest you give it a quiet “burial at sea” (flush).
5. Adult Movies: OK…that’s just ALL I got to say about THAT. This is a family show, folks.
6. Broken things: I defer to page 13 of my Wildly Successful Garage Sale ebook (see below) about selling items that are mangled, broken, toasted, munched, inoperable, and just plan NOT in working order. Rude AND bad Karma all rolled into one.
7.Worn plates, pots, and other cookware: Rust, flaky non-stick coatings, and chemicals that leach out are just a few of the safety problems you can run into with older cookware. No, it’s not even good for “deer camp.”
8. Drop Side Cribs: There have been many, many recalls of drop-side cribs in the past. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports:
“The cribs’ drop sides can malfunction, detach or otherwise fail, causing part of the drop side to fall out of position, creating a space into which an infant or toddler can roll and become wedged or entrapped, which can lead to strangulation or suffocation. A child can also fall out of the crib. Drop-side incidents can also occur due to incorrect assembly and with age-related wear and tear.”
If you have a drop-side crib, check the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s list of crib recalls.
9. Child Car Seats. Sure, these can get a little pricey, but it’s a child’s safety we are talking about here. I would say to not sell your child’s outgrown car seat unless you know for sure there have been no recalls on it. Check the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s list of car seat recalls.
10. Dusty Stuff: Unless it’s a Rembrandt or vase from the Ming Dynasty, most people are not going to want your dust coated items.
11. Stained Leather Coats: I’ve seen sellers tell some unsuspecting garage-saler, “It shouldn’t cost much to clean…” I call B.S. on that one. Leather can cost almost as much to dry clean as the original price of the item.
12. Moldy items: YES, I have seen that at garage sales before. One time I question a woman having a yard sale about the obvious mold evidence on a hat. Her response. “I washed it. It’s clean mold”… Moving on now.
13. Outdated Technology: If you know it’s outdated and unusable, and are selling it anyway, then that’s just plain shady.
14. Smelly items: Seriously, do you really want items that reek of smoke or mustiness in your house. I am sure it’s possible to “get the smell out”…but it may take several runs through the washer to do so. ProTip: the musty smell will likely never come out of paper items so keep that in mind when buying.
Basically, when conducting your own sale, most of the time the things you would be caught dead buying second hand are the same items you don’t want to be selling yourself.
Things You Should Never Sell at a Yard Sale | The Buyers Responsibility
Let’s not forget the responsibility of the Buyer. Buyer Beware! Educate yourself and follow your gut when thinking about purchasing questionable things at yard sales.
Now, how about more thoughts, guidance, suggestions, and tactics on what you CAN sell. For a limited time, I am GIVING AWAY my Tips & Tricks to a Wildly Successful Garage Sale e-book!
Organizing experts have stated that the average family of 4 has at least $1500 worth of unused, sell-able items in their home.
I think it’s MORE.
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Turn it into CASH.
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