Garage Sale Pricing Guide: What to Charge for Everything

Pricing is where most garage sales win or lose. Price too high and your driveway stays full all day; price to move and you'll clear tables before noon. The mental shift that makes it click: a garage sale isn't about recovering what you paid — it's about turning stuff you no longer want into cash and an empty garage. With that in mind, here's how to price the big categories.

The golden rules of garage-sale pricing

Before the specifics, four rules that apply to almost everything:

Aim for 10–20% of retail. A shopper's gut test is "is this clearly cheaper than buying new?" If a tag makes them hesitate, it's too high.
Price everything. Unpriced items make shoppers ask, and many won't bother — they'll just walk. Sticker the night before.
Use round numbers. Quarters, fifty-cent jumps, whole dollars. Nobody wants to dig for 80 cents, and round prices make bundling easy.
Leave a little haggle room. Price a hair above your real floor so you can "give someone a deal" and still be happy.

Clothing

Clothing is high-volume and low-value — price it to disappear, not to profit.

Adult shirts, tops: $1–$3
Jeans, pants: $2–$4
Jackets, coats: $3–$8 (more for quality outerwear)
Kids' clothes: 50¢–$2 (parents buy these by the armful)
Shoes: $2–$5, more for barely-worn name brands

The smart move with kids' clothes especially is a "fill a bag for $5" table. You'll move three boxes of onesies in an hour that would otherwise sit there at a dollar each.

Furniture

Furniture is where real money is, and where overpricing stings most because it takes up space all day.

Dressers, desks, tables: $20–$60 depending on condition
Dining chairs: $5–$10 each
Couches, sofas: $25–$75 (be realistic — moving it is the buyer's problem and they know it)
Bookshelves, nightstands: $10–$25

Solid wood and clean upholstery command the top of the range. If it's worn or dated, price aggressively — a $30 dresser that sells beats a $75 dresser you haul back inside.

Kitchen and housewares

Plates, mugs, glasses: 25¢–$1 each
Small appliances (toaster, blender, coffee maker): $3–$10
Pots and pans: $2–$8
Full dish sets: $5–$15
Décor, frames, vases: 50¢–$5

Toys, baby, and kids' gear

Small toys: 25¢–$2
Larger toys, playsets: $3–$10
Stuffed animals: 25¢–$1
Strollers, high chairs, baby gear: $10–$40 (huge sellers — new parents love a deal)

Tools and outdoor

Tools hold value and draw a dedicated crowd, so you can price these a little stronger.

Hand tools: $1–$5
Power tools: $10–$40 if they work (test them and say so)
Yard tools (rakes, shovels): $2–$8
Lawn mowers, larger equipment: $30–$100+

Electronics and media

Books: 25¢–$1 (or "10 for $2")
DVDs, CDs, games: 50¢–$2
Speakers, headphones, gadgets: $3–$15
Larger electronics: price at maybe 15% of new, and only if they work

Pricing tricks that move more stuff

A few small tactics that add up:

The bulk box. A "everything in this box $1" or "free" bin clears the odds and ends nobody would price individually.
Bundles. "All 4 chairs for $25" or "the whole toy table for $10" sells volume fast.
Color-dot pricing. Stick a colored dot on items and post a sign — red = $1, blue = $2, etc. It's faster than writing on every tag.
The afternoon markdown. Whatever's left in the last two hours, cut by half (or more). Your goal by then is an empty garage, full stop.

Don't sweat the small stuff

You'll lose more money agonizing over whether a mug is 50 cents or a dollar than you'll ever make from the difference. Price quickly, price low, and keep things moving. The shopper who happily grabs ten cheap items beats the one who frowns at a single overpriced one.

Once your tags are on, post your sale on YardHo! so nearby bargain hunters know you're open — they're exactly the crowd that buys.