• Having a garage sale is a fun way to earn a few bucks.sale image by Angelika Bentin from Fotolia.com
  
  An easy way to de-clutter a home once a year is to host a garage or yard sale, but what may not be so easy is deciding how to price the items for sale. Garage sales are an effective way to provide a new home for items you no longer use. Finding something useful at a bargain price is what attracts people to yard sales.
  
  

New Items: 25 to 30 Percent Off

• If you're scaling down on some items that you didn't have a chance to use--or that you used once or twice--reduce their original prices by at least 25 percent. Check the current value of unused items, because if a new item is several years old, the price will have to reflect that depreciation in value. New, desirable items are always welcomed at a garage sale because they add excitement to the mix of old, less sought-after household items.
  
  

Moderately Used Items: 50 Percent Off

• For items that have been used here and there but still retain their original appearance without spots, scratches, dents or blemishes, set the price to at least 50 percent off the original price. These items are also affected by their ages, so factor in another 10 percent or so for every five years.
  
  

Has Seen Better Days: 75 Percent Off

• Even though some items have been used to the max, they may still be a garage sale find to some shoppers. For these items, price them at one-quarter the original value, or even less than that. If you make a few bucks on something you no longer need but have used a lot, you are getting your money's worth. The low sticker price will also make these used items more attractive to buyers.
  
  

Early Bird Specials

• Offer a special pricing discount to the early shoppers. This special will jump-start your garage sale, and by word-of-mouth, it may attract more customers.
  
  

Combined Item Discounts

• Pricing items in a garage sale does not have to be rigidly limited to the price tags on the items. If a customer expresses interest in several items, offer a special price for all items. Offering a customer a buy-three-get-one-free special may also help to sell your garage sale items faster.
  
  

Considerations

• The goal of a garage or yard sale is to sell as many items as possible. Be creative with the pricing of the items, and determine a minimum total amount you would want to make from the garage sale. Then aim for that minimum, but be flexible. You can even leave off pricing items that are not easy to price, and let a customer tell you what they would be willing to pay. Through bargaining and haggling, both the seller and buyer can arrive at a good garage sale price for one person's trash and another person's treasure.