How to price items for a moving sale

Moving sales are an excellent way to get rid of unneeded items and make your move easier and cheaper while also making some money in the process.

Organizing a moving sale, however, takes some time, thought, and effort – you need to prepare your items for sale, get a permit and reserve parking space for your visitors, advertise the event, etc. You also need to price your items wisely – so that you sell as many things as possible and get as much money as possible.

Pricing moving sale items is quite tricky – you want to make maximum profit out of your stuff but you also need to get rid of all that stuff. So, you need to find a way to ensure that everything sells without feeling like you’re giving it away.

If you overprice your items, they may not sell. If you underprice them, the overall profit from the sale may not be worth the time and effort invested in the event.

For your moving sale to be a success, you need to figure out just the right prices.

Read on to find out how to price moving sale items so your unwanted stuff turns to cash and you feel gratified with the results.

How to decide on moving sale prices

Every shopper loves a bargain. So, in order to make your unneeded items sell, you need to make them seem like bargains.

Step 1. Find out how much people are willing to pay for a certain item:

• Check prices online – Browse sites like Craigslist and eBay to see what prices different kinds of items are typically sold for. Price your unneeded belongings at 60% – 65% of the cost of similar items on these websites;
• Check prices at garage sales in your area – Garage sale prices vary by region. In order to have a successful moving sale, you need to keep the prices similar to those at garage sales in your area. So, in the weeks before your moving sale, be sure to visit a few local garage sales to see what they’re charging for goods similar to those you have for sale. Price your items in the same range;
• Check local thrift store prices – People won’t be interested in buying something from your moving sale if they can get the same thing at a lower price from a local consignment store or charity shop. So, visit local thrift stores to find out how much they sell items similar to those you want to get rid of for and set your moving sale prices lower (at least 30% cheaper than the prices at local thrift stores).

Last but not least, consider how much you would pay for a certain item if you wanted it.

Step 2. Consider the 10% pricing rule

Generally, garage sale items sell for 10% to 20% of their current retail price, depending on the condition of the item and the demand for it.

So, when deciding on your moving sale prices, be sure to research the market value of the items you’re going to sell and do not charge more than 20% of the retail price. Items in high demand, high-quality items, and items from luxury brands in good condition, as well as near new items in their original packaging, can be sold for more – up to 30% of their retail price.

Keep in mind, though, that 10% is the price point that will make your visitors buy the most.

Step 3. Avoid subjective pricing

Do not set moving sale prices based on:

• the sentimental value of an item – people won’t be willing to pay more for something just because it was a wedding gift, was brought from Europe, or belonged to your great-grandmother, etc.;
• how useful an item has been for you – potential customers won’t care whether you found something very practical or never used it at all, only how much they are likely to use it;
• how much you paid for an item originally – no matter how expensive an item once was, it may have very little monetary value nowadays.

Having considered all of the above, you should be able to come up with good moving sale prices – low enough to make plenty of sales, but high enough to make the endeavor worth it.

Must-read: How to cut down moving costs

Moving sale price guide

As different as garage sale prices can be based on area, demand, and condition of the items, there are benchmark prices that will give you an idea of how much you can expect to sell your unneeded belongings for:

• Clothes: $1-$3 for children’s clothes; $1-$5 for adult clothes (coats and jackets can fetch higher prices – from $5 to $15)
• Shoes: $2-$10 (quality boots can be sold for up to $15)
• Accessories: $0.25-$5 (quality purses can fetch up to $10)
• Linens: $0.50-$2 for towels; $2-$5 for sheet sets; $5-$10 for blankets; $20 and up for quilts and comforters
• Curtains and rugs: $2-$5 for throw rugs and curtains; up to $25 for area rugs
• Décor: $0.50-$10 (large pictures, mirrors, and other wall décor items can fetch up to $20; paintings and other works of art can be very valuable and should not be sold at garage sales)
• Books: $0.25-$2 (paperbacks will rarely sell for more than $1, but hardcover books can easily fetch $2)
• CDs and DVDs: $1 (cassette tapes and VHS tapes are basically obsolete and will likely not sell at all; vinyl records, however, are becoming collector items and may fetch up to $2 or more for rare records; video games can be sold for as much as $5)
• Toys: $0.25-$2 for stuffed animals; $1-$5 for dolls; $1-$5 for block sets, puzzles, and board games; $10-$20 for play houses and ride-on toys (collectibles such as vintage dolls, action figures, and baseball cards can cost quite a lot and are better not sold at garage sales)
• Kitchen items: $0.50-$3 for dishware; $0.50-$2 for utensils (some more specialized ones can go up to $5); $3-$4 for complete silverware sets; $5-$10 for pots and pans
• Tools: hand tools usually sell for $1-$5, but power tools can cost anywhere between $10 and $50
• Appliances: $5-$10 for small kitchen appliances; $50 and more for large appliances
• Electronics: one third of their retail price (when in excellent condition)
• Furniture: one fifth to one third of its retail price

Good to remember: Label your items clearly

Once you’ve determined the prices, be sure to label each item individually with a tag that clearly shows the asking amount:

• Use tie-on tags instead of stickers – Tags catch the eye better and communicate a higher value than stickers. Besides, they won’t leave a sticky residue on the item;
• Use color-coded tags – Write the asking price on every tag (to avoid confusion and incessant queries from buyers about what things cost) but make things easier for shoppers (and for you) by using the same color tags for the same prices (for example, put green price tags on all items that cost $1);
• Include a short description of the item (one or two words) on the price tag – to prevent potential buyers from swapping tags;
• Label every item individually – It’s easier to group your goods by price, place them on separate tables, and put a label on the table that says “$[ ] each” than to put a price tag on every item, but this strategy can cause problems. Things can easily end up on the wrong table and you may lose money as a result. (If a $1 item ends up on a $5 table, people will consider it too expensive and it won’t sell – and if a $5 item ends up on a $1 table (whether by mistake or because someone deliberately moved it), you will lose potential profit.)

Be sure to make an inventory of the items you’re going to put for sale and their corresponding prices – so you can confirm the price of an item when someone wants to buy it.

Related: How to advertise a moving sale

Bonus tips for pricing moving sale items

Here are a few more things to keep in mind when wondering how to price moving sale items:

1. Be careful with rare items, antiques, and artwork

If you have collector’s items or vintage items that you want to sell before your move, be sure to carefully research their worth in advance. It may turn out that some of your rare possessions can be sold for hundreds of dollars – if so, hold them back from the moving sale and try to sell them online. You will need to deal with shipping, but will be able to get significantly more money for your valuables that way than at a garage sale.

If you have some really expensive goods, such as antiques, artwork, or jewelry, consider having them professionally appraised before deciding on a price.

2. Price your items based on demand

If you have a popular item that is likely to sell quickly, don’t hesitate to set a higher starting price – you can always lower it during the day, if visitors are not interested.

Keep in mind that the time of the year affects demand for seasonal items – you can get higher prices for summer items if you’re having your moving sale in the spring; winter gear and Christmas decorations will sell better during the autumn; etc.

3. Be flexible with prices

Garage sale visitors are inclined to haggle and intent on getting good deals – so, you need to give them an opportunity to bargain.

The best way to do so is to set higher starting prices than the prices you’ve actually decided on. This way, when a shopper offers you a lower price and you accept, they’ll feel like they’ve scored a bargain – and you’ll still get the money you want.

Be careful not to overdo it though – if you set the initial price too high, you may scare potential buyers away. It is considered best to price things about 25% above the minimum you’d accept – low enough not to drive buyers away but high enough to allow for haggling.  

4. Set prices in 25-cent increments

It will be much easier to calculate amounts and give change if you only price items in increments of $0.25 and $0.50.

Still, keep in mind that you will need plenty of change – be sure to have at least $100 in coins and small bills (mainly one-dollar bills) at the start of your moving sale.

5. Group items and offer bulk prices

You will sell more – and will reduce the need for coins – if you bundle up things. So, for example, instead of selling individual paperback books for 25 cents each, sell them as a group of 4 (or even better – 5) for $1 – this way, there will be no need for coin change and if someone wants three of your books, they will likely pick one more (or two more), so they can get the whole bundle for $1.

In order not to deter customers who may want only one or two items of a kind, you can still sell them individually, but be sure to also offer bulk pricing (5 books for $1) to entice people to buy more.

6. Use price comparisons to show people that they’re getting a good deal

When selling a pricier item, find out its original retail price and write it next to your asking price to show buyers how much money they will save by buying your item.

It will be best if you can find the same item in a catalogue or shop brochure – in such a case, cut out the ad and attach it to your much cheaper item. If the item appears on eBay, print out the listing page and tape it to your lower-priced item, so visitors can see that they’re getting a good deal.

7. Mark prices as already being reduced

A great way to make people feel like they’re getting a bargain is to mark items as being discounted – put a higher price on the tag, then cross it out and write the price you actually want next to it. This strategy works best for costlier items.

8. Have a FREE box to spike up the interest in your moving sale

It is a good idea to put some small, inexpensive items that you really want to get rid of in a large box and label the box as “FREE”. The word will attract people’s attention, so they will be more likely to stop by and check out your sale.

You will most probably be able to make plenty of additional sales only because the free box drew visitors who would otherwise pass by – and these extra sales will bring you much more profit than the money you might have been able to make from your free stuff.

Knowing how to price items for a garage sale the right way will allow you to get rid of a maximum number of unneeded items and gain the maximum possible profit out of them. You’re going to fill two needs with one deed – and your move will be cheaper, simpler, and smoother than you could imagine!