For sale

The recent LSS garage sale was a success! I had done them in the past without selling much (or ending up spending as much as I made), but this time, I was determined to make a dent in my stash. Plus, I think this store had the "right crowd," not too cutting edge and not too cheap either.
I brought five baskets filled to the brim like this one, a box of magazines, plus some tools, albums, and other big stuff. I actually had more stuff, but after I discovered that the tables were only 5 feet long and all the sellers were crammed in together, I left some stuff in the car. As it was, I had to put 1/3 of my stuff on the floor. I came came home with three empty baskets, most of the magazines, and just a couple of the big items. That's a lot of 25 and 50 cents items gone.

It was interesting what sold and what didn't. Tiny metal frames (actually anything metal) went quickly, as did Cuttlebug and Sizzix embossing folders. Quickutz did not move too well, even at $2 for NIP (new in package) club dies. Alpha sticker sheets, if priced at 25 or 50 cents sold, but sheets at $1 didn't. Punches and deco scissors (all NIP) sold well also. I wish my old magazines sold. I guess I'll donate them to the library for their sale. Paper sold okay. I didn't organize mine like I had for previous sales. I have a Cropper Hopper full of paper that I don't want any more that I take to crops to giveaway. Some people organized their paper by theme to sell, but I decided that was too much work. At 10 cents a sheet, I was happy to get rid of a few dozen sheets. Next time, I think I'll price them at 3/25 cents and maybe I can get rid of more. The woman next to me had premade pages that she was selling for $1-$2 each. They were from classes she taught. She said she sold over $100 worth!

Perhaps it would have been better to package stuff as bundles (it certainly would have been easier to add thing up), but that would have taken more time. Basically, I went though my stash and threw it into one of six piles (25 cents, 50 cents, $1, $2, $4, and special prices). Then I printed out price labels and Mr. Fix-it helped me label everything except the special priced items. That was a huge help. I really tried to price things to sell and remove any emotion to what I was getting rid of. Most items were priced from 10-25% of retail and most stuff was in its original package. Hardly anyone tried to bargain which was a relief to me since I hate bargaining.

The sale was a success for the LSS too. The owner said this was the best Saturday she's had in months, which means that people were looking for bargains and doing regular shopping too.

I was thrilled with how much I sold, but then I lost sleep that night thinking maybe I should have priced things higher. I just need to keep reminding myself that that stuff is gone and I'm happy for the space.

As for my scrapbook accounting, overall, I sold more than I spent so far this year, even counting the crop that was a bust and the table fee for the garage sale. I usually don't count crop fees (or my flight/car costs to crops) as part of my scrapbooking cost, but I started to this year.

So, see anything you need? I'll give you the special blog reader discount. :)