As parents we always want to encourage our children to be resourceful about earning extra cash. One great way to earn spending money — and rid the house of old junk — is to hold a garage sale.

Millions of people, young and old, attend garage sales each year in search of bargains. Others know about collectibles, and are hunting for treasure. We've all heard stories of people unwittingly selling an antique without realizing what they had.

People also like to go to garage sales because we get to negotiate a price. The pressure–free environment allows people to browse and shop around.

If you're holding a garage sale, you don't want to put the children in charge. You'll want to supervise the whole process. First, you always want to be present to safeguard your children and your home. As well, you'll want to coach your children to make sure that professionals don't pressure them into dropping their prices excessively. Finally, keep an eye on what your children put up for sale. You don't want to find that your overzealous kids have assumed that you'd love to sell you grandma's 100–year–old silver set.

You can sell almost anything at a garage sale: books, clothing, computers, furniture, appliances, bicycles, sports equipment, rugs, tools, knick–knacks, dolls and other toys. Your children can clean out the basement, attic, their rooms or any other part of the house to find goods to sell. The items should be clean and in good working order. Your children can also sell goods from their friends. But they must keep a good inventory list of what belonged to whom. Place colored dot stickers on merchandise, then as the item is sold, record the sale price. All red–dot items, for example, might come from Tommy. At the end of the garage sale, just add up each person's proceeds.

Pricing is not a science, but rather an art. You want to sell the items, not give them away. You also want your children to learn how to bargain — but not so aggressively that they end up keeping too much junk at the end of the sale. They can't over–price just because their old Barbie or GI Joe doll has sentimental value. A garage sale is a success if you can end the event with nothing.

Here's how to price items. For larger items, such as a television, figure out approximately what you would pay today if the item were new. Then, take off 75% of that price. For example, a reasonable quality food processor could cost about $100 new. You would price it at $25.

Your children can help by looking through magazines, catalogs or on line to find current prices. They can also help calculate the price of each item.

Items that have less of a perceived value, such as old clothing and books, should be priced to sell fast. A dollar or two should suffice, unless the item was very expensive when new or in excellent condition like a designer gown worn once.

Remember, most people who go to garage sales do so for the bargains. So if a television is worth $10, you may want to price it at $15 so you can leave room for negotiation. Explain to your children that one of the first lessons in negotiating is creating a win–win situation for both parties. Write the prices on stickers that you put on the merchandise. Or you can use masking tape.

In choosing the day for your garage sale, avoid holidays and be sure to think of a "rain date" — an alternative date in case it's bad weather. Your children can do some research about advertising. Your local community paper may offer free garage sale ads. The ad should look something like this:

It's important to state the address and time of the sale, but don't include a phone number because you don't want to be bombarded with inquiries. Your children can also make the sale sound unique and large without misleading people. If you are moving, include that. Place the ad to run just a few days before the sale begins.

You can advertise with signs also. You and your children should make bright, easy–to–read signs and post them at busy corners and intersections. Use bright yellow signs, written with very heavy black marker.

It's also a nice idea to let the neighbors know that you are planning a garage sale and that a lot of people will be parking on the street.

Before the sale, make the merchandise look as good as possible. It will sell for a higher price if it's clean and nicely displayed. Hang up the clothes, and lay out items on tarps and tables so that people don't have to dig through piles. Allow plenty of time to tag, price and arrange items.

Also, remember that people often cruise by in their cars to check out a sale and see if it's worth stopping for. Make sure you place great items in visible spots.

If there are electrical items for sale, have your children run an extension cord to an outlet in the garage or house so you won't have to have people inside your home.

What happens when the real bargaining begins? Above all, teach your children that bargaining is just a friendly exchange. It can be fun for everybody. But, what happens if a buyer is tough? For example, your children may have marked a small table $15 but dropped the price to $10 while negotiating. The buyer, however, says that $8 is his last offer. The first thing to remember is not to lose your cool. Your children need to keep sight of the fact that the goal is to sell everything at the best price possible. They get nothing by standing firm at $10 and having a potential buyer walk away. It's better to relent and sell for $8, especially near the end of the sale.

Some shoppers will collect a pile of items and ask your children to come up with a total discount. In this case, 20% is fair.

Remember, above all, your children should have fun and learn about garage sales. If they really get good at it, they can make extra money by holding sales for neighbors. It's a wonderful way to become an entrepreneur.

Neale S. Godfrey is a former bank president and an acknowledged expert on family finance. Her 14 books include a #1 New York Times Best Seller, Money Doesn't Grow On Trees and her latest book, Money Still Doesn't Grow On Trees: A Parent's Guide To Raising Financially Responsible Teens and Young Adults. She has authored an educational program called The One and Only Common Sense/Cents Series which corporations are donating into their local community schools and after–school programs. Neale has appeared on TV on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNBC, NBC, CNNfn. She frequently delivers lectures on "How to Raise Financially Responsible Children." For more corporate marketing programs, products, and books go to Neale's Web site www.childrensfinancialnetwork.com or call 908–879–8898.

All text by Neale S. Godfrey is the sole property of Children's Financial Network, Inc. All rights reserved.

 Rate This
Rating: 0/0 (0 votes cast)

 Be the first to Comment