Comments about ‘Sell off — Tips on hosting a successful yard sale’

Here's how a yard sale in Utah goes:

"Hey, I'll give you $2 for that brand new HDTV."
"Okay, okay, - I'll give you 3!"

First tip. Buy quality stuff every couple of years and just keep replacing it until your house is so full you have to sell something. That could be a start.

Al Bundy summed it best about garage sales ... eventually all the stuff that no one else will buy filters down to the only garage sale no one will buy from.

Here in California our church leaders tell NOT to have garage sales but donate our decent stuff to Deseret Industries.

There is nothing quite so humiliating as to recognize the true "value" of your stuff that is up for grabs at a gargage or yard sale.

:>

Here in Utah, I have a yearly garage sale because 1) Our family has a financial goal to meet, 2) I enjoy getting the stuff out of my house, and 3) I enjoy meeting with people. THEN it all goes to the Deseret Industries. I actually help people because I sell for far less than the DI does, and I still have plenty of quality items to donate to them when the garage sale is over. I also donate to the DI throughout the year. I am active LDS and am fully aware of how much good the DI does. But sometimes I need to sell stuff to take care of a financial need.

I can't imagine spending all day Saturday, not to mention hours of preparation, trying to sell my old junk in order to bring in one or two hundred dollars. It seems so much easier to donate it to Goodwill and take a tax deduction.

Great and useful article! Good Job D-News

I knew it wouldn't be long before somebody plugged Desert Industries.
But they never mention that the stuff is sold - never given away to the needy.

Dear Capitalism Uber Alles!

"Never given away to the needy?" Au contraire. Only the tiniest fraction of DI donations are sold...by far the majority end up going to humanitarian needs around the world. And even with the ones which are sold....many go free to needy families (through a bishop's order form for a "shopping trip" for specifically-needed items). The Road Home homeless organization has a standing offer for their clients to get free clothing, free kitchen items, even free beds, tables, etc. if they are ready to set up a household. Also, the stores are actually training facilities to get people job-ready and into better occupations. Example: Hser Nay Moo's father and two oldest brothers have been working at DI, learning job skills and being taught English so they will soon be able to take "normal" jobs in our community and become contributing members of society. The money that comes in to DI from sales almost certainly doesn't come close to covering the expense of operating such training facilities, but what a great work is being done.

LDS Garage Sale Queen,

If you have a "financial need" to meet with your garage sales, then may I give you some advice? Don't buy so much stuff to begin with. Unless you've found a way to sell your trinkets at a garage sale for more than you paid, you're losing money.

Maybe if you didn't buy so much stuff (stuff that ends up getting sold in a garage sale later), you'd find your "financial need" is no longer there.

L -
Nonsense!
Taking free goods (donations) and re-selling them to anybody who walks through the door, is a clever way to manage a tax-exempt business.
Nothing more. Nothing less.

Reselling good helps to pay for all the jobs that people have who WORK there whether it be a widowed or single mother or refugees with little or no job experience. Yes, they collect a paycheck. There are also those who work to manufacture the furniture items - desks, tables, mattresses, etc - who gain a valuable job skill they can use to find future employment for their families.
PLEASE stop throwing stones from your glass house.

You are absolutely wrong. DI provides job skills training, jobs to people who are otherwise unemployable, they ship humanitarian goods from all over the country to the headquarters in SLC to be redistributed all over the world. They provide Christmas gifts, furniture, clothing, etc at no cost to needy families. Get facts before you spew...I have personally helped many people use the goods from DI, free of charge. It is a fabulous and wonderfully run place.

before moving here we had several yard sales. We made most of the money that we needed for our move. And I still gave a lot of stuff away to the Goodwill store in our area. We ended up about $300 short but we were still richly blessed for following the promptings of the spirit to move here.

If i had a car i could go yard saling.

To Financial Need:

Shame on you for being so judgemental. Many people have children who outgrow clothing, furniture, and toys. Many others are given gifts that are not needed or only slightly used. Garage sales are a great way to help both the seller and the buyer, regardless of financial background or need.