What to Sell at a Garage Sale

There’s an art to turning your trash into someone else’s treasure. But it’s easy once you know the tricks. First up: a hunt for merchandise. Move obvious sale items into the garage (or another staging area) and do a clean sweep of the attic and basement. Then go room to room, box in hand, checking cupboards, closets, dressers, and storage bins for stuff you want to off-load.If you're not quite sure what will sell, follow these guidelines.

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What’s Sure to Sell

Henry Leutwyler
Dishes, cookware, and kitchen gadgets are at the top of buyers’ lists, says Kimy Kennedy, the owner of Peachtree Estate Sales, in Atlanta. Other popular items: toys and kids’ gear (strollers, playpens), artwork and frames, tools, lamps, and furniture (don’t rule out pieces with a few nicks or chips).
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Save These to Sell Online

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Anything high-end with a searchable name (like Venetian glass). Use eBay for trinkets that are easy to ship (gold jewelry, coins, comics) and Craigslist for heavy or large items so buyers will be responsible for pickup. But if you know that you’ll never get around to selling online, you’re better off purging stuff at the yard sale, though you probably won’t make as much as you would through a resale site.

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Tougher to Unload

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Stuffed animals and outdated electronics and media. In other words, prices for your Encyclopedia Britannica or Discman should be rock-bottom.

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Don’t Even Try

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Stained clothes or dishware, used beauty products, food-storage containers, and worn bed linens. Says Chip Cordelli, a New York City–based organizer, “They’ll only junk up your display.”

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