Garage Sale Price List
Everything for sale with a price and a floor you will not go below.
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| Seller | [name] |
| Where | [address] |
| When | [date], [time] |
| Item | Qty | Asking | Lowest you will take |
|---|---|---|---|
| [add one item per line] |
What is a Yard Sale Price List?
A yard sale price list is written before the sale, not during it: every item, the price on the sticker, and the lowest figure you will take. It exists so that you are not doing arithmetic while somebody stands in front of you holding a note, and so that whoever is helping on the table knows what they may agree to without having to find you first.
Households use it when clearing out before a move or after a bereavement, where the volume is too large to price in the moment. Fundraisers use it for church, school and community table sales, where several volunteers sell from the same stock and the money has to reconcile afterwards. Car boot and flea market sellers use it as a stock list. Students use a short version at the end of term, when a whole flat is sold in two days.
Whether you may hold the sale at all is a local question. Many US cities require a garage sale permit and limit how many you may hold in a year, sometimes with rules about signage; UK car boot sales run under the site operator's rules, and selling from the street can need a council street trading licence; Australian councils vary. Selling repeatedly and at volume can make you a trader, which brings different consumer obligations and a tax question for your local tax authority. Check before advertising.
The list is not a bill of sale. Anything with a title or registration — a vehicle, a trailer, a firearm where private sale is permitted at all — needs the proper transfer paperwork, and a price sheet is not it. It carries no warranty and records no buyer details. It is also not an inventory for an insurance claim or a probate valuation; both of those need valuations from someone qualified to give them, prepared before anything is sold.
What to put in a Yard Sale Price List
These are the details this template asks for. Anything left blank is marked in red on the preview so you can see what is still missing.
| Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Issued to (full name) | For example: James Whitfield |
| Home address | For example: 588 Kinnear Road |
| Date | Free text |
| Time | For example: 10:00 to 16:00 |
| Items for sale | One per line: Item | Qty | Asking price | Lowest you will take |
| Currency | Free text |
How to write a Yard Sale Price List
Walk the house room by room
Work through one room at a time, listing what is going and grouping it: kitchen, tools, toys, books, clothing, furniture. Grouping does the layout for you, since the table plan follows the list, and it prevents the last-minute discovery of two boxes in the loft. Number each group so a helper can find the entry for an item without reading the whole sheet.
Price at what it will sell for
The price is what a stranger will pay on a Saturday morning for something they did not come looking for, not a fraction of what you paid. Look at what similar items go for locally, price in round numbers, and price low on anything bulky — a wardrobe that does not sell has to be carried back inside. Books, clothes and toys move at bundle prices.
Set a floor and a bundle price
Against every line put the sticker price and the lowest figure you will accept, because haggling is the point of the format and you will be asked. Add bundle rules at the top of the sheet: any three books for a pound, all the garden tools for £20 as a lot. Then anyone on the table can say yes without coming to find you.
Mark what is not for sale
Label the trestle table, the extension lead, the neighbour's chair and the box waiting for the charity shop, and put them on the list as not for sale, so that a helper does not cheerfully accept a fiver for the ladder you are standing on. Keep anything valuable off the outer tables and priced individually, in sight of whoever is taking the money.
Count the float and reconcile after
Write down the starting cash and its denominations before anyone arrives, because takings mean nothing without a starting figure. Keep the money in one place with one person responsible for it. At the end, count in front of a second person, mark the list with what sold, and note what did not — that list is what goes to the charity shop on Monday.
Common mistakes
- Not writing a floor price, so a helper accepts a pound for something you would happily have taken twenty for.
- Pricing from what you originally paid, which leaves you carrying most of the sale back into the house at four o'clock.
- Starting with no counted float, so nobody can tell at the end how much the sale actually took.
- Leaving small valuable items unpriced at the edge of a table, where they are the easiest things to walk off with.
- Failing to mark the items that are not for sale, which is how the working lawnmower and the neighbour's table get sold.
Frequently asked questions
How do you price items for a garage sale?
Price for a quick sale to someone who did not set out to buy it: round numbers, low prices on bulky furniture, and bundles for books, clothes and toys. Check what similar items go for locally before you sticker anything unusual, and set a floor price you will not go below. If an item is genuinely valuable, sell it separately rather than from a trestle table.
Do I need a permit for a garage sale?
It depends where you live. Many US municipalities require a permit and cap how many sales you may hold in a year, and some regulate signs placed on public property. In the UK you would usually be looking at a car boot site's own rules, or a street trading licence from the council if you sell on the street. Check your city, council or shire website before advertising.
How much change should I have ready?
Enough small notes and coins to break the largest note people are likely to arrive with, because early buyers all seem to pay with big ones. Count the float and write the total down before you open. Keep it on your person or in a locked box with one named person responsible, rather than in an open tin on the table.
Should I put a price on everything?
Yes, or at least on every group. Unpriced items make buyers ask, and many will not — they will put the item down and move on. Signs for grouped stock work well: all paperbacks 50p, all mugs £1. Keep individual stickers for anything where the price would surprise someone, and keep your floor prices on the sheet rather than on the sticker.
What do I do with what does not sell?
Decide before the sale, not after. Mark on your list where each unsold group goes: charity shop, free-to-collector listing, recycling centre, or back in the loft. Nominate one carload for the charity shop and book the trip in advance. The alternative is that everything goes back into the house exactly where it was, which is how the next sale gets scheduled.
This page explains general practice and is not legal advice. Requirements differ between countries and, in some cases, between states — check what applies where the document will be used.