Garage Sale Series-Selling Jewelry

Garage sales are a lot of work.... and yet, they can be a good way to get rid of some unneeded items and bring in some money at the same time.  We have had many successful garage sales and I plan to share some ideas that can help when you plan and have a garage sale.

This post is about selling jewelry... it sounds easy, doesn't it? There are some things to do which can make selling jewelry at the garage sale even more successful.

Dumping it all in a box doesn't make it too appealing.... and it is so easy to do much better than that, although I LOVE going to a garage sale that has a box of earrings for 25c or 50c a pair... :)

When I am selling earrings, I make sure they have backs on the regular pierced ear earrings...  sometimes we clean them up... sometimes not...  but I really like to "card" them... makes them look so much better.


One thing I do is to use lightweight cardstock and I cut it into squares and rectangles. This year, I am using special scissors to put a pretty edge on these squares and rectangles, although I have used regular scissors for this for many years and it worked out fine with straight sides.

I will then use a straight pin to make 2 holes so that I can put pierced ear earrings in.  Then I use a hole punch and make a hole near the top in case I want to hang them.

The color is not that important.. I have used these colors... also a dark burgundy red, a hunter green (I really liked that one) and a darker blue... I basically just use what I have on hand... I am not willing to spend a lot of money to bring in a little money at a garage sale...anything I spend takes away from any profit... so I try not to spend anything. 


Making cards doesn't take long... and it makes the jewelry look so much nicer. It also helps to keep it organized better and gives a place to attach a price tag.


I also make smaller rectangular tags and put a hole in one end. I use twist ties from bread or trash bag packages (we tie our trash bags and so have all of those wonderful twist ties to use.)  I usually cut the ties shorter and then I hook a tag to each necklace, bracelet or ring.




Here is one of the tags on a necklace.

I will put a price sticker on it (I make my own stickers.. that will be in a future post).  I will also write any pertinent information on this tag...  for example, if it is silver, I will put that, although I usually keep any silver and gold items. :)  That is part of the fun of being able to buy jewelry at garage sales... I do not have to feel guilty for it... it costs little and I am constantly selling some.






Here are the earrings and pins... all carded. They do not have prices on them yet, but they will before I display them.  It is helpful to price everything at a sale.













 Here are necklaces, bracelets and rings...   again, all are tagged, but not yet priced.

You may be wondering WHY I have so much jewelry to sell... well, every year I do very well with selling jewelry... prices usually range from 50c to $5.00.  After doing well with jewelry many years ago, I started watching at garage sales... and buying jewelry that is really cheap.

I have even found silver and gold items... real ones... but those rarely get sold-those are special treats that we usually keep. :)   Sometimes at sales, I find people just don't want to mess with the jewelry and may bag it to sell really cheap... I like to shop there. 

One time, I found a covered margarine container with many pairs of earrings in it... I asked the lady how much each pair was... and she said 50c... for ALL of them and the container!-she didn't want to bother with them.  Well, of course, I bought them... and sorted them to keep what I wanted and sold the rest. I have also found that I can buy jewelry at garage sales that I like... and sell some that I already have... it is fun to trade it out sometimes... and my jewelry table or rack is always extremely popular. 

I also sometimes get a $10.00 off coupon for Kohl's ... and I can take the coupon to the store and check out the discounted jewelry... and find something fun... sometimes, I find a card with more than one pair... I may keep one and sell the rest... or use them for a while, then sell. I have some favorite jewelry that I always keep, but there is also quite a "revolving door" on my jewelry supply.  The jewelry that my husband has given me never enters that "revolving door". :) 

 
 Sometimes,  I just put the carded jewelry on a table... or on trays on a table...

Several times a day during the garage sale, I will rearrange the jewelry to fill in holes and make it look neat and tidy again... much easier for people to look then.

I like to have the jewelry in an area which is observable from where we check things out... to help deter theft... it does happen, but hopefully, not as much.  I also like to have the jewelry where more than one person can shop at a time, so it is good to put it in the open.

Many times I use a bulletin board and just push straight pins (usually the ones with a colored ball on the top... it is easier on the fingers)... I push them in at an angle and they work well to hang the jewelry.  These can be leaned against a wall.

 One year, I had the idea of using a folding fireplace screen.... this one had 4 sides and could fold up flat or stretch out... or even stand with 4 sides... as a box-type display(shown below).

I used plastic coated wire and made hooks.... LOTS of hooks... they looked like little fish hooks... and I hooked them to the wire on the fireplace screen. It worked well.. and we just saved it and used it for many years of garage sales.

Here is where I have it connected... and I put it on a taller plant stand/table to bring it up to a good height for people to browse.

I didn't care for the look of being able to see through the wire...it made everything look too busy..... so another year, I put black fabric inside, which highlighted the jewelry better.



























This is the rack with the black fabric inside... much better.  I keep changing things as needed... and a couple of years ago, we retired this rack... now I am using trays on a table again... I think.  :)

I find it helpful to fill in any holes in the rack... often...  Consolidating the jewelry makes it much more interesting for shopping.. .you don't want it to look all picked over... there is still good stuff on there so it is wise to display it nicely.

By having a range of prices, there is more interest for a variety of people... and many women buy lots of the jewelry.  My daughters like to shop here also... and I usually give them a couple of pairs, (their choice)... for helping with the sale and they love that. :)

We are getting ready for a big garage sale... and I tend to get creative when I am setting up.  How will I display the jewelry this year?  I'm not sure yet. :)

Thank you for visiting my blog today. I will be posting more in this Garage Sale Series.... I hope you will join me and I would love to hear about your garage sales.










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