Garage Sale Tips

Garage sales - yard sales. They are an all-American tradition.

In the spring, as soon as sunny weekends arrive, cars can be seen moving slowly through neighborhoods where the hunt is on for the best “deals” in town.

If you have determined that there is no better time than now to clear clutter from your house and making some bucks while you’re at it (also a great money making idea!), here are some garage sale tips to help you get the most from your sale.

9 Garage Sale Tips

Ask yourself these questions: "Have I cooked with it, worn it, displayed it, used it or read it within the last year?" Use this percentage rule: a solid 10 to 20 percent of all books, videos, clothing, and assorted nick knacks must go.

Store the items in a big black garbage bag or boxes. No removing any items! It is now inventory for your yard sale!

2. How to Price
You might want to attend a few yard sales in your area to get an idea of the market value for items you will be selling. You could also use eBay to your advantage to see the going prices.

Don’t mark your items with the price you expect to get. Part of the experience of a garage sale is haggling for the best bargain. Mark the price tag for slightly more, allowing for room to come down in price without accepting less than you’d like. And label things well.

To get ‘top dollar,’ make sure your inventory is clean and organized. Use plastic food storage bags to group childrens game pieces, display jewelry, and hold other small bits and pieces.

Use masking tape or color-coded stickers to label your goods.

3. Team Up
Multi-family garage sales work very well. Talk to your friends, neighbors, and family members about having your sales on the same day. Bargain hunters like to hit as many sales as possible, so a multi-family sale will draw a very hungry crowd.

4. Timing is Everything
Saturday mornings are typical for yard sales. Pick a weekend where your kids can help, either by making sales or even being in charge of a lemonade stand. Avoid holiday weekends when many people are away or busy.

If it’s getting late in the day and you have lots of stuff still available, you can facilitate purchases by having plastic or paper sacks with a price like $10 per bag, letting the customer fill the bags with whatever (at your discretion). You should also have bags available for customers who purchase multiple items.

5. Be Sure to Advertise
Spend a few dollars for a newspaper ad. Many local papers offer special garage sale rates or free signs to yard sale advertisers. Watch your wording; mention specific items. Don’t waste ad dollars on “miscellaneous.” Everybody has miscellaneous.

Make lots of signs, and make them big and bold. You want people to be able to see them at least a block away. Some cities might let you put a sign some distance from your home guiding people with your address and arrows. You want people to find you. But first, be sure to check the rules of your city.

Where I live, there is more than one business that will let you post an advertisement in their store – at no cost!

6. Setting up Your Garage Sale
People are more inclined to stop if you have your sale in your yard or driveway. Make it look inviting by having your most popular items out front.

Use signs to identify merchandise: full-size sheets, clothing sizes. Have available a heavy-duty extension cord to operate radios and television, and test electrical appliances.

Be sure to have appropriate bills and coins for change. A muffin tin makes a great coin holder. Start with at least $20 in small bills and coin change. Someone must be the keeper of the cash at all times. You might want to keep the cash on you, using an apron with pockets.

A nice touch would be to have background music playing with music appropriate for your customers.

7. Think Like a Customer
Once the initial crowd has died down, take a walk through your mini mall, paying attention to anything that might seem out of place, mismarked, and make sure that it is easy to move around. Some tidying might also be in order.

8. Smile and Be Friendly
Greet people as they come – and smile. Smiles don’t cost anything. Be sure to have a day full of them.

Engage in conversation if your potential customers appear to be chatty. But, also be aware that they may want to be left alone, contemplating what they might want to purchase. Be ready to answer any questions.

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