It’s garage sale season once again! They’re a great way to get together with some friends and make a few extra bucks on the things you no longer need. In case you’ve been wanting to tread the waters of holding your own garage sale, I have a list of 10 tips for a great garage sale that was compiled by reader tips from an old blog I once had. (which is no longer in existence.) The following tips are what they had to say:
10 Tips for a Great Garage Sale:
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Craigslist and Kijiji are great ways to sell the bigger ticket items and to advertise for your yard sale.
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Get a pack of those dot stickers (available from the dollar store), and assign every color a price. Post the list of prices on your garage, along with “will negotiate.”
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Price things low and offer deals on matching sets of things. I also agree to put up signs that say “will negotiate”. Start early… people who are big into garage sales start early, around 8 am.
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I would say make sure that the prices are low enough to make people want to buy things. Also, rather than pricing things individually, put out tables where everything is $0.50 or $1.00 etc. It makes your job preparing the yard sale a lot easier.
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I would use Craigslist or Kijiji for the big items. If you are having a yard sale borrow tables so that everything is up high so people can see it easily. Hang all clothes. Price everything and remember that it is a yard sale, people aren’t willing to pay close to full price even if things are like new. Use big bright signs and have lots of small change.
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You might want to consider asking friends to bring their stuff to the sale. It has been my experience that everyone does better if there is more to sell. We have just put our initials on the price tag and kept a running list when people are paying and just write CC $1.00 or DD $0.50 then divide it up at the end of the day. Also, we never do anything less than $0.25. Makes giving change easier.
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Depends on your aim…do you want to get good money, or do you just want the stuff gone? If you want to make good money, stick to your pricing and don’t be too easy to negotiate with. If you want it gone, being willing to negotiate, be willing to group things, price a bit lower. Start as early as possible. Around here, people start coming at 7am. Best sales I find are between 7-10 a.m. My general rule of thumb is to put things that are similar together. Put a price tag of half to a third more than what you think you can get for it and if someone looks interested, but unsure say “hey, want to make a deal on that?” Stuff that you are less willing to just “get rid of”, put a reasonable price on it and stick to that price until at least 10 am then negotiate.
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Keep a smiling face on all day – and negotiate, but don’t let yourself be pressured into giving up stuff for less than you want. although any money for it is good when it’s just been taking up your space. Have a money apron on so that you have change right with you so that if you’re not at your central table, you can still make that deal right there. Hoard grocery bags for a little while so that you have some to give away, just a little thing that makes people like your sale, and maybe tell someone else. We always sell food as well – krispy kreme doughnuts for a quarter, or free with any purchase over $5.00. Go in with friends. I never have a sale just by myself – at least three friends. That way, there’s more stuff and more variety. If it’s just a baby clothes sale, it’s not going to generate as much traffic as baby clothes, furniture, books, tools, knick knacks, etc…
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Advertise! Even simple things like brightly colored signs on your main roads can make a huge difference. I tend to price things fairly low and keep the prices until mid morning. Yes, I will allow bargaining, but not too much right away, because the sale is just getting started. You really do not need to have a long sale either, 4 hours or so from 8-12 should do it. Unless you can get in on a neighborhood sale, then stay open longer. It can help to say that everything will be half price the last hour too, if you really want to move things. I have to keep telling myself that I do not want these things anymore and the point is to get rid of them and so therefore, be willing to take lower prices than you had originally intended. I love to find a great deal at yard sales, and like to see others walk away from mine feeling like they scored a treasure too!
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Try to have one of the first garage sales in your city. All the bargain hunters will be raring to go after having the winter off!
Have you got any garage sale tips to add?
