Have you seen them? The signs are popping up everywhere–little bursts of color, sprinklings of eye-catching wonder. Garage Sale season is FINALLY here!
I LOVE going to garage sales–it’s one of our favorite weekend activities all throughout the summer. We all pile in the truck–cash in hand–and set off to follow the trail of signs our neighbors across the city have left for us. It’s like a treasure hunt–only in this case the treasure is great deals on used household items and toys.
Over the many years we have gone to garage sales (and even hosted our own), I have become a bit of a connoisseur on what makes certain sales better (and probably more successful) than others. Here are 5 steps to follow to make your garage or yard sale the best it can be:
1. Signage
This one is probably the most important step in having a successful garage sale. I know some of you out there think you can just post an ad on Craigslist with your address and the masses will google map it and come. That really only works for neighborhood sales. But, if you are having an individual sale–you absolutely need to put up signs.
Some guidelines:
- Find a main street that a lot of folks drive on. Start with an populated intersection and place signs about every two blocks or so (with directional arrows ) until it ends up at your house.
- Keep it simple–Dates and times of sale, Large letters that say GARAGE SALE or YARD SALE, and big, clear directional arrows. Put your address on there in small lettering as well–just in case a sign blows away– they can still find you.
- During your sale, make sure you drive around to make sure all the signs are still where they are supposed to be. So often they can get blown down by wind or damaged by an afternoon rain storm.
2. Pricing:
My biggest pet peeve in going to garage sales is when there is no pricing on anything and I have to ask about every item I’m interested. Here’s the thing–most folks that attend garage sales are trying to go to as many as they can in one day. Make it easy for the customers who show up to buy something from you and move on.
Some guidelines:
- Price it about 30% of retail for great condition and lower it according to condition and age.
- Be willing to bargain. Keep your bottom dollar in mind and let the game begin–some folks really love this part. Allowing your customers to “bundle” is a great way to get rid of a lot at once. You do this by agreeing on a bulk price for several items purchased. Customers love it because it makes them feel like they got a really great deal.
- Price everything individually unless you have a box or bin of things that are priced all the same–in that case you can make a sign that reads “all items in this box are $______”
- Have change. Go to the bank and get a good assortment–especially $5’s $1’s, and quarters.
3. Organize and clean everything:
No one wants to buy your dishes or cookware if it is crusted over with grease or your clothing with the stains all over them–even if their only $.50. You will sell a lot more by just simply making things look as nice as possible.
Some guidelines:
- Make sure all items are as clean as possible.
- Organize things into categories–clothing, kitchen stuff, decorations, holiday, tools, toys, etc…
- Hang your clothing or fold them neatly–some are willing to dig through piles, most are not. If you really want to sell a lot–organize it so it can be looked at easily. With kids clothing you can place them in boxes or bins by size.
- Have blankets to lay things on or tables or surfaces so you can spread your items out so it’s easy to look at everything.
4. Don’t sell broken items or be deceptive
There is nothing worse than buying an item at a garage sale only to come home and find it doesn’t work. It’s especially heartbreaking for my boys when they spend their hard earned allowance money on some cool toy they’ve wanted, get home and find out parts are missing.
Some guidelines:
- Be honest–if you’re not sure it works–tell them. Be willing to demonstrate with electronics and toys. Either let them know it is sold as is, or be willing to give them their money back same day if it is found to be less than what you had told them.
- Broken items belong either in the trash or in a Freebie pile.
5. Clean up:
If putting out signage is the most important part of a garage sale, then cleaning up those signs is equally important. There is nothing worse than following signs for a garage sale only to find out it isn’t going on anymore.
Some Guidelines:
- If you have trouble remembering where all you put signs–keep a map. Or keep a count of how many signs you put up.
- Get ALL the tape off. Be respectful of your neighborhood. It’s your trash, you put it there–take responsibility and clean up your own mess.
With these guidelines not only will you have a very successful garage sale, but folks like me will really enjoy coming. Everyone wins!