When you have a bunch of stuff in your house you no longer want, you can easily make money by selling it, so have a yard sale (or a garage sale, as some call it). It's a good way to get rid of extra junk and make some cash in the process. Here are 10 tips for having a successful yard sale.
- Find a great location.
Location is key. When looking for your sale, people should easily spot you without having to drive down your street three or four times. Put balloons or a large sign in front of your house if the sale isn't as obvious as you'd like, and be sure to place directions to your home on signs if it isn't easy to find. You may even consider moving your sale elsewhere if your home is difficult to get to. - Team up with neighbors.
The bigger the yard sale, the more attention it will get. Those who frequent yard sales love to pack in as many as they can in a day, and they’re more likely to visit your location if you've teamed up with two or more of your neighbors and put out more items for sale. - Avoid holiday and other super-busy weekends.
Holiday weekends or weekends with big events will detract from your yard sale. While you may not be interested in sports, a huge sports game can lessen the amount of attention your yard sale receives. You want to pick a weekend that has hardly anything going on so people visit you instead of watching TV, going to a stadium, or cooking out. - Check on any laws in your area about advertising yard sales.
Certain areas have strict rules about where advertising signs can and cannot be placed. You don't want to break these rules and end up with fines. Furthermore, there may even be rules about the size of the poster and how long it can remain in the area. Be sure to read up on these laws before posting anything. - Advertise everywhere.
People will not visit your yard sale unless you display notices everywhere. Contact local newspapers and post ads in each of them. The ads should be short and eye-catching. Signs should be placed on lamp posts, bulletin boards, and near traffic stops. Make large posters (as large as local laws allow) with the address, times, and possibly some big items you're selling. - Cook or buy food to sell at the same time.
People come in hungry and thirsty, especially if it’s early and they haven’t eaten yet. Consider selling coffee, tea, lemonade, cookies, and other types of snacks and drinks for cheap. It's a good way to bring in extra revenue and even get your children involved. - Choose the right prices for your items.
Do not overprice your items. Not overpricing may be hard, especially if you're parting with something with sentimental value, but you need to think about the item objectively when pricing it. Will the customer think a lamp is worth $20, even though you purchased it for that price four years ago? Probably not. Be sure to mark everything clearly, as well. - Create a plan for displaying your items.
The best way to sell your items is to have them all laid out perfectly for the customers to browse at their leisure. Place similar items next to each other—interested shoppers are more likely to purchase something if it's close to items of the same type. For example, if you're selling game systems and games, put them next to each other. - Start very early and stay open late.
People who frequent yard sales start early in the morning, meaning you should start your sale around 6 a.m. or even earlier. Figure out when other yard sales in your area start and open yours for business at least that early. However, in order to get the most sales, you should also stay open later. If you stay open until 5 p.m. or so, you can catch late-comers and sell more items. - Mark things down items that aren’t selling.
If something isn’t selling later in the day, mark down the price. Lowering the price will surely bring new attention to the item and will likely sell the product. Some money is better than no money at all.
