Having a garage sale, I need tips!

[justamouse]

I've never had a garage sale, and now I have to have a BIG one. I was wondering if anyone was a garage sale pro, and what tips you could offer a noob like me?

 

I have a lot of curricula going up, too, I'm thinking of stickering all that right away.

[nova147]

Price like items with one tag. All kids clothing $0.50, all adult clothing $1, all books $1 unless marked (because curriculum is another story!). Then you can hang signs that say what stuff costs and not have to tag every single item.

 

Do tag items that aren't grouped. May people won't ask what you want for an item.

 

Be willing to drop your price. It's better, IMHO, to get $15 for the stroller you're done with than to hold out for $25, not get that, and have to get rid of it another day. I'm much more willing to cut a deal if someone is buying a lot or it's getting to the end of my sale.

 

Know what things are worth. Sometimes big ticket items are better sold on Craigslist or eBay than at a garage sale. Unless you don't care about how much you get for stuff and are only doing it to get rid of stuff.

 

Arrange to have a charity come pick up what's left. In my area there are 3-4 charities that have trucks that go around picking stuff up and are always happy to schedule a pick up when you want.

 

Make sure you have change. I never price things less than a quarter, so I only need to have quarters. I usually get $25 to $50 in ones, then a bunch of $5s and $10s. People always have $20s, so be prepared for that.

 

Have a free bin. I usually toss a few stuffed animals, happy meals toys, board books in less than fabulous condition, etc. in that bin. Kids can grab something without irritating the parents, which is much appreciated and makes parents less likely to rush off to stop the begging. I usually keep it fairly close to where I.m sitting so people only take one or two things.

 

Advertise on Craigslist. Include a list of popular items you are selling to attract a wide variety of people.Make lots of signs, especially if you live in a hard to find spot. Find out what it costs to advertise in the paper - someti es it's woth it, sometimes not.

[Susan C.]

Lock your house and don't have your garage accessible. I get change and put it in a fanny pack and wear it in front. Don't leave things unattended, and have a few other people watch or people will walk off with stuff. I have done garage sales marking everything, and also marking nothing (when I didn't have time). It worked either way, but you should have an idea of what you want. I have moving wardrobes, I put clothes in them, then make a sign that says "$1 each, please leave the hanger in the box." It worked great. Or I put the items on a tarp in the driveway. Can you tell I don't have tables... I save up shopping bags. I do fill the bag deals on the spot.

 

Its great to have people pay you to haul away things you don't need anymore!

[Baseball mom]

Put anything small and/or worth more near you.

Have plenty of change

Neater setup usually means more sales

Be willing to make a deal

Have an extention cord or place to plug in items -- people like to check items

Be honest about the items -- if it works part time, say so etc.

Smile and try to say "hi" to everyone

At the end of the sale make box deals --- all the books for a set price etc.

[Meriwether]

If you are selling clothes, find a way to hang some nice ones in a display type way - on a hanger with the outfit facing out. People will look more closely through racks or stacks of clothes if they see you have some nice ones in there. Arrange clothes by size.

 

If you are selling DVD's check each case as you ring them up. People will sometimes put extra DVD's in the case so they only pay for one. Which is bad enough but it really stinks for the person who buys an empty case.

 

Put up lots of signs. Lots.

 

Don't ask for less than what you really want for an item but be as reasonable as you can. If I see $2 on a dinged up easy reader or something else marked 50% or more of what I could buy it new for, I won't even look at the rest of the stuff.

 

I made $100 dollars at a garage sale once by thinning my hosta beds and lillies. They needed to be thinned and people were thrilled to pay $1 for a nice big hosta.

 

Have your little one sell lemonade. We always gave a free cup to any kid that came with their parents and the kids still made money.

 

If you have things that would appeal to a variety of ages - baby stuff, tools, kitchen stuff, etc. - put some of each available where drivers can see it from the road. If I'm looking for kid stuff, I won't stop at a place where I only see household items. The reverse is also true.

 

If you are are wanting to really move stuff, offer discounts for bigger purchases. If I have books for .25, I always say 5 for a dollar. If clothes are .50 a piece, I would say 5 for $2.

[justamouse]

Such awesome ideas! Thank you all! I never would have thought of this stuff.

[Barbara H]

If your local homeschool email list allows advertisements post the info about your curriculum there.

[Impish]

Sell pop at $1 a can.

You can sell coffee too.

 

Those were big when I had my garage/moving sale yrs ago.

[LostSurprise]

If you're having it in your garage put an interesting variety of stuff in your driveway. Most people choose to stop based on what you can see.

 

Signs are often seen from cars. Keep the writing LARGE. Use directionals (arrows and stuff) over a street address. Think about what directions people are likely to come from and set up signs at key points.

 

Ask people if they have anything they want to sell at your sale. It increases the amount and the variety. If advertising, say it is a multi-family sale.

 

Limit clothes and have them well placed (size organized, clean, easy to see).

 

Think about having a free box for items you're unsure will sell.

 

Consider advertising, especially in Shoppers or other free papers. Get the word out to local groups that might have interest in your items (homeschool particularly).

 

Snacks sell, and kids have fun doing them.

[Samiam]

-Do not overprice stuff. People come to garage sales looking for bargains, deals, etc. If you are selling something that you don't need, don't want, want to get rid of it, then selling it for any amount is a profit to you. So don't think that your used property is so valuable that you overprice it because guess what, it ends up coming right back to your house cuz no one bought it. If it's that valuable, you should sell it somewhere else than a garage sale.

I have a garage sale to get rid of stuff I don't need or want. I sell it cheap because I don't want to have to bring it back in the house.

 

-Price stuff in advance, because it's overwhelming when you have 10 people at the same time asking "what's the price". And I've walked away from things because I didn't want to deal with asking the price.

 

-Have bags, ie grocery bags, for people to use if they buy alot of things. People will appreciate that!

 

-Never leave the money box alone, unattended. People WILL steal it!

[mumto2]

If possible have another adult there so you can have bathroom breaks. Dh stayed home for our moving sale. He worked in the basement and was able to take the money frequently. I sent a wad in everytime I had about $100. That way I couldn't loose it. Also I managed to sell a lot of my donate items. When someone said do you have a crib mattress? I said $10 and yelled at hubby to find it. We had our basement full. He was able to restock as the day went on.

[scrappyhappymama]

- Put up lots of signs from every direction leading to your house.

- List in the local paper if it doesn't cost too much.

- List on Craigslist. You can delete the ad right afterwards so your address doesn't hang out there forever.

 

-We have great luck with selling snacks and drinks along with our sale. Donuts and coffee/cocoa in the morning and cold sodas and ice pops in the later morning when it's hot. We make money and it keeps our kids occupied.

 

-Try to have things as organized as possible. People WILL dig through buckets of clothes, if they are priced low enough. Clothes spread out on blankets never do as well as clothing in tubs sorted by gender or age or price. Clothing that you have priced $1 or more should be hung, but be selective and don't price anything for much more than that. This is not the place to sell specialty clothing or new with tag items unless you're willing to let them go for super cheap.

 

-Merchandise your tables as nicely as you can and rearrange them often during the day as things sell. Things that look appealing sell much better. Make sure items are reasonably clean and check for anything like old coffee filters in machines, splatters on kitchen appliances, etc. You would not believe the gross stuff I've come across at garage sales and it turns me off to the entire sale. Run a clorox wipe or magic eraser over kids toys or baby gear. Cleaned up stuff sells for more.

 

-Try to have something that will appeal to various demographics. I try to make sure we have some tools and manly stuff at each sale. Going in on a sale with friends is a great way to expand your selection, and to have more help the day of the sale.

 

-Greet people and be friendly. If they know you've seen them, they are less likely to steal from you. Also, thank them when they leave, even if they haven't purchased anything. You'd be surprised how often people leave to go get a friend or family member and come back to purchase something later.

 

-Be ready to bargain, especially toward the end of the day. We've had good luck with offering the clothing "Fill a Bag for $2" toward the end of the day. I usually post something on Craigslist around noon and include any end of sale bargains we are offering.

[milovany]

My "less-stress-decent-return" yard sale tip of the century:

 

Make everything one price.

 

$1.00, or 50 cents. (Unless otherwise marked of course, for a handful of items worth a bit more.) Pricing things is the WORST part of a garage sale and this relieves most of that stress. I make signs that say "Everything's $1.00!" with an arrow and put it at the end of the block. When people arrive, I say it loud, "Everything's $1.00 except for a few things priced otherwise!" People tend to buy more, I think. I've still made a couple hundred or more when I do my sales this way. It's the only way I'll do them anymore.

 

Have fun!