7 Ways to Have Your Most Successful Garage Sale Ever
Ready to stage the best, most profitable summer yard sale you’ve ever thrown? There are plenty of tricks to make your sale stand out from the other sad, old-shoes-on-a-blanket sales dotting your neighborhood. Here’s how…
Jazz up the name
Anyone with a yard can have a yard sale but we’re going for showmanship here. Are you moving? You, my friend, are having an “Everything-Must-Go Moving Sale.” Selling the extras from your spring cleaning binge with a few friends? You’re having a “Multi-Family Spring Cleaning Blowout Sale.”
Advertise
Want more customers? You must advertise. Online postings announcing your sale are key as many garage sale heavy-hitters plan their weekends carefully and you want to make it into their rotation. In your neighborhood, plenty of posters with great directions should be enough to get you lots of foot traffic. Make sure to mention some of your best items to tempt buyers into making the trip.
Team up
The more stuff at your sale the better! If you don’t have enough to really fill your yard, get together with friend or neighbors for a team effort. You want your sale to look like it’s chock full of undiscovered treasures in order to lure in lots of customers.
Put high value items out front
Think about what would make you stop your car to shop a random yard sale you pass. If you saw plenty of furniture, bikes, or other great yard sale finds, you’d be much more likely to stop. As these items sell, make sure to restock the front of your sale throughout the day to keep your sale looking plentiful.
Focus on flow
Your items should be easy to reach and inspect if you want to make a sale. That means clear paths to allow customers to walk through the sale area, plenty of tables and racks for your stuff so it’s not on the ground (that just screams “low value”), and pretty placement. How your customer feels while shopping your sale makes a big difference in your final sale numbers.
→ Your Best Garage Sale Advice: How to Make the Most Money, Not Annoy Neighbors & Get Rid of All Your Stuff
Yes, it takes you longer, but you’ll sell way more if everything has a price tag. Most shoppers want the transaction to be easy and if they have to find you and have a whole discussion about the price in order to even consider an item, many will give up. Sure, everything is negotiable, but many will just quickly hand over the cash you ask for and be on their way. It’s well worth it to tag.
Include the box/receipt
You bought this item once upon a time so if you’re the save-the-box type, it’s always nice to include it (and if you’re really organized, the receipt) when reselling. It will give your item a little more credibility and provide the buyer more details about what exactly they’re getting- and that will make them more likely to pull the trigger.
What are some of your best yard sale tricks and tips?