I recently sent this email to the Keepers Ministry team:
Dear Keepers Team,
Do you have any tips for having a successful garage/yard sale?
Carla
What a response! Here you have it, the advice from the experts:
Carla, Our family has a garage sale just about every year and here are some tried and true plans that have always worked for us. Several times we have made over $1,000 at our sales! Dana
- Plan carefully when you will have your sale. We always have ours at the beginning of the month, after the end of the month paydays. Late July and August are not good months for sales because many people have already begun saving their extra money for back to school, although some may be shopping sales for bargains! Make sure your sale doesn’t coincide with another event going on in your town or a college home gameday. Our best sales have always been in October.
- Advertise! We always put an ad in the classified section of the newspaper on Wednesday and Friday. Wednesday is when grocery stores usually have their ads in the paper and more people will buy the paper that day. This upfront cost is well worth it. People who shop sales get the paper and map out their route. I think you can also advertise it on Craig’s list. Put out signs on the closest major road to your house. Check with your city offices. Some only allow one sign.
- Try to have a “big ticket” item to draw people to your sale. Furniture is something people are always looking for, also TV’s and appliances. Don’t waste your time advertising clothes. Every garage sale has clothes.
- Make sure your kids go through and pick out toys they can put in the sale. We always gave our kids whatever money we made from their items. They would get so excited anytime someone bought one of their items!
- Start your sale a little earlier than everyone else, say 7 a.m. People will hit your sale first.
- Spend some time before your sale (a couple of weekends) making sure everything is clean and works. We always have a place to plug in items to show they still work, and batteries on hand for toys, etc.
- Always include something for the men. Many men shop garage sales. If a couple comes together, they will shop longer if both of them have something to look at.
- Borrow as many tables as you can to set items up on, presentation does make a difference, and people really don’t like picking things up off of the ground or your dirty garage floor!
- Have items clearly priced. You can buy pre-printed price tags at the store. Begin pricing to give yourself some wiggle room. People will haggle and love to feel like they are getting a bargain.
- Make sure you have plenty of quarters and one dollar bills for change. Carry your money on you in a fanny pack or a hardware store apron. Decide ahead of time if you will take checks – people will ask.
- Have plastic or paper bags on hand for people to carry their things in.
- Get the kids involved by letting them have a lemonade stand at the same time. We have even sold coffee and donuts in the early morning hours.
- If your sale is in your garage, make sure you cover anything not for sale with a sheet, so you don’t have to continually tell people “it’s not for sale.”
- When you are done, box everything up that didn’t sell and call an organization such as Disabled American Veterans, or Habitat for Humanity to pick it all up and carry it off for you. Make sure what you give these service organizations is usable, however. Don’t expect them to haul off your trash.
- Have Fun!
Carla, I used to LOVE having a garage sale! They were so fun! I loved the challenge, preparation and of course, all the extra money that would come in. Here are some things that were beneficial to me! Lori
- Organize all the goods! Put like items all together to make it easier for people to shop.
- Put large or “hot” items in the driveway or out front to draw people in and get them to stop.
- A garage sale is only worth my time and money if I have a LOT of stuff. Otherwise, to me…I would rather donate it. Get a rough estimate to make sure your expenses of having the sale don’t outweigh the potential of what you could make.
- Combine sales with a friend or neighbor to take care of the above and to have some fun while preparing.
- Make sure you follow the laws of your town by obtaining a permit or making sure your signs follow protocol. The cost of a permit is usually minimal, but the fine for not having one much higher!
- Be willing to open early. Serious “shoppers” arrive early. Don’t get frustrated, but be glad that your sale is one they want to attend! It means you advertised well.
- Also, be willing to have your sale over two days, if possible. Open a day earlier than everyone else. Begin your sale on a Thursday and continue through Friday or begin on a Friday and continue through Saturday.
- Be safe: never have one alone, carry a money bag or fanny pack with you at all times, don’t let people go into your house to use the restroom. This may sound unfriendly, but people who shop garage sales know to not even ask.
- If you don’t want cars in your driveway then place objects accordingly.
- I have often used large boxes to sell all like items such as books, shoes or stuffed animals. I put all of them in the box and mark them one price. Some people love digging through boxes like this to find great bargains.
Hey Carla, Here’s a few things my mom taught me about yard sales:
1. Always put easy to read signs in strategic places to point the way to your yard sale. If they can’t find it they can’t buy!
2. If you have a lot of very small items, group them together and sell them as “treasure bags”.
3. My mom always had a “free” box of give away items, right up front. This always attracted attention.
4. Take the time to display things neatly and attractively.
5. If things are clean, they are more apt to sell and for a higher price.
6. If your goal is to get rid of things then after a couple of hours, mark everything half-price!
7. If you have kids, this is a great way to “weed” out their rooms and get them to help especially if they get to keep the proceeds from their sales. It’s also good practice using those math skills!
Finally, have fun. Your customers will too! Debbs
Carla, Here are a few tips for your garage sale:
- Have a “multi-family” garage sale. This always helps because it is like one-stop shopping for garage-salers. Encourage your church small group or friend/neighbor to go in with you or have a neighborhood garage sale. Chances are that everyone has something to sell, but often don’t feel like they have enough stuff to have a sale of their own.
- Location is everything. We live in a more rural area and don’t do as well, but we participate in a multi-family garage sale with friends who live in town just off a busy intersection, so they get lots of traffic!
- Have a “cause.” A garage sale can be a great way to help financially with a mission trip, tornado relief, medical expenses, etc.
- Be ready to “open” early; garage-salers will be there before your advertised time!
Hope that’s helpful… Renee <><
Thanks ladies, that has been very helpful!
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