8 Tips To Have A Successful Yard Sale

Someone in your house is probably a pack-rat. A garage sale is a great way to turn this little collecting habit into some extra spending cash easily. If you’re going to spend a full day setting up, organizing, haggling, and interacting with people (For about half of us, this is work) then you need to make sure you get the money back for your time invested. There are more than a couple of things you can do that will make your yard sale more effective than it otherwise would be.

Pick a Suitable Date

There’s no reason your garage sale can’t be more than a day or two. You might decide to devote an entire weekend and make it a family event. Multiple days of sales that are better than anyone else’s on the block! Well, you’ll want to plan for it and picking a date(s) is quite an important first step.

Over the Weekend

Plan your sale over the weekend, Saturday and Sunday are best because people are off work, and they’re ready to enjoy the weekend. Fridays can work but the jury is very much out on the effectiveness of a Friday sale. Your best bet is, without a doubt, the weekend. Also, set up in the mornings. That’s when people are most likely to stop in, as it doesn’t interfere with other plans they have for the day.

Good Weather Is A Must

You can’t have a yard sale if the weather is either like the ocean is relocating to your backyard, or if it feels God has placed your home in the oven until it reaches a golden brown. Look at the forecast, plan accordingly. If you don’t want to be outside, they don’t want to be outside.

Check Permits

Some cities require that you get a permit to have a yard sale. You may not be in a city that does, but it’s always best to call city hall and double-check. If you do end up needing a permit and don’t have one, you could get shut down and fined by the police. There’s no reason you shouldn’t make a quick phone call to double-check. In some cities, you can apply for the permit online. This will make it easier than ever to have a completely legal yard sale.

Price Everything – Price By Item, Not By Box

Some people will say that you don’t need to have a price on things, let people ask and decide from there. This can work but is less than optimal. What happens when you have your sale without price tags is that people might not want to ask about a price, or they’ll just assume it’s more than they can afford. You’ll find yourself in a constant haggling game with everyone, and not all people like to haggle over price.

If you price items by the box you’re going to have a bad time. People like to pick things up and touch them at yard sales. Items are going to get mixed up, and put back in the wrong place. It’ll be a mess. Do your best to avoid this kind of pricing, as it’ll do little more than cause problems. You’ll end up spending more time keeping things organized than you would have if you had just priced everything in the first place.

Make A Sign

How is anyone going to know about your yard sale if you don’t have a sign or something letting them know when and where? This is where you can get creative. If you’ve never done marketing you can try your hand at it, and maybe try out a graphic design as well Signs can range from markers and paint mixers for posts, all the way up to inexpensive but professionally printed signs. Printing services in Los Angeles will be more than happy to help you create a sign that works for you. Just look for sign printing in Los Angeles and make sure everyone knows about your yard sale so that you can make bank.

Have Change On Hand

The easiest way to avoid nickels and dimes is to set everything at a flat price. ($1 for this, or $3 for that instead of $1.75 for this and $3.45 for that) You will still need change on hand because the odds of your customers having exact change is quite low. Have $10 in singles, 4 five-dollar bills, and at least 2 ten-dollar bills. This will help ensure you can make the change for people who want to buy from you. It also helps to have someone at the sale who can run to the bank if you find yourself in need of more change.

Sort Everything

You shouldn’t just toss everything on the lawn and call it a day. Sort things together so that if someone is looking at a toy, they’re with all of the other toys you have. This makes buying and browsing easier than it would be otherwise. People are also more inclined to make purchases if items are easier to find. Don’t underestimate the power of organization and clean presentation.