In this site...
Remember Food
In addition to regular garage sale fare, consider selling baked
goods, cold drinks, or fresh garden produce. Shoppers often find themselves
hungry and thirsty, especially after shopping multiple sales.
Clean It Up
Make sure the outside of your home has a neat, clean appearance on
the day of your sale. It will give shoppers the impression that you are a
meticulous person who most likely took good care of the items that are now for
sale.
How to Have a Successful Garage Sale
by
Brenda King
When combined with adequate planning, a garage sale can be a fun way to earn extra spending money. Follow these suggestions for a safe, successful sale.
Check the Law
Research your local garage sale laws. Some localities have restrictions on when and how often a home owner can hold a sale.
Research your local garage sale laws. Some localities have restrictions on when and how often a home owner can hold a sale.
Choose What To Sell
Keep in mind that most garage sale shoppers are looking for a bargain, and are not prepared to pay premium prices for valuable items. If you have valuable collectible, antique, or jewelry items, consider selling them on eBay where they are likely to bring a higher price.
Keep in mind that most garage sale shoppers are looking for a bargain, and are not prepared to pay premium prices for valuable items. If you have valuable collectible, antique, or jewelry items, consider selling them on eBay where they are likely to bring a higher price.
Clothing should be in good, clean condition. A pile of dirty, tattered clothes will leave your shoppers with the impression that all your items are of inferior quality.
Promote
Use multiple venues to inform the public of your sale. Here are the most common:
Use multiple venues to inform the public of your sale. Here are the most common:
- Newspapers - Place ads in both city and county newspapers.
- Community Bulletin Boards - Many public places have a bulletin board for announcements and ads. Look for them at libraries, grocery stores, and community centers.
- Word-of-Mouth - Tell friends, coworkers, and acquaintances about your sale, and invite them to tell others.
- Flyers - Descriptive flyers can tell prospective shoppers everything they need to know about your sale. Print the flyers from your home computer, and ask friends to help you distribute them.
- Signs - When creating signs, think BIG. Make sure all writing can easily be read from the road. If your local laws allow for it, post signs at every high-traffic corner within two miles from your home, in addition to an eye-catching sign at the end of your driveway. Attach balloons for added emphasis. (Note: Before posting signs, find out what your local government's policies are about sign placement. Some localities prohibit placing signs next to intersections.)
No matter what forms of advertising you choose, be sure to include basic information such as dates, times, items to be sold, and driving directions. If you do not welcome early birds (shoppers who arrive earlier than the advertised opening time), make sure to include a "No Early Birds" note.
Combine Sales
For added public interest, talk to your neighbors about having a neighborhood sale. Many garage sale enthusiasts only shop neighborhood sales because they require less driving time.
For added public interest, talk to your neighbors about having a neighborhood sale. Many garage sale enthusiasts only shop neighborhood sales because they require less driving time.
If a neighborhood sale is not possible, consider inviting friends and relatives to sell items at your sale. The more sellers you have, the more items you will have for sale, which usually results in greater buyer interest. You will also save money and time by splitting advertising costs and work duties.
Price Fairly
Garage sale shoppers are usually bargain hunters, so price your items fairly. It's not necessary to give things away, but neither do you want a lot of unsold items left after the sale. Visit other garage sales, consignment shops, and thrift stores to find out what your items are worth.
Garage sale shoppers are usually bargain hunters, so price your items fairly. It's not necessary to give things away, but neither do you want a lot of unsold items left after the sale. Visit other garage sales, consignment shops, and thrift stores to find out what your items are worth.
Expect some buyers to barter with you on the prices. This is normal, and part of what makes garage sale shopping interesting.
Be Prepared
Have everything priced and neatly arranged on tables or racks the night before. Set up a cashier's area stocked with bags (plastic grocery bags work well), a calculator, a cordless phone, paper, and pens. Make sure to have an adequate number of coins and small bills on hand for making change. Post any applicable policy notices such as "No Personal Checks," "No Bills Higher than $20 Accepted," and "All Sales Final."
Have everything priced and neatly arranged on tables or racks the night before. Set up a cashier's area stocked with bags (plastic grocery bags work well), a calculator, a cordless phone, paper, and pens. Make sure to have an adequate number of coins and small bills on hand for making change. Post any applicable policy notices such as "No Personal Checks," "No Bills Higher than $20 Accepted," and "All Sales Final."
If you are having a yard sale instead of a garage sale, you may be unable to set everything up the night before. Instead, have everything priced and neatly stacked inside your home the previous evening. On the morning of the sale, ask friends or relatives to help you quickly move the items to tables set up in your yard.
Be Safe
Always make sure to have at least one other person help you on the day of the sale. Scam artists and other criminals will be less likely to target your sale if you are not alone. Depending on your neighborhood, it may also be good to ask your husband or another man to be present as a show of protection.
Be Safe
Always make sure to have at least one other person help you on the day of the sale. Scam artists and other criminals will be less likely to target your sale if you are not alone. Depending on your neighborhood, it may also be good to ask your husband or another man to be present as a show of protection.
Never allow strangers to enter your home under the guise of trying on clothes, using the restroom, or making a phone call. (If you want to allow shoppers to use your phone, let them use the cordless phone you have in the garage with you.) It is a sad but inescapable fact of life that such precautions are necessary in today's world. When you allow a stranger (male or female) into your home unattended, you leave the door open for theft, or worse.
Discourage Fraud
Never work alone. As described above, having friends and family present at your sale will help discourage criminal activity.
Never work alone. As described above, having friends and family present at your sale will help discourage criminal activity.
Safeguard the money. For maximum security, keep it in a fanny pack around your waste. If you have it in a box on the cashier's table, make sure you or one of the workers are next to it at all times.
Be on the lookout for possible shoplifters and scam artists. Shoplifters will often bring a child or second adult with them, to help distract you during their thefts.
Be especially watchful for the following common scams:
Be especially watchful for the following common scams:
- A customer purchases a large quantity of items, and offers to help box or bag it up for you. After doing so, she claims to have counted up how much money she owes from the items in the box that she filled herself. Many people do this and are honest, but others lie about the total, hoping that you will never notice. A good remedy for this is to politely inform customers that you need to go through the bag in order to properly record what is being sold. (Most multi-seller sales have color coded price tags, allowing the cashier to easily record how much each seller is selling. If you are the only seller, you can still politely tell the customer that you are recording which items you are selling.)
- Someone purchases a large quantity, pays, and leaves. An hour or two later she returns, insisting that she did not get everything she paid for. She may claim that the item is no longer there and must have been sold to another person. Either way, she is hoping that you will grant a monetary refund or corresponding "store credit." Be especially suspicious if she is angry but continues to browse through your unsold items. Most people who are truly convinced that they were "shorted," will not be eager to make a second purchase.
- Someone asks you if you have change for a high bill, such as a $50 or $100. When you open your money pouch or box, they tuck the bill back into their pocket or purse, hoping you will hand them the change and forget that you never took the high bill from them. Always take the customer's money first, before starting to make change. Either keep it in one hand, or lay it next to the money box until you have handed them the change. If you tuck their payment away before making change, they can say, for example, that they gave you a $100 bill instead of a $50 bill.
- A buyer tucks smaller item into a larger one, hoping you won't notice. Always look inside large things such as hampers, ice chests, large purses, etc.
Have Fun
Remain cautious, but above all, have fun at your sale! Welcome all shoppers with a friendly smile and greeting. You never know when you will make a new friend.
Remain cautious, but above all, have fun at your sale! Welcome all shoppers with a friendly smile and greeting. You never know when you will make a new friend.
About the Author:
Brenda
King is the director of
PositivelyFeminine.org. She and
her husband Mike live in Ohio
and have one son. In her
spare time she enjoys reading,
writing, hiking, and working on
the computer.
Photo of market is by Thera Aarnoudse.