Garage sales are easy to do. You simply open your garage and put up some signs, then wait for people who want to buy your items.
If you are willing to put in a little work, your garage sale will be more successful and you’ll make more money.
You should do everything you can to make your garage sale a success. You can make your garage sale more memorable with a few simple tricks.
You should first ask yourself whether you even want to have a garage sales.
Table of Contents
When to Have a Garage Sale
Plan Your Garage Sale
Sale Day Tips
After Sale
When to Have a Garage Sale
Garage sales are not recommended if you’re extremely busy. Donating your items to a charity store is the best option if you want to declutter but don’t have much time.
Your space will remain clutter-free and you’ll help a business stay open.
Garage sales are not the best choice if you have only a few items that collect dust. If the items have value, you might consider listing them on eBay.
Selling online is easier than ever. It shouldn’t take too long to list some items and see if any sell.
Facebook Marketplace is a great option if you do not want to worry about shipping. You can also list your local items on Craigslist or Letgo.
If you have the time to do it and a lot of stuff to sell, then a garage sales is the best option. If you are having a garage sale over two days, I would say that 20-40 hours is a reasonable time frame to plan for.
You’ll need to spend several hours going through your merchandise, setting everything up and promoting it. And you should keep the sale running for at least eight hours every day.
Last but not least, you should check if your home is allowed to host garage sales. Some homeowners associations do not allow garage sales to be held at any time. Instead, they set dates for the neighborhood sales.
Check the rules in your neighborhood and ask your local government if a permit is required.
Plan Your Garage Sale
The next step after deciding to hold a sale is to choose a date. Check the weather forecast to plan your sale around it.
Garage sales are best held on weekends. Your garage sale can begin as early as you like during the week.
You shouldn’t expect many people to come during normal business hours on the weekend. Plan to begin the sale at a time that suits you so people have plenty of time to stop by before their day begins.
Declutter your house and organize the items
A garage sale can be a good idea because you will have a reason for going through your entire property and getting rid of anything you do not need.
You might as well take the time to go through each item in your home and decide whether you want to keep or dispose of it.
You can get rid of an item if you haven’t touched it in a while and if there’s no sentimental value. You will be able to simplify your life by reducing the amount of things you own. This will also give your mind more room to focus on more important issues.
Imagine that every time you pass an object that has no value to you, your brain must process it. Add hundreds of items to the mix and you’ve got a lot to prepare.
It’s important to search in all corners and crevices to find things that you may have completely forgotten. Are you storing anything in a storage shed or unit? Check to see if you can throw anything away.
Try to group similar items when you find things to sell. Sort out the toys, clothes, and electronics. This will make it much easier to arrange everything when you are ready to.
Do not throw away items that you believe are worthless until the sale is over. You might be surprised by what people will buy. You can sell anything that you don’t think will sell for 25 cents each.
Garage Sale Advertising
The way you promote your garage sale can determine the number of people who attend and how much you make.
You will have more customers if you invest a lot in your advertising.
Advertise Your Garage Sale Online
You can post your garage sale on several websites. The majority of them will ask for a picture.
Canva is a great website to use if you don’t already have an image of the item you want to work with.
It is possible to keep things simple, but still highly effective.
You should also advertise the sale online several days in advance, so that people who regularly shop at garage sales can plan their route.
It’s a good idea to include any nearby landmarks in your listing.
Facebook
Facebook is an excellent place to promote your garage sale. You can advertise it on your Facebook Marketplace, on local garage sale groups and on your Facebook profile.
Join the garage sale groups in your locality by searching “garage sale” and “yard sale” on Facebook.
Facebook Marketplace offers a garage sale category, so feel free to post your garage sale. A photo, such as the one shown above, will allow people to easily see the date and location of your garage sale.
Craigslist
Craigslist is a great place to advertise your garage sale. Many people search for bargains on the site. Listing your sale on Craigslist has another benefit!
Yard Sale Treasure Map is an app that pulls listings from Craigslist. This allows you to get more ads without doing any additional work.
Letgo
Letgo is a similar app to Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist.
You can create an account in a few minutes and list your garage sale. This app may attract people that you wouldn’t reach on Craigslist and Facebook.
OfferUp
Letgo and OfferUp are very similar. OfferUp is another place where you can advertise for free and possibly get more people interested in your sale.
You can also advertise your garage sale through these garage sale-specific websites.
Yard Sale Search
Gsalr.com
Garage Sale Finder
Garage Sale Tracker
You can advertise your garage sale in a variety of places. It’s not necessary to advertise in all of them. The more you advertise, the greater the chance that people will see it.
Advertise in Your Local Newspaper
It might be worth paying for an advertisement if you have a newspaper in your area. If you decide to do this, you will need to find out how much it costs to place an ad.
Place Signs on the Street
Signs with arrows placed next to the road are a great way to promote a garage sales. The more signs you place, the greater the chance that people will see them.
Keep your road signs simple because drivers can’t read long descriptions.
All you need is a large, bright sign that says “Huge Yard Sale”, with arrows pointing to your home. If you feel it’s important, include the dates and times of the sale.
Signs at each turn will make it easy for people to find your sale. It’s amazing how many times I have turned down a street to find a yard sale only to be disappointed when I couldn’t find any signs.
Signs made of thin paper will be bent by the wind and are difficult to read.
If you put 3 or 4 garage sale signs that look different at an intersection, the people will assume there are several sales and more likely to turn. The people will quickly discover that all the signs point to your garage sale.
How to price garage sale items
Garage sales are popular because people can find items at a low price. You can sell items on eBay and Facebook Marketplace for more money if you have things you want to make a lot of cash from.
Here are some prices you can use to guide your decision:
Clothing
You should price clothing as low as you feel comfortable, unless it’s brand-new.
Jackets: $5-$15
Shirts: $1-$3
Pants: $2-$5
Shoes: $1-$5
Baby Clothes – $1 to $4
Hats + Accessories: $0.25-$2
Electronics
Old video game consoles $5 to $20 (if they are old, you may want to sell them online).
Old video games $1 to $5
TVs, radios, etc: $2-$10
Blue rays: 2-6 dollars
DVDs: $1-$3
VHS: $0.25-$1
Home Items
Furniture: $5 to $50 (post higher end items on Facebook).
Kitchenware: $1-$10
Decorations: $1-$5
Cups/mugs: $0.25-$1
Toys & Games: $0.50 – $5
Bundled prices are a great way to encourage people to purchase more products at once.
If you sell shirts at $2 each, consider a package price of three shirts at $5.
Some items, such as tools or other expensive things, may be sold. If you want to sell them, make sure they are priced at a fair price.
When they arrive at your sale, most people won’t pay more than $20. They will only pay if you offer a better price than anywhere else.
Make Prices Stand Out
Use masking tape with a Sharpie to add prices to every item. When you buy tape, choose a color that is bright if you don’t have any.
Place signs that clearly indicate the price of bundles near the bundled products.
Sale Day Tips
You have advertised your sale on the Internet and in the streets. All that is left to do is set up everything the morning of your sale!
Start by deciding which items you want to place on the tables. It’s best to place your more expensive items on tables so that you can see them and customers.
Don’t leave out any small items that you are trying to sell for more than $100. One time, I opened the box of an iPhone at a sales.
I asked the woman running the sale, when I saw the box empty, if she just wanted to sell it. The phone was stolen from the box by someone who had been there earlier. This shouldn’t happen to you.
You can use blankets to cover the ground if you don’t own enough tables. Sort the items into categories. Place all similar items into that category.
By categorizing, people can browse more quickly and find things that interest them. I’ve attended many sales where the items were scattered. It’s much more difficult to sort through everything that way.
Make sure that everything looks as good as you can. Presentation is important. You’ll also sell more items if you organize your products well.
Do not make people search through bags and boxes. You might have missed something that would be of interest to them because you did not want to spend the extra time to arrange everything.
Play Some Background Music
You may have noticed that music was not playing in a store recently. You probably haven’t, but if you did, then you may have noticed that it was unusually quiet. Music can increase sales in retail environments, according to research.
It’s true that your garage is not the same as Target. But a little background tune can go a long ways to make your customers feel relaxed and welcome.
You should stick to music that is family-friendly or instrumental. Keep the volume low to create a calming effect.
You might also find that background music helps you to get through your day.
Bring Your Family Along
Get your young children involved as much as you can in the sales process. Customers will find it harder to bargain if you have a cute child! Lemonade stands are also a classic option.
You can get your teenagers involved by letting the cash they receive from selling their items. This is a great way to engage them and have them spend some time with you on the weekend.
Handling Cash
Before the sale begins, it is important to make sure you have enough change.
You’ll lose out on a potential sale if someone comes in with a $20 note and you don’t have change.
Keep all your cash in one place and in a container where you can easily get the right change.
Take the excess cash home periodically once sales begin to roll in. This way, you won’t need to worry about your money being stolen.
Do not let anyone into your home. Keep all the doors locked.
If someone asks to use your bathroom, direct them to the nearest public restroom. You will not have the time to worry about someone using your bathroom while you are running the sale.
You will be approached by people who want to bargain with you. You should be ok with some negotiation since it’s a garage-sale.
You don’t have to give away your things. Tell them politely if someone is offering a low price.
After Sale
Don’t leave items in your yard overnight if your sale will last more than one day.
I’ve attended several sales at which electronics and clothing were sopping wet because they had been left out overnight. I didn’t purchase anything.
You’ll have to do more work to store your items for the night. But you don’t need to risk ruining them by allowing them to get wet.
You have two options when the sale ends and you realize you’ve got a lot to sell. You can list all the items for free online, or donate them to a charity shop.
I think it’s a good idea to donate your items, because most thrift shops have charitable programs and rely on donations for their business. Donations can be deducted from your taxes.
Decide what you are going to do with that money! Your financial situation will determine what you do with your money.
You can pay off debt, create an emergency fund, save for future expenses, or invest.
You should treat yourself to a small amount of money, no matter what you decide. You deserve it for having such a great garage sale!
This article was originally published on Wealth of Geeks. It has been republished by permission.
