Garage sale tips

Garage sale tips

This guide has been designed to help you in planning a successful garage sale. If you follow this guide you are sure to have a successful garage sale, but before you have one, be sure to ask yourself the following questions.
  • How much time are you going to spend on preparing? Do you have some spare time that you can dedicate?
  • What condition are the items that you are selling in? Is there a particular age group that might be benefit from your items?
  • Is your home easily accessible for the sale or would a different location be more beneficial?
  • Will you be getting some help on the day of the
Once you have answered these questions and want to commence the planning of your garage sale, you should keep the following things in mind. Having a garage sale can be very rewarding both personally and financially. If you manage to sell most of the items that you don’t have any use for anymore, you will be able to save money on the shipment of your items and the weight that is involved. This might even be a great opportunity for you to clear out items that you haven’t used in a while and give them to a home that might have better use for them.

Tips for Garage Sales: Initial Steps

  • Check with your homeowner and make sure that you get their permission. Some homeowners will not allow you to have a sale, which is why it is important to think about this ahead of time.
  • Make sure to get in touch with your local town hall and check to see if there are any permits that you will need to conduct a garage sale. You could get fined if you get caught without the necessary permits.
  • Find out if your homeowners coverage covers liability for injuries a that any individual might sustain while on the property of your home.
  • Consider a block sale. Check in with your neighbors and find out if they are interested in joining you and having a sale of their own while you have yours. This can keep any permit costs down as you may share costs and may motivate them to get rid of some of their unwanted items as well. This can also invite more people, which means more chances of selling more.
  • Check to see if your community has a website where you can post your ideas. Even posting flyers in local supermarkets or schools can help bring awareness to your good cause.
  • Before hanging any flyers, please do check with your city council or local town hall. Not having a permit for this can also lead to unexpected fines, which you want to avoid.
  • Make sure that you have a few friends or family members that have cleared the day and will be there with you. It will be quite difficult to stay on top of everything alone. Giving each individual a role on the day can also be helpful ie. One can be in charge of money, one can be in charge of packing the item etc.
  • Start collecting cardboard boxes, shoping bags and plastic grocery bags for the day of the sale.

Tips for Garage Sales: Get Organized

Think about the value of the items and what price you will sell them at. You will certainly find a lot of value in some items than others but be sure to create a price that is realistic and not one that is emotionally driven. If you can’t manage to detach from the value, ask a friend to tell you how much they would invest in it.
Charge about 20 percent of the original cost. If the item is in good working order and/or excellent condition, the price is fair.
  • Used clothing and books usually bring in a lower price.
  • Leave some room for bargaining when pricing your items.
  • Be sure to inform the buyer of the items you are selling that do not work. Let them know it is an "as is" price.
  • Be certain to secure a tag to each item and record the costs on a sheet. This will assist you in keeping track of what you have sold and will assist you locating a price should the price tag fall off.
  • When you look at the items that you want to sell, be honest. There are some good items and there are some not so good items. That's okay. A way to ensure that those undesirable items will sell is to bundle them!
  • Sell items as a lot (or bundled). Put one or two great items in with one or two not-as-great items and sell them as a lot.

Bring in the buyers

Treat this garage sale like a retail business. Make sure you place your items in a way that will be appealing to customers. It is a garage sale but you can still organize it in a clean and tidy fashion. Think about what you notice when you enter a store, and use that in the display of your items. With any old clothes, be sure to hang them on a hanger and more importantly, wash and iron these items before selling them. You will see how much difference it makes when customers are deliberating whether to purchase the item or not.
  • Put like items together on the table or shelf.
  • Use signs to draw the potential customer to certain sections of the sale.
  • Organize the items as you see in a store.
  • If you are having a joint sale, be sure to mark your items with your own color tag but again, keep all like items together.
  • Polish silver or brass.
  • Clean all glasses and mirrors.
  • Basically, make items look appealing and they will sell.

Advertise cleverly and aggressively

  • Use signs, balloons, flags and banners and get them high enough off the ground for the average motoring public to see.
  • Use the Internet, as it is the fastest and cheapest way to reach a big population.
  • Run ads in the neighborhood paper.
  • Put signs on billboards in neighborhood stores.
  • Distribute announcements.
  • Use a map on your street signs to assist potential customers in finding your home.

Tips for Garage Sales: Be Safe

Garage sales attract honest buyers and the odd, dishonest person. As mentioned before, make sure you have a few people that can help you on the day of the move and assign roles to each person. Make sure that you are aware of any suspicious people that may show up. Have one of your friends walk around the area of the sale at all times to make sure that no one is stealing anything, and place smaller items that are easier to hide, closer to where you will be standing.
  • If you are able to do so, position all your items outside of the garage and close the door. It is best that you do not allow people access to the inside of your home.
  • Keep the money that you will use to make change on you at all times. A fanny pack or money belt works great for this.
  • Keep the doors to your residence locked.
  • You Did It!
Congratulations! You completed a successful garage sale with the help of New Times Moving garage sale tips. If there are items left over, consider donating them to the Salvation Army or your local charities. With our garage sale tips, your sale is sure to be a success!