Apr 25th, 2009
God help me, I’m having a garage sale (and not wearing a fanny pack)
God help me, I am going to have a Garage sale aka yard sale, aka garbage sale as I lovingly refer to them. Not to say the things we intend to sell are garbage, There is actually quite a bit of good stuff like a whole doctors choice queen size bed with frame, a working 32 inch TV and some other good stuff. It all came about because people in the neighborhood decided to have a neighborhood wide garage sale. At first we weren’t going to participate but we really want to pour a patio and it just hasnt been fitting in the budget. So now the goal is to get as much money as possible to put toward the patio (and get rid of some stuff in the process).
Its been a while since I have had a garage sale but I remember some strategies that helped last time.
Its all about Location - We are on the edge of town so if we were doing it by ourselves it wouldnt be worth it. Since the entire neighborhood is involved we will be much more likely to get people out and about.
Planning What You Will Sell- We will probably spent a decent amount of time just sorting through things to figure out what we want to sell. There are a few big things that we know of, but other than we really need to sit down and figure out what we want to try and sell.
Advertise- This is another time that having a multi family sale is helpful because everyone can help advertise. Put signs up, put an ad in the paper, advertise at grocery stores, on stickboards and wherever else you can think of.
Pricing- When you have a yard sale you should be prepared for some pricing negotiations. Keep that in mind when you price your items. I have heard from several people that roughly 1/3 to 1/4 of the cost of the item new can be a starting point. The advantage of prepricing is that it will save a ton of time on the actual sale day - and the annoyance of constantly having people ask how much something costs.
Money- Something to keep in mind is that you will have to make change for customers. Its probably a good idea to have a fair amount of change to start. Ive seen some tips on the internet to ‘wear a fanny pack.’ As it is not 1990 and I still have some dignity, I do not intend to wear a fanny pack.
Have power available for electronic items - If there is a TV, but no way to plug it in and test it, are you really going to buy it? Really?
Anyway I will report back with our earnings when it happens. Come on patio!
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Great tips there. I’ve never had a garage sale before but I really wanna have one. There’s so many stuff at home that I don’t need anymore that are all still in pretty good condition. It’s a great way to earn money and clear up the home at the same time.
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Might want to reconsider the fanny pack.
The reason people say to wear one is that it’s easy to drop a bill or two when pulling money out of your pocket over and over again all day long. It happens.
Helped a friend with a huge garage sale and we all used those cheap canvas fabric “tool belts” to hold dollar bills for change - they look like really short aprons. I really appreciated not having to pull the money out to make change - just reached in the pouch, counted, and pulled out only what I needed. No point in advertising that you’ve got a big was of bills on you.