Yard Sale Advice

J.,
My husband is a yard sale fanatic. We always have one each year and always seem to make a couple of hundred dollars. we never mark anything except for big ticket items. Everyone always will ask for a lower price. Always be willing to negotiate. Good luck!

Hi J.,
It sounds like you're set on having a yard sale. I had one a few months and it was a disaster. I seem to have much more luck with Ebay. I've always made much more money with Ebay. Right now they have a special. I received a link to refer someone so they get their first 3 listings free. I can forward this to you, if you like. If you do have a yard sale, I would like to check back here and see how you do and maybe you'll have some tips for all of us! :)
T. Reed

hi J.,
we have had sales, shopped at sales & asked people having the NUMEROUS sales every single week in our neighborhood. here's what we've learned:
if you have the time to do it for 3 days, start thursday morning instead of fri. go thurs, fri, sat.
start EARLY, if you can do 7 or 8, go for it.
price to sell. if you think about it, you're probably going to give to goodwill what you don't sell, so why not get .25cents for it? if you're not comfortable doing that, start your prices higher & reduce them by the final day. people will sometimes come back to see if an item they wanted went down in price.
don't set things on the ground. people are more likely to browse & buy if they don't have to bend over.
if you're able to, hang clothes AND pre sort them by size.
if you're selling any kids stuff whatsoever, put it on your sign!! kid's items are one of the #1 thing people look for in a sale.
consider making a flyer & tacking it up at your local grocery store. (most all of them have bulletin space).

good luck!! :)

J.,

Sounds like you are doing great...you are way ahead of me anyways....all of my "garage sale stuff" is still sitting in bags in the garage!!

Have you ever thought of teaming up with your neighbors and having one huge sale? Have you put up flyers at the end of the road? Have you advertised?

I hope this helps....let me know when you have your sale....I would love to come and take something off your hands!!

S.
aka Sale Queen

See if any neighbors want to go in with you. Check with your local paper about placing an Ad. Our street hosts 2/year one in spring and one in fall, everyone who participates puts in a dollar or two and lets the hostess know of any big ticket items for the ad and we always have a huge turn out. Put up very clear signs near the nearest big road and along the route the night before (make sure you take them down when you're done - some communities have rules about this kind of stuff). Obviously the more stuff you have the more you're likely to sell, make sure everything is clean and clearly labeled (items are much more attractive when you've put care into how you display them and more appealing to the buyer, plus it makes it easier to justify your pricing) Be willing to haggle on some items - if you don't want to take it back in the house take any reasonable offer - but you don't have to advertise that fact! Good luck!

well i have actually only done this once myself, currently i participate in sevearal group garage sales throughput the year where i don't have to actualy do it all myself but some tips that might help:
~price each item that you are going to sell, pricing by table is tough to keep track of
~half of a file card and a straight pin work great for listing prices on clothing and you can tape the cards to most other objects
~if it's a large sale seperate things by department, and clothing by size and hang clothing if possible
~advertise, here's the key to a great sale
~make sure you have lots of change and bags on hand
~if you are willing to negotiate prices make a large sign and let ppl know, a lot of ppl won't haggle if they feel insecure about it and will jsut leave without buying whatever teh item was
~same is true if you are planning on a half priced day at teh end of the sale, it won't keep ppl from coming the first day, they want to get items befoe someone else but it will bring buyers in even if most of the stuff is gone, but you must include this in your ad
~may sound strange but make sure teh area you are having teh sale is well lit and clean, try to eliminate any items taht aren't for sale and have plenty of space for teh items you are selling, ppl won't stop if it doesn't look like you have something good when they drive by
~and ensure parking as best as you can

hope some of this helps, good luck

Hi, I have been having a sale this weekend. It's a moving sale so I can leave things inside which is nice for easy close down and opening. I would say don't just throw away something you think is not good you would be surprised what some people will buy. I imagine they are willing to put time into fixing it up. If you really aren't comfortable putting a price on some thing then just have a free box and let people take from it. It's better then having things go to a landfill. My other advice is, price things with the thought in mind that many people will ask you to come down on your price. I priced many things extremely cheap and people still asked me to come down.Which is fine I just want to get rid of the stuff. Make sure your signs are easy to see and read from a car. the neon poster board with black marker works well. Also keep your money in a fanny pack even if you don't like how they look, because while most people are honest, some might try to distract you from your money box while someone else takes it. Put your best, bigger items where people can see them from the road. Oh and if you have a lot of small toys you could put out a small zip lock bag and let them fill it up for like .50 or so. Hope this helps!

Hello, If you will be selling children's items, be sure to put that on your signs. My neighbor did this well by drawing stick figures of a boy and a girl in addition to writing "children's items" I think that catches attention. Good Luck

I have had a few yard sales in the past. First make sure that you post it in the local paper. That was always successful for me. Also try to post signs on near by streets two days prior to the sale. Try to keep like items togeher at the sale. That way people can find things that they may be looking for. I hope that i was helpful
kathy

J.,

It might be getting a little late in the year to have a really good yard sale. You might want to store the things until the spring and then do it. I've found late May and June to be the best times for a sale. When you set up be very organized--put household things together on one table, kids stuff on a table, books/cds/dvds... together. The best things for clothes is to put them by size and then just charge a flat price $1.00 for pants, 50 cents for shirts...whatever you choose. Then make a couple of huge signs with the items listed and the prices. If you have more expensive outfits you want more for, hang them and label them individually with the price!! The biggest key to a great sale is awesome advertising. Hang signs (with arrows) on all the streets leading to your house! Choose bright colored signs and keep them the same so they are easy to follow!! Advertise in the paper and also there's a local yahoo group (NEOYard sales) that you can list your sale on for free!! In your ad include key words that will draw attention--girls clothes, toys... and be sure to include any big ticket items!! Good luck!
Kim