Tips for a successful yard/garage sale?

[2curlydogs]

So I finally convinced H to settle on a date for our yard sale. Two weeks from now.

I'm planning on putting together a flyer, advertising on Craigslist, local Facebook "rummage" boards, and both of our employers intranets. I'm also considering putting a note in neighbors mailboxes seeing if they want to join in, as it seems "neighborhood rummage sales" do better in terms of generating traffic.

We've run one a few years ago and did ok, but I'm all for improvement. We have lots more stuff to sell.


Anyone have any tips? 

[mpc]

good signs! Signs with big arrows at every turn from the closest major road. This is my number one pet peeve. I don't always look up sales beforehand, but if I'm driving and see a sign, I will turn. If the sale is hard to find after that, I will turn around and skip it.

I prefer sales with prices on everything, and people who are reasonable about making deals. If I think it's a fair price, I'll just pay it, but if it seems a little high I like to be able to offer less.

[mrs.jacinthe]

Depending on your neighborhood's setup: One of our neighbors parked her car out on the road with giant posterboard (I assume) "YARD SALE" signs on the windshield and rear window with arrows pointing down our street. She got a LOT of traffic.

[sierramist03]

I think easy pricing helping. 25cents or dollar tables for clothes and such are easier than single priced items

[magdala]

Have on hand $25 in singles and $10 in quarters. Be realistic in pricing...yard sale prices for hard goods are generally 1/4 or less of retail. Any money that you get is found money. For clothing, it is usually much less. Place furniture in a prominent position. Furniture brings in higher dollar visitors. If you are selling electronics or lighting, have an extension cord handy to show that it works. Have a comfy chair for your tush, a tall cold drink and either a good book or a good friend (or two) to hang out.

[treedimensional]

Valium

[treedimensional]

May 26, 2015 13:16:02 GMT -5 RamblingRose said:

May 26, 2015 13:05:57 GMT -5 treedimensional said:

Valium

I stinking HATE yard sales, I always think I have priced things realistically, and then people offer 1/4 of the marked price right away. Never leave it unattended, so you probably need at least two people so you can take potty breaks, or possibly help people load.

This says it all. The thought of spending an entire day babysitting crap I don't want, then HAGGLING OVER IT to boot? This is where the Valium comes in for me. I'd rather do a 15 minute drive to Salvation Army and a tax write-off. I need a drink just thinking about having a yard sale!

[aprilludgate]

Fun yard sale signs. I don't go to yard sales, but I would maybe stop at something with signs like this: themagicbrushinc.com/garagesale/

Super cheap prices. People go to yard sales to find insanely good deals--things for a quarter, fifty cents, $1, etc. It's probably worth way more, but it's stuff you don't want and are probably going to donate later anyway. The small prices will add up, and you'll have less stuff to deal with later.

My husband and I participated in our neighborhood yard sale last year. We had ridiculous prices; I think we sold a wii with a bunch of accessories and games for $50. I don't think we had anything else over $5. We got rid of most of our stuff, and we had a couple hundred dollars at the end of the day. Our neighbors all had prices that were slightly cheaper than consignment store prices, sat outside much longer than us and sold almost nothing.

One of our neighbors bought individually packaged snacks (crackers, candy bars, etc.) and drinks from Sam's to sell. They actually sold quite a bit, especially right before lunch.

Don't put anything on the ground. Put stuff on blankets if you run out of table space, but not directly on the ground. Most people won't look at stuff that's directly on the ground. I read this online somewhere before our yard sale last year, and I think it was helpful.

We just moved, but a charity in the last town we lived in would actually come pick up the stuff at your house if you called them ahead of time. Look around and see if you can find something similar, so when you decide you're done you can actually be done.

[downtoearth]

Cheap prices and don't get emotionally attached. Just sell it or give it away at the end of the day so you don't have to move it all.

Neighborhood sales are good b/c you get to see more stuff in one stop.