The decision to hold a garage or yard sale to get rid of unused items is usually made either when people are moving or when the garage and basement are overflowing with clutter.
We have become a disposable society and items once thought to be essential often become useless rubbish over time. Exercise equipment is a case in point.
Organizing A Garage Sale
When holding a garage sale, the first and probably most important job is to dig through all the items and decide what will make a good, garage sale item. After making the selection check for breakage and make sure to wash and clean everything.
Next, organize the garage sale stuff into sections, i.e., kitchen ware, living room, knickknacks, toys, etc. If the sale is held in an actual garage, remove all vehicles or items not included in the garage sale.
Pricing Garage Sale Items
Another important task when having a garage or yard sale is pricing the garage sale items. Most people don’t like to guess or haggle over the price of things. Color-coded, small post-it notes make good price tags.
Garage sale novices often make the mistake of overpricing garage sale items. The point of most garage sales is to rid the household of clutter, so it is better to under price rather than over price things.
Many seasoned, garage sale devotees’ travel from sale to sale looking for bargains and will leave quickly if they don’t see one. The price shouldn’t be carved in stone, however, be prepared to haggle if needed.
Another great garage sale idea, which can entice shoppers to buy, is a free table. Customers buying any priced items can select one free, garage sale item from a free table. The free table can consist of a selection of inexpensive kitsch or small kitchen items, toys or books.
Adult clothing is not usually a good seller at home-based garage sales. Baby and young childrens' apparel, however, is often popular. Small children outgrow rather than wear out clothing, so the items are often in almost new condition.
Advertising A Garage Sale
Advertising a garage sale can be as simple as putting up signs on the lawn or posting them on street corners a few blocks away. Running a garage sale ad in the newspaper is a good idea. The ad might cut into profits, but it might also draw more customers.
One advantage of a newspaper ad is the paper often provides a garage sale kit. The kit may consist of signs and tags for pricing items.
On the day of the garage sale be prepared with a cash box that has a lock and contains a float to offer change. Also have bags on hand for purchased items. Clean, used grocery or shopping bags are best.
Providing a free cup of coffee is also a good draw. This keeps customers browsing longer and possibly spying more items to buy.
If possible have at least one other person on hand to help sell and keep an eye on things at the garage or yard sale. Like many other places of commerce, garage sales often attract shoplifters. Never leave garage sale items or the cash box unattended.
Holding a garage sale can be an exciting, profitable venture. Great garage sales are the result of planning and a lot of hard work.
Sheila Aylesworth - Sheila Aylesworth is a retired Student Resource Assistant. Her responsibilities included positive, communication with people from all ...
