![Top Ten Tips for Garage Sale Success]()
by admin | Jul 22, 2018 | Clutter, Garage Sale, Saying Goodbye To Stuff, Selling stuff
Garage Sale Success
Garage sale season is upon us! Before you commit to clearing your clutter for cash, ask yourself this one important question, and be honest:
Do I have enough to sell to make it worth my time and effort, or should I just donate everything and be done with it?
If you answered, “Boy howdy, do I have enough!” go through the house gathering items to sell. Create an area for everything that’s “gotta go” and encourage family members to add things. The more, the merrier!
Here are my top ten tips for running a successful garage sale:
- Get other neighbors to join in. People are more likely to come if they can hit a handful of sales in a row.
- Advertise in your local paper, on Craigslist and facebook. Folks scan listings and plan their routes, so make sure they’ll find your sale. Photos are helpful, especially if you have big-ticket or unique items.
- Signs should be big, easy to read, and neatly written. Quality signs signal a quality sale – half the success is in your marketing and advertising. Most people read those signs from a moving vehicle!
- Price everything, and price it to sell. It doesn’t matter if you paid $10 and it’s practically new; if you’re not using it, the main goal is to get rid of it, not to recoup your cost. Use the computer to research prices.
- Display items on tables; hang clothing on a rack/clothesline. People don’t like to stoop to the ground or rummage through messy piles of stuff.
- Create “like with like” categories so people looking for tools will readily find them, books are together, holiday decorations are easy to see, and kitchen items have an area of their own.
- It pays to clean things. A damp microfiber cloth works miracles on dusty glassware, dishes, and decor.
- Be willing to haggle. If you know you want $25 for something, either mark it, “Price Firm” or mark it $29 so you can come down and still get what you want. BUT! It’s also ok to say “no” to a ridiculous offer. I’ve told people I will happily donate something rather than sell it for a foolish price.
- Make sure to have plenty of change on hand. I recommend $75 broken down like this: $28 in ones, $25 in fives, $20 in tens, plus $2 in quarters. People will give you a $20 bill for a $1 purchase.
- Have a check-out table and keep smaller, easy-to-steal items near you there. Sadly, sometimes people help themselves to things that are easy to pocket or highly desirable, such as collectibles, jewelry or video games.
After the sale:
- Schedule a charity pickup for leftovers the day after your sale. Promise yourself the stuff is NOT going back in the house. It’s time; let it go. However, sometimes it’s worth it to relist big-ticket items on Craigslist or other online venues if you want to take another shot at selling.
If possible, time your sale to coincide with another event in your neighborhood such as a festival, garden walk, or real estate open house. Anything that attracts people is great when you’re having a garage sale.
The more effort you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it. Make it a fun experience for people – offer treats, have some lively music playing, mix and mingle and even if it’s not true, act like you’re having fun!
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by admin | May 29, 2017 | Garage Sale, Saying Goodbye To Stuff, Selling stuff
Clutter-clearing garage sale season is upon us! Before you commit, ask yourself this one important question, and be honest:
Garage Sale Success
Do I have enough to sell to make it worth my time and effort, or should I just donate the stuff and be done with it?
If you decide to proceed, go through the house looking for items to sell. Pick an area where you can gather everything that’s “gotta go” and encourage other family members to add to the pile.
Here are my top ten tips for running a successful garage sale:
- Get a few neighbors to join in. People are more likely to come if they can hit a handful of sales in a row.
- Advertise in your local paper, on Craigslist and facebook. People scan listings and plan their routes, so make sure they’ll find your sale. If you have big-ticket or unique items, include photos in your online ads.
- Signs should be big, easy to read, and neatly written. Quality signs signal a quality sale – half the success is in your marketing and advertising. And remember, people need to be able to read your signs from a moving vehicle!
- Price everything, and price it to sell. It doesn’t matter if you paid $10 and it’s practically new; if you’re not using it, the main goal is to get rid of it, not to recoup your cost. Use the computer to research prices.
- Display items on tables; hang clothing on a rack/clothesline. People don’t like to stoop to the ground or rummage through messy piles of stuff.
- Put “like with like” so people looking for tools will readily find them, books are all together, holiday decorations are easy to see. Creating a pleasant shopping experience translates into more sales.
- It pays to clean things. A damp microfiber cloth works miracles on dusty glassware, dishes, and decor items.
- Be willing to haggle. If you know you want $25 for something, either mark it, “Price Firm” or mark it $29 so you can come down and still get what you want. BUT! It’s also ok to say “no” to a ridiculous offer. I’ve told people I’d rather donate something than sell it for what they’re offering.
- Make sure to have plenty of change on hand. I recommend $75 broken down like this: $27 in ones, $25 in fives, $20 in tens, plus $3 in quarters. That should be enough to get you started. People will offer you a $20 bill for a $1 purchase.
- Have a check-out table and keep small, easy-to-steal items near you on that table. I’m sorry to say, sometimes people help themselves to things that are easy to pocket or highly desirable, such as collectibles, jewelry or video games.
After the sale:
- Schedule a charity pickup for leftovers the day after your sale. Promise yourself the stuff is NOT going back in the house. It’s time; let it go. However:
- Relist leftover big-ticket items on Craigslist if you want to take another shot at selling. Here’s a link to a post I wrote about the good, the bad, and the ugly side of Craigslist.
If you can, schedule your sale to coincide with another event in your neighborhood such as a festival, garden walk, or real estate open house. Anything that attracts people is a good thing when you’re having a garage sale.
The more effort you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it. Make it a fun experience for people – offer treats, have some lively music playing, mix and mingle and even if it’s not true, act like you’re having fun! People are more likely to buy from someone with a smile than from Grumpy McGrump.
by admin | Jul 17, 2016 | Garage Sale, How to organize, Saying Goodbye To Stuff, Selling stuff
Clutter-clearing garage sale season is upon us! Before you commit, ask yourself this one important question, and be honest:
Garage Sale Success
Do I have enough to sell to make it worth my time and effort, or should I just donate everything and be done with it?
If you decide to proceed, go through the house looking for items to sell. Pick an area where you can gather everything that’s “gotta go” and encourage other family members to add to the pile.
Here are my top ten tips for having a successful garage sale:
- Get other neighbors to join in. People are more likely to come if they can hit a handful of sales in a row.
- Advertise in your local paper, on Craigslist and facebook. People scan listings and plan their routes, so make sure they’ll find your sale. If you have big-ticket or unique items, include photos in your online ads.
- Signs should be big, easy to read, and neatly written. Quality signs signal a quality sale – half the success is in your marketing and advertising. And remember, people need to read signs from a moving vehicle!
- Price everything, and price it to sell. It doesn’t matter if you paid $10 and it’s practically new; if you’re not using it, the main goal is to get rid of it, not to recoup your cost. Use the computer to research prices.
- Display items on tables; hang clothing on a rack/clothesline. People don’t like to stoop to the ground or rummage through messy piles of stuff.
- Put “like with like” so people looking for tools will readily find them, books are all together, holiday decorations are easy to see.
- It pays to clean things. A damp microfiber cloth works miracles on dusty glassware, dishes, and decor items.
- Be willing to haggle. If you know you want $25 for something, either mark it, “Price Firm” or mark it $29 so you can come down and still get what you want. BUT! It’s also ok to say “no” to a ridiculous offer. I’ve told people I’d rather donate something than sell it for what they’re offering.
- Make sure to have plenty of change on hand. I recommend $75 broken down like this: $27 in ones, $25 in fives, $20 in tens, plus $3 in quarters. That should be enough to get you started. People will offer you a $20 bill for a $1 purchase.
- Have a check-out table and keep smaller, easy-to-steal items near you on that table. I’m sorry to say, sometimes people help themselves to things that are easy to pocket or highly desirable, such as collectibles, jewelry or video games.
After the sale:
- Schedule a charity pickup for leftovers the day after your sale. Promise yourself the stuff is NOT going back in the house. It’s time; let it go. However:
- Relist leftover big-ticket items on Craigslist if you want to take another shot at selling.
If you can, time your sale to coincide with another event in your neighborhood such as a festival, garden walk, or real estate open house. Anything that attracts people is a good thing when you’re having a garage sale.
The more effort you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it. Make it a fun experience for people – offer treats, have some lively music playing, mix and mingle and even if it’s not true, act like you’re having fun! People are more likely to buy from someone with a smile than from Grumpy McGrump.
by admin | Jun 15, 2013 | Garage Sale, Selling stuff
Garage Sale Success
Garage sale season is upon us! Before you commit to having one, ask yourself this one important question, and be realistic:
Do I have enough to sell to make it worth my time and effort, or should I just donate everything and be done with it?
If you decide to proceed, be ruthless when going through the house looking for items to sell. Pick an area where you can gather everything that’s “gotta go” and encourage other family members to add to the pile.
Here are some tips for holding a successful garage sale:
- Signs should be big, easy to read, and neatly written. Quality signs signal a quality sale – half the success is in your marketing and advertising. And remember, people should be able to read signs from a moving vehicle!
- Get other neighbors to join in. People are more likely to come if they know they’ll be able to hit a handful of sales at the same time.
- Advertise in your local paper and on Craigslist. People scan the listings and plan out their route, so make sure they’ll find your sale. If you have some big-ticket items, include photos in your Craigslist ad.
- Price everything, and price it to sell. It doesn’t matter if you paid $10 and it’s practically like new; if you’re not using it, the main goal is to get rid of it, not to recoup your cost.
- Be willing to haggle. If you know you want $25 for something, either mark it, “Price Firm” or mark it $29 so you can come down and still get what you want.
- It’s also ok to say “no” to a ridiculous offer. I’ve sometimes told people that I’d rather donate something to a worthy cause than to sell if for what they’re offering me.
- Display items on tables; hang clothing on a rack/clothesline. People don’t like to stoop to the ground or rummage through messy piles of stuff.
- Put “like with like” so people looking for tools can easily find them, books are all together, holiday decorations are easy to see.
- It pays to clean things. A damp microfiber cloth works miracles on dusty glassware, dishes, and decor items.
- Make sure to have plenty of change on hand. I recommend $50 in ones, $30 in fives, $20 in tens, plus $5 in quarters. That should be enough to get you started. It’s amazing how many people will offer you a $20 bill for a $1 purchase.
- Have a check-out table set up, and keep smaller, easy-to-steal items near you on that table. I’m sorry to say, sometimes people try to help themselves to things that are either easy to pocket or highly desirable, such as collectibles, jewelry and video games.
- Schedule a charity pickup for leftovers the day after your sale. Promise yourself the stuff is NOT going back into the house. It’s time; let it go.
- List leftover big-ticket items on Craigslist if you want to take one more shot at selling.
Sometimes you can tie a sale in with another event in your area such as a festival, a garden walk, or a real estate open house. Anything that brings people to your neighborhood is a good thing when you’re having a garage sale.
The more effort you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it. Make it a fun experience for people – offer treats, have some lively music playing, mix and mingle and even if it’s not true, act like you’re having fun! People are more likely to buy from someone with a smile on her face than from Ms. Grumpy McGrump.
