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Decide when you want to have your
sale. Give yourself plenty of time to get ready for your sale. Watch
the weather forecast and try to hold your sale on a nice weekend. If you
are holding your sale outside, it's smart to be prepared to cover your
items with a sheep of plastic in case it starts to rain.
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Decide where you want to have the
sale. Make it convenient to attend your sale. It's best to have
your sale in an area that can be easily seen. (The garage, front yard, driveway, sidewalk, inside the house,
front porch, patio, back yard, vacant lot, neighbor's yard, etc.)
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Decide what you want to sell. For
some of you, knowing what to sell is a no-brainer. During the course of
time you have somehow acquired things that you don't want or don't need.
For others, having a garage sale may be out of a financial need. If you
need to make some fast cash, this is a great way to do it. Selecting
items to sell is more difficult if you don't really want to part your
belongings but your need for fast cash is critical. I've been there a
few times myself so I know how it feels. If you have some valuable,
rare, or expensive items to sell, don't expect to get top dollar for
them at a garage sale. You would be better off advertising them in the
newspaper or on Craigslist. For example, if you need to sell a $300
Versace handbag in your garage sale, you may not find anyone who
understands the value of it and is willing to pay what it is worth. And
if you need to sell the item in a hurry to make pay your rent, you may
be left holding the bag. (pun intended)
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Advertise your sale. You
may want to place an ad in your local newspaper classifieds to advertise
your sale. Most newspapers have a garage sale section. Place the ad
several days prior to your sale. Put a short list of your items in the
ad, put in your address and zip code so people can use map quest to find
you more easily. Put in the dates and time of your sale. Do not put in
your phone number. You may want to put in the phrase "NO EARLY
BIRDS" to keep pushy and rude people from knocking at your door at
6AM. Some people may still show up early but you do not have to sell to
them until you open your sale at the specified time.
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Make signs showing the way to your
sale. Make your signs easy to see. Use a big black felt pen and
brightly colored craft paper from your local hardware store. Use arrows
to direct people and traffic to your location.
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Clear the area to make enough room.
Move out or cover up any items you do not want to sell. Sweep the area
and make it reasonably clean. Clear the pathway and remove of all debris
and potential trip hazards.
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Determine how you want to display your
items. Do you have folding tables you can use? Can you borrow some
tables from friends, relatives or neighbors? Some items can be laid out
on the grass or on the driveway but be careful that items are not
tripped upon or can be broken if accidentally stepped on.
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Select the items you want to sell.
Place the items in boxes or put them in a out of the way location until
your tables are set up. If your cars are in the garage, you may not want
to set up the tables until the morning of your sale. You will have to
get started a couple of hours before you plan on opening your sale. The
more help you have the less time it will take to get ready.
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Organize and Display your items
neatly. If you have clothing to sell, make sure it is clean.
Separate it into age groups. Use hangars to display clothing when
possible. Put hand tools, electrical equipment and other heavy items in
a separate area away from toys and other items designed for children.
Put glassware and other breakables on a sturdy table. Place jewelry and
other valuables near your cashbox so you can keep an eye on them.
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Mark your items clearly with stickers
or masking tape. Customers tend show up in waves so be prepared to
be overwhelmed with questions about your items. Put prices on
everything. Stickers sometimes fall off so be prepared to respond when
asked "how much is this?".
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Be prepared to negotiate. Be
prepared make some deals. It's part of the game. Everyone wants to get a
good deal at garage sales. If your prices are too high, nobody will buy
anything. If you price too low, you are giving your stuff away. Price
your items with the understanding that your customers are going to offer
you less than you are asking. A customer may offer you $2.00 for an item
you priced at $5.00. Be prepared to say "How about $4.00 for
it?" They will usually respond with an offer of three bucks and you
should be willing to accept it or not. One round of negotiation is
usually all it takes. They make you an offer, you come down from your
price a little bit, they make a counter offer and then you either accept
or decline. If it gets too complicated most customers will
retreat.
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Standing firm on your prices. When
you price your items, you may want to stand firm on a few items that
have substantial value. You may be selling a queen size bed that you
know is well worth the $200.00 you are asking. In this case, you may be
offered less and may want to refuse the offer. Instead of just saying
no, it is better to reinforce the value of the item to the customer
rather than refuse their offer outright. You could respond by saying
something like "I paid $600 for this bed just one year ago and it
was only slept on a few times. It's a high quality model (mention the brand
name) and I know
it's well worth what I am asking. Why don't you give me your phone
number and if it doesn't sell by Sunday afternoon I will give you a call".
Usually the customer will hum and haw around for a few minutes will then
return to either offer you what you are asking or give you
their phone number. Never give out your home phone number to a stranger.
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Have sufficient change on hand. It
happens almost every time. As soon as you open your sale, someone shows up to
buy a two dollar item and hands you a twenty dollar bill. Be prepared
for this. Have a few ones and fives on hand. You
need to have some nickels, dimes and quarters on hand too. Your lowest
item may be priced at one dollar but your customers are going to offer
you less. "will you take fifty cents for this?".
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Security is very important. There
are lots of people who will take advantage of you if they have the
opportunity. This is especially true with garage sales. Some people will
steal items when you are not watching or are very busy helping other
customers. Some people will switch price
tags and hope you don't notice. Other people may try to steal your money
so don't leave it unattended. It is smarter to keep your money in your
pocket than to have it sitting inside a cigar box on a card table. It is
wise to keep
your house locked up. Some people may try to rob your home while you are
busy tending the sale. Keep all your doors and windows locked during your
sale unless you have friends or family inside keeping an eye on things.
Never let strangers inside your home while you are having a sale. Some customers may try to
get inside by asking to use the restroom or to make a phone call. Do not
allow this. Do not allow anyone inside
your home during your sale, not even young children who say they have to
go potty real bad. Just say "I'm sorry I can't help you with
that."
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Open your sale. Alright, it
is the morning of your sale. Get up, have your breakfast and then make
some sandwiches for your lunch ahead of time. Set up your sale and put
prices on all your items. Lock up you house and have someone stand guard
while you head out to put up the sale signs you have made. Take a hammer
and nails to put your signs on power poles and/or duct tape to attach
your your signs to other poles. (like those metal poles that hold up
stop signs)
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After the sale. You are going to
be very tired at the end of your sale, and you are going to want to
relax, eat and get some rest. You may want to skip doing some important
things. Be sure to secure your money. Don't just leave it laying around.
Don't put it in your purse and leave it on the kitchen table. Put it
away in a safe and secure location. Next, close your sale by taking down
the signs that lead people to your home. If you are having your sale the
next day, put the signs back up in the morning.
How to get ready for your garage sale