Garage Sale Survival Tips
By Deborah Shelton
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1. Advertise and they will come. Most small community newspapers offer free garage sale notices, so take advantage of that. If possible, organize a multi-family sale and list a few of the items that will be available. If deed restrictions in your neighborhood allow it, handwritten "bandit" signs posted in the area will attract more people. Please remember to keep the neighborhood beautiful by removing the signs when your sale is over!
2. The more, the merrier. People are more likely to shop at your sale if there is a crowd gathered. This is another reason multi- family sales work so well. If you're hosting your own sale, ask friends and family to stop by and help out. Their presence will spark interest for the passers-by and their help will come in handy when the "real" crowd shows up.
3. Cha ching! Be reasonable about pricing. As proud as you and your mother are of the still-life bowl of fruit you painted in the eighth grade, no one will give you $200 for it. If you can't bear to see it sold for less, then keep it in the house.
4. Pennies belong in the piggybank. Don't give items small price amounts such as a nickel or quarter because it's too much change to deal with. Instead, group low-priced items together such as paperback books 4 for $1, or silverware 4 for $1.
5. Hey--can I borrow your label maker? Instead of pricing each and every marble and knickknack, groups same-priced objects together and use a general price sign.
6. Piles and aisles. A table display that is too neat and organized will make people feel uncomfortable about rifling through your goods. You don't want the display to be too disorganized either. Potential customers may think it's just a pile of junk and keep driving to the next sale. Find a happy medium.
7. Don't forget the early bird. Even if your sale officially opens at 9 in the morning, make sure to at least have the higher- priced items such as appliances, baby strollers, carriers, etc,. out at around seven. That's when the professional garage sale shoppers claim their booty. You don't want to miss out.
8. Of course it works! Always have at least one extension chord available for testing appliances. Veteran garage salers won't take your word that a 10-year-old vacuum works as good as the day you bought it.
9. Seeing is believing. If at all possible, hang clothes on a rack or fence so they can be easily viewed from the street. Avoid crumpled piles. If you have really nice clothes (no stains or holes), take them to a consignment shop to get back a little what you paid for them.
10. Your trash will not be your treasure. If you still have leftovers near the end of the sale, put everything into a "FREE" box. Nothing goes back into the house!
About The Author:
Deborah Shelton is the author of The Five Minute Parent: Fun & Fast Activities for You and Your Little Ones.
Feedback About This Post:
RE: Garage Sale Survival Tips
Also try grouping like priced things on one table and putting a sign that says "All books $1" instead of marking each one, will help reduce your energy.
Post by Allison5
RE: Garage Sale Survival Tips
RUDE PEOPLE: Several years back we were moving to a much smaller home & had to sell everything we owned so we had 3 HUGE garage sales to do this. We lived in a middle to upper-middle class neighborhood & what surprised me the most were the totally rude people. Be careful not to get bullied by people like these. For example, I was selling a ruby-type glass tumbler & this gal asked me if I had another one, so I said I'd go & have a look. Well, unbeknownst to me she followed me into my house & into the kitchen & started going through my cupboards! I had the hardest time getting her to leave because she all of a sudden pretended to not speak very good English.
Another rude behavior was people getting mad & angry about prices (I'm an avid garage-saler & thrift-shopper so I know how to price...very low!). Some of my finer pieces of furniture were marked at $20 - $30 & even though they were marked people would get downright angry that I wouldn't sell them for five dollars. Just keep a happy attitude & realize that most people are super-friendly & wonderful. Just keep smiling!
Lastly, mark things up a tiny bit. People expect to haggle. If you want $1 for something then ask $1.50, if you want $20 for something then ask $25. If you want a dime for something then ask for a quarter (I disagree with #4, people love to buy things for a quarter!). Also have a box marked "FREE" for some of the things you just want to get rid off. You may add to it towards the end of the sale.
If you run an ad in your local paper or on Craig's List make sure you post "No sales before 9:AM (or whatever) or you'll have the early birds knocking on your door before you're ready. Usually these early birds are people who make their livings re-selling good deals they find.
Post by Cyinda
RE: Garage Sale Survival Tips
Can I just add something that I don't think people really think about. I'm an avid yard/garage saler. I am out there every weekend looking for bargains and have been inside many garages, porches, basements...etc. One thing that puts me right off a sale is a stinky garage/basement or stinky clothing. I don't think people who are having the sale take notice to the odors around them and their things.
I entered a garage a few weekends ago and had to quickly exit as the entire garage smelled of dog urine. It was strong and uncomfortable to be in. I noticed others entering and leaving quickly too. So I wasn't the only one. This wasn't the first time. I've been in musty moldy basement sales too. It's very off putting and I often will not purchase anything from these sales for fear the smell may be absorbed into the items.
Clothing is often stored in boxes and trash bags leaving them smell strange too. I once got $10.00 worth of infant clothing home only to have to throw it all away due to a strange smell that wouldn't wash out, obviously from the container they were stored in.
So if your planning a sale, take notice of any foul smells your garage may have. Sniff your stored clothing too, don't just check for stains, check for odors as well.
Post by SusLuvsVintage
RE: Garage Sale Survival Tips
I do price things for a quarter, and sometimes a dime. When I had kids, I used to let them buy stuff, and the quarter items were just the thing. They often wanted to get something at every sale, and so cute mugs, little toys, small ornaments priced at 25 cents were just in their price range. You can then offer them at group deals of 5 for $1 (or 6 or 7), and then people will spend more, and take more!- because they are getting a deal.
The "whole box for $2 " is good too, especially near the end of the sale, but do be ready to sell just one thing out of the box, if that is what people want. I have often NOT bought a small item because I felt that I was going to be forced to carry off a whole box of stuff that I didn't want.
Post by louel53
RE: Garage Sale Survival Tips
Remember there are garage sale prices. I have been to garage sales where I wondered if the people really wanted to SELL their stuff, because everything was priced ridiculously high. (And it didn't move, of course.) People go to garage sales for deals. Also, I don't like to price things, because it give you more lee way to haggle. This is especially good at the end of the day when you just want to get RID of everything. (Also a good time to snap up bargains, if you are on the buyer side. I had a woman tell me to take away an oak cabinet for free, because she just didn't want to deal with it after the sale!) I don't know about nickel and dime pricing things - because around here if you do you can sell a lot of little stuff...
Post by pamphyila
RE: Garage Sale Survival Tips
thanks for the tips
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Post By b-austin (Guest Post)
RE: Garage Sale Survival Tips
Great advice!
I'm having my very first garage sale this weekend, and I'm planning on trying a few of these tips.
Thanks a lot!
Post By Urmymeamo (Guest Post)
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