What makes a good yard sale

My strategy—nothing comes back in the house. At the end of the sale, there were a few young families that came up that I was giving away baby stuff to. And everything else was packed up on the second day of the yard sale and taken directly to be donated. Nothing came back in the house. Learn from my mistakes!

Fewer books. Bring more bags. We always use our reusable grocery bags when we go shopping and rarely have any extra plastic bags around, but people really wanted bags for their purchases. Put signs up the night before. Putting up the signs the first morning of the yard sale was stressful! I allotted 90 minutes to do it, and it took all of that time—which left my sister to be the only one setting up the sale.

Fewer baby clothes. Maybe just do what I did with the adult clothes and pick out a few high-quality outfits to display and donate the rest.

Would I want to do one next month? Heck no. Maybe not even next year! But I think having one every few years would be a great catalyst to clear out my closet and make a few extra dollars. If you are on the fence if you should hold a sale or not, I highly recommend doing it! Not too shabby. This particular yard sale was a community yard sale, so we learned a few things that worked different in that environment.

Know your audience: Our original yard sale was held in a high-end neighborhood in a major city. Our second yard sale was a community yard sale in a small town surrounded by a rural area. The difference between what sold in each place was mind-boggling! At our city yard sale, housewares and appliances were flying off the table. We barely sold a single housewares item at the rural yard sale. Overall, at the urban yard sale, it felt like people were doing more shopping for one-of-a-kind and unique items, at the rural yard sale, people were looking to find a good deal on everyday items.

The benefits of a community yard sale : no need to advertise or put out signs, lots more people make the trek, and even if you just have a small amount of stuff to sell, you can join in and have a good turnout.

Not having to do any advertising or signage was a HUGE selling point for us! I said this above, but I want to reiterate: make sure you have a way to accept electronic payments, either through a Square or other card reader like mentioned above, or through a digital payment service like Venmo or both. Make sure to have lots of signs telling everyone what types of payments you accept. There were lots of sales especially of furniture that were MADE by the fact that we accepted debit cards.

Bundle, bundle, bundle! Get a bunch of different size clear bags and bundle items. We bundled grab bag toys together, PJ sets, holiday decorations. With our more rural yard sale, we were concerned people would be less likely to buy if we used pre-printed stuff.

There is no way of knowing if this assumption is true, but we did go with almost entirely hand-written signs and stickers to give it a more backyard feel, and it seemed to workout well. Just a hunch! I mentioned that part of a good yard sale strategy is branding your sale properly—and I think that really is true. Alright, I think that covers the new stuff we learned at this sale!

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. On the baby clothes I have a pet peeve about having to rifle through a box. That could have led to the lack of sales. At our sale we start marking everything half off at noon and that works great. Lowest priced items are 25 cents or free. I agree! All bodies, pants, shirts, etc in their own piles… And own sizes. I agree. Hi, where do you get tables? Is there a cheap rental business somewhere? We hang up any baby clothes that can be hung up and put dividers between sizes.

We sell tons of baby clothes at every garage sale we have. Pants, shorts and such have to be folded on the tables but we label the edge of the table with sizes. Hi, my name is Juliet. I had a yard sale yesterday. Thanks for the advice. It helped a lot and we made dollars!!! Great tips! Wow — great stuff! What are you going to spend your loot on? I really like your tip about pricing everything. I mean…good for you, truly. But I had to chuckle reading though this. Take what you can use, and leave behind the rest.

I can barely manage to get the good will bag into the car and to the drop off, so seriously, kudos. Cassie, your post was perfect for me!! Thanks for thinking creatively about how to have a persuasive yard sale! I think what you said hits the nail on the head perfectly! Here in Phoenix, there are a lot of garage sales and it is very easy to get lured in a different direction with multiple signs on the corner.

By keeping the signs the same, I know exactly which one I want to follow and it is very helpful! Good for you Cassie, be nice Mel! I hope you see this because I am extremely grateful to you! What would you suggest about shoes? I actually thought this was a great tip! I always cringe at the ugly hand writing of many garage sale throwers.

And it annoys me to no end when I see a sign for a garage sale and, no matter how much I slow down the car, cannot make out the address by the time I pass by the sign. And no, I will not turn around to try and read it, since poor signage, for me, indicates poor planning.

Poorly planned garage sales are boring. We are always very organized but sometimes you are just done pricing. We get lots of compliments on our yard sales as well but that is because between my mom and myself we were in retail a while so it does make a huge difference.

Our last sale we did free childrens books and small toys so the kids could have something and it distracted them so parents could shop.

Very well said! I also agree and am complete agreement on the baby clothes. I always run out of those first! I live in Mississippi and furniture is another big item. Shoes, clothes and books not so much! However I am going to try her suggestion about clothes this time! It sounds fantastic! Tip for selling small appliances or any power equipment : Have an extension cord handy so people can test the item to verify it still works. Some people read: shysters with yard sales will put out blenders that barely work if at all , which makes people leery of anything like that.

Wow, great tips and great timing. Thanks for sharing! Love the clothes tag idea. Also love the Square credit card idea. Can you offer more info on that? Dont want to pay taxes on stuff i already paid tax on, you know? How did you keep records of your cr card sales to compare to what hit the bank account? Square is a breeze. You create an account, connect your bank account, and then you can swipe cards. At the end of each day of business, Square deposits the sales minus their 2.

In the app, it keeps track of all the sales for you. Tax man does not care if it is re-selling or not. And some of the credit card companies send you a statement and they need to send that to the IRS also. No income tax if you sell the item for less than you paid for it. You paid more for the items than you are selling them for.

Al their items were given to them and they make a profit off of it. Goodwill is on the stock exchange. You can buy shares of it. Great tips!! Yes, check with you town about permits. AND about how to hang up signs and where they are allowed. Not easy in my town. No nails in telephone poles, not on private property, and must be taken down within 24 hours after. I have my set of signs that i re-use that have holes that i thread heavy string through and tie on.

Well done on your epic yard sale! She lives in a holiday area and I think people were bored! Where I grew up, there was — and still is — a neighbourhood yard sale day: everyone in the area had their yard sales on the same day. It has gotten bigger and crazier every year, and now thousands of people from other parts of the city — and beyond — drive in at the crack of dawn to start cruising the lawns.

BUT as a seller not so hot. Customers will be chomping at the bit to go shopping and they have money and you are the only show in town. Not to mention that you can pull it out again the next weekend and start out half price at the beginning of the day. Or leave the kids in charge, and go shopping the town sale yourself.

I do a multi-family yard sale twice a year. I try to have the sale very organized. I agree with most of your tips, especially pricing. I will say not to give up on selling baby clothes. It is the same for everything. It all depends on who comes to your sale. I try to be specific about the types of items I have in my ad in the paper.

Often people call to shop ahead of time for those things, I almost always let them come since I have most of my tables set up in the garage ahead of the sale.

Facebook flea market groups are another good place to advertise. Your signs were amazing! Way to attract attention to your sale. I also prefer to do multi-family yard sales for two reasons 1. These are great tips!!

Thanks for these!! Most yard sales are not taxable. This is a great post! Thanks so much! Fridays and Saturdays are generally the best days for a garage sale. Consider holding one the first weekend of the month when many people get paid and have more discretionary cash.

Set the date at least a month out to allow time to gather and price sale items. Sort garage sale items into categories, such as kids' gear, kitchen wares, linens, and workout gear. This will help simplify your setup. If your sale is so successful it becomes an annual event like Quimby's, you can collect goods all year to sell.

Don't plan on pricing the night before the sale. You'll be too stressed and tired to make good choices. Instead, price items as you gather them. And you want to price ahead of your sale; otherwise, you'll lose money if people come and you don't know what you want for an item," Quimby says. Porter also recommends thinking like your customers. It may be brand new and still have the original tag on it, but since you're selling it out of your garage or on your lawn, people expect a bargain.

Minimize expenses by choosing low-cost tags. Pick up stickers from a discount store or use masking tape and a permanent marker. To make your own tie-on versions, tear up brown paper bags into tag-size pieces and punch holes in them for stringing. Put together a clothing price sheet so you don't have to price each piece separately.

Place price sheets in clear sheet protectors, and post several around the clothing. You can also tape a price sheet next to the cash-out area for easy reference. Start posting online ads, hanging flyers, and telling everyone you know in person and on your social media pages a few days before your sale.

Call it something catchy but simple, such as "Shannon's Huge Sale! If you have sought-after items such as kids' toys or clothes, specialty tools, craft supplies, or collectibles, make sure to note that in the ad.

Always include your full address, days of the sale, and times. For online sites, request that your sale notice posts a day or two ahead of the sale and stays up through the last day. Promote your forms of payment in ads and on the day of the sale , especially if you'll accept credit cards and online payments like Venmo. Quimby never pays to advertise her sale since there are so many free online options.

Keep the momentum going and visit our organization page to keep your house orderly. Have thoughts on this topic? Head over to Twitter or Facebook and use dumpstersblog to join the conversation. Being organized is all about maximizing the space you have available.

Now that the sun is shining, you can get a glimpse at just how much dirt and grime has piled up during winter hibernation. Follow our simple spring cleaning tips to get your house spotless in no time! Need a Dumpster? Call Go. How often do I use this and why? Could someone else get more use out of this? Does it have sentimental value? Is it irreplaceable? Is it in good shape? If it needs to be repaired, is it worth spending the money?

Do I own another item that serves the same purpose, or can I borrow it from someone else? What do you think? Related Articles. Is there a way to still access these documents? Thank you! Branding by Spruce Rd. Copyright , Get Organized HQ. Website by The Curio Co. Let us teach you the wash-rinse-repeat-style, step-by-step process to organize absolutely anything. Your Privacy is protected. My ultimate garage sale printable kit that has everything you need to have a super successful and ultra-organized yard sale, you can get it here.

Our Top Garage Sale Tips — and the answers to all your questions! If you want to see my video with all my best garage sale tips ready to set you up for a successful garage sale, then click below to view it: Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Garage Sale Tip 1: Pick a date for your garage sale and commit Obviously if you live in a subdivision that is hosting a community garage sale event, that would be a fantastic time to hold your garage sale since lots of shoppers will already be out and about.

Question 3: What Sells at a Garage Sale? Garage Sale Tip 5: Understand that not all things sell equally at a garage sale When it comes to a garage sale, some items are more popular and sell better than others.

Garage Sale Tip Organize the garage sale well — everything should be easy to find Display items nicely and keep them well organized. Garage Sale Tip Compound the Income A common reason people commit to holding a garage sale is the hope of bringing in a little extra cash.

Garage Sale Tip Advertise your garage sale well using photos if possible Advertising is essential to a successful garage sale. Garage Sale Tip Use photos in your ads Make sure your ads are very specific — state exactly what items you have available. BONUS Tip: Get the Ultimate Garage Sale Printable Pack If you want to put these garage sale tips into action, click here for my ultimate garage sale printable kit that has everything you need to have a super successful and ultra-organized garage sale.

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