Hold a Successful Garage Sale

Do you have a garage full of things you don't need anymore? Is your attic crammed with toys and clothes your children have outgrown? Is your stockpile getting out of control? Do you need a little extra cash for a summer vacation? If so, it's time to hold a garage sale! There are lots of things to consider when holding a garage sale, so follow these tips to ensure that yours is successful!
Planning

Before you choose your garage sale dates, check with your neighbors and try to organize a community sale. These are much more successful than just having your own garage sale. You can charge every household a couple dollars towards advertisement costs and have maps at each house with all the houses numbered on the map. Then have number signs on all houses that correspond with the maps. Many times your community may already have a sale planned. This is the best time to do your sale. Many people take off work to host sales and to go to them. (Thanks AngieP)

DON'T pick a holiday weekend for your garage sale date. Many people are out of town on these days. Though if you live in a town that gets a bunch of visitors from out of town, then these may be the best time to have them.

Pick days that work for you. Don't just do a one day sale if at all possible. In my area, we have sales Wed-Sun. Hot days are Wed, Thurs, and Sat. and we expect slow days on Fridays and Sundays. Other areas have their best sales on Fridays. Figure out what works locally for you.

Once you have an idea on a date for your sale, start (ASAP) going through your stuff and place it in a box. Make sure that all the pieces are with the items and find any manuals for them also. Wash any items that need to be cleaned. If items have stains on them, turn them into rags or put them in a free pile box. Don't try to sell something that you wouldn't buy.

Try not to have distractions at your sale. If you have young children, be sure to have something for them to do or put them in daycare for the days of your sale. This rule also includes animals. You may have the most friendly dog in the world, but you never know what a stranger may do to provoke the dog or who may be afraid of them. So keep your pets inside or on a leash outside away from the people.

Most important is to TRY and stay relaxed. Have meals prepared ahead of time for yourself and the family. Once the sale is done for the day, you will be TIRED!

Pricing

If you have time to price the items, then you are one step ahead of the game! If not, don't worry. Once you have found a majority of your items for your sale, then you can sit in front of the TV and price.

Price tags - Find price tags at almost any retailer or use masking tape. Stay away from color coded stickers. I hate looking up to see what a green sticker costs.

Pricing items ~ Be sure that when you price items, you are pricing them to what you would pay for them. I tend to sell brand new products for 1/3 to 1/2 the value. Everyone's area is different though. What may sell for $2 at one persons sale in FL, will only sell if it is $1 in MN. Pricing on other items can run 1/4 to 1/2 of retail price. Know your customer base. Plus don't try selling something that you bought 10 years ago for $100 for $25. It may not be worth it now.

Make sure ALL items have prices! I have a problem when I can't find a price tag for an item. Be sure that people can see your price on an item. Put the price on top of an item. If you have larger items, then use a larger piece of paper to descibe it and give it a price. If you have a bunch of the same items, then put them in a box or container of some sorts and CLEARLY put the price on it. Make sure you put the price for one or two items...ie $2 each or 2 for $3. I had one person think that I priced the band-aids $1 for all and I had 15 of them! Plus if you are selling clothes, it is really nice to have the size on the tag also.

If you don't have time to price everything, you can group items together and put signs on tables or boxes. For example...50 cents for tops, $1 for jeans, $2 for a set, anything on table for $1 etc.

Don't put odd prices on items..ie .30, .55, .05, 15, etc. This makes it really hard to add it all up in your brain. If you must, be sure to have a calculator handy. Or you can bunch things together to make it a more even number to work with like...25, .50, .75.

I like to take Target ads and cut out the picture of the brand new item I am selling to show people that I am not charging an arm and a leg for an item. I post the picture next to the items if I have a bunch. I also tend to go and find a pic and a price of an item on the internet to show what the price of a very gently used or new toy would cost. So if it retails for $50 and I am selling it for $20, then they can see the great deal on the item.
Advertising

Be sure to think about advertising at least 2 weeks before your sale. If you are not in a popular area of the city with a lot of traffic, be sure that you advertise in the local paper. My sister lives in the "boonies" so we always advertise. We make sure that we list a general description of the items that we have...HH (household), kids clothes (put namebrand if you have name brand items like Gymboree, Aeropostale, Hollister, etc), toys (name larger more expensive toys..Little Tykes House), Tools, computer equipment, etc. Then we split the cost of the ad.

If money is a factor, then advertise your garage sale on the web for free!! Go to craigslist classifieds: jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, events, forums, register and post your garage sale at least a day or two in advance. Make sure that you post as much as you can about your sale ie product, time (add no early birds) , date, cash only, address, and maybe even pictures of your stuff!

Use LOTS of signs to direct people to your sale. I live in an area that has many entrances and I make sure that I cover them all with signs. I tend to put up about 10 signs and I am right in the heart of a suburb. Make sure that your lettering is large for people to see from a car driving on the road. Be sure to put times, dates, and a BIG arrow pointing the way. Have a theme on your signs so people know it is yours. Sounds silly, but mine have hot pink sunbursts on them. I also try to list items on the sign if big enough. Use signs that are sturdy also!

Check with your local paper to see if they have garage sale "kits" that may include signs, stickers for pricing and a helpful hint sheet. Though I still feel that you can do things much cheaper by going to Target or Walmart and picking stuff up. They do have great signs that can be reused for many years and would be worth the investment. Get the signs that are placed in the ground as you may not be able to put signs on poles in your area.
Setup

Now it is time to set up and be sure to set up about a week in advance if possible or start the weekend before. You will need the time ~ trust me! Be sure that you have plenty of tables. Use saw horses and a piece of plywood if you have to. Ask your neighbors for card tables too! The more tables the better and then the things are not crunched together. Cover the tables with sheets to make them look nice. If you have to, put down a tarp outside and put larger items on it. Use a shelfing unit too if you have one to put knick knacks on or new items!

Make sure that your garage is clean. I will put up tarps or sheets over my hubby's stuff so it looks neat. People will not ask if something is for sale if they can't see it! Don't put things under the table that you are trying to hide because people will still think it is for sale.

Be sure to spread out items on a table.

Don't throw clothes in a pile...people will not take the time to look at it. Try not to stack the clothes more than 4 articles high. Separate clothes by sizes (reason for size on price tag) and gender. Put them also in an order of small sizes to larger sizes. Hang up the nicer items if at all possible.

Make sure that you note larger men's or women's clothing. One year we couldn't move the larger plus size clothing and then the next year it was flying off the table. Made no sense.

Don't pile items in boxes either. I don't take the time to go through the boxes.

Put videos or CDs facing the correct way so that people can see the title.

Group same like items together...ie clothes, household, new product, tools, kids toys, crafts, etc.

Put batteries in items that need them or have them on hand for people to test items.

Put interesting items in view of people from the road (men don't stop at sales that have a bunch of baby items). Show people that you have a variety of items available to all! I had to get my hubby's lawn mower out of the garage and set it on the lawn and the men stopped. I ended up putting a sold sign on it.

Put like items together in a ziplock baggie to sell as one item. You also get rid of more items too!

Have a box of small toys that kids can look through for a .25 or 5 for .25. This keeps the kids busy and mom will more than likely let them have a small toy.

Be sure to note if all items are there, or what pieces may be missing on an item. Many times people don't care if it is missing a small piece of a toy set. Puzzles must have all piecesthough.

Have a sign that says "All sales are final". I have had someone come back with a broken toy that was working when I sold it. Of course the mom wasn't happy when I told her no refunds.

Have a ton of plastic or paper bags on hand also! Be sure if you are selling breakables, that you have something to wrap them in. Having some boxes handy to send home with people who buy a BUNCH of stuff. Boxes come in handy when people want you to "save" their stuff while they still shop. I seriously wanted to borrow some of Target's baskets for my sale.

Set up a radio or a tv to listen to when times may be slow. It keeps you occupied and the customers may want to listen too.

Be prepared for a rainy day. My sales usually spill out into the driveway, so my hubby has a back up plan for me. He sets up a "car tent" to protect stuff from the rain or even the hot sun. He leaves the sides off if it is sunny out, so I can see what is happening all around it. If you don't have one, see if you can borrow one. And pray for beautiful weather!
Dealing with Sales

As things are selling, be sure to "spread out" items on the table even more. A bare spot is not a good spot. So keep moving things around.

Be prepared with cash in a cash box or fanny pack. Be sure that the box is NOT see through. I have about $110 in change to start...$40 in ones, $40 in fives, $20 in tens, and a roll of quarters. I always count it out each day to equal that amount. I also tend to have extra $$ in the house just in case! When there is a "free" time, I tend to clean out the cash box of a bunch of cash and put it in a safe place in the house.

It will be up to you if you take checks or not. I have been very lucky to not have a bad check, but it does happen. I have gotten bad checks for Girl Scout cookies and it is a pain to try and collect.

Have a card table (in shade on hot days) to sit at so people know where to go to pay. I have been at sales with an armload of stuff and was looking for a person to pay. The person was walking around the sale and checking out was not easy. Things kept falling. So designate a spot!

Keep their payment out until change is given. This is something I taught our Girl Scouts when making change at a cookie booth. This way as you count back the change, they can't say they gave you a $20 when they really gave you $10.

If it is just your stuff in the sale, you don't have to worry about keeping track of the "price tags" once you sold your item (that is if you counted your change box before hand). Though if there are more than one of you, then you need to keep track. DON'T keep those tags as they could get lost or blown away if you stick them on a piece of paper. I have developed such a simple system that anyone can use to keep track.

My system (see photo below): Say you have 3 people at your sale. Divide a piece of paper (with a pencil or pen) into 6 vertical slots. Put the names of the people in the slots. First name goes in the first two, second name goes into the third and fourth, and so on. Now a person brings up 5 items. Person one sold $1, .50, .25 ; person two sold $2.50 item ; and person 3 sold a $3 item. You put down (in pen) the amounts that they sold under the name of the person. You then add up the cost of all five items from the paper and you have a total to give your customer ($7). Once you have a total, draw a line for the next sale. Use the second column of the person's name when the first column fills up. Now the next customer items would go right underneath that one... .25, $1, $1.50, .75, .50. The new total for the next person is $4.



Keep an eye on your stuff if you are watching TV or doing anything else to pass the time. I have had many items "disappear" from my sale. A little girl once told her mom not to forget to pay for the lipstick she put in her purse. The mom was quite embarrassed and made up some story as she dug through her purse to find it. Though don't watch people like a hawk either as it would make me feel uncomfortable. Try to keep really expensive stuff near you.

If it is going to be a hot day, be sure to have a cooler set up with refreshments for sale. I like to have an assortment of pop on hand for this. Be sure to get kinds you like also in case it doesn't sell. Look for pop to go on sale before your sale to maximize the profit. I tend to sell pop and water for .50. Snacks like granola bars, fruit snacks, Little Debbies, candy, etc are a good seller also during the sale as we all get hungry. If you have children old enough, this is a great job for them to learn about money and profit. Depending on their age, you can have them set up by you or by themselves away from you. Be sure to give them their own change box.

Don't allow people to "bargain" with you on your first day that the garage sale is open if you think your price is fair. You can always tell them, that they can come back on the last day of the sale and and then work out a fair price. I have had plenty of people come up to me with a HUGE pile of clothing and say, "I'll give you $20 for all of it." Look through it and see what all the items cost. This particular time, the items would of rung up for $40! I told her that she could have it for $30 and she took it. Though I wanted to get rid of clothing at the time too!

On the last day of your sale, you can always put up a sign saying it's time to bargain, but many people tend to bargain anyways. You can go 1/2 price if you want to get rid of it. You can also just leave prices the way they are for another sale.
After the Sale

If this was a one time sale, consider donating your items to Goodwill, Lupus, or some other organization that will take it. Many times they will come to your house if you have alot on hand. Be sure to call in advance.

Be sure to take down your signs right away after your sale.

I tend to have 2 to 3 garage sales a year. I will have 2 at my house and one at my sister's 2 1/2 hours away. Be sure to keep an ear open if a friend will have one later in the year. See if you can bring "some" of your stuff over or more depending on the space. You can also swap garage sale sites with each other. You host the first one and she can host it the second time.