Are you thinking about having a garage sale? Are you looking to declutter your home? Need some extra money?
Having a garage sale takes work. You’ll need to follow a plan from beginning to end. A well-planned profitable garage sale often means more money in your pocket at the end of the day.
To see that your garage sale is profitable, here’s a simple guide to follow:
Planning Your Garage Sale
First, you’ll need lots of stuff. Garage sales are a great way to declutter your house. In a few weeks, you can go through every room especially closets, attics, basements and the garage. A good rule of thumb is if you haven’t used it in a year, you don’t need it. You may think some of you things aren’t valuable, but people buy just about anything from old CDs to old clothes. What’s the worst that can happen? The item doesn’t sell.
Next, pick a date to host your sale. Try to have the sale on a weekend when the weather is mild. Late Spring or early Autumn is usually a good time. Schedule it early in the day before the weather gets hot or guests get tired.
Finally, a day or two before the sale advertise by placing an ad on Craigslist. Create a descriptive post with photos of all big-ticket items, so that people searching for specific things will know what you are selling.
Preparing For Your Garage Sale
One week before the sale, group items according to a theme. Decide prices and label the items with removable adhesive dots for price stickers. You will need tables and clothing racks to display everything clearly. Clean out all the tiny nooks & crannies on plastic things like coolers, chairs, handles, lids, etc. When you wash these items, they look much newer than they are.
The night before set up the sale in your garage to help make setup easier the next morning. If this isn’t possible, keep items grouped and ready to display. Make signs from poster board that will point to your sale. Make sure the signs are eye-catching and use arrows that point to the direction of your garage sale.
The day of the sale strategically place the signs leading to your sale starting from a few blocks way.
Hosting Your Garage Sale
Begin by preparing everything you need A fanny pack or cross body purse is useful to hold the money. Start with $50 of cash; two $10s, two $5s, ten $1s, and $10 roll of quarters. Make sure you are in a comfortable, shady place to wait for the crowd.
As customers arrive, greet each one with a friendly hello. Give people time to freely look around. Don’t be surprised if some people want to haggle down prices. And don’t feel pressured to drop your price right away. Let the guests ponder the cost of the sale. You will end up with more money than it would have if you’d taken that first offer.
Even if someone didn’t purchase anything, say thank you as they leave.
As the sale winds down and you are left with unsold goods, start offering “sale” prices. You can mark everything half price. The unsold items can be sold online or donated to a local charity.
Have fun.