Any tips on yard sales?

Question

I am having a yard sale to sell some old toys, furniture, and stuff. Any tips about yard sales? Best anwser will be voted as best anwser. Tips like: when to make the sale, times, days, what to sell, how to price, what to look for, where and how to make signs for posts and where to put them, and any great tips!

Answer 1

Advertise Your Sale

    * Advertise your sale in the local newspaper and at local grocery stores.

    * Mention the date, time, place and any key items for sale, including what you're selling (i.e., gas grill, bike, kitchen table and chairs, etc.).

Make Signs

    * Place signs in your front yard (make them visible from the street), at street corners and at busy town intersections. Mark the sign with arrows pointing in direction of sale.

    * Purchase garage sale signs or make your own out of poster board (attach it to a wooden stake). Use stencil letters, stickers or print in permanent marker. Make letters large enough to be visible from the street.

TIP: Hang helium balloons from the sign to attract more attention. And don't forget: Take signs down after the sale!

Display Your Items

Gather all your items you will be selling and set them up at least the day before the sale. It's always smart to be prepared for early birds who want first crack at your treasures. Another thing to remember, treat your sale like a store and make it easy for shoppers to sort through items.

   1. Group items together (same as departments in a store)

   2. Set up tables or sawhorses with a plywood top to display items.

   3. Hang clothes, if possible, on racks or on a rope between two trees. Save dry cleaner hangers to display clothes. Mark sizes.

   4. Attach price label. Use plain or colored labels, hang tags or pre-priced stickers (save you time) to mark your items. Use different colored labels if you are having a multi-family sale (helps keep track of the sales).

   5. Have instructions and owner's manuals taped to items. Also, plug in electronics and have batteries in battery operated items so people know they work.

   6. Package small items that are alike (i.e., a bag of craft supplies; a bag of hair accessories). Then give the package a single price (i.e., each bag, $1).

   7. Put large ticket items, such as furniture, near the street to peak the interest of passersby.

   8. Take photos of large items and display on poster board (i.e. a bed or a mattress). This helps you from having to bring certain large items to the garage or the driveway. Of course you can physically show items to interested parties, but make sure to have a helper to oversee the sale when this is necessary.

Get Your Check-Out Station Ready

    * Have a cash box or f***y pack to keep money in one safe place. Also make sure to have small bills and lots of change on hand.

    * Be ready to negotiate! Shoppers are always looking for a better deal.

    * Have help on day of the sale.

    * Finally, donate leftover items to charity!

Have fun! Garage sales are a great way to meet neighbors and better yet, it's a great way to get rid of the junk. And, as if you didn't know, your junk will inevitable end up as someone else's treasure!

Answer 2

Well I know this one from being in the grocery business: If you want to move an item FAST FAST FAST say 5 for, 2 for, 10 for, etc. like 10 for $10 (ever heard of that?) it's true people will just grab more than one.

Also another thing that works on a sale is when you throw things together and make people dig through a bin they will buy more because they feel like they are digging for a treasure.

The best time to have a yard sale probably is Saturday or Sunday

GOOD LUCK!! Hope you sell out!

Answer 3

have it on a sunny day

Answer 4

make small signs and write them in pencil, making them nearly impossible to read. i don't know why,, but that's how the people in my area do it

Answer 5

well you should have them on Saturday. You shouldn't sell anything that may look old or run down. make sure if you are planning to sell clothes you might want to wash it before putting it out. Price your items with low prices that are affordable at a yard sale: for example a shirt that is not very old hasn't been worn much price it as 3 dollars. making your boards are the most important, you can make them on cardboard big enough to put your address. you should post them on your major intersection then on every little street after that leading to your home. hopefully that was a little helpful i have had many yard sales.

Answer 6

Well first you have to put up signs everywhere, and make sure the sign says "EVERYTHING MUST GO" so the people will think it is cheap. Sale should be in the summer when people are relaxing and just walking around, and it should be on a Sunday when most people aren't at work. Signs should be stapled everywhere made on paper, and on the street there should be wooden signs. A tip is to watch for people trying to bargain and don't cave in giving them a better price. And make sure you have reasonable prices!!

Answer 7

Saturdays are huge days of course, but I was almost equally as busy on Friday morning....I didn't expect that.

Answer 8

If you think people from your work might be in the neighborhood when you have the sale, don't put out all the stuff you had taken from work

Answer 9

Always put up lots of signs put an add up in the news paper and keep it on saturday put balloons all over your yard......HAVE FUN!

Answer 10

START AS EARLY AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE...

Get everything set up in your garage or front hall the day before then get some sleep because the people that are HARD CORE garage sale people will be AT YOUR HOUSE at 5:00am.

I am totally not kidding...

If you 'open' for business at 5:00am and half your stuff will be gone by 7:00am.

Offer free coffee in the early hours and then switch to Lemonade... It will attract people and make them stay longer...

Mark what you will have on your sign... Tools... Toys... Whatever...

Make sure you have BIG ARROWS on signs to tell people where you are...

Keep a lock box or take the money inside if you get more then $50.00...

After 9:00am, cut prices in half... After 11:00am... Start giving stuff away for free... It will save you a trip to the goodwill.

Answer 11

No one wants to buy your yard. Just sell the whole property. That's my advice.

Answer 12

Probably depends on what area of the country you're in.  In AZ, the norm seems to be a Fri - Sat sale.  Since it's so hot here, sales start early 7-8, but only go until around 1 or 2p (by that time, ppl usually have something else to do with their day).  I think there is a website that actually gives you prices for yard sale stuff.  It's something like yardsale.com or garagesale.com, but you should be able to Google yard sale and find it. Make sure you advertise it, Craig's list is good or if you have a local free site that you can use (some news stations have them).  If you advertise, all you really need are arrows at major corners by your house (ppl know these days that it means a yard sale).  Use neon paper.  If there are light posts or telephone poles near the corners, you can use those, or, put the signs on a cardboard box and put that out on the corners.  Sounds stupid, but make sure the arrows are pointing the right way and put a rock in the box so it doesn't get blown away or kicked over.  Last, but not least, make sure you have enough ppl to watch over everything.  You WILL get ppl who are just there to steal.  If you have anything valuable (jewelry or electronics), make sure they are somewhere you can always keep an eye on them.

Answer 13

sales are busy-er the first of the month usually everyone gets paid. It goes allot smoother if every item has a price on it not the sticky ones cause people like to switch them the hanging tags with the string work best, and baby clothes usually sell the most of

Answer 14

First off plan it on a day like Saturday or Sunday. Best times would be about 9am-1or2 pm. You should also sell stuff that can still be cherished by others.if you live off a busy street, you should make bright colored signs pointing towards your house. This should bring in customeres..and its okay to bargain prices around