It's almost yard sale season here in the Bluegrass. Due to the pretty weather we've had the last couple of weekends, I've already seen several even though it's only March. So, I thought this would be a good topic for this weeks Saturday Savings. Yard sales can be a great source for bringing in some extra cash. Having a successful yard sale can be hard work. There's a lot of prepration. I've had many over the years and I'm going to share with you some things I've learned through trial and error to help you have the most profitable yard sale you possibly can.
For starters go through your house and decide what you want to sell. Use the six month rule. If you haven't used it in six months, get rid of it. Go through everything!! Closets, drawers, toy box, garage, attic, basement, his stuff, the kids stuff, your stuff. Leave no door unopened, no box unsorted.
Try to set the date somewhere between May and Sept. Check your long range forecast to make sure you will have good weather. Try and make it on a weekend when there is no holiday. A lot of people think holiday weekends are the perfect time to have a yard sale. My opinion? Ummmm....No. People have gone away to visit friends or family or if the do stick around they are busy cooking and cleaning for their guests. It doesn't leave much time for yard sale-ing, (yes, I'm using it as a verb).
OK, so you've gathered your items, picked a date, you're ready to go right? Not yet. The biggest part of having a successful yard sale is advertising. You can have the hottest stuff around, but what good is it if no one knows it's there.
The obvious way to advertise is an ad in the local paper. Of course, you are having a yard sale to make money, so you may not want to spend any to get the word out. Thankfully, in the age of the Internet, you don't have to. There are lots of free places to advertise, like criagslist, garagesaletracker.com, garagesalesource.com, twitter, facebook, community forums, message boards, Plurk, Twitter, any site really that lets you update your personal status such as Cafemom, and do a search on yahoo groups. There are several that are used for yard sale announcements.
Locally, put up signs on community bulletin boards in grocery stores, drug stores, laundry mats, etc. Ask first to make sure its OK. Roadway signs are your most important advertising tool. Tape them to poles, stake them in the ground. Be sure to check to make sure this is allowed in your town. Your signs should include your address, dates of the sale, times of the sale and if possible key items that you are selling: baby clothes, treadmill, sports equipment, furniture, name brand items, etc. Mark your house too, get a couple of baloonsand tie them to the mailbox. A lot of people will just do the "drive around". Just wandering the side roads in search of a sale. Make yours stand out.
Now we come to the hardest part of having a yard sale, pricing your stuff. I never know how much to charge. Having learned through trial and error of countless yard sales, I will tell you the following:
1. You are not going to become the next Donald Trump by having a yard sale. Don't expect to get rich. Basically, you are trying to move stuff that you don't need out of your home, into someone else's and hopefully, make a bit of a profit doing it.
2. Think about how much you would pay for the item at a yard sale. Get to the lowest price you would be willing to accept for it, then add a little, a couple of cents or dollars depending on the item. That leaves room for haggling, which you know us bargain hunters love to do :)
3. Take into consideration the condition, age, and popularity of the item.
A little side note here: Make sure you try all electronics, and toys before you put them out to sale to make sure they work properly.
A few days before your sale start tagging all the merchandise. If you have alot of free time (which I don't) and patience (which I REALLY don't), you can buy some blank stickers, go item by item and tag them individually. If you are like me and look for the easiest, less time consuming (OK! Laziest) way, get a pack of colored, blank stickers. They usually come in neon colors (pink, yellow, green and orange) and sold at Walmart, Target or office supply stores. Pick a price for each color: yellow=$1.00, pink=.50, and so on. Make a chart or several to hang around the sale to explain your coding system. The main thing is, make sure you have a price on EVERYTHING. A lot of people won't ask if something isn't priced and you just lost a sale.
On the day of your sale, get up early! If you planned on opening at 8:00, don't wait til 7:30 to start setting up. Believe me, it's going to take you longer than you think. And of course, there are always the early bird shoppes, who show up well before a sale is suppose to start, trying to get first pick. Group like items together; baby clothes, magazines, craft items, electronics, housewares and the such. Try not to clutter. Lay everything out as plainly as possible so it can all be seen. No one wants to dig through a pile of stuff just thrown on a table.
Make sure you have plastic bags for your customers. Very Important: Make sure you have enough change!! Five dollar bills, one dollar bills and rolls of quarters. Have a money apron to keep it in, so that where you go, your money goes. You're hubby's old tool apron would work fine here. I've heard many a garage sale horror story about the sale owner getting busy with a customer only to come back to their table and the money box is gone. If you do have to use a box, take it with you every time you leave the table.
If you really want to go all out, have refreshments for your customers. Lemonade, iced tea, water, coffee, cookies, or muffins. It's a small investment that may go a long way.
Once the sale starts, be friendly and sociable. Chat with your potential customers, answer questions pleasantly and above all else, be honest about the stuff you are selling.
That's about it my Frugal Friends. I have armed you with all of my extensive yard sale knowledge. Now it's up to you. Get busy and go make some money. Good Luck!
Free Printable Yard Sale Signs
http://www.garagesalesource.com/garage_sale_sign/
http://www.paperprintout.com/signs/yard/index.php
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