I {heart} Garage Sales!

Hello Hello!  Boy, it has been a busy week!  My mom and I ran a garage sale today and boy was it a crazy day!  My mom has been having garage sales for many many years.  I too have become a garage sale junkie- both shopping and hosting!  So, today I thought I would share my own tips to have a successful garage sale and make some dough.

First off- having a *successful* garage sale is a lot of work… but for me, I love it and enjoy the extra income.

Tip #1: Signage

 

           If people can not find your sale, you will not sell a thing!  We have been complimented on our signs at every sale we’ve had.  Why? Because it leads shoppers right to the bargains.  Don’t assume people know where “Sunrise St.” is.  Take the guess work out of the hunt by placing signs at every intersection where a choice to turn is present.  Also, if you are deep back into a subdivision, but with no turns needing to be made, make sure to lead customers with ‘keep going’ signs or they might give up.

Also, those small high priced signs found a big box stores are NOT attention grabbers.  Try making your own with poster board & markers or cut-out letters.  Put contact paper over them to protect the signs from possible rain.  Think, the bigger the better!

 

Tip #2: Buddy Up

Everything is more fun with a friend or two around, especially garage sales.  Having a multi-family garage sale makes your sale bigger and creates a bigger variety of items for the buyers.  Plus, you have someone with you to help set-up, run the sale and take down.  Organizational tip: When having a multi-family sale, have everyone put their initials on their price tags.  We use a notebook, and I add tabs (created using neon index cards- a different color for each person) to the notebook like dividers and we add the price stickers to each person’s section after they sell something.

 

Tip #3: ORGANIZE

I can not even tell you how many garage sales I have been to that set out a tub full of clothes (sometimes sorted by size, sometimes not) on the ground with no price.  No one likes to bend down and DIG through clothes and then have to ask the price on every piece of clothing.  We use tables, a clothes rack and saw horses with a piece of lumber on top.  On the tables we organize by type (holiday, kitchen, clothes, etc.)  Also, when a large amount of kids clothes are present I ALWAYS sort by size and label.  It makes a huge difference for those shopping.  Also, a tricky little tip I learned from my sister, put the toys out on a sheet or blanket in the grass or on the driveway.  This makes the toys at eye-level for all those toy-loving kiddos.  Parents are more likely to buy the toy if their child is begging for…awful I know, but it works :)

 

Tip #4: Tag it

Price it ALL.  Giving out prices on the spot can be hard when many people are swarming around.  Price your items before hand and remember…your items are used.  Yes, you might have paid $100 for that desk new, but it is no longer new.  Basically, I use the 10-30% rule.  In that case the $100 desk would be successfully sold for $10-$ 30.  I have also found that if I price my kids clothes cheap, they fly out of the garage!  People are more likely to buy more, if they feel like they are getting more bang for their buck.  Plus, I love getting a deal and love providing deals to others!  You gotta remember, you will not get rich quick with a garage sale, but it is a good way to recycle, declutter and make some decent cash.  *side note: save your wal-mart bags to put buyers things in. 

Tip #5: Timing

No one wants to be freezing or sweating while shopping.  Therefore, Spring is a great time to host a garage sale.  April seems to be the typically start to the g.sale season here in the midwest (but it always depends on the weather).  Hard core shoppers are ready to SHOP and find new things, so we have found the earlier (with nice temperatures) the better. We also do not take less money on items the first day.  If your prices are good, then there is no need.  We also run our sales for 2 days and the discounts begin the second day.  Three days just has been to much and wasn’t worth it. 

Do you have any garage sale tips to share??  Please leave a comment!

Please tell me there are some fellow garage-sale addicts out there!!!