Need some yard sale tips

[StupidBird]

I went to a crowded sale last weekend - please do something to make it apparent who is in charge of the sale. It was embarassing to keep asking for the person I needed to pay - and nervous I'd get the wrong one. the other tips are right on. Drinks, even a stack of plastic cups and a pitcher of water, are good.

Good sales!

 

[NancyDz]

I've done numerous Garage sale's and I cant stress enough MAKE GOOD, READABLE SIGNS

The one's I've had the best luck with is Heavy NEON posterboard. I usually do the bright green with BLACK letters.
They show up really well.. do them all the same color, post at least 20 signs.. I usually make about 40 and at 4 way stops
I put 4 of them facing each way. Put them at main intersections up to a couple miles from your house. Then make sure you have
more signs along the way leading them in. I've also added arrows to the signs as people dont have a lot of time to read signs when driving, just
point them in the right direction, and they will get there. I put the bare minimum on signs , usually just " HUGE yard sale ( its shorter
to write than "garage" , then " Fri/Sat Only" and an arrow pointing them the right way. . I may put more on a bigger sign at my actual street, like the address.
I use a staple gun. Dont make the signs so big that they bend in the wind and are unreadable. Usually just a square 12"x12" sign is fine.. remember simple
large letters that are readable from a car a couple car lengths away. If it's too busy of a sign.. people won't waste their time.
Also nothing worse than following signs and having them stop suddenly and you dont know where to go.

What I do sometimes is cut out arrows in the neon green, then you can attach them separately or even just use an arrow where there
are long stretches of road.

I also always do Fri and Sat only now as Sunday is usually a waste of time. Fri is the best day. You get the serious garage salers on Friday. Also more
people stop because they figure it's your first day. Sat is always good too as many figure that is your first day but still never as good as Friday's here. Sun people figure it is really picked over and they skip itor they come after church and are looky loos...

Use a fanny pack with your change in it or have one table set up that is manned all the time by one person and then other workers walk around and keep their eyes on stuff and answer questions. Also MARK Everything. People hate asking "how much" I also always have a box with small "free" trinkets to draw people in and keep kids busy looking through while their parents shop. If you have multiple people at the sale with items, we usually have people put their initial on the price stickers .. just to keep the confusion down, then either each person does their own money transaction or we have a tablet and write down the dollar amount under the person's name and keep one money box and pay out at the end.

Also do not let people in your house to use the bathroom .... my friend had her jewelry stolen out of her bathroom when she did that. It's just not necessary or worth it to let strangers in your house ( you probably wouldnt but just in case)

I think others mentioned getting plenty of change.... the first few people seem to bring ATM $20's so your change can be cleaned out quickly if you only have a little. I usually have about $80, $30 in ones, a few $10's, the rest $5's and about $5 in quarters . We usually price everything to be at least a quarter so we dont have to deal with nickels and dimes.. those items go in the free trinket box

Hope that helps! I've had some huge sales... made $900 once and I only had two large items... one $100 and the other $80 , everything else was under $20. It is amazing how well you can do if you have good signs drawing people in.... and also amazing the crap people will buy! LOL

Good luck!

 

[onthespot]

If it's broken, throw it away. I hate it when people try to sell broken junk at a yard sale. Not saying you would. but if the shoes are worn out, toss 'em. If the handle needs repairing, repair it. or toss it. You can make a "free" pile of all the stuff that should be tossed if you can't make yourself throw it out. Offer $10 to anyone who takes the whole pile, LOL.

 

[sgtmom52]

All of the above ~ and one last thought ~ PLEASE take down all of your signs after the sale is over! It is no fun following yard sale signs that say FRI/SAT with no date only to find they are 2 weeks old. Also it makes the neighborhood look trashy.

 

[Southernbelle]

Watch your cash box closely or carry your cash in a fanny pack or something. I bought a booth at a HUGE indoor yard sale once and these 2 women came in acting oddly. Asking questions about my items, but not really acting interested in buying it. They did this to a few of the sellers and right after they left one of the sellers noticed their money envelope was gone. They lost about $150. One of the women would distract the seller and the other would grab the cash box. I carried my money in a (horribly unfashionable) hot pink fanny pack, so I was safe, but I felt so bad for the seller who was robbed.

In the first hour or two of the yard sale, I don't bargain with the price but after that, I take almost any price offered because my goal is to get rid of stuff!

 

[fordmommy]

The pricing standard is....1/3 of the price you paid for it originally. But that can vary. Somethings are worth half price.

I start with $70 in my money box. $20 in quarters, and the rest is $5's. I have a cash register that was my DH's dad's. Works great. It's heavy so I know no one can steal it. And it has a key that I can take with me if I have to.

Never be afraid to bargin with someone. But also, don't be afraid to hold your price if you choose to.

Always be friendly and you may ask if there is something in particullar they are looking for. You may have it! Or in my case, I have baby clothing so I ask what size they are looking for. And then I go and help them find it. I had one person want only things with dinosaures. I pulled out everything and they bought every piece I had.

Ask yourself....what would you pay for the item at a rummage sale. Do you have it marked too high? Not enough?

Clean stuff........I can't say it better.

Make sure your signs are big and clear and mark their way well. And a time posted or you may have people coming at 5am or 7pm. I go with 8am-5pm. Some people still try to come for early sales. If you put an ad in the paper, be sure to state NO EARLY SALES! I get people at my house at 5am sometimes. That's why I don't put stuff outside that is worth a lot of money, before the sale. It may walk away on you.

Hope this helps. My DH and I did VERY well last spring. I have my sale the first week of May. Then it's not too cold and not too hot.

 

[jendh]

We have a yard sale every year and I think we put on a pretty good one, seeing as we have many repeat customers. The one thing that I always try really hard to do is group like things together on tables (I hate digging through boxes or squatting down to look at stuff). Maybe it's because I worked in retail for years but it makes me nuts to go to sales and have stuff all mixed up. Also try to organize clothes by size, makes it a whole lot easier. My last piece of advice (at least til I think of more to spout off about) is to have fun and talk to your customers, I can't tell you how many sales I've left without buying because the person running didn't even look up to say hi or anything. Good luck! I'm sure it will be great!

 

[DianeS]

Everything visible should be for sale. Take in everything in your yard that isn't for sale - flowerpots, children's toys, etc. Close your garage door if items inside it are not for sale.

If you are selling any electronics, make sure you have an outside, easy to reach, plug for people to use to test the item. You won't sell it if they can't be sure it works. Frankly, if you're selling anything like a TV or radio, keep it plugged in and turned on (very quietly) so people who come up to it can see that it works well without having to ask.

In addition to pricing things low, price things so they're easy to remember and easy to add. It's SO much easier to remember that all shirts and pants are $1.00 and dresses are $3.00 than it is to remember that some things are 75cents, some things are $1.25, some are $1.75, some are $2.50, etc.

What will happen to the things that don't sell? If they'll just be donated or thrown away, then I'd lower your prices at the end of the day. And at the end of the day hand out bags and say that everything they can fit in the bag is $1.00. Better to get even one dollar (or twenty-five cents) for something than to throw it out and get nothing!

And I second the person who said to NEVER leave your money unattended. Ever. For any reason. Keep it on your body in a fannypack or even in your pockets. Take it inside every time you reach an amount it would hurt to lose (like $100). I've heard of people even faking injury to get you away from your money box so their friend can steal it!

And lastly, be friendly but not annoying. Greet people when they come in, ask them if they need assistance if they look confused, and check them out promptly when they're ready. But on the other hand, don't follow them around, don't offer a bunch of un-asked-for information about a thing, etc.

I hope you do really well!