10 Killer Tips For An Awesome Yard Sale

Spring cleaning is in full effect! Are you getting ready for a yard sale or have you been thinking about it? Could you use a few tips?  I know it can seem like a large task, but I have some tips that are going to make your next yard sale, your best ever!

 

Yard sales, garage sale, tag sale – whatever you call it, they are a great way to purge your home of items you no longer use and make yourself a little money.  But what you may not have known is there are ways to make these sales more successful… Cha-ching!

 

 

I’ve personally never found a better way to clean out my house and make a little money than a good old-fashioned yard sale. They are about as classic and American as apple pie!  So what can we do to make our yard sales more successful and more profitable?  Here are 10-yard sale tips that will answer that question!

 

10 Yard Sale Tips For Success

1. Plan ahead
   When are you wanting to have your yard sale?  Mark it on the calendar, and start planning accordingly. You don’t want to plan this out too far but you definitely don’t want to start the Monday before your weekend sale either.***You can also check to see if your neighborhood has an annual or semi-annual yard sale that you can join. Power in numbers!
2. Make a special space in your home to collect sale items
   A garage is a great space to keep the items from cluttering any rooms inside your home, but you could also use a spare room or a large closet depending on the number of items. The key is to get your items in one place where you can sort, price and generally get things organized – don’t let this space get out of control.
3. Encourage all of the family members in your home to contribute to the sale
   Get your spouse and kiddos involved with purging their own spaces.  You can even consider throwing the kids a cut to encourage a bigger contribution – which ultimately means less clutter and cleaning!
4. Put a price on EVERYTHING and make sure that it is easy to see and read! Also, leave room to negotiate – without overpricing!
   It doesn’t do you or the buyer any good to price things on the fly. You’ll miss the mark by going too high or too low 99% of the time – trust me on this!  And you certainly don’t have time to price items when people are lining up to buy or asking other questions. If you’re not sure what to price something, it’s helpful to check out sites like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace for similar items. Be careful to leave some wiggle room without overpricing. You don’t want to give your rock bottom price right off the bat, but part of yard sale shopping fun is “scoring a deal” and you don’t want to rob your customers of this!
5. ADVERTISE, ADVERTISE, ADVERTISE! 
   People won’t show up at your sale if they don’t know about your sale.  Relying on street traffic alone will not allow your sale to reach its full potential.  List your yard sale online on sites like Craigslist and any local Facebook forums.  It’s helpful to show your “big ticket” items that will be there or any popular collectibles you may have. Have your kids help you hang fliers on community boards and in local stores.  Lastly, make sure you have good signs that are clear, easy to read and directly point people to your sale. Balloons are eye-catching and attaching them to your sign may help get you more attention.
6. Check the weather
   Plan your yard sale when extreme weather isn’t expected. No one wants to stand out in very cold or very hot temperatures. Check the forecast and plan accordingly.  Remember, you can always adjust! If it’s going to be cold, you could set up an outdoor space heater if that’s something available to you.  If it’s going to be hot, it is especially important to shade your space.
7. Have a tidy and organized layout for your space
   Set up your yard sale space like you would a small shop. Grouping similar items together, hanging clothing on clothing racks, making tables neat and keeping as much as you can up off the ground where they could be overlooked or tripped over.
8. Designate a cashier
   Have a cleared table setup for your cashier with space for a line if needed and some kind of cash box to keep earnings safe, organized and tucked away. Make sure you have plenty of smaller change ahead of time! You’re going to need it.
9. Put out a FREE box or pile
   Everyone loves a freebie! If some items aren’t worth selling, consider having a pile of free stuff.  Put that out in front with a big, clear sign where they can catch the eye of the most frugal shoppers – this could help get you a stop instead of just a drive-by!
10. Offer shoppers refreshments at a reasonable price
    This is a perfect job if you have kids! They can sell water bottles and cups of lemonade in warm weather and hot chocolate and coffee in the cool weather. Don’t inflate prices – this is just a bonus to make the experience more pleasurable for buyers and add a little profit to you and the kids.

 

I hope these yard sale tips will help you have a successful and profitable yard sale. And even if you don’t have many items to profit from, the best part is your cleaning out the clutter in your home!

 

Have a tip of your own to share that I did not cover?  Leave it in the comments!