10 Yard Sale Tips (Overig)

*****
by Myra on July 13, 2011

Today, I’m going to share a few of my tips and tricks on how to have a successful yard sale. Two years ago, my sister and I organized a yard sale at her house, where we both made over $400. I recently organized a yard sale at my house and it was another successful sale!

1. Location Is Key
It is of utmost importance that your yard sale location be in a busy area with significant traffic. If you live in a rural area or on a quiet street, it is well worth asking to borrow a friend’s yard or garage for your sale.

2. Join Forces
Instead of trying to pull a successful yard sale together all on your own, collaborate with friends and family. The more stuff you have out to sell, the more enticing it is for potential customers to stop and browse. I recommend that if more than two parties have items in the sale, everyone should watch their own stuff and keep monies separate.

3. Promote To The Max
Avid yard salers always check the newspaper classifieds and Craigslist. Place an ad in both those places as well as your newspaper’s online classified section. It’s usually free to post ads online while print ads cost around $30 for three days. I always divide the cost of the print ad between the participants of the yard sale which keeps cost to a minimum for everyone.

4. Make Great Signage
I can’t emphasize this point enough. It is imperative that you have easy to read signs with sufficient information on them. I bought bright pink {yellow on the other side} poster board at Staples for our signs. I made ten signs all double sided {because I folded the poster board in half} with big arrows directing customers to our sale.

A friend brought old political signs and I taped the folded poster board signs over the political signs. This keeps the yard sale signs stable and they are easy to put up and take down.

5. Price To Sell
If you have stuff {I call it “junk”} to get rid of, price it to sell! I’ve skipped over items at yard sales that are overpriced and I know other people feel the same way. Price it low and be done with it. Just think, if you price on the low end and sell a lot of items, you’ll probably make more than pricing high and selling fewer things. Makes sense, right?

6. Display Items Thoughtfully
This is probably my organizing, decorating, creatively weird brain, but I love displaying my stuff to sell. I place items in loose categories like this: home decor, kitchen stuff, health and beauty products, clothes, shoes, tools etc. The more organized your sale items are, the more quickly and easily they will sell because customers will be able to see what you have without digging.

7. Don’t Forget Change & A Money Box
Make a run to the bank a day or two before the yard sale is scheduled to begin. I normally get $100 in change – $10 in quarters, $40 in fives and $50 in ones. I like to use my dad’s money box, but you can use anything {a shoe box, plastic box, baggie} to keep your money all in one place.

8. Set Shorter Hours
I loved the shorter hours that we set for the last yard sale. We opened at 7 AM and closed down at 12 PM. Since it’s July {and incredibly hot} these hours worked beautifully. I really liked being able to get things done in the afternoon and I was refreshed and ready to go the next morning.

9. Schedule A Charity Pickup
Before the yard sale begins, give your favorite local charity a quick call and schedule a pick up after the yard sale. This will save you time and energy…plus you can get an easy charitable donation tax write off!

10. Lemonade Stand
My thirteen year old brother and one of his friends ran a lemonade stand complete with cookies, sweet tea, and free kittens. It was amazing how many people bought lemonade. I think they made over $50! I think the heat was on their side and made selling lemonade and other treats quite easy.

Next time you plan a yard sale, use these tips and I’m sure your sale will be a smashing success!