Now that it’s summertime, I’m sure plenty of you are venturing into corners of your home that you haven’t touched since, well, last summer. Personally, I know I’ve been dragging out patio furniture and miscellaneous sports equipment (I forgot how much I loved tennis!) from the depths of my basement and garage. …and also finding tons of unwanted spiders haha.
During this process, I always find junk that I don’t need…or rather, junk I forgot I even had. I know I have given some organization tips in the past, but I don’t think I’ve given away my best garage sale tips before. Are you new to the garage sale world? Have you had success, or have you been left with just as much junk as when you started?
Whether you’re a novice to the world of garage sales, or you just need some better ideas on how to get people to come buy your unwanted possessions, I’ve got 5 great tips for you. Ready?:
- Make sure you advertise. Just like many things in life, if you don’t market your garage sale well, no one will ever find you nor be enticed to stop by. If you’re making a post on craigslist.org, make sure you list lots of specific items you’re selling, and more importantly, show some fancy pictures of all of your treasures! If you’re making signs for your neighborhood, make sure they’re large and easy to read. If you live in an area that’s not off a main road, make sure you place signs near every corner so potential customers don’t get lost. Try starting these projects a week in advance, so you can give people time to plan and take notice. Now that we’re in the digital world, posting notes in places like facebook.com, instagram, and twitter would also be a great idea!
- When setting up your garage sale, make sure you place your large items closets to the road. You always want the largest items in front – when cars drive by, you have a very small window to catch their eye. If their first glance is boxes full of knickknacks, they’re probably going to keep on driving. If a passerby notices large, valuable items, they’ll want to stop and see what else you’ve got!
- Price your items to sell. Let’s be honest; the goal of your garage sale is to clean out all of the unused items you currently own. Most of the time, this stuff has just been collecting dust in the far depths of your home. Having a garage sale is great because not only can you get rid of things, but you can also earn a little cash to buy more things. …but let’s not turn the whole idea of a garage sale into a money making scheme. No one is going to buy your unwanted Christmas gifts if you’re pricing them close to retail value. People come to garage sales for a bargain. Don’t be that guy who sells used dishes for $30. Also, make sure you’re putting price tags on everything. (Pro tip: if you end your prices in the number 5, people are more likely to think they’re getting a deal. Consider charging $1.50 instead of $2.00…setting up a box of ‘free stuff’ is also a good idea. Everyone knows there’s some things people just won’t pay money for – no matter how cheap. Lure shoppers in with free goods!)
- Keep like items organized together. If you have tons of kids stuff, keep that in it’s own section. If you have miscellaneous kitchen items, keep them together on the same table. Etc. Etc…Stores are organized like this for a reason; your garage sale should be set up like this too.
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Get creative. Growing up, my family would always have an end of summer/early fall garage sale. I have vivid memories of my parents selling everything. No, seriously, everything. Want to know how? They weren’t stingy with prices, and they made it clear they wanted everything to go. My favorite trick was something my Mom loved to do. My Mom would always keep a stash of plastic grocery bags on hand…when all of the top dollar items were sold, and it was just random items left, she would tell everyone, “Fill up a bag for $5. Anything you can fit in the bag…I don’t care what it is.” …this not only got rid of all the small junky items, but people thought they were REALLY getting a deal. I was also fond of having a ‘kids box’ section. If you have lots of children’s toys, fill up a box or two and make a colorful sign that says $0.05 – kids are always a sucker for toys, but when they can actually afford to buy the toys themselves, they’re truly happy campers. (Plus, it keeps them occupied while the adults do the real searching!)
Hope these tips for a successful garage sale have helped! If you have any good ideas or tricks that you’ve used throughout the years, I’d love to hear ’em! Leave comments below!
