* August 12 is National Garage Sale Day
* Plan your best garage sale yet with these tips and tricks
* Don’t forget the supplies – signs and pricing kits can make a huge difference
August 12 is National Garage Sale Day. If you’ve got a basement full of junk, why not make a few bucks from selling some of it? Having a garage sale is a fun and easy way to get rid of unwanted items while making a little extra spending money. Read on for tips on throwing the great garage sale and stock up on supplies.
Let’s Talk About Pricing and Promotions
Don’t forget that the purpose of a garage sale is to get rid of things you don’t want. It should be easy to let go of these things for cheap, but sometimes greed gets the best of people. A good rule of thumb is to price an item at a quarter of what you paid for it.
If you really want to get rid of something, don’t be afraid to make it really cheap. Of course, you can price certain items higher, especially if they are brand new, valuable antiques or even collectibles. Don’t be afraid to simply write “Make an Offer” on an item. You might be surprised how high the offers are.
Another fun idea is to have a “free” box. There are items you would probably donate anyways, so why not reward your shoppers with a little extra something to take home? It might not be anything anyone wants, but people always like free things.
Finally, decide before your sale starts what time you’ll start reducing prices. For example, you might make everything 50% off for the last three hours and offer everything free in the last hour. Getting rid of everything will make your job easier at the end of the day.
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What Items Should You Sell?
Many people wonder what is worth selling at a garage sale and what should just be thrown away. You should try to sell just about anything that can be adequately cleaned. You’d be surprised what people buy at yard sales. From puzzles missing pieces to broken hardware, shoppers are often creative with their buys.
There are certainly hot sellers at garage sales. They include tools, books, antiques, children’s toys, kitchen items and kid’s clothes.
When cleaning out your house in preparation for your sale, look at any item you haven’t used in over a year. Also, sell things you won’t use anymore such as outdated electronics or clothes that no longer fit.
Whatever you do, try to make your sale as big as possible, and remember that whatever doesn’t sell, you can donate to your local charity shop.
How Many Times Should You Have Your Sale?
Generally, a 2-day garage sale is sufficient to sell most of your stuff, especially during the summer months. Fridays and Saturdays are the best days of the week.
What is the Best Time to Start/End a Garage Sale?
Start your sale as early as possible in the morning. 8 or 9 AM are good times to start, but 7 AM will give you a few extra shoppers.
Plan to keep your sale going for an entire day. You can end in the early evening around 5 or 6 PM, but if shoppers start to trail off, there’s no harm in closing up shop a bit earlier.
Many garage sale experts say 8 AM to 5 PM is the optimal time span.
How to Set Up Your Garage Sale
It’s important to put time and energy into the layout of your garage sale. Potential buyers will value your stock more if they see that you’ve taken pride in the set up.
Place big-ticket items at the front of the sale. There should be something eye-catching at the front to make people driving by park and get out of their cars. Put another eye-catching item at the back of the garage. This will ensure shoppers walk through the entire sale.
As your stock sells, be sure to close any gaps left behind. That way, people will think you still have plenty of items worth buying.
Do whatever you can to get your hands on as many tables as possible. Shoppers don’t want to bend down to look at things and will browse longer if your items are displayed at eye level.
Hang up your clothes to make them easier to look through, and be sure to display items in logical groups. People don’t expect to shop for baby clothes next to vacuum cleaners. Placing similar items together will make it easier for shoppers to find what they need.
As a final note, be creative with your displays. Thoughtful touches go a long way. Try adding custom displays for jewelry or wrapping sets of children’s clothes in twine to make your sale stand out as much as possible.
1. Garage Sale Sign
It’s a harsh reality, but no one will come to your sale if they don’t know where it is. Make sure people can find your house will garage sale signs. Place these arrows at any entrance routes to your neighborhood with a clearly marked date and time, but don’t confuse people by writing too much.
2. Garage Sale Kit
Take the hassle out of the pre-sale prep work. This kit includes everything you need to throw a kickass garage sale. It provides multi-color stickers for an easy-to-remember pricing system, 10 all-weather signs, a two-pocket canvas apron for keeping your money safe, six latex balloons and a sales record form.
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