A yard sale is an excellent way to clear out your clutter and make some extra money. It takes a lot of organizations and you don’t want to toss a bunch of stuff onto a table and call it a day. Follow Champion Mover’s 6 tips for a successful yard sale below to ensure you’re well-organized and ready to go!
How to Have a Successful Moving Sale
1. General Preparation
• Plan ahead and estimate the time you think it will take to get a yard sale together. It usually takes a few weeks to prepare in advance.
• Plan your yard sale for the first or mid weekend of the month.
• Once the date is set, go ahead and get a permit if your city requires it. Write out or print a yard sale checklist and timeline. Check off your tasks as you go.
2. Get Everything Ready
• Except for large items, collect all the things you’re sure you’ll be selling in one area. They’ll be out of your way, physically and mentally, while you deal with the items you aren’t sure about.
• For the unsure items, ask yourself these questions:
• Would I buy it again today?
• Do I care what happens to it or who buys it?
• Can it be replaced?
3. Price It
• Pick up some neon-colored price stickers.
• Make the price easy to read.
• Price everything. Make it easy for your customers to buy.
• If you’re selling something with some value, but you’re not sure how much it’s worth, search for it on eBay. Then, price it for a little less.
• Don’t overprice. The point is to get rid of it.
• Don’t expect to sell something for what you paid for it unless it was purchased at a yard sale. If you want top dollar, put it in a consignment shop.
• Be aware that people will haggle. Keep in mind a minimum you’re willing to take for your nicer items, and then add 10 to 20 percent to give yourself some wiggle room.
• Write “firm” on tags of pricier items if you’re not willing to negotiate. Some will still ask, but not as many by doing it this way.
4. Advertise Your Yard Sale
• Place ads in your local newspaper or in yard sale groups on social media, including Craigslist.
• Start your ads in advance. If your sale starts on Friday, start your newspaper ad on Wednesday. If the sale is on a Saturday, start the ad on Thursday. Don’t forget to include your address, the dates, and the starting time.
• Yard sale signs are just as important. Use brightly-colored poster board and thick black lettering. Make sure to put your signs out the night before the sale. Place them at main intersections near your neighborhood, and at all the main turns leading to your house. Point the way with thick, black arrows.
5. Setting It Up
• Start setting up a few days in advance. If you’re having it outside, prepare in advance and get up early.
• Expect a few early-birds to show up while you’re still setting up outside, even though it’s way before your starting time.
• Other than folding tables, don’t display merchandise on anything you don’t want to sell such as shelving or dining room tables. You can borrow or rent folding tables if you don’t have them.
• Arrange things logically.
• Keep valuable items close to the house, or close to the inside door if the sale is in a garage, where you can keep an eye on them.
• Remove everything that’s not for sale. If that’s not possible, rope it off, cover it up and use “Not for Sale” signs.
6. During the Sale
• Make sure you have plenty of one-dollar bills, several five-dollar bills, a roll of quarters, and a handful each of dimes and nickels to start.
• Unless you have a designated cashier- keep all the money on you. Wear a fanny pack or apron with pockets.
• Keep plastic grocery bags handy and old newspapers for shoppers who need bags or purchase fragile items.
• Make sure to greet shoppers as they arrive so they know who’s running the sale. Once you’ve greeted them, leave them alone and let them shop.