Tips for a successful garage sale
Instead of giving or throwing away miscellaneous items this season, why not channel your child’s inner entrepreneur and throw a garage sale?
Kids love garage sales and they’re a great way to make some extra cash, get outside and free up some space in your house, too. A triple win.
Since the rise of online marketplaces, yard sales have become increasingly scarce. The handmade cardboard signs that used to scatter neighbourhoods on Saturdays have all disappeared. Family driveways seldom showcase treasures. The proud antiques and beloved bicycles once peddled on lawns are now listed on the pages of virtual bazaars. But while its heyday has long since passed, the garage sale remains an effective way to sell off unneeded items. When dealing with a large number of belongings, a yard sale can be the quickest, simplest and most enjoyable solution. Here are a few steps to follow in order to have a successful garage sale.
Place your ad
Have your kids help you write an ad for your local newspaper and put signs up around town to make more people aware. Less is more when it comes to effective advertising, so skip the glitter (unless your kids feel really strongly about it) and make signs using bold markers with your address, the date and time of the sale and an arrow pointing in the right direction. Most people ask where they can buy bedding sets, pillow covers and clothing at secondhand prices – that’s where your garage sale comes in.
Enlist some helpers
Ask a few friends to chip in for the cause by putting the stuff up for sale and volunteering to help on the day of the garage sale. Not only will this double the selection of items for sale, you’ll also have an extra pair of hands to help. In the days leading up to the sale, look over and clean all the items.
Consider your layout
When it comes to rummaging through other people’s used stuff, presentation matters. Have your kids help you arrange all items by category and make it easy to navigate between sections. Instead of throwing books into a box, line them up on a bookshelf for easy browsing. Hang up clothes on an old shower rod and order them by size. No one wants to dig through piles of precariously stacked t-shirts and you don’t want to be the one stuck folding and refolding them. Place hot ticket items near the end of your driveway to lure in customers. If people driving by see something that catches their eye, they’ll stop to take a look. The same goes for the kids’ stuff. Kids love shopping at garage sales almost as much as thy love putting them together. So help your children go through all their goodies and separate out the really good stuff to make sure it’s properly displayed.
Create ambiance
Play some nice background music so shoppers aren’t perusing in silence. Just because you’re setting up shop in your front yard doesn’t mean it can’t have the vibe of a classy boutique. If your kids are really into it, they could even open their own stand and sell packaged snacks or your favourite homemade cookies to make some extra cash. Make sure to have a garbage can nearby to keep things tidy.
Advertise each item’s value
Make sure all your items are clearly marked with price tags, which will discourage bargain-hunters from offering a bargain-basement price on items that aren’t marked. It’s recommended to use masking tape and put it on every product once you’ve decided on prices. After shoppers take their items home, they can remove the tape without the sticky residue that stickers usually leave. For bigger items like furniture, make large price signs so shoppers aren’t searching for that small, elusive price tag.
Don’t overprice
The main thing to remember is not to overprice. Although it’s nice to make money, clearing out that excess clutter should be your ultimate goal. A good rule of thumb is to sell things for one-half to one-third of their original price. Your kid might be very attached to that old stuffed animal, but even though it’s super cute, it’s still a secondhand product to a new owner.
Be thoughtful about checkout
Instead of putting all your money in a tin, both you and your child can tie on your cutest aprons with pockets so you have cash on you all the time (assuming that your kid is old enough to work with money). When they’re ready to pay, tally up their items and keep a ledger of what you sold and for how much. Once your customers have selected their treasures, help them wrap up breakables in a newspaper and provide bags for easy transport.
As the day winds down, don’t be afraid to lower prices or offer everything half off. Stick with these rules of thumb and you and your kids should have a successful garage sale on your hands.