Garage Sale How-To

When it’s time to move or you go through the home decluttering process, it might be time to hold a garage sale. Maybe you’ve already used a temporary dumpster rental to get rid of the trash, but you have a bunch of stuff you can sell. If you know how to run a successful garage sale, it will allow you to get rid of more stuff for a good price. Garage sales can be fun and can help you unload your things for a few bucks. You won’t get rich or get top dollar for your items, but it will allow you to sell a bunch of things quickly. Here are some of the top tips you can use to run a successful sale.

8 Tips for Running a Successful Garage Sale

1. Plan Ahead

There are lots of things you can do to run a successful garage sale, but one of the best things you can do is plan ahead. If you have at least a few weeks or a month to plan your garage sale, you will be able to promote it and get lots of people to show up. A few weeks to a month also give you plenty of time to go through your home and figure out everything you need to get rid of. You can rent a dumpster and go through the home decluttering process, and then hold your garage sale. Since decluttering allows you to decide to keep, sell, donate, or trash items, you can use this process to help prepare for your garage sale. Let the dumpster rental company haul away trash and use your garage sale for all the good stuff you can sell.

2. Recruit Help for the Garage Sale

Do you have kids, a spouse, friends, siblings, or anybody else that can help with your sale? Offer to let them sell things at your garage sale if they help. This will give you someone or a few people to help run the garage sale and give you breaks when it’s necessary. With a little bit of help, you can do quite a bit when it comes to your garage sale. Plus, if you have more items from others, you will have a bigger sale to advertise. They may have items that bring people to your sale that you don’t have.

3. Advertise Your Garage Sale

You should advertise as much as you possibly can. Put up ads every week on Craigslist and the Facebook Marketplace. Put your ads up or bump them the day before your sale and the day of your sale, too. According to MoneyCrashers.com advertising on Craigslist, Nextdoor, Garage Sale Finder, and Yard Sale Search is a great idea. Also, consider Facebook groups for garage sales in your local area. You can even consider putting an ad in the local newspaper, penny saver, or any other publication. If you have a paper that goes out for free, use it. Anywhere you can advertise for free or very cheap, use it as it can help you get more people to show up and buy your things. Any big-ticket items should be in the pictures and the more pictures you provide, the better. You should also list all the items you plan to sell in your online ads. Along with ads, you should put out signs the night before or the morning of your sale. Put out a sign at the end of your street and put one up the street, if necessary, too. You can use signs with arrows to ensure people can easily find your home where the garage sale is happening. Put your signs on the busiest streets you can find near your home.

4. Get Your Supplies Ready

You will likely want a cash box and calculator, but you will also need tables, garment racks, price stickers, sold signs, extension cords, and other supplies. Make sure you have money to make change, too. Price things in increments of one quarter and keep plenty of quarters, dollar bills, and five-dollar bills on hand to make change. It’s best to have about $50 worth of change, if possible.

5. Be Willing to Negotiate

Most buyers are ready to haggle and that’s part of the fun. Be ready to negotiate and be willing to offer deals if someone wants to bundle some items and buy them from you. Know your bottom dollar on more expensive items and even on lower-cost items.

6. Price Your Items

It’s annoying to attend a garage sale and have to ask for pricing. Put prices on all your items in one way or another to make sure you can make it easy on those who are shopping. According to RamseySolutions.com, you should price your items as follows:

• Home Decor – $3 to $5
• Furniture – $10 to $30 for most items
• Jewelry – $0.50 to $2 for costume jewelry
• Books – $0.25 to $2
• Clothing – $1 to $5
• Coats – $5 to $15
• Shoes – $3 to $7

You can also use eBay to help figure out a good price for your items. Use the Advanced Search option and choose the option for items that have sold. This can give you an idea of what things are selling for on eBay for more valuable options.

7. Know What You Will Do with Unsold Items

Will you donate everything you don’t sell or will you try to sell the items in another way? It might depend on the item, but it’s a good idea to know what you will do with anything that doesn’t sell at your garage sale.

8. Don’t Hold Out

It’s a big mistake many people make, but if someone offers you a decent price, especially on larger items, sell it. Even if they offer your bottom dollar and they are the first one at the garage sale, if you try to hold out for a better offer, you’re taking a chance. It’s better, in most cases, to sell the item for your bottom dollar and move on with your garage sale. There are plenty of things you can do to run a successful garage sale. use these 8 tips to help you run your garage sale and enjoy the profits when you’re done.

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