If you need quick cash or extra space in your home, there are ways to have a successful garage sale in any weather and turn your clutter into gold. It’s all about creating the impression that yours is the best garage sale around, so that even people who don’t normally come to garage sales will come to yours. Here are 10 ways to have a successful garage sale by doing all the right things at the right time.
#1. Create the Atmosphere of a Party
To have a successful garage sale create the atmosphere of a party. Put on fun music in the background, to grab people’s attention all around and stop drive-by vehicles. Place helium balloons at the entrance to your driveway. Offer free lemonade, and make sure to have a big sign that says: “Free”. In the hot summer, turn a sprinkler on for kids to play in while their parents shop. In winter, build a big snow man on the lawn to get kids to come over.
#2. Garage Sale Advertising
To have a successful garage sale you have to make sure as many people know about it as possible. Log on to Craig’s List for your area and create a free advertisement for your garage sale (if you’re not sure how to do this, see my tutorial on selling with free ads on Craig’s list). Give general categories for everything you’re going to sell, such as furniture, books, games, clothing-even if you’re only selling a few of these items. A successful garage sale is often the result of tempting people to buy something they didn’t even realize they want. Next, make the most beautiful garage sale signs out there and spread them liberally from the nearest main intersection, with a new sign at every turn to slowly lead people to your great garage sale.
#3. Garage Sale Signs
To have a successful garage sale you have to be an artist at making garage sale signs. Here’s the trick. Invest a little money in buying large white cardboards, Rust Oleum silver or black spray paint, and a large stencil of the alphabet. Write “Huge Garage Sale” then below the days and dates. Put in the hours and above “early-bird special 10% off”
#4. Garage Sale Days and Hours
Always advertise the garage sale for as many days as you can and start on Friday afternoon. You can always pull the signs later if you run out of things to sell. Create a special Early-bird welcoming price for Friday afternoon shoppers, and catch all the neighbors as they go for their Friday stroll. For Saturday morning offer its early bird and get people excited about getting to your huge garage sale early.
#5. Garage Sale Pricing Guide
To have a successful garage sale you have to price items just right. Too low and your garage sale will seem ridiculous and, worse, junky. Price too high, and people will be angry at you for wasting their time. Go online to check up to date garage sale pricing guides, such as this one, then put a white sticker on every item with a price.
#6. Encourage Bulk Buying
To have a successful garage sale you need to get every buyer to buy as much as possible. Place big signs over groups that can be sold together: “Buy 3 get 1 free”. And be on hand to point people to similar items that might be interested in, then offer them the same sort of deal. A successful garage sale keeps surprising buyers by giving them a better deal than they expected.
#7. Take the Weather into Account
To have a successful garage sale in any weather, you can’t count on the weatherman to get it right. Be prepared to clear a section of your garage or make use of a covered driveway to set up your garage sale items there.
#8. Arrange Things Attractively
To have a successful garage sale lay out your junk to look like treasure finds. After all, garage sale shopping is unlike anything else. People go to find an unidentified bargain. Rarely do they go to garage sales to find specific items or sizes. Your garage sale will be all the more successful if you can present items on tables. Therefore collect some cardboard boxes before your garage sale. Cover them with sheets of the same color to create long display tables. Then set the goods in attractive arrangements.
#9. Arrange Things in Logical Groups
To have a successful garage sale make it easy for people to spot things they like. Arrange similar items in groups, then once one item catches someone’s attention all the others will be in the same vicinity as well. This will make it easy for you to recommend items to people who seem to like a specific item, and to offer them a bulk purchase deal.
#10. Don’t Be Greedy
To have a successful garage sale you need to remember your competition. There are plenty of other garage sales around as well as Dollar Stores. You should joke with people and keep smiling, make light of haggling and work to get them the price they want. Remember that items sold in your garage sale are there because they’re no longer useful to you. That is the standard of value for each item, not what you paid for it once.
In short, to have a successful garage sale let everyone know that you’re the coolest garage sale in town, where people who come early will find great deals, and people who buy a lot will get the best deals. If you have fun with your garage sale, so will everyone else. And be sure to save your stunning garage sale signs for next time. After one successful garage sale you’re sure to want another one in future.
And after your garage sale clutter is gone, here are 10 ways to organize your garage on a budget.
