Now that warmer weather is finally on its way, we’re entering into garage sale season.
It’s that glorious time of year when we’re eager to do a little spring cleaning and make a few dollars at the same time by selling furniture, clothes and other items cluttering up the house.
Why send it to the landfill when you can reuse and recycle those treasures while making a few dollars?
Use the following tips to make sure your garage sale is a hit:
1. Advertise Early and Clearly
Getting a buzz around your garage sale is important. You can’t just put up a sign and hope for the best, not when there are tons of tools to help. Place an ad in the newspaper classifieds (so cheap), post online, on Facebook in local buy/sell groups. Make use of local businesses that have public bulletin boards.
Find out if neighbours are having garage sales and try to time them together so you can appeal to the biggest audience. Are you selling something special or large? Old appliance need to go? Let people know beforehand what you’re selling and they might even make a special trip.
2. Be Organized and Price Properly
It’s one thing to lay everything out, set tables up and put signs on items, but if they’re in a mishmash of piles, unorganized and forcing your customers to dig through them, their interest will wane.
Put the most popular stuff first in your piles, drawing attention and make sure the pricing is proper. What’s a reasonable price? It depends on the goal of the garage sale. Is this downsizing? Do you just need to clear stuff out? Then you’ll be more successful pricing low. If you want to make money, then highlight the value of the items you have for sale. Try selling online through those Facebook groups if it’s something you think might have value.
3. If it’s broken, don’t sell it
You can always put a discount on something with minor cosmetic damage, as long as it still works. But if you’re not sure if it’s broken, or if that book has all its pages, or the puzzle has all its pieces, then put that in a second pile (more on that in Tip 5).
4. Be creative
People are going to haggle. It’s a garage sale. After all, if your goal is to get rid of stuff, then you’re more free to be creative with two-for-ones, group bargains and wheeling dealing. Would you budge on the price of a large TV stand if someone offered to pick it up themselves? Would they be willing to pay a little more to have you deliver it? Expect some unexpected questions and be flexible.
5. Know You Won’t Sell Out
You’re not likely to sell everything in your garage sale. Make plans for the leftovers ahead of time. You’ll need to sort through it, donate what can be donated and used again, recycle what can be recycled, and be prepared to throw out the items that simply have no future.
Then, when it’s all over, count your profits and enjoy all the space you’ve just created in your home or garage!
