Garage Sale Mobile Tips

Most of us are keen to find ways to make extra cash in these tough economic times. Holding a yard sale is one way of doing this. But how do you go about doing it if you’ve never done it before?

1. Allow plenty of time for the sorting out process. You won’t be able to hold a good garage sale this Saturday if you’ve only thought about it this Monday. 
2. Be realistic about what old stuff of yours is saleable. Things that are broken or tatty won’t sell. Instead, look for things that are in good condition but that you haven’t used. How about books you’ve read once and don’t want to read again, kitchen gadgets you haven’t used for over a year, clothes that don’t fit any more and toys your children have outgrown?
3. Be organised. Garage sales are sometimes called tag sales, which gives you an important clue: put a price tag on anything – don’t think you can get away with just putting all the $2 items on one table, the $10 items on another and so forth. Things will get muddled from one to another as people handle things. Label everything. Colour-coded dots can simplify things.
4. Consider joining forces with a friend when you hold your garage sale. This not only gives you a better range of items for sale, but it also gives you more hands to staff the tables, etc.
5. Get proper publicity – good signs and advertisements in the right places. A cardboard sign written in marker pen on a lamp post just can’t compete.
6. Have a good cash float on hand, as you will need to give change.
7. Set your alarm clock early on the day. Eager beavers will be there earlier than the time you’ve stated on your advertisement, especially the professional dealers.
8. Conscript your friends and family to help, even if all they do is provide you with a hot drink at strategic moments – you don’t want to leave your sales table unattended.
9. Be open to negotiation. So you aren’t going to get the $50 you wanted for that exercise machine. At the end of the day, $30 is better than $0 and an unsold machine.
10. Don’t let buyers into your house – it’s just not prudent. You don’t want to unscrupulous people the chance to case out our house or a chance to accidentally on purpose slip something you don’t want to sell out where they can buy it. Keep a yard sale in the yard.
11. Provide plastic bags for people to fill with clothing – this has the added advantage of getting rid of those shopping bags you keep meaning to recycle but never get around to.
12. You may be able to make a little extra by selling hot coffee or home baking during your sale.
13. Time of year is important. If your town gets an influx of new university students setting up for rooming together, time your garage sale to coincide with the beginning of the semester – these students will always be on the lookout for cheap furniture, crockery and the like. If you plan on holding a pre-Christmas garage sale, have some Christmas-themed items for sale: Christmas trees, Christmas tree ornaments, wreaths, cards… The same goes for other important holidays and celebrations.

So you’re in the process of writing up your signs (and all the other bits of publicity) for your garage sale this Saturday. What time of day will you have your sale going for? Here are a few thoughts:

• Some people will turn up before your set starting time. If you set 8:00 a.m. for the start time, they will start showing up at 7:00, especially if you’re holding an estate sale – the antiques dealers and second hand dealers will turn up to bag the best bits. Factor this in by making your start time an hour later than you really expect to start, or by setting your start time at some ridiculously early hour (e.g. 6:00 a.m.) and be ready for them.
• Don’t stop your sale too early. Some people will be doing the rounds of the garage sales and have a number of sales they’ve planned to visit. If you finish too early, these folk may skip you out and you will miss the chance of a sale. Also, on Saturdays and Sundays, some people have sports or religious commitments first thing in the morning and won’t start coming out to garage sales until midday.

Not many garage sales are held in the evening, with the exception of tag sales and car boot sales at “twilight fairs” for schools and charities. To avoid competing with all the other garage sales, you could try to hold your sale in the late afternoon/evening. On the other hand, most people prefer to do other things on Saturday night (including you!).