Garage Sale Tips

how to hold a profitable garage sale

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Garage Sale Tips
How to have the best-ever garage sale

Hold a profitable garage sale to earn money for more preps!
Prepper's love shopping yard sales and garage sales to find barely-
used camping equipment, cast iron pans to refurbish, as well as
gardening tools, and other equipment for their preps. Scavenging
through other people's junk is half the fun: finding ways to re-
purpose or restore cool finds is the other half.

While shopping garage sales is both thrifty and satisfying to
preppers, holding a garage sale is highly profitable and a
worthwhile prepping activity! Having a garage sale is #12 on the
Prepper's TO DO list.

How to Hold a Profitable Garage Sale
Need to earn a little extra money for your preps? Then it's time to
hold a garage sale! The bonus is you'll create more room in your
closets and cupboards and your attic, garage or basement to
make room for new preps. Here's how to have the best-ever
garage sale...

Garage Sale Tip #1: Plan weeks or months in advance
of your event to gather, sort and price your wares.
The task of gathering all the unused and unwanted merchandise
from your home is not an overnight task. It can take weeks or
months to sort through your stuff. You will find emotional
attachment to some objects, and you will most certainly run into
disagreements with family members about which pieces to sell or
not to sell. And finally, a successful garage sale takes advance
work of pricing and sorting wares for sale. Thoughtful
consideration about pricing is the most important. You want a
price enticing for the customer, which is also a fair compensation
for you to release it t their custody.

Garage Sale Tip #2: Know what NOT to sell.
Antiques and collectibles are better sold on eBay where you can
reach a competitive audience. If you have something old, be sure
to have a careful eye towards value. Describe it as best you can
into the search box of eBay.

Garage Sale Tip #3: Plan sales for a Saturday
morning with good weather.
Knowing when to hold your garage sale is the most important
factor of garage sale success. Check weather reports to anticipate
a good weathered weekend sale, and be flexible to cancel or
postpone. Hold your garage sale on a Saturday from 8 a.m. - 1:00
p.m., not on a Sunday when parishioners are at church and not
late in the afternoon when the good stuff is supposedly all gone.
And while you may post an 8 a.m. sale, know the professional
shoppers will arrive earlier (at 7:00-7:30 a.m.) to get first dibs as
you set up shop. Professionals won't visit late in the afternoon,
because they know your good stuff is gone by 9:00 a.m.!

Garage Sale Tip #4: Grab attention with bold signage.
In the old days you'd place an ad in the newspaper to attract
shoppers to your garage sale or yard sale. Today, you may like to
post on Craigslist.org! Beware however, that pacing ads will only
encourage even more professionals to come and grab your good
stuff early. Such ads aren't really necessary. You need only place
some clever signage to attract visitors, and this is the important
part about signage: BE BOLD:

Keep the signage simple. No need to list what's for sale,
simply write "Garage Sale," the date, and your address. Make
sure the address on your signage is as large and bold as
possible. Write in block letters. Use a Sharpie or a bold print
on the computer. Skip the word "street" or "road" unless
there are similar streets in the area. Your signage might
read simply:

"GARAGE SALE! 725 Pine, Sat. 8-1"

Use your vehicles for signage. Park vehicles on an adjoining
street to direct traffic. This gives shoppers the best place to
park, and also helps draw shoppers. Print large letters
individually to spell "G A R A G E S A L E." Affix the
individual letters into a message and post onto your car
windows with strong clear packing tape. Below the words
"GARAGE SALE" include a directional arrow and large print for
the address.

Put signs on the nearest cross streets to your home. Affix
signs properly with strong tape and balloons to attract
attention. Shoppers will give up if your location is too far
away.

Ensure signage is up in the morning. Signage should go up
in the morning of your event, not the night before. This will
help ensure the dew and wind don't destroy your advertising,
and you'll also prevent the experts who will come in early,
swipe your best stuff and bargain their way out of paying top
dollar.

Garage Sale Tip #5: Set up shop like a professional.
You would be amazed at how many people don't run a garage
sale like a business ~ when it is a business! Consider your garage
sale a business venture and a one-day shop. Here's how to help
make your garage sale more effective and professional:

Make sure you have a good location. If you have a remote
location, then be realistic and save your wares to sell at a
swap meet or rummage sale opportunity, instead of doing
your own garage sale. Make a good business decision before
you invest your time. Remember, you can always "borrow"
someone else's garage. Ask a family member if you can use
their driveway if they live in an area with more foot traffic
possibilities.

Get enough display tables. Turn your driveway, garage or
yard into a shop with display tables, shelves and coffee
tables. Borrow folding tables if you must. Give thought to
how people might flow into your "shop." Make sure there is a
path. Generally, shoppers will head to the right as they make
their way around your store. Ensure there is plenty of space
to highlight you wares.

Group "like" items: It may seem logical to put all the books
in one spot: but refrain from doing this! You'll have a better
chance of selling books when you strategically place them
near the items you're selling. For example: place kitchen
merchandise and cookbooks on one table; children's books
with the toys and clothing; tools, garage equipment and
manuals on another table, and so on. In this way, a gardener
looking for equipment may actually pick up a gardening book;
a young mother may pick up toys and storybooks, etc.

Price everything! Don't wing it when it comes to price.
Thoughtful planning must go to every object. If you hold a
successful garage sale by following these tips, you'll be
extremely busy talking with customers and producing change.
You won't have time coming up with prices on the fly! This
only opens the floor to negotiation.

Have plastic bags and empty cardboard boxes available.
Encourage extra sales by making it easy for your customers
to haul away their wares. You can save plastic bags and
boxes long in advance of your garage sale to prepare.

Finally, treat your customers professionally. The cashier in
particular, can greet all the customers and announce "Pay
the lady."

Garage Sale Tip #6. Keep an eye on the money,
honey!

Stash a supply of cash. Start your morning with a supply of
quarters, one dollar bills and fives to make proper change.
Expect big sales and start with $50 in change.

Have one only cashier. Do not have more than one cashier
or clever thieves will take advantage and say they paid your
spouse. In all the confusion, you will believe them. Not if
you have a plan! Having one cashier resolves this problem.

Make the cashier easy to spot. Wear a baseball cap that
reads "pay here" on the front so it's clear who is "in charge."
Have the cashier stand at the entrance, so shoppers don't
pass out of your shop without paying.

Invest in a fanny pack to use as a money belt. Do not have
a cashiers box. That is inviting an easy theft. Instead, stash
your money the Girl Scout way: have a fanny pack tied
through your belt loop to keep money secure.

Garage Sale Tip #7: Know what to expect.

Plan in advance for your family's hunger, thirst and
bathroom breaks. Sleep well the night before. Eat heartily
before your event. Have a bottle of water nearby and snacks
to keep you energized. Visit the restroom before you open
shop. It will be a non-stop event from 7:00-1:30. Have
sandwiches ready for when it's all over. Plan for a garage
sale the way you prep!

Know you will get questions. Neighbors and real estate
professionals will question your garage sale. Neighbors may
be "concerned" you are moving, or hard up for money.
Realties may want your business. Don't tell them you are
prepping. You can allay some concerns with one simple
statement: "it feels so good to get rid of this unwanted
stuff. You ought to try it yourself!" Soon you may see
neighbors holding garage sales and you can swoop in and
get their unused camping equipment.

Prepare for negotiation. Professional garage sale shoppers
often feel compelled to get a lower price. You can handle
this by pricing key items a bit higher than the lowest you are
willing to take. In this way, you have some flexibility and
you may well sell stuff. If you are not willing to negotiate a
lower price, then post a sign that informs your customers:
"prices are firm!" You may still get shoppers who feel
compelled to negotiate, in such instances explain an
emotional connection to the object. Tell the shopper you will
keep the original offer open to them, but that you are happy
take it back and keep it for yourself.

Expect theft. Even in the best neighborhoods you'll find
theft rampant at garage sales. The garage Sale "professional
robbers" don't feel bad at all stealing your stuff. They figure
because you wanted to "get rid of it anyway," they are doing
you a favor. Assign family members with the task of "security
guards." Have someone inside the house with the kids and
lock all the doors. Theft happens sometimes in broad
daylight.

Garage Sale Tip #8: Wrap up the sale.

Have a plan to donate or dump the unsold stuff. If your
wares didn't sell at the garage sale, it's highly unlikely you
will sell them at the next garage sale. If you didn't have any
foot traffic, then you may like to try again in some other
venue, but if you followed the tips for a successful garage
sale outlined here, the good stuff will be gone. Donate or
dump your remaining wares and free yourself from the
burden of storage. In this way you will have more room for
prepping!

Tally up your profits! If you've had a successful garage sale,
you should have at least $300 in your hands at the end of
the day, not including your original $50 change. Depending
on your wares you may have hundreds more. It's not unusual
to more than break the one thousand mark if you are
unloading furniture or large equipment. It all depends on
your wares.

At the end of the day, remove all signage. You don't want
people showing up at your property next weekend at the
same time.

Now have at it! Have the best ever garage sale! Be happy that
having a garage sale is prepping. In fact, holding a garage sale is
#12 on the Prepper's TO DO list. Read the other 98 ideas and tips
by clicking the graphic, immediate right.

NOTE: These garage sale tips are from the primary author of
HappyPreppers.com. She is a former Platinum Powerseller on
eBay and has held many successful garage sales.

Happy endings...
Out with the old and in with the new! A garage sale can be
profitable to help you get through hard times or it can help you in
good times to be able to get more preps. One thing's for sure,
holding a garage sale will enable you to clean up your home.

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