|
Do you ever look at all of the old things piling up around your house and realize how much money you could make if you sold them all at a garage sale? Most of us dread putting on a garage sale, though, becausue of the hassles involved in pulling everything togeter, and the risk that our effort will be for naught if we don't get much traffic.
There are a few tricks, though, to pulling off a successful garage sale. The keys to making your garage sale come off painlessly and with maximum results are threefold: Prepare, Organize and Market. Let's look at each step individually.
1. Preparation
The first part of hosting a successful garage sale is to prepare for the event. Look at your calendar and plan far enough in advance that you will be able to do some advertising. Make sure that there aren't any other major conflicting events that weekend, either in your neighborhood or locally, that might significantly impact traffic to your garage sale.
Ask a few friends and neighbors if they'd like to go in with you, or if they'd like to hold a neighborhood garage sale that weekend. Offer to spring for the newspaper advertisment if they'll host a garage sale that same day. Advertising a neighborhood-wide garage sale, or even a multi-family garage sale makes your garage sale stand out from all of the other advertisments.
Think about what you have to sell, and start going through cupboards and closets early. Don't wait until the last minute, start putting old appliances, cooking tools, jewelry, clothing, anything you don't need or use anymore in boxes. If you can start classifying them together (kitchen goods versus clothing, etc.) this is the first step to the next section (Organizing) and will save you a lot of time in the long run.
When you are preparing, plan on how you are going to advertise your garage sale as well. Check into local papers and flyers. Some offer free garage sale ads, or ads for small amounts. Jot down the deadlines and any specifics that they will need to know so you are ready when it comes time to place your ad(s).
Finally, prepare for what you are going to do with your leftover "stuff". Even the most successful garage sales have items left over, and you should be prepared to deal with this. If you are ready to get rid of things, schedule a pick-up from your local charity for the first working day after your garage sale. Most charities will come right to your house and pick up items, and you can get a tax receipt for your donation. Schedule this in advance, though, so you can get your items picked up right away.
2. Organizing
The second key to a successful garage sale is organization. Have you ever noticed how some garage sales are very easy to shop, while others are cluttered and disorganized? Most people enjoy shopping in a well-organized sale, and hunting for a bargain.
First, sort your items into similar groups. Kitchen and bathroom items can go together, electronics separately, jewelry in one area, clothing together (but sorted by size and gender), etc. If you have multiple families together, use different colored stickers to tag your clothes so that you can easily sort out who owns what at the cash register.
Price each item in advance. If you are selling a lot of clothes, you should invest in a hanging rack or at least put items on hangers and hang them off of a broom handle (suspended between two ladders). Use a professional tagger (available in most craft stores) to individually label each item with the size and brand, if known, as well as the price. This will help reduce the number of items thrown on the floor as people scramble to look at sizes. Try to group like-sized items together, and if possible put a little sign above the racks (such as Womens Size 4-8, Women's size 10-14, etc.) All of the tags should be on the same location (such as through the hem of the right sleeve) so people can easily see them without pulling the clothes off of the racks.
Price items to sell, but leave enough room to haggle. Most buyers will want to get a "deal" and will ask for a discount for items they feel are too expensive, and/or for buying multiple items. If you have more than one family selling items, this can get a little confusing so be prepared for (and ready to document) price changes. Set limits on items you don't want to sell below a pre-established value (e.g., I won't sell that chair for less than $20). This is especially important when there is more than one family involved.
Set up a cash register area. A small table near the front of the garage wiht a printing calculator and a small box for money should work. Keep a pen and scissors handy (to cut the tags off of clothing) and if you change the prices on items when you sell them, change the price on the tags as you cut them off. If you have more than one family selling, place the tags in a separate box and peel the stickers off of the items and put them in a manilla folder. At the end of the garage sale you will easily be able to total up the sales by family by totalling up the color coded stickers and tags. If there is an overage (or shortage) of cash you can then divide it up accordingly.
If you are selling jewelry, display it by the cash register area where you can keep a close eye on it. An inexpensive piece of velvet or silk laid on a tray serves as a lovely setting and will draw attention to your displays.
Finally, save up plastic bags, handled paper bags and newspaper to wrap and put your customers' purchases in. People will truly appreciate the extra effort and it will help prevent them from dropping multiple items on their way to the car as well!
3. Market Your Sale!
To truly maximize your results, you need to market your sale. Start by running an advertisment (or two) on your sale. You should run the ad the day before and day of your sale. Give the address, hours and cross-streets, and mention any special attractions you have to offer (antiques, baby items, jewelry, multi-family, neighborhood, appliances, furniture, etc.) If there are local stores that will allow you to post notices up, stick up signs advertising your coming sale as well (but be sure to return and take them down after the sale is over!).
The morning of the sale, get up early. Set up signs leading into the neighborhood with balloons and arrows pointing toward your garage sale. Bear in mind that "early-birds" may come looking as early as two-hours before your scheduled start time. Typical garage sales run from 7 am to 1 pm or so, and you will get the most traffic in the first three hours of your sale.
You can also market your items at the sale. Use the groupings to establish "areas" -- putting kitchen items together, bath together, personal care together, clothing together, etc. Use signs to note what is where, which makes it easier for people to browse. Put expensive items and small items like jewelry, perfume, etc. near the cash register so it's easier to keep an eye on them. Use tables as much as possible to get items UP and off the ground.
One great idea is to put out a bargain table where everythign is "Under $5" or just priced to move. If you label this as your bargain table people will naturally gravitate toward it to see what is there, so put a few attractive items on it (telephones, etc.). Position this near the center of your garage sale so people will then see what else you have out.
Make sure you have some items outside of your garage to catch people's eyes as they drive by. Bicycles, baby items, furniture, etc. will all catch your audience's eye and draw them in. Remember, the first secret is to get them to stop! Some families put up balloons or banners to get cars to stop and look. If everything is hidden inside your garage, it may be difficult for people to see what you have, and they may pass by without stopping.
If you have a lot of inexpensive items, like tee-shirts or inexpensive kids toys, try throwing these into "bargain boxes". Label each box appropriately ("Any T-SHirt 50 cents" or "Kids Toys 25 Cents each"). People love to dig through boxes looking for hidden treasures.
You can make a good side profit by offering coke, juice boxes and snack items like donuts and chips for 50 cents each. Many shoppers will be hungry from getting up early, and parents will usually buy their kids a snack just to keep them quiet and happy for a little while longer. Put out a cooler with ice and sodas/juice boxes, lablelled at 50 cents each and keep this near the cash register. Make sure that your visitors can easily see it! Some families say they make up to $20 profit on the food alone!
Finally, be sure to have at least two people manning your garage sale. One person should be available to answer questions and walk around, the other to ring up sales. You may not need both people at all times but it will help tremendously to be able to walk over and answer questions without leaving your jewelry and cash unsupervised.
| 
