You are about to have your garage sale and get rid of some of that clutter you have accumulated over the years. Your items are all priced, you have remembered to get some dollars and quarters to make change, you have purchased your garage sale permit (if necessary) and now you are ready to sell your stuff. Or are you? One thing that can be easily overlooked is the slew of garage sale signs that you need to post all over your neighborhood to actually acquire some customers. Even if you have your garage sale advertised in the newspapers, not everybody will see that, aside from that group of people for which garage sales are a way of life. The garage sale sign is used to market to those people who just happen to be driving by your neighborhood. In short, no garage sale will be successful without great garage sale signs that have been strategically placed.
What should go on your garage sale sign? Remember the five W’s you learned in English class: who, what, when, where and why. Your garage sale sign should answer all of these questions. If you are moving and need to get rid of a lot of your stuff, your sign may read something like this:
MOVING SALE
SATURDAY, JANUARY 10th
8 AM TO 4 PM
123 MAPLE DRIVE
EVERYTHING MUST GO!
I write this in all capital letters because you will want to capture the driver’s attention. He must be able to read it quickly and easily, so make sure to use large signs (at least half a poster board) and big lettering. Remember, what may appear like large letters to you will not appear large to the driver who is whizzing by, so write in huge, legible letters. If you are having a garage sale with other families and have tons of items to sell, your sign might read like this:
MULTI-FAMILY GARAGE SALE
SATURDAY, JULY 27th
8 AM TO 2 PM
456 ELM STREET
CLOTHES, FURNITURE, TOOLS
There are several things to notice on this last template. First, when you write down a time that your garage sale will start, inevitably people will come about twenty to fifteen minutes before that to get a head-start on all of the good stuff, so try to start setting up a little bit before your stated time. Otherwise, you will have people knocking on your front door wanting to come inside to see your items before you put them out. Second, big-ticket items like furniture and tools are fast sellers, so, if you have them, list them. This will draw lots of customers to your garage sale.
I mentioned before to make sure your signs are large enough to be seen by drivers, but you will also want to make plenty of signs, especially if you live deep within a subdivision. If you are not fortunate enough (in garage sale terms) to live directly off a main street, you can consider having signs off a main busy street that “lead” your customers to you. Put arrows on your garage sale signs that point the way to your home to help potential customers find you. Also, be sure to put garage sales signs facing both directions, so you get the attention of drivers on both sides of the road. Finally, after the garage sale is over, be sure to drive around and take the garage sale signs down as a courtesy.
