Garage sale best practices
April 12, 2010 12:28 PM Subscribe
Garage sale best practices?
In 2.5 weeks I'll be hosting a garage sale. Advice is welcome.
Specific questions:
- Other than Craigslist and posters at the end of our street, how else should we advertise?
- What sorts of things should we write in our Craigslist ad? "Multi-family"?
- Is it a good idea to also put up something in Spanish? (Southern California)
- Is it worthwhile to put out items that you aren't capable of fixing but someone else might be (like a printer or a router or a vacuum)?
- How much change should we start the day with?
- What does "no earlybirds" mean on Craigslist? Do people really show up before it starts?
- Best practices for running the cashbox? Is it better to have 1 or 2 people stay with it all the time?
And details about us that might be relevant:
- Our stuff will be 75% of it, a friend will be 15%, and other friends will make up the rest. It will be in our garage in a townhouse complex with no foot-traffic.
- In order to deal with multiple families' stuff, I bought different brands of premarked garage sale labels. When something sells, the cashbox operator will pull the sticker off and put it on a sheet so we can tally at the end of the day.
Is there a better way of doing this? Keeping a spreadsheet of all items seemed like a PITA.
- We're planning on ~6 adults present at all times (but with 3 toddlers running around.)
- I've heard that pricing things is the biggest PITA, so I asked all parties to send someone to do pricing the Friday afternoon or morning before the sale so that we don't have to be scrambling on Saturday morning.
- Friends' stuff is mostly bigger items like exercise equipment, crib, bookcase. Our stuff is mostly little, but we have a lot of it. Items include: lots of media (books, CDs, VHS tapes), baby clothes, outdoor clothing, backpacks and somewhat working electronic gadgets.
- We only have 2 tables that we can display stuff on, but our garage has shelves (that will be empty by that point) - is this an okay way to display stuff?
- We're planning on doing it 8am-1pm on a Saturday (seems to be normal time according to Craigslist.)
- At 1pm I will post to Craigslist and Freecycle that people have 2 hours to take whatever didn't sell and then we'll take the rest to Goodwill. Will this work?
Thanks all. I hope that this huge PITA will be lucrative.
In 2.5 weeks I'll be hosting a garage sale. Advice is welcome.
Specific questions:
- Other than Craigslist and posters at the end of our street, how else should we advertise?
- What sorts of things should we write in our Craigslist ad? "Multi-family"?
- Is it a good idea to also put up something in Spanish? (Southern California)
- Is it worthwhile to put out items that you aren't capable of fixing but someone else might be (like a printer or a router or a vacuum)?
- How much change should we start the day with?
- What does "no earlybirds" mean on Craigslist? Do people really show up before it starts?
- Best practices for running the cashbox? Is it better to have 1 or 2 people stay with it all the time?
And details about us that might be relevant:
- Our stuff will be 75% of it, a friend will be 15%, and other friends will make up the rest. It will be in our garage in a townhouse complex with no foot-traffic.
- In order to deal with multiple families' stuff, I bought different brands of premarked garage sale labels. When something sells, the cashbox operator will pull the sticker off and put it on a sheet so we can tally at the end of the day.
Is there a better way of doing this? Keeping a spreadsheet of all items seemed like a PITA.
- We're planning on ~6 adults present at all times (but with 3 toddlers running around.)
- I've heard that pricing things is the biggest PITA, so I asked all parties to send someone to do pricing the Friday afternoon or morning before the sale so that we don't have to be scrambling on Saturday morning.
- Friends' stuff is mostly bigger items like exercise equipment, crib, bookcase. Our stuff is mostly little, but we have a lot of it. Items include: lots of media (books, CDs, VHS tapes), baby clothes, outdoor clothing, backpacks and somewhat working electronic gadgets.
- We only have 2 tables that we can display stuff on, but our garage has shelves (that will be empty by that point) - is this an okay way to display stuff?
- We're planning on doing it 8am-1pm on a Saturday (seems to be normal time according to Craigslist.)
- At 1pm I will post to Craigslist and Freecycle that people have 2 hours to take whatever didn't sell and then we'll take the rest to Goodwill. Will this work?
Thanks all. I hope that this huge PITA will be lucrative.
With the amount of haggling that goes on at a garage sale, I doubt that you or your friends will feel comfortable selling each others items. As long as one from each group is there, they should be in charge of their items. obviously you can help each other with things, but when it comes to the sale , let each individual person handle that.
posted by lakerk at 12:42 PM on April 12, 2010
posted by lakerk at 12:42 PM on April 12, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks AP. That is a good idea.
We'll have moved to our new house by then, so we won't be there until 7:30am anyway and we'll have our door and garage closed. Our street is JUST our townhouses (~20 units)...
posted by k8t at 12:43 PM on April 12, 2010
We'll have moved to our new house by then, so we won't be there until 7:30am anyway and we'll have our door and garage closed. Our street is JUST our townhouses (~20 units)...
posted by k8t at 12:43 PM on April 12, 2010
Regarding tracking the items: You don't need a spreadsheet of items, or even necessarily putting the tag for an item on a list of who sold what. You just need a list of the sellers: "Family" "John" "Kate" "Other", and then whenever an item sells, you just jot down the price (but not the item name). Eventually you'll have a list with random numbers on it ($5, 75 cents, $3, $1.50) and you total it up at the end of the day. It's sorta like a spreadsheet but a lot less work. This is also easier than putting stickers in columns because sometimes (frequently?) people at a garage sale will haggle you down on prices for items, so the sticker price might not be accurate as a final figure.
posted by Happydaz at 12:45 PM on April 12, 2010
posted by Happydaz at 12:45 PM on April 12, 2010
Have more small bills for change than you think you'll need as well as quarters. It's never enough.
People will shoplift, have a lot of eyes on your stuff.
People will show up early, so be ready even if you say no earlybirds.
Consider advertising in the PennySaver too. Big in southern CA for garage sale ads.
You will be surprised at what people will want to buy. Don't rule out selling things that don't work like the vacuum etc. you mentioned with "as is" marking.
Don't be sentimental when pricing - it's better to get sell a lot for less than be stuck with things that didn't sell because sentimentality made you price it higher.
Keep your pricing in $0.25 increments - it's easier to add up quickly.
Decide who is allowed to bargain on your behalf. For example, a person wants to buy one thing from you and one from your friend and they want a reduced price for both - who decides? How do you split the proceeds?
Consider selling cold drinks from an ice chest too (bought in bulk from Costco). People will buy especially if it's warm out. When we did it, we let the kids keep the proceeds from the drinks. It kept them engaged during what is basically a boring experience for them.
posted by cecic at 12:48 PM on April 12, 2010 [1 favorite]
People will shoplift, have a lot of eyes on your stuff.
People will show up early, so be ready even if you say no earlybirds.
Consider advertising in the PennySaver too. Big in southern CA for garage sale ads.
You will be surprised at what people will want to buy. Don't rule out selling things that don't work like the vacuum etc. you mentioned with "as is" marking.
Don't be sentimental when pricing - it's better to get sell a lot for less than be stuck with things that didn't sell because sentimentality made you price it higher.
Keep your pricing in $0.25 increments - it's easier to add up quickly.
Decide who is allowed to bargain on your behalf. For example, a person wants to buy one thing from you and one from your friend and they want a reduced price for both - who decides? How do you split the proceeds?
Consider selling cold drinks from an ice chest too (bought in bulk from Costco). People will buy especially if it's warm out. When we did it, we let the kids keep the proceeds from the drinks. It kept them engaged during what is basically a boring experience for them.
posted by cecic at 12:48 PM on April 12, 2010 [1 favorite]
From my one-time-only yard/garage sale experience:
- people will show up early. Like, 90 minutes before the posted time. Even though I had promised myself I was going to make the earlybirds wait, I gave in and ended up doing like a third of my business before the opening hour.
- people will buy anything if it's cheap. Be prepared to explain what's wrong with anything that is busted as best you can. Also be prepared to basically be giving those broken things away - no one is going to pay more than 10 bucks for a printer that isn't working for some poorly defined reason.
- we did about $1000 worth of sales, started the day with around $150 worth of change/small bills and never ran into any problems. If anything, by the end of the day we had too much change since the buyers all seemed to have enough small bills.
- stuff must be priced before the sale, or you will be driven crazy. Also be prepared to haggle on everything. I had people haggle on stuff that was marked at 25 cents.
- one of the best things that happened was a guy coming along and buying all of my books at once. I'm sure I ended up getting less than I would have with individual sales, but getting rid of a lot of something is its own reward.
Ours was a multi-family setup too, but each family had their own "area" and cashbox so I can't help you there.
posted by flipper at 12:49 PM on April 12, 2010
- people will show up early. Like, 90 minutes before the posted time. Even though I had promised myself I was going to make the earlybirds wait, I gave in and ended up doing like a third of my business before the opening hour.
- people will buy anything if it's cheap. Be prepared to explain what's wrong with anything that is busted as best you can. Also be prepared to basically be giving those broken things away - no one is going to pay more than 10 bucks for a printer that isn't working for some poorly defined reason.
- we did about $1000 worth of sales, started the day with around $150 worth of change/small bills and never ran into any problems. If anything, by the end of the day we had too much change since the buyers all seemed to have enough small bills.
- stuff must be priced before the sale, or you will be driven crazy. Also be prepared to haggle on everything. I had people haggle on stuff that was marked at 25 cents.
- one of the best things that happened was a guy coming along and buying all of my books at once. I'm sure I ended up getting less than I would have with individual sales, but getting rid of a lot of something is its own reward.
Ours was a multi-family setup too, but each family had their own "area" and cashbox so I can't help you there.
posted by flipper at 12:49 PM on April 12, 2010
Don't let people come in to use your bathroom unless you have a vigilant person manning the house. My grandmother's neighbors had a whole bunch of stuff stolen because they were super-busy manning the garage sale in front, and no one was watching what was happening inside.
posted by egeanin at 1:01 PM on April 12, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by egeanin at 1:01 PM on April 12, 2010 [1 favorite]
If you are selling electrical things, it's good to have an outlet available so people can plug them in and test them.
posted by kimdog at 1:01 PM on April 12, 2010
posted by kimdog at 1:01 PM on April 12, 2010
Please make sure your signs are legible from the across the street. One of my pet peeves is when people make signs for a garage sale, and you can't read the sign from the car. Why would I go to that sale? I don't even know where it is! Also, putting it in Spanish is not a terrible idea... but it might not be necessary. I think most SoCal Spanish speakers will understand a garage sale sign. (I have no idea about Craig's List, though)
If you've got a box of VHS tapes (or whatever), consider putting a sign with it that says "$price each, OR $price for box" If it's a good enough deal, someone might take the whole box off your hands even if they only want one or two tapes.
Selling drinks is a great idea, too.
I also agree with the point above about haggling. Whoever runs the cash box should have the power to negotiate any price for any item (within reason). If you're going to use your tag tallying system, just make a note of the actual sale price once the transaction is complete.
Good luck!
posted by purpletangerine at 1:01 PM on April 12, 2010
If you've got a box of VHS tapes (or whatever), consider putting a sign with it that says "$price each, OR $price for box" If it's a good enough deal, someone might take the whole box off your hands even if they only want one or two tapes.
Selling drinks is a great idea, too.
I also agree with the point above about haggling. Whoever runs the cash box should have the power to negotiate any price for any item (within reason). If you're going to use your tag tallying system, just make a note of the actual sale price once the transaction is complete.
Good luck!
posted by purpletangerine at 1:01 PM on April 12, 2010
You might want to consider starting before 8am. I've found that when I go to a sale at that time, most of the good stuff has already been sold. Some of your shoppers will be pros, and they will want to get in and out early. Which is good for you, too.
posted by purpletangerine at 1:05 PM on April 12, 2010
posted by purpletangerine at 1:05 PM on April 12, 2010
On the Craigslist ad, please don't wait until the day before or something to edit your posting to include the street address. I decide what sales I'm going to early-ish in the week...if your posting has no address, I'm skipping it, regardless of how "good" the sale sounds.
Also, try and move the tables/big ticket items out into the driveway...if someone passes by and sees no big items outside, they're likely to decide it's not worth their time.
posted by kro at 1:27 PM on April 12, 2010
Also, try and move the tables/big ticket items out into the driveway...if someone passes by and sees no big items outside, they're likely to decide it's not worth their time.
posted by kro at 1:27 PM on April 12, 2010
With clothing, it kinda sucks if it's in a big pile. Put up a laundry line and put the clothing on hangers from it. It's easier to browse that way.
Also, with knick-knacky stuff, people tend to get drawn in by colors and themes - if it's all over the place, it doesn't get seen. Depending on how quickly stuff gets bought, this might not matter.
Seconding kro's suggestion to put big items outside your house.
posted by ajarbaday at 1:34 PM on April 12, 2010
Also, with knick-knacky stuff, people tend to get drawn in by colors and themes - if it's all over the place, it doesn't get seen. Depending on how quickly stuff gets bought, this might not matter.
Seconding kro's suggestion to put big items outside your house.
posted by ajarbaday at 1:34 PM on April 12, 2010
It's helpful to have boxes fill with items of the same price... a $.25 box, a $1 box, etc.
If someone wants you to hold something, have them put some money down on it.
Expect to haggle and to slash prices later in the day... don't be emotional, just get rid of it.
posted by sadiehawkinstein at 1:43 PM on April 12, 2010
If someone wants you to hold something, have them put some money down on it.
Expect to haggle and to slash prices later in the day... don't be emotional, just get rid of it.
posted by sadiehawkinstein at 1:43 PM on April 12, 2010
From personal experience, if you're the one who's been handling the cashbox/haggling and take a break for lunch or otherwise, be explicit and clear when you hand over the responsibility to someone else: "I did not make ANY promises to ANYBODY about special deals. I did not promise ANY bargains to ANYBODY in exchange for ANYTHING like 'if you pay cash now' or ANYTHING like that. If anybody says I did, tell them they can pay the marked price or they can wait for me to get back and discuss it."
It was the freaking estate sale after my mother died, dammit. And some overbleached, overmanicured *expletive deleted* in a Mercedes waited until I left to get sandwiches for everybody, then came back and told the person covering for me "oh, she promised me I could buy both tables for $30". Nicely done, you low-life sleazeball — how does it feel to have exploited and cheated the recently bereaved so you could save $15 on a damn end table?
Yes, it's more than 15 years later and I'm still annoyed by it.
posted by Lexica at 1:47 PM on April 12, 2010
It was the freaking estate sale after my mother died, dammit. And some overbleached, overmanicured *expletive deleted* in a Mercedes waited until I left to get sandwiches for everybody, then came back and told the person covering for me "oh, she promised me I could buy both tables for $30". Nicely done, you low-life sleazeball — how does it feel to have exploited and cheated the recently bereaved so you could save $15 on a damn end table?
Yes, it's more than 15 years later and I'm still annoyed by it.
posted by Lexica at 1:47 PM on April 12, 2010
When we had a garage sale and didn't want early birds, we advertised, "The 1500 Block of Such-and-Such Ave." This meant, for our neighborhood, that it was one of about six houses. People had no problem finding us when we opened, but they weren't willing to knock on as many as six different doors and wake up five families to find the sale early. But as soon as we started setting things out, we had people hovering, so we pretty much had to open as soon as we showed our faces.
Also, we noticed that people really expected to find things priced quite low. None of this Martha-Stewart-tag-sale business. Low. I made some mistakes. For instance, I priced something at $3, thinking that was more than fair, but I ended up having to take it to GoodWill. I probably could have priced it at $1, sold it, and saved myself some trouble.
Some people are great hagglers and others are really reluctant to do it. Some of them will walk away from your sale because they don't want to buy something for $10, would pay $5, but are too afraid to ask. You might want to keep and eye out for them and be, um, encouraging.
Also, don't hold any items, taking the person's word that they will come back. If they want something but don't have a big enough vehicle, make them pay first. You could miss the chance to sell it to someone else.
The sign at your cash box site should say things like, "Cash Only," "No Holds," etc. Spell out your policies.
posted by Knowyournuts at 1:51 PM on April 12, 2010
Also, we noticed that people really expected to find things priced quite low. None of this Martha-Stewart-tag-sale business. Low. I made some mistakes. For instance, I priced something at $3, thinking that was more than fair, but I ended up having to take it to GoodWill. I probably could have priced it at $1, sold it, and saved myself some trouble.
Some people are great hagglers and others are really reluctant to do it. Some of them will walk away from your sale because they don't want to buy something for $10, would pay $5, but are too afraid to ask. You might want to keep and eye out for them and be, um, encouraging.
Also, don't hold any items, taking the person's word that they will come back. If they want something but don't have a big enough vehicle, make them pay first. You could miss the chance to sell it to someone else.
The sign at your cash box site should say things like, "Cash Only," "No Holds," etc. Spell out your policies.
posted by Knowyournuts at 1:51 PM on April 12, 2010
If you're not going to be there before the sale then consider leaving a big notice on the garage door and possibly house door saying something like "Sale starts at 8 am. Please come back then" to try and discourage people from just hanging around outside talking in the early morning (annoying the neighbours). It might be better to have someone there to deal with the earlybirds, even if only from seven onwards or something, in case it becomes a problem. I wouldn't mention that you're not actually there, more make it like you're going to ignore anyone who tries.
Also let the neighbours now about the sale ahead of time (a day or two before is fine), particularly given the private nature of your street, then they won't be freaked out by all the strange people wandering around. Probably pretty obvious anyway.
I haven't had a garage sale but my neighbours have (we share a driveway) and knowing ahead of time was helpful. We put away the random stuff we usually have outside to make sure there was no confusion and kept our blinds drawn to make it clear not to knock on our door. It was all over pretty fast.
Please make sure your signs are legible from the across the street.
And this, definitely. 90% of the garage sale signs I see are illegible to me walking past right next to the sign, no way a driver will see it. Use really big fat dark coloured letters, no ball point pen, no outlines, and stand across the road and take a look before you leave it there. The words need to be at least 10 cms high and 3-4 cms thick. You don't need details, just point in the right direction then have another big sign pointing to the right house.
posted by shelleycat at 1:52 PM on April 12, 2010
Also let the neighbours now about the sale ahead of time (a day or two before is fine), particularly given the private nature of your street, then they won't be freaked out by all the strange people wandering around. Probably pretty obvious anyway.
I haven't had a garage sale but my neighbours have (we share a driveway) and knowing ahead of time was helpful. We put away the random stuff we usually have outside to make sure there was no confusion and kept our blinds drawn to make it clear not to knock on our door. It was all over pretty fast.
Please make sure your signs are legible from the across the street.
And this, definitely. 90% of the garage sale signs I see are illegible to me walking past right next to the sign, no way a driver will see it. Use really big fat dark coloured letters, no ball point pen, no outlines, and stand across the road and take a look before you leave it there. The words need to be at least 10 cms high and 3-4 cms thick. You don't need details, just point in the right direction then have another big sign pointing to the right house.
posted by shelleycat at 1:52 PM on April 12, 2010
Use a distinctive color and make flyers, and post arrows leading to the sale. Don't forget to go out and take them down later. Signage takes much more time than you think.
Marketing works. Put notes on things - it draws attention. On a vacuum cleaner - This vac doesn't suck.
Friends-N-Family Garage Sale
Sat., April 17, 8 - 3
K8t Townhouses, #37
Follow the Orange flyers to our treasure trove of great deals
exercise equipment, crib, bookcase, books, CDs, VHS tapes, baby clothes 6 mos - 4 T, women's outdoor clothing, backpacks and everything else we don't want to move
Everything 1/2 price 2 - 3
posted by theora55 at 1:53 PM on April 12, 2010
Marketing works. Put notes on things - it draws attention. On a vacuum cleaner - This vac doesn't suck.
Friends-N-Family Garage Sale
Sat., April 17, 8 - 3
K8t Townhouses, #37
Follow the Orange flyers to our treasure trove of great deals
exercise equipment, crib, bookcase, books, CDs, VHS tapes, baby clothes 6 mos - 4 T, women's outdoor clothing, backpacks and everything else we don't want to move
Everything 1/2 price 2 - 3
posted by theora55 at 1:53 PM on April 12, 2010
This may vary by region, but spend more time on signs than on advertising via CL or newspapers. If you're in a suburban neighborhood, you'll get plenty of traffic from people just out looking for garage sales.
On those signs, don't make the words "Garage Sale" dominate the sign, to the point where the address and date of the sale are too tiny to read. People know that a posterboard sign on the street corner means a garage sale is going on, so make sure they can read the when and where.
posted by donajo at 1:54 PM on April 12, 2010
On those signs, don't make the words "Garage Sale" dominate the sign, to the point where the address and date of the sale are too tiny to read. People know that a posterboard sign on the street corner means a garage sale is going on, so make sure they can read the when and where.
posted by donajo at 1:54 PM on April 12, 2010
my most important tip: take down your signs after the sale is over. There are few things more aggravating that looking for a sale that happened last week!
posted by vespabelle at 2:15 PM on April 12, 2010
posted by vespabelle at 2:15 PM on April 12, 2010
Make sure your address is on all your signs. Big and easy to read. Then take down your signs ASAP after the sale. Make a note of every sign you put up so you know where to go to take them down. A few balloons at the end of your driveway are a good way to let people know they're at the right place.
Don't hold anything unless the person has paid for it. They may ask you to hold something and then just change their minds.
Definitely have the kids sell soda and water bottles. Easy way for them to earn money. They can even put up a little sign saying what they're saving up for. "Buy a soda so we can go to Disneyland." if you want you could also use the soda sale as a fundraiser. I've seen kids selling soda at yard sales who are raising money for camps, vacations, skiing trips, and even one that had a sign saying that the proceeds were going to Locks of Love. I'm always more likely to buy a soda when I see the kid made sign advertising what they're trying to earn money for.
posted by TooFewShoes at 2:42 PM on April 12, 2010
Don't hold anything unless the person has paid for it. They may ask you to hold something and then just change their minds.
Definitely have the kids sell soda and water bottles. Easy way for them to earn money. They can even put up a little sign saying what they're saving up for. "Buy a soda so we can go to Disneyland." if you want you could also use the soda sale as a fundraiser. I've seen kids selling soda at yard sales who are raising money for camps, vacations, skiing trips, and even one that had a sign saying that the proceeds were going to Locks of Love. I'm always more likely to buy a soda when I see the kid made sign advertising what they're trying to earn money for.
posted by TooFewShoes at 2:42 PM on April 12, 2010
Make a table for all the electronics (working or not). You'll be amazed at just how focused we guys can be on electric items.
posted by Four Flavors at 3:38 PM on April 12, 2010
posted by Four Flavors at 3:38 PM on April 12, 2010
Yes - do not hold things. 75% of the people will not return, and you'll miss a sale in the meantime.
Batch similar items that are unlikely to sell completely, i.e. box of 10 hello kitty dolls, $15; box of 10 CDs, $5. That way, the best one or two don't get sold, leaving you with the rest to take to Goodwill.
People will show up early. Those people will also be the most aggressive hagglers. Be ready to start a couple of hours before the advertised start dressed and with your morning cup of coffee - they won't irritate you as much.
The hagglers like one thing better than a low price - and that is, getting a deal below sticker price. So make your sticker prices sort of low, but not too low. That way you can give people "discounts".
By noon, your traffic is almost over. Slash prices accordingly. You'll find yourself in the afternoon wondering if the one or two people every once in a while is worth waiting around for. It's not. Just close up and make a Goodwill run while it's still light out.
posted by ctmf at 3:40 PM on April 12, 2010
Batch similar items that are unlikely to sell completely, i.e. box of 10 hello kitty dolls, $15; box of 10 CDs, $5. That way, the best one or two don't get sold, leaving you with the rest to take to Goodwill.
People will show up early. Those people will also be the most aggressive hagglers. Be ready to start a couple of hours before the advertised start dressed and with your morning cup of coffee - they won't irritate you as much.
The hagglers like one thing better than a low price - and that is, getting a deal below sticker price. So make your sticker prices sort of low, but not too low. That way you can give people "discounts".
By noon, your traffic is almost over. Slash prices accordingly. You'll find yourself in the afternoon wondering if the one or two people every once in a while is worth waiting around for. It's not. Just close up and make a Goodwill run while it's still light out.
posted by ctmf at 3:40 PM on April 12, 2010
If there is a guy in the group and you have a broken thing, try implying that someone reasonably handy could probably fix it. It's an irresistible manhood challenge for many.
posted by ctmf at 3:43 PM on April 12, 2010
posted by ctmf at 3:43 PM on April 12, 2010
Seconding TooFewShoes on selling sodas. They went amazingly well--I sold out very quickly and made a huge mark-up on them. My garage sale buddies laughed at me until they saw how well they did. (And I'm not even a kid. A cute kid hawking a soda about 11 am on a hot day? Cannot go wrong.)
posted by thebrokedown at 3:54 PM on April 12, 2010
posted by thebrokedown at 3:54 PM on April 12, 2010
I found that when we participated in a neighborhood sale, there actually was a bit of a rush in the last hour - and I marked everything of mine to half-off for that hour.
Make it your goal to get rid of stuff, not make a lot of money, and you'll probably do both.
posted by dbmcd at 4:22 PM on April 12, 2010
Make it your goal to get rid of stuff, not make a lot of money, and you'll probably do both.
posted by dbmcd at 4:22 PM on April 12, 2010
Put the money in a fanny pack and have someone actually wear it. Also eliminates any confusion about who is on cashier shift.
If there are people in your group who are willing to install and remove the signs at the right times, don't bother putting the time on your poster. That leaves more room for BIG SALE, address, arrow. Make the lettering neat, and freakishly huge.
Staging the merch nicely does help. Make it inviting and accessible. If there's anything without an obvious price tag, put up a sign with general price guidelines. Not everyone who comes to a garage sale is comfortable with haggling.
Have a look around after an hour or two and move things closer together, further up the driveway, whatever makes it look like it hasn't been picked through already. Do this several times a day. First impressions can make a difference.
Definitely sell drinks, as has been said. Have kids involved in this, if possible -- making signs, setting up cups, making change if they know how. Put this area near the kid stuff you're selling.
posted by gnomeloaf at 4:59 PM on April 12, 2010
If there are people in your group who are willing to install and remove the signs at the right times, don't bother putting the time on your poster. That leaves more room for BIG SALE, address, arrow. Make the lettering neat, and freakishly huge.
Staging the merch nicely does help. Make it inviting and accessible. If there's anything without an obvious price tag, put up a sign with general price guidelines. Not everyone who comes to a garage sale is comfortable with haggling.
Have a look around after an hour or two and move things closer together, further up the driveway, whatever makes it look like it hasn't been picked through already. Do this several times a day. First impressions can make a difference.
Definitely sell drinks, as has been said. Have kids involved in this, if possible -- making signs, setting up cups, making change if they know how. Put this area near the kid stuff you're selling.
posted by gnomeloaf at 4:59 PM on April 12, 2010
Make sure you get any permits required by your municipality.
If you are particularly nuts, make sure you keep track of sales so you can report any profit on your taxes.
(And make sure you are or aren't required to charge sales tax. If I was an enterprising revenue agent, I'd show up at all the garage sales...)
posted by gjc at 6:56 PM on April 12, 2010
If you are particularly nuts, make sure you keep track of sales so you can report any profit on your taxes.
(And make sure you are or aren't required to charge sales tax. If I was an enterprising revenue agent, I'd show up at all the garage sales...)
posted by gjc at 6:56 PM on April 12, 2010
I've done well selling multiple items with a built-in discount - for example, everything on one table is $1, or 6 for $5. This would probably work well for your media items. Don't bother pricing each thing individually; just make one sign with your pricing scheme.
Regarding your shelves - is there anything else in the garage? If so, can you move the shelves into the driveway and close the door? The first year I did our community yard sale, I left the garage door open without thinking, and I had several eager beavers poking around and making offers on bags of mulch, rakes, and other stuff that was not intended for sale. Some yard salers can be very aggressive. Last year I had my babies in their bouncers on the porch, and I eventually had to put "Not For Sale" signs on the bouncers. Also, hide any containers that you've been holding your stuff in, or people will try to buy those, too (unless you mean to sell them).
Our "free" box has been a hit - we've thrown in corporate schwag, a massive number of individual bags of chips left over from a party (Costco!), etc. - anything that I wouldn't expect anyone to pay even a quarter for, but I don't want it and want to get it out of the house.
posted by candyland at 7:51 PM on April 12, 2010
Regarding your shelves - is there anything else in the garage? If so, can you move the shelves into the driveway and close the door? The first year I did our community yard sale, I left the garage door open without thinking, and I had several eager beavers poking around and making offers on bags of mulch, rakes, and other stuff that was not intended for sale. Some yard salers can be very aggressive. Last year I had my babies in their bouncers on the porch, and I eventually had to put "Not For Sale" signs on the bouncers. Also, hide any containers that you've been holding your stuff in, or people will try to buy those, too (unless you mean to sell them).
Our "free" box has been a hit - we've thrown in corporate schwag, a massive number of individual bags of chips left over from a party (Costco!), etc. - anything that I wouldn't expect anyone to pay even a quarter for, but I don't want it and want to get it out of the house.
posted by candyland at 7:51 PM on April 12, 2010
the cashbox operator will pull the sticker off
If you do this, make sure that it's actually possible to pull them off. We had a garage sale once and used colored round stickers with prices written on them. Some of the toys that didn't sell are still in the basement with the stickers stuck on, impossible to remove.
posted by smackfu at 3:30 PM on April 13, 2010
If you do this, make sure that it's actually possible to pull them off. We had a garage sale once and used colored round stickers with prices written on them. Some of the toys that didn't sell are still in the basement with the stickers stuck on, impossible to remove.
posted by smackfu at 3:30 PM on April 13, 2010
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posted by advicepig at 12:41 PM on April 12, 2010