Six Steps To Yard Sale Success

It’s now officially summer and for many people, that means yard sale (or garage sale) time. Have a yard sale and get rid of all those things that you have tossed during your Spring cleaning “spree.”

Now that you have all of this “stuff,” what do you do with it?

Step One: Get it organized. Put books with books and dishes with dishes. You get the picture. All like items together.

Step Two: Write the ad for your yard sale and get it to your local newspaper and Recycler publication. When writing your ads and your yard sale signs, remember that the words that sell the best are “Collectibles” and “Everything Must Go!” Your yard sale sign should be written with a bold black marker on a bright yellow card stock. It really catches the eye and makes it easier to read. Don’t make the mistake of writing too small. Make your printing large enough that people can see it when they drive by. Add a large arrow – and don’t forget to put your address on it.

Step Three: Price your items. Some things like books and sweaters or other clothing, will sell better if you sell them as two-for-one or three-for-one. Create small cards to place on your set of books say, “3 for .00.” Now, aren’t you glad you already have all your books together?

Step Four: Set up your tables and other areas for your sale. Set up a table especially for smaller items such as jewelry. Antique dealers have a secret for selling small items: display them on a dark colored tablecloth. This shows them off better than light colors or bare tables. Also, sorting jewelry into individual baggies gives the idea that each item is special – even if it’s not!

Step Five: Ready, Set Go! You have everything ready so now you can sit back and rake in the cash. Well, not really. If you want to really sell, you need to join the crowd and talk to your customers. Make them happy. Give a toy to a child. Dicker over the price of an item. Throw something in for free and tell them, “The more you buy, the cheaper you can get it.” Your goal here (besides making money) is to get rid of your clutter!

Step Six: When the yard sale is over, don’t put everything that’s left back into your house. It’s tempting to save it for the next yard sale but you’ll usually just end up selling the same items over and over again. Take everything to a charity such as Good Will or the Salvation Army. That will make your yard sale a true success – cleaning out all of your unwanted stuff!