Have you ever wanted to have a garage sale, but it seems like way too much work? Or does it feel super overwhelming, because you feel like you don’t even know where to start? We have had many successful garage sales over the years. Garage sales are a great option when you’re looking to make some extra cash and clear out clutter from your home.
We have a very detailed video to show you just how we do it, and how we’ve simplified the process over the years, making it an event that we look forward to.
Gather/Collect Items
Throughout the year we purge each room and closet multiple times. Each time we come across items that we no longer are using or in need of, we place it in a box downstairs in our basement. It’s important to choose a designated space in your home where you can place all of your items that you plan to sell in your garage sale. Make sure you clean, sort, price and organize each item before you box it up. This saves a lot of time on the back end when you are ready to set up for your sale. The hard work is done already!
Signage
Having proper signage for your sale is extremely important. The signage that we like to use in particular are the ones with a large arrow. Check out the ones that we personally use here. Having arrows on your signs is extremely important, even more, important than your address. When people are driving 20-45mph down the street, they can easily notice an arrow before they can read your address. Therefore, you will have more people stop at your sale because they just follow the arrows. If you make your own signs choose a bright color, but make sure your arrows are big and noticeable. One of our favorite tips is that we use the same signs every year without having to buy new ones. We don’t include the dates, just our address and days of the week the sale is going on.
Advertise
You must get the word out about your sale, other than just depending on the signs to bring the crowds pouring in. Word of mouth is great. But, our favorite way to advertise for our sale is to use Craigslist. Make sure your title is very compelling and concise. Using words such as multi-family or community sale is a plus. Buyers like to hit up a garage sale where they know that there is a good chance there is something there for the entire family, or they can shop at multiple sales on the same day. Facebook is also another place that you should consider advertising. There are groups that you can join on Facebook that allow you to post pictures of your sale and items. Just do a search and type in “garage sale groups” in the search bar. Then request to join and your all ready to go!
Choose The Right Day and Time
Would you believe it if we told you that Thursdays are a great day to have a garage sale? It’s true, at least in our opinion. Having your sale start on a Thursday allows buyers who are having cabin fever to get out and buy, buy, buy! There is also less competition with other sales, as well as it’s more conducive to buyer’s schedules. The weekends are usually full of appointments and errands for most potential buyers. We have tested our theory more than once. We make more money on a Thursday than we do on Friday and Saturday combined. Give it a try, the results speak for itself!
Set Up
Don’t you dread going to garage sales where you have to look on the ground or rummage through boxes to find something to buy? Most people will usually continue driving pass your home if they see that items are not neatly placed on tables. If it looks like it’s junk in a box, they won’t even waste their time to get out of the car. Make sure you have plenty of tables to set your items on and clothes racks to hang clothing or coats. The tables that we prefer to use are like this one because it’s super lightweight, cost-effective and compact. We find that keeping children’s clothing in bins is not a deal breaker. People who are looking for clothing don’t mind going through a bin, especially if you have the bin properly marked with a sign of your prices and sizes.
Watch our video above for more in-depth detail. Here are a few more tips that we share in this video.
- What’s the best way to sell your children’s toys at your sale. It works like a charm!
- How to sell multiple items at once, to one buyer.
- We also discuss how you can sell all of your items that are left at the end of your sale in a creative way.
- What to do with the items that don’t sale.
- What items are great to buy and not to buy at Dollar Tree for your sale.
- How to make money selling food and beverages at your sale.
- Which bills to avoid from buyers that are looking to purchase items at your sale.
- How to make sure you have the right amount of cash before the start of your sale.
- Where we like to keep/carry our cash while our sale is going on.
- What items do you need before your sale starts.
