Making the Most of Your Garage Sale

by Sherry Holetzky | More from this Blogger

14 Jun 2006 04:28 AM

If you're having a garage sale, for whatever reason, the ultimate goal is to make some money. You might as well get back some of your hard earned money by selling things you no longer need, and people will be glad to oblige you if they feel they are getting a good deal.

These tips will help you make the most of your sale:

1) Consider inviting friends or neighbors to join you in hosting a sale. Having lots of stuff will draw more people. Put the good stuff up front so people can see it when driving by, and display things attractively. People won't stop if it looks like you just have a bunch of junk.

2) Keep glass and other fragile items out of the way. Place them away from toys or other items of interest to children. Don't set fragile pieces near the front edge of the table where they can get bumped or knocked down. Losing several pieces means losing money.

3) Don't leave your money unattended. Be sure to have plenty of change, and keep big bills separate. If your cash box starts filling up, take it inside and remove some of the money. Also, keep valuable items near you so you can keep an eye on them.

4) Having an extension cord handy or setting up near an outlet so people can test items like lamps and electronics to make sure they work, are good ways to make sales. Keep a set of batteries handy (AA are the most common, so at least have these on hand) so people can test things like battery operated toys and radios as well (make sure to get your batteries back before the person leaves with the item).

5) If you have a nearly new item for sale and you're trying to get top dollar for it, find a sales paper that lists the price if possible, for comparison. Keep all prices fair, not too high, not too low.

6) Never write the price directly onto items. People won't buy them because they don't know if the ink will come off. Use easy to remove stickers, or to save money if you can't find cheap price tags, use small pieces of masking tape. You can get a roll of masking tape for less than $1.00.

7) Keep pets inside or in a fenced area. Many people will be frightened, irritated, or allergic and they do not want to contend with other people's pets while shopping.

*Related Articles:

Garage Sales and Yard Sales

More Garage Sale and Yard Sale Tips

Learn more about Sherry Holetzky

Sherry Holetzky is a work at home mom and freelance writer. Married to her best friend, Sherry and her husband are raising their family in a quiet rural setting in the beautiful Ozark Mountains.

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Libby Pelham (12880) 14 Jun 2006 05:25 AM

Great blog Sherry! We need to have a garage sale - although our main purpose is to rid ourselves of unwanted junk :-)

Sherry Holetzky (11404) 14 Jun 2006 06:13 AM

Libby! I can relate. I am always sorting and trying to get rid of more junk. I frequently take stuff to a local drop box, but if I actually go to the trouble of having a yard sale, I want to make some money honey. :o)

I need to have a sale myself, but I'm not quite that motivated yet... Good luck with yours!

Nicole Humphrey (15757) 15 Jun 2006 05:30 AM

Loved this! I am a garage sale queen. I always make more than I expected which is great! And I love the feeling of decluttering everything! Thanks for the great articles Sherry!

Sherry Holetzky (11404) 15 Jun 2006 05:54 AM

That's great, Nicole. De-cluttering is a good feeling and even better when you make some cash in the process! Thank you for your kind words.