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For those of you who shop the yard sales or garage sales, this is a lot of fun. I have picked up some really great deals at the yard and garage sales. However, the people who go to the sales are not always the greatest at selling. Sometimes, you need some help there too. Our family has held a few garage sales and I want you to know that it is a LOT of work, no matter what anyone says. It is not a piece of cake. And it takes some planning. So, here are some things to consider when planning a yard or garage sale in the future.
Tip: If you can, put your ad in the newspaper the week of the sale. In the ad, tell the important things like…a small list of what you have, the address where they need to go for it and BE SURE To tell what the times are for the sale. If you put 8am to ?, you will sit out there all day and possibly have no sales beyond a certain time. Always tell your customers how long you are willing to be there. Oh, and there will always be “early birds” getting there before the time you set. So, set the time for a little later than you want to start, say a half hour. Sometimes the birds get there as you are setting up. Tip #2 now.
Tip: Set up the sale as early as you can. If your place allows the setup the day before, great! If not, put things out as early as possible.
Tip: Signs! One of the things that has turned me off of a yard or garage sale is a sign that you can either barely read or can’t read at all until you get up really close. Whoever wrote that out was not thinking beyond what they could see as they wrote it. Signs need to have LARGE LETTERS to be seen from a distance. Don’t get too cute with the colors either. Black is the best color for lettering I have ever seen. Dark red comes in second, for me at least. Light colors simply will not be seen more than a couple of feet away.
Tip: Set up your signs a couple of days in advance NOT several days early. The signs will be no good or be stolen before your sale starts. No signs, no sales.
Tip: More on signs. Placement of signs is really important. You can make or break a sale by having the signs in the wrong place. Put the signs in all ways entering your street or road. If you have a dirt road like we did, place the signs at the head of the roads that intersect with that one. Get creative. The nicer the signs, the more interesting the sale looks. Put colorful balloons on the signs. When they wave in the breeze, they attract attention from folks who didn’t know about your sale. One note of caution here: Some cities and towns have ordinances about sign placement. Please check with your local government before doing any sign placements. They can cause a fine or ticket.
Tip: When you decide the value of the items, please be aware that no one is going to pay what you paid six years ago, even if it looks new. Be reasonable. They are looking for bargains! Put stickers on with fair prices. Lots of those who attend sales like this carry change in their pockets for the cheap prices on things. Give them plenty to look at. Whether you have the pre-priced stickers or just a lot of tape, make it look like you worked a little to price items. Do not have torn pieces of tape with an illegible price. Mark things clearly. One thing. You must decide whether you will accept checks or not. Advice: I would not accept checks from anyone that you do not already know. You might even say in your ads and on signs…cash only!
Tip: ALWAYS have more than one person handling the customers. Have at least one who does nothing but watch for people walking away with things they do not pay for. If you want a profit, you can’t afford to have theft. Have someone handling only the cash box. If possible, have them writing down each sale item. That way, you have an inventory.
Tip: Combined family sales are great and will likely bring in more customers. Try to have at least a three family sale. Then, you can split the cost of anything you need as well as an ad unless your paper has free ads for such sales. Ours does. Be sure the families all advertise the sale even in their own neighborhoods, if you don’t live in the same one.
Tip: Clean up is very important, especially if you live in a neighborhood where others will be picking up your trash if you do not clean all the papers and trash from your sale. Also, ALWAYS gather your signs back up when it’s over. Take them down!!! Nobody wants to go to a sale that happened last week. Too many people leave the signs to rot.
That’s it from Window Shopper once again. Happy Shopping!!
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