Garage Sales: Tips for Selling

In the last miscellaneous article, I wrote about tips for buying at a garage sale. This article is about hosting your own garage sale and what you need to know.

Community Rules

 

First of all, you want to check the rules of your city or county. Some cities only allow two garage sales per year (Ontario, California); other cities charge a fee for hosting a garage sale which may be about $10 per time. Fortunately, my city allows garage sales anytime.

 

Another thing to look out for is putting up signs on lampposts. Some cities say that is illegal to do so and will fine you for it. My city says it's illegal, but people keep doing it, and nobody gets fined for some reason. They should just retract the law.

 

Following the rules will definitely save you a lot of trouble and might even reap some benefits. If your community only allows garage sales twice a year, the community garage sale will draw many more people than if you just do a garage sale on your own.



Advertisement

 

Advertising on a website is an option to get buyers to come. Craiglist or a community website such as Nextdoor will give you the opportunity to post the details of your sale. Make sure to put the address, date, and time. In the description, write down the things that most buyers look for like furniture, tools, or antiques. Clothes, decorations, and DVDs are usually not a good impression on the sale.

 

I mentioned above that you can also put up signs around the neighborhood. If it is illegal in your city, you can park your car in busier streets and put signs on your car. If you put signs up, make sure you do it the day before instead of keeping it up for a week. That misleads a lot of people because most signs don't have space for a date and time. Also, take it down after the sale is over. This way, you can save the sign for another time and not litter the city if your sign falls off or gets rained upon.



Preparations

 

Preparations for a garage sale should take place a week in advance if possible. It is easier to put items out on the day of the sale if you make a section in your garage of all the things that are to be sold. Sorting the items out ensures that you have some items out when early birds arrive.

 

You also need a clean driveway or tables to put your items on. A more organized yard sale makes it more appealing to buyers. Keep clothes and toys separate, put DVDs and books in a box, and arrange miscellaneous items somewhere else. Organization helps buyers to be able to find items more often. If you would like, you can also put out a box of free items that are too small to sell or are slightly broken (missing a piece, chipped on one side, etc.)

 

On the day of the sale, wake up an hour before the sale begins to set everything up. Depending on how many items you have, it may take a long time to put out your items. Plan for early customers coming around 7:30 in the morning. If they see you setting up, they will come to look.



What to Sell

 

Sell things you don't need or want. A good time for a sale is after spring cleaning season. You're going to be cleaning out the house already. There's no better time to collect your items then. Try not to have a garage sale every week. A good garage sale will have a great diversity of items and a great number of items. If you have five different things to sell, you would probably be better off waiting until you have more items.

 

Don't sell items that you wouldn't donate. What I am referring to are things that are really broken: a half-smashed plate, a LEGO set missing half the pieces, a CD that is scratched beyond recognition, a stuffed animal our dog chewed, the chair without three of its legs. Those things would be better off in the trash. You probably won't sell them anyways.

 

You could sell chairs that need to be re-upholstered, a LEGO set missing a few pieces, a piece of clothing with one stain on it, or a shoe with a scuffed up bottom. Anything that the buyer could fix on their own can be sold.



Types of Buyers

 

There are three types of buyers to watch out for: early birds, hagglers, and large groups. Early birds come thirty minutes or an hour before your garage sale starts. If there's nothing, then they'll leave. You might not even be awake yet! You can put on a website listing: "No early birds," and that should take care of those people.

 

Hagglers are people who bargain so low, it's ridiculous. For example, if you are selling a chair for $5, they might ask it for $1. There are two ways to avoid having a bad deal on your hands. When people ask for the price, don't be too hesitant and unsure. If people know that you are unsure of the price, they will try to ask for a way lower price. Also, if you run into a haggler, put your foot down. It's kind of like selling a house: don't take the offer if it's too low.

 

Then there are the large and dubious groups. One of my yard sales was graced with their presence. They ended up stealing some of our things. When a large group brings a lot of children, they expect you to give them toys for free and give everything else for an extremely cheap price. One such group told us that they only had $15 to buy a bunch of items, and they handed us a $20 bill! Having a couple of extra people to keep watch will prevent things from being stolen. The same tips from the hagglers can also apply to this group.



Pricing

 

I have given many tips on pricing above, but the most important rule is to put the price you would buy the item for. The previous article spoke about ridiculously overpriced garage sales. Remember that buyers see all your items as used whether they really are or not. Be prepared to sell something for $1 or $2 less depending on the item. Throw in deals for those buying a couple of items. Make it worthwhile for the customer to keep looking. If one item is overpriced, they will assume that everything else is overpriced.

 

Do's and Don'ts

• Do recommend other products related to ones the customer is buying.
• Don't stare at the customer while they are walking around.
• Do ask what the customer is looking for.
• Don't start recommending every single item to the customer. #awkward
• Do remain outside the whole time the sale is going on.
• Don't leave your sale unattended for a long period of time.
• Do be kind and considerate to everyone.
• Don't cheat of the customer by lying about the original price (someone did that to me once).
• Do stay hydrated if it is hot outside.
• Don't ... I ran out of ideas.

***

Hopefully, that article was useful and will help you on your sale. Believe it or not at the posting of this article, I am in Tepic, Mexico on a mission trip. Some of the articles next month will be about that trip, so stay tuned for that. I will wish myself a good trip so far. :) I am writing this article on June 12th actually.

 

The verse for this article is Colossians 3:13. "Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye." A good principle to live by regardless of the relationship and circumstance. Forgiveness solves a lot of problems. Have a great day!