Think you could pull off a successful garage sale? Yes, you can. I know it can be extremely stressful to plan one. It's as if you are ready to get rid of your stuff, but you have difficulties pricing items, letting go of items and figuring out which items are worth even placing in a garage sale versus a free pile. With all that comes into play with garage sales, it's no wonder many just opt to donate their stuff.
While donating items is a great way to give back to others, sometimes you just want to host a successful garage sale to earn a little extra cash.
Today, I am sharing a few tips on how to plan a successful garage sale so that you can rest easy knowing all will go smoothly.
Select a Date
The first step to planning a successful garage sale is to review your calendar for a good date. Think about a time when the whole community may be hosting garage sales, this way you may get in some free advertising and take advantage of other people advertising your area as the garage sale center during this date. Often times Memorial Day weekend is the onset of garage sales, so consider planning for a nice 3-day holiday weekend event to ensure you have a successful garage sale.
Organize and Prep
Once you have determined the date of said garage sale, you will want to start organizing the piles of stuff you desire to sell. With a garage sale you can actually opt to organize and prep long before the actual date arrives. Consider parking outside of the garage while you get the sale setup completely. Consider organization of items; will you organize by type, price or size? Think about what type of setup would draw you in as a consumer peeking at a garage sale from the road. Let's face it, many people will pull the drive by to peek at your garage sale before even stepping foot inside. Make your sale look inviting and appealing.
Be Prepared
You should go to your local bank to get rolls of change because you know that first customer at your garage sale will need an odd change amount. You will lose out on cash if you don't have enough change on hand to cash out a $20 bill. Have all pricing marked and know what your lowest acceptable rates are so that you do not get low balled. Create a price list so that each person helping you host this successful yard sale is on the same financial page as you. Consider taking shifts with others so that you don't get burnt out being the only one handling the visitors to your garage sale.
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Once you have the date planned, everything organized and priced as well as cash on hand to make change, you are finally ready to have your successful garage sale. Don't forget to spread the word on social media and posters downtown so that your garage sale is effectively advertised to reach the most amount of people possible.
Awesome tips and advice! Thank you. I will be having one very soon so they will be very handy.
These are awesome tips! Thanks so much!
I love garage sales! I'll admit that I rather go to them than have them, but these are really good tips, nonetheless. 🙂
I love checking out garage sales around the neighborhood, but I've never thrown one myself. Would love to one of these days. Thanks for the tips!
A garage sale is such a good idea! It is always good to be organized
Garage sales can definitely be a pain, but less so if you've planned them. These are some great tips for planning a successful garage sale!
I would love to have a garage sale before we move this summer. I think it would be so awesome to get rid of some clutter and make some extra moving money. these are great tips!
Being organized is sooo important for garage sales as it features so many different types of items. Good tips.
I haven't ever had a garage sale because I usually don't have enough good stuff to set out. They are a ton of work and they can be worth doing if you have enough stuff to put out.
These are all some great tips. Getting set up for a garage sale is not always easy. I just had one about 2-3 weeks ago. It went pretty well too.
I've actually been in the process of planning a garage sale. Usually, we just take stuff to the flea market. Right now we have too much stuff to even think about that.
I have experience a garage sale before and i enjoyed it so much and at the same time going in a garage sale. It is so much fun and worth it.
MY husband and I go to garage sales every weekend. You wouldn't believe how many people are clueless about pricing their stuff. We have gotten so many amazing deals and have noticed a lot of overpriced things as well. Great tips!
These are some great tips. we have garage sales all the time.
Very useful info. I always want to have a garage sale but feel so uncomfortable to let random people visiting our house.
I need to clean out my life, such great tips! I haven't ever done one and I always thought it was the perfect family activity!
great tips for a successful and less stressed garage sale! it's all about preparation! I used to do garage sale a few years ago, I haven't for a couple years... hmmm... maybe I ought to ; )
I have never planned a garage sale, but my family has thought of doing it! Thanks for the tips!
Garage sales are definitely a lot of work! I need to get rid of a lot of stuff, I just need to get organized.
I will have to try these tips for our yard sale next month. Our street is having a big street sale.
One of my biggest tips is to have plenty of change. If you run out, you can lose a lot of sales.
These are great tips! I love attending garage sales, but I am too timid to throw one. I tend to donate my stuff rather than sell it. It kills me to know how much money I am losing! lol
Really is work getting a yard sale put together. Nice to have a staging area where you can put everything and price stuff and take it out. We get it all tables set out night before so we are ready to go. Kids use to make a lemonade stand and sell drinks. They always did great.
Excellent tips! I think we will have a garage sale next year. This year was more about weeding through things and getting organized!
We have a lot of stuff lol
We have a friend who has a sale every year. He has a cooler of beer and BBQ's for people. I don't think he is having the sale to make money - more like to make friends haha!
I so need to have a garage sale but I just haven't done it YET. I usually pull out a bunch of stuff for a potential yard sale and then end up donating it. This post is my incentive. I'll be sure to share pics if and when I have a yard sale.
I love the concept of garage sales. We don't really have this in India. But we do have online stores where we can list used stuff for sale. But a real life sale would be so much fun.
This is actually a super helpful guide! I just moved out of my apartment recently and decided to not throw any sale as I couldn't be bothered with trying to put it all together - just the thought was overwhelming! I had it picked up for a shelter. But I remember really enjoying yard sales as a kid! It has been so long since I've been to any - so many people just automatically resort to selling things online but it's fun to see what hidden gems one would find!
Best,
Rebecca
We don't tend to do 'garage sales' in the UK, but do something quite similar called a 'car boot sale' which is the same kind of idea. I've never really made much money through them but know some people have. You've shared some really great tips!
Garage sales are such a great way to recycle your stuff and make some extra cash. Two of my biggest garage sale tips: keep a cooler full of soda's and bottled water and sell them for $1 each, especially on hot days. Do the same with king size candy bars. You can buy them by the case at Costco and add some extra money to your sales.
I love these tips. As a person who has had both successful yard sales and epic fails, I know that timing is everything.
I wish I had some of these tips before I did my last garage sale. We had so many things for sale but I don't think I did it correctly because a lot of things are still left over after I was done with the garage sale.
These are great tips for a successful garage sale. It is so important to plan ahead for anything we do. First impressions are key to success in my opinion and to get costumers in you have to display wanted items out front. Thanks for sharing the tips.
Garage sales are great when they are profitable. But for us, they are also great when we can unload some stuff and our daughters have fun. Our eight year old daughter thinks having a garage sale is the best ever. She makes lemonade, organizes things from her room, invites over friends to help sell dog biscuits, etc., etc. The dog treats have actually won over a few unintentional customers that just happened to be walking their dogs.
This is something we don't do here in the Uk, we sound so boring don't we. It would be a good idea as I have a load of things to sell too. Great tips!!
These are super tips! I've never actually had a Garage Sale but with these tips I know I would be able to pull one off...
I would love to have a garage or yard sale, but I just don't have the patience for it. I can't sit out there in the sun all day waiting on people. That's why I blog, lol!
The great thing is that there are lots of garage sales where I live, even though nobody really has a garage. (I live in a city.) I've never held a garage sale myself. But I have sold items on Craigslist which is kind of like that. These are great tips for getting ready for garage sale.
We like to have ice cold bottled water on hand for those who purchase something. Sometimes those folks will stick around and look some more, oftentimes ending up in more sales!