Now that you, hopefully, have gotten a handle on your spring cleaning and are
beginning to amass things for a yard sale, how do you do it so you make the
most cash possible? Because that's what it's all about. There are several
sources for tips on the Web, but these come straight from personal observation
from years of both attending and going to sales.
The very first thing you want to do is make sure you have enough stuff. If you
don't, consider asking neighbors and friends to help flesh out the sale. A
great way to increase profits is to have a neighborhood or multifamily sale.
You've seen them in the paper: "Large multifamily sale, kids items, lots of
furniture."
Who wouldn't want to go? This type of sale is also a great way to raise money
for a church or school organization. Having everything in one place makes it
easier for bargain hunters by not having to drive to multiple locations.
If you aren't using your sale for a charity, you'll have to devise a way to keep
everyone's dimes and quarters separate. Back home, we'd have everyone assigned
a color or a number. So when a buyer approached the checkout, the money could
be separated immediately into color- or number-coded envelopes. I've also seen
sellers with a tablet, and each time someone bought an item, the little sticker
indicating price and seller was put on the tablet and money was divvied up at
the end of the day.
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So, you've got your system for identifying sellers, but how do you organize the
sale so you're not up all night pricing things? Start by examining the items as
you pull them out. If a piece of clothing is badly worn or stained, throw it
away because no one will buy it. If a vase or knickknack has been broken and
put back together in such a way it won't sell, throw it away. Once you've
weeded, determine if you really want items to move - or if they sell, fine; if
not, you'll find another home for them. If you want them to move, price to
sell. It's amazing how dimes and quarters add up.
Books and clothes are a good example of this. Clothes sell the slowest, so
consider selling them by the pound or putting them in boxes labeled "everything
a $1." Books sell pretty well, but garage salers expect to find cheap books. A
dollar for older hardbacks but no more than $5 for more recent hardcovers.
Paperbacks should be sold for no more than a $1 as well. Consider that a
secondhand bookstore sells paperbacks for half the cover price and hardbacks
for far below sticker price.
Put a price on as many items as you can; otherwise, you'll be pestered all day
with people asking for the price. Kick your sale off early. Most buyers are out
the door by 7 a.m., and you don't want to miss out on those dollars. Sales wind
down by 1 or 2 p.m., when it starts getting hot and people are running out of
money.
At the end of the day, box up what you have left over for the DAV or the
Salvation Army or your favorite charity. Nearly everything you donate will be
tax deductible so there is more cash in your pocket come April 15.
Remember to start early, price to sell and wear your sunscreen.
Quick tips
Advertise. Local papers offer great rates and lots of cheap exposure.
Put up signs in the neighborhood and on major intersections leading bargain
hunters to your street. Just be sure to go and take them down when your sale is
over.
Organize. Keep like items together. Customers are typically in the market
for specific things (books, furniture, knickknacks), so keeping these items
together makes it easier for them to get and go.
Be prepared to dicker. Dickering at garage sales is like breathing. If
you are serious about getting rid of your stuff, dicker, dicker, dicker and
sell, sell, sell.
Consider refreshments. Donuts and coffee in the morning and soft drinks
and snack crackers in the afternoon.
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