The Ultimate Guide to a Successful Garage Sale

Advertise

Before you do any advertising for your garage sale, be sure to check with your city or municipality to ensure that you do not need a permit as some local regulations do require permission or documentation to hold a garage sale.

Getting the word out about your garage sale is a bit of a balancing act. Advertise too soon, and people think they will remember but won’t. Advertise too late, and you take a chance people won’t see the information in time to swing by.

In today’s world, letting everyone know about your sale can happen both the old-fashioned way with flyers and signs as well as virtually, through social media and online neighborhood websites.

Post your online garage sale notification a few days before your sale and again the day prior and the morning of.  Flyers should be passed out or put into mailboxes on adjacent streets mid-week to give local residents an ample heads-up about the sale. 

Signs should be put up in high-traffic areas and at intersections near your home for drivers passing by the day before and the morning of.  As a courtesy, let your immediate neighbors know about your garage sale so they can expect increased traffic. They might even want to contribute some items.

Most people have time on the weekends to swing by, so those days work best. You can plan for one day or two; planning on two consecutive days is advantageous just in case Mother Nature decides not to cooperate.

Prepare for the Sale

Preparation for a garage sale is dependent on how many items you are planning to sell. Once you have cleaned out and decluttered, you now have to decide what is worthy and in good enough condition to put up for sale.

Ideally, you want to have a wide variety of items that span a bunch of categories. Popular items typically include:

• Furniture
• Gently used appliances
• Kitchen gadgets
• Clothing, especially children’s apparel
• Miscellaneous baby items
• Books, especially if you have an entire series
• Games
• Puzzles
• Jewelry
• Handbags/Purses/Clutches
• Tools
• Linens
• Electronics
• Home Décor
• Artwork and Posters
• Vintage Records
• Dish Sets, China or Serving Platters

The more robust your inventory is and the more creatively you arrange the wares, the more likely people are to stop. Coordinate like items with like items to make it easier for people to browse. Items placed willy-nilly tend to be more challenging for shoppers. 

Create price tags for everything, and keep it to even dollar items, which makes adding up pricing easy on everyone. For items that aren't obvious, add a label so that is clear to potential buyers what it is. 

Remember that a garage sale is all about fairly pricing what you are selling, knowing that it's used or gently worn. Don’t get caught up in pricing based on what you know the original price tag was. The rule of thumb, according to the home service site Angi, is to charge 10% of what the current market value is for any specific item.

During the Garage Sale

On the morning of your garage sale, check on any signage that you hung up already to be sure it hasn’t been knocked down by the wind or ripped. Add additional signs where it makes sense. Your signs should be made in big bold letters on both sides using arrows to point interested parties in the right direction. Also, send out a reminder post on any digital platforms where you promoted the sale earlier in the week.

Enlist some help from your family members, friends or neighbors throughout the day. The more hands on deck, the more streamlined things will go, especially if things get busy. If you have younger kids, have them set up a stand and sell lemonade or baked goods. 

As you arrange your garage sale items, use sturdy tables and clothing racks organized in makeshift aisles and rows. Place books or records in a bin (ideally alphabetically by author or artist), fold, hang, and stack clothing neatly, arrange jewelry in a decorative way, and buff up anything that needs a shine.

Have enough money on hand to make change (people tend to bring larger bills), and consider using online apps for money exchange like Venmo, Square, or Apple Pay for those who don’t carry cash. This benefits both you and any potential shoppers, as it's easier to keep track of payments and doesn’t require a paper receipt. 

Provide plastic bags for smaller items to be carried away in, and have some newspaper and tape on hand to wrap more fragile items. Have a receipt book ready if someone would like a receipt.

Expect a few negotiators; have an idea ahead of time how flexible you may be willing to go on price. It's your sale, so you make the rules, but be willing to take a legitimate offer.

In the last hour, announce a steep discount to help further sweeten potential sales. You have nothing to lose by attempting to tempt shoppers to buy, even if it is a modest exchange for an item.

After the Garage Sale

It's always the hope that a garage sale rids you of many items and provides you with some fun money. For any items that are left, simply box them up and donate them to a local charity. Larger items like furniture can often be picked up.

Don't put anything back into your home that didn’t sell. The temptation will be real, but move it along to someone who could actually use it.

Be sure to take down any signs on street corners or light posts, and clean up the general area to make sure no paper, receipts, bags, or price tags have migrated around as litter.

Your garage was the backdrop for your sale, but it now returns to its everyday use. Many homeowners are always looking for garage friendly storage solutions. Built-in Closets & Garage Designs, a closet company in South Florida, offers terrific inspirations for maximizing your garage wall space. 

Final Thoughts

Garage sales are an endeavor to undertake but can end up eliminating clutter and making you some extra cash. Consider throwing a garage sale every few years to keep your clutter at bay, or collaborate and have a street-wide sale to garner even more interest.

Sources

• https://www.angi.com/articles/ultimate-garage-sale-pricing-guide.htm
• https://www.closetandgaragedesigns.com/garage-wall-space