A Guide for How to Hold a Successful Yard Sale

If you find that your home contains a disturbing amount of clutter, you might decide to hold a yard sale. My first yard sale was held out of desperation, as I really needed cash fast. It was also, ultimately a flop. I earned a mere seventy five cents, it was disappointing and counter productive as I spent more than the seventy five cents that I earned on holding the yard sale. In this guide I will offer advice on how to hold a successful yard sale from lessons I learned the hard way.

The first step to hold a successful yard sale is advertising. Make plenty of signs from cardboard and markers that offer all necessary details such as, time place, and dates. If you have the time and supplies on hand, you should set a minimum goal of making twenty signs. Place your hand made signs advertising your yard sale around your town and neighborhood. You might be surprised by the number of people who cruise around town on a weekend, searching for yard sales. In my opinion, hand made signs are the way to go with advertising your yard sale. It is foolish to pay, in some cases, one dollar per pre made sign, when with very little effort you can make a free sign.

In my experience I have found that paying for ad space in your local newspaper is a waste of money. Yard Sales are held to find new homes for unwanted items and recover a portion of the cost of these unwanted items. When you consider the advertising possibilities of the world wide web, it is even more foolish to pay to run an ad in the newspaper. Most cities have a website devoted to yard and garage sales, and there is always www.craigslist.com.

Place signs in public places such as laundry mats, community centers, grocery stores and libraries if bulletin boards are available for public use.

Before the yard sale begins, make sure you have adequate change including coins and one dollar bills. Also have a supply of plastic bags on hand for your customers to carry their treasures home in. A great money maker at a yard sale, is cans of soda pop and bottles of water. Don't spend a lot of money on these items, and stick to flavors that your family will drink if any go unsold. Kids can also earn money at yard sales by operating a lemonade stand. It is a rare person who would not buy a cup of lemonade for a quarter from an adorable little entrepreneur.

When setting up your yard sale try to avoid clutter and give the shoppers adequate space to browse. Space things out! Also keep your prices realistically low. As an example, if you are asking three dollars for a used t shirt, be prepared to still have the t shirts at the end of the yard sale. People shop at yard sales for the ability to buy used merchandise at affordable prices. Clothing should be priced from twenty five to fifty cents, Christmas decor should never be priced over one dollar, ornaments should be priced at ten cents or less. If it is a truly splendid item, it can be priced higher. Similarly used toys should never be more expensive than one dollar. If you can buy a new board game for six dollars, why would someone purchase a used one for three dollars?

If you see someone walking away from your yard sale, tell them you will negotiate prices on any item. The goal is to exchange money and get the unwanted items out of your home. With realistic expectations and prices in combination with planning your yard sale can be a success, and any unwanted and unsold items can be donated to the Salvation Army for a tax deduction.