How to Have a Successful Garage Sale

A garage sale is a great way to earn money for the items that you no longer want. It can also be a living nightmare if you don't know where to start. In order to be successful it takes planning. You can't just decide to have a garage sale the next day and be successful because people won't know about it and you won't be ready. The first thing you need to do if figure out when you would like to have the garage sale. You should plan one when the chances for rain are slim to none if you do not have room in your garage or house for the actual sale. Also many people do not get out in the rain to find garage sales because most of the sales are either canceled or the merchandise is wet and ruined.

The next thing you should do is make a list of everything you have to sale and start deciding what price you want to sell each item at. You do not want to charge someone $2 for an item that only cost you $2. People won't buy the item because it is too high for a used item, and because they know you are trying to rip them off. If you do not want any items left you should price them lower by the end of the day. So in the last few hours of the sale, you may consider telling your customers that whatever they can fit in a grocery bag is $1. You will sell all of your items quickly and still make money. You cannot price items like new because they will not sell because they aren't new and people go to garage sells to buy items cheap.

After making your list, you need to gather all the items into a spare room of your house where you have plenty of room to work. You will then need to place price stickers on the items individually or place them in stacks by price. You can then easily set the items on tables later and tell people that all the items on this table or rack are $1 or any other price by a sign. You should already have all the items folded for easy display. If you plan on selling knickknacks, you should probably dust them off if you want to sell them higher than 50 cents.

Then next thing you need to do is post an advertisement in the classified sections of the local newspaper to run a day or two before the sale. You should also make signs to hang at the street corner where you live, the main traffic crossings in your town, and also at the local grocery store, if they will allow you to hang a sign. The signs should say in bold letters "GARAGE SALE". Your address should also be clearly displayed so people can see it without stopping in the middle of the street to read your sign. You should also include directions if you live in a rural area.

The day of the sale you should get up and ready 2 hours before the sale. You need to get you something to eat and drink some coffee so you will be alert if it is in your normal routine. Then start setting all of your stuff out, so you will beat the early birds before they start showing up for the sale. Make sure you are ready because some people will show up early. If you are not ready some people will turn around and leave.

As I mentioned earlier, towards the end of the day consider lowering your price to get rid of all your items, if you want to. You can also give the leftovers to a Salvation Army or other needy cause if you can't seem to sell all your items. At the end of the day you might also have someone ask if they can purchase the leftovers for a set amount of money, such as $20. If you want to get rid of everything, it is a good idea to use one of these ideas. You may also consider selling drinks in cooler for 50 cents to earn a little more money on a hot summer day.

Garage sale season is a fun and exciting time of year. It is a great opportunity for you to get rid of items you don't need and don't want anymore. This is also a great time for other people to receive items at a lower cost. There is no shame in shopping at or holding a garage sale. With planning your garage sale will be successful.