How to Have the Ultimate Yard Sale

Are your closets filled to the top with clothes you haven't worn in a decade? Is your garage filled with so much junk you haven't parked your car in there in years? What do you do with all that stuff? Have a yard sale! I love to have yard sales. I first started having yard sales about five years ago. I was trying to raise money for a family reunion I was hosting. I asked friends and family for donations of their unwanted household clutter to sell to raise money. I made about $300 the first time. It was so successful I kept doing it. Yard sales can be a headache if you're disorganized but if you're organized and have a plan it can be a fun way to get rid of your unwanted junk, meet new and interesting people and make a little money at the same time.

Don't have a yard? Have no fear you can still have a yard sale. If you have a friend or relative with a yard ask if you can borrow their yard, they may have things to sell too. Check with schools, churches, and community organizations. Sometimes churches rent tables at a community sale as a fundraiser. Of course there's always online auctions, although I don't think it's as fun as selling in person.

Planning

So you've decided to have a yard sale, where should you start? First, think about what you want to sell. What about that cow sculpture you got for your birthday that you absolutely hate? Here's your chance to get rid of all those awful gifts people have given you over the years. Look at everything around your house. Do you use it or is it just collecting dust? It's hard to get rid of your things but if you haven't used it in over a year chances are you're not going to be using it again.

Go through boxes, closets, drawers, basements, and attics. Make three piles, a yes pile, a no pile, and a maybe pile. The yes pile includes things you are definitely getting rid of, the no pile is for things you want to keep, and the maybe pile is for things you're not sure you want to get rid of yet. Go through the maybe pile again to decide one way or the other.

Now that you have decided what you want to get rid of, pick a date and time for your yard sale. I rarely hear of a yard sale held during the week, either a Saturday or Sunday is the norm. The first of the month and after major holidays are usually bad times for a yard sale (bills due and no money after holiday shopping).

Start your sale as early as you can. Serious yard sale shoppers usually start very early in the morning to get a jump on getting the good stuff. Most yard sales only last about 3-4 hours. Your times could be 7am-11am, 8am-12pm, 9am-1pm, or whatever fits your schedule. If it's summertime you'll definitely want to start early before it gets too hot. These times are not set in stone, especially the time to end your sale but if you say you will start at 7am you can bet there will be people waiting in your yard at 6:55. Whatever start time you pick make sure you are set up and ready to go.

Advertising

To advertise your sale all you really need are a couple of good signs posted at major intersections. Some people advertise in the newspaper, you can also post a message on Craigslist. Your signs should include your address, date, and hours. You could also include the types of items you are selling. Make sure your lettering is large, neat, and easy to read. Use large poster board in bright colors to draw attention. You'll want to put up signs a few days before the sale.

If your house is a little hard to find make sure you have several signs spaced out leading to your house. If you live on the corner of a street you have it made even if you don't have a lot of signs you'll get customers just from drive bys. Don't forget to go and take the signs down after the sale.

Price

Decide on a price for everything before the sale. Make sure prices are clearly displayed. It makes it easier for you. You'll go crazy with everyone asking you how much something is. You can make signs for each section or get preprinted price dots and stick them on your items. Price your items to sell. Your goal is to get rid of as much as you can. Keep in mind prices are always negotiable and trust me a lot of your customers will want to negotiate.

If there is an item you absolutely refuse to negotiate on put a sign on it stating that, or sell it through other ways besides a yard sale. People who go to yard sales are definitely looking for the lowest price possible. Some people have one price sales. That solves the problem of haggling. I love the idea of everything for one price it makes it so much easier. You can also have a fill a bag type sale. You set a price for an amount of items, say maybe five items for $10, give the customer a bag and they fill it with what they want.

What Sells?

You may be very surprised at what sells and what doesn't. Something you think will be sold doesn't sell. You may think no one would buy Aunt Sarah's chicken clock but you never know. Some things that do well are DVDs, videos, video games, music, books, and electronics. Clothes and shoes don't do too well even if they are priced very cheaply. There is one exception I've seen and that's baby clothes. Make sure the clothes are designer or high quality clothes if you are going to price them a little higher.

Baby things do very well. Baby furniture, clothes, toys, anything baby is sure to sell. Please don't put anything out that is dirty or has stains or holes. No matter how cheap it is no one wants torn, stained clothes. Clean up any dirty items, especially if it's been sitting some where for a long time. You might be able to get little more money from an item that looks clean and in good shape. Don't sell anything that is broken. If it's broken and you think someone can fix it put a sign on it or tell them.

The Big Day

Don't go it alone. Get a partner. Four eyes are better than two and also an extra pair of hands. It can get pretty busy at a yard sale so you want to have someone with you to help out with watching the stuff or relieving each other for bathroom breaks. Get a chair, a large umbrella if it's sunny, maybe a radio if you want some music. You might want to pack some snacks and drinks if you get hungry or thirsty. You want to minimize running back and forth to your house to grab something you forgot so think about what you'll need for the few hours you'll be outside. Carry a fanny pack to keep your money in and have some dollar bills and coins so you can make change. Have extra bags available if your customer needs one.

Presentation

You don't want your nice things on the ground. If you don't have a table you can get one or two folding tables, or even a picnic table. If you are selling clothes you can get a clothes rack to hang them up. Put a tablecloth or sheet over the table and neatly organize your things on the table. You can divide your things into sections so alike items are together. For example, glassware in one section, kitchen gadgets, and electronics in another. Just don't pile everything on top of each other it looks messy. You want to make it neat so your customers can easily find things.

Get separate boxes for toys, books, shoes, and less fragile items. People love to dig through boxes looking for that little treasure. I like to put out a freebie box.

In this box you can put in little knickknacks that you know might not sell and you just want to get rid of them anyway. In your freebie box you can include old calendars, magazines, small toys, those free promotional items you get during your travels. You could have a free with purchase offer. If they purchase something they pick a free item out of the box.

Now just sit back, grab some iced tea, and wait for your customers to come pouring in.

After the sale

Congratulations on your first successful yard sale! Hopefully you were able to get rid of a lot of clutter, and make a few bucks. Most likely you won't sell all your items so think about what you will do with the items you don't sell. You could try having another yard sale once you've accumulated more stuff. You could throw it away, or give it to charity.