Tips for a Successful Garage Sale

Everyone loves stopping at a summer time garage sale and finding bargains. As one who is holding the sale, you have a lot to consider.

Time and date. Find a time and day that works for you and stick with them. There's nothing worse than seeing a sign for a garage sale and stopping by, only to find out that the sale is closed. You never know when someone will see your sign and stop by to shop.

Price. Make sure all items are clearly marked with a price. There's nothing worse than picking up an item with no price on it, asking how much, and standing there while the owner struggles to decide on a price.

The universal pricing theory is ask for one-third of what the item would cost new. This is usually what the average person is willing to pay for a garage sale item.

Sell anything. There's a buyer for everything. You never know what someone is looking for or will buy. If it doesn't sell, you can always donate or throw it out afterwards.

Advertise. Make sure you advertise the place, date, hours and items. Make the signs bright and big, put them up in high traffic areas. You also want to start advertising and spreading the word up to 2 weeks in advance. More people will see your signs.

Variety. Have a little bit of something for everyone, the more items the better. It will help you pull in lookers.

Bigger is better. Get together with family and friends to have the sale. There's nothing worse than a garage sale that consists of 2 boxes and a table worth of items. A yard full will pull people in to look for what they want and discover things they didn't know they wanted.

Hang clothing. It looks neater and makes it easier for people to look at. It can be a clothesline strung between trees, but it'll make all the difference. People can then easily look at the clothes to see if there's something they like, without having to dig through mounds of clothes.

Make sure you have walkways. Don't let things get so cluttered that potential buyers can't walk around. A good rule of thumb is to make sure that 2 adults can stand side by side in the walkway and then make a little bit more room. You want people to be comfortable while looking around.

Have electricity available. People will be more tempted to buy electrical items if they have the chance to try them out first. Don't leave items plugged in or extension cords lying around. Just offer to let someone try something out when they're looking at it.

Protect fragiles. If you have anything that is rare, expensive or fragile, make sure it is on a sturdy surface and out of reach for children. You could even sit at the table that way you can keep an eye on those items.

Have change on hand. If you think you have plenty of change, get more. You can always turn change back in at the bank. You don't want to be halfway through your garage sale and discover you have no change left. And when making change for a big bill, leave it in plain view while making the change, that way no one can argue how much they gave you.

Have shopping bags available. Collect all the little plastic shopping bags you can to use during the sale. And don't forget to have newspaper handy for fragile items.

A well-planned and organized garage sale can make a lot of money. If people can move around easily and you're friendly, buyers will buy.

Over the summer, I will visit hundreds of garage sales in my area. I can always spot the good ones, the one people have put a lot of time and effort into holding. Those are the ones I always end up spending a lot of money at. So, it does pay off to put in the work.