Successful Garage
Sale 101
Go to the dump first. That is right – get rid
of the genuine junk before you begin. I know all the stories about you will be
surprised what people will buy. It has been my experience people will not buy
broken-down junk. It just makes your sale look ‘junky’. Don’t send the message you are selling junk.
Set up.
Clean
it up. Even bargain hunters aren’t interested in a highchair with Cheerios
stuck to the tray. (Unless you plan on selling it for next to nothing.) Wipe
things off…clean it up…shiny bright. It may be your junk but it won’t be
someone elses’ treasure if it is dirty.
Anything smaller than a breadbox…put it ON a
table, even if it is an improvised table. (saw-horses and an old door) Get it
up off the ground. Nobody is going to crawl around on their hands and knees on
the sheet you have thrown out on your lawn to paw through your old clothes.
Arrange your sale by category. Like things by
like things, the tools/garage type things
together, kitchen/household, kids things together etc.
If selling clothes arrange them by SIZE. When
I am shopping for my 6 year old granddaughter I don’t want to dig and look through every
pair of pants this family of twelve has worn over the last five year. Put all the
size 6 together and I will gather up an arm full.
Pricing:
Price
everything! That is right, have a easily seen price for every item.
Shoppers are there for a bargain. You are not
E-bay, so price it to sale and plan to do some dickering. Do you want to sell
it or keep it in the garage another 10 years? Get you mind right.
Clothes. Make it easy for the shopper! Price
them all the same – the good the bad the ugly. All the same price. (An
exception might be a mink coat or an absolutely wonderful $500 snowsuit you are
selling) But for the most part everything priced the same. Shoppers are there
for a bargain and don’t want to have to sort by price their purchase. And really is this t-shirt worth $2.00 and
the next one $3.00? Come on already. Every item of clothing is the same price.
Easy to figure. Stickers aren’t falling off on the ground or sticking to the
wrong t-shirt so it ends up with three stickers, and you are trying to bluff like
you remember how much you put on each shirt. When the customer is ready to
dicker, it is easy for you and them.
Getting
shoppers to your sale: Advertise in the local paper. I know it costs money but
it is worth it. Make your ad appeal to the shopper you want.
Mention the types of things you have for
sale.
Good ads read like this:
- 12 month old baby has outgrown clothes.
- Married – combined family – selling duplicate
appliances and
furniture.
- Grandma downsizing – collectible and
vintage items.
- Outdoorsman – too old too tired – selling out.
Poor ads read like this:
- HUGE yard sale,
- lots of miscellaneous
- don’t
miss this one
- something for everyone!
That is wasted advertising. It will not bring
your shopper with his cash to your sale.
A word
about the word HUGE. Everyone’s idea of huge is different. No matter how much
stuff you think you have – it is not huge. Unless your stuff will fill like
five parking lots at the local high school – don’t say huge. When your shopper comes you want them to be
pleasantly surprised – not disappointed when they get out of the car.
Like I said,
huge only counts if you can fill five parking lots.
Length
of sale.
ONE DAY. Nobody wants to come the second day after all the ‘good stuff’ is
picked over. You are wasting your time and energy.
If you are selling a lot of bigger items and
feel you have them priced fairly and don’t want to dicker with the first offer
at 7:00 a.m. Have a big sign: At NOON everything will be half price. (Then
really have it half price at noon!) Then
you can tell the customer, if you think it will still be here at noon come back
and it will be half price. Most times, if you have priced it fairly, they know
it won’t be there at noon and will be willing to pay your fair price.
Start early. Be ready! If most garage sales in your area start at 8 –
you advertise to start at 7 – and open your garage door at 6:30. If you
advertise earlies welcome – plan on seeing people the night before. That is
great! Come on in. (No dickering the night before…full price, folks.) Your best
business is the first couple hours. Those who garage sale - love to come to
your early one before the rest begin.
Signs. DON’T put your
address on your signs. When a car is going past as 35 miles an hour they cannot
read your address written in size 12 font on the bent over sign taped to the
box. Instead…use an easy to recognize symbol or color - a star, smiley face and
a BIG arrow pointing in the direction you want the traveler to go. One word is
sufficient: SALE
Then have another arrow using the same color and/or symbol (no longer need a
word) to lead them along to your garage.
I am running a garage sale next week. Here is
my newspaper ad:
Happy little garage sale. Grandma downsizes - vintage and
collectible things. No clothes. 123 Anywhere Drive ONE DAY Saturday June 19th. 7:00
a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Earlies O.K.
I will have bright yellow signs with big
black arrows and a big smiley face on each sign.
I bet you wish you could come, huh? It
already sounds fun!
The
money:
Decide if you will take checks. If not put it in your ad. The day of the sale
if you have a large item and they want to write a check, you’ll have to decide.
Have something to say, if you won’t take a check. “I am so happy this might
work for you. I’ll put a sold sign on it for ONE hour while you go to your ATM.
Oh, I’m excited you found this..I’ll hold it for you.”
Have lots of change. Be able to break $10’s
and $20’s.
The day
of the sale:
(Actually the day before the sale)
Mow your lawn. Have curb appeal. Before the
customer gets out of the car – prepare their mind, help them to think. “Oh,
this is a good sale…there will be good stuff here!”
NOW...the day of the sale...
Be happy! Have fun. Invite folks in… “Hey,
out bargain hunting?"
"I bet we have something you’ll love.”
“Come on in, we’re
waiting for you.”
Be like the WalMart greeting.
DON’T hide in the corner afraid to speak to
someone. Sell your wares, have fun. There are bargains to be had, and cash to be collected.
Good luck.
Last night we thought I could make a big batch of cinnamon rolls and sale them for a $1.50 a piece....people stay...linger...BUY.
Stumble It!