3 Ways to Throw a Great Yard Sale In Your Neighborhood This Summer

Summer is a great time to de-clutter and make a little extra cash with a garage sale. Here are three ways to make your sale a success.

Get the word out

The goal is to reach as many people as possible. Find all your local outlets for garage sale notices, such as neighborhood papers, community board notices, along with Craigslist and any other online group for your area. Even with all the notices posted, you still need neighborhood signs up at the end of your street and on major roads close to your street. They’re not only important to help people get to your garage sale, but to also catch the eye of drivers who might just stop by on a whim. Make big signs. People should be able to read from their car, or it’s like you haven’t put up a sign at all.

Prepare, prepare

First, put a price sticker on everything you can or group small, similar items with a clear price. A large or collectible piece deserves special consideration. If possible, see if you can get a free quote on its value. But don’t plan on getting full value at the garage sale! People come for the bargains, so price it accordingly. Remember that it doesn’t matter what you paid for it or what the retail cost was. The garage sale mantra is, “price it to move.”

Next, get displays if you need them, such as tables and clothing racks. If you’ve ever been to a garage sale where someone has thrown down a tarp and piled clothing on it to sell, then you know how ineffective bad displays can be. No one wants to get on their knees and root around piles of old clothes when there are tons of other, better-displayed garage sales to get to. Be smart about your set up, spend a little time organizing and getting tables and racks, and you’ll be rewarded with much bigger sales. Also, make sure you have plenty of change on hand.

The more, the merrier

If you want to get to the top of a garage sale enthusiast’s list, make it a “multi-family sale.” Not only is it guaranteed to bring out more people, but you’ll also have an extra pair of hands for set up and some help on the day of the sale. You can even make new friends with your neighbors by doing this and then have a network for the next neighborhood yard sale.