Looking to clear out your closet and make some extra cash? Then continue reading for some tips on how to organize for a successful yard sale, and tricks to help guide you to that success today! These tips cover everything from how to price your items, to how to handle those early-bird shoppers.
1. Prepping For The Big Sale!
PRE-PLAN:
The worst thing to do is wake up the day before and say “I want to have a yard sale tomorrow.” There is so much more to get a yard sale together, one day isn’t going to cut it. Your first step is to figure out the weekend you want to have your yard sale.
Just about everyone will tell you, don’t throw your yard sale on a holiday weekend. Granted you may miss out on a few people, but let me tell you if it’s the only weekend you have available, have a plan in place and make it happen.
You can also ask your family and friends if they want to have a joint sale. Multi-family yard sales tend to be more popular.
If you can get them out of the car you are already winning.
NOTE: Check beforehand to see if your city or county requires yard sale permits. If you live in an HOA, make sure you’re allowed to have a yard sale; some HOAs prohibit them.
GATHER YOUR ITEMS:
This is why starting well in advance is a must! You don’t want to feel extremely overwhelmed trying to find everything you want to sell in the last week. Start early and go through rooms one at a time.
Pick a designated spot in your home, garage, etc to store all of your wares. At this point you can also go ahead and price your items. Pricing items can take a lot of work, and it’s much less stressful to have everything priced so it can just be organized the morning of the sale.
I also recommend at this part of the process to clean any items that need to be cleaned. I know it’s easy to say – but clean items will sell better. Think about it! What do you do when you see dirty items at yard sales? I pass them over, which means others will do the same.
PRICING:
Before you can think about pricing items you need to make sure you are ready to let the item go. You can’t price your stuff based on your sentimental value. This is a yard sale and people are wanting a deal – a good deal at that.
Although that doesn’t mean you have to just give your stuff away. There will be some people who will try to talk you down on everything. If you know that it’s a good deal, stick to your pricing, especially if it’s day 1. You can always start day 2 out cheaper.
Another big thing with pricing for me is the price tags.
It wastes your time as the seller and the buyers time having to ask a price every 10 seconds.
I like to get the little neon dot stickers for pricing. They are bright and you can easily read them.
If you are having a multi-family sale be sure to also add your initials so you can divide your earnings at the end of the day.
Also going along with the pricing is having change for your buyers.
Prior to the yard sale go to the bank and get plenty of change to start your day with.
ADVERTISING:
We always advertise in the local newspapers.
If you live in a big city advertising in a big local paper may be too pricey so here are a couple more great ways I like to advertise.
Craigslist is a good way to advertise, but I also find that lots of people are creating local Facebook sale groups, or advertise on Facebook Marketplace. If you aren’t a member of any search for some that you can advertise in.
You will also want to focus on your signage. This is how people are going to find you and very important if you live off the beaten path. It also will help attract those people who didn’t see your other advertisement, but just happen to be driving by your area.
I like to use neon poster boards for my yard sale sign ideas, specifically bright yellow or green – these colors attract attention. Make sure your poster board is large, and that your letters are large too – they need to be easy to read for those driving by.
The yard sale part needs to be like 10-12 inches at least and then the rest can be 5-6 inches in size – make your font bold and easy to read.
You can cut up a few pieces of wood and staple the poster board onto them, which allows them to be easily banged into the ground. If you don’t have time, order a few Garage sale signs online.
Just remember to place them only where you are allowed and to pick them up once your sale is over.
2. THE BIG DAY!
ORGANIZE YOUR SALE:
Think like a large chain store and group like items together. You may also want to organize your clothing by type and age/gender. Making it convenient for your shoppers is key.
If you have lots of clothes to sell I recommend selling them in groups. “All you can fit in a bag for so much or 5 pieces for $2.”
DISPLAYING YOUR ITEMS:
If you have large items for sale then bring it out into the driveway where it can be easily seen.
I have been a drive-by shopper and if I don’t see anything of interest then I just keep on going.
You need to bring out those interesting pieces that say “I have something you want.”
If you are going to sell electronics make sure you have a spot to test them available. If it doesn’t work, be honest. Some people will still buy it for parts.
MAKE EVERYTHING LOOK INVITING!
I think having tables is very important to a yard sale. I don’t want to bend over and look at everything in the grass and neither will your customers. If you don’t have any to use, ask some friends. You can also make tables from sawhorses and pieces of wood.
FREE PILE:
If you have some things you don’t think will sell or you are just going to toss away anyways think about saving it for your free pile.
Make your free pile known from the street too, they can drag people in who might ultimately purchase something.
You would be surprised what people are willing to take off your hands for free.
3. AFTER THE SALE
CLEANUP:
Unless you really rocked your sale then you are likely to have some items left over. When I do a yard sale my intentions are to never bring anything back into our home. Anything that isn’t sold gets loaded and taken off to be donated. On my resources page, there are some places that you can donate to and possibly have the organizaton pick up. Preferably that same day but if not then the next day.
You can also call and some places will come to pick up the items for you.
If you plan to have another yard sale next year (or in the near future) you might want to keep some of your items, but I would only suggest that if you have somewhere very specific in your home to store them.
IN CONCLUSION
Try not to do it alone – trying to answer questions and check someone out at the same time is chaotic. Try to have a friend or 2 to help on the day of the yard sale. Also remember to not leave your money lying around – wear a fanny pack or apron so you always have the money on you. (This is especially true if you are running a yard sale by yourself.)
And lastly, have newspaper and plastic bags on hand for checkout. Start saving plastic bags months prior to the sale so you have enough on hand for the customers.
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