Garage Sale Tips for Fun and Profit!

August 3, 2018

“A garage sale is a great way to earn money from decluttering your space. Read on for insider tips from an expert that will help you throw the best garage sale ever!” -Zoomy

A Garage Sale Helps De-clutter Your Living Space

Sometimes the easiest way to transform your living space is to simplify your current one. A garage sale jump starts the de-cluttering proces, freeing up valuable living space, and as a result, improves your Holistic Home Decor. Check out our Previous Organization Blog and read how decluttering can benefit you in multiple ways.

A garage sale is one of the best ways to clean out closets, eliminate possessions you no longer use, and make extra cash by recycling unwanted stuff.

Organize like items together for your garage sale.

The Nuts and Bolts of Garage Sale Organizing

image of a person standing in a lawn with garage sale stuff

Apartment dwellers might have to seek out friends or relatives with a lawn or a garage to get their sale going.

The More You Show, The More You Sell!

Get two or three friends together to combine inventory and physical labor for your garage sale. The more things you attractively display, the more appealing it is to customers.

image of a clothing rack of beautiful and colorful womens clothes

Neighborhood sales tend to draw more people than solo sales and will likely cover any necessary permits.

When deciding the date of your garage sale, check to see if there are any neighborhood sales in the area on which you can piggyback. August is an active month for sales, but it tends to be hot. Consult local long-range weather forecasts to see if a break is predicted from sizzling temperatures.

Sell Your Sale! Advertising is Key to Garage Sale Success

Advertising is a huge part of having a successful garage sale. Facebook Marketplace is great because there’s no charge to advertise. You can invite people to your sale via Facebook and enhance your sales pitch with photos. Craigslist is another option that can greatly expand your potential customer base.

image of a laptop computer showing a social media site

Utilize social media and online classified sites to hype up your sale and maximize your exposure.

Create an ad with the following information: the days and hours of the sale, address, parking information and any visual clues for signage (Ex. FOLLOW YELLOW SIGNS). Add lots of photos but consider investing some time editing them to make them stand out.

Dishes are an attractive garage sale find.

“The more stuff in the picture the more excited people become,” remarked Linda Flake, well-known estate sale coordinator located in the Kansas City area. “Clothes, kitchenware, appliances, bedding, lamps, books, musical instruments and sports equipment are always hot-selling garage sale items.” Mention a few of these in your ad description to lure potential customers.

Show Them the Way With Signs!

image of a metal lawn chair with a For Sale sign advertising the sale site

Clear Signs Lead Customers to You.

Most of your customers will rely on signs to lead them to your sale; make them bright, clear and easy to read. Keep your words short and sweet. “A simple sign reading, ‘SALE’ or ‘ESTATE SALE’ with an arrow showing direction is most effective,” emphasized Flake.

Sale Day Preparation

If you haven’t put your signs up the day before, get them up before dawn. Lay items out on tables, hang clothes on racks and move the cars out of the driveway. Set up a shade canopy or string up some sheets overhead to help beat the heat.

Show Us the Money!

Make sure every item has a price tag on it and color-code them so you know whom to credit. Try to put a price label on everything so you don’t run into conflict with a customer who “swears” those $15 Lululemon leggings were on the 25-cent table.

image of hands holding a stack of money while counting them

Choose someone good at math and quick with a calculator to handle the money.

You will need to be prepared with money to make change. Flake recommends an “…initial bank of $200 with a lot of fives, moderate amounts of tens, one or two twenties and quarters,” she said. “Keep the money on you in a fanny pack, not in a box on the table. If you get lots of money, take the big bills out and stash them in a private place inside the house.”

But What if There’s Stuff Left Over?

At the end of a sale, make boxes of free items to give away.

Most likely, you will have unsold items that you still need to get rid of. Investigate charities that will pick up the unsold items after your sale. Locate drop off boxes where you can leave unwanted clothing, knowing that others can often use what you no longer need.

Some things can be left at the curb and will likely disappear by morning. Again, use social media to advertise your unwanted stuff as free to whomever picks it up first.

Final Tips

In addition to preparing announcements on social media, physical signs, and the actually pricing of your items, make sure you have enough tables, bags to place items in, and newspaper with which to wrap fragile items. (Hollow doors set over inverted empty plastic tubs or chairs can be inexpensive solution for tables.)

Give yourself enough time to get ready for your garage sale so that you can enjoy the day with your friends. Put out your chairs and coolers, smile, and your good vibes will undoubtedly attract customers.

A final word about preparation, don’t underestimate the power of visualization. One of our ZoomShack staff writers funded three tickets to Europe from her garage sales, one time earning the exact amount she visualized within two dollars! Think Green – Think Big!