So you have cleaned out your house and are ready to host your yard sale.  Here are some things to remember to make your sale successful.  Members can keep track of the steps and requirements using ListPlanIt‘s Hosting a Yard Sale list or check off the necessary supplies with our Yard Sale Checklist.

• Advertisements
  • Many people advertise for their yard sales in the local paper. I know that my family often wakes up early on Saturday mornings, grabs the local paper and maps out our “yard sale route” for the day.
  • Community bulletin boards are also good places to hang a sign advertising your yard sale.
  • Craig’s List is a terrific, free place to draw traffic to your yard sale.
• Signage
  • We often hit sales along the way that weren’t advertised in the paper.  How do we find them? Sign, signs, signs. Big bright signs with large dark letters- something you can see from the road as you are driving by. I am a sucker for anything with a balloon tied to it as well.  The goal is to capture your customer’s attention. Put a sign on the main road and then along the route directing traffic to your sale. (Be aware that there are laws regarding the placement of signage.  Check with your town office)
• Price Labels
  • I like sales when all the items are already priced. The Avery Preprinted Removable Garage Sale Stickers are great because they peel off easily when you need them. I also like the option of “Make An Offer” tags.
  • Price your items where people can see the tag without touching the item.
  • I once heard that you should price items around a quarter of what they would sell for new.
• Boxes
  • Boxes are helpful to gather like items that sell for the same price.  (e.g. All books may be 25 cents or $1.00 each for the stuffed animals)
• Change
  • Depending on the prices of your items, you will need all sorts of change for the morning of the yard sale…dollar bills and quarters, especially.
• A Money Box or Fanny Pack
  • If you have enough people helping you (your five year old does NOT count) you can use a money box and have someone sitting with it at all times. I think it is better to “wear” my money in a fanny pack or pocketed apron. Better safe than sorry.
• Plastic or Paper Grocery Bags
  • I love when a yard sale owner offers me a bag for the armload of books I just scored for $2.00. It is a nice touch.
• Lemonade Stand or Hot Chocolate
  • It is thirsty work, finding yard sale bargains.  Depending on the weather, a tasty beverage is a great way to make some extra cash. A cooler with cans of soda or a pot of steaming coffee are also good ideas.
  • Home baked goods, individually packaged, made terrific add-ons to any yard sale purchase.
  • This is a great place to put your kids to work. My brother-in-law always grills hot dogs at his yard sales. It always seems a bit odd to smell them cooking at 9 am, but boy, do people buy them!
• A Sense of Humor and Good Attitude
  • No one said that yard sales are easy.  They can be looong days. You will have some wacky customers who complain about your prices, try to swindle you, and my at times be rude. Enjoy the day as much as you can, meet some new people,  and try to have some fun!

What is one thing that you could not do without when you host a yard sale?

Members to ListPlanIt will find the lists they need to organize a killer yard sale in Home Management.  Not yet a member?  Join today for just $5 and get organized!