8 garage sale tips for having a successful garage sale

garage sale tips

Garage sale season is upon us.  If you are finding more junk in your trunk, closet or a garage full of stuff you need to get rid of, having a garage sale is a great way to make a little cash doing it. After having a few garage sales myself, I’ve put together my garage sale tips to have a great sale.

Here’s some tips to help you be successful.

successful garage sale tips

1. Location. Put all your items to sell in one area/room.  This will allow you to have one location to go through and sort out the items you are selling.
2. Sort it. Sort your items by like items/categories.  It makes going through items much easier.  If you can put clothes together by size, it makes it easier for the shoppers.
3. Price EVERYTHING. Not everyone will ask for a price if it’s not marked. Price things reasonably and to sell.  Price fairly and if you want it gone, price it to get it gone.
4. Clean it.  Clothes should be washed.  Dust off furniture.  Make it look like something you’d want to buy it.
5. Timing.  Have you garage sale during a city wide garage sale.
6. Advertise.  A free ad on CraigsList. Place a free online ad for your newspaper.  Have a garage sale when you see a neighbor is having a sale, have one that same weekend.  Free traffic, but stress to set up. And have signs out pointing people to your sale.  Make a sign at your house too.  Do I need to mention, write in THICK letters so people can SEE when they drive by?  I can’t read scrawny letters written small.  Go big or go home with the letters and make them THICK. This isn’t a science project poster. 🙂
7. Solicit sales.  Put bigger items outside to attract those lurker/drive by people (like me) something to catch their eye and make them stop.
8. Hours.  Have reasonable hours for the early birds and the people who work (especially if you start on Friday).  So everyone can get a chance to stop.

tips to declutter your home

left over stuff

After the sale, anything you have left, you have a few options.

• Put it on the curb for people to take.
• Take it to a local shelter/service organization to donate (possible tax donation)
• Throw it away.
• Post ad on CraigsList/Facebook for pricing of individual items.

These tips can also be used as yard sale tips and tricks.