If you are a Fan of Kansas City Mamas on Facebook, then you have been listening to me talk about my quest to have a garage sale this weekend. My goals for having a garage sale are simple: de-clutter my home, make some money, and have the sale over as quick as possible.
Every year we have a garage sale that nets us between $400 to $900. We use the money to pay for “summer fun” things like pool passes, camps, etc. or it gets used to pay for a “bigger” item like furniture or a new computer. And while I don’t know if I would call myself an expert, I have hosted or attended enough garage sales to put together a list of 10 things to help make a garage sale successful.
1. Do it in one week.
It is a pain to have stuff lay around the house for weeks at a time. Plus when you commit to getting it done in a week – you become uber-focused on purging and are more likely to de-clutter your home.
2. 12 Month Rule.
If you haven’t used it in a year (or your kids haven’t played with it in six months) and don’t LOVE it – consider it garage sale material. I’m not saying sell Grandma Rich’s tea towels – but consider selling a lamp or muffin tin that hasn’t been used in a year.
3. Commit to selling.
Make a resolution that everything you take out of your house will NOT come back into the house. The goal of the garage sale is to de-clutter and make some money – make the commitment and you will actively sell your items.
4. Price to sell.
Price your items 15 – 30% of retail depending on condition and “timliness”. Items two to three years old should be priced at 15 – 20%. Items less than a year old – around 30%. A mauve lamp from 1985 is not worth $10 regardless if you paid $40 for it new. Also, price items in $.25 intervals – less hassle for change and only accept cash.
5. Good signage.
Make sure there are signs with arrows to your sale on major streets, down your street, and to your house. Buy big poster board – list key items like furniture or baby clothes on the sign. Also, list your garage sale with Craigslist. I usually don’t buy an ad in the paper unless it is a big sale or there are five families having the sale together.
6. Make it easy to shop.
Move items out into your driveway (especially big items – they draw people in), put a price tag on everything and lay all items out on tables by groups. There is a limit to deal finding if you have ask 20 times how much something costs or dig through bins to find a size 2T shirt.
7. Be friendly and out-and-about.
You open up a dialouge when you say “Hi” to each buyer and that will make it easier for them to ask about an item or attempt to make a deal. Offer to hold items or put items in a sack while they shop.
8. Offer discounts when buying in bulk.
If someone is going to take all the girl 3T clothes – let them know you are willing to give them a discount. This little tactic encourages people to buy more items and means more money per transaction.
9. Slash prices at the end of the sale.
At the end of the sale take the price stickers off everything and offer “Fill A Bag for $3” or “Everything a quarter.” It is surprising how many items will sell. (And less you have to pack up to donate.)
10. Donate the rest.
Put the rest (hopefully just a few items) in boxes and donate it that day. Don’t wait till tomorrow to drop it off! The longer you wait, the greater the chance those boxes will make it back into your house. Also – make sure to ask for a receipt for tax purposes.
What about you? Any tips I missed? Is anyone else having a garage sale this year or do you just donate everything? Any garage sale addicts (I mean buyers)? What do you think makes a successful sale? Stay tuned – I’ll let you know on Saturday the final results to our sale.
I'm having a garage sale today and tomorrow. I think you have covered the basis. If I think of any tips along the way, I'll let you know.
Sell food/drinks too!! Last year my son made about $50 at his kool-aid & chocolate chip cookie stand at the end of the driveway. I made up small but homemade choco-chip cookies and put 3 per little ziplock bag for $1. I've been to alot of garage sales where they sell hotdogs – shopping makes us all hungry!!
Like Terri, I've made a killing by selling cold bottled water. If the temps are moderate (like now), I'll sell for 50¢ a bottle. If it's stifling hot, I'll up it to $1.
Also, make your sale as aesthetically pleasing as possible. People don't want to feel like they're shopping in a garage. If it looks nice, they're more likely to linger and buy.
FWIW, I've never made less than $500 at a garage sale. Our last sale we made over $700. 🙂
I may have to have you ladies run my next sale.
This one was a total bust (granted – the amount of stuff we were selling was small in comparison to previous years). We were $75 less than goal – depressing.
However, since the weather is yucky I've decided to drown my garage sale sorrows in some baked goodie. There is always a silver lining. 🙂
– kel
I thought I did pretty good at my sale, considering the rain today, and I mostly had what I consider junk.
The best part is, I got rid of the big stuff that I was REALLY wanting out of my house.
My kiddos lemonade stand didn't do too good, but they still had fun. I think they ate most of the cookies, and they kept spilling lemonade. I''m pretty sure that they even spilled some into the cookies. Oh well.
I think next time we will do pop or bottled water or even juice boxes along with the cookies.
I have lots of bags to haul to goodwill today.