Tips for a Successful Yard Sale

Tips for a Successful Yard Sale

We hope that these Tips for a Successful Yard Sale inspire you. 

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Tips for a Successful Yard Sale

Advertise as much as you can.

Put an ad out in your local paper, print up flyers to post around your neighborhood and on community boards the week before the sale, and get some poster board for signage to be posted a few days before the sale starts.

I like seeing signs that say “BIG SALE” or “YARD SALE” with some added text like “lots of baby clothes!!” or “electronics!!” so if I'm looking for something specific, I know to hit that sale right away so I don't miss those items! Add balloons to your signs to grab even more attention.

Advertise online:

• Nextdoor.com
• Facebook Marketplace (local groups are huge for us!)
• Craiglist
• weekendtreasure.com
• garagesalehunter.com
• yardsalesearch.com

Make it easy.

Make it easy for your customers to test electronic items you have for sale. Saying “Yeah, it works” isn't quite as effective as providing a power strip for them to plug into.

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Provide convenience to your customers.

Be sure everything is marked clearly. If all clothes are the same price, you don't have to tag them all, but you need signs that are marked with their prices. Check out this ridiculously well-organized yard sale for more ideas on marking prices. Have lots of change on hand, and use the Square app to accept credit cards. This will make it much easier to sell big-ticket items. Another convenience item: bags!

Sell your items.

They're not going to sell themselves! If you're selling expensive items like an artist's painting or even a digital camera, print some information out from Google, Amazon, or another website to attach to the item(s). It makes them look more like retail items, which means customers are more likely to shell out a bit more cash for them.

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Clean your items.

Nobody wants to pay for dusty, dirty stuff. Take a few Clorox wipes, wipe everything down, and make it look like new again. I guarantee you'll make DOUBLE the amount that you would have if you had tried to sell it without spiffing it up. If you're selling mirrors, Windex those babies before you put them out. Wash clothes, dust toys… you get the idea.

Categorize your items.

Put toys on a table together, instead of dumping them into a bucket and making customers sort through them. You can bundle like items in ziploc bags. While some people will sift through boxes of toys, many people won't and this is about making the most money you can – because who wants to go through all the trouble of having a yard sale and not make some cash?!

The exception to this is if you have a ton of toy cars or something. Then you can put them in a clear container (on top of a table if possible), with a sign that says “Toy Cars $.50 each” (or whatever your prices are). Even if you use buckets, place them on tables (or bookshelves, or nightstands) whenever possible. Having items at eye level is another trick to getting more sales!