Anyone else hosting a garage sale in the near future (um, like in 4 days)? I’m guessing a good portion of you might be, so let’s talk GARAGE SALE TIPS today! More specifically, I’ve got 5 tips to share that are designed to help you maximize garage sale profits.
I must admit…I have mixed feelings about garage sales.
On the one hand, executing them properly takes up a crazy amount of prep time, not to mention the hours you spend hanging out in the garage during the actual sale. On the other hand, if you have a ton of items that tend to sell well at garage sales (i.e., kids’ clothing and toys, tools, etc.,) they can be a good option for cashing in after you complete your spring decluttering.
My #1 piece of advice regarding garage sales is to be certain that the time and effort you will expend will be worth it in terms of the cash you anticipate bringing in.
With that being said, here are a few quick tips for running a successful (& profitable) sale.
5 Tips for Maximizing Garage Sale Profits
Tip #1: Prominently Display Your Popular Items
If you have a high demand item for sale, place the item in your driveway in a location that is easily viewable from the street. This will drive more foot traffic into your garage. Even if shoppers don’t end up purchasing this item, they will likely find something else to purchase at your sale.
Of course, if you’re hosting on a rainy day, you’ll just have to make do with putting those hot items at the front of the garage.
Tip #2: Merchandise Items Like a Department Store
{grouping all of my holiday items together…Christmas in May!}
Follow the lead of store merchandisers and make your display of items as attractive as possible.
You also want to make the shopping experience enjoyable and easy by displaying items on tables (instead of laying them on the driveway) and grouping like items together, just like the stores do.
It doesn’t hurt to have some good music playing in the background as well. In fact, I do all I can to make the shopping experience a pleasant one for my customers, which includes providing shopping bags/boxes for them to carry away their items. My daughter usually gets in on the fun and sells homemade cookies and water (you can turn quite a nice profit with refreshments!).
Tip #3: Price EVERYTHING
Prepping for your garage sale not only includes corralling all of the items that you want to sell out to the garage and setting up attractive displays. It also involves assessing the value of each item and putting a price tag on it.
As part of the process, you may need to conduct a little research for higher ticket items to determine their value. I suggest taking a look at what similar items are selling for on Craigslist and eBay to use as a guide in your pricing (which should be a bit lower in a garage sale). You may be surprised to find that something you’re planning to price at $5 is actually a pretty hot commodity on the eBay market!
Shoppers like to see price tags. It gives them a place to begin the haggling process. Be sure to factor in a bit of “haggle room” when you price your items.
To simplify things AND save yourself some work, group like items together in bins and price all items the same if it makes sense.
Tip #4: Include Some Freebies
Who doesn’t love getting something for free?
Including some giveaway items in your sale is a “win-win” for both you and your customers. It can be an easy way of removing “no value” items from your home that you may otherwise need to expend energy disposing of properly while providing value to someone else who has a need for these items.
Some popular freebies I’ve given away include department store clothes hangers and cans of half-used paint. If you change up your home decor as much as I do, then you no doubt have a collection of these!
And then there are those items that you are ready to get rid of that you’d feel bad charging for since they aren’t in the best condition (but they aren’t ready for the Trash pile quite yet). These are great candidates for the Freebie box!
Tip #5: Document Donated Items
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When it’s time to pack up those items that didn’t sell, take photographs of the items while they are displayed on your tables before packing them up in boxes and loading them in the car for the donation site. Use the photos for reference, later on to create an itemized donation receipt for tax purposes.
To learn more about options for donating, check this post on what to do with those unsold garage sale items.
So those of you who are garage sale veterans…what are some of your best garage sale tips? If you’re about to host your first sale, start by reading this post on how to host a garage sale from start to finish, which will tell you everything you need to know about how to plan, organize and promote your sale.
And be sure to check out these other options for turning your clutter into cash:
Image Credit: © Depositphotos.com /apid
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Megan says
Great tips, totally agree with all your ideas! I think the freebie pile is a great idea but you’re really missing out by putting paint in it! I had several cans of half used paint at our last garage sale. I got at least $5 on all of them, some that were almost full up to $20! It was definitely one of my best selling items!
Kimberly says
Good tips, I am having a garage sale in a couple weeks and I will use some of these. Perfect timing! Thanks for sharing at Merry Monday this week! 🙂
Natalie Gallagher says
Awesome Kimberly! Best of luck with your sale!
Rachel Osborn says
Great tips! I just hosted two yard sales in the last two weeks, and I think I hit all the strong points! A couple items I didn’t sell I posted on Craigslist instead. Someone is coming to pick up our drop spreader tonight, and are paying more than I would have gotten at the yard sale!
Natalie Gallagher says
Awesome Rachel! Yes, I love when that happens! BTW, I love your favicon and website name!
Shirley says
Good tips. One of my pet peeves about attending yard sales is when items are not priced. I generally just leave rather than wait on someone to tell the price of each and every item I might be interested in. Thanks for sharing at Merry Monday.
Natalie Gallagher says
I couldn’t agree more Shirley! It’s a great way to turn people off.