Do You Know The Secrets to Having A Successful Garage Sale?

Could you use some extra cash?  Would you like to get rid of a bunch of stuff that you don’t need and probably will never use?  Then why not hold a garage sale?  Also known as a yard sale, patio sale and carport sale to name a few, a garage sale is an excellent way to earn cash and clean out clutter at the same time.

Recently I had a client that had just moved into a new home.  Well, the home wasn’t exactly new the young woman’s mother had lived in the home for many years until she found herself unable to maintain it.  Then, when the mother decided to move into a much smaller apartment, it was decided that my client and her family would move into the house.

They had been looking for a house for a while and given the state of the economy, it was beginning to seem like a bad time to buy that is until the mother’s house became available.  The move worked out well, except for the fact that considering that the house wasn’t really sold just passed down a generation, the mother left a lot of stuff behind.  And being that the mother was a real clutterer, there was quite a bit.  There were all kinds of crafts, clothes, old records, VHS tapes, books and there even was an old collection of baseball cards.

However, because my client had her own family and needed the space, she decided to hold a garage sale.  Never having had a garage sale, she was very unsure what to expect.  But, she must have done something right because not only did she get rid of a bunch of unwanted items much to her own surprise she made several hundred dollars in the process.

Do you have a bunch of old stuff just laying around your house collecting dust that you would like to turn into cash?My client you would say got lucky, but wouldn’t you rather know the tricks to making money when holding a garage sale so that it’s not left up to chance?  I know I would, so here are a couple of things that you need to do,

1. Advertise - Let everyone you know through every possible means that you are having a garage sale.  Use a combination of newspapers (local neighborhood and city), flyers, signs and word of mouth.  The internet even has sites that you can use to advertise your garage sale.  Make sure to get your advertising out there in plenty of time and that it includes all of the necessary information such as where, when and what you have for sale.

2. Price everything (slightly higher) - people that go to garage sales are famous for haggling on price so make sure that you leave enough room to bargain and still get the price that you are looking for.  Also, make sure that the price of everything is clearly displayed on the item.  Although this does take planning, it will save time and eliminate confusion.  And if you are selling things for someone else, use a different color label to price the item and make sure to keep the money separate.

3. Organize - Nothing is worse than an unorganized event.  Take the time to plan things like what you are going to sell and where the items will be displayed.  Also make sure that there is plenty of room for people to walk around and take their time.

4. Change - Have plenty of change on hand.  I have seen garage sales where people were unable to make change and then frantically had to run around and locate some once the sale had begun.  Having a garage sale is enough work, you don’t need to add getting change to your “to do” list the day of the event.

Garage sales are a great way to get rid of useless junk and make money in the process.  Just be sure that you are organized and plan in advance if you want your event to turn out a success.