Garage sales can be as simple as literally opening your garage to others.
While that is the case, organizing a high quality garage sale takes time and effort. All of the responsibility falls on you because you are the only one in charge of the whole operation.
Your main goal in garage sales is to gather a crowd and to sell as many items as you can. Having large groups gathering in your yard increases the chance you'll sell more items.
You have to prepare because you have to do more than just hope that people will come. You have to think about ways to make them stop by your yard.
How can you set up a successful garage sale? Here are six ways to have your best garage sale.
You have a single chance to make an excellent first impression on your customers.
Have a large sign posted near your yard. Your sign must have big letters and arrows to help people immediately locate your place. Make sure the sign is also double-sided, so cars or people coming from different directions will be able to see it.
Feel free to have more than one sign. As long as the signs are on your property, nobody can stop you.
A clean yard helps in making better first impressions. Include your driveway in the cleaning to appeal to more customers. You can design your pathway to stand out from the other houses beside you.
Have a nice, huge table for your items instead of an old, rugged box. Put a tablecloth on it as well, especially if you have expensive items in your inventory.
You can fold clothes, but you can also hang them for an appealing display. This will save you from folding the garments again and again when various customers look at them. Fold only the older and smaller clothes.
It is important to personalize your whole garage sale.
People usually prefer to buy everyday items such as kids’ toys and clothes at retail stores. If you offer only these items, people will have less incentive to buy from your sale.
People like to have something different. If you sell things that are hard to find elsewhere, people will likely buy at your garage sale.
The items you sell are not the only things you can personalize. During your garage sale, you can turn on good music (e.g., pop, relaxing, or upbeat music). You can also add some décor if you have a theme.
You would want to do more personalization when you are participating in a community yard sale. The advantage of participating in one is that you can immediately have more customers coming to your space since they are also looking around other spaces.
Put up personalized price tags for a better customer experience. Displaying price tags will save customers some time, too, as they can immediately move to purchase once they see an item they like.
If you don’t have a personalized theme, putting up price tags still benefits both you and your customers.
Declutter your house and prepare an inventory for all the items you will sell. Decluttering will ensure that you can focus on organizing your garage sale.
Have 100 or more times to offer in your garage sale. That sounds like a lot, but it becomes a reasonable number if you consider years of clutter.
After decluttering, organize all of your items based on similarity. You can further organize them by function and color.
The reason for offering a large number of items is to make sure that your customers have a wide selection from which to choose. Remember that you want to gather a crowd to have more chances of getting sales.
The schedule for your garage sale crucially affects your sales. Weekdays are definitely out of the question.
Holidays may sound like a good time for your sale, but people have full calendars during those times, so it is best not to schedule during these seasons.
The best time for a garage sale is in the spring, when people can be outdoors. Usually, Fridays are the best option because people are on their way home and have time to spare after work.
Weekend mornings are good times too because people are coming from their supermarket errands or church. Openings after lunch can gather a crowd as well.
Once you have your schedule, you can advertise your garage sale in your social media feed or local newspaper.
When you advertise it, make sure you use photos. The more specific the items you show, the more interested people will be in your sale.
On the day of your garage sale, make sure you wear an apron, so people immediately know who is in charge. It is the easiest way to distinguish yourself from buyers.
Additionally, it would be best to have plenty of change (small coins and small bills) for other people during the sale.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, cashless transactions have become more common. Venmo and PayPal are some of the top services for more methods of transfer.
Have plastic bags and carts on standby to help people carry their items from your yard to their car. You can buy biodegradable plastics if you don’t have plastic bags ready.
Garage sales require preparation to be successful. People will not just come because you opened your garage.
Make sure you put up large signs with arrows that can lead your customers to your place. You can install as many signs as you want on your property.
Bring a table out to your yard to display your items, and hang your clothes for better display. You can also lay out a tablecloth to match your items to make them more appealing.
Declutter your house and put at least 100 things up for sale. Offering your customers a wide selection of items will increase your chances for sales.
Once everything is set, organize the day of your sale in the morning when people are most available. Personalize your area with music, price tags, and décor.
Wear an apron to distinguish yourself from buyers and have plenty of change ready for a smooth and successful garage sale.
