Once again, I am happy to share these tips.... with all credit to LilMermaid!!!!!!
GARAGE SALE TIPS by LilMermaid
(or "How to Make Some Extra $$$$ for Your WDW Vacation)
Before you read this tips, keep in mind that what worked for me may not necessarily work for you. But, I have had four very successful garage sales (netting $700, 800, $1300, and $1341 respectively)???.so, there might be some merit to some of these tips, LOL! Do realize also that I take my garage-saleing very seriously J! I put a lot of time and effort into preparing for my sales, and I truly believe that the amount of money you make is directly proportional to the amount of time spent preparing for the sale!
PRE-SALE PREPARATION
Be ruthless when cleaning out closets, cabinets and such when looking for items to sell. If we haven't used something in the last year, it's outta here!
Clean all of your sale items ---Face it???people WILL be turned off by dirty goods! Nicer kids clothes should be washed and hung up (I save all the hangers I get from stores and dry cleaners for this very purpose). If an item is stained, I try to get the stain out, and if I can't, it goes in the trash. No one wants to buy stained clothes! Ditto for missing buttons, snaps
and broken zippers (although I will sell coats with broken zippers if they are in good condition for $1-2 dollars, because most people will be willing to have a zipper fixed on a nice coat)
Clean those toys???diapers wipes are great for wiping down kid's toys. I also put toys (without moving parts) in the dishwasher???you'd be amazed at the difference it makes???some look practically brand new, and this makes a huge difference in the amount of $$$ you can ask!
Wash those stuffed animals in the washing machine???yes, I know the tag says not to, but I've been doing it for years and have never had a problem. Set them out in the sun to dry (do not put them in the dryer), and you will be rewarded with clean-smelling, fluffy stuffed animals, which can command a decent price! The only stuffed animals you can't wash are the really old kind that have styrofoam in them. Any decent stuffed animal made within the last 6-7 years will be fine!
Throw kids' outgrown tennis shoes in the washer also! Set them in the sun to dry. I've sold tons of my toddler tennis shoes because of this???they look practically new (which they are, because kids outgrown those things so darn fast!)
To sum it up, clean items sell better than dirty ones!
On broken items --- I don't sell things that are broken (with the exception of electronics, because there seems to be a good market for this). If something is broken, put a label on it indicating that it is broken, and price it accordingly.
On pricing items: I've been to many sales where NOTHING is priced???you must "ask"! IMHO, this is ridiculous???everything should have a price sticker on it, and the sticker should be placed where it is easily seen. When pricing the nicer clothes that are going on hangers, I write the size below the
price???I got lots of compliments on that at my last sale.
How I typically price items: I take great care to keep my children's clothes in good condition, and while not all are "big name" (Oshkosh, Gap, Gymboree), I tend to price on the high side. If an outfit is "big name", I will price it at about $3.75 to $4.75, depending on the outfit. If it is a lesser name, I will put it in the $2.25 to $3.25 range. I tend to use prices like $3.75 instead of $4, because it seems so much cheaper! These prices are for 2 piece outfits and nicer dresses. Nice separtes (shirts and pants) are typically priced at $1.25 to $2.50. Kids shoes are typically $1 to $2. Baby equipment which is clean and in good condition: Highchair $25, Exersaucer
$25, portacrib $35, johnny jump up $10, crib $50, baby blankets $1, baby bottles 25 cents each (people will buy old baby bottle nipples for feeding puppies---bag those up and price them at 10 for $1J).
PREPARING FOR THE SALE
Having enough tables is very important. If you are short on tables, you can lay planks on sawhorses or strong boxes in a pinch.
Displaying clothes: I don't pile my tables high with children's clothes. As I said earlier, the nicer clothes (which I would ask $1.50 and up for) go on hangers and are hung on rods suspended from the tracks of the garage door on either side of the garage. When putting the children's clothes on the rod, I have different sections for boys and girls clothes, and in each section, I group them according to size, from smallest to largest. Also, if you have 2-piece clothing you aren't hanging up, pin them together with a safety pin.
The only clothes which I may not price are my 10 cent and 25 cent clothes???if I have something that isn't torn or stained, but isn't especially nice, I'll put them all in a box with a sign on the front saying 10 cents each or 25 cents each. These always sell! And, I usually end up going 5 for $1 (on the
25 cent stuff) or 12 for $1 (on the 10 cent stuff).
Ziploc bags???..are my secret weapon, LOL! I put small items and items with several pieces in ziploc bags, and write the price on the bag. For some weird reason, when people see things in ziploc bags, they BUY them! These are some of the things I typically put in ziploc bags: toddler shoes, jewelry, kids socks (4 for $1), , baby t-shirts (2 or 3 for $1), parts to toys (tape the bag onto the toy), small decorative/craft-type items, belts, newer linens (use the larger bags, naturally), and anything nice that I don't want to get stained with many different people handling it.
If you are selling children's toys, attach any instructions or papers that came with the toy (if you keep these things). If you are really obsessive like me, you might even have the original box???that alone will get you a higher price! I do not sell broken toys. If a toy is missing a piece, I'll call the manufacturer to see if I can get a replacement (and I've done that several times, and have received the parts for free!) If I can't get a replacement, I'll indicate that it is missing a piece.
Old cassette tapes (except for children's tapes) don't sell very well! But, old record albums do!
Paperbacks and hardback books are good sellers if priced reasonably. 25 cents for a paperback, and 50 cents to a dollar for a hardcover are what we usually use.
Adult clothes don't sell very well, regardless of price???you might want to donate these to Goodwill and take the tax deduction!
ADVERTISING YOUR SALE
I can't stress the importance of this enough! We live in the suburbs of St. Paul, MN, and we advertise our sales in the major St. Paul newspaper AND the weekly neighborhood paper. It costs about $40 for both ads, but the expense is definitely worth it.
Signs: You need signs???lots of signs! We typically hang up at least 15 signs within a 1-1/2 mile radius of the house (my husband does this). White poster board is not a great idea???use ONE bright NEON color (we like orange) for all your signs. The neon posterboard is a bit more expensive, but here is what we do: We make a few signs with a full size posterboard with the important information, and have an arrow pointing in the direction of our house. Then, every other block or so, we hang another sign (in the same NEON color) that is only half a poster board with the word SALE in big bold letters with a directional arrow. Since the signs are all the same color, they are
basically just following the arrows. And, don't forget a big sign for your front yard! We had a lot of comments about how easy it was to find our sale because of the great signage.
SETTING UP THE GARAGE
When laying out everything in your garage, place the toys in the back of the garage. People will have to walk by everything else to get to them, and they will undoubtedly see something else which catches their eye! Also, put a few of the larger "hot" items out in the driveway (such as Little Tykes play
equipment or something along those lines) to entice those people driving by to stop!
Try not to put things under the tables, as most people won't see them. While I prefer having most things on tables, there usually aren't enough tables to go around. Set larger items in the driveway, and set smaller items (non-breakable, of course) in boxes in the driveway. I usually will set the box on top of an empty box turned upside down, so that people don't have to stoop over.
WHEN TO HAVE YOUR SALE
When is the best time of year to have a garage sale? Well, that depends on where you live. We are Texas natives, but we live in Minnesota now. In Texas, garage sales are year round. But, in Minnesota (and many other northern states, I would imagine) garage sales are normally only held from April through September. We have always found FALL to be the best time to have a sale. Face it???if you have a sale in late spring or summer when EVERYONE else is having theirs, yours will be "just one more on the list". But, if you have your sale in the fall, after the kids are back in school, there are fewer garage sales held at that time. Consequently, people who love to garage sale will be lined up at your door at the crack of dawn waiting to buy you out!
Do not plan a sale over a holiday weekend.
And, last but not least, my best tip (for which you may think I'm crazy)???have your sale over 2 days, but NOT 2 consecutive days. On our last sale, we had the first day of the sale on a Saturday (we made $800). After that, we took down the signs, reorganized, and re--advertised for the following Friday. On the second day (the following Friday), we made $500+. By doing this, we got the typical Saturday garage salers the first time, and the following Friday, we got the people who can't go to garage sales on Saturdays for one reason or another. Having a garage sale on 2 consecutive days just doesn't get the job done, IMHO. Especially if it is a Friday/Saturday sale. Very few people will come on Saturday if they know you actually started the sale the previous day???they figure the good stuff is already gone. By moving the second day to the next week, you get a whole new crop of customers! It definitely worked for us.
LilMermaid
Lover of all things POLY!
Who knows, maybe you'll make enough for a concierge suite for you and your family
Well, we can all dream can't we
