yard sale...?????

[zurgswife]

As a not very efficient yardsale person...I've only had 3 ....2 not very successful and moderately successfull....can anybody give me hints on when is the best time in the spring to have one and what about advertising....what types of papers and how much should I try to keep my advertising budget to....also, should you have one day or 2.....


any advice would be greatly appreciated.....

 

[HM]

My best advise it to make sure that you have items separated into distinct areas (clothing, kitchen, toys, etc.) and to have clothing hung up on hangers if posssible. Have each item per-marked with a price sticker. Look organized.

Put flyers up in local grocery stores, video rental stores, library bulletin boards, daycare or school bulletin boards. Put an ad in the Sunday paper and the Friday paper before the sale.

If you can, make it a group effort. Try to get others on your street to sell the same day (either with you or at their houses) so that you can say Community Yard Sale in your advertising. You get more people if they think there will be a lot available.

Hope this helps. -HM

 

[CajunDixie]

Around here the best times to have sales are on holiday weekends....Memorial Day Weekend, July 4th week, and Labor Day weekend. We usually advertise in the Thursday and Friday papers and we hang up neon pink posterboards advertising the sale.....with ballons on the one at the end of our street. If your town has a festival thats a great weekend too. Not only do you get locals but out of towners too. I start mine on Thursday morning and go through Saturday around 3. Usually while I'm setting up things outside Thursday morning I'll have a couple "regulars" that will pull in early and I let them shop early. If they want to haggle the prices I tell them to come back Saturday morning and I'll haggle then but that I wont lower my prices before I've even opened. I will come down or make deals on some things but I know now who the dealers are in my area. And remember if you do the long forms on your taxes and take the leftovers to Goodwill you can pick up a receipt from them to use on the next years taxes. This year I've sold a few things on Ebay so not sure if we'll have a big sale this spring.

 

[AJA55]

All of HM’s advise it great. Also we’ve found one day is enough. The second day you get fewer people and they are the ones that want to really bargain. Display in a way the customers can see everything. We spread out blankets with the small items. Makes it earlier for the people to see.

 

[ceecee]

I usually have mine Thurs, Fri and Sat til 12:00 or whatever. I netted over $1000.00 last year and $600.00 was from Thurs, but it was worth the $400.00 to hang around the garage for an extra day and a half. People do work on the weekdays, so we had a lot on Saturday, people didn't ask if we'd "take less" anymore on that day than Thurs.
I had several people comment on my "clean" garage sale, so make sure all the stuff you put out is clean and stain free. Wash all clothes and toys. I had some new stuff too that we never got around to using. I'm looking forward to my June sale.

 

[Trekker]

We only do yard/garage (garbage) sales when there are All City or City Wide sales - Our city does this twice a year - you do not have to advertise as everyone is out and about cause there are sales everywhere. These have always been the most successful.

 

[crazymomof4]

Reading all these posts has really got me in the mood for a yard sale. Too bad we have 8" of snow on the ground!
Here are my tips: My husband's "junk" always nets more than mine! It seems men don't haggle over prices like we women do. Also men's stuff is harder to find at yard sales so you can set the prices higher. My husband does great selling his fishing stuff, old power tools and the like. So have your husband cough up some of that stuff he hasn't used for years. Another thing that makes money is food and drink. (I'm sure there is some sort of license you're supposed to have to sell these, but no one has ever bothered us about it for 1 day a year.) If it's hot we do lemonade. If it's cold coffee goes as fast as I can brew it. We've also sold hot dogs, donuts and brownies. By far the best seller is my homemade chocolate chip cookies. I make them big (about 4") and put 2 in a sandwich bag w/ a twist tie. I always sell out at $1 a bag. (leave out the nuts, though, you don't want someone to sue you over an allergic reaction!) My kids have a ball selling this stuff. This is such a good money maker that my husband says even if we don't have much "junk" to sell this year we are vending food/drink and even expanding our menu! This last tip won't make $ but helps me stay organized: I wear a canvas nail apron (found in any hardware store) around my waist. It keeps all of my cash handy and safe w/ me. I also put in it a pen, notepad, masking tape, price stickers, and calculator. Happy selling!!

 

[Muffy]

Great tips! Thanks!

 

[cgcw]

A trick I learned is to have a neighbor join in the sale (or more than 1) and then list the ad as "Yard Sale, Your Street" without a specific address. This seems to draw more people because they are not certain how many homes are involved.

We always do just a Saturday and place the ad with a starting time a bit earlier than what others might have. In our area, most sales start at 9 a.m. so our ad will say 8:30 in the hopes of trying to catch some of the earlier people (or anxious people).

It's just about time to start seeing the signs out and about. Usually by the end of March around here. Good luck with your sale!

 

[shovelhd]

Zurg,

Things start to get going here in MA around the beginning of April, although tag sales run all year long. I'm a tag sale junkie and can't wait for things to start heating up. I play both sides of the tag sale game.

You will see dealers on weekdays and early Saturday morning. I have never had much luck buying or selling on Sundays. Dealers will lowball for everything and only bid on things worth reselling at a profit. Therefore, if they are bidding, there is money in it. If all you care about is getting rid of your stuff, then by all means take their lowball money and watch as they clean you out. Otherwise, work the dealers margin. Your items mean cash to them and it isn't in their pocket until you take theirs. The seller always has the upper hand unless they choose not to or don't know the true value of their items.

Advertising attracts mostly dealers. See above. I've always had huge turnouts just by using $2 worth of reusable signs (1x4 and cardboard). The neighborhood sale is always a great idea if you can coordinate everything.

Good luck and happy tagging!!!

Chris

 

[BWVDenise]

Some great advise here! I was wondering how I can figure out what to ask for bigger ticket items like Little Tikes sandbox, L.T. kiddie pool with slide, and things like that. I don't want to give them away for a few dollars, but I have NO idea what these items should sell for.
Is there a way to find out?

 

[cgcw]

BWVDenise,
Little Tykes items usually sell pretty quickly in our area. I know, as a daycare provider, if I stop at a sale, these are the items I'm looking for because their quality is excellent and they last forever. I don't haggle on the price for these. Usually, for any ride on type toy or rocker toy, I would pay as much as $10, depending on the quality. I bought a Little Tykes climber for the yard for $40 and have friends who have paid the same. You might want to take a look at e-bay as to what the types of items you have for sale have sold for. That might be a starting basis. I don't think you can ask the same prices as e-bay but I certainly wouldn't give them away. JMHO.

 

[zurgswife]

Thanks for all the great tips....I'm thinking of just one day as my work schedule is 7 days a week.....And a little bit of advertising...maybe I'll check with a few neighbors about joining in sounds like a good idea.....

 

[SeaWitch]

BWVDenise
Another word on the Little Tykes stuff... these are also great items to draw-in people just driving by - so place them where they can be seen!

And they are popular and well-built - so, unless someone is offering you your price... don't haggle... they WILL SELL!

I'm gearing up for my sale in March! Can't wait to make some $$ for my next Disney trip!

 

[shovelhd]

For anything that's a sure seller (Little Tykes blowmold playthings are a great example) go with half the retail price. Dealers can't make any money at that price level. Forget about ebay because these items are large and shipping via normal means kills the value. A good rule of thumb is to haggle down no more than 15% of your asking price on things that will sell, and target 10%. Counter, counter, counter. Remember that *you* hold the goods. The only exception I give is if someone wants several big ticket items. I'll sometimes let them all go at once for 20% less, but that's about it. There's always Sunday if need be. Again, it depends what your priority is, cleaning out the house or collecting cash. If you know it will sell, than hold out, especially first thing in the morning when the dealers converge. It is tempting to make the quick sale and start building the wad of cash. Dealers know this and try and get all the good stuff in one lot at a steal of a price. They will also find other interesting things on your property and bid for them even though they are not for sale. Beware, it's easy to fall into this trap. Hold out for your money. Rest assured that if they don't get the margin they need, they will move on to the next vic... - ahem - seller soon enough.

For everyday stuff, I would start with 25% of retail price and go down from there. These are things that you want to get rid of that not every buyer is going to check out. For larger bulky items that you would take to the dump after the sale, try and get a few bucks for it and take anything you can get. The less that goes to the dump the better.

Some might think that I'm being too harsh to dealers. Hey, I'm one of them! I'm just trying to give you an idea of what it is like from the other side of the fence, so that you may maximize your profits.

Best of luck,

Chris

 

[LISALISA36]

we have ours on the wk of good friday.....thurs ,fri, & sometimes saturday....
make sure everything is priced....we always make over 1000.00

i have stuff piled up right now, just waiting for april....

we also fill zip lock bags with stuff,,,like makeup,,perfumes or lotions...bags of little toys,, books,jewlery.
they always seem to go pretty good.