How to Have a Successful Garage Sale Before You Move

You’re moving out in just a few weeks. You’ve gone through and purged your unneeded items, but a few seem like they might fetch a nice price at a garage sale. But how can you make sure you’re doing this right? Those long distance movers are an investment, and it would be nice to make a little extra money in this process.

We have seven tips you can use to make sure your garage sale is as successful as possible.

Schedule and Advertise

Sure, you could simply put things out on your lawn and hope for the best, but wouldn’t it be better to make sure people knew about the sale? Use websites like Craigslist and Facebook to advertise your sale. Be sure that you clearly state the address and hours of the sale, and it never hurts to mention a few especially cool items you might be putting out.

You also will want to make approximately 10 to 15 signs to put up around your neighborhood. Busy intersections are a good idea.

Price Items to Move

Even though you may have paid hundreds of dollars for that end table, if you want to get rid of it at a yard sale, you’ll have to consider pricing it much lower. Perhaps as little as 10% of the original cost. Remember: you’ve made the decision to live without these items. If it’s the difference between making some money and no money, some money is always better.

Team Up with Neighbors

Hard-core garage sale shoppers will make the trek out to your neighborhood if they think the sale sounds good, but casual shoppers probably won’t. Unless of course your sale is a neighborhood wide event. If you can get a few more families in your area to all stage garage sales on the same day, you will all benefit together. Multifamily sales are a much bigger draw.

Stage Your Sale Like a Store

It’s easy to throw all of your items in boxes and plunk them down on your lawn, but it’s not a good way to get sales. Your best bet is to spend some time staging everything. Hang clothing up on portable racks so that buyers can easily browse. Put small items on tables so that nobody must crouch down. Group similar items together. Have a “kitchen” section, a “tools” section, etc. Make labels.

Be Prepared

The day before your garage sale, go to your bank and get about $50 in change. Split this up between ones, fives, and quarters. Keep your money in a lockbox, a fanny pack, or anything else that safe and easily accessible.
Also, remember that the average garage sale is between four and six hours. Make sure you have a chair, sunscreen, water, snacks, and anything else you’ll need to stay in it for the long haul. If you’re running the sale by yourself, come up with a plan for taking breaks. Perhaps a neighbor could come over and watch the sale for you for five minutes while you run into use the bathroom.

Be Safe

Keep your money on you at all times, don’t allow anyone into your house to use the bathroom, etc., keep your doors locked while you are outside, and keep a cell phone on you. It’s very likely that your sale will be fun and uneventful, but it still pays to be safe.

Have a Plan for After the Sale

The sale is over. A lot of stuff sold, some stuff didn’t. The last thing you want to do is walk all that stuff back inside your house. Have a plan for items that didn’t sell. Either slash prices for the last hour of the sale, or arrange to make a donation.

Good luck on your upcoming move, and your upcoming garage sale. Follow these tips to make sure that you get the best possible results.