Planning and Organizing a Successful Yard Sale

Inspire family, friends, and others by learning to be better with future yard sales by putting these plans into action this year, and enjoy a clutter-free life.

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A yard sale is a great way to purge your home of unneeded belongings while making some badly needed products available to back-to-school shoppers. That may explain why thousands of garage, yard, and estate sales are held each weekend throughout the country, offering people a new opportunity to declutter and make a little extra money. The sense of accomplishment from a well-organized and well-attended sale is a great motivator for those planning to hold their own. Consider these tips for planning and organizing a great yard sale to clear your home of items that are no longer needed and be an inspiration for someone else.

Plan to Make the Most of Your Yard Sale

Organization is not just a key; it's essential to a successful yard sale. A well-organized and well-planned yard sale is more appealing and instills confidence in your potential buyers. It's a sign that you take your sale seriously and have put in the effort to make it a pleasant experience for them. It also makes it easier for shoppers to see what you have for sale, reassuring them that they are dealing with a professional.

What to Consider When Planning Your Yard Sale

Identifying the Items for Sale

Choose a central location or room to temporarily store your sale items. Then, all household occupants should participate by surveying the home for belongings and unwanted items, including the attic, basement, drawers, closets, sheds, cupboards, and pantries. Place them in a box until it’s full. Continue this process until all of the belongings to be sold are together in a single area.

After you’ve sorted through your belongings and decided what to put in your yard sale, consider how you want to organize them, perhaps by categories such as price or use. Consider putting books with books and dishes with dishes—you get the picture—all like items together. This exercise will also allow you to determine the required display tables.

Pricing Your Items

Yard sale shoppers are often looking for lower-priced products. When the estimated value of a product is unknown, it’s good practice to check the prices of recently sold similar items at the online marketplaces. Some things, like books, sweaters, or other clothing, will sell better if you sell them as two-for-one or three-for-one. Knowing the prices of goods like yours that have recently sold online will help you decide between pricing something based on value and pricing it to sell.

Pricing products before the sale reduces anxiety on the day of the event. Price items for a nickel, dime, quarter, dollar, five dollars, and so on, avoiding pennies to make money management, purchases, and sales easier. Create small cards to place on your set of books, saying, "3 for $5.00." Consider buying a package of round stickers from an office supply department or store and writing prices on them. Now, aren't you glad you already have all your books together?

Managing the Money

Plan for guests who prefer to pay through their smartphone by updating the latest apps on your device and having them accessible during the sale. Have cash to make change for the others and a plan to keep it secure. Consider having about $37 available in wearable purses or pouches with zippers.

$20 in singles
$10 in quarters
$5 in dimes
$2 in nickels

Consider having the paper money in one pouch that can be immediately zipped and the coins in another. Be extraordinarily careful to avoid distractions when handling the funds.

Safety and Security

Yard sales hosted at home invite the public to visit your property, so you’ll want to ensure that loved ones, guests, the property, and the items being sold remain safe and secure during the event. Secure all medicine, weapons, and valuables, and lock vehicles, the perimeter doors, and windows of outbuildings and your home to prevent unpermitted entry during the yard sale. Check the lawn, looking for slipping, tripping, or other hazards, or leftover work tools that may provide a means of access to the inside, such as ladders. Try to keep all traffic in the viewing area of doorbell or other video cameras.  Ensure that your home insurance policy covers guests invited to your property.

Always observe interactions between children and strangers during the sale, even while you’re engaged with potential buyers. Before the sale, remind kids of the rules when dealing with strangers and confirm that tracking is enabled on the smartphones of those who have them and that they’re kept in back pockets.

How to Attract Buyers to Your Yard Sale

Advertising is not just a suggestion; it's a requirement to attract a good turnout for your yard sale. Here are a few proactive steps you can take to ensure your sale gets the attention it deserves. By taking control of your advertising, you can attract more shoppers and make your yard sale successful.

Signage

Previously, promotional options were limited to buying some cardboard and a black magic marker, writing “Yard Sale” with an arrow pointing at your house, and sitting back to wait for the crowd. This remains an effective tactic when correctly done. Include the words that sell the best, "Collectibles" and "Everything Must Go!" written with a bold black marker on bright yellow card stock. On-site signs could promote the products on hand, such as “toys,” “paintings,” etc. Make sure to write a manageable size but large enough that people can see it when driving. Add a large arrow—and remember to put your address on it. It catches the eye and makes it easier to read.

Your local hardware store now offers affordable, readable yard sale signs. However, your turnout will likely be better if you can “jazz up” your sign and draw attention to it. Consider specialty online sign-making shops for unique, eye-catching signage that will draw the intended attention.

Online

Online resources also offer practical ways of promoting your yard sale. Consider promoting using relevant hashtags in the community pages of social media sites and online classifieds, or search the term “yard sales near me” to find other places to promote your event.

Bulletin Boards

The local worship center and supermarket bulletin boards are still effective ways to promote your yard sale. Print or handwrite the planned date and time on a few three-by-five cards. Then, get permission to affix the card to the bulletin board or glass window near the entrance the week of the event, being mindful to remove it afterward.

Networking

Finally, there is the tried-and-true “Word of Mouth” option. Sellers can tell their neighbors, family, and friends and hope the news circulates to as many people as possible. This is the fastest, easiest, and cheapest option available.

 

 

Set Up a Sales Area

You’ve planned for a successful yard sale, and the time to execute is finally here. Start early in the morning, arranging displays so that you can have time to engage with buyers and be observant. Use a bookshelf as a display case for collectibles, a clothing rack, and tables, especially for smaller items such as jewelry. Antique dealers have a secret for selling small items: display them on a dark-colored tablecloth. This shows them off better than light colors or bare tables. Also, sorting jewelry into individual baggies gives the idea that each item is unique—even if it's not!

The Yard Sale

You have everything ready, so sit back and rake in the cash. Well, not really. To sell, you must join the crowd, make eye contact, and talk to your customers. Make them happy. Put kids to work while making pocket change by selling beverages. Give a toy to a child. Dicker over the price of an item. Throw something in for free and tell them, "The more you buy, the cheaper you can get it." Your goal here (besides making money) is to get rid of your clutter!

Keep a close eye on things throughout the day with security and sales in mind, and know when to resort and re-categorize your items as they sell. This level of attention and control is vital to a successful yard sale. During slow sale periods, move items that have yet to be sold to another table or assemble them on the same table. If you notice certain categories of items are not selling as well as others, consider adjusting your prices or moving them closer to the entrance so they are more visible to those who drive by to see what goodies you offer.

After the Yard Sale

After your sale, it's tempting to save it for the next yard sale, but you'll usually sell the same items repeatedly. Avoid returning everything to your house, and instead, consider the positive impact of donating them to your local rescue mission or charity thrift store. Most places will happily arrange a pickup time to come by and haul your things away, and they will also give you a receipt you can use for a tax write-off. Making these arrangements helps clear your space and contributes to a good cause, allowing you to feel good about your actions.

Wrapping up Planning and Organizing a Successful Yard Sale

A well-planned and organized yard sale can make money and free up space in your home by clearing clutter while making used items affordable and available to buyers. You've read how to combine thoughtful merchandising, cash management, and promotional tactics with safety and security measures to get the expected results. Inspire family, friends, and others by learning to be better with future yard sales by putting these plans into action this year, and enjoy a clutter-free life.

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