How to Hold a Successful Yard Sale

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Even if you've had numerous yard sales in the past, here are a few pointers to make yours more successful. Start Early Even if your next yard sale is months away, start sorting through your belongings to get ready. Put each item in one of four storage containers: Keep, Toss, Yard Sale and Undecided. “If you’re not using it in the next year, don’t keep it,” says Dave Valliere, senior product manager for home storage at Rubbermaid, Inc. in Huntersville, N.C., just outside Charlotte. If someone else could use the item, put it in the yard sale bin. Bruce Littlefield scours garage sales for treasures. "I came across this set of mid-century glasses at a sale in the Catskills," he explains. "They were marked . Two weeks prior, I had seen the same set for 0 chichi shop in New York's Soho. Nothing tastes sweeter than sipping a cool drink in a score!" the box of glasses. Photo credit: Rochelle Riservato. Good Sale Items Good sale items include movies, books, furniture, dishes, children’s toys and clothes, collector’s items such as glassware from 1960s TV shows and household appliances that still work. Remember to have an extension cord handy on sale day so visitors can see that the item they are considering actually works. What doesn’t sell? Fads whose time has past. Forget selling your 15-year-old ThighMaster, says veteran yard saler Chris Heiska, of Lusby, Md., who runs the Web site Yardsalequeen.com. Except for maternity clothing and plus-sizes, adult clothing doesn’t sell well either. Ad It In Advertise online and in your local paper. If you have baby items, antique or 1960s modern furniture, say so. People will scan the ads looking for items they need and if you have what they’re looking for, they’ll come to your yard sale. “If your ad says ‘antique furniture’ or ‘60s modern,’ those kinds of identifiers will definitely be lures to people,” says Bruce Littlefield of New York City, author of Garage Sale America. “If I see ‘baby clothes and Fisher-Price®,’ I’m not running over to that sale,” Littlefield, who has no children, says. “But people who have a newborn will go.” Sign Me Up Check local ordinances on sign placement. Make your signs easy to read from the road and similar in design so people can follow them. “We get more business at our sale because our signs are professionally done,” says Nikki Fish of South Bend, Ind., who hosts a major yard sale every year but enjoys shopping yard sales even more than selling. Paint or draw the arrows after you plant the signs to make sure arrow point in the right direction. “Wild goose chases are very frustrating,” Littlefield says. With that in mind, take signs down when your sale is over. Price Pointers Visit other yard sales and thrift stores to get ideas on pricing. “My thrift store sells hardcover books for $1,” Heiska says. “If I were to try to sell my books for $3, people wouldn’t buy them.” Remember, you’re in business for the day to get rid of things you don’t want. Price accordingly. To make it easier for shoppers, you can group items at the same price on one table, mark prices with colored stickers—all green stickers are 50 cents, for example—or put price tags on each item. Be sure you have lots of small bills and coins to make change. And remember, everyone negotiates. If you keep your sense of humor and a smile on your face, your prospective buyers won’t be offended whether you accept their offer, make a counter offer or turn them down, says John Lundgren, author of the ebook, How to Turn Your Garage Sale into A Money Machine.

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