It’s nearly spring cleaning time, which means you may be having a garage sale soon. Here are some tips and tricks to ensure all of that planning is worth your time! Let’s get into it.
Save the Date
We know it’s impossible to choose the perfect day and time for a garage sale, because no matter what day you pick you will anger the garage sale gods and it will inevitably rain or be super windy, but you can take some variables into consideration when it comes to picking the day. One, if you have a lot of stuff, make it a multi-day sale, Friday and Saturday is ideal, though Thursday, Friday, and Saturday is also acceptable if you have a lot to get rid of. Two, avoid fall and early spring garage sales because the weather is still much too unpredictable. And three, start your garage sale early because some shoppers are devoted, but don’t let it go much later than 2, maybe 3 pm because the crowd will have dwindled by this time.
Make it a Combined Effort
Get with friends or family and advertise that it’s a multi-family sale, this will really draw the people in. Not to mention the extra helping hands.
The Price is Right
As you’re setting up, figure out the best way to price items. Pricing things individually is always an option, but don’t throw out the idea of grouping like items and setting one price. For example, maybe all kids’ clothes are $.25 or all video games are $1. This way you can make price signs versus individual price tags, and you can just keep a single price list where people pay.
Everybody Loves a Mystery
If you have a ton of like items or even like sizes, offer mystery bags on the cheap. This can be done with books as long as you specify the genre, baby toys as long as you specify the age, clothing as long as you specify the size, and so on.
Got Change?
Make sure you have plenty of change before the big day. Keep in mind that most ATMs give out $20 bills, and even the cash-back option at grocery stores gives people larger bills, so it’s a good idea to have $5 bills, $1 bills, and lots of coins on hand.
Cash or Credit
If you or someone involved with your garage sale has a smartphone or tablet, a Square allows you to accept credit cards as payment. This is brilliant since people don’t tend to carry much cash nowadays.
Paper or Plastic?
Make sure you have plenty of bags and/or cardboard boxes for customers and the treasures they’ll be leaving with.
A Real Attention Grabber
Get some balloons for a really colorful sign that screams, “the garage sale is here!” so people know where to find you.