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Tips for a successful yard sale?
I am having a yard sale May 20th. I have tables already, and a couple clothes racks (I have a TON of clothes, mens, ladies, kids).
I also have books, dishes, stereos, some furniture, a tv, a microwave, toaster oven, tons of beauty products ( i got a box of 30 hair dyes for $5 a whle back, would $3 each be okay to ask?)…
I am okay with pricing items, but would like some tips on how to make to most out of my yard sale. I only want to do it for one day, because I’m pregnant. I am only trying to make enough $ to get some things for the babys room, and I am thinking I am going to donate all the yard sale leftovers to a local womens shelter.
What can I do to make the yard sale awesome? I live a block off a major highway in “cottage country” in Ontario Canada, so I can post highway signs… but we dont have a local paper, so how can I advertise? Should I also sell bottled water, anything like that?
I have asked several neighbors to join in the sale, so it might be a street sale…
We had a sale this time last year. Our sale went well overall — we cleared a few hundred bucks — though some particulars gave pain.
Definitely go to bed early the night before, because you’ll likely have earlybirds to bug you next morning; it’s part of the culture. Earlybirds (even your friends) think it’s okay to take unfair advantage of the good people who wait for your posted start time. Would they show up an hour early for a friends’ party? They also get in the road of your setup. So plan for them (I wish I’d borrowed a yellow Do Not Cross ribbon from the cops).
You can get a sign template and to-do lists online. Look at
Save some of your signs to put up just the day before the sale, because people will take down some you put up earlier. Try to put half your signs so high on poles that no one can easily take ‘em down.
Some things may sell unexpectedly well, like plants (it’s May, after all) and music (CDs, tapes and vinyl). So take time earlier to pot plants and select music you don’t want.
But other (dated) stuff won’t sell well, like old photo and computer gear. You can unload such stuff on Freecycle.
To price things, start by listing your main sale items. You can learn reasonable prices from eBay’s “completed sales.” Or take your list to Value Village or the Sally Ann. Pricing is time-consuming; you’ll probably need at least a full day to do just that.
Make and put out some collective tags: “25 cents” on, say, a bin of posters, or “All items $2″ on at least one table. Also tag any actual tables you want sold, or there’s no way for buyers to know they’re for sale. (You can borrow tables from neighbours; we needed eight and could’ve used at least one more.)
Keep tarps handy to put over electronic gear and books, etc. Two days before, tie two tarps together, then attach one end above your garage and roll up the other end: that way it’ll be ready to pull out over everything. If needed, you can pull out that free end with your car. Or you can put on long ropes to tie onto trees.
Here was my personal to-do list for the actual sale day:
- take ibuprofen to dull the pain of moving tables and boxes
- turn on answering machine
- park car far enough away to not be in buyers’ way
- put out tables
- tape signs to tables
- display indoor items (my spouse called it “girl stuff”) on one side, outdoor items (”guy stuff”) on the other
- prop artwork against hedges and bushes
- plug in extension cord
- put big sign out, with balloons
- two hours after you start, cross out old prices and drop them by 1/3
- after two more hours, drop starting prices to 2/3
I’d say yes about having water or whatever to sell. In fact, it’s smart to ask a neighbour or kid to bake up dozens and dozens of cookies (we used already-made English Bay cookie dough). They’ll make a surprising amount of money.
Though your sale will go okay, it probably won’t pay you minimum wage. But good luck with it anyway. It’s not just about the money: you’ll also unclutter your life and have fun too!