morning and be ready to welcome early visitors, Hammond suggests. “Most people think Saturday is the best day. It’s not. The best day to have a garage sale is Friday,” she insists.
That’s because you’ll tend to draw in shoppers who are on their way to work, or who are dropping kids off at school. You’ll also get more garage-sale aficionados who have fewer other sales to visit since it’s a Friday.
Hammond feels that you have a greater advantage in negotiating prices compared to selling on Saturday. That’s because your buyers will assume that you’re in no hurry to take a low price, since you can continue the sale another day.
Advertise it well. Let as many people as possible know that you’re hosting the sale. She advises against newspaper classified ads, given their cost and the shrinking audience who reads them. It’s free to put your advertisement on Craigslist, but this site tends to be crowded with garage sales, she says.
If you’re on social media, post the date and time of your yard sale there. Consider posting a few photos of particularly interesting pieces to help bring in shoppers. You can also easily find Web sites that run garage sale ads (including Hammond’s site).
Use simple signs. Put up signs in your neighborhood that direct shoppers to your sale. (If you’re hanging them from trees, telephone poles, signs, fences, and similar locations, first make sure it’s okay.) Be sure to remove them after the sale!
Use fluorescent poster board to make your signs. It doesn’t matter which conspicuous color you pick—pink, yellow, green, or orange—but stick with the same color for all your signs, Hammond says. This gives your shoppers an easy-to-follow trail of clues to your home. Make the signs 15 inches square—anything bigger and they’ll flap in the wind and may fall off.
Finally, just put the word SALE on your sign, with an arrow pointing in the correct direction. You don’t need to clutter it with your address or phone number, she says.
Pretend you’re running a store. This is another point in your family downsizing when you have to be businesslike. On this day, your garage is a retail environment, and you’re the manager, Hammond says. Sweep the floor and provide good lighting. Have soft music playing in the background and make water, coffee, and lemonade available. (It’s okay to charge for it.)
Make your merchandise look appealing, she urges. Dust it off. Group like items together, such as electronics and kitchenware. If possible, hang your clothing from racks so shoppers can browse easily.
Use a team. If possible, have at least four people working your garage sale, Hammond recommends. This is a good time to recruit any family members who’ll be benefiting from the profits of the sale. Having assistants helps ensure that someone is available to answer questions, negotiate prices, and take payments. You’ll also want someone to go out periodically to make sure your brightly colored signs are all still up and pointing in the proper direction.
Stay safety conscious. Keep all the doors to your home locked. Keep only a small amount of money outside for making change and stow it in a fanny pack on your waist. As more money comes in from customers, periodically take it inside and stash it in a safe place.
Sometimes customers walk off with merchandise without paying. This is an unpleasant, but not uncommon situation at garage sales. If you see it happen, let it go, Hammond urges. Your safety is more valuable than the item.
Estate Sales: Bringing In a Professional to Bring In Shoppers
You might think of an estate sale as a bigger, more formal version of a garage sale that’s typically held in the home that you’re downsizing, though sometimes an estate sale company can sell the goods in another location. The public, which may wait in line to enter the home, walks around and shops. Sometimes items are marked with a price, and sometimes shoppers place their own bids.
Estate sales aren’t for every downsizer. Before deciding to host one, it’s important to set realistic goals, do some advanced work, and pick an estate sale professional carefully, Hall warns. Here’s how.
Figure out if an estate sale is a good fit for your needs. How much stuff do you want to sell? Some estate sale professionals will only work with you if the sale is expected to bring in at least $5,000, Hall says. Others require an even higher minimum.
Ask yourself whether buyers will be interested in the stuff you’re selling. Ideally, Hall