Garage sales are a lot of work, but they can also be quite profitable! Read on for tips on hosting a successful garage sale and maximizing the profit from items you no longer need.

Our family has been busy the last nine months decluttering our rental house, in preparation for our big move to our forever home, Arrow Hill Cottage. Through this process, we have come across many items that, although in great shape and of good quality, we don’t plan to bring with us when we move.

Faced with the decision of what to do with these unwanted items, we have a few options. Throwing, donating, or selling.  While there were a few broken things that made their way to the trash bin, ultimately we much preferred to get the quality merchandise into the hands of people who could use it.

 

IS A GARAGE SALE RIGHT FOR YOU?

There are a variety of reasons you might question if a garage sale is your best option. Weighing the pros and cons can help you make the decision more easily. Start by asking yourself the following questions:

Do I have enough to sell?

If you have only a couple boxes of items to sell, it may not be worth the hassle to set up a sale. Consider instead placing an ad on social media with descriptions and pictures of the items you have available. You may have better luck pin-pointing buyers in this fashion.

Are my items current?

Decluttering storage closets and other rarely looked at spaces in your home may yield items that are many years old. Although clothing and home decor styles do tend to eventually cycle back around, it is possible that the items you have been holding onto are no longer desirable to others at the current point in time. If so, donating might be your best option.

Is my location appropriate?

You might have a house-full of good, quality items. But, with a poor sale location, you could struggle to find paying customers. A garage sale set at a remote country house off of a gravel road might not be as successful as one in a quiet city neighborhood, for example.

 

 

PREPARING FOR A GARAGE SALE

If you answered ‘yes’ to the above three questions, chances are you will be able to have a successful garage sale! With the proper preparations, your sale can be the go-to place for good deals.

Months before the sale

Begin sorting through your sale items early. We found it helpful to declutter our entire home before our sale. Every room, closet, and cupboard was scoured. This ensured that everything we wanted to sell was available to our customers. And once these items were out of our house, we knew they wouldn’t be coming back in!

Ask relatives or friends if they would like to go in on the sale with you. Sometimes, advertising a ‘multi-family’ sale can draw a larger crowd.

 

The week before the sale

Allow yourself enough time to clean and organize your garage in preparation. Take extra care to cover any items that are not going to be included, to avoid sale-day confusion from customers.

Borrow long tables if needed. The more organized the setup is, the easier it will be for people to find the things they might be looking for.

Price the merchandise. In the past, I have hosted fundraiser garage sales, where none of the items for sale had price tags. Customers were asked to simply make a donation of any amount. If you have a specific cause that people feel passionate about donating toward, you may do well without price tags. However, as a general rule, most shoppers prefer to know upfront how much you expect for each item. Price tags can help customers avoid confusion.

Think about advertising. If you plan to place an ad in a local newspaper or shoppers guide, be sure to contact them early enough. One week ahead of the sale is usually sufficient.

 

The day before the sale

Prepare the money box. Starting the day with sufficient change is a good idea. For our sale, we used the guidelines from bizfluent to set up our cash box. Within the first two hours of the sale, we were able to take our ‘seed money’ out of the box, for safe keeping.

Create clear signage. It’s a good idea, even if you took out an ad in the local paper, to place signage the day of the sale. They can help direct customers who might be looking for your sale, and also draw in a few others! The night before the big day is the perfect time to whip up those signs. Be sure to use large, block letters that can be clearly read from cars driving by. Place them at popular intersections, and along the road. Adding streamers and balloons can also be effective!

Consider supplemental advertising. If your community or neighborhood has a way to digitally advertise, such as through a group Facebook page, or Craigslist, take advantage of the free publicity. At least half of the traffic to our garage sale came from an ad I posted on Facebook Marketplace the night before.

 

 

EXTRA GARAGE SALE TIPS

Through the years, we have hosted quite a few garage sales. Some more successful than others. These are the things we have learned that have helped us run a smooth and successful sale.

Set a goal

If your family has a specific goal that the garage sale proceeds will go toward, it may motivate everyone to declutter as much as possible. The money earned from our latest garage sale will be applied toward a sectional sofa for our new home’s family room. Anticipating a family movie night together was a huge motivator for all of us.

Price in quarter increments

It can be stressful trying to make change for a fifteen cent item. Speed up the process by pricing everything with the basic quarter in mind. Twenty-five cents per book, or four for a dollar, for example. It’s easy for the customer, and easier for the cashier!

Allow bulk deals

If you have a large amount of any one type of item, consider allowing a bulk deal. We have had a lot of luck selling bags of clothing for three dollars apiece. Knowing they can buy each piece of clothing for fifty cents, OR spend three dollars on an entire bag, customers might choose to bring home more.

Last minute sales

For the last hour of so the sale, when you want to get the garage cleaned out, allow greater discounts. Everything half priced or ‘make an offer’ are a couple of ideas that have worked well for us.

After the sale

Once the garage sale has ended, you may find yourself with quite a bit remaining. I will usually try to sell the high quality items through Facebook Marketplace. Remaining items can then be donated, or offered for free curb-side.

 

 

OUR CLUTTER TO CASH TRANSFORMATION

Our most recent garage sale was a major success. With the clutter now out of our house, and the cash in our pockets, we are ready for our move! Watch the video to find out how much we earned!

 

TIPS FROM OTHERS

Everyone has different ideas about how to plan for and run the best garage sale. Consider checking out the tips from these other bloggers for more ideas on how to cash in on your clutter.

Yard Sale Queen

Money Crashers

Frugal For Less

 

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