A garage sale is the perfect way to clear out some clutter, but you can’t just have one on a whim. You need to be prepared if you want everything to go smoothly. Here are a few tips to help you host a successful garage sale this summer.
Begin Planning Well in Advance
A garage sale isn’t just something you can throw together last minute. It’s in your best interest to begin planning in advance so you can make the event as successful as possible.
The first place you should start: the date. Most garage sales are held on Saturday, but weekend days like Friday and Sunday are good, too, as people are out and about doing weekend chores or activities. As for the time you should start, the majority of sales begin early morning and end mid-afternoon, around 2 pm.
Once you have the day and time figured out, leave enough time before your sale to get everything organized and planned out. When you leave yourself a couple of weeks to prepare, you’ll have the time necessary to make sure everything is done right.
Gather Your Items
Of course, an important part of the garage sale is the stuff. So the next step is to sort through your basement, attic, garage, backyard shed, closets, and storage spaces for items to sell.
Top-selling items for garage sales are kids’ toys and clothes, power tools, gardening tools, exercise equipment, small furniture pieces, and electronics. Home décor, adult clothes, books, and movies are also items that should be included.
Avoid selling explosives, firearms, or intimates. You don’t want to sell anything that could cause injury if improperly used or anything that could be offensive or inappropriate. Steer clear of selling large furniture items as well. While you may be looking for a way to get rid of your sofa, large furniture is often too expensive or too difficult to move to be worth buying at a garage sale.
Stay Organized
Staying organized will make things easy when you’re going through your home and selecting items that will be included in the sale. Consider grouping like items together and keeping them separate. For example, all kitchen-related items should go in one box, all books in another, and kid toys in their own box. For clothes, organize them by season, gender, and age for easy browsing.
Customers are more likely to stay and browse when a sale has different items grouped together. The easier the shopping experience, the easier it will be to put money in your pocket!
Set Realistic Prices
One of the keys to a successful garage sale is pricing your items correctly. Most people who attend garage sales are looking to find great deals and bargains. Your prices should reflect that.
To appropriately price your items, you need to do some research. Utilize websites like eBay, Amazon, and Mercari to learn about the average prices for different types of garage sale items. Take into account the age of the things when pricing, too. You may have items that are new in the box or still have the tags on them. Charge a little more than average for these items, but don’t expect to sell them anywhere near the full price you originally paid.
Make Advertising a Priority
You may have a ton of great items ready to sell at your garage sale, but if no one knows about the event, it won’t be a success. So make sure you advertise as much as possible!
When it comes to promoting your sale, print isn’t dead. Putting up posters around your area is still a great way to let people know about your event. Make sure to create bright, eye-catching signs and place them in high-traffic areas to catch everyone’s eyes. On the day of your sale, put up posters throughout your neighborhood directing people to your address so it’s easier to find.
And don’t forget about social media. Facebook, Craigslist, and Nextdoor are all fantastic places to advertise online for free. When making your online posts, don’t forget to mention the date, time, location, and high-demand items you plan on selling.
Be Willing to Negotiate
If your price your items right at your sale, many people will pay the amount on the price tag. But haggling is a time-honored tradition of garage sales. Being willing to negotiate will help ensure you sell as much as possible.
Keep in mind, some people don’t negotiate as much at the beginning of a sale as compared to the end. But if there are items you don’t want to haggle on the price, make sure you identify that ahead of time and make it clear on the price tag that the pricing is “firm.”
Store your leftover garage sale items with us at EZ Access Storage!
Got Leftover Items? Store them at EZ Access Storage!
When your garage sale is over, you may be left with some unsold items. That’s normal – but what do you do with everything? You could donate them or hold on to them and sell them again during a different garage sale. When deciding what to do, a clean, secure self-storage unit can help you navigate what you want to do with your items while also keeping your home clutter-free.
Store your leftover garage sale items with us at EZ Access Storage! We have a wide variety of options available, so no matter how much you need to store, we can help. Our storage units are spacious, secure, and affordable. We are always here to make your storage experience as EZ as possible in East Wenatchee!
