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Community Corner

20 Tips for a Successful Garage Sale

Here is some advice from experts on how to get the most cash for your stuff by hosting the ultimate garage sale.

 

Make some cash by combining your spring cleaning with a successful garage or tag sale with these tips from garage sale experts.

1) Sell on Saturday
Author and host of former PBS show Collect This! Aaron LaPedis is known as the "Garage Sale Millionaire." LaPedis says after more than two decades of success he has learned that Saturday is the day to host a successful garage sale. “Some cities require a permit for sales held during the week and Sundays are reserved by many people for church services and family activities.” 

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2) Get a team together
Good planning starts with getting a team of family and friends together to help the day of the sale. “You’ll need someone to go out early in the morning and put up all your signage and a couple of people to be ready to open and work the sale.”

3) Check restrictions
Check your HOA and city regulations for any restrictions before planning your garage sale, says LaPedis. You can find out about local restrictions on garage sales by contacting Crystal Lake City Hall or the Village of Cary. 

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4) Start early
LaPedis says veteran garage sale buyers will be out early in the morning looking for signs so plan to start your sale “as soon as the sun is up.”

5)  Sell with your neighbors
Multifamily and neighborhood sales will draw more buyers. Realtors often organize neighborhood or block sales, providing free signs and advertising.

6) Safety first
Barley says, “Safety is often overlooked at garage sales. Make sure you take cash only. Use a fanny pack for collecting money and giving change and go in your house and empty it a few times as you collect lots of money. Do not allow anyone in your home for any reason.” 

7.) Save your big ticket items for eBay or Craigslist

8) Lots of good signage is key to a successful sale
LaPedis makes up to 20 signs using large pieces of white foam board or cardboard which he puts out very early on the morning of the sale. He says to include your address and the cross street, and to specifiy if it is a multifamily sale and if you are offering popular sale items including children’s toys and clothes, furniture and collectibles. At the entrances to your neighborhood, add arrows for buyers to follow to the sale. 

9) Use Craigslist and social media to get out the word
List your sale for free on Craigslist, says LaPedis, and use your Facebook page to promote the sale and recruit friends to help you work the sale and sell their stuff as well. LaPedis says, “the more items you have to sell, the more people will stop to check out the sale.” 

You can also list your garage sale on the Crystal Lake-Cary Patch events calendar.

10)  Price everything in advance & be willing to negotiate on everything
Barley says the most successful garage sales are those that price everything in advance. But remember that people will expect to bargain for less than the posted price.  LaPedis even says, “don’t bother pricing any item under $15. Ask the buyer what they are willing to pay and you’ll have more power and flexibility that way.”

11) Don’t sell anything unsafe or recalled
Don’t sell anything that is potentially unsafe, including “drop-down” style cribs, says LaPedis. You can check the recalls.gov site that provides recall information from six government agencies. 

12) Get them to stop and park
Put “big ticket” and popular items such as TVs at the front of the sale near the street says LaPedis to get buyers to “stop, park and shop.”

13) Keep off the grass
Use tarps and tables instead. 

14)  Limit “holds”
Don’t offer to hold items for a buyer “for more than 45 minutes, or have the buyer put enough money down that he or she is sure to come back,” LaPedis says.

15)  Offer free coffee or lemonade to get shoppers to linger longer. Einstein Bagels and Dunkin Donuts offer a box of fresh brewed coffee to go with cups, cream and sugar included.

16)  Put out a power strip attached to an extension cord so you can demonstrate electronic items work to potential buyers.

17)  Negotiate like a pro
LaPedis says if you let the buyer speak first and indicate what he or she is willing to pay for an item, you are far more likely to get more for it.

18)  Display like a store
LaPedis says use your fence to hang clothes on if you don’t have racks and group items such as toys or electronics together to make it easier for buyers to shop.

19)  Use fanny packs with lots of change
Do not use cash boxes, says LaPedis. The people helping you at the sale should all have fanny packs with lots of change instead. “Assume every buyer will pay with a twenty dollar bill.”

20) Stay firm before noon, then get generous to move items out
LaPedis says most buyers will arrive early so you can afford to be firmer with prices before noon but be more flexible in the afternoon so you have fewer items to haul away for donation at the end of the day. Unsold items can be donated locally to local charities.

TELL US: What was the best thing you ever bought at a garage or tag sale? Share your awesome buy in the comment section below.

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