Around the Sun: A Blog About Saving Money in Portland, Oregon, and beyond

Tips for a Profitable Garage Sale

August 28th, 2007

Last Saturday, a couple of friends and I hosted a yard sale. All in all, I spent about 12 hours gathering my items, pricing them, transporting them to my friend’s house, setting up, selling and tearing down. I made $105, a little better than minimum wage ($7.80 in Oregon). I was happy overall, given that nothing I sold was more than $3, and most things were $1 or less. It felt good to cart away noticeably less than I’d brought.

What do you do to make your yard sales a success? Here are my tips:

• Advertising is a must.

  • Post garage sale ads for free at websites like Craigslist, gsalr.com and ThriftMapper (Portland).

  • Take the time to make or acquire good signs. Make sure the print on your signs is readable from oncoming cars. At an intersection, be sure motorists can read the sign from far enough away to make the appropriate turn. Also post signs to accommodate traffic from different directions.

• Presentation goes a long way.

  • Display good-looking items so that they’re visible from the street. As these items sell, replace them with other winners.

  • Arrange your items in an orderly and appealing manner. Mimic the way merchandise would look on a store shelf or in an enticing window display. If possible, put items on tables and shelves rather than on the ground, so that they’re closer to eye level.

  • Make sure people can reach things easily. Again, tables and shelves are preferred because they bring items closer to the customer’s fingertips. If you’re putting items on a big tarp on the ground, try to arrange merchandise along the borders only. People may not want to crawl over other items to reach something in the center of the tarp.

  • Group like items together, for example, kitchen stuff in one area, computer stuff in another. Clothes should be separated clearly into children’s, women’s and men’s categories.

  • Take things out of boxes and bags. One year, my husband and I were selling a glass chess set for a good price. For hours, no one gave it a second glance. My husband decided to take the chess pieces out of the box and arrange them on the board. Within minutes of doing so, the set sold.

  • Make sure nothing is blocking your sale from view. If possible, move any cars that might be parked in front of your yard.

  • Walk out onto the street and make sure your yard sale looks good.

  • Put prices on your items. I feel that people are less likely to buy an item if they have to ask you how much it costs. A good price can also turn an OK item into a must-have.

• Interacting with customers seals the deal.

  • Greet customers as they arrive, smile.

  • Approach them and ask if there’s anything they’re looking for.

  • Point out attractive or well-priced items. Point out new items. Point out items that relate to the specific individual (for example, draw men’s attention to the men’s clothes, women’s attention to the women’s clothes).

  • Invite people to test electronics, toys and appliances by having an outlet/extension cord available outside as well as batteries.

  • Be willing to bargain and to lower your price.

  • But it’s also okay to stick to your guns. If lowering your price will leave you feeling cheated, you don’t need to do it. If your item doesn’t sell, you may be able to get your price on eBay, Craigslist or next year’s garage sale.  

  • Look for opportunities to sell complementary items. For example, if someone is purchasing a cocktail shaker, point out that you also have a copy of The Bartender’s Bible for sale.

• Getting more than money from your sale makes profits sweeter. Personally, I feel garage sales are hit and miss in terms of a fundraising venture—big money is not a guaranteed outcome. As such, I recommend looking for other benefits as well. In addition to selling, take time to chat, ask questions, and swap business cards with customers. Use the opportunity to meet and get to know your neighbors. My garage sale last Saturday was really more than a garage sale. It was also “bonding time” as my friend described it. And that made the day worthwhile, regardless of the amount of money I made.

Do you have a tip for hosting a successful garage sale? Please write a comment about it.

Entry Filed under: Frugal living,Garage sale,Portland