Are You Planning a Garage Sale?

Planning a Garage Sale is fast and easy if you know a few simple techniques. It’s all about the Tao of organizing a garage sale effectively, which is certainly not rocket science, but it does require some thought, some decisions, and of course... some effort.

There is no magic garage sale pricing guide!

However, there are simple ways of pricing garage sale items such as those mentioned below. The first step in planning a garage sale is figuring out how much stuff you’re ready to part with. There’s a lot of freedom in getting rid of things you don’t need. This is a true benefit of having a garage sale that gets overshadowed by the thought of how much money you might bring in. Whether you want to simply de-clutter your garage and home, or you need some extra cash, the more stuff you put out there, the more you’ll be rewarded.

The next step in planning a garage sale is to create a garage sale checklist and make sure to follow it closely. At the very least, your list should include these 5 steps...

• Gather the goods

  Every room in your home is game, especially your garage! More stuff = more money = less clutter afterwards. Make the tough decisions NOW... they’ll pay off later.

• Choose a day or weekend

  Planning a garage sale on Saturday is the most popular, Sunday is a good day as well. Consider weather patterns/forecast, and start/stop times. Possibly coordinate with block or neighbourhood sales as well, which is a great way to get more traffic.

• Advertise

  Tell everyone you know about it. Place ads in local papers and online. Make sure to list your featured items in the ads to attract more attention. Post signs around your neighborhood (research local ordinances of course!)

• Set it up

  Get some tables gathered up and ready to go. Make sure everything has a price tag on it (See notes on pricing below!!!). Prepare a way to handle dollars and change from and to your buyers. Sort everything out and make it all clearly visible to the buyers.

• Finish it

  Clean up the leftovers. Enjoy the extra cash you now have. Enjoy less clutter in your home, garage, and life in general. Do it all over again in a couple of months or so.

The 5 step garage sale checklist above covers the very basics of effectively planning a garage sale. Now, let’s take a moment and look at two major issues that dramatically influence how successful you can be with your sale... your pricing and your sales environment:

Pricing garage sale items shouldn’t be too painful at all. However, you’re going to have to realize that you’re probably not going to get as much as you’d like for whatever it is you’re parting ways with. Understanding this is an important part of planning a garage sale so you don’t get frustrated by it. A sure-fire garage sale pricing guide doesn’t exist because of the location, variety, age, and condition of stuff that people sell. If you’re just not sure where to begin on pricing garage sale items, then see what similar items are selling for on craigslist.com, and/or visit several other garage sales to get a good idea of how much to list your stuff for.

Remember, you want to get rid of it in the first place, so don’t list it too high to begin with. Most garage sale goers are bargain hunters and they’ll go to the next sale if your prices are too high. So, aside from actually planning a garage sale and pricing garage sale items, the true way to have a successful garage sale is by creating an atmosphere beneficial to the buyers. Ok, I’m not talking about candles, a live jazz band, and martinis, but more on the lines of giving the buyer something they’re not getting from other sales.

First off, clean everything up. Wipe away the cobwebs from everything you’re selling. Buyers are more attracted to things that look good. Make sure everything is tagged. Don’t force the buyer to search for the price or they might go search at someone else’s sale Make it clear you like to haggle. Advertise it; make a sign onsite so the buyers clearly know they’re going to get the best deal if they buy from you.

If the item is electronic, make sue it has batteries so the buyer can see that it works. If it doesn’t work, make sure to label it that way. This is an important part of planning a garage sale, as you don’t want people coming back for the money they gave you. If the item has a power adapter or a cord to plug in, then make sure to provide an extension cord to show how it works.

Finally, offer help. If your buyer’s hands are full, then hold stuff for them so they’ll buy more. Let them make an offer that you think is too low. Ask for their name and number so you can call them if no one else makes a higher offer by the end of the sale. Another thing you can do is offer to deliver big and/or heavy things if you have the means to do so. asically, give them something that other sellers aren’t... give them a reason to buy from you.

Planning a garage sale can be lots of fun even though it’s a lot of work. If you follow the steps above, the work will go by quickly, and before you know it, you’ll have a heck of lot less clutter not only in your garage, but in your entire home as well. Then, when clutter begins piling up again, you can quickly start organizing a garage sale the easy, fast, and effective way all over again... and again... and again.