Are you planning a yard or estate sale? At Yard Sale Radar, we’ve picked up a trick or two in our years of expert hobbyist shopping, so you could say we know about successful yard sale tips. Before you post your estate or yard sale to our listings, here are some helpful estate, yard, and garage sale tips and tricks to help you make the most money possible!
Our Top Yard Sale Tips:
1) Make It Easy for Buyers
The most basic (and maybe most helpful) yard sale tip is to make it easy for people to buy your goods. From sorting your items to making sure you have small change on hand, eliminating small hassles can help your sale run smoother and sales happen faster. Our favorite time-saver hacks include:
- Sort your items logically with similar items grouped together in the same place.
- When applicable — such as with books or DVDs — use alphabetical sorting.
- Clearly price & label everything.
- Use simple prices in increments of .25 or .50 cents.
- Have plenty of small bills and quarters on hand to make change.
- Offer bulk discounts such as “Pick 3 for $5.”
- Have water available for customers (yard sale hunting is thirsty work!).
- Have a trash can available to avoid litter.
2) Plan It All Out
Without good estate or yard sale planning, it’s easy for your sale to get lost or ignored in the bustle of everyday life.
Don’t leave anything to chance! While estate and garage sale tips can help you make your sales faster and more efficient, the best thing you can do to ensure your sale’s success is plan, plan, and plan some more!
- Identify Your Sale Items: Generally speaking, the more stuff you put out, the more people you attract, and the more money you’re going to make. To make this yard sale tip work, be on the lookout for things in your home that you’re not using, especially kitchenwares, entertainment media like books or CDs, and furniture. Keep a running list of these items, as well as where in your house they’re located, so that you can gather them when the time comes for a sale.
- Price-Check Your Goods: This is one of the more overlooked garage sale tips. It’s easy to throw on price tags in a spur of the moment rush to get ready, but price your items too low and you’ll be missing out on lost revenue; price your items too high, and you’ll send customer’s walking. After you’ve made your list of everything you want to sell, do a search, and find yard sales near you to get an idea of what prices are looking like in your area. By price-checking, you’ll have a better idea of what your items are worth and will be less likely to miss out on revenue by overpricing or underpricing items.
- Cover Your Legal Bases: While hosting a yard sale on your property isn’t usually a problem, some towns, neighborhoods, and Homeowners’ Associations have rules about yard and estate sales. Our best tips to get around this? Make sure you check beforehand with your HOA or local town authorities to avoid costly fees and fines.
- Don’t Let Weather Get in The Way: You can’t control the weather but with this yard sale tip, you can work around it! Rain, wind, and extreme heat or cold are the worst enemy of yard sales. In the week leading up to your estate or yard sale, check the weather forecast to see what the weather’s going to be like on the day of your sale. For smaller sales, don’t be afraid to reschedule if the weather is looking bad. For larger sales, consider moving them indoors to a garage or living room and using all your garage sale tips to entice new buyers inside!
3) Run a Smart Sale
While big-picture plans like how you will organize and price your sale are important, there are a few smaller yard sale tips to keep in mind to help you make the most of your sale:
- Advertise Your Sale! Posting your yard sale listing with Yard Sale Radar ensures that you can be searched and seen throughout your area (and nationwide!). Want to go the extra mile? Put up some signs as well and post on social media about your sale!
- Go Long: One of the oldest garage sale tips in the book, starting your sale early in the morning and running it until late in the afternoon can help increase your chance at successful sales. If you can, consider running your sale an extra day such as Friday – Saturday, or Saturday – Sunday.
- Make the Atmosphere Comfortable: Play some light music! Have refreshments available! Don’t crowd or rush your potential customers! Creating a fun, relaxed environment for your shoppers not only builds a sense of community, but it gives your customers a chance to have their space and fall in love with your pieces!
All Set? Post Your Listing Today!
With these yard sale tips, you’re ready to start your sale off on the right foot. Want to ensure that your sale can be seen and searched nationwide? It’s time to get started with Yard Sale Radar!